Leaderboard

LPB with blocks and binding. Restrung with Dunlop Flatwounds.

I never wanted the fame and fortune but I wanted to play music and make a living out of it. When I was 9 in 1979 and at school, I told my teacher I wanted to play the trombone so they gave me a test and then told my parents I will never make a musician as I don't have a musical bone in my body. Then skip to 1985 and I saw U2 at Live Aid and saw Adam Clayton strutting around the stage looking like the coolest dude on the planet and I wanted some of that. Went to college and met some friends and got myself a guitar and my friend got a bass. I wanted to play bass and he wanted to play guitar so we swapped but he gave up and I stuck with it. I then spent two years learning to play and then joined a band and gigged lots but this ended after a few years. I then formed another band that eventually got signed in 1996 and actually did really well. We went on tour, photoshoots, recorded two John Peel sessions, did a Radio 1 roadshow, a live Virgin radio session and recorded an album with Mark Wallis who produced the It Bites album, Travis albums, U2 and many others. We released 4 singles, got lots of airplay including TV and cinema adverts. We made it, were signed, getting paid and living the dream but I was still not interested in any fame or fortune despite some of that coming my way. All I ever wanted was to have a song played on the radio, record an album and go on TOTP's. Now, my perception of making it is different but I still don't want the fame or fortune and if anything, even less so than before, I just want to play music and making it is all about how much you play and how much you can live from the income it brings rather than being famous. A few years ago I was playing in a club band that was earning great money and gigging pretty much every weekend. It was supplementing my day job income enough for me to buy a car from earnings and to be fairly comfortable so I considered myself to be semi-pro during that period as apposed to being pro when I was signed and it was my only income. If I look back over the 37 years of playing, I have been amateur, semi-pro and pro and I look at the wall with the albums I have played on and think that I have spent more of my days gigging, touring, recording and playing music that I have working for someone else so for me, despite being an unknown, but known to my friends and family as a musician, I identify myself as a musician more than anything else and to me that is making it.

I was in a 'signed' band (European and Japanese distribution) that did a few cool shows but saw zero money and always had some 'Manager' or 'A&R' man making rubbish decisions. How do you pay the bills? I'd been running/playing in a KISS tribute as well at the same time that was a good regular payer, to decent audiences that sang every word and also involved well paid overseas gigs and tours so I chose that. Enjoyed the 'perks' for 25 years, including picking up endorsements with my two fave bass gear companies, until I realised the band was looking stale and my back was suffering. Moved over to the theatre circuit with a rock covers show and get my kicks there now. Get paid and in bed by midnight.

Better yet, I have designs on a new bass...Bwahahahaha! While I will never, and don't want to, strut around in a full-on rock band again, I see no reason to let my bass rot any further. My recovery from the sugery in Jan/Feb has been very pleasing, although the surgery itself turned into a fairly life-threatening event. So, because I'm an inveterate tinkerer, I will likely buy a new Squier Sonic P, and set about making it my own! Exciting times!

I'm not sure that I ever did want to 'make it'. I always thought that Rory Gallagher achieved the level of success that I would have liked. Successful but largely unknown. I'm perfectly happy with the level of 'success' I've had, but the arrival of my first child made me aware that a regular income was my priority. Touring wasn't very lucrative and there was no royalty income for me either. That said, at 65, I'm still gigging regularly and also tour regularly with artists from the US, fitting it in with annual leave. I did a lot of work in Europe but haven't for a couple of years. Hopefully, there's a 3 week tour in Europe in January/February. I seem to garner a nice level of respect from people I respect and that has always been more important to me, I think. In some ways, getting the endorsement deal with Mesa is a form of 'making it', if it's a reflection of that respect (and I'm happy to think so!!). I'm not famous but I'm fine with that. I'm way too shy to have been able to cope with that anyway.

Just rescued this from a second hand shop for a tenner, hopefully I can turn it into something nice, as a cheap option I was thinking of giving it a slight roadworn look as there are a few nasty chips in the paint. Reading round on here it seems they are pretty good basses for not much money, any point in upgrading pickups and pots etc?

Seven piece swing/Dixie "little big band" gig last night to a packed house. We played our usual two sets of swing/jazz and then a set of Dixieland when I switch from DB to tenor banjo and a sax player takes over the bass parts on Bari sax. We had a guest vocalist for some of the swing tunes and the crowd was with us from the first note. We played well and the Dixie went over even better than usual with clapping along on the first song. All in all a very good night and my Shen SB100 with a Realist Lifeline sounded fantastic direct into our Bose PA. 😊

I was on bass in a 3 piece band and we were so f*cking good it was a nailed on certainty. We desperately sent demos and press packs, signed with various promoters and managers. Nothing ever really happened but that wasn't my problem, I just had to keep getting better at the bass and it'd all take care of itself... then the drummer left and I was suddenly confronted with the reality of the situation. We were never going to get anywhere. Anyway, that lead to me switching to drums and I'm having a great time in the most successful band I've ever been in. We've got pretty far without any "deal" although hopefully we're going to get some help to push the next album. None of us think we're going to "make it" but a lot of our fans think we already have

Once they cancelled top of the pops. I mean, what's the point?! You can't 'make it' unless you've done totp...

You mean I'm not going to make it

That was pretty much me since the age of 17. Although, on certain work, I would say, I wasn't always 'first call'. It started back in the early/mid 70's and ended during Lockdown. I'm now 66 and receiving my state pension plus a private pension I had going for 25 years. I don't do anymore live work on Bass, although I'm still involved in library music, some transcribing and scoring for acts, and more recently, some engraving as well. Along with PRS payments and some occasional PPL, this all brings in modest amounts every quarter. My house is now paid for, we have no debts, I have two boys in their late teens and my wife has various small jobs and projects on the go. She had been in the entertainment business as well. Me and my wife have been together since 1985, so I have somehow managed to juggle a very good family life while working as a full time musician. I set out to be just that, a full time working musician and I had no real interest in 'making it'. As in being in some pop band or getting record deals. I had various family musicians who went down the 'working musician' route and earned a decent living, so it was easier for me because I already had some contacts through them and a good insight into what was needed. My first 'pro' work was playing on Cruise ships all over the place. That's where I really got my reading and busking chops together. Then it was Hotels overseas, and tours around various army/air force bases, both in the UK and in Europe. All this work led me to meeting many of other musicians/md's and I ended up doing Theatre work (resident and touring). Once again I met new MD's, who would then call me or get the fixer to call me for various well known TV personality acts and celebrities, a few old time entertainers plus a few other novelties thrown in. I've worked on West End Shows, shows in Japan, Middle East and Europe etc. All through this I still did the usual West End function band stuff as well (mainly when in between shows or tours). Throw in some decent sessions and cast albums/DVD's, a small amount of TV and Radio, along with a couple of films, has all left me with a CV that me and my family are pretty proud of. All in all, I have pretty much done all that I set out to do musically, made good contacts and formed quite a few lifelong friendships and working relationships along the way. Have I been lucky? Almost certainly. Definitely a case of 'right time and right place' etc... But, I did put a lot of hard work in. I can honestly say I have mostly enjoyed the work and styles of music I have been involved in. That hasn't always been because the quality of work, but quite often, the very excellent musicians, singers and producers I have had the the privilage to work with.

Here you go, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter_(band)

Enroute home I decided for the very first time to visit the large Guitar Guitar store in Birmingham Found the store and good result it has a car park 👍 Walked in to a warm welcome from staff, found the bass gear down the end of the store and after 5 mins browsing I was offered and made a cup of coffee! I tried out the MXR M87 compressor with a Player Series PBass in Tidepool Blue same as mine at home. They left me alone for a good hour ( regular checks asking if I was ok ) and when I decided to buy the pedal they price matched it and I got it £30 less than listed I was very impressed with the staff, the store and the relaxed friendly and professional way the store is run. Well done Guitar Guitar Birmingham

My 1981 Ibanez RS840BK Fretless. The body was in a poor state so it has been refinished with relicing to match the neck and tuners which are all original. The truss rod cover was missing and the knobs were incorrect. A replica truss rod and correct knobs were obtained from the USA. The original pickups and bridge were also present. The electrics were completely bizarre and so had to be completely renewed. The result is a very nice vintage Ibanez which sounds marvellous.

Can someone make a device the stop the other guys in the band from widdling/blast-beating/talking/meditating etc between songs at rehearsal, please?

Now its been pointed out, it is impossible to unsee that

Easy Lava ～ Phil and Phil again. Sorry, it's been a long day...

For me, making it is playing 20+ gigs a year in a really fine local band with three others who have become trustworthy mates. I've had a very fulfilling and successful career doing non-music stuff, having the band as a very stimulating hobby now I am retired is the icing on the cake.

I would like Gibson to invest in some sandpaper. I don't own any of their instruments and never will, but it really annoys me that people just accept sloppiness at those prices. And the whole thing of the headstocks breaking off being almost part of their brand. Insane. I also think Fender and anyone making similar designs should have a string tree that includes the A string (or one of those A-string retainer things) as standard.

Ahem!! You mean the rest of Europe put together 🤣

I'm in my early 60 and I still haven't realised. As others have said it very much depends on what constitutes "making it". For me it would be earning enough money from my musical activities so I didn't have to do anything else in order to be able to pay the bills. The closest I've got to that was when I was in my 50s and in The Terrortones who after the first year were completely self-sustaining financially. TBH I probably don't have what it takes in terms of drive and commitment. Sure I like gigging, recording and writing and pretty much everything that goes with being in a band, but I don't live and breath music every single waking hour which is what is really required. In the past when I plenty of time and energy to put into being in a band and playing and writing music, I was too stupid and naive to realise this. These days I have too many other commitments. That's not to say I haven't stopped dreaming, because IMO the moment you stop dreaming you might as well sell all your musical gear. IME trying to tailor your music/band/image to "make it" the less likely it is to happen, because you are always going to be behind the wave. My most successful musical ventures have been the ones where I haven't worried about what other people thought of us but simply got on with the process of making and playing music. We worked hard (although in retrospect not nearly hard enough) and the "luck" happened. The Terrortones was simply supposed to be a bit of creative fun to do in-between my covers band gigs. I ended up having to quit the covers band because The Terrortones were far more successful both in terms of the number of gigs we were getting and financially. I'll carry on writing music, playing in bands and gigging until I'm not longer physically able, and then I'll be composing and releasing weird music on Bandcamp from the comfort of my studio until I die.

Probably when I said I would do a Masters degree while my band were recording an album. ‘Well we are technically signed, but I have enough free time to get an extra qualification while we write and record an album’. After a year the Masters degree was done, but the album wasn’t. By then the label had rightly lost interest. In frustration I jokingly bet the drummer that I could probably qualify as a solicitor before the album was actually finished. I have now been a qualified solicitor for over 8 years.

They wanted 3 of us, draft in session folk for a “look”… Eric Hall was our “representative” - he was a repugnant individual. I looked upon it as a learning curve. Then Sunday Best offered us a deal and decided to spunk their budget on the rights to David Lynch’s back catalogue and future recordings so we were dropped. So. I left that band and started to be a dad, got married and started living.

For anyone that is unsure about this bass bash, it is a really relaxed event. There’s no relentless slapping or folk trying to show how good they are (I’d fail anyway!) just a load of different gear and people with a common interest. Ask yourself how often you can chat about basses without the other person falling asleep or asking why you need more stuff……

Bass players are supposed to be. It was the drummer let you down. 😂

He invited me to his office to 'learn about the business' when I was a 16 year old working in a record shop. Fortunately my boss at the time heard this and next day told me to steer well clear of him. I always expected something to hit the press after he died, especially as he was mates with Max Clifford.

I picked up an MK500 recently, actually from @Chimike of this parish and as a long time ABM user I was curious how the 12-band thing stacks up against an ABM. It's a completely different beast pre-amp wise, more akin to a Trace Elliot GP12 SMX without the dual band compression and valve harmonics. I wouldn't say it was super hi-fi clean but it is generally quite crisp sounding. The Harmonics control is reminiscent of the EQ balance on a GP12 SMX in that it lets you swing the tone to the bass end of the specturm or the treble end easily without messing around with the EQ sliders. Power wise it can shift air just like any of my ABM's can. It doesn't have that ABM pre-shape thump but the 12-band will let you dial in all the bottom end you want. My MK500 is based around an ABM EVOIII power section configured to 230V working. I've modded my MK500 to run at 240V as the big original TD00531 transforner is designed to run at this voltage. It now runs whisper quiet even at very high volume settings and dare I say a bit more hi-fi like. I can see it also being excellent in a studio setting, I haven't tried the DI as yet but hope to do so soon.

1991, since 1987 I’d been in two bands in no succession with guys who were desperate to make it, all that showed me was music was my hobby, what I did for fun and that I had no intention of making it my day job.

I don't get paid, but for 10 years I have been volunteering at an educational trust that supplies the music teachers to the county schools. I get parachuted into different ensembles quite a lot, along side my regular big band gig. 1: Reading opens the door to so many gigs. Quite often the MD will want the part played as written. 2: Be on time, every time. 3: Never be the problem, instead be the one who can help solve the problems 4: The job of a pro sideman is to support the artist / MD / show. It's their vision / product not yours. 5: Maintain your gear to a high standard. 6: Take spares. If you have something that if it failed you could not finish the session with, take two of them. Identical spares are best as the FOH / Engineer doesn't have to reset everything. 7: Be clean and presentable. Your client might look like a badly tattooed bundle of rags, but you turn up looking smart. If the client wants you to wear something specific they will tell you - and should pay for it, if it's unusual. 8: Until you get to know a client or you get asked specifically, do not give an opinion on the music / arrangement. See Point 4 above. 9: Assume everyone you meet at the session will talk to the client about you. Be nice to everyone. Especially the objectionable ones. 10: Never give a reason for them to not call you again when the next job comes up. 11: Get an accountant who understands the biz, not just the guy in the high street. 12: Do not get too worried about the reading thing. The bass parts for 99% of popular music barely scrapes Grade 3. If you do 10 mins a day properly you'll have that done in a year. Always ask for charts / transcriptions AND any recordings in advance. Sometimes they won't send recordings of new original stuff in case of leaks. 13: Never do anything for free / exposure.

Mr Wong did a great job staying solid there!

This is my Jazz! I asked for a few differences with mine: Fender Hi-Mass Bridge Hipshot Ultralite Tuners Master Volume / Pickup Blend / Master Tone wiring It plays great, sounds great, resonates nicely, and balances perfectly. Also I think it looks rather cool too.

With the decline of physical music shops on the high street, I thought I'd give promenade music in morecambe a great big up! Super helpful nice staff, x2 separate rooms for demoing gear in peace and quiet and to be fair the best bass collection I've ever seen. Loads and loads of sandbergs, rickenbackers, yamaha, Fender, squire, mark bass and much more. Makes pmts selection look like a small collection. Superb music shop. Highly recommended.

Nope its always been a hobby for me. As long as people enjoyed the gigs i've played then i'm happy and successful. Always had a good paying job that i used to enjoy when i was younger so giving that up was a no brainer for me. Had the opportunities in 80's to take things up a notch but said no as it meant giving up my job and moving South to either Midlands or London areas and i kept my sensible head on. The bands that made the offers never amounted to much more than i have now. At the moment i'm where i want to be in life. Retired on my 56th birthday and enjoying both bands and getting more than enough gigs throughout the year. I get sell out gigs so must be doing something right No regrets. Dave

This is another one from the Nile Rodgers Tribute I’m in - it’s a compilation reel of the 5 songs we did for this showreel - the amount of time, effort and £££ that went into producing what was, in the end about 4-5 mins worth of video was a real eye opener! I suppose it’s one of those things that has to be done if you no longer want to be playing the type of gigs where most of the audience leaves before your 2nd set as the Bingo is finished 😉 haha

I sometimes get recognised, (we're quite well known in about a 5 mile radius of where I live 😂) it's usually embarrassing because I have to try and pretend I know who they are when I haven't a clue, once when I been talking to a guy for about 5 minutes he said "you haven't a clue who I am have you?" I had to fess up, fortunately he found it amusing.

I was desperate to "make it" from around mid teens to mid 20s. I assumed I'd get a record deal and make a living. I assumed that any touring band, however obscure was paid a living wage for their troubles! I eventually got involved in the DIY punk scene in Birmingham and the penny dropped - all of these bands are scraping by and fitting this labour of love around their shitty jobs, just like me. I've been thinking about this a lot lately as my wife is pregnant with our first child. At my school, it was a case of get good A-Levels and go to university, or nothing. It would have been nice if, rather than telling me that only a miniscule fraction of bands ever get anywhere so it's better not to bother, someone had helped me seriously look into all the more realistic ways I might have been able to combine my passions with earning a living. Not that I have anything to complain about. If I had "made it", I would have succumbed to the cliches of rock 'n roll excess pretty much immediately and probably wouldn't be telling you all this today! I'm arguably more into building basses than playing them these days - so now the dream if for someone else to "make it" on one of my creations!

The man with more Spectors than the rest of us put together 😆 I remember the Kiss thing….

@three : maybe something like the Bernard Paganotti upper horn extension.

Spent my whole like dreaming of being a rockstar. Reached my 60s. Got a gig in a good local covers band. Hated it. Hated playing live (alternating between terrified I couldn't play the song to being bored when I could). Hated band politics. Hated having zero input to the setlist. Hated humping gear in and out. Hated the waiting around. Loved rehearsals. Loved playing bass. Now stay home (am fully retired) and play bass all day to backing tracks. Couldn't be happier - especially having put to rest that stupid dream.

Definitely this. And mute the drummer when you're trying to listen to the song you're covering and they play along. Why do they give you a dirty look when you ask them to stop? Thinking about it, any pedal can do this... If you throw it at them!

Never had any interest in being in a professional touring band. There are very few worse ways I can imagine making a living than constantly being on the road and in a different place every other day. I picked up a bass at 15 because my mates were in a band and needed a bass player. I just wanted to hang about with my mates. 30 odd years later and my motivation is exactly the same. Put me in a room with people I know and get along with to create music and I'm happy as a pig in muck. Start talking about traveling here for this gig, and there for that gig and I have no interest. I can just about muster the energy for the occasional local gig. Other than that I'm not interested.

when I was young enough I couldn't play, when I could I was too old, a 25 year hiatus didn't help 😂, rule of thumb, if you haven't made it by the time you're 30 you won't

Well as a naive sprog, twas 1980 in a real good Prog Rock outfit....but we just could not find a good enough singer so I quit. Then a completely different situation in 1984. Prolonged summer season on the Isle of Wight. 5 nights per week. Start at 5pm for the tiny tots, 4 sets per night. Three months of that and I was done with the entire thing. Went off to college and studied photography which I did for the next 30 odd years, retired last year and having a blast now studying cello. I still have a bass in the house plugged in and I'll fill in if needed tho its very rare nowdays. But that moment in that holiday camp all those yrs ago playing that fun, old school disco stuff but at the same time gazing outta the window wishing I was somewhere else cause I've remembered the chart?... That's the moment when I realised my dream of a life being a successful working musician was dead.

I'm kinda feeling vindicated after the naysayers pitchin' in with their negativity vibes 🤪. The fact I got mine for a bargain too and it exceeded my expectations makes it all the sweeter to play!

It would be great if some of the tuner manufacturers would consider the locking heads as used in some guitars. It would make changing strings a little less boring. I'd also like an AI bass that recognised I didn't know what I was doing and produced really good bass lines by controlling my fingers. A bass that made me look slim all the time A bass that I can program the set list into and it laughs as I try to play it Shoes for cows!

I’m late to the pedal board game but have already gone through a few iterations since it was assembled by an amazing guitarist friend. I won’t change this for sometime as it doesn’t need to do too much- a little bit of something for all occasions but nothing too leftfield. It’s kind of a generic board in a way- Cali 76, OC2, a bit of DG dirt, HX Stomp and a nice preamp. CIOCKS DC7 underneath the board.

Just to add, my 40th Anniversary Precision in Satin Dakota Red has just arrived and it is incredible. An absolute dream to play and is actually set up really nicely. It also sounds brilliant and despite not liking satin necks as I prefer gloss necks, it feels really really nice. The only other satin neck I've ever liked was my fretless Stingray which was the nicest neck I've ever played but this also feels really good. The vintage look is also really nice. So I am super happy and the best £250 I've spent on a bass and will tide me over as the only fretted bass in my collection 😜