mrtcat

Great to hear the gig went well! Really pleased for you.

For me it depends whether I'm learning purely for my own entertainment or to play with the band. If its for my own benefit I just play along as it's usually something I've heard a few times and thought "that sounds like fun to play". If it's a bit tricky I may dig out a tab from t'internet to help but 9 times in 10 the tricky bits are wrong on tabs anyhow. With the band we tend to add tunes in batches so usually I will have 10 - 15 to learn in a few weeks. If that's the case I'll print off a pile of tabs at work on my lunch break and take them home (I only go for ones with 5* ratings as the rest are usually poor). Then I'll start with the songs I'm most familiar with and start playing along. I'll keep the tabs handy for chord progressions etc but never stick to them completely. I don't stick on one song too long as I find it sticks better if i put it down and pick it up a few times. Making the bass part my own is very important to me tho so I'll often ditch the original bass line in favour of my own. When doing this tho it's important to listen a few times and be prepared to admit when the original is better.

If it helps I use one of these and really get some nice results. [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Light_Snake.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...ight_Snake.html[/url] Used to use a sans amp into an external soundcard which was very very good but with so many really good software bass amp simulators I really like this option. I've been using a free sample piece of software that i picked up a few years back from Ampeg. Sadly none of it makes me play better tho

Hey, People have pretty much covered it I think. Personally I know how you feel I've been there before too but it's quite right that at some point you need to get out of the rehearsal rooms and see what happens. It's not easy as you clearly care about having a good product but as you already admit you are a perfectionist do you think you may not ever feel 110% ready? If it was me and I had some doubts I would be thinking about how much I could learn about my fellow band mates by getting on stage with them. They might really surprise you. I would however be concerned that my worries might be reflected in my performance. You know you're going to do the gig (and fair play to you for standing by your band) so do yourself justice by forcing the worries to the back of your mind and concentrate on enjoying it and let your band members see you being positive. This will probably count for more than a few extra months in the rehearsal room as they'll feed off your positivity - especially if you're more experienced cos they will look to you for inspiration. I wish you the very best with the gig and I'm sure it'll be great.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1014797' date='Nov 6 2010, 09:53 PM']Probably moving your cab would've been better than messing with EQ. If I get boomy sounds I just pick up the cab and march it a few feet and see how it sounds, repeat. Sometimes there is no good place to put a bass cab but more often than not it'll solve the problem.[/quote] Thanks thisnameistaken, I did move it away from the wall as it has big rear ports and I thought this may be causing the booming but even tho 2m forward was better it was still wallowy. Will defo try moving around more if i struggle in future. [quote name='wateroftyne' post='1014828' date='Nov 6 2010, 10:45 PM']Here y'are: [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Auralex_Isolation_Risers.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...ion_Risers.html[/url] Best £40 I ever spent. If you're playing on a wooden (not not solid) stage, it tightens the sound up a hell of a lot. The best way I can describe it is that it's like comparing an out-of-focus photo to a well-focussed shot.. you get all the detail. Now I use it all the time regardless of the stage's construction...[/quote] Wow this looks really interesting. I have had several gigs where the raised stage has caused problems. I'm ony 20 mins from Bass Direct so may well pop in this week. £40 is nothing really in comparison to the cost of buying amps etc so seems like a really good value solution. Thanks a lot!

GRAMMA pad keeps it to a minimum, tho... [/quote] ??? Tell me more!

Hi fellow bass players!! Played a gig last night at a pub in Oxfordshire and no matter what I tried I simply couldnt get a good sound. Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem??? I'm an experienced player and was running a 75 re-issue jazz thru a tc electronic head and a bergantino AE212. This is a new-ish rig to me but have gigged it 15 times and on all other occasions it's been really really easy to get a good sound. I don't go for massive low end just plenty of punch and growl. Last night however I really struggled to get a sound that wasn't booming. I had bass at -4, low mid at -3, high mid at 0 and treble at 0 but still it was booming. We were on a raised area with pillars and a low ceiling. All other band members sounded great except me. I must admit I've seen other bands here and have always thought that the bass players have been turned down too low. Maybe they all had the same problem??? I would welcome any advice or reassurance that I'm not the only one to struggle with this problem. Cheers

Hey all! Just wanted to let peeps know that my band Crude Measure (based in Bicester - Oxfordshire) are now up and running and our gigs have been a walloping success. We're now in the fortunate position of being "wanted" by loads of venues. We're a simple rock covers 4 piece playing old and new rock classics. We seem to be a bit better than many of the other covers bands around and our singer is really really good. My Dad, Pete, has just taken over getting us booked and we now seem to be booked week in week out. We're in Abingdon this Friday at The Midget which is a great venue so it would be ace to see some of you fellow basschatters there. www.myspace.com/crudemeasure Thanks for looking

[quote name='bobbytodd' post='1005514' date='Oct 29 2010, 05:38 PM']well it looks like im keeping my old set up for a while.they took me into the office this morning and told me they were cutting my hours to 20 a week [/quote] Very sorry to hear that. If it helps I sold my old kit to fund a TC Classic 450 and paired it with a Bergantino AE212 and it has wiped the floor with everything I've ever owned previously (which is a supidly large range of kit). The good old "Arts Council" are still offering 0% over 10 months to pretty much anyone.

Hey fellow bass lovers! My band, Crude Measure, are doing a fundraising night on Sat 4th Dec for Help For Heroes. It's our first ever charity gig and organising it has been a learning curve. It's shaping up to be a great night and if it's the success we hope it's gonna be we'll be doing a bigger and more extravagant one next year. It's at The Star pub in Bicester - Oxfordshire - and it'd be great if any fellow basschatters could pop along to offer support. Thanks for looking! Join our facebook group to help spread the word [url="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=132713633447066"]http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=132713633447066[/url]

If it was me.......and of course it's not...... I would be sorely tempted with a Hartke LH500 or LH1000(both of which IMO sound better than loads of far more expensive amps)coupled with one of alex's barefaced cabs. I run a compact and it's incredibly loud, light and pretty. My old ampeg 4x10 was nowhere near as loud. You also then have the option to add another compact at a later date if you want to level the street. It is always very satisfying turning up at gigs with the compact cab and seeing other bass players first snigger but then cry as it wipes the floor with their big heavy 4x10s.