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This just turned up this morning... oh my god its incredible. Can't wait to get home and plug it in!! Check out the gloss fingerboard

I took up bass to see what a bass does and to learn what it adds to music. I cannot think of a single song that made me think, I will have to learn to play bass. I discovered that I love playing bass but to get the best out of it, I took on a music theory course and this led me to learn to play chords on a piano. The bass re-ignited my love of and interest in playing my six strings.... I might be slightly against the grain here by suggesting that the bass is not a lead instrument. It is much more important than that. Drums and bass provide the foundation for the song, for the music being played by the band. I hear music as the total sound created by the band and not the individual members contributions to the sound. On balance if the song requires simple root notes, then I play root notes. Boring? Possibly but the overall sound is what matters, my ego has to be put aside in favour of the song.

Been lucky enough to never have anything truly terrible, but three that stick out: Pub cover band going through a few lineup changes for a variety of reasons. During guitar auditions one guy arrived in triple denim with a guitar worth more than my car and a strap with so much brass on it looked like it was pinched from the wall of a country pub. Widdled badly away to himself regardless of the song, and decided to sit AC/DC out because (quote) "it wouldn't sound right with two guitars". During drum auditions for the same band a chap turned up who was friendly enough but struggled for time and just didn't have the chops - seemed like he was super rusty rather than just bad but we wanted to gig so didn't want to wait a year for him to get up to scratch, but... He was planning our futures the second he walked in, most of which seemed to centre around renaming the band Oi Oi Saveloy..?.. profit. He was genuinely nice though, hope he sorted something. Finally, a drummer audition in the current originals band. A week or so of talking between BL and drummer on joinmyband sorting out mp3s and organising a date. When the audition rolls round the drummer arrives, sets up his cymbals, then tells us he didn't have time to learn anything. Annoying, but the drumming is weird timing and technical so we give him the benefit of the doubt and ask what songs he knows so we can jam along if we know it and hear him play. "I don't really know any covers". In a last-ditch effort to salvage anything of the evening, we suggest putting on a simple enough song that he should be able to muddle through to some extent (it was something like buck rogers by feeder) - "yeah I don't really play anything I don't know." We then try to figure out why he even bothered answering the ad as we watch him awkwardly pack away his cymbals and leave, having not played a thing. Even more awkwardly, 2 days later he served me and my girlfriend in a shop in town and pretended he didn't know me after I said hello. People are odd.

The last couple of years before retiring I squeezed a double pedal under my desk, with a bass drum trigger pad. I would spend the working day doing stuff (in fact, very little, being the IT Boss, so delegating what little needed doing, as all had already been done...), whilst pedalling away with rudiments, basically much like snare exercises. It lasted for over a year before the Director asked me, politely, to desist, as he felt it gave the wrong signals to some of the staff. I was getting quite good at double paradiddles, flams and the like, but complied for the sake of peace. It's a pity that the relative expertise developed in this way has not, as yet, evolved into a workable addition to my playing with the full kit. Occasional 'blast beats' (the climatic ending to RATM's Killing In The Name Of', for instance, and some moderate success adding triplet 'patters' to Buckley's 'Grace'), but not really at ease for much else. Old dog, new tricks, I suppose...

Yes, that'll be me then. I'm not currently with them, apart from a one off this weekend at Tunes in the dunes, the wonderful luke Palmer has been the bassist for the last few years, and yes he plays a squire....very well. I also played a squire for most of my time with them, an extremely playable red CV precision which had a great relic job done by Al Knight, I later installed a darkstar copy pickup called a nu-sonic made by a guy in Brighton, stuck on some TI flats, left them on for four years, and there you have it...... I later had a copy made by Al, in white with a matching headstock. The amp was indeed a GB streamliner 900 through a barefaced super fifteen, with the FOH signal split through a REDDI and a Sansamp VTDI. The Squire will be at home this weekend though as I'll be using a recently acquired JMJ mustang..... what a killer bass ! Anyway, I have to say, it's very nice to get a mention on these hallowed pages. Cheers John Lee-Man, we should get together for a bass pint, i'm in Notts, as I think a few others here are. A pub based bass bash if you will.

If it helps...

I should not come here, too GAS inducing. I have zero Vigiers, but I do have 3 Bogarts which have a very similar "feel", 80's modern, graphite galore, great tight sound etc. I just really dig the shape of the Passions.. want one...

Nothing to do with speed, but the difference in sound is clear. I've seen good bass players switch between pick and fingers between songs, or even mid-song, to get the right tone or attack. I can only play with a pick (right elbow RSI, limited use of my fingers) so I've explored that a bit and it's striking how much difference in sound one can get from different picks. Stone sounds different to wood sounds different to resin. Sharp sounds different to rounded sounds different to blunt. Atm I'm mostly using sharp hardwood with my electric fretted main squeeze, sharp stone with my flat-strung fretless, and blunt resin with my fretted acoustic. And they're rather lovely things...

I usually build through necks and always physically draw the key neck angle points full size, and always using the actual bridge intended to be fitted. I measure the bridge saddle at lowest and highest, mark the neck angle fulcrum, then the fretboard and fret height, the planned action height and set the neck angle to allow some wiggle room either way. As it happens, with the Schaller bridge and my thickness of fretboard and fret-height, the neck will be zero angle: Then I can cut the slot: Once the body demarcation veneer has been added, this will be spot on. Because the angle is zero, then I don't have to allow for the apex that normally the fretboard end has to be sunk into. You can see here above the pencil line on the maple of how thin the neck will be cut to. And finally the components in their respective positions: Tomorrow should see the backs prepared, the neck blank cut to basic plan and side-view profile and then the backs glued to the neck....

I've just completed another bass part ex / sale with Martin from Wales - we had lots of communication both ways throughout the process and have been exchanging a few texts since about the basses we swapped. And it got me thinking as I was writing his feedback and looking at the three pages of feedback I've got....basically (bar one specific example - exception that proves the rule?!) I've had nothing but overwhelmingly positive experiences ( a LOT of them!) with people I've never met. Often involving quite a lot of money / expensive instruments and therefore trust of this unknown person. It's a great community of people who really do give bass players an excellent name. I'm sure other forums for different instruments may be the same (I'm not on any so can't really comment) but this really is a lovely group of people on here and I"m chuffed to call myself a bass player knowing that there's a lot of lovely people out there who also call themselves bassplayers! All good!

- Old mules, one cam & pure malt songs… That's how we named our weekend in Portugal's main centre... one little village called Nesperal. A six pack of friends, ( John M. Dope, Mr. Ben Casa de Sol, The Birdman, Mark the Lizard, Rated R and G Vine) that got together to let their music passion run through the veins, play and sing with their hearts... Fred "à-espera" made sure to make those moments eternal with one camera, some microphones and a candle! So... here we are sharing it with you… Join us at our damn sessions live to tape rough experience and listen to it just as it is. Nothing more... Just moments! Stay damned! https://youtu.be/dq7duRpqBa0 https://www.facebook.com/damnsessions/

I think that Blue’s original list was pretty sound, if a touch excessive on one or two points – do you really need a dedicated sound engineer / lighting guy for a pub band or is that just another mouth (or two) to feed?? I recently saw an article about this subject that I thought mad a lot of sense. I’m not sure who wrote it, but some pro who gets decent gigs, who said that there were three elements that he considered before taking a gig: the music, the hang and the money. ‘The music’ is obviously if the other musicians are of a good standard and if you like the music that they are going to play, ‘the hang’ refers to if you like them as people with ‘the money’ meaning was it a decent payer. For him to take the gig then at least two of those elements has to be in place, so for example he suggests that you might consider a gig playing music you don’t care for if it is with friends and pays well. To put it in context for my personal situation, I’m currently standing in for a band for a few months who are OK but possibly not the sort of stuff that I would normally play, but they are great guys and I’m earning decent money. On the other hand, me and some friends (who are good players) have been trying to put together a side project playing music that I really like but will probably not make much cash.

Depends on what and where. My 1966 EB2 is too fragile and valuable to gig anyplace I might have the chance. I don't gig my drop-dead-gorgeous GMR single-cut in Manchester because I'd be asking to be hit on the head walking back through the city centre to the train station, and I don't gig her at my local om because it would just look like showing off - it would feel like turning up wearing a silk evening gown. An interesting way of thinking about what my ambition is as a bass player, is to get to the standard where I can play venues where I would actually feel safe gigging either of them.

Just think its maybe a bit risky Paul and many people might take offence at playing it but who knows it might be worth learning one or two and as you say we can ask the crowd before playing them if anyone objects. We coud cheat and say its by the Glitter Band as in effect it was Dave

I once took my 3 Gus G3 Basses and and Gus G1 Guitar to a gig. Total value along with the bass rig I was using at the time, somewhere around £25k...

Oh, how true

That rather assumes they know what was in the bag - it may have been an opportunistic passing scrote that saw the gig bag. The sad option may be they realise too late they will struggle to move it on, and damage it 😞

Thanks, Blue, but it's basically your list with the order shuffled around and a bit of mordant snark thrown in at the end. H'mmm. Mordant Snark... good name for a 60's garage / psychedelic outfit. All Hail The Snark: Milwaukee's hottest new band 1967

I use Imgur....no problems with it....I'm hoping that the Photobucket fiasco will mean that other hosting sites won't be so quick to dive in with the "give us yer money" ploy by trying to hold our pics to ransom.

Double traitor 😆

Led Zeppelin 2. The Lemon Song, then Ramble On. Almost everything I love about music right there in those two songs.

Isn't that the less visited cousin of Australia's famous Ayers Rock (sadly not related to Kevin of that ilk)

Brilliant stuff.....was wondering if you were going for the full Gibson Tenon Join. Methinks there's more to you than just an amateur bodger Christine ( like Most of us in 'ere! ). Ian 😊

Not really, IMO, though I'd do it in a slightly different order. * What's the local band scene like? Anyone out there that fits your aims, likes? * You see an ad. Does the band have a FB page, web site to check out? * Having made contact: Why is there a vacancy? Is there a lot of personnel turnover? * Who gets the gigs? Is there any sort of plan or do bookings just sort of dribble in on an ad-hoc basis * Lights, sound? Who humps it? (preferably not me) Then I'd ask them * How often do they rehearse? Where? * Who decides on the songs, set-list? * How many of the band are deluded fantasists; crazed, talent-less authoritarians; unreliable flakes; burdened with sick or unreasonable spouses? Then I'd do what I always do and tell them to poke it anyway.

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Oh wow, does that chime with me! My mum's favoured instruments of torture were Mendelssohn's Four Seasons and South Pacific; and both my parents insisted that popular music (anything from about 1949 onwards!) was just rubbish and people who played electric instruments were not real musicians. That was at the back of my mind for years and gave rise to a head vs heart conflict that was only resolved when I finally picked up a bass. And when I got to the stage of being able to play rock songs with other musicians, I knew I'd finally arrived. It took a while, but better late than never. Now I'm busily making up for lost time!

That's one heck of a list for a pub band, in my opinion. If looking for a full-time job, or career, maybe I'd agree with a lot of the points, but for 'week-end warrior' bands, for folks with a 'real' job for the mortgage, I'd suggest it's royal overkill. Is it fun..? Do you get on with the band members..? Is the gigging frequency compatible with other stuff going on..? That's about it, I'd say, for a great many of us. For a more serious gigging musician, I'd say that depping brings about the best opportunities, with the bonus of knowing exactly what the band does from having played with 'em on gigs, if a permanent offer comes up, as well as the contacts it offers. No real need to go about it like an accountant, I say. Just my tuppence-worth.

Cheers for the shout out, @lowdown I was about to embark on some nauseating self-promotion!

This. There does seem to be a fellowship of bass players, I've found it in other places and situations too. I think it's something to do with choosing a relatively uncommon and under-appreciated instrument. My older son aspired to be a cathedral organist, but was never quite good enough. But he had encouragement and support from some of the very best organists in the country. it wasn't a competition, it was a community.

I think I sat up and listened when I heard the break at the end of Sweet's 'Rock and Roll Disgrace', the b-side of Ballroom Blitz.

Thanks guys, got it up and running again, tried the effects loop and got sound via that, so assumed it was a valve, cracked the amount open and switched the valves around, they don't look blown, maybe it came loose . .either way it's working again and will be ordering some new valves Thanks guys! So Andy said: Try bypassing the effects loop with a short 1/4" shielded cable. Also, it's possible that you have a bad tube (valve). Try substituting a known good 12AX7 into each of the 3 tube positions and see if the sound comes back. Otherwise, you will need to find a technician or service engineer that is experienced servicing class D amps. I can support the Fender service guys, as well as Sutherland Trading and any Mesa Boogie authorized service center if they are willing to work on it. Best regards, Andy

I spent all my life without needing a pedal board. At Christmas i got a PT Nano+, and now I’m on my second board this year. This one is pretty much going to stay as it is though. This collection of pedals offers me all i need. I may swap ther Qstrip out for my Zoom 60D at soem point, but only when I’m bored.

I'm 65 and gigging more than ever. I just happened to join the right band with the right infrastructure 7 years ago. Opportunities with bands with consistent bookings are hard to come by regardless of where you live. Blue

Mega (and I mean MEGA) expensive but the BAE 1073 is apparently incredible. http://www.baeaudio.com/products/1073dmp

I seem to be the only one getting this. But I don't need a Ric...

Any MIDI footswitch that will send MIDI note on (and note off) commands and will let you assign separate MIDI note# to each switch will do the job. You'll probably need to study the manuals in detail to find out which ones will and which won't and of those that will which have enough flexibility for your needs. I'd start by having a look at the Roland FC200 and the Behringer FCB1010.

Good call. But they do say that two can live as cheaply as one. To which I would add, IF you both want to end up mentally ill. Have a lovely Sunday, everyone! Hello clouds! Hello sky!

I think my first audition made the band giggle. They're a covers band that will cover anything from gossip to audioslave to GnR. I had never been in a band before, and was terrified turning up to the audition. I'd played the bass for years, at home.... When I get there the bassist before me was just tearing down his 2 4x10 rig with Trace head and I immediately thought "shi what am I doing?" I place my 25 watt peavey practice combo next to it and tell the other bassist I was ready to bring the thunder - we have a laugh. I take my guitar out of its bag. Did I forget to mention I didn't actually own my own bass? It's my sister's that I stole years ago and it still has pink ribbons on the case. Anyway... I play my heart out and barely get heard over the thunderous drums. I place my tiny amp in a corner at head height to allow us to just about hear me and somehow I get the gig! We've just booked our 8th gig in July in front of 200 festival goers.

Hi Ian - welcome 😊

Put down the silver bass Bro. But seriously Ian, nice to see you here. Basschat has a very cool vibe that's all its own.

Good evening, Ian, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

I don't - holding a grudge is an important thing in life