Ross

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1316176378' post='1375485']
Do you gig?

If this post is serious you seem to be on a one man mission to give us bass players a bad name!
[/quote]
I gig a fair bit yes.
I fail to see how it gives bass players a bad name, how are you supposed to enjoy gigging if you're forever fannying about with your setup or the soundman is being a w***er and trying to dictate how your band should sound against what you have said.
When i turn up to a gig it's no f***ing about, set it up quick, soundcheck and adjust, relax and play/ watch the other bands, pack it up and either move on to somewhere or go home. Enjoyable evening.

Suck it an see with the shim approach, I use business cards trimmed to size for shimming. Available from any good taxi firm at your local pub bar
Bit of felt tip on the edges if they really stick out.

Might take a bit of pissing about to get it perfectly straight and centred but it's no more than 30 minutes work, no need to think about it so much.

A sells B's item to C.
It is between B and C to sort it out, A is guilty of possibly a few different things depending on what was nicked and how, B and C would have to come to an agreement to recover the goods to B's possession though.

And it's been in his possession long enough it would be considered his anyway so his dad wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

Heres my tip, bring your rig, set your sh*t up, tune and play you pansy.
Some of that is common sense and some is rubbish, of course use quality gear, of course tune up and sound check. But I mean, who brings a torch to set up with? I've yet to see a bass rig that I couldn't set up with my eyes closed, even the big complicated rack setups are stored patched together.

Oh and be nice and explain yourself clearly but don't be afraid to call the sound guy a w***er if he's burying you in the mix against your wishes.

Buy a pneumatic drill, attach a bass neck and string up.
Do it, i've always wanted to hear what it'd sound like.

I always try and haggle something extra in it for me, even if it's just a cable or a set of strings.

This thread has been done to death, please use the search function.

The thing about being a headliner is people are usually f***ing knackered by that point, I hate being the last band on. It does however have the perks of being able to do an encore.
I've walked back from seeing a headliner band late at night and literally been bowed over sideways limping like the hunchback of notre dame I'm that crippled from it before.
Best spot in my opinion depends on what kind of band you are but me personally i prefer around 5/6/7pm in an open aired local music festival is a good slot, usually the crowd are warmed up and not too knackered by that point.

Thing is about being a covers band you aren't anything special (no offence intended), people have heard it all before. It's nice to dance to and it's good to get the crowd warmed up so you're likely to be early in the day.

3 x Ampeg SVTVR
3 x svt 8x10
3 x Hiwatt DR201
3 x Hiwatt 2x15
Peterson rack tuner
EBS Multicomp
Line 6 JM4
EBS Wahone
EBS Valvedrive
Carl martin Bass chorus
EHX Bass Microsynth
Mxr bass octaver

Assuming it's just the rig, not the basses as well.
I like to be loud and driving. The fact I have 6 total stacks is just because it looks totally badass.

Nah, did it on purpose to have a spare one right

I don't mess up, but if I did I'd just go with it and say "Yeah I meant to do that" if anyone called me on it.

I use a set of Etymotic research plugs now, at least 1 on my drummers side. Or if I'm playing drums it's both in all the time, drums are the worst for it.
So flaming deaf it's unreal, I struggle to hear people if theres busy background noise sometimes, even if it's not that loud.
And I've managed to pick up some lip reading just because I struggle to hear people.

Creativity isn't something you can learn, but through learning you can gather the tools and the knowledge to express yourself in the way you wish. This is assuming you want to sound similar to previous artists and fit into a genre playing what we in western culture consider in tune.
For this reason I'd never join a covers band, music for me isn't about playing, it's about expression.

So can funk be taught? Other peoples funk can, it is down to the player whether they want to play that funky music.

Nope, just there to add weight and support the battery industry...

And the fifth, got a cable from him I've had for yonks, you'd never tell the amount of crap it's gone through, and crystal clear quality still.

3-4 hours.
I've set up sound and lights for a large concert hall in an hour and a half with the help of 1 other person before, just thought it all out carefully and got it right the first time. Then probably 20 minutes to soundcheck, easy job.
Stop having so many tea breaks you pansys...

First proper bass? Unless you're f***ing loaded or your rich mummy and daddy are footing the bill? £350-550 used.
Maybe around 5-600 new.

How many masters or the hurdy gurdy, or the sitar are there...

You don't need a helping hand, use and adjustable spanner to hold things, it's what I do

Hardest thing about bass wiring, soldering the grounds to the back of potentiometers. I thought I'd destroyed one when I did it.
60/40 leaded solder is also easier to solder with, lower melting point.

Also you get the advantage of a only a good joint being shiny with leaded. Lead free is shiny whether it's a good or bad joint.

One of the greatest moments I've ever had in a jam.
Keyboardist: I can replace you with my left hand
Me: Well so what? I can replace you with my right hand (At this point I start tapping out a piano adaptation)
Keyboardist: Touche...

I don't think a lot of people realise how versatile bass is.

Pretty much anything slap, I can usually pull the lines off but I really just don't like slapping, too much thinking involved.

Got an unbranded one for a little less than that, buy it now was about £70 though, it's actually a really good neck, lovely grain on it.

Got it all wired now after a cash injection, if I hadn't ordered the wrong kind of knobs it'd be done today but lesson learned, read more carefull next time. Hoping to get some sound clips up because it sounds gorgeous and plays really well.
Went for wizard 84's in the end, thought my wiring didn't work after much fiddling about and f-ing and blinding, turns out I'd just knocked the switch on the bass pod to line in by accident.

It's all in now, just need to send the knobs back and source/ fabricate some for the 1/4" inch shafts. But I'm willing to say, completed and damn good too.
I've learnt plenty on the way, I can't wait to do my next one.

Couple of pics:

I use cubase and fruityloops. Get plenty of plugins though.
Most indespensible thing you can have is a midi keyboard though, trying to program stuff in bit by bit is tedious as hell.

Buy bass for dummies, great starting point to learn the basics, work through majors boot camp (on this forum somewhere).
Learn some of the tracks you want to learn and don't be afraid to try new things, infact, always be looking to expand your knowledge in other genres and how other people played. One of the most enlightening things for me on bass was learning about James Jamerson, theres a really good book to be had for about £13 off amazon with his music.

If you can afford it, lessons, don't go to the guitar school in old town because the guy who taught me wasn't a proper bassist.

Don't be in any rush to learn slapping, tapping, fretless etc. Get your basic fingerstyle down first.
Most importantly, stick with it, sometimes yes you'll need to give things time to sink in but if you get frustrated and put the bass down, make sure you go back to it.