waylander

15 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

Ha! I think that's all part of the social media game though? Would like to see him in a band context, like Mono Neon has done, to prove its not all bedroom noodling. I'd love to be able to play like that, but I don't think it would work in amongst Jumping Jack Flash, etc. 

I think his personality is. His gf has her own YouTube channel and he’s featured in that with a totally different personality. 

he also did an interview about his Chowny signature bass at an expo and he is totally different. Seems very quiet and humble rather then the YouTube persona, I think he mentioned somewhere too he got bullied a lot growing up.
 

In one of his videos he said he was in a band when he lived in the Uk prior to moving to Thailand, idk if there’s any footage of him playing online or even their name as he doesn’t mention it

I started watching his videos at the start of the first lockdown. At first his attitude put me off but as I watched I got used to it and can see it’s all an act, he does pretty good videos and they’re entertaining. 
 

was semi tempted to sign up for his patreon to get some of the tabs for songs he’s done but I don’t understand the charging methods so didn’t in end

today’s a Magnum day to try and motivate me for tomorrow and going back to work ..

Welcome to the forum 😄

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Well, there is a taunton music scene  https://www.facebook.com/groups/462202057152514 and I am sure there are more. Strangely dispite only being 20 miles away I don't recal doing a gig in taunton, certainly a lot in the surrounding countryside where music is very big. Actually one of the odd things is Ilminster, small place right, well in the last pre-lockdown year we did the Cricket club, the football club and the bowling club gigs as well as a couple of pubs around it and a couple of private events in fields.

In fact, we are playing the Cricket Club in 2 weeks time.

You did notice the bass bash in september didn't you? I am not sure whether you commented there. It is great and you will find a lot more people with ideas where to try

Thank you, i've joined the group and will look for similar ones

Illminster really? I've never been even when i lived over near the A303 as didn't seem like there was much to see there, sounds like they've got a decent live music scene... another reason i can use to get the mrs to move over that way again  

I didn't actually but i've search the forum and found it for 19th September, i'll be all vaccinated up by then so will defintely come along if for nothing else to meet a few other bass players locally. I didn't know that was even a thing!

1 minute ago, Woodinblack said:

Oh yes, our local pages are terrible, I only stay on them to watch the fights, but we also have a couple of music scene posts, and they are restricted to groups, gigs and people looking to form bands

 

yours too! Yea the fights are good, we had one person back in January put a ww2 style poster up about reopening local businesses and the “government can’t stop us, covid is fake ” ... local businesses tore the post to shreds over the stupidy 
 

Any key words to search on that might make them easier to find? 

2 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Ah, didn't twig you were that close. Somerset is (was) pretty active with a lot of groups going on. Not sure which part of the border (its a 70 mile border!), but we practice near chard and several other groups practice there. There are quite a few groups near yeovil, although the amount of town pubs are closing down. A lot of towns have a local music scene page, and there is a somerset music hub page etc. 

I’m kind of in middle(?) near Wellington. I’m going to keep an eye on what Taunton has got going on as things start up again.  I used to go college there and it had a decent music scene, but I think like you say a lot of places have closed down now. 
 

2 hours ago, Cat Burrito said:

Facebook usually has a musicians in (names local town) type page so have a look at one of those two. Good advice re open mic. I tend to find these things seem impossible but once you open the floodgates it does rather snowball. Good luck.

I’ll take a look and maybe ask if I feel brave enough. Sadly a lot of our local Facebook pages are now just buy/sell sites, someone for the fifth time that day looking for a recommended plumber and trolls. Even ones previously dedicated to events have been so over run the mods just gave up.

9 hours ago, yorks5stringer said:

Was going to suggest a couple of Open Mic/ Jam nights near me but one of the pubs closed  during lockdown and has now changed hands( to be gentrified) and I'm not sure what's happening to another one in Langport....not good times for musicians or the entertainment world.

Thanks mate, whats the one in langport called? I’ll keep an eye on it as it’s not too far 

3 hours ago, grapefruitmoon said:

I signed up yesterday too and had the exact same experience. Nothing there!

Sounds like something to wait a while doing then if they've got server problems.

JoinMyBand seems pretty active, had a look on there yesterday

3 hours ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

Another person here in pretty much exactly the same position as the OP, so thank you for asking the question @waylander (cool Conkers avatar btw 😉).

Reassuring that I haven’t just imagined the shift in difficulty in finding people to jam with. Ten years ago all of my friends played, there were musicians everywhere at college, uni etc. Now everyone I know has moved away, had kids, are focusing on careers, or don’t play at all. My ‘network’ has gone. I also often worry that I won’t be considered as an option because I’m not the same age as people that are starting up bands now (can’t party all night anymore, touring more tricky with work etc.). I’m seeing a former bandmate in a month or so who still very much actively plays, I might ask him for some advice too. 

That said, I do need to get off my backside once full lockdown restrictions are lifted and try one of the helpful suggestions listed here! 

Same here mate, much prefer to go home to bed then spent it partying 😂

Thanks for the avatar compliment btw, great game ... shame never got a sequel!

9 minutes ago, Len_derby said:

Don’t get hung-up about age. In my covers band, three of us are in our sixties, one in his early thirties and one (female drummer) is eighteen. As far as I can remember the only people to have mentioned it is us, when we make jokes on stage.

To be honest, musicians who make a thing about age are not likely to be people I’d want to spend time with.

I can speak from experience I no longer judge anyone on their age.

I fence in my spare time and my first ever regional match was against this guy in his 70’s. We started and he stood there looking shakey on his feet, I’d seen him sitting down before the match so figured wasn’t great mobility. I had to try and close on him so I could get a hit so I could move on, as soon as I was within range he stabbed me square in the neck.

Hell of a nice guy though, he saw I hadn’t been doing it long (easy to tell just by looking at me as I was wearing ill fitting club gear) and found me after to spent 1/2 hour giving me pointers. 

1 hour ago, Len_derby said:

I think you’re taking a wise course. My take is that I’d rather play music I’m not a fan of rather than not play at all. Not least because when you’re out there being seen and heard it’s surprising what doors can open. I was playing year before last in a indie-style originals band when, after a set at a small festival, I got the offer of bass duties in a rockabilly band! Sadly, I was too busy to accept. 

I've got to say trying different styles is rewarding. When i was recruited to play bass i played punk as that was the bands main focus, before slightly shifting to rock which was pretty much all i played for a few years. Since starting again i've very rarely played punk and try to learn different styles, really tough but rewarding all the same

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

JamKazam is full of them if you’re happy to jam virtually.

never heard of it, i'll take a look

20 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Nothing quite as frustrating as joinmyband, you will get people asking to do something different, you will get people who seem perfect who just don't bother contacting you again and you will get a load of hassle. But, my two current bands are through adverts in JMB, and the guitarist we have just got on one was also through JMB, so I wouldn't want to not have that resource, and it is worth the hassle.

So much like Facebook marketplace then 😂

ive found one ad that sounds alright and have shot them a message just asking what type of music and ability level they’re looking for, I’ll give it a couple days and if don’t hear anything I’ll put up an ad myself to see if anyone’s interested 🙂

1 hour ago, Crawford13 said:

Perhaps if you tell us your location, members from local area will be able to recommend specific Facebook groups. I'm in Glasgow and there are 3 or 4 really good musicians wanted Facebook groups, I'm sure it will be the same for most larger cities. 

Oh one other piece of advice would be don't be too picky about genre etc as once you are on the scene its much easier to find other musicians as you were be sharing stages etc. 

Yea thats fair, i'm down on the Devon/Somerset border so any local music groups to check out are very welcome. Would be more specific but not alot of point as it's fairly rural
I'm not fussed about genre although i'd probably avoid funk atm, nothing against it i really like playing it but i'm slow at learning that style compared to other genres. Be happy to have a crack at most other things though.
 

1 hour ago, spongebob said:

I do think it's quite hard now, around here as well. Very few people looking.

I'm certainly quite picky, but even I wasn't, there still isn't too much about.

I started my potential return a few months back, and I've still not got around to getting another bass yet, given the lack of opportunity. 

About 10 years ago, you could leave a band at tea time, and be in 3 more by lunch the next day! Good days.

Stick with it, OP, if you're heart is in it. I'm not sure mine is, TBH!

thanks mate,  hopefully you'll get some inspriation on this post too and find something that works for you too! 

30 minutes ago, Sarah5string said:

Musofinder

Local facebook muso groups/pages

Joinmyband

Jam/open mic nights

Posters/flyers in rehearsal rooms/studios

Word of mouth

thanks i've never heard of Musofinder, so i'll take a look and have a crack at the others

40 minutes ago, lownote12 said:

Blues jams are a fecund source of contacts if you're into blues. Even if you're not.  My blues jam members also play all sorts of other stuff in other bands.  My personal experience of Join My Band - nutcases and wannabes. Maybe they think the same of me.  If you're in a rural area or other music wasteland you will be very lucky... Also, over 10 years I've seen the market change.  When I started at blues jams I was often the only bassist there so got a lot of experience over an evening; in recent times every fourth attendee has had a bass. Dunno why, maybe its the growth in online learning, like SBL.

Funnily enough thats why i got started in bass 13 years ago. My friends all played guitar or drums and wanted to start a band but couldn't find a bassist, so having dropped out of uni / having nothing better to do they asked me to start learning bass. Sadly that band never materialised as it became clear while we all loved the same type of music, there was conflict over what songs should be played between a couple other members so it never got off the ground

1 minute ago, Supernaut said:

JMB is very hit and miss but there are some diamonds in the rough. FB is worth a shot. Local mic nights also provide opportunities. 

Yea I can imagine it is. I’ve just had a look though and there is one post just titled “fun” and seems like it’s for a bit of fun band, doesn’t give any indication ability or music so might drop them a line and see what they’re after as isn’t too far from me either. 

10 minutes ago, JapanAxe said:

Look for open mic nights in your area - they often have a Facebook group. Get talking to some of the other participants.

8 minutes ago, Len_derby said:

My tip would be to go along to pub open nights and talk to people. Over the years I’ve met loads of musical collaborators that way and I’m still doing so in my 60’s. As a caveat, I live in quite a densely-populated area and have lots of choices of small towns and villages with active music scenes. It may be sparser for you.

Thanks both    Thats one of the things i do need to find out here is where does live music, i'm sure theres at least one place but wasn't living here long enough pre-covid to get to know local haunts ... only one i've come across was the local cider festival just before covid lockdowns happened, now everythings re-opening i'll do a reccy and find out whats on

9 minutes ago, Geddys nose said:

Put a Ad on JMB there will be plenty of people looking like you  for a Start/Jam band,  FB also have local Band scenes that you can put a Ad on.

Never ask you won't get.

thanks for the recomendation, are they pretty open to posts like that on there then?  I did have a look through posts in my county and the surround ones but couldn't see any so was wondering if you could post that type of thing.

Morning All

Might sound like a stupid question but how do you find other amateur musicians to jam with?

For context I picked up bass originally in my early 20's and back then finding a amateur guitarist was a dime a dozen, either a friend played or had a mate who did. As with all things life got in the way and i put down the bass to pursue a career as it required alot of studying and exams with the aim to go back once i qualified. That took slightly longer then intended (10 years on and off) but i've been back playing for a year now and i'm getting to the point it would be cool to find others to jam with, however it's difficult to find anyone these days. All those mates or friends of friends have stopped playing or moved away. I've had a look on the joinmyband website and most want experienced players for proper bands which is a bit beyond my scope atm.

Any tips?

1 hour ago, Reggaebass said:

Have you tried a different string 

I have, the current strings are about a week old, before that I had done nickel wound strings on and it did the same thing.

Ive just updated the original post. I tried a different guitar and had the same problem initially. With the second guitar turning the tone up got more noise out of the string but the jazz didn’t change much even with tone up max

Hey All

Update : so I think it’s either the eq on the amp and/or the bass itself. I dug my old thunderbird out and initially had the same issue.

with that one turning the tone right up helped bring the sound out more. However the jazz didn’t work with the same treatment

original post:

ive got a fender jazz bass with a quiet open A string problem. When played acoustically or with an mxr thump pedal it’s fine, all sounds equal. However when just going into the amp going from a fretted note to an open the sound drops noticeably.

one thing that might/might not be related is the four middle magnets on the pickups are elevated, idk why it was done by its previous owner and I haven’t got round to getting it sorted. 
 

it could be how the settings on my amp are. I haven’t played around much to find my tone yet so if there’s any eq suggestions I’m open to them
 

any thoughts on what’s causing it?