WalMan

Let's see:[list] [*]the vintage Superbass 100 (that I still have though is probably a Trigger's Broom nowadays) that blew a fuse at a gigperhaps 25 years ago, and was fixed IIRC with a fure out of a mates Moggie Minor [*]the Trace Elliot combo that would cut out intermittently and took three returns before the fault was tracked to a hairling crack on the input board, and led to my having an XLR permanently ready to plug into the Wal's DI out; [*]and then the usual, thankfully infrequent user failure when going back for an encore, the song starting and there being no bass for ages while I check the battery in the radio, radio's on, all leads plugged in, tuner not on for silent tuning, round & round in increasingly paniced circles...until I finally realise the standby is still on on the amp [/list]

On a fairly regular basis with FF I get the site timeout message that always clears with a click on Try Again

I was going to say You might want to give these chaps a call - [url="http://www.guitarandampshop.co.uk/acatalog/Electric_Bass_Guitar.html"]Bognor Guitar & Amp[/url] - and then realised when I looked at their home page that they are MB Music!! Just down the road from me and they do a lot of business on 'tinternet - shop is always full of boxes waiting to go. Can't really comment otherwise as I have only used them for smaller items like strings and just call in, but they always have a range of basses on the wall & do stock Lakland, but a nice guy who has been there for a few years so if they have it and you can get a good deal I would not say no

[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1338207114' post='1670754'] Paul Rodgers with the Deborah Bonham Band at The Venue, Chichester this Thursday (31/5); followed by [/quote] Pretty good night with PR on last doing a load of Free & BadCo, but no Queen funnily enough Managed to keep my arms locked at my side for the charity auction before he did his set - eg the Jimmy Page Danelectro "Who'll start me at £2k? Thank you. 3. 4. Well I know someone in the states who'll have it for £6k. Any more? Sold" [quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1338207114' post='1670754'] Little Angels for their Download warm up @ The Wedgewood Rooms Southsea the following Tuesday (5/6) [/quote]Now this was a damn fine night! Not quite so much hair nowadays (except for Mr Jepson). Rock the way it should be. Three rows back in a small sweaty club, not through binoculars at some enormodrome, or soggy field. The support (The Temperance Movement) were pretty good too in a Black Crowesy / full beard de rigeur fashion.

Downloaded this from eMusic at the wwwkwnd. Not had a chance tp properly listen to it yet

or even http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfGz1KcoLcw

I have a jubilee rehearsal tonight...does that count. Just had the text to confirm it is still on, as the 8u99ers left me of the email cancellation for the last one that rather ticked me off Time to load up & go I think

Drummer in my main lot uses a metronome to set speeds, though feel tends to take over so we probably move around it a bit. For me, particularly towards the end of the night when I would prefer the set to flow a bit more I find it bit of an annoyance at times to get to the end of a song only to have to wait while the new tempo is dialled in before we start the next one. Probably doesn't take that long, but to me it sometimes feels interminable, particularly if the crowd has been up enjoying itself and starts to drift off looking confused in the gap

Yup. Drummer & guitarist from my proggy lot were there.

Paul Rodgers with the Deborah Bonham Band at The Venue, Chichester this Thursday (31/5); followed by Little Angels for their Download warm up @ The Wedgewood Rooms Southsea the following Tuesday (5/6)

[quote name='merlin' timestamp='1338124750' post='1669828'] Its not the only song they do thats a little odd..and I thought it was only me?? [/quote]It's more the shifts and different open strings being available, "shapes" required ... so mainly down to my inability after all these years to learn modes properly I 'spose But I know what you mean. There are a few where I have played them a particular way that I was sure was correct, then happened to hear the track again & realise the bassline is very different, but that's a whole different thread.

[quote name='BRANCINI' timestamp='1338147792' post='1670139'] Not sure if you can do this with a part time occupation. I'm sure sombody on here will know more. If your wifes not working, she can do all your books polish your Basses, and answer the phone etc. And you can claim for her wages. long as you dont pay her enough to have to but a stamp theres little or no paperwork, and no checks to make sure you actually give her the cash.. [/quote]Well as ever, yes and no. If all it is doing is creating a bigger loss then you can but you will not be able to set it off against other income (there was a tax tribunal case that said as much recently) Also what you pay needs to be commensurate with the work done, and ideally there should be a trail to show payment actually made - difficult if you have a joint account but for preference that should be by a transfer so that you can prove the payment has been made.... and don't forget minimum wage legislation and a redundancy payment when you give up. But what price can you say is reasonable for the odd phone call, two lines on a spreadsheet and polishing two basses after a gig? Use of home. Unless perhaps you teach from a room at home or have a r/h rookm the band uses then you will probably only be looking at the HMRC suggested rate of £3/week

Playing Lizzy' "Boys Are Back In Town" Main band plays in A, dep band plays in G. After a couple of gigs with the dep band my muscle memory is all to cock and I was all over the place back in A

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1337992585' post='1668542'] It's quite... Taxing? [/quote]Ain't [u][i][b]that[/b][/i][/u] the truth. That Moira Stewart does talk a load of tosh!!

[quote name='jonsebass' timestamp='1337971401' post='1668293'] So, one thing ive learnt is to keep a note and receipt for everything. Now - do i just do this for the earnings I receive, or totally for the band; IE - Gig at X pub = band gets paid £200. Out of that £200, we all get £40 (£200/5) Do i just record MY expenses, and leave it to the rest of the band to do their own? [/quote] [quote name='jonsebass' timestamp='1337976259' post='1668384'] Its a covers band - there are no leaders really. We book gigs together, and split all the dough equally - i provide insurance and publicity [/quote] ...and here's where the "it depends" comes. Yes probably but then again your band is [i][u]strictly[/u][/i] a partnership and technically ought to register itself and do returns of the band profit split between all of you. building in individual claims for personal expenses, BUT that is a complete & utter nightmare!!! If you're in two or three bands and do some deps, that gets technically even worse. For the most part keeping your own records of everything you do should probably suffice, for goodness sake for a pub covers band HMRC making a huge deal of the square root of b'all would be ridiculous and you would hope that a sensible/pragmatic view would be taken, BUT get an awkward 50d who wants to take it to the nth degree and who knows. Hopefully he would have a sensible boss somewhere up the line who would tell him to get a grip and look at the bigger picture. Now I know that we are generally not talking big bucks, and I seem to be finding difficulties, but that's tax for you

[quote name='BRANCINI' timestamp='1337954705' post='1668001'] Sorry to harp on, but do you mean that I should pay tax on the odd fifty quid or so I get from gigs, but cannot claim for my expenses because its just a hobby ? [/quote]No. I mean there probably - in fact almost certainly - is no profit and most likely a loss. Potentially you could set that loss off, but the tax rules say that you can only set the loss against other income and reduce your total liability (possibly getting a refund in the process if you are employed) if you go out to your pub gigs with the expectation of making an overall profit at some point. With the odd £50 here & there you might find it difficult to stack up arguments to support such a claim. So as you say above it's not worth the hassle to fully declare just make sure you keep the records and have something to back up an enquiry later. What TimR say re profit & consumables exceeding expenditure is what I am trying to get at, and not explaining well. Similarly the point about gear costs is relevant. You could claim up front but it'll come back to bite when you sell. As a rule of thumb compare income with expenses on consumables (strings, mileage, batteries, insurance etc) and initially ignore gear. If there's a net loss (likely with pub gigs) you're OK. And as Twigman says, beware relying on advice from HMRC helplines. Generally you will be talking to low level call centre drones with fairly basic training. Tax legislation and associated textbooks cover a large wall at the office. Very few things in tax are black or white, just shades & & so often the answer to a tax question is "it depends" As you have found, an enquiry by HMRC is a major PITA. If you have the records it shouldn't be an issue. If you have to complete tax returns already then a brief note in the additional info section that you earn a little income as a musician but that expenses exceed income each year so that it is considered a hobby and you are not making any further return of this [i]may[/i] help to stop HMRC coming back years down the line and reopening old returns that ought to be done & dusted under normal SA rules long since. This would be on the grounds that you put them on notice that there was this source/hobby income, and they should have opened an enquiry within the normal 12 month window. It's by no means guaranteed, BUT in arguments with HMRC it would be a plus for you. Penalty rules have got a lot worse in the last year so anything you can do to stave off later attacks will be a bonus

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1337951052' post='1667920'] i think if you can show them recording/publishing contracts etc then they let you carry on. I did get a letter once a long time ago and sent them copies of these. [/quote]As long as you can provide good evidence that you expect to make a profit, and some time soon, then you should be OK, but I would have expected them to be asking for updated proof of intention every few years to check whether anything had changed. Still, like I say sounds like you are lucky and have managed to do so.

And just to reiterate to all those who say "I claim everything including all my gear" that is fine, BUT when you sell a bass, amp, pedal, etc that you have claimed a deduction for thet the proceeds are taxable income, same as your gig money. The rules that effectively allow you to deduct the cost of gear in the year against income (so long as you did not spend more than £100k up to 5 April 12, and £25k since) are fairly recent, and do not drop receipts on sale of such items out of tax. Just FYI in case it comes as a nasty shock later on. Consider that vast collection of vintage basses you have built up and claimed deductions for. When you give up (will we ever of course), you have to value them and bring in that value as income. Might mean a BIG tax bill on retirement from the music business.

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1337950030' post='1667899'] In 30 years they've not complained. Not made a profit once in any of those years. [/quote]You are lucky then. They should have stopped it after 5 years if not sooner.

[quote name='BRANCINI' timestamp='1337948843' post='1667867'] If they do that, and officially declare it a hobby. Then does that mean that what you earn is exempt ? cos if not then surely what you spend would still be deductable. [/quote]Not exempt, just that it cannot be set against other income in the year only carried forwards. There are rules in the Taxes Acts that govern what you can do with losses. They are basically saying you are not carrying on a business, but a hobby, and therefore cannot offset the losses against other income (getting a tax refund in the process). If circumstances change you would need to tell them, and it would be advisable to maintain notes of all the ins & outs in the meantime, particularly if you think the circumstances might change and you start making a profit in the future and want to take advantage of the built up losses.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1337934131' post='1667515'][list] [*]save your gig money and buy a new bass every year - you can't have too much equipment to claim back against [/list] [/quote] But beware. As above this is capital, so when you eventually give up, and if/when you sell basses, the proceeds come back in as income and are taxable

[quote name='paul torch' timestamp='1337933679' post='1667509'] Probably been said already but... Keep all receipts for every expense (equipment, rehearsal space, travel etc). If you are only getting £35-£50 per gig then you are probably running at a loss. These losses can be offset against any other earnings (PAYE jobs) enabling you to claim a tax rebate. Bit of a pain I know but you could end up quids-in. [/quote]Although the chances are that HMRC will (or should) if not immediately then within the first few years of such claims knock you set off claims back on the grounds that you are not "trading with a view to a profit".

[quote name='simon1964' timestamp='1337932410' post='1667492'] I have to use an accountant for my "proper" job. They advised me that the amount I earn from giggng once or twice a month is so small that the Revenue would treat it as a hobby rather than a business. Mainly because if they treated it as a business, I would probably be able to show a loss and claim tax back! [/quote]Precisely. But keep your receipts anyway. If you are having to make tax returns then there may come a time when HMRC review the return and having the backup to prove that point will save problems. Whether you make a "white space" note to that effect on your return in an endeavour to limit the possibility opening closed returns by way of "discovery" of you new source of income as a musician is for them to advise and you to decide at the end of the day