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Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/10/18 in all areas
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Sounds to me like the singer has flipped cos' he's the one who gets the gigs and he has to check with everyone before he takes them and when he takes a chance people come back and say they can't do it. (apologies if I've read the scenario wrong) I'm with him on this. Get an online diary and yourselves out.5 points
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That was my assumption too.. Therefore my advice is to consult the Bass player and follow his guidance - singers and guitarists get too caught up in diva tantrums to make rationale decisions 😉😉😉5 points
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I'd just punch him in the mouth and see how well he sings after that. Although to be fair I'm not in a "professionl" band. (No idea why)5 points
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It's detailed elsewhere, but I started a band about eight years ago, we bought in a singer three years ago who pretty much took over and now that band is out there gigging without an original member still (I understand) playing material I wrote. Life's too short. Just leave. A band with a toxic environment is not a band to be in.5 points
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In all fairness everything she says applies to 99% of young players who are trying to learn to play. The advice she gives is for kids getting into rock bands, not 56 year old Level 42 fans who have been playing furious slap bass since the early 80s. It’s all about context. If your teenage kid was trying to get into a band with his mates for the first time, you’d probably give them similar advice: Keep it simple, focus on the root, don’t try to show off until you’ve nailed the basics. It’s pretty good advice actually. I say this as someone who plays jazz and spends most of his time avoiding root notes whilst noodling as far above the 12th fret as I can get. Her advice is not for me, or for experienced bass geek types in general, but it’s still good advice.4 points
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Def, in the 5 years we`ve been together I`ve got one gig, the drummers got one gig, and the focused singer has got the other 200+. His hard work relies on us to be swift at advising if we`re available as another band may get the offer if we`re not.4 points
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Especially for BreadBin & TheGreek...4 points
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Okay so I’ve got 6 Basses that I’m ideally looking to reduce to 3 L-R Modulus Flea 1997 Flea logo first year of production sought after non truss rod in the Purple Sparkle... Lakers sticker just peel off and I have original scratch plate. In the interest of disclosure the neck has some issues, there is very little relief in the neck which means the bass will not set up with a low action, in order to try and resolve this the frets have been dressed down very low from the 5th to the 12th fret. The board has be caught in a couple of places (not that noticable visually but I just want to be honest) The original LP pickup has been replaced with another non branded pickup..... bass sounds great and plays okay with a high action. £1000 SOLD Musicman Stingray Natural / Maple 3 band... absolute stonker !! £800 SOLD Fender Jazz 1962 last of the slab boards pre CBS goodness £6000 (not a bass I want to part with but it pays a tax bill I have coming) Custom Build Jazz made for my 40th Birthday in 2010 incredible spec £1000 Musicman Stingray Pre EB again not a priority to sell but available at £1750 THE most resonant bass I’ve ever heard !! SOLD Musicman Stingray 2 Band with Status Graphite neck OMG what a bass !! £1000 So £11k is a discount for the full lot but some negotiation is possible if you want to buy them all. Obviously more details and pics available on request the pics attached are just a few I have on my phone for now... clearly I’m not expecting to sell a pre CBS Jazz at £6k on the basis of these pics !! sorry but I have to say no trades as I’m looking to sell all or thin the herd as they say.....3 points -
Wow, what a fantastic wealth of replies! This is why I prefer bass players to guitarists (like me); you are so much nicer! Also, I love bass and am really enjoying it, so much to learn and this is where to learn. Some great responses to my original post, some entertaining, some a little close for comfort, some shot me down and some really good advice; especially as you only got my side of an incomplete picture. Thank you all so much, you were a great help. The meeting was an unexpected success, the singer held his hand up and said “I’ve been an derrière and thrown my toys out of the cot, I’m sorry”. We have started a set of band rules/expectations, the existing band diary is to be reinvigorated and handed over to me, a gig finders fee has been introduced, a deps-Black-book will be started. We all realise what we’ve got and we want to keep it. A plan of action has been created and there is a willingness to meet more regularly without instruments. We have been surprisingly mature for a bunch of musicians.3 points
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Like this...3 points
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You can do the same on a fretless bass, I mean always playing in perfect tune. Alain Caron can play chords perfectly in tune on fretless. I've seen him playing the chords of the tune while Mike Stern was soloing (it was the classical trio without any keyboard player). It's all about accuracy and hearing. When you play chords on a fretless, you can easily hear if they are in tune or not. Well, sorry to say it, but I can. And I also play opened strings and in the upper register (private joke).3 points
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yeah, sit down, properly clear the air on all sides (so, tell him you think he's acting like a c#nt - I haven't copy written that phrase so you can have it for free), remind him of the practicalities about gigs and comms and other people's lives that he seems to have forgotten when it doesn't suit him to remember, and discuss the issue around song choices not being solely down to him. I had very similar issues from one guitarist in an old band (he was always right, we were always wrong, he only ever did what he wanted and expected us to be grateful for it) and it resulted in the band splitting up because most of us couldn't stand to be around him any more. I think that if we'd actually sat down and pointed out what a spoiled tw~t he was to his face much earlier instead of moaning about him behind his back and then politely under-selling the complaints to his face (never once worked) then I think it could have been solved before we got to that point. And you have nothing to lose. If he maintains his right to act like a c#nt then your decision to fire him or quit the band should be fairly simple. One big tip - have a word with the rest of the band ahead of the meeting. Find out where they all stand, so you know which side they're on if it comes down to picking him or you.3 points
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3 points
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My band is coming up to its tenth anniversary with the original members. By far the most important part of getting to ten years has been managing each other. We've had plenty of bust ups and crises but we share a common goal and know it's worth it in the end. Stick at it and do your best to sort it out. A good band is a great part of life. Think of it like a marriage with multiple spouses!3 points
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With a band as good as you indicate I think a frank band discussion to set some boundaries/ground rules would be my first port of call. It sounds like the singer needs to be reminded that he isn't the band and you guys are not there purely to service him (ooer). Peoples expectations and commitment/availability change over time, has this been factored into the new dynamic - is the singer firing on 'all thrusters' and wanting to push the band beyond the original remit and the rest of you can't keep up......just playing devils advocate?3 points
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'69 P-Bass, Glock B. A. C., two 1x12" custom Sieben Audio cabs w/ EV M12L. unfortunately this rig doesn't get much workout these days since I do 90% of my gigs with in-ear monitoring.3 points
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@Grangur deserves big thanks for his efforts I'm really looking forward to trying this out, I'll try and get some video.2 points
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The differences in tuning are so slight between a standard fretted instrument and one with true temperament frets that unless you can guarantee you are fretting each and every note that you play without stretching the string any more than required for it to be properly stopped by the fret and only moving it in a perfect downward direction with respect to the fingerboard then you are going to negate the compensation offered by the true temperament frets. There are problems when you try and bend strings. You are also tied in to a limited range for type and gauges of string. Also if any of the chords played are created by pressing down the same string on two different frets (such as a standard barre chord on the guitar) then the extra stretching of the string will negate the composition of true temperament frets. True, a standard fretted instrument in a very slight compromise in tuning, but the true temperament fretted instrument is just as compromised. The compromises are different, that is all.2 points
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My "dislike" of Fender is heavily influenced from an experience in GigGear Harlow some years ago. They had a genuine Fender and a Squier, to the untrained eye, the same bass. Both natural finish four strings. I played both.. The Squier was actually superior in fit and finish, the neck joint on the Squier was tight, a very good fit - you would have been pushed to fit a cigarette paper. The "real" Fender, on the other hand suffered from a poor fitting neck with a gap of "several" mm. Frets on the Squier were well finished, the Fender less so. What shocked me was that the difference in price was over £1k, and in effect you were paying extra for the "less well built" item. BC Members' often quote how their current J or P is "the best XXX I've ever played"...I can believe this. The build quality on Fenders has been erratic over the years - my memories of 70s Fenders leave me shuddering...misaligned bridges/pick ups, poorly finished and fitted necks and frets...in fact you couldn't rely on any of the parts to be correctly installed. Fender's reputation suffered because of the genuinely poor build quality. This left the door open for other, smaller companies to elbow their way into the Bass market. As market leaders, Fender should never have done this. If they had kept their eye on the ball we wouldn't have Overwater, Sei, Sadowsky, et al....From our point of view, their poor performance is our blessing.2 points
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More pictures of the bass2 points -
I'm from Etalle ! That sounds terrific, no ? 😱2 points
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Oh well in for a penny....... I think the average punter who is not that into music nor a musician doesn't know what bass is let alone be concerned by it in anyway. We musicians really are a little bit up ourselves........aren't we?2 points
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I'm from Essex ! Did you hear that ?2 points
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Ooh a ‘New York’ bass player no less! We are not worthy! Just opinion dressed up as fact imo. How do you know when an American is from New York? They’ll tell you!2 points
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On the rare occasion i had meetings all day and could only answer emails or txt messages during lunch breaks i found that i had too many from the morning to get thru them all. Same with txt messages and when i am at work i had a strict work ethic that work issues took priority over personal issues unless an urgent family issue. A lot of times we had working lunch breaks which ruled out using your phone. Not every place of employment allows people the time to check all their messages and as someone said some places like schools don't allow them because of the camera. However i would always answer calls at night when i got home or if important just before i left the office or as i got in my car. (obviously the engine would be off and key out the ignition ) I have sympathy for people that can't access their phones during the day and i allow for that but 4 days is a bit much. Dave2 points
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May also explain why I struggle on my Soprano sax...that's going to be my excuse for the future anyway.2 points
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Best suggestion, take all your strings off the bass, record Victor wooten and just press play. Like DJs do nowadays2 points
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i wouldn't be in a band where i couldn't book gigs because people wouldn't get back to me. T I get that you have a busy job and cant be seen tbe using your phone in front of the students, but IMO there is no way a band can really function if someone cant take 30 seconds out of their day to respond to a possible gig date. I cant see how a short text is not possible during the day. You must have toilet breaks/lunch breaks etc. Im not taking sides with anyone, just pointing out that the above can make it very hard for someone who wants to book gigs and i can understand his frustration.2 points
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I would think a bassist in a jazz trio would be noticed and understood more than a bass guitarist in a rock band. Blue2 points
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The bass has left my gaff and is now in the hands of @timhiggins for at least a couple of hours, until he delivers to @Grangur who is taking it on to the west country Great to meet Bass Chatter Tim today, a very fine chap.2 points
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I'd be tempted to sacrifice the DFA switch and replace it with another OFF switch, just in case.2 points
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@K_J PS: Opinion may vary about the tonal qualities of exotic woods vs standard woods but some exotics have the advantage of looking more interesting. This might be a factor when the bass is being assessed by whoever's judging your efforts. Also, a simple coat of oil over a nice wood is considerably easier and less time consuming than spray finishing some uninteresting ash or alder in an attempt to vibe it up a bit. So it's swings and roundabouts, really...2 points
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Lots of good comments and advice here. Only thing I would add is that (certainly from my point of view) it really isn't always possible to send texts when you're going about your daily work / business / life. I drive a fair bit, and only check my phone for tests when I stop for instance. Also many jobs do not make it easy to constantly be monitoring your phone for calls / texts. I check my phone as often as I can to ensure nothing has been missed, and (to my knowledge) nobody has died yet as a result of me not answering immediately 😄2 points
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This problem sounds familiar. The crucial question is: what does everybody want from this? This is always a dangerm because everybody joins these startups with a vague agreement that they'd like to make a success of the project. The trouble is, they never get round to discussing specifics. This is not a failing on anybody's part: it's just that most people don't necessarily come into things with the well-prescribed idea that they want a given band to be, e.g., "the most popular early-krautrock covers band in Daventry, playing no fewer than eight nights a week, and ideally earning £7,000 per show." I can only speculate. It may be that the singer enjoyed those gigs so much, he now thinks this band could put itself in a position to become his primary source of income; if the bassist has a family and a new job, then he may have other ideas. It may even be that they all want to make it their primary concern, but they all have different thresholds for being prepared to leave their jobs and dedicate themselves to it full-time (I speak from experience, this does happen). Find out want everyone wants out of this project. Let them be honest; don't let one member shoot down another for "not wanting it enough" (read: being pragmatic) or "holding us back from our dreams" (read: my ego must be massaged). It should become clearer what needs to happen. Hopefully you can compromise, and the band won't need to start shedding members, but it's better to get this straightened out before things can properly boil over.2 points
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Yes, it`s all very well being a democracy, but that can swiftly turn to an idiocy. Someone has to lead, fact of life, and it`s then up to both those who choose whether to follow or not, and the leader as to whether they want those people following them. An army marches to the pace of its slowest member. If the slowest member is impeding progress for whatever reasons there are then 2 people who need to make a decision.2 points
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Remind him its a BAND.2 points
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Happily, it isn't invented yet, coz: 1) I'm only mildly enthusiastic about those bands with five bass guitars and nothing else. 2) The BC mods would have to weed out 80% of your identical posts. They didn't sign up for that, ya know! 😉2 points
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Wormwood ?2 points
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Have a look at GUS Guitars. Simon Farmer makes a cedar laminate body and neck with a carbon fibre exo-skeleton. If it's good enough for Prince then it should do for the rest of us2 points
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I must admit that the bit about not being able to respond to any gig queries during the week doesn't bode well if you're meant to be in a gigging band. If i was a band leader and members repeatedly refused to confirm gig offers I'd start getting a reliable dep in instead, rather than risk my band getting a reputation for messing venues around. If you really can't do the gigs that's fair enough - life's demands do often get in the way - but you've got to let people know where they stand so they can plan around it.2 points
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Most people get a lunch-break, or finish work at some point throughout the day, at that point they can look at messages then, and similarly check calendars which are usually on the same device that receives the message. It`s what I have to do in general as I don`t get a signal in my work-place. I`d look at sorting band admin a bit quicker, yes it sounds like the guy is a bit over-bearing but typing three letters at a maximum (if asked available for a gig, Yes or No should suffice) and pressing the send key isn`t the biggest demand he could make, it may well calm him down no end to get timely responses.2 points
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Does it have a pout and flounce mode?2 points
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Well sir, for a few pounds more, my I present the DeluxeGuitarMachine ™ - boasting: not one; not two; but THREE off switches! For total peace of mind!2 points
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Fire him. Or quit. Life is too short to fill it with utter nobbers like that.2 points
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Yeah i guess most of us only hear about him being an awkward diva, but being nice at any time doesn't get in the tabloids.1 point
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There’s a bucket list bass in there...cracking collection mate... That purple flea... 😈💜1 point
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I was often in touch with the owner of Alligator amplification as I used his cabs for several years and visited the factory(ies). Thats def the Alligator logo but he wasn't kitted out for building basses. I know in his early days he was involved with bass guitar distribution!1 point
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The person has also previously sold a Dan Armstrong plexi Bass and an Ovation Magnum I amongst others. I had been in touch about both and she appeared genuine. Certainly knowledgeable about potential value rather than the actual instruments. That to me would suggest that the story is true however I take your point. At least it’s a change from found in ‘my Uncle’s loft’...1 point
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@BreadBin go for it man ! Need to go out of uk for a week so it would be almost impossible for me to have a go on this beauty1 point
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Welcome Psymoon.1 point
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