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If you like the band as a musical unit then stick with it. If you think the band can only gig with one set of musicians then it seems that the rest of the guys have a different opinion. Bruised ego, dented pride or reality check? Dunno. If you think this is an assault on your ego I'd say get over it. I read it that the band is just trying to do a gig under difficult circumstances, which were beyond everyone's control. This is a reality check. No one in any band is indispensable. Look at Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters and Brian Jones. IMO the advice you're being given in this thread to throw your toys out of the pram and tell them where to go is bad advice. I've seen guys do this, it never turns out well, and they always look rather silly.

Leave the band.

Leave it to rest overnight he says... well, the nitro feels solid so let’s just sand it lightly, yeah all good. Maybe I’ll just put the tuners on, it’s getting late but well you know... Oh I may as well do the string tree too... oh sod it lets just assemble the thing!! I’ll put a better photo up tomorrow in natural light, but oh my god it’s gorgeous! I’m super delighted with it and can’t stop looking at it. I did wonder at the outset if I was going to bugger up a perfectly good Harley Benton bass guitar with my lack of experience in performing the modifications I envisaged, but I’m thrilled and so glad I did it. Like my Bruno Bass build I've learnt heaps and loved every minute of the process. Bring on the next project!

Your best bet is to add an identical Hartke Hydrive 112. Seriously. That way you keep the same tone but get more volume. Either that or get rid of the Hartke all together and get one very loud and light cab (possibly 4ohm) that’ll do every size of gig.

Off to watch some music this eve so just a brief update. Tackled the blocks routing. That required the board to be radiused and then slotted: Then, removal from the template and re-positioning back onto the template to rout the outline. The raggedy edges from the slow speed and non-ideal bit are actually clean and will tidy up just with some sandpaper: And then started hogging out a touch with a larger bit. Final leveling and height adjustment will be done with a chisel. I'll pop a bit more detail in tomorrow. It's worked out better than I expected for the first go, though...

Personally, I think it depends on what type of band it is. If it's covers band whose main raison d'être is making money, then I wouldn't worry about it. If it's originals where your particular style and sound is key to the overall sound of the band, then I would argue it's an entirely different matter...

No..? What's that on the horizon, then (view from Serengeti Simba Lodge at sunrise...)..?

I've never met a so-called "promoter" that I've liked. They tend to be some form of failed-musician sociophobe.

"Antiquax" sounds like duck repellent.

Sounds to me like there's a bigger issue behind all of this, certainly from the OP's side, than whether or not the band play the gig. Personally I'd also be a bit miffed if a band i was in suggested doing a gig without me, but if it was clearly a situation where everybody else wanted to play it and I couldn't make it (rather than them, say, telling me that they've got a dep in for the next gig so I don't need to show up) then I'd let them get on with things with my blessing. And if it's a rearranged gig that I couldn't make (rather than a gig that they had booked knowing that I wouldn't be available), I'd expect the band to see if they could do it without me. I certainly wouldn't be expecting any share of the money, even if I'd loaned them a load of my gear. As others have said, this sort of thing does happen from time to time. So it's all about how you deal with it. Playing Devil's advocate, from their point of view, you expecting them to cancel the gig if you can't make it means that none of them are getting paid because you have booked a holiday - you've gone from a bad outcome for just you to a bad outcome for the three of them instead. I've been on the other side of this a few times - one band did a gig when one of the guitarists was playing on a different continent with his other band and he was fine about it (in fact it was always understood that if a gig came up that he couldn't make then we'd do it without him),; and an old covers band was asked to do a Christmas gig at one of our favourite venues when the singer was away with his family so the rest of us filled in for him (and went down so well that it became a regular Christmas thing and we'd always check to make sure that he was going to be away before booking our Christmas gig). We never fell out with the missing band members, and it was never put across as any sort of threat to their membership of the band. The missing singer left his PA with us so that we could do the gig and it was all very grown up (although unusually among singers he is a genuinely lovely bloke who wants to see his mates doing well on stage even if he is watching from the side - we once did as gig supporting Edward Tudor Pole doing an acoustic set who asked us to learn Swords Of A Thousand Men so that we could be his backing band for his encore, and our singer retreated to the audience and later told us that it was his proudest moment as a band member). If anything, it reinforced his position in the band that he was such a good mate about it all. Ego aside, doesn't seem like there's much to gain by spitting your dummy out other than a big row and an ongoing feeling of resentment from the rest of the band that you're not a very good mate. It's not like you're using the PA for something else that week so not letting the band borrow it isn't going to make them like you very much and lending it to them doesn't put you in a worse position. I'm not sure if you're fed up with them and about to quit anyway, in which case telling them to F off is likely to bring things to a head, or if you're just feeling a bit taken for granted and under appreciated, maybe a bit insecure, in which case telling them to F off isn't likely to improve things. I suggest an adult chat about how they see your role in the band, whether this is a deliberate sleight and they think you are dispensable, or if they think it's just a practical solution to honouring a rearranged booking that you now can't make.

Obviously this reasoned response is what I meant by fvck em'.

What's the problem? The band has a gig and you can't do it. Happens all the time. Get a dep or let them do it as a 3 piece. Why stop them?

You could never do this date and never agreed to it. The band should have told the pub that they couldn't do that date and suggested another one. For this gig the pub needs to find another band. When you say that "the keys player will play bass", do you mean he will play a bass guitar, or that he will play the bass line on the keyboard? Either way it is unlikely to sound good after just one rehearsal and the reputation of the band will suffer. I'd tell them that you don't want to do it, and that you'd be thinking carefully about the future if they do. If they go ahead anyway then it's time to condier your options. I would be less upset if they'd got a dep in for the evening.

The name change would have been the breaker for me.

Leave and don't lend them your PA.......they are royally taking the p*ss

If you like the Hydrive 112 get another - doubling up on the same cab really is a grin-inducing move.

We could have a thread where we link to our patches on Customtone. And we could Name them with "Basschat" as part of the title to make them easier to find when searching on the L6 site too.

next month, making sure all your different 'sounds' are at different volume levels

My support regarding Wal orders is usually along the lines of... Do it... go on do it... do it, do it, do it... have you done it yet? I was going through numerous basses a month until my first one landed, chopping and changing, searching for something that gave me the sound I had in my head. I'm down to two basses now and have been for a while, fretted and fretless Wals

I have an A1 sketch pad which I bought at "The Works" - popular end of lines outlet store - A2 now £4... https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/sketchpads/a2-sketch-pad/5052089008113

IMO they went a bit down hill after their first five or six albums. Music became too radio friendly.

Like Cato, and coming of age in the 80s I remembered Chicago for soppy, overblown, over produced AOR dreck... which to be fair was no worse than their peers at the time. So I had to get on Spotify to find out what these BC lunatics were going on about. It's pretty tidy, totally not what I expected. More like Tower of Power than 80s hair rock. I'm liking this a lot... thanks!

For some reason I had it in my head that Chicago were a 70s/80s prog band. Nothing wrong with that but it's not really my thing. Thanks to this thread I've now realised my funky error and will be checking out a lot more of their stuff.

Chicago V is my fave..

Easy, the sound in my head is FRFR. See sig for the best gear i've found for the job, no knob noodling anywere, but i can pick any piece of gear and quickly get my sound with a bit of tweaking and, the most important part, 50% of my tone is really in my fingers.

My local tech guy said only use a very small amount with 100% cotton. Leave it for 5 minutes, then rub the wood clean of any excess.

surely the simplest thing to do would be to set the levels on all your instruments at soundcheck then touch nothing. Saves a fortune on fancy pedals.

I've just read this entire thread - very entertaining from start to finish I've only ever played a couple of gigs and that was a long time ago, and it was the 2nd song during the 1st gig that I absolutely messed up. First song was Longpigs song that starts with the bass. Since this was my first ever gig, I was practically wetting myself anyway, but I managed to play the entire song without a mistake. I was well chuffed. In fact, I was that chuffed that I completely zoned out after the song, missed the intro to the 2nd song, ended up playing god knows what to try and get back on track and it took what felt like to me, forever to get back in line again. I still cringe when I think of it now ! Lead guitarist and singer came over after that song and said, "What the bloody hell are you playing at", and then HE missed the intro to the next song, haha Practically a carry on film.

What about a night out at Ronnie Scott's ? Listening to the "The Chick Corea Akoustic Band with John Patitucci and Dave Weckl" https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/performances/view/4707-the-chick-corea-akoustic-band-with-john-patitucci-and-dave-weckl

One of the first 45's I ever bought was 'I'm a man' by Chicago, on the old orange CBS label. It had this amazing song on the B side, which blew my 11 year old mind at the time. Didn't get the first 1.15 of piano TBH, but then when the full thing kicks in, wow! Swings like crazy, and started me off in my appreciation of great brass sections.

That's my usual response, but I seem to be experiencing a brief moment of diplomacy and tact. Normal service will no doubt resume shortly.

If I was just a paid gun this wouldn't be an issue but because I co-founded this group and I thought I was integral to the band's sound and style, it just makes me realise how little I have been valued by the singer/guitarist. It's all about his needs being met all the time. Everybody else's comes way down the list.

I`m amazed at this, I think it`s treating a member of the band pretty poorly (possibly a major understatement there). If anything get a dep in, but in all cases never book a gig when a band member says up front they are unavailable.

Tell them they can hire your pa at a reasonable going rate, any breakage/loss is covered by them, not the kitty. Sit back on your hols and have a few drinks on them for doing not much yourself.

What are you? - The hired hand? Tell them to go f*** themselves!

The old 'anyone can play bass' routine. Let them do it and learn that not everyone can

Seems a tad cheeky - will they be borrowing your bass & rig too? Book another gig for when the singer's on holiday and tell him/her that you're gonna sing and play bass.

Singing in the reading room Cutting and/or edged tools in same NO climate control for shelved material Naked flames Book items improperly shelved No obvious control of access to pre-current volumes That video is a library management nightmare....

There seems to be an automatic association between having a music stand on stage and having a stock-still singer peering constantly at the words, ignoring totally the presence of the audience. Whilst admitting that this could, in fact occur in some, rather odd, scenario, I'd suggest that it's a rather pushed exaggeration, and that the simple presence of a music stand is not the cause of such behaviour. Some folks (not just singers...) can, and do, use stands in an intelligent manner, and do not neglect the 'show' aspect of the occasion. Maybe I've just been lucky in witnessing this, but in that case I've been lucky on numerous occasions. Things aren't always as 'black or white' as that; there is scope for at least fifty shades of grey.

Thanks - it’s a beauty!

This. Especially if the comp is at the beginning of the chain. Mark the pedal with some tape. I'm not a fan of turning the bass volume down all the time as on a passive bass the EQ curve is changed and you lose top end.

Is it ever acceptable to widdle at insanely loud volume whilst the rest of the band are still setting up the PA? We say of course it is! You're the Star!

Decided to take the original screws out as the were only 6mm long and replace them with longer to give a bit more grip and include a flat washer and a spring washer rattling has ceased

Whilst I`m not exactly keen on bands playing for nothing, sometimes, when starting out on the originals circuit it`s one of those things that has to be done. You either get 5 paid gigs a year, or you take a punt on a few more unpaid as well, knowing you`re expanding your audience/merch sales/fan-base. Additionally, and in regards to the op, they agreed to play for nothing. Now irrespective of whatever any other band is getting, if you make an agreement you should stick with it imo. Again, not wonderful but you can gain a reputation as trustworthy, which can work in your favour - it`s how we`ve done things. An example of this is we were playing Gateshead on a Friday night, Blackpool on the Sat night afterwards. A big gig in Glasgow was offered to us at very short notice. So we did all three, doing an early afternoon Glasgow set, we wouldn`t bin the small Blackpool gig for the better Glasgow one. It was knackering, but in honouring our commitments it further cemented our reputation as a band that can be trusted.And the band is now self-funding, we don`t take any money from it but it pays for all recording/merch/hotels/flights/ferries/van & driver hire etc. But if we`d binned all the early unpaid gigs I wonder if we`d be in that position now.

Is as far as I got before I'd decided. but it gets worse and alarm bells.. (I won't quote the rest) Cancel because of the catalogue of incompetency. Yes you wanna support a fanzine, so tell them why you are out of this debacle and thank them for their help. However, "Promoters" like this should be weeded out. Call this person out for having no clue and messing you around. You are better than this. Every musician is. Oh and you are worth way more than 'no money left' and certainly more than £100.

And the award for my favourite auto correct/ predictive text sentence sabotage so far this year goes to...

Cracking job @BrunoBass