mcnach

Not at all!

It's unreasonable... to YOU. But not them, clearly. I know where you're coming from, 'though. You sound like a person who will be at the required place at the required time, regardless how you have to get there. But for a band who doesn't know you well, that attitude is an unknown quantity. It's a risk. Words are just words. I know people that I know I can absolutely rely on, and will never let me down. But I also know people who are lovely, yet I wonder how they managed to tie their laces in the morning... and the first time you meet both types, they seem almost identical and they all talk the talk. Some people may be more trusting than others. Some people may have been burnt before and avoid certain situations at all costs... It's nothing to do with fairness really.

No, having a car doesn't trump all the other things, but having the ability to independently get to any gig anywhere could be an important consideration especially if the band members are scattered over a wide area. You may be responsible and willing to do what it takes to make it, but if they don't know you well enough, to them is just another musician promising things... and let's face it, 'musicians' at the level we're talking about include a lot of unreliable people. Perhaps they already suffered and decided to make sure it won't happen again. If there's a lot of travelling involved, and one member is *never* going to be able to drive... that may not be very attractive in some bands. Sometimes, after certain gigs, some people may want to stay, others leave, others go elsewhere... knowing from the start that someone HAS to look after a given member every single time, may be enough to want to look for another player who can provide the same skill, enthusiasm, etc... but also have their own transport. A band I was playing in, we were 8 members, and only two did not drive, with a third who had limited access to a car. It was easy to figure out travel. However, one of the non drivers in particular started to bring his girlfriend to every single gig. Several times it meant bringing one extra car just because of having an extra person... that reduces the income from the gig for everybody, as well as the extra hassle for the person who ends up driving... I think non-drivers often don't fully appreciate what it means for those who drive you around, in terms of time, energy, cost (there's a lot more to cars than petrol)... The time I damaged my exhaust driving onto a festival site because I was carrying an amplifier for somebody else (I would have left my car somewhere else otherwise), I was not very happy. I was ultimately responsible, but guess who never runs risks like that? You got it. In many cases for many bands it does not matter, but on some bands travelling may be a bit more critical and if you cannot help with your share of driving, you may not look as a suitable candidate. It really depends on the band. I wouldn't be bitter about not being chosen by that band you auditioned for. They clearly know what they wanted, and unfortunately you weren't quite it, for non-musical reason. Hey, others don't make it because of their age, or hair, or... It's tough out there.

Every band I'm in makes me money... just not very much on the whole, so I have a day job. I'd still call these bands a 'hobby' really. We do it for fun, the money is a very welcome bonus which helps offset the many hassles encountered at many gigs, especially when they involve a substantial travel and lots of waiting around etc...

I'm not sure... anybody with a reasonable level of competence should be able to work with a 4/5/6 string bass... it may not be as comfortable as their favourite instrument, but it won't be unplayable. If I wanted to make sure I'd be able to join the house band and be really comfortable, I'd bring my bass.

I do prefer my own gear... but if I am given something else I'll still get a similar enough sound. Not the same sound, but a similar enough sound. I understand preferring your own gear, of course! I use mine most times. But I really don't understand saying that you won't get 'your sound' with something else...

Because it's practical. You may prefer your drumkit, but if transport and/or setup times are an issue, your tolerance to provided kits increases. Same with bass... I much prefer my own but if it's a hassle and they provide one, I go with it. It may not sound teh same, but it will not be THAT different. You're going through the PA in most cases, so your amp becomes a glorified bass monitor in those situations. I will use my own everytime I can, but if it is going to be a pain due to parking restrictions etc and I have an alternative? I'll use what they give me. I may not enjoy it quite as much (although sometimes you do get very good equipment) but we will still sound good out there even if onstage it's not amazing.

That's what makes it attractive to me

There will probably not be that much of a difference, to be honest.

You are an evil person. A beautifully evil person

same here, although I prefer to add wood glue if I have it handy... however, when in a hurry, without glue will work too... it may not be as durable but I'm now talking years without needing retightening or anything. Schaller screws are noticeably thinner than most strap button screws, so I always needed a little extra help or replacement screws. Eventually I gave up on the Schallers and turned to using tough rubber washers and/or strap buttons with oversized T-shape heads.

Been using one for years. I love it. Two things, 'though: 1) the belt clip. the belt clip is a metal clip held onto the transmitter by a flimsy plastic tab. It doesn't look durable to me. From the moment I saw it, I decided to buy a separate leather pouch to attach it to my strap, and I've used the transmitter either using the pouch, or having the receiver in my pocket (yes :D) That works. 2) the battery door... I think what people complain about is actually by design. To close it properly, you need to press hard the latch. It's hard. So if you're not paying attention it's relatively easy to not latch it properly, and then it can work itself open which is not something you want in the middle of a song. The solution is easy: pay attention when mounting the batteries and make sure it latches. I think it's by design, because you want a battery door that stays shut no matter what. That's my take on it based on a sample of n=2... so there may well be really an issue with some units, but what I saw was that: you need to press that door down and ensure you latch it properly. Once that is clicked in place, it doesn't come off by itself. Range, delay etc... not an issue to me. Range is probably better than the blurb says... not that I need that range, but we have sometimes wandered into the crowd and I had one guitarist climbing onto the roof at a beer garden gig and play his solo there... hair in the wind hero style

what do you mean by 'it sounds a little cheap'?

You have a (presumably) nice sounding, light and relatively compact setup (one cab)... I would really just look at taming the input signal, either through the bass volume control, or my preferred option: a separate pedal with volume control... some kind of nice preamp or an EQ or something along those lines. Using a 210 or a 115 alone is likely to not sound quite as loud (there are many factors in consideration to say exactly just how much of a difference there will be) but I doubt it will make the "too loud" problem into a "just right" situation... and you'll end up with 2 cabs for when you want to be louder... So, your idea might work, or might not. Taming the signal you feed into the amp, however, *will* work and it requires minimal expense (or none as you probably already own something suitable... and there's always the option of turning down your bass, of course).

Ha! I got it wrong You got a very Stingrayesque tone with the Cort! Was the pickup in series/parallel/singlecoil?

It was actually asking which Stingray to go for...

Classic 50s Precision for 386 euros??? Erm... nope. Too good to be true. That's like £450 cheaper than in most places. I'll watch the site with interest and see how long until it goes down.

It was interesting to hear the basses in the mix... but how about isolated, just the bass alone?

I saw this earlier on "the other site". I found it very interesting... because to me both sounded both very Stingray-like. I would vote for #1 being the Stingray but #2 could easily be as well, for all I know. In fact, I'd vote it's a trick question and both are the Stingray using different settings. Question: if the Cort is in passive mode, what is the humbucker switch selected to? (series? single coil? which?...) I find it interesting because I used to own a GB74 (the 4 string version)... and it didn't sound anything like a Stingray to me. It sounded a bit like a Jazz, but a very fat dense one, the Arnold of Jazz basses... but it lacked the low mid growl a Stingray has. I also had a Lakland 5502, which is similar to the GB75 in layout... and again it didn't sound like a Stingray to me. However, you could select the neck-facing coil of the humbucker on its own, and tweaking mids a bit, it did have a bit of a Stingray vibe to it. My GB74's humbucker switch only allowed series, parallel, or one single coil: the bridge-facing one. Neither was Stingray-like at all. Very curious to find the answer.

urgh... That's a shame. I hoped you wouldn't need to do a test again. I *think* I would pass a test now, but I would hate the process immensely.

just out of curiosity... can't licenses be exchanged pretty much automatically? (after paying a fee, I suspect, of course). I love driving... but driving in town is not fun, I don't love that. I do it because the alternative either does not exist, or it involves a lot of time or hassle or both. For example, where I used to live before, it was barely 15 minutes by car to get to the rehearsal place. By bus? Around an hour. It involved changing buses too, which is a looot of fun in bad weather. Too many situations like that in my city... so I bought a car and never looked back. If I lived in London, I think I'd use the car a lot less and would be using public transport more.

I think based on the responses here, there's largely two groups: those in a big city and the rest. Those in a big city mostly play in their city, where driving and parking is probably not very convenient and the venues they play are venues that either have their own PA, lights etc, or do not require any of that. So these people mostly use public transport, and travel light anyway. Then, the rest, don't live anywhere where public transport is a viable alternative because of the amount of gear they need to take and the lack of coverage.

Most people would not have a problem picking up a band member, equipment etc. I have done it many times, and others did it for me when I needed it. However, it gets tiring pretty fast if it's frequent. Picture yourself driving back home from a gig. It's late. You're tired. Band mate(s) have had a few beers and maybe are snoozing in the car. You then arrive in town, and proceed to drop your band mates at their places, and finally drive home. Your trip can easily be an extra hour longer, late at night. If it's a frequent occurrence, it can get old pretty soon, despite your best intentions.

I was in my mid 20s at the time... but heavily into 80s metal and prog rock, and 'virtuoso' guitarists etc... which I guess didn't help. Once I grew up and my taste expanded considerably I was able to like a few of their songs, and Noel's voice is not bad either... but the band just seemed terrible to me, coupled with their attitude and the whiny Liam as a front man... I just could not digest it.

oh yeah! I was expressing my amazement that the guy could see something special in them at all... I see regularly bands that are far tighter and more polished, in every style you can imagine... so for someone to choose THEM, it's what I can't get my head around it. But then maybe it's why I don't make my living out of signing bands