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Pub punters don't notice anything. They're dimly aware that a band is playing and depending on how drunk they are, they'll either talk loudly to each other or dance about wildly, spilling beer and bumping into things. As far as bass goes, what you do is largely irrelevant. Punters don't notice what gear you're using, or even care. A few might be aware of your guitar being somehow bigger than usual, but in general they can't tell the difference between a bass and a banjo at three paces. And they certainly don't understand which register you're playing in or where that powerful low sound is coming from. They don't differentiate between instruments - to them it's all one sound and that's how it should be.

Fixed it!

It’s interesting and got me smiling. If I do a show on bass then the whole audience will be watching me and would certainly notice if I wasn’t there, as I tend to play solo shows now 😁. To be totally honest I don’t think the average person really takes any notice of anyone in a band except for the singer or the drummer. I did the most bizarre gig about 7 years ago. I was booked to play a New Year’s Eve gig at a club in Leicester. I asked if it was a reading gig or did he want me to learn a set; his reply was a bit odd “neither just turn up”. Anyway I kept in touch with him, a week or so beforehand I asked if he wanted a rehearsal, to which he said no, don’t worry, this is the easiest gig you’ll ever have to do. Come the night I arrive and introduce myself, the drummer is setting up an electric kit, I unload my gear and set up. As we’re about to soundcheck he comes up and turns my volume right down, and signals me and the drummer to follow him backstage. There he let’s us into the secret. He usually plays as a duo with his wife using prerecorded tracks, the venue didn’t want that they wanted a band, we were just there to make up the numbers, essentially miming to the tracks. Nobody at all noticed.

General public don't notice nuance. They often are unaware of what it is makes them enjoy one band and not another. All the stuff we obsess over is a matter of extreme indifference to your average punter. I ran a live music venue for years and the bands which didn't quite work were invariably those with a substandard drummer. The crowd knew they didn't like what they heard but couldn't tell you why. The bands where drummer and bassist were super tight went down a storm. Don't expect Joe P to give a hoot about your rig (unless it's enormous and has flashing lights) but get into the groove with the monkey behind the kit and he or she will like your band.

I've been gigging pubs and such like for more than 30 years now and in my opinion the average pub band audience just want to dance and sing along. That's it. You'll get the odd muso and other bassists paying more attention than Sharon and Dave as they drunkenly sing and dance along, but other than that the punters see the band as a live disco and couldn't care less about your gear, your sound or anything else that we obsess about on Basschat. They just want to hear something that they know and enjoy themselves in their own way - which usually means tripping over the monitors while emptying half a pint of beer over themselves or whichever member of the band they are trying to request a song from.

IMO audiences want the bassist (or any other member of the band) to look as though they belong in the band. That means being dressed appropriately, having the correct instrument for the band image, and presenting themselves on stage in a way that fits in with the overall band performance. Other than that unless you are horrendously out of tune or out of time they really don't care.

Well, this is all very well, but where's the rest of his kit ?

Hello again... how are you doing ? Just being nosey really. I joined BC back in 2012, but it's been a while - back end of 2017 I believe? post upgrade. Catching up on one or two favorite threads - effects and gear p*rn - and reading some new ones, which made my laugh ! and some old - really old threads, from 2008 ! Old but Gold. The age of ideological austerity caught up with me a few years' ago, so not much new Bass-related gear (and I really do mean that); just a few essentials. Anyway, I'm feeling my age (I'm 46) so don't expect me to play any games with you over the park, because it will take me at least three days' to recover...... Mines a pint of Landlord please - jeez the service in 'ere is shocking! Cheers,

In my first post someone mentioned you all like to see pics of gear...so here is my very first bass and amp (at age 51). Yamaha RBX170Y and Ampeg BA108V2...both new for a total of $220! If you didn't read my first post, here's a quick summary: I've tried the six string electric three times throughout my life with the longest stint being about two months. It just never felt right....everything felt so mechanical. I bought another six string (4th time is the charm right) last Thursday...haven't taken it out of the box. While at the grand opening of the store I was listening to about ten people playing six strings all at the same time and it was so painful to my ears. But off to the side there were two gentlemen playing the bass by feel (it seemed to me anyway) and just feeding off each other. At that moment I realized that was what was missing every time I tried the six string....it felt so mechanical....I've been wanting an instrument that was more about feel! Two days later I picked up the RBX170Y for $130 and the day after that the BA108V2 for $90!! The question I have before I move on to my second day of playing is: where is the best place to have my right thumb while I'm plucking the strings? I see some rest it on the upper edge of a pickup, others on the E string, and others allow it to move up and down along the strings depending on which string they're plucking. I want to start out doing it the "best" way so I don't learn a bad habit that will eventually have to break. So, which of those places is best for my right thumb placement? Today I watched a beginner video that showed resting it on the E string. This felt pretty natural for me (with 2 finger plucking) but I did feel like I was pushing down on the E string slightly. I did a quick try resting my thumb on the top edge of the split pick up and also on the bridge pickup...it seemed to work fine but didn't feel as natural as resting on the E string and plucking the area right between the neck and bridge pickup. One last newbie question: is it tough to tune the E string? Both of my tuner amps had a hard time picking it up. I'm try my Korg TM-60 tuner tomorrow to see if it will pick it up easier. Although I would like to know about right thumb placement, the main reason for the post is that I wanted to make sure I said thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to my first post! Your help was instrumental (bad pun intended) in making sure I got the best newbie bass and amp I could afford!!! You can't believe how excited I am to start this bass learning journey! TripleB67

Just my take on it - I think there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with streaming music replacing previous formats, but the money aspect has to change. The current model that’s in place has worked well as an alternative to torrenting, but it has completely fkd up how much financial value the world places on music. If the current system continues, music culture will completely disappear, and we will be left with a nice library of 20th century music and very little else of any genuine cultural value. Musicians, like anyone else, have to be able to make a living from what they do in order to dedicate time to creating meaningful things. Without that, it’s always going to be a part-time occupation for those who don’t want to follow the clickbait model. Currently we have nothing but clickbait garbage driving the ‘industry’ forward, and that’s not good. So for me streaming is good, but the Spotify model is shïte. And btw I have a paid subscription to Spotify because it has most of the great jazz records within easy reach, but I would never use it to find new music, soundcloud and bandcamp are better platforms for that.

You'd better believe it. That's why "taking the knee" is so important and why the Right are so keen to misrepresent it's purpose. The Centre for Civil and Human Rights Museum in Atlanta, documenting the Civil Rights struggle, will bring tears to your eyes but when you meet this attitude face to face it is truly shocking. On the same tour, in the early 70's, in our German hotels we met several ex-Nazis. One in particular still sends shivers down my spine. Civilisation is a very thin veneer. No matter what happens in your life, always, always, always be grateful you live in the UK. . . . and now back to our regular programming.

Hi All I thought I'd do a thread about an (almost) completely Tru-oil finished guitar. I've gone through lots of different finishing options that aren't nitro - waterbased, oils, wax varnishes etc, with varying degrees of success. This one though, is definitely a success, and it;s also one you can do with absolutely no equipment, other than a bottle of tru oil, some sandpaper and opposing thumbs....I know there are lots of builders who can't spray for whatever reason (neighbours, the spouse, exploding extraction etc) so I think in the right circumstances Tru oil is a good option. I should point out that much of my success with using Tru oil comes from our very own @Andyjr1515 who was kind enough to share his knowledge and techniques with me. Mine are largely based on his. I thought I'd show you all a guitar I've just finished for a friend. He wanted a Springsteen inspired tele. Not a copy, just something in that ball park. So I made this.... The pictures in all honesty don't really do it justice. It's still at the workshop at the moment, but if I have time over the weekend I'll bring it home to take some shots in natural light, that's when the oil finish really comes alive. I'll go through the process in some detail, so bear with me......

As I say each time the subject of streaming comes up I'm amazed at how many people have apparently ditched their vinyl and CD collections in favour of something that mostly requires and internet connection and could quite easily be gone tomorrow. The important thing to remember is that NONE of the streaming services actually make any money. They are either loss leaders for the parent company's profitable divisions or being propped up by fickle investor confidence (and what will happen if that confidence should evaporate?) For me they are fine for checking out music provided that it was released in the last 10 years and is broadly US/UK centric. However none of the current services will ever replace my CDs and vinyl because there is far too many artists and albums that I consider essential listening, missing.

After every gig I crowd-surf off the stage over the adoring bass-loving fans, then get cornered for half an hour to sign autographs and do selfies, then I'm invariably dragged off by a bunch of bass-loving groupies for a champagne fueled after show party - what's the problem here!

Addicted...

Some interesting insights here. My thoughts are that any bass player who is concerned about being unappreciated, misunderstood or overlooked has possibly chosen the wrong instrument 😊

Well, he just didn’t know what he was talking about. Loser

How about a BC discount code

Well, with a passing nod to the Carl Thompson headstock style, this is broadly how it's going to look: I think that looks pretty The neck - at the moment, there is a fender-style brick wall at the heel - and multiple holes from two neck plates: So what I'm going to do is a bit radical. I will cut out the front 4 holes completely (shown hatched here): Then route the existing pocket further back to expose the end two holes and a bit more too (marked in pencil on the left here): Then carve a transition in the neck heel to the full depth at the join, with an extending 30mm 'tongue' containing set screw inserts: Leastways - that's the plan! The topwood that @eude arranged for Alan at ACG to send me is lovely: When I get a moment, I'll have a play around with a paper template. As is often the case, the interesting swirly bits would actually not end up on the build because that is where the waist of the body sits. I might turn out to be more pleasing using the back: Probably gives more figuring on the bits you will actually see. Anyway, we'll see. In the meantime, let's make some sawdust!

This thread is hilarious. We seem to have quite a high opinion of ourselves! I like to think I'm a good bass player, but as far as pub gigs go (I don't do many) I'm not expecting adulation from teeming hordes of admirers! You can even be in a successful band in which other band members don't understand what a good rhythm section is, or how it works! Truth be told, they do what they do well enough, but for whatever reason, they are just not that focussed!

You're missing the point - this isn't about name bands or famous bass players - the thread is about what punters want from a bass player at a typical pub gig. My view is they don't want anything, because they're not concerned about individual players, they see the band as a unit. If they see anything at all, that is. Edit: You'd have to be pretty good at yodelling if you wanted to sing along to a Mark King bassline...

Well, I sold the original floor Helix I owned because it was simply too large, and too expensive for my needs. I wasn't going to use a lot of it. Then I considered the HX effects. But, I held back. I have a boatload of effects pedals for guitar and bass, and I'm constantly changing what fuzz I use....and I also have a Boss ES-8 so I can use the midi side. For me, this is the perfect little box for guitar and bass. I don't have hugely complex signal chains....I just like having choice as to different sounds.... So, after sending back an expensive Gibson guitar, this is a relatively cheap addition to my gear. I've pre-ordered one....it ticks all the boxes! Basically, a high end version of the Zoom B3/G3 all in one box, with extra features and constant updates.

Still buzzing from Vulfpeck live last night - and yes, Joe was playing the new EBMM to within an inch of its life! Amazing band!

Depends if they invited him or not, really. Probably quite creepy if they didn't.

Comes with some autographed bass picks too, just like Geddy doesn’t use...

Mismatched and disastrous gigs? I've done a few. We were a Chicago blues band and the brides father booked us for his daughters wedding. Apparently he thought we were great! We spent the night playing in an empty room and they all stood chatting in the car park. We played in the Ladbroke, a pub now long gone, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday and brawls just like in a John Wayne western would regularly break out! We were so surprised and shocked at the first punch up we stopped playing. The landlord rushed up shouting, "Keep playing or they'll turn on you!" We played right through without stopping after that. We were playing in the Officers club on a US Air Base in Germany in 1971 and a Captain got up to sing with the band. He was great. The best voice I've heard but we were fired on the spot. The other officers wouldn't accept him singing with our white girl singer. . . because he was black!! They complained to the club management and threatened us and our gear, ffs! We were playing the Windsor Castle, Harrow Road and the singer didn't show so the 3 of us decided to carry on. We played a few instrumentals, all sang (badly) and asked if anyone in the audience could sing. A guy in a suit got up and sang a version of Little Richard's Long Tall Sally in the style of Stanley Unwin (Google him). Then a girl got up and offered to do a strip to Green Onions. Well we thought she was a she! He was actually going through gender reassignment and while he had real boobs added still had the meat and 2 veg. That was a very enlightening 10 mins and the moment when he/she whipped off her knickers has stayed with me for the last 40 years.

Anyone hear me playing my first notes about an hour ago??? 🤣 I watched a few videos and haven't played anything except what was in this video, which was basically just learning how to pluck the strings, but I'm already having a blast!!!! I see some people resting their thumb on the top of the pick up, but for me it feels most comfortable resting it on the E string (which is a beast to tune, at least with my two tuner apps - I'll try my Korg 60 tuner in a little) right in between the split pickups and the bridge pickups...hopefully this isn't starting me with a bad habit? Ain't she a beaut? Well, probably not to you all veterans...but for a beginner who ended up putting about $220 into guitar and amp, she is gorgeous!!!! TripleB67

I was playing keyboard in a pop-reggae band a few years back (well, we thought we were reggae but really we were a rock band with a passing offbeat acquaintance) and one of the doormen round town booked us to play at his nephew's christening. He wasn't offering much but he was a nice lad and we already owed him a few favours for 'well-timed assistance' around town, so we hop in the van and troll down to Brum for a play. We rock up outside this old community hall about 6PM to meet Mustafa, and after a minute he comes out dressed in this incredible full-length black and red leather robe, which makes him look like something out of Star Wars. That was Red Flag No 1. Red Flag No 2 was the polyrhythmic music playing at punishing volume inside the hall. We go inside only to find ourselves walking into the middle of a traditional Ghanian christening ceremony (or whatever the equivalent is) and that was the point where we instantly realise we are not going to go down well. We're sat down over at the back of the room with the other men and given a plate of rice that nearly takes my head off (our singer causes a minor scandal by sitting with us instead of the women, but I think we got tagged with the 'musician' exemption) and Staf introduces us to approximately 350 members of his extended family, who are all absolutely lovely and just as totally baffled as to why we're there. The ladies are all sat in circle of chairs in the middle of the room with the kid in the middle, the men are sat around the edges, and the actual ceremony is being conducted by two MCs, one man and one woman, who will quickly become MC Tall and MC Short respectively. They're taking it in turns to shout through a PA turned up so loud it's become a fuzzbox; there is a second PA playing music at a volume where my eyeballs are vibrating; I do not recognise a single tune all evening. Every few minutes MC Tall or Short will double up on the shouting tempo and the women all get up and pull huge wads of dollars out of their pocket, which they then throw at the kid. The ladies are all stunning with incredibly elaborate hairstyles and the men are wearing the same leather robes as Staf - this is clearly a big occasion and everyone is putting on their best 'look how much money we have' display, which explains the throwing of the dollars. We are under-dressed, hungover, and trying to make awkward chit-chat at the top of our voices. Eventually the ceremony is over and we set up on the community hall stage, planning to make this the shortest set of our lives. We have a quick argument about what to play, which ends with us scrapping everything from our set that isn't the reggae material. Our singer is already nervous after the men's section faux pas and we've not been able to understand a single word of the ceremony so far so we have NO IDEA what is happening. We're gamely vamping away at our best imitation of an authentic roots band but are keenly aware that our material is aimed at a spot several thousand miles and a different hemisphere away from what the crowd is expecting, and it's just dropping into the abyss of stares. The crowd is polite but clearly expecting something which is not happening. Second song in and we're contemplating dropping the rest of the set and legging it. Singer is visibly wilting under the stares of an entire flock of matriachs perched to stage right; I'm getting extremely interested in the top of the keyboard, which I have never examined so closely before. My nose is scraping the flat keys at points. Suddenly MC Short is on stage with us and grabbing the mic off the singer. What fresh hell is this??? We're expecting to be cut off unceremoniously, but instead she starts shouting at the crowd with a variation on her earlier theme. This lady is about 60 and barely four feet tall, but she can shout for God and with the backup of the PA she is reaching pitches that are melting my fillings. Every dog in a twenty mile radius is starting to howl. At her instigation, the entire front row of (stunning) women gets up as a unit to start throwing dollars at us - I'm beginning to have some very complicated feelings indeed. After she feels the crowd are sufficiently harangued we get the mic back and play another few songs which are met with respectful applause if not much actual interest, so we take the hint and finish up. We've picked up about 600 dollars in ones and have to carry them in a basket along with our gear. As soon as we finish the party is back on and everyone is off their chairs and dancing; hundreds of kids have appeared out of nowhere to do the old church hall skidding dance which apparently transcends culture! Huge baskets of homemade fried fish and curried rices have started appearing round the edges of the hall and we eat as much as we can physically carry back to the table. It's all delicious but so hot my hair starts curling and I spontaneously develop sunburn, which the kids all find hilarious. Staf is crazily happy that we played as he seems to think we are megastars rather than the chancers we are, and we're just happy to have been asked to do it so we decline our fee and take petrol money instead, reasoning that the story will likely pay for itself in beer over the years. We donate the dollars to the kiddo as a gift because we're all fairly drunk on Star Beer at this point and getting them changed seems like hassle. Some of the stunning girls from earlier are starting to give us the eye but my daddy taught me never to hit on a girl when A) you're at someone else's family occasion and B) her daddy is roughly the size of a car, in the room, and giving you the death glare, so prudence becomes the better part of valour and we make a swift exit. In reality it wasn't actually that desperate considering we were playing to an audience who had absolutely no interest in what we were doing, but it was hell of a night at the time. Don't think I've ever felt so out of place before or since. The food sure beat the hell out of my family dos though! I'd do it all again just for another crack at that buffet, even if my fragile little English stomach meant I spent three hours glued to the toilet next morning...

When you say 'sitting beside the guitar' do you mean tuning via the tuner's microphone and not plugged in with a lead? If so, then the clip-on tuner will be more effective. But the 'use the harmonic' advice is good.

I'll just leave this here... 🙈

And check the insurance is for musical instruments. In most cases it isn’t...

Scales like those can be incredible inaccurate and difficult to get the right weight. The easiest way to weigh you bass is to get a set of bathroom scales. Weigh yourself holding the bass then weigh yourself on your own. The difference is the bass You may or may not get a shock at how much you actually weigh rather than the weight of the bass 😀

On a gig, I was chatting to the drummer, who is also a bass player, about the differences I was finding between my P and J basses and he said "Well, I can't hear much difference between them. You're making them sound pretty much the same!" I've checked back over various live recordings and unfortunately, he's right! I'm not sure I wanted to hear that. How was I hearing myself so wrong. Made me wonder if I knew anything about my sound at all?

But what are top quality strings? If there is a best string then we'd all be using them and the rest would go out of business. I've got a set of barely used LaBella white nylons in the drawer at home because I prefer D'Addario half rounds, but at nearly half the price are they half as good? No, they're better to me. So which of these two are the top quality?

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I am nursing a semi.... been going round in my head, how many blocks do I use... my HX has ample with 9, with just fx. This has 6, including amps/cabs is not much but it should be enough for most situations, especially if you like me also use seperate pedals. But my HX is going nowhere, besides the form factor I do not need amp/cab sims and I like the fact my HX controles my entire board. But as a standalone mini gigging solution.... yum.

Hey watch it.........Dave's have feelings too you know. Dave 👍

In my experience (playing pub rock mainly), 85% of punters have no idea what the bass does, 14% are aware but not bothered and 1% appreciate and understand that you don't get a good band with a bad bassist or rhythm section. My anecdote about this; Playing a crowded and lively pub, one of the punters was heckling and wise-cracking constantly. At one point he shouted out 'What's the bassist there for anyway?' So, I replied 'I'll tell you what mate, I'll drop out during the next song and you'll find out'. So, half way through She Sells Sanctuary, I dropped out and the others carried on to the end. It sounded crap, as you'd expect and got the crowd reation we expected. Then the singer asks 'Do you want bass in the next song then?' which got a big cheer. He then says 'Well, you better start being nice to him you muppet' pointing at the original heckler, which got a big laugh. Occasionally you'll get a punter come up and say ' Great stuff mate, people have no idea what you do but there are a few of us who do' which is nice.

Sounds brilliant guys - wish I'd been there. Isnt it excellent to have a band as accomplished as this playing music that really makes you smile - and with an excellent bass player. Can't beat it.

I'm a bit of a Spector obsessive, as @Bassulike66 and @cetera know! I don't have any at the moment but have owned 16 over the years. Like Rickenbackers, they are an itch I sometimes just have to scratch, so I'm sure I'll own another one soon! My favourites have been the NS2000 model. I actually prefer them over the Euro. Seller's remorse, right there.

In a reggae band it’s different the bass player and drummer are the main people 😀

There is NO bass guitar on the original recording.

If people notice what I'm doing on my gig I've failed. My job is to provide a pillow for the band leader to lay on. I need to fill gaps he leaves, make him sound great and control the interaction the audience have with him. If they catch me doing it the curtain has been pulled back and that's no good.

Um, do you mean Steve Harris? 😮 Edit: referring to MacDaddy's post.

Thumb on the pickup is fine, either P or J ... but remember also that you can alter tone and attack by moving right hand nearer to neck or to bridge. Playing over the end of the fretboard feels and sounds different to anchoring on the J pickup near the bridge. On the P is somewhere in the middle. Different songs, different sections of songs, might call for a different approach. But whatever works for you.

Bob Seger sending me DMs on Twitter!

Here are some pictures of my refinished USA Musicman sub. The only critic of these basses is the rather industrial factory finish. And the terrible scratch plate. I had already taken the painted finish off the rear of the neck and applied a linseed oil and final tru oil satin finish. And I bought a used scratch plate Thankfully I have full use of my cousins car body garage, with a proper oven spray booth . I did the initial sanding, which I fully stripped off. And very kindly he did the final spraying. He has a colour mixing thing that has thousands of colours available. I choose a suitable red, I didn't want to go too fancy, flake finishes and candy colours are available but not my thing. Just to point out the red is darker than in most of the pictures. With original industrial body finish. The new plate and oiled neck already made a big improvement. Mid stripping of the finish. Was very tough on the front. I had to use an 80 grit on the dual action sander. Even then it wasn't easy going. The sides and back were not as bad. The front would of been extremely difficult by hand. After first coat of primer. It got two coats in all then sanded to level it. Just after painting. And here it is all built and set up. I think it looks really good. It plays excellently, while the paint was hardening I levelled the frets, recrowned and polished them like a mirror. Middle up close picture, is a true representation of the colour. The finish I asked to kept as thin as possible, but still being resistant and getting a good colour. The tone has changed very slightly, and i swear to me the strings move subtly more (I re used the same strings and same exact setup specs). I don't know if it was the refinish as it was very thick originally and now much thinner. Or the fret job, because I often notice with both mine and customers instruments, that sometimes a good fret job can make an instrument not only play and feel better but they seem to sound subtly better. Next up is to lacquer the headstock. Like they do on the "full fat" ones. I almost was going to refinish and colour code the headstock and apply a decal, but wanted to keep some originality. Even though it says sub bass, which those not in the know might confuse with the Sterling brand china/Indonesia made ones. I'm very happy!