Franticsmurf

My first guitar back in 1984 was one of these. I wish I'd held on to it now. 😀

I have had a Sterling 5 string for a while and loved the action, neck and the clarity from the active electronics. Last year I invested in a Sterling Ray 34HH and it's the range of sounds from the two pickups and the EQ which means it can cover pretty much anything I'm playing that makes it a standout for me.

In general, close vocal harmonies. Particularly UK traditional folk, like sea shanties and some of Steeleye Span's songs. I would agree with you that a great arrangement hits the spot, too. When playing it's that moment when the band has come together and there's an undefinable thing happening, regardless of the song.

In 2014 I climbed Kilimanjaro. The summit 'day' is a steep all night slog with little to see or hear until you get to the rim of the crater which, if all goes well, coincides with the sunrise. It took us about 7 hours and for most of those hours I had 'Three Little Birds' worming its way through my head. To start with, it was annoying but as the fatigue set in the chorus 'Don't worry 'bout a thing, 'cos every little thing's gonna be alright' was exactly what I needed to hear.

It's not for everyone and I admire those who can do it well. I played in a similar band for a few years pre-lockdown. We'd started off a very tight blues/rock band and we were getting plenty of work. We could jam - at one of our regular gigs we'd have a guest spot (usually a harmonica player or singer) and we'd be off on one But slowly things started to change. The singer/guitarist got to the stage where he couldn't be bothered to learn anything other than songs he played in his solo set. It made me a better bass player (and the drummer and rhythm guitarist said the same about their playing) but it was never fun and more often than not he got things wrong anyway. Arrangements and song structure went out of the window, he'd ask for requests at the start of the set and inevitably people would shout out something he didn't know so he'd either make a stab at playing it, usually badly, earning the disapproval of the crowd, or he'd ask them up to sing it. This would often result in an open mic session which was hard to stop as he'd set the precedent. We had a few good gigs - usually functions where he was a bit more disciplined. But usually the rest of the band came off stage feeling a sense of relief mixed with a feeling of having 'won' or 'lost' according to how well we'd coped with the random set list. Needless to say, the band and singer have now parted company. Edit: I just remembered I used to play in a backing band (drums, bass) for a music school end of year gig. I was one of the mentors and after the students had played it was a free for all and if they needed a bass player, it was me. I did enjoy that but it was simple stuff.

I sense a new 'How to play bass' YouTube channel being planned. One-handed catches. Two-handed catches. The 'Got it.... no... yes... no... yes... now make it look like part of the act'. 😀

Before lockdown we used to play regularly in a local pub. It was always a good gig, fun, relaxed and appreciated by the crowd. There was a guy that was always there who would jump up and spin with his arms outstretched during the first half when we played faster songs. The first time I saw this I expected a bit of trouble as he was bumping into people but clearly he was a character known to the regulars. He never hit the band and after a few spins (which were quite intense) he'd disappear into the crowd again and all would be well in the world.

One of the few songs I used to take the lead vocal on, and I've always sung 'Robin Hood'. 🤣

My first band landed a nice spot in a multi-band charity event, attended by several hundred people, with a proper stage, FOH sound and lights and a dressing room. At this point we'd played less than 10 gigs so this was a big deal. I was a mere guitarist back in those days and the audience was largely made up of people who worked in the same organisation as me. No pressure, then. The running order was by ballot and we managed to get the second from last slot, before the main band of the evening. Most of the bands were scratch acts put together for the event and all bar the main act were given 15 minutes. We started playing and three songs in, the organiser told the singer to 'play an extra song, you're the first act they've danced to' and sure enough, everyone was up and dancing. Not because we were brilliant but we were playing songs they knew. As a predominantly originals band, we had few covers we could call on and our 15 minute set was made up of the four covers we regularly played. So the extra song was one we'd mucked about with in rehearsals - 'Smoke on the Water'. The singer was very taken with the audience reaction to us and when I went to play the guitar solo he fell to his knees in front of me and screamed 'Dave on guitar'. Very dramatic and very, very off-putting. There followed a slow motion car crash of a solo (some would say nothing new there). 😀 We managed to pull it back together again and played several repeats of the chorus, drinking in the full dance floor but it all had to come to an end and we managed a tight finish and we even remembered to step back to allow the curtains to close. Then I realised I'd left my pedal board on the other side of the curtain. There followed a fumbling, confused search for the end of the curtain, rather like a Morecambe and Wise sketch, and I popped out alone on the stage to the obvious delight of everyone watching.

Sometimes it's just about being fun to play. And if you need any reasonable justification then anything that inspires or encourages you to play has got to be of benefit. (I chant that to myself at least once a week - slightly more since I joined BC). 😀

The Police with their reggae/rock ode to a BBC presenter - "Sue Lawley, Sue Lawley, Sue Lawley". Kenny Rogers - "You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille, four hundred children and a crop in the field". Well, with 400 kids, they could certainly make a dent in that crop.

Yes, and I respect that - they were happy (he was particularly happy, as I recall). Goodness knows I've made a fool of my self on many dance floors. 😀

We were playing at a social club event as a 5 piece. It was a nice venue with a large stage and a decent dressing room. We set up early and retired to the dressing room until the inevitable bingo was over. For whatever reason, we missed the end of the bingo and so we took to the stage as the compare was finishing his intro. I had the set list on the floor along with my pedals and I had to shift them forward as I'd moved them for the bingo caller. I was still kicking the pedals into place when the drummer counted us in. No problem - I knew the song so I played the required notes while adjusting the pedal. But something was wrong and I looked over the singer (the usual source of any random changes). He had his head down and it looked as if he was crying. No sign of the vocals. I checked over my shoulder to the drummer (he was my reference point if things were going astray) but he was also hunched over and shaking. I couldn't see the keyboard player but I could tell from what he was playing that something wasn't right. The rhythm guitarist to my right was facing away from the crowd and wouldn't meet my eye. I looked up at the dance floor and saw what was causing the distraction. The only people on the dancefloor were a couple. She was a large, white-haired lady in a bright pink plastic/vinyl (I never actually found out which) short dress which was very close fitting and therefore bulging in far too many places. He was an elderly gentleman, short, bald and in serious danger of being battered by his partner's bust, which was not adequately controlled by her outfit. The rest of the audience had sensibly left them to it and were laughing almost as much as our singer, drummer, keys player, rhythm guitarist and eventually, bass player. We managed to pull ourselves together and finish the first song without too much trouble but none of us could look at each other for the rest of the first set.

Nice. I have the Sterling Ray34HH. I usually have both pickups selected with a mids dip.

The singer (who did a lot of solo work too) used this site. Try the 'Custom' link - there are samples to listen to. I've tried it a few times but I'm no expert. You can 'mix' the tracks - taking out instrumentation you don't want.

I never liked playing with backing tracks but I eased my conscience a little by making my own wherever possible, usually drums, bass (I usually played guitar in the duo), keys and any spot effects (brass etc). We had a drum machine too, and did the same as you for some of the songs.

This is the piece of music that got me playing bass. Listening to it on 'Yesshows', I assumed the solo was on guitar. When I found out is was on the bass, I knew I wanted to play the bass guitar in a band. It took me a few years to get there as I was playing guitar at the time. Whether or not its the coolest bass solo song - I don't know but the bass is pretty much up in the mix for the whole 20-odd minutes. (Don't worry, the clip below is just the solo). 😀

I played a duo gig a few years ago where the singer/guitarist was using his phone to play the backing tracks. Some amber nectar may have flowed in his direction (I don't drink). We started on Dakota and I noticed how accurate the backing track was. Then it dawned on me, he'd managed to select the actual Stereophonics song rather than the backing track. Fortunately, the crowd (a rugby club that had just won their league - the amber nectar was gushing rather than flowing) didn't notice and he apologised to me before moving on to the next number (Summer of 69, I think). And yes, that ended up being the full song too. For that and various other reasons mainly to do with the crowd and venue, it remains the worst gig I have ever played although I can now look back and laugh at it.

I'm working on a few of those amazing basslines at the moment for a new project. They are so much fun to play.

Hi GBD. I came to the bass via the guitar side of the stage. I liked having fewer strings to worry about and I've been bass only in bands for about 10 years.

Hi Rob. Just signed up myself.

Last minute gig via an agent (phone call at 4pm, on stage around 8.30 with a 90 minute drive). No info other than it was a pub gig. No problems, we were doing them regularly at the time but we were all working so it was a bit of race to finish, gather kit and head off. We turned up a little later than ideal and set up in a rush. Only after we'd got everything ready did we really notice the crowd - the usual suspects for the kind of pub we were in, but they were very well dressed. We started with the pub set (I don't remember most of the set but it would have been pub rock/blues standards). After the first three or four songs, there was no response from the audience - none. We weren't that bad so in true professional style, we carried on, trying different styles, slow, fast, medium, quiet, loud. Eventually we were getting a little half hearted and polite applause. At the end of the first set, we decided to do our rocky version of 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' (starts off like Clapton, ends like GnR but fast with a really nice guitar solo). In the past it had never failed to get an audience reacting and usually positively. Except when you play it at a wake. The landlord told us during the break - our agent had forgotten to mention it. We took a longer than usual break and the second set went down much better as the beer had been flowing for a while and the ties had come off. By the end of the night it was like regular gig and we managed several encores.

Pre Covid, the band I was in played some function gigs but mainly clubs and pubs. I enjoyed the mix of setlists and I liked the challenge that a wedding or corporate event of functions but for me, the best gigs (i.e. the ones I enjoyed the most) were the pubs. I have every respect for the discipline required by a good function band but at my level of playing, I concentrate so much on getting my parts right that any performance often takes second place. Our pub gigs are rougher around the edges but much more fun for all. If the band is having a good time, it shows in the performance and the audience will pick up on it. As part of the audience, I always enjoy a band who are clearly having a good time.

I've usually got a spare power, mic and instrument lead, fuses, tape, strings (the ones that came off the bass last), 9v batteries, screw drivers, multi-tool and torch. Takes up next to no room and it's what I would expect others to do if I was paying them (and as above, it may be 'The Day' for the happy couple). I used to take a spare bass but haven't for the last few years of gigging. With the new band I may well be using a 4 and 5 string which will take care of that. We had the PA mixer go on us at the last gig we played. Fortunately, we were close to home and were able to get hold of another without having to break any speed limits.

And me - and I'm not a dad (as far as I know).