mrtcat

Started late teens and played my first gig a week after holding a bass for the first time. A friends band lost their bassist and I was in. Found it pretty easy to play passable bass lines for covers although they were usually pretty simple versions. I have gigged pretty much ever since and have improved a lot over time. Only just started having lessons this year at the age of 38 and finding it really beneficial. I think as a teenager I'd never have stuck lessons out but now I love them and have a great teacher that I have real faith in.

[quote name='40hz' timestamp='1418211464' post='2627944'] It's now dominated by the Rockbass line, which are fine instruments in their own right I guess, but essentially £400-£800 for a Chinese made budget-line that sound NOTHING like the basses they are supposed to be aping. At least Squiers sound exactly like Fenders, Sterling by Musicman sound 99% like real Musicman's etc etc. [/quote] I have a Rockbass Streamer and a German stage 1 Streamer and they sound very similar and even more worryingly they both play beautifully. I'd recommend the Rockbass streamers very highly.

It's totally different for different types of band. A function band with a repertoire of hundreds of songs doing requests or playing stuff at the call of an md are totally ok to have music stands. That band works by being polished and flexible so that's a valid reason. A pub rock band knocking out time old classics with a set of 30 songs and maybe a dozen spares just look terrible imo with stands as the whole point is to be engaging and rock n roll and a bit rough and reasy. Using a stand in a pub tells me they either don't know their stuff or they're taking themselves way too seriously. I'd never play a pub with a regular singer / guitarist if he /she needed a stand.

[quote name='Les' timestamp='1417643844' post='2622680'] OP, how on earth did you end up in a band with a bad drummer ? [/quote] When I went to audition they wanted to do five songs and I can now see the drummer picked them as they're the five he plays best.

Yep I see a consensus forming here. I can't see the drummer leaving as he and the guitarist are great mates and the founders of the band. I was wary when I joined but at the time needed the money really badly due to being made redundant. Money is no longer an issue so I'm pretty sure I'm going to tactfully cut my losses. I guess the next dilemma is do I give my reasons and hope it helps them in the long run or just make excuses and leave. I could just tell them that the problem is getting me down and see if the drummer is open to the idea of practicing and even gigging with a metronome. I don't want to stitch them up at all but it is no fun at the moment.

He'll yeah as long as he didn't cock up mustang Sally and Sex On Fire.

New bergantino cn210 is on its way. Think it's just been launched in the states. May be worth a look.

Basically I'm in two bands. One is great, does functions and is really musical. All members are experienced players and the drummer is incredibly good. The other is ok doing pub rock and fills the gaps in my calendar nicely, all the members are really nice people and I like their company. The big problem I have is that the drummer in my second band simply can't keep time. He is all over the shop and can go up or down by a good 15bpm in a song. The singer and guitarist are both really decent but whilst aware of drummers speed issues they don't seem bothered. We've even had punters shout out that the drummer is all over the place. Don't get me wrong, his style and fills are fine but he's just got no internal metronome. I've raised it really tactfully a few times but his standard response is "in an interview dave grohl says it's natural to speed up a bit". It's driving me nuts and as a bass player it ruins the playing for me and is quite embarrassing. Is this something he can improve on? If so should I just lay my cards on the table and hope he works on it? If not I can only see it ending one way. What would you do?

I genuinely believe big pa systems with masses of subs can destroy a bassist's sound if the engineer isn't focused on getting the bass through but a decent engineer can make the bass sing. You can have as much kick as you like as long as the bass sits in a different space. For me it's the mids that usually get lost and in a big venue they're soooo important. If you're gonna give the kick a big boost at around 60hz that's fine but make sure the bass sits above it and give it a boost in low mids. My general experience though is that you need both a good engineer and a good seat. In huge venues the sound by the desk can be totally different to the sound at the back or in the gods. If you stand / sit near the engineer and he's good / cares then it's usually ok.

We just picked up a used pair of powered RCF ART322 A's for £300. The 2 inch hf driver makes them much smoother than the 1 inch version and they wipe the floor with the Mackie's at volume. If you want to go LOUD add sub(s) but for most small pubs / venues they're great and with subs they're lovely. My advice with RCF's is always go for the ones with 2 inch hf drivers (322, 325, 422 etc etc)

We do Maggie May. It's tough as hell to get the feel of the original but it's that feel that makes the whole song. I do ok but it's the one I always work on when I have spare time.

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1416253698' post='2608382'] All good advice, but are any of you any good with sound? I'm not trying to piss on your parade but you are on the first step of a very long road here, and you can't just buy a good sound. [/quote] Couldn't agree more. Learn about live sound first and then you'll know what you need to get the sound you want.

Makes no difference IMO. Setups are usually just the players personal preference but other than that it's only hardware etc that can affect sound. Great players will make any old piece of junk sound great bad players will make boutique basses sound pap.

You'd have to be ridiculously rough with a cab made from decent 12mm ply to do it any significant damage. I'd probably go as far as to suggest that the lightweight cabs are more durable and up to the task than heavier stuff. They're easy to handle so less likely to get dropped and if you do drop one onto it's corner there's far less weight involved so the damage is likely to be less. Being lighter they're more maneuverable so less likely to get banged against doors. If they fall over in the car or van they'll be less likely to damage the vehicle or themselves. As long as they're well made they'll be fine.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1415615483' post='2601935'] In my current band, there is a personell change and I disagree with it, so I will never push that line-up... I have given in my notice as well because of it. [/quote] Wow that's a shame. Must be bad to make you want to quit. I always got the impression you were pretty passionate about your band and what it does. Must credit your integrity for being prepared to back up what you feel is right. Hope something better comes your way.

Don't know why photos have rotated all over the shop? Making me dizzy..

Thought I should share my experiences with luminlay fret markers. I wanted these as a subtle and inexpensive solution for playing on dark stages. We basically I'm stoked with the results. They do exactly what they said they would. Using the tiny blue light torch for about 10 seconds per dot gives enough glow for a one hour set. They look pretty tidy and they were quite simple to fit. Total spend including the torch was about £30 and that has left me with enough spare glowstick to do two more basses if I want. Installation can be seen in the pics below. I didn't photograph all the sanding down but it was pretty straightforward all in all and took a little over an hour from start to finish. I have trialled them in my stingray clone which is my new go to pub gig / dingy venue bass. It's low value made it perfect candidate for my first attempt at fitting these.

I'm happy to pay the bc fees as I like the site and am keen to support it. That said I have had far more selling success on free sites especially the big aussie tree.

Yes you would need to solder two cables for the battery unless you wanted to use bullet connectors or similar. My stingray is a clone so I had to actually route out and fit a battery box so the joining of cables was the least of my issues. The pre comes complete with heat shrink tubing for any joints like that. Yeah the screw connections are quite small but no more difficult to use than larger ones. If you're worried at all about installation then any guitar tech would do it in a couple of minutes.