Lozz196

Good rehearsal last night with my no-singer non-gigging classic rock band. The guitarist is now taking advantage of hiring one of the rehearsal rooms 412s rather than using his own 112 and the difference is quite staggering. Far from being louder and overpowering everyone it’s actually enabled us to turn down and the sound is much better balanced. We’ve also added in Next To You by The Police, not exactly classic rock but a good song and it gives the drummer a chance to shine.

Elixir coated rounds, the steels are less zingy due to being coated, the nickels are nicely warm. For reference I used to put steels on Precisions, nickels on Jazzes.

Agree, I don’t know much about Anthrax but having watched a few interviews with him he seems a very decent chap

I wonder how much of that is also due to the change in lifestyle. Our younglings at work consider they’ve partied like rock stars if they’ve drunk 4 glasses of wine or had 4 Bud Lites. Very different to my day where similarly to the above we were out every night, every pub was packed every night and there were always bands playing somewhere.

I still think back to the 70s/80s where a musician would have one decent-ish guitar & one amp (often paid for by student grant, and said musician if no longer a student would more than likely be unemployed as unemployment was a big problem then), would be living in squalor eating virtually nothing all day (which is why they were all stick thin back then). Sure we have a cost of living problem at the moment but there were plenty of hard times years ago as well.

Yep, look at the current Post Office scandal and multiply that outrage several times should any government confiscate assets of any kind because it suited them let alone it being accommodation.

Much softer than my very hard & ham-fisted attack with a pick. I was always trying and failing badly to replicate that. Once I started to play softer with a pick I found finger style easier.

I remember back in the 80s it seemed that every band (from the punk/indie scene) that made it had lived together in squats. One of the reasons I decided against it, choosing to live in squalor when not needing to wasn`t for me.

For years I tried and swiftly gave up playing finger style. I then left my last band, tamed the way I played then found that it was trying to replicate that really hard digging in aggression with a pick that I was having problems with, not actually playing with fingers. From there on I’ve managed to get to grips with it. I still prefer using a pick tho, always will.

Ultex Triangle 1.0, essentially a more modern sounding Tortex.

Looking back to the 80s when I started playing and when I got into my first proper band in 87 at the age of 21: Bass - Yamaha BB1100s. Cost £450, on HP. Amp - Laney 1x15 Linebacker. Cost £260, on HP. Employment status - Fully employed, salary was £4750 so £400 a month before deductions. Living status - at my Mums. Transport - car at the time was broken and couldn’t afford to fix it. Used to get to rehearsals & gigs with the band leader doing a round-robin and picking us all up/dropping us all off in a van that was probably unfit for even the scrapyard. It was a great time.

Hamster sandwiches?

Steady on, we’ve only just got Christmas out of the way

Agree, a both difficult but fulfilling role for the bassist

146cm for me

Yep, I’ve seen bands empty rooms due to the volume they play at.

That’s a proper set up Blue, looks great

The main thing for me is that the youth don’t seem to go out to pubs/clubs/venues as much as previous generations, be that due to cost or that they just seem to live healthier lives than my generation did. As such it’s a question of how to tap into your intended audience.

We’re not doing very well, are we?

Being in punk/Oi/heavy rock a low slung guitar is generally the norm, however for me as well as the look it’s for practical reasons, having a shoulder injury it helps having my right arm down by my side rather than if the instrument is higher up.

Yep

EBS has more eq options, HPF, contour switch, sounds louder, has to be that one to keep.

Of course you can @Alfie, I was 48 (we were all of similar age) when I joined my last band, an originals street-punk/Oi band. We played all over GB and Europe, released 4 albums, did festivals etc. I left 4 years ago but they’re still going strong. Age isn’t a barrier once you find like-minded individuals to work with.

Nice one 👍