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Summer of 69? Drop D?


Slappindabass

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2 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

I've snipped your original post, but you know the fast food analogy works better than trying to actually quantifying it from a musical perspective.  I shall be retaining this nugget in a dark recess of my brain and will pull it out and use it at some point.

Bravo!

Thank you.  You know where to find me when the royalties start to accumulate.

Heeheehee

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I think it's just in general, people are quite conservative - they like what they know; they like a sing-along-chorus to a song they know inside out, they like the hero to win at the end of the movie, they like a Big Mac. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, and covers bands are fulfilling the demand for it in the market.

Sure, I'd love to be booked for a 40th birthday like last night, but play grindcore rather than Summer Of 69 and Mustang Sally, but the folk who did book us to play those songs had a blast.

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3 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

The covers band enigma.  I've never understood why people go nuts for bands playing other people's songs.

Well, they do, so you should be wondering why you don't understand something so fundamental to public musical performance.

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I play it in drop D because for me that's the easiest way to play on a 4 string bass.

I suspect it goes down well because a lot of folk enjoy hearing stuff they know and can sign along to.  Frankly, if you you are a bit sniffy about this then you probably shouldn't be in a covers band.  Write you own stuff.

I also play in an originals band.  Maybe that makes me more chilled about playing jukebox rock in the covers band.  Who knows, but taste is a very personal thing and if everyone had to like the same music as dictated by the taste police then what a dull world we would live in..

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47 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

if you get my drift 

(stifles a titter)  I do thank you.

I was a little curious because of the drop tuner fitment on some B2As.  Being a headless neck through instrument, my plain bridge/direct pull tuner assembly is extremely stable and holds tune very well.  If the presence of a drop tuner makes a difference that merely makes it like more like traditional configurations it would be tolerable.

I bought a Steiny Spirit 5 to avoid modifying my Hohner or retuning for the occasional song.  It's not as nicely made an instrument and has none of the soul of the older Hohner.  Somehow, it feels less responsive in my hands, a little lifeless.  I might look into a drop tune bridge assembly as a mod for the B2A after all.

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5 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

The covers band enigma.  I've never understood why people go nuts for bands playing other people's songs.

It's difficult to quantify without sounding too blunt.  I've always felt that by and large the typical covers gig audience aren't the type of people who feel the need to invest time (or money) in bands; they know the hits, they're top 20 savvy, but while they might know Stacey's Mom, they wouldn't know, or even bother, to investigate Karpet King.

A combination of drink, mob mentality, people just wanting to hear some songs they know and to have a good night out means Summer of '69 is probably a win-win every time.

 

That covers band Enigma have changed their name to The Bletchley Circle, now doing all original stuff,  but not many people can work it out.

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@SpondonBassedI have a B2ADB it’s absolutely brilliant. I also have a passive Hohner as well.

In the summers heat just gone it was my bass that held tune the best out of them all.

Personally, I would sell the Steiny if you don’t like it and pick up a B2ADB Hohner, no mods required, should be about even monies, or not to far off.

Just IMHO if you don’t mind me sharing 

Edited by Cuzzie
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Agreed with all you said apart from:

3 hours ago, Jus Lukin said:

And Elvis never wrote a song in his life don't forget- in the broader history of the music business, a writer was a distinct entity of itself. Being a writer-performer is a fairly modern obsession, and still largely exists in image alone, in the big scheme of things.

For me singer songwriting started to gain traction with the likes of Chuck Berry (1955+), Buddy Holly (1956+), Carole King (1959+)  and became prevalent with the Beatles (1962+) and I'm sure we can name other great singer song writers before or around this period. So I don't think it's fair to label writer performers as a "modern" obsession (depending of course on how you define modern!) - they've been around just as long as rock'n'roll and the electric bass has.

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