Leaderboard

I'm wide awake and bored so I'll wade in with my thoughts: Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one? - I don't think you have to be a fan, but I would say it helps. If you're a fan, you will come pre-configured with a certain amount of knowledge of the material which should make things quicker to get rolling. So, not a necessity in my experience, but it's handy. How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed? - I think this very much depends on who you're tributing. If it's KISS, you're rather obliged to go 'all in', but if it's Eagles, who cares? Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig? - Again, I think it depends who you're tributing. It was difficult for me to know which 'character' I was supposed to be getting into as I was the bass player for a Bowie tribute. I had a Gail Ann Dorsey Stingray tribute hanging off me, but I'm not black or female, I don't wear skirts and she was playing a lot of material that was originally played by others. Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?) - Personally, it never was. It was always a challenge. We had a high turnover of not difficult, but not particularly easy songs in the catalogue which had various arrangements attached to them. With my other bands, it always kept me busy. Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’? - None. We played. People paid to see us. Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say? - Live, not to my knowledge. We were seen by some hardcore Bowie fans over the years and they're known for being hyper critical. They liked us. What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you? - You can't please all of them. There's always one or two that would say 'Bowie did' this or that on the original although we tried to remain faithful to specific versions of live versions of songs. Some had been adapted by Bowie over the years. Sometimes the key was different to the original (for good reason), the version was truncated/extended or segued. There were always the stick in the muds that lived and died by everything from the Ziggy era, but that's not where we pitched ourselves. We were very much, if Bowie was still touring, this is most likely what you would have got, not what he did 50 odd years ago. Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different? - Done it once (Bowie), done it twice (Bon Jovi) and I'm about to do it again (Queen). Three not massively different musical angles. It has to be music I like or I wouldn't have the appeal. I honestly cannot wait to start with Queen, although finding a keys player that can also sing good backing is proving problematic.

Ok, my two penny’s worth- Bass in Fu Fighters, FooVana and U.K. Chili Peppers over the years Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one? I would say 100% if you want to do it justice and enjoy yourself. Personally I wouldn’t play in any band if the music didn’t appeal. How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed? I used pretty much the exact same gear, including some of Nate’s actual gear including his Black Lakland Bass , Ashdown CTM and pedals. Also his signature Fender CAR P, although I had an original 69 and 72 CAR too. Looking like him was never an issue, couldn’t look less like him tbh. Being Flea I dressed in the skeleton suit and played a Modulus, jumped about and had an excellent time. Such a blast. Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig? Just gig, but lucky enough to play some absolute killer festivals in front of thousands of people, as close as I’ll ever get to rock stardom. Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?) Fulfilling as you can still put your own spin on things but it has to sound right, especially the Flea stuff, you just can’t wing that! Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’? Nope Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say? Yeah, met Chris Shiflett and he was super cool about it. Spent about 30 mins chatting and exchanged picks with him day after Belfast gig a few years ago. Such a cool dude. What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you? Play your heart out as the audience care that it’s right and right. Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different? If it fits with something I’d like to do then yeah.

They are! There were vegan burgers and wurst Last night was Weisbaden, great gig, although Steve collapsed early in their set. He seemed to get it together after 5 minutes to cool down but we were all worried. It's a pretty intense tour and I think at his age it's taking its toll. One more date in Prague tonight and then a long drive to Rotterdam tomorrow

Picked this up this morning, looking forward to giving it a run out at rehearsal on Tuesday. Will get the ABM500 sent off for repair sometime soon

Not so much "road worn" this one, as "barn worn" - a 1958 Gibson EB-2 I had from the US a good few years back (pre silly import duties....) that had allegedly been hanging up in a barn in one of the Southern States for around the previous 4 decades. No reason to doubt it, as even the strings seemed original. Finish checking /peeling is down to water damage, particularly on the rear, stabilised with a top coat of clear nitrocellulose. The fingerboard had to be reattached too.

Don't hold your breath; he's still busy trying to scrub the make-up off..!

Just gonna leave this here

Played a local pub last night depping with a covers band I used to play regularly in. Used my AVRI Jazz with QPs through my Veyron tube into my Schroeder 1212L. I’ve been experimenting using different mid frequency centres on the Veyron and finding that using the lowest (220 hz I think) cuts me through the mix the best. Bass dialled right back, plenty of mid and top to taste and I had a corking tone. We had a good crowd and played and went down well, and home by 1140pm Happy Daze!

Ok I think it is time I contributed my experiences using the Silverstone as I've been trying prototypes out during the development, watched the design process and listened to a lot of variants during the cab's evolution. So most of you will know that Stevie and I were involved in the Bass Chat DIY designs from the start. We've had some fairly intense 'discussions' through the process which I've thoroughly enjoyed even when it has got quite heated For the record I was quite interested in designing coloured/voiced cabs and Stevie was the proponent of FRFR. To be fair I think both of us were devil's advocates for each approach. Anyway on to the cab. First of all it looks great, really solidly made and the handles are not going to come off these cabs It's a deep graphite grey rather than black and the green front panel behind the black grille subtly marks it out as something just a little different. The cab is an easy carry for me, I'm 70 years old and a lightweight myself and I have no trouble carrying one of these in each hand. Not the lightest 12 I've ever lifted but an easy lift due to its two neo drivers. So coming on to the sound, I've had the usual history of cabs starting out with a Peavey 2x15 then a series of quite deliberately coloured cabs of my own design. I quite like a coloured cab, plug and play appeals to my lazy side. Asking me to test out an FRFR speaker was an interesting choice and an interesting experience for me. Recently though with my duo I've scrapped the backline and gone through the PA. Playing through the Silverstone is not like playing through a PA speaker on the floor. The PA speakers are designed to be up on stands and on the floor the bass is woolly and needs to be rolled back, up on stands you can get a great sound though. I've also compared the Silverstones with my RCF ART745's and the bass quality is cleaner. My suspicion is that injection moulded cabs just can't match a decently braced wooden cab but I guess that would need a bit more investigation. Plugging in the Silverstones don't sound hi-fi to my ears there's no extreme top end sparkle or overwarm bass and they don't sound soulless either (all accusations against FRFR generally) . What they do remind me of is the first time I heard what I'd recorded at a studio through the big monitors. Clean, lots of detail and definitely my bass and my strings. Swapping from my American Deluxe P bass to my Highway 1 J bass was interesting too. I tend to use the Jazz with my duo but find too much deep bass and too little punch compared to the P when I take it out with the full band somehow the mids are just a bit more present with my J using the Silverstone, the bass more controlled. It's not dramatic but definitely happening. You can hear the difference. At first band rehearsal I set up with my Warwick Gnome, it was comfortably loud enough even when the drummer went for it. Interestingly I set up the balance to my normal level and the band asked me to turn up. I wandered out front and they were right, the bass was well back in the mix even though everything was crystal clear back in front of the cab. I turned up until it sounded OK out front and the band were happy. Back by the speaker it was loud but to be fair not so loud I lost what the rest of the band were doing. I've had the same at gigs and other rehearsals and I've now had to adapt to having more bass guitar in my corner. I've readjusted to feeling my trousers moving but not being deafened. I've now gigged with the Silverstone a few times and it has changed my playing. First of all I've spent a lot of time on my sound, plugging in my BD121 brought my bass alive rather than just adding a subtle bloom with my older speakers. I've set up my Jazz bass much more carefully with a Hartke emulator (I miss my old HA3500) and a bit of compression which works well with the band. and at home I'm experimenting more with fx because now I can hear the changes it's just more rewarding to spend time on getting them right. When I'm playing live I'm just hearing more of what I'm doing so I'm self-correcting more. Paying more attention to note lengths/string damping and so on. Did I mention I'm a messy player The difference is in the mids, they are just cleaner, better off axis, no mid suck out and no upper mid peak. Balancing the upper and lower mids really works. There's no tizz from the tweeter either. You don't really notice it because it's nicely integrated with the bass driver, there's no point where you suddenly hear it jump out at you. The overall impression of this speaker is about cleanness and clarity. It makes you bass sound like a bass and hands you control. Because it isn't forcing its sound on you it frees you up to create the sound you want. Am I a convert to FRFR? Well I'd still be happy to play through an old Trace Combo and enjoy it for what it offers but if you had to have just one cab this might just be the one. It's the best FRFR cab so far and the big advantage is that it would be easier to make this sound like a Trace than the other way round.

I used to write for Guitar and Bass magazine (no longer published) and a feature idea I never got into print was about musicians who play in tribute bands. The kind of things I wanted to know: Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one? How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed? Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig? Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?) Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’? Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say? What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you? Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different? After initially being snobbish I have seen some great tributes, my favourites being ELO Experience (featuring @casapete), Limehouse Lizzy and Purple Zeppelin. Would be interested in people’s experiences…

Last night just by chance I noticed that a new documentary about Ron Carter was going to premiere on PBS and of course I had to check it out. Part of it was shot in 2017 and some from 2022 and it gives a very good picture of this amazing musician who has played on over 2200 recording sessions and at 85 is still touring and composing, he won his third Grammy this year. I don't know when/if/how it will be available outside North America but it is definitely worth watching, it's called Ron Carter: Finding the right notes and features comments from many of the great musicians he has played with and contemporary interviews with players and the man himself.

I spent 25 years(!) in a KISS tribute. Lots to say so will contribute when I have more time, in the week.

I'm currently the bassist in the UK's foremost/only Roxy Music tribute band, Roxy Magic. www.roxymagic.co.uk Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one? Having played the songs for a few years have made me appreciate the original band even more. Growing up in the seventies, Roxy Music were everywhere, so it was hard to ignore them. I was a fan, but I never thought to join/start a tribute band until the opportunity arose. It helps if you (at the very least) like the band - I'd imagine it would be hell on earth to play in a tribute to a band you actively loathe. How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed? As long as you don't take too many liberties and the "signature" parts of the song are kept intact, the punters don't seem to mind. However, if I hit the fuzz pedal for the intro to "Love is the Drug" it would signal the end of a long career. Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig? Fortunately, everyone is looking at our singer, who is practically a doppelganger of Mr Ferry. The band dress as if we're off to a wedding reception a la the current version of the real band. To be honest, we could dress like bricklayers and I don't think most of the punters would mind as long as the singer was in a nice suit. Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?) I'm really lucky as the musical palette of Roxy Music was so broad that it's challenging and fun to play. I get to play pop, prog, rock, disco and almost all points in between. And in terms of technique; fingerstyle, plectrum and slap. Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’? Nope. The "real" band are playing bigger venues and earning more money than we are. Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say? A few members of Roxy Music have seen the band since its inception - none while I've been in the band though (make of that what you will...) Andy Mackay really liked the band and Paul Thompson was quite keen to play a gig or two with us. Bryan Ferry wished us luck in a very gracious manner, too. What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you? It's taught me that people love live music and are grateful that they have the opportunity to enjoy it in a moderately sized venue for a sensible price. It's also taught me that most Roxy Music fans have no idea who played bass in Roxy Music. And that suits me fine. Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different? In a heartbeat, yep. As long as I like the band, the songs are fun to play and my fellow musicians are generally lovely human beings, then I'm happy. I can heartily recommend Absolute Bowie, Teenage Werewolves (a tribute to The Cramps and bizarrely, also Bauhaus) and We Are Not Devo. A good night is guaranteed for all.

A few things added up to made it attractive to me was when I was looking to update, enhance and rebuild my pedalboard (I do the bass-into-punk-guitar thing for my two piece drums/bass punk “trio”) when I costed all the pedals required to achieve, it soon approached Quad Cortex money. Plusses: have four independent instrument inputs (for sharing among others) plus two Mic Pres. Plus the looper (for laying down a background riff) is good and simple and replaced a Looper. Its also a very good USB C sound interface so I could sell off the UAD Arrow audio interface which made it pretty much a lot cheaper than the cost of a Quad Cortex in the footprint of a Macbook Air and very very light. Biggest plus is I don’t really gig with amps and cabs anymore; stereo DI/Outs means I go into the PA, all setlist levels ready, in go the mics, in goes the bass tune up in the pedal, no amp lugging. Amps @ home — a couple of lightweight cubes — still too heavy for me to want to pay extra luggage fees.

For a couple of years I was in an Eagles tribute band called 'The Long Road' as a result of our agent suggesting there was a market for that kind of thing. Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one? I wasn't. Our regular band was playing a few of their songs on rotation and I could take or leave them. I found that making the effort to learn the proper arrangements made me appreciate the music and musicians more, but I never became a fan. How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed? No amount of digital manipulation would have made us look like them, so we styled ourselves as an evening of 'music by the Eagles'. 😃 Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig? Given the above, I think an attempt to get into character would have been a disaster. At the time, my main bass was a Steinberg Spirit headless, which I thought wasn't in keeping with the 'spirit' (sorry) of the Eagles, so I borrowed an Epiphone EB0 and ended up using a Cort Jazz bass copy. The rest of the band continued with what they had, (which wasn't too out of place) and we didn't really try to look or act like a Southern Rock band. Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?) The Long Road was our side band. The regular band (The Insiderz - same line-up, different set list) continued in parallel. I personally found playing a set of Eagles songs limiting as it's not my cup of tea, and the bass lines weren't varying enough for me. I'm not the best singer, so backing vocals were a big challenge. The two bands together worked for me as each generated work for the other with re-bookings etc. Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’? No more than I have any covers band 'stifling' original music. We were playing agent-booked venues that wouldn't consider an original band, and no self respecting original music venue would have booked us. 😃 Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say? No. Thank goodness. I'm sure they would have been appalled and given their roots I'm sure we would have been run out of town on the end of ropes tied to horses. 🤣 What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you? 1: It's a lot of work to do it properly (our singer didn't put as much effort in as was required and it didn't last long). 2: Personally, it's too restrictive as I like playing a variety of song styles in a set. 3: Whether or not I like the act being tributed, I have the utmost respect for those of do put the effort in and do it well. 4: Most of the venues we played (South Wales clubs booked by an agent) didn't really want a whole night of one band's songs and we were often asked to add a few 'extra curricula' songs in the second half. I'm not sure that at our level a full tribute act is realistic. Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different? Good question. I guess I wouldn't count it out completely but it would depend on circumstances - mainly the people in the band with me. I think my preference would be to do a genre tribute rather than a band tribute, and only with band members who i know would commit to putting the effort in. I've just been told 'The Long Road' are gathering once again with the same singer and a bunch of new musicians. I was half expecting a phone call but it doesn't appeal to me and I'd say no.

Not so much a gig, but my first formal audition ever! I've been playing for 30+years but always in bands that I've either formed or joined as a mate of someone already in there - a kind of "yeah, he's ok" free pass. When I've depped, it's been through word of mouth. Last year I had an informal audition for a band I now play with but that was very much a friendly chat and a once through of a couple of songs. Last night I tried out for an established band getting back together after lockdown having lost their rhythm section to Covid. I was one of two bassists and two drummers, each pair with an hour to prove themselves. I've posted elsewhere that playing live doesn't make me particularly nervous, but last night the nerves made themselves known. Add to that not being able to find the rehearsal room (it was hidden inside a large warehouse) and having to ring one of the band for directions. But as with most things, it was fine once I'd set up and played the first song. The opposition and the other drummer didn't turn up so we had a two hour jam session (I'd learnt most of their set rather than just the five they said they try with me) and it felt good. And this morning, I got the nod that I'd made the grade. 😃

Mine😀

Following a break in rehearsals due to Messrs Drums, Rhythm Guitar, and Lead Guitar all going down with the 'Rona, our occasional tour of local village halls resumed last night. After a less than stellar rehearsal on Thursday, we were all a bit unsure how things would go, but it turned out to be possibly our best gig yet! Certainly sounded and felt like it from where I was stood, think our uncertainty sparked a useful degree of "What the heck, just go for it!" in everybody instead of the usual fretting about trying to get everything Just So. Only a couple of minor whoopsies, including Mr Drums throwing in an extra flourish in the intro to a number which doesn't have any such flourishes in it at all - fortunately everybody rode it out nicely while me and him exchanged "Oops, what was that all about then?" looks and tried not to laugh too much. Great response from the small but perfectly formed crowd, got paid more than we were expecting, and didn't get too wet loading in or out. One nice fella insisted on buying us all a drink afterwards (think he was a bit surprised at the request for four J2O's and a lemonade), while another nice fella told us (and his wife) that we were "Ten times better than [A N Other local band who seem to think they're God's Gift]" - reckon may just have to get some t-shirts printed up... 🤭 Roll on next Friday when the tour continues at another hall we've played at before, so hoping for another good crowd (as long as the hall in question have sorted out their finances and paid their electricity bill by then anyhow!) 😬

You're describing what nearly 20 years of playing experience has led me to discover for myself. I'm also a great believe in matching basses to amps (and speakers) for this reason. Ultimately all three components (bass, amp and speakers) are part of the recipe and we choose flavours that compliment and enhance. You described the amps in your OP in exactly the terms I expected after playing through them which was affirming.

Does Lee Sklar not live in the "real world"? I've seen/heard him play in many styles (but not "clangy metal", oddly enough). Metal players like Dingwalls because the long scale means the low end is clear (good for de-tuning), intonation is accurate due to the fretting and the pickups give even tone across a wide frequency range. That doesn't limit them to metal. I've tried one and I thought it was something of a Swiss army knife instrument, albeit a modern-sounding one.

Cut down a heavy duty cardboard box and cover with duct tape. It will be strong enough to act as a cab stand. Reinforcing the top would make it strong enough to act as cab stand and stool for yourself.

Wakefield's hardly the big city and I walked across it with a bass on my back in the early hours for 25 years. The last few of those with increasingly less confidence , and if you saw what Wakefield's become , you would too. That's why I moved to the sticks. Anyway - point is I think everywhere urban is getting increasingly less safe so I'd be very wary , possibly because age has made me less able to deck scrotes. One bit of fun. I had to go to Wakefield's CCTV offices once for work. Bloke sat there and looked me up and down then said ' Saturday nights , get out of a silver 4x4 on Peterson road , walk through the underpass with a guitar on your back , finish a bottle of brown ale at the top of the steps and drop the bottle in the bin end of George street ' Spot on. Even the brand of beer !

Also, to paraphrase Ian Faith - in the topsy-turvy world of London transport, have a good solid bass guitar with you is quite often .... useful.

Cheat Trick a tribute to... Cheap Trick Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one? A fan since about '79. Everyone in the tribute band either has as much passion for them as I do or knows most if not all of the important stuff. How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed? Visually we dress like them (various periods to choose from) and sound as alike as limitations allow (sorry but finding a vocalist who can carry it off perfectly is near impossible). I'm personally struggling with the whole 12 string bass thing but finding 'work around' ways to achieve the sound and look and the guitarist does own 2 or 5 neck guitars. Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig? Character all the way. Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?) Musically satisfying and stimulating and fulfills a need/desire I've not had from any other band in 45 years... if I could be in any band in the world during my life it would have been Cheap Trick. Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’? No. I can't write material as good as they did (or any other decent band) but why can't I enjoy the next best thing of playing those songs and giving fans the chance to hear the songs played live with as much passion as the original might. I leave writing to those that can. Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say? No. What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you? Discipline to learn the songs in detail. I've also never realised how much Tom Petersson influenced nuances of my own playing style. Oh and playing 12 string bass for 2 hours is a massive achievement. Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different? There's probably no other band who I admire (musically) as much as them and I think I'd get bored playing 90-120 minutes of another band's catalogue. http://www.cheattrick.co.uk/

Here's a 77 Ashtray, albeit on a lefty. This looks the same bar the screws

Long for extra sustain?

A good shout indeed. I certainly would. Carry it to my car and drive off 😂 (Or I’d be nice, @NancyJohnson is bigger than me)

... or for those on a budget ...

I prefer the long scale Landrover tone personally. 😃

That looks organic - as if player and instrument have grown older together.

Here's my fingerworn Wal... And if you look carefully there's fluorescent paint in all sorts of nooks and crannies.

That's exactly what the bassist in Reef does according to their tech. Series 3 SWB in green apparently gives the best tone.

I didn't like that finish in reality, because i never seen it and touched it before in reality. Just listened to it carefully and watched in youtube. I liked the sound and as i worked in a music instrument shop i got it at half price. The real finish was far away i thought it will be, so i just did it and that road worn really shown up after 20 years on black marker finish. Maybe it was stupid, but i like it better now, that i got it new.

Orbital - Halcyon And On And On

Wednesday night, depping in to co-host a jam night at a bar...I've played there before, both with the full band and I've turned up to the jam night to play a few, but this was the first time co-hosting and getting paid for it for a loooong time (the price of being in a busy steady band for more than a decade) - I'd forgotten how much fun busking can be, luckily the main drummer was great (a couple of others not as good, but we muddled through), so playing songs I've never played before (probably eight or ten), or even heard before (three of them) was a good workout...

Alte Hackerei in Karlsruhe last night. Another small and sweaty one. Excellent catering, they cooked burgers or wurst to order for both bands and all the crew. Free beer all night. Awesome sound and I played the best I have so far

The place is filled with villains and thieves... I remember when the streets of London were lined with gold - all of it has been stolen now...😉😉

Alan Thomson. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Thomson_(musician)