Just quit…big sell off incoming

[fretmeister]

Just make sure you don't end up like I did.

I quit my band after 12 years...

 

Now I have a Telecaster and a guitar amp.

 

I feel dirty.

[Geek99]

2 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Just make sure you don't end up like I did.

I quit my band after 12 years...

 

Now I have a Telecaster and a guitar amp.

 

I feel dirty.

Not surprised 😳 

[Grooverjr]

I'm 50 and I've just taken Voluntary Exit after 24 years with the same outfit, moving round the world and largely being carefree. My daughter is 18 and struggling to work out what to do but has settled for the moment on studying speech therapy because she wants to do something that helps people. My son is 15 and has had to drop out of school education because there is noone doing Cambridge qualifications in Bolivia, which is where we are going mainly because the UK is just too expensive to go into.

How is this me,me,me relevant? Well, firstly I could have stayed on and come back to the UK but I realised that the politics and nonsense and the direction of things had outweighed the joy I got from supporting and developing the people in my teams. I have no idea what is coming (other than homeschooling my boy to try and get him 5 GCSEs!) and there is definitely a big dollop of guilt / concern that I should have stayed for the stability but life's too short to be surrounded by the fallout from incompetent people covering up their own failures and insecurities by attacking others and being drawn into it. I've not been in a band for a long time but it does sound familiar....

Another big element was not wanting to come back to present day England. Every time I have come back over the past 10 years or so it's seemed there is a growing sense of dissatisfaction and passive (or not so passive) aggression across the board. Obviously there are islands of sanity and decency but the bickering over minutiaee Andy describes sounds totally unsurprsing. I love North Kent and it's etched in my heart but I don't want bad vibes to drain that love and it sounds like Andy is making exactly that decision - get away to keep the kernel of what you love about making music alive.

We've moved every 2-4 years for the last 25 years and there is definitely a cycle of catharsis getting shot of the crap we've built up. I wonder if that has stopped me having any of the other cycles so many people have described here. Maybe these cycles are a natural part of life and staying sane in a modern world where we don't need to graft to get food on a daily basis. 

Long rambling post but I say good on you, Andy. Don't get stuck in the rut or make decisions that are positive, not avoiding possible negatives. You sound like you have a very full life outside of the band and it doesn't need to define you. 

Luckily for me, I'm now out of buying mode, but I'll enjoy watching the circus!

[Maude]

4 hours ago, Earbrass said:

Anyone else monitoring the Marketplace forum, while feeling like a vulture circling a corpse?

 

How can people be so callous? 

 

 

 

 

 

So then @AndyTravis, when's the err... the erm...    ya know... the err red Jack Casady being listed?

 

Just curious, no real reason. 😉

[Skybone]

6 minutes ago, Maude said:

 

How can people be so callous? 

 

 

 

 

 

So then @AndyTravis, when's the err... the erm...    ya know... the err red Jack Casady being listed?

 

Just curious, no real reason. 😉

Asking for a friend?

 

@AndyTravis, we've all been there. You'll bounce back after a while away. Good luck.

[EMG456]

21 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

I don’t really need a band as such. Wish I’d learned how to sing 😆

Never too late. I always did backing vocals and often would sing one or two songs a night just to offer the singer a rest/ give the crowd something different but never viewed myself as a “singer”.  That is until the singer in my originals band left and it became down to me. So I did it and it was actually ok.  Then I started wondering if I would be able to carry a whole night as the “singer”. So I did it and I enjoyed it and the punters enjoyed it and now it’s just something I do or don’t, depending on the circumstances.

If like many bass players, you have an ear for production and arrangement, I will say that being the singer as well gives your opinion far more clout in these sorts of discussions - piper calls the tune etc.

So I say go for it. A very worthwhile thread of your musical journey. 

[jezzaboy]

Good luck Andy in whatever you choose to do. Band members can suck all the enjoyment of playing music right out of you. 

[police squad]

16 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Just make sure you don't end up like I did.

I quit my band after 12 years...

 

Now I have a Telecaster and a guitar amp.

 

I feel dirty.

if you're gonna feel dirty, a telecaster makes it worth it

[fretmeister]

A good telecaster is a thing of beauty.

 

As it happens swapping instruments for a bit has got me writing again and I haven't done that for ages.

I still have my favourite bass kit, but at the moment I'm looking at it as part of composing rather than being a bassist.

 

I might even record some of it if I ever get a week off work.

[ezbass]

On 22/07/2025 at 13:36, Earbrass said:

Anyone else monitoring the Marketplace forum, while feeling like a vulture circling a corpse?

BC right now...

 

[AndyTravis]

You might have to hold your horses.

 

theres a band meeting been called.

 

I’ve obviously raised some valid concerns and I don’t really want to leave.

 

i wont lie - ive not been in a great mental space recently so maybe the band has copped for it…

 

i dunno:

[admiralchew]

Just now, AndyTravis said:

You might have to hold your horses.

 

theres a band meeting been called.

 

I’ve obviously raised some valid concerns and I don’t really want to leave.

 

i wont lie - ive not been in a great mental space recently so maybe the band has copped for it…

 

i dunno:

Good luck!

[fretmeister]

17 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

You might have to hold your horses.

 

theres a band meeting been called.

 

I’ve obviously raised some valid concerns and I don’t really want to leave.

 

i wont lie - ive not been in a great mental space recently so maybe the band has copped for it…

 

i dunno:

 

 

Just in case, here is a handy link....

 

https://uk.fender.com/collections/electric-guitars-telecaster

 

[zbd1960]

One of the things that happens as you get older, you realise that time is precious and you lose the willingness to waste it trying to sort people/organisations out.

 

I have wasted years being a part of clubs/groups, where I should have walked away. I wasted 15 years or more on several groups where I was heavily involved in the organisation and running. You eventually realise they don't care - they plug you in, use you, throw you away, like a disposable battery.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 09:40 by zbd1960

[HeadlessBassist]

42 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

 

 

Just in case, here is a handy link....

 

https://uk.fender.com/collections/electric-guitars-telecaster

 

 

Careful - you might get excommunicated. *Looks in corner at Jet Strat and old Laney Guitar Amp*   "Oh, bloody hell!"

[police squad]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

 

 

Just in case, here is a handy link....

 

https://uk.fender.com/collections/electric-guitars-telecaster

 

a Tele for all things there

[Linus27]

Good luck Andy, hope it all works out for you which ever way it goes.

 

I hit 56 next year which means I've played bass in bands for 40 years. As I get older, I am becoming more reflective and less enthusiastic about gigging. I'm very happy with the bands I'm in, everyone is great to work with and on the same page but the fire is dying. I started out all those years ago, playing all over the country, building a following and eventually getting a record deal. Every pub and club had music and it was always a packed and enthusiastic night. These days there really is a huge difference with a general lack of interest in bands and music. There are less places to play and the foot fall is so small that it makes you wonder, why bother, it sometimes feels like flogging a dead horse. Even playing Glastonbury this year, I noticed some stages were very quiet and bands were playing to not many people which was depressing to see. Someone said earlier that as we get older, we realise that time is precious and I'm very much feeling that way. I'm fortunate to have lived out my dream and achieved more than most but after 40 years of being a musician, I have nothing left to achieve. I now feel that the years I have left, with good health and relative youth on my side, I want to spend the time I have building new chapters, memories and adventures.

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

Just in case, here is a handy link....

 

https://uk.fender.com/collections/electric-guitars-telecaster

 

Those 107 instruments do pose the question: What makes a Telecaster a Telecaster?

 

Is it the shape, the construction or the pick-up configuration? Or just the fact that Fender says it is a Telecaster.

[fretmeister]

4 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

Those 107 instruments do pose the question: What makes a Telecaster a Telecaster?

 

Is it the shape, the construction or the pick-up configuration? Or just the fact that Fender says it is a Telecaster.

 

 

This question comes up on the Facebook Telecaster Owners Group all the time.

 

It seems to be a rough split between those who think it has to be a Fender and can only have 2 single coils and those who are not stuck in the 1950s.

Some go as far as saying that a Fender not made in the USA is not a real tele.

 

Their complaints are usually swamped by people posting the partscasters they have put together, often using far better quality parts for a fraction of the price of a US Fender.

 

I am generally against putting Fender decals on non-Fenders but for the sole purpose of annoying some of the cretins in that group there is nothing more effective than a Fender decal on a parts guitar made from the cheapest bits Chinese ebay can offer, and then clearly assembled by someone who doesn't have opposable thumbs.

 

The rage is quite a joy to behold.

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

 

Those 107 instruments do pose the question: What makes a Telecaster a Telecaster?

 

Is it the shape, the construction or the pick-up configuration? Or just the fact that Fender says it is a Telecaster.

 

It's become rather more a concept, than any one feature, in similar fashion to a 'Hoover', or 'Frigidaire' becoming accepted beyond their original brand name. One could say the same of a Precision, or a Jazz, in the bass world. 

[police squad]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

 

 

This question comes up on the Facebook Telecaster Owners Group all the time.

 

It seems to be a rough split between those who think it has to be a Fender and can only have 2 single coils and those who are not stuck in the 1950s.

Some go as far as saying that a Fender not made in the USA is not a real tele.

 

Their complaints are usually swamped by people posting the partscasters they have put together, often using far better quality parts for a fraction of the price of a US Fender.

 

I am generally against putting Fender decals on non-Fenders but for the sole purpose of annoying some of the cretins in that group there is nothing more effective than a Fender decal on a parts guitar made from the cheapest bits Chinese ebay can offer, and then clearly assembled by someone who doesn't have opposable thumbs.

 

The rage is quite a joy to behold.

I love the last bit

 

The rage is quite a joy to behold!!

brilliant

 

My Andy Summers tele has a Jap fender body and a WD neck with a Fender logo

 

 

[tauzero]

7 hours ago, BigRedX said:

 

Those 107 instruments do pose the question: What makes a Telecaster a Telecaster?

 

Is it the shape, the construction or the pick-up configuration? Or just the fact that Fender says it is a Telecaster.

 

The ugliness.

[Stub Mandrel]

The singlecut shape.

 

The only exceptions are Squier paranormals and by definition they dont fit the template.

[Russ]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

The singlecut shape.

 

The only exceptions are Squier paranormals and by definition they dont fit the template.

Yep. I've got a Squier Contemporary Tele for when I feel the need to do the skinny-string thing. Looks, feels and hangs like a Tele. But it's got pretty hot HH pickups so it sounds, to my ears, like an SG! 

[Stub Mandrel]

10 minutes ago, Russ said:

Yep. I've got a Squier Contemporary Tele for when I feel the need to do the skinny-string thing. Looks, feels and hangs like a Tele. But it's got pretty hot HH pickups so it sounds, to my ears, like an SG! 

 

My brother has a Squier Troublemaker for LP sounds!