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Showing content with the highest reputation on 31/03/25 in all areas
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Two gigs for me this weekend, both on the East Yorkshire coast. Saturday saw me playing with The Alligators blues band at The Black Lion in Bridlington’s historic old town. Quite a large pub at the front, with an amazing room at the rear that is concealed from the pub by large velvet curtains. There are raked pews that lead down to a dance floor area, and the stage is like a small theatre, with a a large dB PA that unfortunately we didn’t get to use. Easy get in from a side alleyway so it looked like being a great gig. Unfortunately there was a distinct lack of punters, but we still gave it our best to the small groups of folk who ventured in. A great sounding room, and I used my usual passive Precison Lyte / Rumble 500 combo which I’m really enjoying. Finished at 11.15pm, quick pack down and home by 12.30. Sunday early evening I was at our regular haunt in Scarborough, ‘The Lookout on the Pier’ with the acoustic duo. A beautiful day meant the town was busy, but we got parked ok and set to go by 6pm. The venue was rammed with diners plus a few guests seated at the back. We played our usual request format, and tunes included ‘Samba pa ti’, a couple of Simon and Garfunkel things and ‘Copacabana’ which I’d forgotten how much of a workout the bassline was! We both were given a nice tip from a visiting celebrity couple who remembered us from a gig there a couple of years ago, and also received an enquiry to play at the local yacht club from a couple who’d arrived at the gig by yacht - who’d have thought that in Scarbados! It was one of those gigs where it all gelled - great venue, audience and our playing, so much so that I genuinely could have played for another hour or more. Still, home by 10pm to pizza and wine.16 points
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Around October last year our friend Nick Smith came to see us about having another bass made but to his design of shape which he called the “Midas” We lost Nick in January in a tragic accident before we got past the design stage of his new bass. However he had selected all of the woods and we’d gone through the detail on the spec that he wanted. Following Nicks funeral at the end of February Gav and I felt it was only right that we finish Nicks bass, and after seeking approval from Nicks family we decided that it would be fitting that once complete we would hold a raffle or auction with all proceeds going to a charity close to Nick and his families hearts. Over the last few weeks we’ve been progressing through the manufacture of Midas number 1. And over the next week or so we’ll share the photos and videos of its progress so far. This video shows the design of the bass, technical specs follow “Greenie” the Kratos he had from us a few years back which had become Nicks main gigging bass for Genesis Connected. It features a one piece ribbon sapele body with a beautiful book matched flame maple top, flamed maple one piece neck with ebony fret board, Aguilar HJ pickup and 18v preamp, led fret board side dots, Grainger bridge, hipshot tuners and Evo Gold frets! Once the details of the charity raffle are tied down we’ll post on how it’ll all work, but we should have Nicks Midas done within the next 6 weeks! Stay tuned for more updates! SOLIDWORKS Premium 2023 SP1.0 - Midas Full Assembly 2025-03-29 09-46-28.mp415 points
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My first gig this year with my main squeeze, Felis Leo. We played at the Angel Inn, Andover...my first time there. Back in my youth I would drink mainly at the Lamb, the Lardie and the Station. The gig was part of a multi band, multi venue festival under the banner 'Andover Rocks Reignited' and I think we were the only originals band playing at our venue. One of our guitarists moonlights in a covers band and they were further up the bill, we were on at 3pm and they were on at 8. There were 2 stages, one for bands and at the other end of the pub, one for acoustic solo or duo acts. It was amazingly well organised, to the second as well! There were screens onstage for the bands counting down to the start of their sets and subsequently to the end of their sets. This was incredibly helpful 😁 My set up was an Ibanez sr1205 which I haven't played in anger for a long time, a TC Electronic BH550 and my two Barefaced one10s. Had a couple of complimentary comments about the one10s and my sound so chuffed with that (compliments are rare so I'll grab em when I get em). The whole day was actually great with not even a minor gripe about anything, got our photo taken by the local rag, everyone was in a great mood, spoke to people in the flesh who I've only conversed with on our socials and people genuinely enjoyed our set! I still have the same warm afterglow now that I had yesterday 👍🏻 I've not received many video clips yet but here's a bit of Timezone taken by the singer in our guitarist's other band VID-20250330-WA0000.mp411 points
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Bought this off a mate, practically unused, sat in its hard case most of its life. Plays lovely! Strung it up with Rotosound 66’s.10 points
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We had a good night at the Cow & Telescope in Southend on Friday evening. It was a bit of a rush getting home from work, scoffing a quick dinner and out again, but we had more time than we realised to set up at a relaxed pace and soundcheck. As usual in this venue, it seemed a bit too quiet on there when we setting up, but by the time we kick off at 9.30 we had a decent crowd of regulars and a steady stream of arrivals whilst we played. I made a couple of mistakes - including completely blanking halfway through the "Time is running out" riff. I put it down to not feeling 100% due to an iffy stomach I've had for a few days. I managed to blag my way through it and remembered it by the second or third time round. I noticed a couple of guys pointing and watching me intently during "Runaway Baby". I'm unsure if they were impressed or spotted errors in my playing! 😄. Another patron came up to me when we had finished and said it was so refreshing to see a band actually move around and put on a show, rather than just standing stock still and looking at our guitars and feet. A couple of our usual mob (including my wife and brother, who are not afraid to offer constructive criticism) said the set list was great too, with a few songs we hadn't played in years thrown in. We try to avoid too much repetition - for ourselves as much as anything! But it all seemed to flow nicely and kept people up dancing until the obligatory encores were finished with. So yes, all in all a good night. The next one is The Cricketers in nearby Westcliff on Easter Sunday. Out first time at this venue, and one we've wanted to get into for a while. We'll be a couple of members down (one of the guitarists, and using a dep drummer), but I'm sure it'll be fine.10 points
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Two gigs for me this weekend, first was with Siren at The Boathouse, Bradford-on-Avon on Friday night - turned out to be a busy night with lots of faces recognised from our previous visits. We played pretty much all of our setlist but were cut short when the new manager turned on all the house lights and stage lights at the end of a medley that we do, we took that as a sign that he'd had enough, and so the crowd that had been up for a party all night, were calling for more to no avail!? A bit of a strange end to what had been a great evening really. Sadly no photos to share, as I was heading there straight from work I used my 'easy' rig, TT800, Big Twin II, Geddy Jazz with 70's P Bass as back up. Saturday night saw Sarum's Lot play at The Devizes Inn in Salisbury. We were asked to setup in the darts room. This was the exact opposite of the previous night where space was somewhat limited, so was a rather intimate set up for the drummer and me, leaving the guitarist to enjoy loads of room on his side of the room - in fairness to him he does tend to boogie and is much more animated than me! The crowd were up for a good time from the off, loads of singing & dancing, even some air guitar! This band plays classic rock covers and we were asked by a young lad whether we could do 'I believe in a thing called love' - we don't do it but duly had a go, and smashed it right out the park (even if I do say myself!). A thoroughly enjoyable gig with a great crowd - we all left buzzing 🙂 Same gear as previous night. Hopefully the links work😊 https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16anAdo3PW/?mibextid=wwXIfr https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1F9bZbTbBw/?mibextid=wwXIfr10 points
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Great gig at a local WMC this last Saturday for the Glam Lads. It's one of those old school clubs that saw the likes of Bob Monkhouse et al in its heyday but fortunately is still doing well...a pretty packed house as it seems the locals were up for some 70s Glam. A prospective agent showed up to view the first spot (looking to fill a few little gaps in the gig calendar left by the previous 'booker') so we were on our game and thankful for the large and enthusiastic crowd. The agent, also a bassist, was complimentary on my sound...he said his expectations weren't high when I said I was using just a couple of MarkBass 12" but he was surprised with the clarity and punch. So all in all a cracking night and our next visit there will be NYE which should be a stormer.10 points
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Isn’t it just? The minute I walked in I was taken aback - one of those places that you could use for so many different things - all sorts of live music, theatre & performance, as well as a banging venue for a great party! Shame it’s 40 miles from where I live though.8 points
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7 points
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With the seating looking very pew like, I would have been hard pushed not to say, “Dearly beloved, let us play,” in that environment. Nice venue.7 points
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A renowned guitarist once said to me, there are three reasons to gig. 1. The qualities of the music. 2. The quality of the 'hang', or 3. Good money. One of the above is enough, two is great, three is heaven. I think we get out of it what we put in and it will vary for all of us.6 points
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Another Eagles tribute show, this time at a theatre in Stockton. An enjoyable night. We're a few shows in now, so everything is less of a conscious effort. The vocal harmonies parts - of which there are a shedload, all of which are very high / falsetto - are coming more naturally, so I can kick back and enjoy the occasion. It's such a strong, varied set - every song is a classic (assuming you don't hate The Eagles, of course). Anyway, I had to use IEMs last night as we were using the house PA and there weren't any monitors. I doubt I'll ever love using them, but I hate them less than I used to.6 points
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Saturday night was a local WMC. Local to me, that is, the rest of the band had a bit further to travel. I'd played here about 15 years ago with a club band and remembered it having a nice big stage. I think it was the first experience for the rest of the band of having the bingo between the first and second sets. Load in and out wasn't the greatest as it's a longer walk than I'd like, but with four people doing it it's not so bad. We didn't use our frame to hang the banner from as there was a rail above the light curtain at the back which was a convenient height. Following my experience with the originals band where we used my Alto TS408s as monitors and they proved more suited than the Alto TS308s, I swapped roles and used the 308s for FOH and the 408s as monitors. That all went well. Sound was good on stage and off. The gig went well. Not too many cockups, none really noticeable. I used the Sei Original 5 headless fretless and the Antoniotsai 5 dragon bass, through a Lekato WS-90 wireless and Zoom MS-60B to Tecamp Puma 900 and GR Bass AT212. Footwear was, as always, unbranded memory foam trainers from Ebay. Edit to add: they've just contacted us and asked us to go back there in August. I think that's the measure of a successful gig.5 points
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Here I have for sale a 1978/80 Fender Precision in Translucent Crimson with late 70's Fender case (Maroon Interior) Totally all original and one owner from new who sadly passed away Pickup cover is in the compartment, just didnt put it on so nothing missing Weight is 4.6 Kg's Lacquer checking to the edges as pictured but front and back are OK Nice clean tuners, frets show minimal wear All checked over and everything is functional, no issues with the truss Nut width is 42mm pots are dated 79 and pickups are 1980 A lovely well kept Precision, plays and sounds as a good P should I have pics of the pots and pickups if required I will include delivery with the price, I have priced it fairly due to it being all original and with the case...5 points -
New body now finally done for the Marco Bass MV4 a few posts up the thread: The bass lost just under one pound with the body swap, a nice surprise.5 points
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The setlist chooses itself, really. The Illegal Eagles are obviously a lot more established, so I imagine they have a bit more flexibility on what to play. This is fairly typical of ours:5 points
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Back in January of last year, I scratched a big itch and bought this Status S4000... I didn't need it at all, but you know what GAS is like, especially when it's something you've always craved. Well, anyway... jobless since last December, and redundancy cash only goes so far, so it's got to go. I've given it a thorough service/set-up/clean/fret polish, the only thing I couldn't shift was the mysterious black spots on the tip of the lower horn (see pic). String-wise it's currently wearing my favourite part-worn Elixir nickels 45-105. From what I understand the black hardware is fairly unusual for this model. It had new batteries last Jan and I'll fit new ones again before I let it go. You don't need me to tell you how good it sounds. The case isn't brilliant, the foam is very roughly cut, but it does what it's supposed to do. I'm looking only for what I paid, which was £1300. Obviously I really really don't want to ship it, a meet up might be possible depending on your location.5 points -
For me it depends on the reason I am in the band and what the band is being asked to do "whats in it for me". I used to play in covers/tribute bands, I would expect to get paid for these gigs I am there to play and hopefully make money. At the same time I have played in a jazz trio, again this was covers, we'd rock up play standards in a pub every fortnight. Our pay was £40 for a taxi and 6 pints (2 each). Never expected a penny and usually the fee covered our taxis home. I was doing this to experience playing jazz standards live. Also played in originals (still do) bands, never expect payment its about playing music i want to play, and people coming is a bonus, unless someone is selling tickets with our name on it and they have sold allot (its not happened often) where I'd expect the band to be paid. In all of these bands any money earned is put back into the band and no one ever takes a cut for themselves. So to the OP I play live to get something from the gig, given how i balance my music it generally wont be money. But before I join a band I will know 'whats in it for me' and thats why I'lll play with that band. Jonny4 points
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At the risk of derailing the thread too much, that is my absolute pet peeve. "But I can't hear the bass in your review videos!" "Sorry to hear that, what are you listening on?" "My phone..." "Right.." "But its a good one though!" No, no it isn't.4 points
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Agree with everything you've written. And, if they fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy, they'll borrow and/or throw in more savings. Especially if they're tied into a longer contract. Our local has seen 3 sets of wealthy people bankrupted. Why no one has taken out a class action or got together on this, I don't know, it seems incredibly shadey business practices. I had a friend who took a pub contract to a business advisor before signing it, and was told on no uncertain terms not to agree to anything and to walk away. Add in small village mentality where newcomers are distrusted and if your face doesn't fit they won't patronise your business, it's mental.4 points
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Fair points. I'd add another, which is the emergence of PubCos, which sprang up when breweries were required to sell their pubs. PubCos lease the pubs and tie tenants into contracts that force them to pay huge rents and buy all their food and drink through the PubCo at grossly inflated prices. At the same time, tenants must pay for maintenance, repairs and improvements out of their own pockets. One of the three pubs in my village is owned by a PubCo. In the three years I've lived here, it has had three tenants. Each year, the pub will go dark and signs will appear outside the building, saying "Business opportunity. Low cost of entry", etc and another gullible couple, with little to no knowledge of business, thinks "We've always dreamed of running a pub. It's a licence to print money". So they sink their savings into it, re-decorate, fix the leaking roof, install a big screen telly with round the clock sports, yada, yada. A year later, the rent (which was pitched low to attract them in the first place) suddenly gores through the roof and they have to throw in the towel. They leave to lick their wounds and stack shelves in the local Lidl, getting back none of the money they sank into the place and the PubCo advertises for a new victim. Not really a thread derail, because it's one of the reasons pubs have little budget to spend on music, etc.4 points
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I think this is what scares me the most about all this. Rational I can handle. I may disagree with saomething but if I see rationality behind it, I can understand (though not necessarily agree). Currently, there is lawlessness that appears to have the backing of those who would apply the checks and balances. It seems to me that we are in a time where we simply cannot predict any outcome with any certainty. The more wayward factions (the world over) seem to have a pretty tight grip on things and I fear for the future. Not so much in a nuclear Winter kind of way but pretty everything short of that.4 points
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The Performer is a great well made quality bass and plays very well although the addition of the Jazz pup gives a bit more tonal flexibility just looks odd as I added a solid Jazz pup cover and in my opinion works better aesthetically … cracking bit of kit but sort of do agree it’s a bit polite …4 points
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Three-set outing at the Reivers Sports Bar in Galashiels last night. Six of us had to squeeze onto a stage that was all of three metres square and boxed in by railings. It was tight, to say the least. First time we'd played there and the punters were quite boisterous, with many of them celebrating Rangers' 4-3 win over whoever the other lot were. Dundee, maybe. Went down really well, including six new songs that were having their first outing. Plenty of happy punters dancing and singing along. On the downside, the back of the stage was in almost complete darkness so I spent a lot of time squinting at the neck trying to see the fretboard markers. Then during the second set, my strap came off. I had to perch on the edge of my cab desperately punching out root notes on the one until the song ended. I think that'll be me out of the gear abstinence thread when I get a set of Schallers. We're playing there again on the 17th May. The rig will be the same as last night - Sterling Stingray 5, Eden WTX264 atop an Eden 210 cab turned on its side (the space was that tight!). Something to cast a bit of light on the neck is on the cards - the light from my tablet helped a bit but not enough. All in all though, a great night!4 points
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Late 2016 Yamaha BB1024X in good condition with a few light marks on the lacquer from normal use (what looks like a white scrape on the back is a reflection.... a very glossy body), and the chrome pickup surrounds are showing some tarnish. No case but I'll throw in a padded gig-bag. Having got fed up with the pickup toggle switch (in my view a weak part of these basses), I've had it wired up like a Jazz with Vol, Vol, Tone. I may have the original wiring loom somewhere and will include if I can find it. Tuners have been changed as it had an odd one when I got it which played havoc with my OCD, so had to do something about it. Postage included in the price, or I can take a smidge off if collected. A great bass and only selling because I have a BB2024X, so I can move this on to someone who'll make more use of it than I currently do.4 points -
I've done both paid (as a semi pro) and free (as an amateur) gigs, but something that always bothered me is the lack of respect you get when you're playing for free... Let me tell you this anecdote: We were asked to play for free (or close to that as we were hat paid) for an organic market during the hottest day of the year... As I'm tea total, I struggled to get something to drink, first mistake from the organisers. Second mistake was that all the market, including our PA, was electrically wired to the same plug running in two sections across a road!?! We had a Bose L1 PA system that we bought brand new with our own money (it was the first ever sold in Belgium back then and it was a fame changer for us) and that we were using flawlessly since a few gigs. Suddenly, after 2 to 3 hours of playing, the PA started to smoke and stopped working: in one word, it had burned. The first reaction from the punters was: Why are not playing anymore? The second reaction from the organisers themselves was: Do you have an insurance, because we have none?!? So we packed everything back in the cars, after emptying the almost empty hat, while my fellow guitarist/singer kept saying: The duet is over, we can't afford to buy a new PA. On the next day, which was a Monday, I called the store were we bought it explaining what happened and they called Bose directly who agreed to repair or replace it for free and even offered us to come directly at the importer place, which wasn't that far for us We came there on the next day and the guy in charge confirmed that it would be repaired or replaced for free as it was under warranty at the end of the week, because we needed it every weekend! On the Thursday afternoon I got a phone call saying that the PA was repaired and that we could come and take it back for free. On the next day, Friday, we were there and the guy in charge of the repair section explained that all power amps of the L1 had simply fried due to a huge surge and that they had never seen such a thing happening in a normal use: So, I explained why it probably happened with the "main" lead coming from a house across the street with another lead that was connected to the first in the middle of the road where a car smashed it creating a huge short cut and power surge at the same time. They laughed a bit and advised us to have our own heavy section lead extension and for our own usage only, which we did. Since then, we are ALWAYS paid to play, because if the organiser makes profit, I can't see why we couldn't be paid: After all we are not jesters or minstrels living on leftovers. Lesson learnt.4 points
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Funny you say that I am considering Yellow as well!! It would match my custom strap I made the other week 🤔3 points
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We’ve just been offered £250, a free meal and three free drinks to play at what will be a crowded venue that I’ve always wanted to play at it with people I like and music that makes me smile. This, to me, is success.3 points
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Spotted this from the Build Diaries thread, great stuff @SimonK I bought a brand new TE 4x10 combo back in the day, around 1993/4 for around £750 if my memory is right. I immediately got it flight cased and gigged it extensively - much to the disappointment of our roadies at the time! They hated the thing 🤭 Absolute beast though, during a soundcheck our engineer would be permanently waving his hand downwards for me to knock it quieter 🤣 During one sound check, a year or so in, I was standing waiting to check the levels - when clubs were full of cigarette smoke - an old bloke with a fag in his mouth at the front enquired 'yer smoking son?' No thanks I replied. No he said, yer big box behind you, you're smoking. Turned around and the amp had smoke pouring out of the top... 🫣 Got it repaired, and used it for around 6/7 years. Eventually went into storage and I sold it to a local studio/rehearsal room for £100. Great to see folks still loving the brand as I once did 👍🏼3 points
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It’s not gain or gain structure but limited maximum output level of many (not all) pedal preamps that’s responsible for not being able to drive a power amp to rated output. if a power amp has an input sensitivity of +4dBu (power amp sensitivity is measured with the input level control all the way up), the preamp must have a maximum output level capability of AT LEAST +4dBu (I recommend 6dB more if possible) in order to achieve rated power. The output impedance of the driving device (preamp) should be roughly 1/10th (or less) the value of the input impedance of the driven device (power amp). If not, there will be additional losses. In the case where the output impedance is 12k and the input impedance is 10k, there will be a ~6dB loss. Unfortunately, these specs are often omitted (or unknown/unmeasured) by manufacturers which makes matching a crapshoot. As an example of a pedal preamps that’s that can easily drive a power amp to rated output, the Genzler Magellan Pre-Di is one. It also includes all of the important, necessary specs to document the performance: Specifications DIMENSIONS: 6” (152mm) W x 4.3” (110mm ) D (w/ jacks) x 2.5” (63mm) H (w/ knobs and feet) WEIGHT: 1.1 lb (0.5kg) POWER SUPPLY: 9VDC-18VDC (low noise type), either polarity, 80mA POWER SUPPLY JACK: 2.1mm center pin with 5.5mm barrel (standard Boss pedal dimensions) INPUT IMPEDANCE: 1 Meg Ohm INPUT SENSITIVITY (nominal): -10dBu to -20dBu (instrument level) INPUT SENSITIVITY (maximum): >0dBu (9V supply), >+5dBu (12V supply), >+10dBu (18V supply) HIGH PASS Filter Range: 25Hz – 120hz, 18dB/oct variable EQ Filter Points: LOW: +/-15dB shelving below 75 Hz MID: +/-15dB peak-dip, between 150Hz – 2.8kHz HIGH: +/-15dB shelving above 6kHz PREAMP OUTPUT IMPEDANCE: 1k ohm (unbalanced), 2k ohm (balanced) PREAMP OUTPUT LEVEL (nominal): -10dBu to +4dBu (line level) PREAMP OUTPUT LEVEL (unbalanced maximum): +8dBu (9V supply) +12dBu (12V supply), +16dBu (18V supply) PREAMP OUTPUT LEVEL (balanced maximum): +14dBu (9V supply) +18dBu (12V supply), +22dBu (18V supply) DIRECT OUTPUT LEVEL (balanced nominal): -30dBu (mic level) DIRECT OUTPUT IMPEDANCE: 2k ohm (balanced) AUX INPUT IMPEDANCE: 10 K Ohm AUX INPUT LEVEL (nominal): -10dBu, stereo (sums to mono) AUX INPUT LEVEL (maximum): +10dBu, stereo (sums to mono) HEADPHONE OUTPUT: Drives headphones and IEM buds from 8 ohms -200 ohms, stereo output, mono signal path. (Higher impedance headphones, such as 600 ohms, will result in less output and headroom.)3 points
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and iran and yemen and denmark and france and germany and canada and the judiciary and the media and biden and and and 😂 Edit: Breaking news. Apparently it’s been revealed that Mr Fred Hamilton of 5 Arcacia Avenue is one of the few people not to have upset Trump. When interviewed Fred reportedly said this was unexpected news as he has always thought the man to be a massive orange bell end.3 points
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What a fantastic looking room!3 points
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Judging by the demands for the same song night after night, I'd say they'd be more than happy with just a window to lick and a balloon.3 points
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I actually had someone tell me similar at the end of a gig once. "The bass line to XXX doesn't go like that." My reply: "Well it did tonight mate."3 points
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Via a series of trades, I ended up with three Jazz basses. Obviously I only need two - my main American Original 60's and my hand stained 2012 FSR Am.Std as a back-up on the live shows. So the butterscotch blonde Deluxe had to go, as well as an Ibanez SR1400 which I found to be very bland, even with it's Nordstrand Big Singles. So while on the hunt for something a bit different, I came across two Mustang basses - one American Performer and a Mexican Player series PJ, both made in 2023. After setting up the American Performer on 40-95 Elixirs (it came with Labella Flats which completely killed the character of the bass) and with a great deal of finagling with the pickup height later (the Yosemite small split coil is obviously from Fender Japan, as the adjustment screws have reverse threads, whereas the Yosemite jazz pickup has normal US clockwise screws for the height adjustment). These pickups are incredibly sensitive to string height. Many have said that the American Performer Mustang can often seem too 'polite' sounding, and I can see what they mean. The bass has a very clean sound and doesn't have any 'snap' to the sound until you really start to dig in. Obviously, with the short scale length, when heard in isolation the A & E strings can seem a little lacking, but this impression disappears when playing live, which I did this afternoon at a local Jam Session where I'm the regular house bass player. It's a great sounding bass and a pleasure to fly around on. Haven't really had much of a chance to do much with the Mexican bass as yet, but will have more of a go tomorrow. It basically sounds like a MIM P&J Precision with a touch more 'twang' from the short scale length. Anyway, here are some pictures...3 points
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There is a cross over point. We all enjoy playing music. And therein lies the root. Some people will play at home, or with mates, and never go out and perform. Some people (me) the only reason to play is to perform. That's where the fun is. Some people would happily play Mustang Sally all night, others would rather pull teeth. There is a point at which it becomes work and the enjoyment is secondary, and that point will be different for everyone. For someone who's passionate about performing music they write, the satisfaction and enjoyment of doing that is going to far outweigh what they get paid. For someone who plays several gigs a year, the same songs, some of which are great, some which they don't particularly enjoy, some gigs are stupidly crazy, others are to empty venues. Some you wonder what the point of even loading the car was. That's work.3 points
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Will be trying one out this week.3 points
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I Can’t Tell You Why, Best Of My Love and The Last Resort… all in your set and not theirs. They preferred an interminable Rocky Mountain Way and Dirty Laundry. I’ll come see you next time, Michael.3 points
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When I play I get paid for 3 reasons. . . . This is not a hobby. If someone is making money from my playing, so am I. Most people I play with are making their living from music. So playing for free, for fun or a favour, is not an option.3 points
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Black for me too. I suppose I could get used to the white body but I don't think it works as well for two tone music. Of course, A strong yellow body would be excellent.2 points
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Pictures on the way! I don’t want to sell this bass actually, it’s a cracking instrument for silly money. The price reflects current condition: There is a very small ding on the upper horn top edge and a ding that mysteriously appeared on the back of the headstock bottom edge. Neither are large, but alas, they are there and need pointing out. Understandably they don’t affect the playing area or playability of the instrument. Finally, I was going to have EMGs dropped in because, well, they will sound amazing, but unlike the standard V5, it turns out the routs on the bridge pickup aren’t deep enough on this bass and would need skimming down a tad to get those lovely deep active pickups in. The process was abandoned and bass returned back to stock. I’m not sure if I have a box for the bass, unlikely, so collection is suggested. You might also want to pop some new strings on if you want some MM zing. Plenty of life in these if you prefer something a little more bedded in. https://www.andertons.co.uk/sire-marcus-miller-v5-24-fret-4-string-bass-guitar-natural/ PRODUCT DESCRIPTION Sire basses have become best-sellers worldwide, and for good reason! Collaboratively designed with bass virtuoso Marcus Miller, Sire's instruments are acclaimed for their beauty, luxurious playability, impeccable build quality, premium features and relative affordability. Able to keep up with the demands of professional working musicians, Sire basses outclass almost everything else in their price bracket! The V5 24 Fret is a modified, modern take on Sire's flagship V Series model. It allows you to be more creative in soloing and chording thanks to a full 2-octaves per string fingerboard (24 frets), and a deep body cutaway that lets you easily access the higher register. It's the ultimate bang-for-your-buck bass for virtuosic players after a versatile instrument! Key Features North American Alder Body — Popular timber synonymous with bolt-on guitars and basses. Offers a balanced tonal foundation for the pickups, with tight lows, bold mids and singing highs. C-Shaped Roasted Maple Neck — Roasting process crystallises resins and removes all of the natural moisture retained by the neck wood, ultimately darkening the material and increasing stability for rock-solid tuning! 'Edgeless' Rolled Fingerboard Edges — Enhances the overall comfort and playability of the neck and makes it easier to play. What's not to like?! Marcus Vintage-J Revolution Pickups — A signature formvar design that has a '70s pickup spacing (closer to the bridge), yielding a punchier sound akin to Marcus' original bass. Passive Volume & Tone Controls — Simple electronics allow for easy adjustment of your overall tone without compromising the true bass sound. Marcus Miller Vintage-S Bridge — Brings a cool vintage aesthetic to the instrument, and ensures optimal intonation and tuning stability whilst maximising the transfer of sound energy to the pickups for superb sustain. Specifications Body Body Material: North American Alder Body Shape: Marcus Miller Jazz Type (24 Fret) Neck Neck Material: Roasted Hard Maple (Satin Finish) Neck Profile: C-Shape Neck Binding: 1-Ply Neck Joint: 4-Bolt Steel Square Plate Scale Length: 34" (864 mm) Fingerboard Material: Rosewood, Edgeless (Rolled Edges) Fingerboard Radius: 9.5" (241 mm) Frets: 24, Medium Inlays: Square Block String Nut: Bone (38 mm) Hardware Bridge: Marcus Miller Vintage-S Tuners: Premium Open-Gear Pickguard: 3-Ply Black Control Knobs: BK Jazz Hardware Finish: Chrome Electronics Pickups: Marcus Vintage-J Revolution Set Controls: Volume (Neck Pickup), Volume (Bridge Pickup), Tone (Master)2 points -
Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate the assistance. I have a good idea of what is inside a standard pot, but the dual pot is new to new.. well, it feels seized, I tried some contact cleaner which made it worse (removing any lubricant that may have been there) I think the axel is bent, something hit it hard enough to take the knob off a slightly bend the arms on the exterior.. anyway ! I'll try and let you know2 points
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Well I wouldn't class myself as a 'bread-head' when it comes to gigging. However, I generally look to stay 'net-zero' at least on the finance side so that expenses and gear bought to support gigs is paid for along the line. I've never really made much from the activity, being 40% tax bracket for many years put me off earning sufficient to interest the tax man. Charity gigs we nearly always do pro-bono or for minimal mileage expenses if a longer hike. For venues where they are making significantly on the exercise then I don't think it's unreasonable to expect remuneration in line with that, for venues that are more financially compromised we normally charge accordingly but don't take prisoners if they aren't active in promotion etc.2 points
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In terms of European security Trump publicly stating that the US might not honour Article 5 and slating NATOs effectiveness is the most irresponsible thing I have ever heard from a senior politician let alone a president. He has kick started an arms race which will most likely be nuclear. A country can’t double its army overnight but if it has nuclear knowledge and arms manufacturing capacity it can go nuclear very quickly. Focusing on China and berating Europe for its military contribution behind closed doors would have been entirely justified. Personally I think he has weakened Ukraine and emboldened Russian. They will continue their advance having been handed an opportunity. If they succeed Moldova will be next followed by false flag operations in Estonia IMO. 20000 missing Ukrainian children is no coincidence for a country facing a demographic crisis. Europe will be continually subjected to cyberattacks, infrastructure sabotage and disinformation. Romania are likely to go down the Hungary route and be a thorn in the EU side. Disinformation and electoral interference will continue as a highly effective strategy of destabilising democracy. Rather than focusing on China (which is Trump’s stated aim) he is waging economic war on Europe and Canada and dragging US into an expensive and potentially protracted middle east conflict. Geopolitically he is a disaster. Economically he is a disaster. In terms of disease prevention, global hunger, climate change he is a disaster. Edit: Having a showboating media savvy idiot in charge is not necessarily a bad thing. Having an idiot in charge who surrounds himself with unqualified yes men, doesn’t listen to anyone and even worse disbands the agencies that actually know how to run a country and military, Now that is dangerous.2 points
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Yes, quite possibly. Given the 1980 pickups I'd say that should be plastic case territory, but it doesn't matter. These cases are more valuable and this one looks in fantastic condition.2 points
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But music has moved on and you haven't. Besides it's hardly new. I was working with bands using drum machines and backing tracks back in 1981. The Who used backing tapes in order to perform "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" in the 70s. I bet no-one other than the Musician's Union complained about that. I would love to be able perform our songs without programmed backing but finding a drummer and synth player with the technical ability to do what we need is proving impossible. Also it would completely mess up the logistics of playing live. As I said in my original post we get the whole band plus all the instruments we need to play a gig into a single estate car. We can be set up and be ready to play in under 10 minutes from load in. We couldn't do any of those things with a drummer and second synth player.2 points
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This thread just emphasises the knotty problem that is monetising music. Only a very few can make money, for the rest of us it is a hobby, and yes while we do need to be alert about others taking advantage, for the most part small venues and pubs are also struggling to survive. As I keep telling my kids, the most likely way to make money in life is to do well at school (in STEM subjects).2 points
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Testing my new Growler 5 Growler5 check.mp32 points
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Private 60th birthday party last night for us with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam. Also our drummers birthday same day. Organiser saw us 2 yrs ago and thought it would be great for his dads 60th. He had shown him vids from the gig 2 yrs ago and his Dad loved them. Was in a church hall with its own bar which was kinda strange but a well organised event. Approx 40-50 guests. We were paid while loading in so that was a 1st. Not a big fan of private parties tho as not every guest will be into Glam so it can be a bit MEH !!!. Birthday Boy had no idea what was happening and we were asked not to give it away. Covered the logo on bass drum and no band t-shirts worn also no backdrop. 1st set was a bit slow to get moving. We had some feedback "drone" issue coming and going with singers mic that we just couldn't nail it. It wasn't fine at soundcheck. Turned out it was pick up from snare drum so we managed to resolve it for 2nd set. We had a few dancers 1st set and it was turning out like many private parties ("dead") but we were getting well paid so thoughts of paid rehearsal were going thru my head. We were all invited to partake which was really nice to be asked and we didn't want to disappoint our host and be rude so we partook of a few bits and bobs and were even delivered a tray of food in our changing room which was a large room just off the main corridor. 2nd set it just all seemed to clicked, sound was perfect, dancers filled the floor and party was officially started. Decided to use my Handbox WB-100 last night for a wee change and boy was that a treat. I forgot how much i liked an all valve amp. Warm depth of tone with the mids boosted as advised by our very own WoT and the clarity was just so good. Using the Sandberg VM4 into Keeley comp, WB-100, Mesa SW210/115 cabs and the sound was amazing. I need to use that amp more often. Feedback was excellent with several folks looking to book us with one guy that manages a few other clubs being very impressed. They want us back as a proper function rather than a private event and bar manager reckoned it would sell out. She even wanted a list of where we play so she can come along. All very promising. The number of people coming up at the end complimenting us was quite touching at times but obviously a few beers had been partook by the end of the evening. Something i don't usually mention but here goes :- Arrived at venue 5pm Set up and S/C 6:30pm Doors open 7pm 1st set 8-9pm 2nd set 10-11:15pm Loaded by 12:15am Home and unloaded 1:30am Bed 2am Dave2 points
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