mcnach

[quote name='Toasted' post='1147528' date='Mar 2 2011, 07:10 PM']I'm at the point of buying a second, sh*t, amp for the support acts to use. Seriously.[/quote]

I forgot. I almost did that too. Then I thought "hey, what are you doing? are you now carrying your amp, and another amp for some total stranger too?" I slapped myself around teh face with a big trout for a bit, and didn't do it.

The quick word before using it seems to have worked until now. The trick is to be just friendly enough, but to also look a bit "just don't mess with me", I think.

[quote name='Toasted' post='1147528' date='Mar 2 2011, 07:10 PM']My band almost always plays last (note: not headlines). As we play last we have to provide drum shells and bass amp for the other people sharing the gig.

Most of these people with basses (note: not bassists) seem to have difficulty with the idea that they have to unplug the amp end of the cable before the unplug the guitar end otherwise they make my speakers boom. You know the one. This f**ks me off no end as my amp is normally worth more than the rest of their band's gear combined.

Is there a widget that I can buy that will stop this happenning? Will a limiter do it?

I'm at the point of buying a second, sh*t, amp for the support acts to use. Seriously.[/quote]


When I have provided my amp in a multi-band situation, I always make sure I talk to the other(s) bass player(s) before they use it. I just give them a quick overview, and emphasize 1) where the mute button is and 2) to make sure they either mute or turn down volume before plugging/unplugging. If someone forgets, I don't care what they think, I'm there like a shot and make it clear I will not tolerate more forgetfulness. I don't really care what they think of me. If they're cool, they'd understand. If they're not cool, I can't care less about their opinion. And I have no problem getting to the stage of "sorry mate, you're just not going to play through my amp today". It hasn't happened yet, but I would do it if someone is not respecting my gear. The gear I paid for and I transported. Those multi-band gigs we normally don't make much money, so I have no problem pulling the plug if I have to (for another band).

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1148393' date='Mar 3 2011, 02:12 PM']Sorry to hear this. I wouldn't let a couple of bad experiences put you off. Sometimes we just aren't right for certain bands (you acknowledge that it wasn't your dream band & I suspect they picked up on this).[/quote]


That too.

The only time a band fired me it was just like that.

I had joined the band, they seemed nice guys, I liked the music... It wasn't great, but it was fun. The main reason I joined them though was that they seemed ready to gig. They had been gigging a lot, stopped for a few months when teh drummer had a baby, and they were re-starting, with the original bassist moving to lead guitar and bringing a new bassist: me.

However, I lost my interest quickly:
1) extremely loud rehearsals: it was very hard to tell whether we sounded ok or not. It was all mush.
2) rehearsed in a terrible place, with poor kit. In particular bass amplification was very underpowered and sounded like crap having band after band playing with all controls maxed out.
3) ex-bassist didn't have a clue about guitar amp settings and was extremely sensitive. Any hint seemed like a personal attack to him, by his body language and general attitude.
4) the three of them knew eachother for a few years and had one big common interest: football.

#1 I made some progress on that over a couple of rehearsals. They did agree it sounded better and could hear eachother better. However volume crept in again vith a vengeance, partly due to #3
#2 We stopped rehearsing there, and found another not-so-great place, that was ok. I appreciated that my opinions were heard (for #1 and #2)
#3 new lead guitarist decided to spalsh on FX pedals, but forgot a tuner. He'd go out of tune and nobody said a thing. I can't stand that, so I would offer my tuner as a gentle hint. It was not accepted.
He'd spend the rehearsal fiddling with the amp knobs complaining he couldn't hear himself. His main tactic was to turn the volume up. Hence the volume levels generally crept back in. It was not enough. I tried to help him by suggesting he turned down treble a bit and actually work with the mids, as well as reducing gain in his pedals & amp. I guess it seemed that i was trying to dictate "his tone" or something. I don't tend to insist when I offer help and they turn it down... So there was nowhere else for me to go...
#4 didn't help, it made small chat difficult. We were never going to be great mates, if that's their main conversational piece.

So it wasn't fun. A month into the band I was thinking I should leave. But I told myself I wanted to have one gig at least with them, as I thought the music would be fun to play live. But it showed I was just going through the motions at rehearsal and didn't bother with volume or anything.
So one week I say I would not be able to make next rehearsal. That was true. A few days later I said "actually, the one after is off too for me". I just didn't like it anymore. I figured we were as good as we were going to be before the gig scheduled a month away... and I could use the space.
During that first week I started questioning the whole "continuing just for a gig or two". But I didn't get a chance to come clean about my feelings. I got an email from the drummer saying that they noticed I was not really enjoying it and didn't fit with the rest of the band... so they thought they'd be better off without me, and they could always do the gig as a 3 piece like they used to if they had to.

I was a little annoyed they were faster than me But it was right. If I'm not really into the band... it's only fair for everyone involved that I walk out.

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1148385' date='Mar 3 2011, 02:08 PM']That's what I think has happened. If you're all just in it for fun, not looking to gig or 'make it' then someone is taking it WAY too seriously if they felt the need to fire you. Sounds like you're better off not being in that situation.

Don't sell your gear - why would you let idiots like that take away something you enjoy? Jam along to records at home - that can be a lot more fun and certainly a lot more musically satisfying than playing with someone that thinks they're the next Hendrix.[/quote]

+1

If we decide someone is not strong enough, first we talk to him. Unless he was a "mercenary" who just joined for a temporary situation, when there's a concern about a member, the first thing is to have a chat. Sometimes a band has to let a member go, for various reasons, but there's no reason not to make it in a civilised way, with tact, and friendly.
It sounds like you may have had fun with that band, but they don't seem a great bunch to hang out with...

The sad thing is...it's difficult to find a good band where everybody is on the same page and everyone is a reasonable human being.
But don't give up. They exist. Just swim a little faster. Join band, gauge situation... if not right, move on. I've moved on a fair bit, and eventually you find the right people. Besides, the right people (by me) tend to like the same type of "right people", and once you enter the network it becomes easier to meet more of the same kind. Then when bands disintegrate, new ones form in a breeze with people who have the same understanding. Or/and you get called to join others, since A knows you play with band X, and his very reaosnable mates B and C play in that band and they vouched for you.

It's tough... but good times are out there. Keep at it!

[quote name='Huwberry' post='1148107' date='Mar 3 2011, 10:21 AM']Yup, it's all stock parts as far as I know. [/quote]

I'm definitely going to have to check those basses out!

[quote name='Huwberry' post='1147931' date='Mar 3 2011, 01:10 AM']Thanks man! I love the sound of it too, and it plays really nice - those 50s Precisions are something else.[/quote]

Just curious: is the pickup stock?
I'm starting to feel the GAS

From a gig sometime last year... not the best, but not the worst. maybe

[quote name='Huwberry' post='1147689' date='Mar 2 2011, 09:04 PM']I've been on a bit of a slap binge lately:



I think I'm upstaged by my cat in this one...[/quote]


that's great, and I *love* the sound of your bass there. I never thought I could say that of a P-bass, but what do you know???

[quote name='0175westwood29' post='1147601' date='Mar 2 2011, 08:00 PM'][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OqUYgiQmnY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OqUYgiQmnY[/url]

2.33 mins you can see he uses the odb as you can see the yellow

i like this pedal, sold my old one because i thought i couldnt find a good sound!, then tried one at a friends house with his rig sounded awesome! borrowed it used it on mine still sounded good hence im getting one.

but as was said above overdrive and distortion are a very personal preference

my current dirt pedals are the ehx metal muff which i think sounds awesome and much better to me than the norm big muff and it has a bass, mid, treble and not that i use it that much top boost but it does turn it from fuzz to a slight crunch. and then theres my blues driver which i use for a kinda motorhead sound but i norm use an ls-2 to blend some clean in.

andy[/quote]


well, I went there and heard two distinct tones...
one, the fizzy distortion of the ODB3 in that mini solo... and *then* when he goes back to the song, you hear the other tone, much cleaner with the metallic overtones. It's that second sound I'm talking about. That second sound doesn't sound like an ODB3... but to each his own (ears)
I personally make that noise with an Ibanez PD7 set on clean with the Attack switch on 1, whilst the ODB3 lasted 2 days in my pedalboard

edit:
by the way (no pun intended, but... well, it fits) that sound I'm talking about you also hear it in other parts of the song whenever he plays that riff. I just use that part in the middle to illustrate the tone because it's clearer there. Live I use two sounds on that song only. Clean (but with lots of growl, midrange rich) and *that* other sound with the PD7. In fact, I often just play it clean all the way through except for *that* solo bit, just for emphasis there. But I'm not Flea, clearly! Just clarifying where I'm coming from.

I started twice... and a half.

First time was because I had bought my first multitrack recorder, a 4-track tape Tascam 424 I had lusted for for years, and was recording bits of guitar and drum machine... so I figured a bass would be useful to add something to the recordings.
I paid £90 for a Lyon by Washburn plywood P-bass type:



I never liked it, never persevered, and the thing just was there looking sad in a corner. Eventually I sold it to some RAF guy who was about to leave for Kuwait and wanted to take a cheap bass with him.

Fast forward a few years.
I then bought another bass. Same reasons. This time it was a Squier P/J. Much nicer bass. Again, I must have played it for about a month (so two months bass experience now ) and forgot about it.



The buyer actually sent me a few pictures after he modified it (including a Fender decal):




And there I was. I thought I was done with bass. It just wasn't for me.

But fast forward to 2005. Mid April.
Work related thing, including a jam session. I had brought my guitar and amp. There was one bass player. He played for 10min and disappeared. Nobody seemed interested. I took the bass and someone else took my guitar. I wasn't exactly great, but it worked. I knew the drummer, we used to play together (me on guitar), so we sort of understood eachother... and realised it was a lot of fun to play bass like that. Aha!
Full bar, people dancing... I realised the Power of The Bass, and I thought that was it.
A month later I bought a Jazzbass copy by Vintage.

originally:


with black metal pickguard:


And for about 18 months I played it at least once a month

Then I said: "right, playing bass by myself is not as much fun as I remembered... I need to join a band".
In June 2007 I joined the first of many bands that followed... and things just got busier and more interesting. First gig on bass in May 2009 with a funk/rap/blues fusion type of band, followed by another gig the week after with a second band (The Richt Hoat Chillis), and until today.

I sold that Vintage Jazz bass sometime in 2008, as I was planning to move abroad and needed to reduce the amount of material possessions.... but ended up staying, and I still miss that bass, my first real bass.

A few months ago I met the guy who bought it. There were three bands playing. I was in one and he was in another. He played the Jazz. Sounded great.
I wish I could have it back, if only for sentimental reasons.
(It turns out he's a BCer too, I wonder if he reads this and feels all sentimental and decides to sell it back to me )

[quote name='Machines' post='1147343' date='Mar 2 2011, 04:54 PM']... the bass solo on Metallica's Cunning Stunts...[/quote]


I misread that as "Metallica's Stunning C..."

[quote name='Hobbayne' post='1147368' date='Mar 2 2011, 05:17 PM']I once jammed with a guitarist. And when I suggested he play a C Am Dm G sequence, his response was "I dont do chords - I,m a note man!!"[/quote]

that wasn't a guitarist, that was a guy who played notes on a guitar... subtle but important distinction...

[quote name='tom1946' post='1144843' date='Feb 28 2011, 07:35 PM']Looks evil Jose [/quote]


It's so evil it strangles kittens with the E string everytime I play a white Sue Ryder bass and don't pay her enough attention.

Those MXR battery covers are notoriously easy to break. I've had a couple of pedals holding the cover with tape (I rarely use batteries)... I didn't think it'd be easy to get replacements. Maybe I will try contacting them too...

[quote name='Prosebass' post='1056289' date='Dec 12 2010, 06:21 PM']Rounds every time for me .....however
For the sound you want try these [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/622-rotosound_tru_bass_black_nylon_strings_65_115_long_scale_rs88ld"]Tru Bass[/url] I have used them on short scales and they have a lovely warm rounded tone .[/quote]

+1

[quote name='krth1985' post='1145919' date='Mar 1 2011, 03:41 PM']I dont want to come across as moaning, and being ungrateful, but (!) there's a few things niggling away at me and i get in the mood where i think i should leave because being in the band is just not fun anymore. Here's my reasons.

- No camaraderie. Not at rehearsals, or at a gig. Feels like 5 individuals, not 1 band.

-Singer and lead guitarist saying drummer is too loud. I dont agree. In small venues he will be loud, theres no volume knob on the drums. Yet this is always brought up, and the drummer cant get through to them that he doesnt play loud, drums are just a loud instrument. He does have something which he puts on his shells to dampen the sound slightly (big plastic rings?)

- Too much negativity. Constantly being told at soundcheck before gigs that we sound sh*t (by singer). That we "murder" this song and that. Also I feel like i am being watched and my performance monitored. After every gig there is an email that goes out. 99% of it is negative.

- Too much pressure. Lead guitarist constantly going on about stage presence and we need to move about more. Its not my thing, and i'd feel awkward doing it. Plus, we are not that type of band. Plus its hard to enjoy yourself after the above comment. Also comments on dynamics. Gives each part of a song a rating out of 10 for dynamics. What the difference between 7 or 8 is i dont know...

- Timekeeping. Singer is always late. For both rehearsals and gigs. Not by 5 or ten minutes, but by 30 minutes plus. Last gig we did was friday. We needed to be there early to soundcheck. Everyone was down there for 6pm. I didnt finish work till 6 so said i'd be down for 7. After a long 12 hour day at the end of the week not ideal, but i rushed around, got my stuff together and i was there for 7. Singer rolls in 30-40 minutes after me.

- Arguments over upcoming EP. We are finishing off the 4 track EP this weekend. The songs were decided without me (i had to work but put forward my choice of 4 or 5 songs). After everyone else met up with the producer they all decided on 4 songs, 3 of which i had hoped to do anway so all was good. Now as of last week the signer kicks up a fuss about the new lyrics for one of the tracks. I said i wasnt involved in the final decision making process, so why didnt u say something then? He shrugged. I said who actually voted for the song? Turns out only me and the lead guitarist. So i said why are we recording it then? I then pointed out that we have tracked demos for these songs, and the producer is expecting us to do this song. Saying your not happy about the song a week before we enter the studio is pointless. His reply was "f*** it, we will just do it". So we will all be recording this song knowing that the singer isnt bothered about it.

- Appreciation for the promoter/soundman/other bands etc - He never says thanks to so and so for playing, or thanks to promoter for putting on this gig, or thanks to the fans for coming to see us, or thanks to said band for letting us on the bill with them. When we brought it up he said "if someone wants to say something they should get a mic."

- The booking of gigs. The singer thinks some of the gigs we do "turn off potential fans". These are your usual 4 band line-up at a venue thats established for live music. - but yet tried booking us to play a 60th birthday party? We are not a covers band by the way. He also refused to book gigs now because "knobody gets back to him". By that he means he agrees to a gig thinking everyone will be ok with it and gets pissed off when someone says they cant make it.

- Band website - It was agreed a few months ago that I would re-design the website as it looked sh*te basically. I am in no way a professional, but i did 2 years of it at college, (and ran my own websites after leaving college for a bit of pocket money) and and i am proficient enough to come up with a decent website. The next day, the website had changed again. I now no longer give out our website address!

and -Singers vocals. Really grates on me now. I'm not much of a fan of Oasis, but he is. Can you tell? (but i dont think i can count that as a reason)



Does this sound like a happy functioning band? Or a band that will soon implode? Or is it just me nit picking????

[/quote]



two or three of those are enough for me. A whole list? It's a no brainer.
Unless I'm making good money, it's got to be fun. Otherwise, I'm walking.
It helps if you're involved in a couple of different bands. Then it's not so "scary" to leave one band that makes you unhappy, and having a second band that you enjoy helps you notice with the other doesn't work for you.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1145678' date='Mar 1 2011, 01:18 PM']How shyte is this guys tone and technique... especially the last 20 seconds.

[/quote]



Isn't he playing a Sue Ryder bass with the pickguard replaced???

Well, stage 1 is done.
I ended up ordering a DiMarzio DP122 ("model P"). I was really undecided, until I saw they came with cream covers
Just like that

we'll see how it behaves.

D-bump

[quote name='uncle psychosis' post='1141454' date='Feb 25 2011, 04:43 PM']Short notice I know but we're on tomorrow (Saturday) at Cabaret Voltaire:

[url="http://www.thecabaretvoltaire.com/view_event.php?id=1776"]http://www.thecabaretvoltaire.com/view_event.php?id=1776[/url]

I think its £6 on the door but if you contact us (through the website---www.supermarionation.co.uk) I think Steve has some cheaper ones.

Sam[/quote]


Ah! Just saw this, too late!
Next time!
Have you got anything else coming soon?

I just swapped my MXR auto-Q for Phil's Boss ME-50B, and I have to say here just what an evil person Phil is.
He packs the thing beautifully, arrives to me ultra fast, perfect, but he neglects to tell me the pedal has a looper function... now I'm hooked on this looping thing and looking to buy some expensive extra pedals to satisfy this looping itch I never thought I had...
I tell you: EVIL!!!



It was a pleasure dealing with Phil, great communication and thoroughly nice guy.

This is a truly evil man who would stop at nothing in order to satisfy your GAS!!!

Seriously, a true gentleman who located a particular bass local to him, and he purchased it and sent it to me.
I will eventually make it South of the border and will let you know, to see whether we get a chance to meet in person and share a beverage or two.

Lovely bass with very smooth slim neck in none-more-black config: black body, black hardware, covered polepieces, rosewood fingerboard and black Rotosound Nexus strings.

This is one of the older SR400 models, with the P/J pickups and 3-band active EQ.

Nicely setup, low action, no buzzing, plays well... gigged it a bit alternating with the Warwick Corvette $$ before I went to MusicMan type basses, and since then it's just been at home gathering dust.

Pictures taken 5min ago

Headstock:
[attachment=73393:DSCF3435.jpg]
[attachment=73394:DSCF3436.jpg]

Body:
[attachment=73391:DSCF3433.jpg]
[attachment=73395:DSCF3437.jpg]

Between the collectors item Sue Ryder and the SUB5:
[attachment=73392:DSCF3434.jpg]

Looking for £160 delivered.

"I couldn't possibly own a pedal with that name" kind of bump

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1142906' date='Feb 26 2011, 11:36 PM']And thats why i now own your J-Lo [/quote]


They do have a big bottom...