gjones

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1495329807' post='3303031'] You guys still have hippies? Blue [/quote] Crusties is the new term.

Bonham and Jones were big fans of Motown. The bass and drums in the solo of the Lemon Song are awesomely funky. The quiet second solo especially. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyhu2ysqKGk[/media]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1495304156' post='3302881'] Weather permitting, I'm supposed to be playing guitar with my band at a private outdoor party organised by hippies. There will be some sort of sound system and generator, though it's a complete unknown quantity. It's in a location you can't get a vehicle right up to, so I'd imagine it will be a little portable setup, and there's unlikely to be a proper stage. Sounds pretty dodgy, right? I'm a bit wary of running my usual valve combo on this kind of supply, since the grounding might not be done properly and the voltage and AC frequency might vary. The only solid-state setup I have is my small bass rig of a GK MB200 and 1x10 cab. It seems like the switch-mode supply of the GK is less likely to be stressed by power supply variations, and it might feel less risky, it's a bit lighter to carry too, but it's kind of squeaky clean for guitar. Which way would you go in these circumstances (other than not doing the gig)? Any other tips for coping in this situation are also welcome. [/quote] Interestingly, not long ago I played a gig in a big old tent, powered by a shonky generator, in the middle of a muddy field. The generator kept on cutting out, for a few seconds, intermittently, which resulted in both the lights and my digital amp head, switching on and off throughout the gig. The guitarist and the harmonica player, in the band, both had valve amps and they weren't affected in the slightest. I can only think that the big capacitors in the valve amps stored enough electricity to keep the amps running during the breaks in current. So if the gig is rescheduled, take the valve head instead of the GK as, according to my experience, it will deal with a dodgy power supply better than a solid state amp.

I have owned my original PJ bass for 33 years. It's in bits at the moment, as I've chopped and changed necks and pickups but it will live again, in the not so distant future.

If you have to tune down for one song and can't be bothered to do it during a set, then the capo could be used to play in normal EADG then when you remove the capo...Abracadabra....you're in drop down tuning. Replace the capo and you're back to normal tuning. I've never done it but it sounds very feasible.

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1495183660' post='3301878'] This meter reader = idiot. Smart Meters: There was a program on radio 2 Jeremy Vine about these. They all have a compatibility problem from one supplier to the next. They don't work properly and the program highlighted several customers being overcharged by thousands as a result. (although they did get it sorted out). One expert they had on said the tech was already out of date and it would be too expensive to upgrade the whole network so that they would work satisfactory so the whole concept as it stands is flawed. So really its a "Not so smart meter." [/quote] But if you don't pay your bill on time, they can change your meter to a prepayment meter at the touch of a computer keyboard. They can also set the bill on it remotely. No more need to bother with warrants or locksmiths to enter your property and change your meter. Just one day your electricity or gas will switch itself off and you'll get a payment card in the post. And people though it was all to do with lowering energy usage and accurate readings...........yeah that'll be right.

Demand a discount!

I think you're right. The back of the machineheads are identical https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/?iid=112402724177&&&adgroupid=33676502101&rlsatarget=pla-270397365723&abcId=893836&adtype=pla&merchantid=114889302&poi=&googleloc=1007326&device=c&campaignid=707291931&crdt=0&chn=ps

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1494633958' post='3297551'] There was a thread about the futility of taking a spare bass to gigs on here but I can't find it now, and I recall that some people suggested you could take it as far as taking a spare amp if you were really paranoid. At tonight's gig I had a brand new amp delivered to my house shortly before I left to drive to the gig. I tested it while the guy from the shop watched. I decided to take my old amp as well. The new amp lasted about 30 seconds into the first number before losing all power. I was able to swap it over for the old one (same speaker, power and speaker cable) and continue. Had I not had a spare amp in the car, it would have been a disastrously short gig! I was using a Fender Jazz bass, bought new last March, for the gig tonight. During the between sets break, it was in a Hercules stand when I saw stand and bass fall into the drum kit. No one was near it at the time, and the fall left some damage to the fingerboard and left the G string unplayable due to it hitting a cymbal. Again, the gig was saved because I had a spare Precision with me. I think the only things not duplicated in my gig kit now are speakers and me! [/quote] You should bring a spare bassist next time.............accidents do happen

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1494450496' post='3296172'] I know this is a different performance: ... but as a member of the audience, would you feel cheated that the band clearly aren't playing live? [/quote] Why do you say that? The bass player looks like he has a wireless wotsit in the jack and the guitarists have leads.

[quote name='mep' timestamp='1494272852' post='3294636'] This is something that has been bugging me for a while now so here we go. There is a tendency by some to refer to a guitarist here as a guitard. We all know what this means and personally I find it quite offensive. I have had the pleasure of working with many fantastic guitarist and none of them would fall into this category. I'm I being too PC or just overreacting? What do others feel about this term? [/quote] I think it only refers to the type of egotistical guitarists, that think that the world revolves around them. I've met plenty of them.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1494200742' post='3293999'] Two 3h gigs (three sets with a small break each) at a very nice bar in beautiful Mallaig just off the Isle of Skye. The weather was amazing, and I got a room to myself with great views included in the deal, which was great as I brought my girlfriend with me (the location, weather, and full weekend business made it a really attractive option). Saturday night was indoors, Sunday afternoon was outside in the beer garden. I love outdoor gigs. Everything sounded great This is a band I joined last summer and well known in this place. Apparently I'm not as handsome as the previous bass player, but I'm more exotic A pair of small TKS S112 cabs and the Markbass LM3 with the Stingray. I wasn't sure it would have the 'oomph' for the outdoors gig, but it worked really well (it wasn't extremely loud, it wasn't a festival, but a place where it could be loud enough for people to dance close to the 'stage' but not so loud that people on tables farther away could not have a conversation). Lucky I had my hat. It's not often this sunny here, but when it is, it bites! [/quote] An outdoor gig in Mallaig, now I've heard everything. They're hardy folk up there.

Why not just buy another amp for the cab? Then split the output from your bass (with a splitter pedal) into the separate amps . You can then EQ them any way you like. Makes things much simpler.

I play with a good band and we play some nice venues and festivals for pretty decent money. On the other hand we do also play some toilet venues just for the cash (we go out under a different name for these gigs). It helps, in these situations, that the band is good and I enjoy playing with them. Playing crappy venues to knuckledraggers is bad enough but if the band was crap, I'd probably prefer to be sat at home watching TV. Recently I depped for a band in a nice venue and for decent money. The problem was that the drummer was so shockingly bad that, from the first song, I just wanted to grab my gear and run. They asked me back again, the next week, and I had to turn them down, even though the money was good, because every minute I was playing with that drummer was torture. I know......I'm a Diva

I'm not hugely knowledgeable about TE gear but about a year ago,I used one of these at a gig I played and I really was surprised about how good it sounded with my Precision through it. It was more than loud enough to keep up with a loud drummer, even though it's only 150 watts. The seller is looking for less than £150 for it. I personally think it's a bargain. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trace-Elliot-GP7-715-Bass-Guitar-Amplifier-/332203318699?hash=item4d58dc5dab"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item4d58dc5dab[/url]

I have played house parties before. You need a very quiet drummer who can play with brushes and preferably a large house away from neighbours.

I got myself sacked once. Joined a band and instantly regretted it but was too cowardly to just tell them, 'you're just not my thing guys'. So I made excuses and missed rehearsals, until they obviously realised I just wasn't into the band and eventually I got the 'Dear John' text (thankfully).

If your cab can handle the volume you normally play at, then there's no need to change it if you're not planning on playing at a louder volume. Keep the master at a reasonable level and don't boost the bass too much. Just because you now have a more powerful amp than you previously had, doesn't mean you have to use all that power.

He liked it so much he bought one, it seems. and they do look big. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D2ZPrG_iKA

[quote name='kevin_lindsay' timestamp='1493544368' post='3288983'] I did a gig last weekend with a newly formed outfit. Girl singer - absolute dynamite, young guitarist who was good, myself, and completing the lineup..... the worst drummer I've ever had the misfortune to play with!! Spreading up, slowing down, and drum fills that sounded someone throwing a drum kit down a stairwell. His timing was so bad that I couldn't even play straight 8th note grooves as the foundation was constantly shifting. Bloody awful! Strangely enough, the band did get a couple of other bookings from audience members (which was definitely due to the singer Judith being fantastic), and I had quite a few complementary comments regarding my own playing. However, the drummer was so awful that I had to excuse myself from committing to any other gigs. The singer says she'd love to perform in another band setting with me, so I guess I'll have to hunt down some of my drummer associates who actually know how to count to 4!! [/quote] I was asked to join a band a couple of years ago by a guitarist I knew. I turned up to a couple of rehearsals and although the singer and guitarist were good the drummer was beyond awful. I'm no prima donna but, having put up with some shocking drummers in my time, I wasn't prepared to do it any longer. I told the guitarist I'd only join if they bumped the drummer (he didn't even own a drum kit). At the next rehearsal there was another (much better) drummer sitting on the drum stool. Maybe you just need to speak to the other two members and tell them that the drummer is rotten and you aren't prepared to join while he's in the band. If you have another, better guy that you can recommend, they may be prepared to bump their drummer for yours. Edit: and 2 years later we're still together

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1493463990' post='3288529'] It doesn't really matter if people want to shred on 6/7s etc, back in the 80's Mark King spawned legions of fans who were manicly slapping their 4 strings(mostly in a way that wouldn't perform a useful musical function within most bands) - this didn't lead to everyone abandoning more traditional playing styles. Based on purely anecdotal evidence, of the bass players I have talked to that have tried extended range instruments, all but one have reverted to more traditional fives or fours because the extended range (and visual presentation) is largely useless for the majority of their playing in a band context. If someone needs a bass player, they will take someone who can fulfill the role and make everyone else sound good over a 'frustrated lead guitarist' every time, unless they specifically want that shred approach. This is beautiful playing and shows the musical potential of extended range instruments [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPwMoiKaNOY[/media] But lets be honest not many people in their right mind would think that it would be a good idea to carry all that extra weight and have all those extra strings to damp if they had a long gig playing punk/rock/blues/folk/soul/funk to get through. [/quote] It's a nice sound on the lower strings. I wonder what key the lowest string is tuned to? As the note he plays at 45 secs is at a frequency that, up until now, I thought only elephants would be capable of producing.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1493460003' post='3288465'] Respectfully disagree, in my part of the world those clubs would be the exception if they actually existed but they don't. In my part of the world when 20 something's walk into a club with live music, they walk out no matter how good the band is. And just so my observation is perfectly clear, I mean they walk out immediately. End of story. Blue [/quote] Well in my town there is only five venues that provide that level of frontline PA and quality bands. But two of them are owned by the same company (a couple of years ago they opened the second one). I assume they feel there is money to be made, in a sector which is under exploited. I have to say that Edinburgh, where I live, gets a lot of tourists visiting and has a lot of students studying here. That may be the reason why live music is so popular. In that regard Edinburgh is not a typical UK city. I suppose I could say the same about Nashville, New Orleans or Austin, in the States but they are not typical American cities either.

It's true that the bars with sticky carpets and a dodgy band playing in the corner (between the pool table and the toilets), where the landlord or bar manager has no real interest in music, are dying off. The bars I play are busy and have music 7 days a week. People still want to see live music and venues can make money if they invest in a good PA and make sure they hire good quality bands and sound engineers. These bars rely on music to exist. If they had no music they would be empty. And they're not full of grey hairs and nae hairs, they're full of young people in their 20s and 30s who really love the fact they can spend their night listening to really great live music, in a venue that has invested in a good PA and excellent bands. So mediocre bands playing in unwelcoming, mediocre venues, are becoming thin on the ground. All that means is both the venues and bands have to up their game. I'm sure there's an audience out there, who wants to have a great night out, listening to music, if they can be offered a better and more professional experience. Edit: which, when I think about it.......has nothing to do with the original post But at least I got it off my chest.

I try to get all the tuning pegs, on my Jazz Bass pointing in the same direction when my bass is in tune. I haven't managed it yet but I'll keep on trying Edit; they have to be parallel to the headstock or it doesn't count. Edit #2; Preferably pointing North

Surprisingly, despite the fact that Edinburgh hosts the world largest arts festival, the council, for a while, were dead against music venues and they were clamping down on bars with music relentlessly. The problem was, that in order for a venue to lose it's licence, all that was needed was for the music to be 'audible' to the complainer. There was a campaign started, by local musicians, to change the local rules. There was a lot of support and eventually the campaign managed to get the rules changed. Now there has to be an 'audible nuisance ' caused by the music instead of it just being 'audible'. If your local council is being a pain, you should start up your own campaign to change the rules, just like Edinburgh. Here's the link to more information [url="http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/licensing-board-votes-to-relax-noise-test-for-live-music-1-4240995"]http://www.edinburgh...music-1-4240995[/url]