mrtcat

Hi all, trying to do a demo or two for my band on a shoestring. Recorded this in my shed using a focusrite interface into reaper then tried my hand at mixing and mastering myself. Honest opinions welcomed / needed. [url="https://soundcloud.com/tom-caswell-3"]https://soundcloud.com/tom-caswell-3[/url] BV's are still to be added and I'll obviously remove the blooper at the end before it goes out anywhere.

At uni I did a study based around board sports where one foot leads (think skateboarding where some people put left foot at the front of the board and others the right). Essentially we all have a naturally preferred way of doing it. You can learn to do it the other way round and to a high standard but ultimately your long term progress is slower if you are fighting your body and doing it the less natural way. I think everyone should embrace their pre programmed tendency and that's why left handed instruments make perfect sense. I imagine that the reason it's uncommon in more traditional instruments is purely down to old beliefs that being left handed is a sign of something evil. That said I'm left hand dominant but find playing right handed far easier. I do however have to work really hard at slap bass as my non dominant hand is having to do far more complex stuff.

Used to play in a function band with a guitarist who used a les Paul and it was gash at the funky chic type stuff. Great for rock tho.

[quote name='el borracho' timestamp='1439328305' post='2842007'] an old Mini with the passenger seat taken out to fit the cab in! [/quote] Haha that's exactly what I did. Sometimes my girlfriend had to sit in the back seat while my trace combo sat in the spot where her seat should have been lol.

Love St Ives, we camp at Gwithian every year and kitesurf at the bluff. The wife and I went on holiday with our drummer, his wife and our guitarist to Kos two years ago and a bar in the town had a live solo guy on every night. He usually played guitar and sang to backing tracks and was ok. The bar had drums and a bass and an amp set up as he'd get any muso's up to join him. Needless to say we got up on the 1st night to do 1-2 songs and ended up doing 2 hrs solid. By the end of the fortnight we'd done six nights and essentially drank and ate there for free whenever we walked in.

Yeah I have to say this is a fairly alien concept to me. From the age of about 14 I used to work my arse off doing paper rounds odd jobs etc to fund basic gear. I always thought that if I wanted to play with a band I'd need an amp etc. As I got older I got better work and so could afford better gear. How do you rehearse?

That's awesome, great job. I bet that was a tricky shape to cut out too. What's it made of and more importantly what does it sound like? Did you use parts from another bass?

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1439050651' post='2839673'] Massive +1. Pisses over BF and Bergs. [/quote] Having built bfm cabs and fearful cabs to a professional standard and also having owned barefaced and berg cabs I can happily confirm that this is not my experience. Yes the fearful cabs are very good but so are all the others and the barefaced and bfms were the winners for me.

I found the dxrs plenty loud but a bit harsh. Try something with a 2 inch hf driver yamaha dsr, rcf art 325/425/725) and you should find it works nicely.

Barefaced retro 2x10? Looks like it would stack very well and I'm sure 4 of them together would level a small industrial estate.

I love depping. Just make sure you know all the standards in the genre you do and practice transposing keys on the hoof. I find that ear training really helps when they launch into a song having forgotten to mention they do it in a different key. Be really positive and help out with load in and out. I always make a point of speaking to band leader well in advance and making easy to read charts. I write my charts with a sharpie to make them easier to read.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1438892212' post='2838533'] the kind of people who learn to ride a unicycle and think that juggling is a valuable social skill, i.e. the homeless. [/quote] The homeless and students from upper class backgrounds who want to appear to be 'free spirits' despite the fact daddy pays for their monthly teeth whitening and audi convertible.

Our singer is in tambourine training. He has one with all the jangly cymbal bits removed until he passes his test.

It's what keeps me out of bassdirect and bass gear. Being such high end establishments just makes the pressure worse.

Maybe nobody knew the answer?

Came out years before I was born but I really love it. I like a lot of Beatles stuff and dislike plenty too but I've always loved Sgt Pepper. I don't have the benefit of the context of a lot of the early Beatles stuff as I wasn't there but respect where it's due they clearly captured peoples attention with what they did. I like plenty of Stones stuff too and naturally dislike certain stuff. Funny that the Beatles have never felt the need to criticise the stones as far as I'm aware.

Nice work. Love the clamps in the 1st picture. What paint have you used? Looks like you've used some decent glue too. Its a very satisfying thing building your own cabs.

Good stuff indeed. You've done well to sort it quickly.

A good bass is a good bass irrespective of age. Likewise a bad bass is bad old or new.

Not interested in solos on any instrument unless it really adds something to the song. Regarding bass i'd much rather just hear a breakdown where bass and drums groove nicely for a bar or two.

[quote name='police squad' timestamp='1438788341' post='2837345'] I'm depping for my mates band and the singer, as stated, does what she likes. Last night we had practice and she cried off at the last minute. Good job it's not my band, cos I'd sack her. F*king slacker. How do people think they can get away with being like that and i don't think that she's good enough to have that kind of attitude [/quote] Like you say, lucky it's not your band and therefore not your problem. A band is a team and slackers just drag a team down. I'd be tempted to tell her "no worries love, you just turn up when you're good and ready" then at the end of the night giver her exactly half what everyone else gets paid..

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438725220' post='2836790'] I think the Tony Hadley gig wins... if he comes calling again. Function gigs are two a penny by comparison. It shouldn't be a problem unless you make it one... he'll do it anyway, IME, just I wouldn't fall out over it, burn bridges or get too precious about it. I'd actually be glad that they could still get the gig... I certainly wouldn't try to hold them ..because I'm pretty sure you'd lose. [/quote] Yeah but he's been with us six years and Tony Hadley for 12 and it's never been a problem. He has a list of deps available he can use for the functions but he takes full responsibility for filling his slot if hes away. Hes going to be in the house band at the rewind festival in a few weeks so is missing a wedding with us. He already sorted and briefed the dep. Speaking to him last night he said that decent function gigs are far from two a penny and will never risk losing the regular stuff he gets with us. Nobody is trying to hold anyone and he knows that if he wants to do other stuff he can but while he is a member of our band he has a certain responsibility to cover himself with us if he's already agreed to a booking. I guess a lot comes down to the individual too but like I said from the start it's just about agreeing terms from day one. We didn't force him to join. He auditioned along with a good dozen others, we discussed what we needed and what he needed, we offered him the slot and he willingly accepted. Over 200 gigs later he's as much a part of the band as any of the others. We did exactly the same with the drummer we took on last year and there's no reason why the OP can't do the same with any drummer his band takes on.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438709976' post='2836628'] But... to be fair, there is always a better gig for those in demand. I don't mean they need to be an ar$e about it but if you are pulling down a level..and they are happy to play with you because you are at worth gigging with, then accept that their main bands are the ones they have to commit to. Generally I'll get about 2 weeks notice but if I didn't do this, I wouldn't get that calibre of player. [/quote] Our drummer, keys player and guitarist are all pros and with the exception of our singer we all work with other bands or on other projects but we all really look after our commitment to the function band. Our guitarist has been touring with Tony Hadley for years and still has a certain amount of commitment there but he knows we are his bread and butter income now (especially with Spandau Ballet more active again) and plays by the rules 100%. The OP can at least set his band's expectations out from day one and at least then the drummer will know whats expected of him if he accepts the seat.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438691566' post='2836405'] I never get this 1st come, 1st served nonsense tbh... [/quote] May be nonsense to you but if a drummer or anyone else cancels after agreeing to a date they have two choices. First is to arrange a dep who is as good as them and do all the leg work. Second is to not play with us again. I make that perfectly clear before people join us and have only had to act on it once in 17yrs of function work.

Also from experience it's always an advantage if you have some contacts in case you need a dep.