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Showing content with the highest reputation on 14/07/19 in all areas
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I can't be the only one, can I? Don't get me wrong, I love being in a band, hanging around with my mates making music, that's where the pleasure comes from for me. I know public performance is the pinnacle of being in a band for most people, but I'm just not feeling it. The way I feel at the minute, I honestly wouldn't care if I never played in public again Lugging gear around, trying to fit it all in the car. Spending the best part of an hour at the other end unloading it and setting everything up. Standing round like a spare part waiting to go on, then performing to a load of annoying, well lubricated people, who, in many cases aren't even interested. Only to have to break everything back down while the audience who haven't shown a bit of interest all night, start demanding "more". Then lug everything around back into the car, drive home, lug it around again into the house and finally get to relax about 3 hours after the people you've been "entertaining" have gone to bed. The only part I actually enjoy is if we get time for a couple of cheeky pints after the gig. Why do I do it?8 points
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Pretty early on I realised that the gig is the only reason I play bass. It's not why I picked up the instrument. After that first gig I was traumatised, but after the second gig I was hooked. The bigger the audience the bigger the buzz when you get it right. Trying to be a better musician and come together and excel as a band is the challenge and when you get it right there is no better feeling. When an audience is enjoying itself and you know that's because of you, it just brings a smile to your face. The journey, the idiots you meet, the miles you have to travel, unsocial hours, the years of practice, getting ripped off, cheated and treated badly by agents, managers, promoters and other band members etc. . . all fades away if you get those few hours on stage right.8 points
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Do you think I could copyright the fret? Everyone uses them so I suppose no one ever has, I could single handedly screw the whole music business over and become so popular everyone would want to buy my guitars!! 🤑 I know that isn't actually possible6 points
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There are many aspects that are a pain in the derrière, yes. But there were times during the last year when I wondered if I'd ever play again. Now thankfully I am, and I don't care how far the drive, how late the night, how tired the loadout -- I'm in two wonderful bands and loving every second of every gig, simply because I can.6 points
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Slowly, slowly but getting there....headstock shaping finished.5 points
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You almost managed to hide them 6 string twiddly things but we can still see them!!!!!!..............😁5 points
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And here's one of the few selfies that I have taken, this one done old school with a timer on a camera, not a phone.😊5 points
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I absolutely get that when it's something you've been doing for years, it's probably quite normal to become a bit jaded with it. But here's the weird thing. This is a new band and we've only just started gigging. We're maybe 6 gigs in (including one later today) and I hate it already. I haven't played in public (or much at all) since I was 16. I'm now 44. When I played in front of an audience in my teens I felt like a rock God! Now it's more slight apprehension beforehand, go through the motions during, and glad it's all over with in the end. Kind of how I suspect Mrs NFF feels about my conjugal visits.5 points
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5 points
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Sorry your title isn’t long enough please edit4 points -
Just took this, I think this may be the fourth time in my life I have taken a selfie.4 points
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I don’t really do it for the music. i love the loading, lifting, sweating, unloading, driving and small stages. oh, and give me some uneven stairs too, lots of them! 😀4 points
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It also helps if you gently flex the neck from the middle in the direction you want it to go to relieve strain on the nut4 points
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It worked out OK in the end, not perfect but a lot lot better, there was four of the things when I checked closely, this id what they looked like before the first dose of thinners but after cutting back along with my mini sanding block (an offcut from a nut ) I left them for most of the day to harden off and continued with other bits, fitting the hardware, making a nut setting the neck. I also fitted the Lull pickup, I have to admit to not opening the bag it was in until today and had a shock when I saw it, it was covered in some sort of thick stuff for want of an idea what it was. I can't imagine it was shipped from Mike's place like that, I assume it got there at the dealers. Thankfully it came off with white spirit At the end of the day I removed everything again and sorted out the repairs and reassembled it all again, soldered in the electrics and gave it a whirl, nice is what it was everything a T bird should be and more. I've still got a few jobs to do, the pickup isn't adjusting in height smoothly and I need to set the intonation and fine tune the bridge but that can wait for a week now for everything to settle down. I was surprised how little I needed to use the truss rod to get the relief low, the carbon rods give quite a bit of stiffness, I'm interested to see how it all is on the other ebony one as that has that super slim neck4 points
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Minimal soundcheck. In fact, just a line check. For about 5 songs, I struggled to get enough clear bass from my amplifier onstage, which was my monitor really. It was not my own amplifier, but an Ampeg PF-something and a 410... which should have been ok. Then, something tripped the mains where I was plugged in. My pedalboard went dark and so did my amplifier. It was the end of a song, so it finished without bass. Soundguy came to see what was wrong. Sorted it. Then I realised... I had been playing with my amplifier muted. No wonder any tweaks I made to the controls made no difference! I was just hearing whatever bass bounced back from the FOH! :D Good job I knew the songs well and could play them without hearing myself much... :D3 points
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JJ was a big influence on me, not so much in playing style (as he’s far too good) but in acknowledging that the bass can be in the forefront of the mix, and have a different sound to the regular bass sounds we’d heard up til then. We’re playing Rebellion in Blackpool in 3 weeks time and The Stranglers are one of the main bands, whether or not I get to meet JJ to say I’ve been on the same bill as The Stranglers is a big one for me (and for our drummer who is a big fan of them).3 points
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Yay! We may have differed over the years on our view on gear, although I suspect we've ended up a lot closer on that score, than either of us would care to admit - lol! But on this point I'm 110% with you, Chris. For me that feeling of being most 'alive' is when I'm playing bass to an appreciative audience with great band mates. ... and it certainly beats golf 😂3 points
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Same for me Chris, I can take or leave the rest of it but would find it difficult to give up gigging.3 points
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I love the gigs, it’s the band politics that are a pain, the ‘yeah we are 100% going to do this this and this, then come rehearsal time they haven’t learnt any of them but suggest some crap that doesn’t fit in at all but they happen to like, claiming it fits perfectly (last time it was a 70s funk disco song in a band that plays 80s-00s alternative/ rock). Yes that will fit well..........3 points
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It's when you build the next one, you remember the things you meant to do after the last one. "I must buy or make some more spool clamps" I NOW remember saying and remembered at the all-important dry-run (there are things you don't want to be messing around with - such as setting the clamp heights - when the glue is on and drying!) But it is quite close fitting so, rather than wait a few days for extras to arrive, I reverted to my previous compromise of using tape to keep the pressure on the in-between bits. Based on the additional squeeze-out, it's probably OK.3 points
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I like playing guitar or bass/double bass. I love playing with other musicians. I’m fortunate enough to play with some wonderful musicians. I’m fortunate enough to be asked to record with some wonderful artists. Most of the gigs I’m asked to do aren’t grotty pubs. Most of the gigs I play I’m driven to. I just don’t enjoy gigging. Playing in front of people, performing, never have done. I don’t think I’m less of a musician, or should have swapped guitar for golf clubs. The reason I started playing was because of the albums I listened to, not the bands I saw. I rarely went to gigs, still don’t. Some people just don’t enjoy gigging. It’s not a disease. 🙄🤪3 points
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Over the years we have reduced the amount of gear we take to gigs and always set up the same way. If it takes longer than 45mins to get in and 45 to get out then something is wrong. We all carry the gear in, amps go straight into place and guitarist and I set up PA and lights while drums are set up. One secret is to have multi-way extension leads of varying lengths laid out first thing and know how many sockets you need where. Nothing worse than everyone asking if they can use this socket or where can they plug in and trying to rearrange cable runs.3 points
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Got to agree with this - why should you have to? Or we could ask manufacturers to keep the rod adjuster at the heel so we have to take the neck off every time, strings are pretty loose then3 points
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I have to agree with most of the sentiment expressed by the OP. and have for years now avoided any musical scenarios where I might accidentaly find myself upon a stage seeking validation from strangers. This includes going to meet other musicians 'just for a jam' because one thing leads to another and, well... It amuses me, the reaction I get sometimes, when people find out I play an instrument but don't want to play for an audience. They range from a dog that's been shown a card trick, to shock and anger.3 points
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Definitely not alone. I reached that point about 6 years ago. Even the practicing became a chore so I chucked it all in. Wasn't a popular move among all my band and session compatriots but it had to be done. Now I make my own music and put it on YouTube and have another audience that aren't that interested 😄 Well there are nearly 300 people who are interested enough to have subscribed and that's great. Never looked back though.3 points
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One of me from a recent gig. Please forgive the lairy shorts, but it was well over 30 degrees.3 points
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I bought this one from Karl recently it’s a lovely bass however I’m too nervous to take it out as it’s near mint and as it’s a similar weight to my old faithful Precision at 4.3kgs I’ve decided to move it on quickly before I bond with it. To quote Karl it’s ‘Not one of the 1000's of '96 Fender 50th anniversary, this is a 50th Anniversary of the Precision bass model. Less than 500 made, apparently only 200 made it out of the USA, these do not come up often. They sold at about £1500 in 2001.’ Price is cash, no trades thanks, I won't be taking offers I'm afraid. Here’s a link to some discussion - https://www.talkbass.com/threads/fender-50th-anniversary-precision-bass.597217/page-4 I’m happy to post at your cost within the UK. It’s a beautiful bass, comes with certificate and documents, original tweed case, matching Fender tweed strap, truss rod tool, it’s probably the nicest, cleanest modern P bass I’ve played. This is a UK only sale. Thanks for looking.3 points -
Last week playing “No Cops @ Pride”... at Edinburgh Pride3 points
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Thought I'd share this experience in case someone else has the same problem - it might save you some hassle/cash. A while back my MXR M87 died. The level meter was still functioning but there was absolutely no sound coming from the pedal output. I did all the usual quick fixes (contact cleaner on jacks, replaced footswitch etc) but to no avail. After a bit of digging I discovered that the output op-amp in this pedal (TLC2262 in case you were wondering) has a maximum voltage of 16V. Obviously this would normally be OK in a pedal that runs at 9V, except that MXRs "Constant Headroom Technology" feature is essentially a charge pump circuit that doubles the pedal's internal voltage to 18V. It shouldn't take a genius to work out what therefore ensues if, like me, you're unlucky. I replaced the TLC2262 with an AD822 (which has a supply voltage of 18V) and my pedal now lives and breathes again. I believe MXR will fix pedals under warranty for a flat fee of £75, whereas replacing the blown chip cost me less than a tenner and a few minutes fiddling with a soldering iron (the TLC2262 and AD822 chips are both surface mount - soldering these can be tricky unless you're experienced in doing so). It appears that mine is not an isolated issue as a quick Google uncovers many such failures, so I figured I'd pass this info on in case any other BC members' M87s suffer the same fate. Please use or disregard this information as you see fit!2 points
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Here we have a great example of a Musicman Stingray . The bass is in mint condition with no dents or scratches. The bass comes with a hard case. Just had it set up and cleaned. I'm Located in Mid Wales but can meet around Junc 10a M6 or M4 corridor in South Wales.2 points -
I finally got round to looking at my planer thicknesser. It isn't an expensive £160 but still an expensive enough tool for a hobby. I've had it just over three years and it hasn't been used that much, just the stuff I've done on here. In my previous post I said it was playing up, what it wasn't doing was cutting square, which is kind of an issue!! You could see looking at the top that the drum wasn't parallel to the planning surface - one side had dropped for some reason. Customer service were no help (out of warranty / Chinese import so no-one here that could advise) so I ended up taking it to bits to look for the issue. After a while of undoing bolts I removed the bearing for the cutter. Utterly knackered. You could even see where the axle had been rubbing on the bearing bracket making the shaft drop by a couple of mm. I managed to remove the bearing it fell to pieces so ended up being removed by cutting it carefully with a Dremel. The good news is that Is a standard size and a new quality Japanese bearing is only about £5 and will be here in a couple of days. Hopefully, everything will go back together without leaving me with some spare bolts and I can get on with this project and some others!! I'll see how this goes but I have been looking at other planers. Unfortunately there is a big jump in price up to the next level of quality - about £800 which is a hell of a lot. Must have a really good dig down the back of the sofa...….2 points
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That raises more questions than it answers.2 points
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Playing whilst pished is one of life's great joys. DJ mixing too, start sober but get on it whilst you mix, it's hilarious.2 points
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Featuring my dad on bass2 points
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REM, Orange Crush. Too pished to record, so I pass...2 points
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Bassdirect at Warwick would be a good place to look.2 points
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Gibson would like to apologise for misleading people, and explain that by 'court action' they meant were offering the Dean management team free tickets to Wimbledon.2 points
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It's never to late to learn. Seriously, I do not get the Fear Of The Truss Rod... Don't apply brute force when things don't turn and you'll be ok. There's a few videos online that will show you the right way to adjust a neck. Lose the fear, and enjoy your bass even more2 points
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How strange NJ , I found this in the loft in an old bass case from 1977 and I was looking at it yesterday 🙂2 points
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Comparing the actual pa and back line to what is was years ago it’s a doddle nowadays. PA is lightweight gear/powered 2 x tops, 1 x sub, passive desk verses 2 x tops, 2 x large bass bins, power amps, crossover, desk. Personally my back line is Markbass verses a large stack of really heavy Trace Elliot stuff a few years ago.2 points
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I love it, and yeah, it’s why I play...always has been. The downsides can weigh a bit heavier now I’m older, but they can be addressed. While avoiding the drunks can be hit and miss (despite vetting bookings), with some thought (and expenditure), we’ve got the lugging down to very, very little (three trips to the car for the three of us and we’re done), so the heavy lifting’s gone, and we’re 30 mins to set up and soundcheck, and less to break it down and get it packed away. That helps a lot, especially on a three gig weekend like this one, followed by a 6am alarm for work tomorrow morning...2 points
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I'm in a quiet spot at the moment between bands. Touring with Stray kicks off in September, last gig with pub covers band was end of May I think - I have two deps in August. I thought I'd be crawling the walls by now but I'm absolutely not. Loving going to bed at a reasonable time on fridays and saturdays and not having a big chunk of my weekend taken up. Not missing mixing with steaming coked up drunks or trying to convince the best man's misses that we don't allow punters up to sing!! I'm really lucky to be stepping my game up soon and really looking forward to playing to people who are paying to see us and will hopefully treat us with some respect!2 points
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I sympathise... I gig a lot but there's been a couple of punter incidents in recent times that have really pi££ed me off. It's partly a UK thing. In France or Spain you get the feeling that it would be shameful for anyone to be seen to be drunk, incoherent or aggressive at a public event. Here... widely accepted, even laughed at. Cheap coke has made it miles worse. There's rarely any meaningful security. Being threatened with a bashing or being screamed at from 12 inches away really, really takes the edge off the joy of music for me.... Hey hey, rock'n'roll. It's all glamour.2 points
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That’s a little harsh. There are plenty of ‘retired’ musicians who don’t gig.2 points
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Yes, but so do 'bookend' headstock shapes - do Gibson care?2 points
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Depends why you picked up a bass in the first place. Maybe people should have played golf instead.2 points
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Yeah, this really sucks the big, hairy meatball. Plus, the landlords, etc who are impossible to get hold of outside of the gig itself for more bookings. On the night, they're all, "Yeah, really great, give me a call in week for some more dates," and then tumbleweed. However, I do like playing live, it just needs roadies and an agent.2 points
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Pretty much all of them apart from Rickenbacker.2 points
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My darling! I've simply found 'the one' after years of trying many, many, many basses. Tonally the most versatile Stingray i've ever owned, it's very light and looks proper bling in the lights!....yup best bass ever for me.2 points
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28 high res photos can be found here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aqs1wvM2VoRL5WyjtYZt0QgB5RQY?e=Qlo9um The time has come to part ways with my beloved StingRay. Bought new in 1995 with the entirety of that years student loan, I literally went hungry for this bass! Gigged regularly over the next few years, it was my pride and joy and I did my best to look after it. But while fame and fortune eluded me, the trials and tribulations of a regular life did not, so the StingRay was eventually side-lined, even more so in years to come when I developed a preference for Jazz basses. So here we are. As much as I would like to keep the StingRay for sentimental reasons, it’s a waste of a great bass. Finish is Transparent Teal. Weight is 4.1kg. Condition is very good for its age. There is some light buckle rash on the back which hasn’t gone through the lacquer, a small ding on the bottom near the strap pin, and some light scuffs and a small dent on the side below the control panel. These are barely noticeable and were very hard to show in the photos! The back of the neck is also a bit dirty looking from many many hours of use, and the pickup poles are a little rusty. The action is set low. Comes fitted with a rosewood scratchplate, and 2 plastic alternatives (the one with the reflective green circles on is the original). No new holes were drilled for either of the additional scratchplates. The knobs have been replaced by cool aluminium ones, but the electrics and pickup are untouched and original. I will include the original 4 knobs but one of them is tarnished beyond repair. The tuners are also quite dull looking but I imagine they would polish up fine if you wanted to. The bass sounds as it should with no crackles. Comes in an original hard case which is covered in scuffs but still closes firmly and securely. Price is £900 if you collect, or I can meet you within 30 minutes of Dundee, or you can send your carrier to collect (at your risk). I will reluctantly ship to any mainland UK address for an extra £50. Outwith the UK, I dunno, contact me and I’ll look into the cost with insurance. Will accept payment by bank transfer, PayPal, or cash, depending on the collection/delivery circumstances. Please don’t tempt me with trades! I have already bought a bass to replace this one!! Thanks,2 points
