mcnach

Ha! I know the feeling... It's my least favourite part too. I mean, sometimes I really enjoy talking to someone, but I hate *having to* do it. Fortunately, in my main band we had the singer who was a natural mingler. We got offered many gigs simply because he had made himself known and shared a few beers with the right people. But we should all contribute a bit. At least make ourselves visible and available so that people can approach us. The interpersonal relationships are the most important factor, just like at work really, in order to get and keep good gigs. Videos... the best are live videos. Venues want to check out what you're like live, not how good your audiovisual production is... but our first video was based on playing back a recording of one of our songs and us playing a long in a rehearsal room. Get a few takes from different angles, edit them together, and add any live footage you can find... quick and dirty, it's far better than having none at all. This is what we made. It's based on that rehearsal room recording and some video captured at our first album launch a few weeks earlier. For the album launch, we booked the place ourselves. We had been lucky in that we had a regular gig at one of the most popular music bars in town, so we had a bit of an income and we didn't care if we just broke even or even lost some money (we had a band kitty so nobody has to get their hands in their pockets), and just wanted to have a good party. It was a good party and people had a good time, which shows in the video: it was very useful to send to other venues and we got more gigs based on that. edit: even a mobile phone video taken by someone walking around can be very useful. And if gets pixelated like this one, all the best as you can't see just how ugly we are 😛

Keep trying, but don't become a nuisance. Find shows with other compatible bands so that you can play on the same evening, maybe book a place yourself and get other bands to support you too... and just keep doing it. It takes time to get traction. Film a couple of songs and put them on youtube. We've been asked for videos often, when approaching venues that didn't know us. edit: and network! Probably the single most effective way of getting gigs. Go see other bands, talk to them...

This. I have used a couple of those pickups and replaced the pickup covers for that reason. Easy and cheap.

I agree entirely. In the end, whether it's easy or not to get scammed, you need to follow your instincts. You don't *need* to sell to a specific person, so if anything at all gives you a bad feeling... you don't need to explain it to them or anybody else. The way I see it, if you're the seller then you say how you want things to happen. There may be negotiations, but you don't have to do anything you are not comfortable with. I've passed on opportunities to sell, not because I was too worried about the money or safety, but because I smelled hassle, and life's too short to waste time like that.

Yet, it's not something that happens commonly. There is a reason for that,

why not? I'd have imagine that's safer for you, the seller, than Paypal is.

I've been using heavy duty double-sided sticky tape to fix metal and plastic thumbrests to basses for a few years now. It's strong enough that it won't come off during use, but if you want to remove it you can, with some effort and patience, and leave no marks whatsoever. This is one of the metal ones

I love stories involving low intelligence criminals... Jay Leno's show used to have a section on that on Monday nights, back in the late 90s when I was living in DC. There's a story I remember where a supermarket got raided one night. There was CCTV, but the thief (there was only one) was aware of that, and he used a paper bag to cover his face to avoid being recognised. Then we're shown some CCTV footage where the would be thief trips on something and hits himself against a shelf... because he had not made holes in the bag to see through. He learns from that, 'though, and is shown again, with holes in the bag so he is now able to see what he is doing. He was still caught. How? Well... he was still wearing his uniform, name tag and all. He was the security guard working at the store. Even if the name tag was not quite legible, he was extremely easy to recognise...

I would just look at it, and occasionally play it a few minutes at home and that's it. I love the looks but it's definitely not the right design for me, comfort-wise.

That's another thing... I was a couple of kilos over in my baggage allowance back in March and I had to go to the other side of the terminal, wait in a queue, pay... But, as I'm only 5ft 7" and about 74 Kg, I look at all those other people of... 'ample proportions', and feel ripped off. If weight is really an issue, RyanEasyJetAir, maybe set a combined weight threshold person+luggage

That is SERIOUSLY sexy... Black and maple, and that shape, very nice!

You can get them in any colour you like! It'll cost you £525 extra, but you can have that pink bass

Life is too short to *put up with* an instrument that doesn't feel just right when there's so many out there to choose from. I'm not one for posing and shouting "look at me" either, so while looks are definitely a factor, they are subordinate to sound and feel, by a long way.

They tried that with me once with my little laptop. So I opened my carry-on small suitcase, and put it inside. Ten metres later, after I got my passport checked, I stopped and took the laptop out again, in full view of the staff member who had tried to charge me earlier. Give a small minded person a few rules and a bit of power, and they'll be happy to ignore the fact they have a brain... I *hate* flying. Not because of the flight itself, but because of all the idiotic hoops we are made to jump through and we're supposed to smile. Like the first time I flew after they started restricting the volumes of fluids onboard. I had to throw away my shampoo. It was bigger than 100ml. I asked "if I carried my shampoo in two 100ml containers would it be ok?". She gave me a look that made me realise she already hated her life and didn't mind taking me down with her. Or what's with having to put those things in a transparent plastic bag? What is really the difference between them being loose or in a plastic bag? Yes, I asked that too, another time. At least this guy seemed human: he shrugged and just told me "I know, but that's the rules and if we don't enforce them we get in trouble". Ugh. I often think of the beginning of the Long Dark Tea Time of The Soul, by Douglas Adams... Thor in the queue to check-in at the airport... I know exactly just how he felt, and I wish I could do what he did too.

That's one possibility. But rest is not always the best way to get better, it depends on the nature of the problem. I endured months of pain, resting my arm as much as possible, and in the end what I needed to do was ensure that certain little forearm muscles were exercised carefully: resting was actually delaying my recovery. That's why I think going to a physio could be the best strategy. Modifying or selling instruments is an adaptation but it's better if you can actually fix the issue.

Go to a good physio and figure out what the problem really is. There's no guarantee, but I've had several occasions of weird pains (well, sometimes I knew the source, but not always), and was able to track it down to a specific muscle/tendon. From then, it was a matter of doing the right exercises to get back to normal. Hopefully your issues can also be sorted relatively easily (even if they may take a few weeks to go away) and you can continue to enjoy your favourite basses.

I thought that the "Original" and the 62 CS were different pickups? I am using both the Original and the Model P, and I'd agree that they're great pickups (different sounds). The Model P in particular is easy to find used and nost costing much at all.

At first I felt the same way. So I found a local teacher and went in for a couple of lessons. My bass made all the right sounds in his hands, so I knew it was just me, and he showed me how to start. Then I went home and practiced. Going for a lesson or two here and there could be very useful. You don't need to commit to a long series of lessons, just find someone who will teach you what you want to learn.

Not mine!

Indeed. Which is why this one remains a favourite of mine, and turned me on to the sound of a Precision slapped: and the bassline in detail by the guy himself:

Like most things, when abused it's a terrible thing, but slap bass can be done tastefully and it can be very nice in the right context. If your timing is failing you, I think it just means you need to practice it more. I think the key is to not try to put in more notes/percussive tones than we're able: make it sound good for the song first, simplify the line of you must, and once you get it grooving and you're comfortable, you can worry about adding more elements to it if you want to. I know that when I started to learn, my timing could be all over the place and I was far too tense, my arm would hurt sometimes and I needed to consciously relax it. Also, I'd move my hand/arm far more than is necessary, so I was very rough. By doing it again and again it gets easier and you relax more, and when you relax more it gets easier, and then you relax more, and then it gets easier, and then... you see the pattern, right?

:D !!!

If the sound is good, is the lower level a problem? If you change the preamp you may not prefer the new sound, and it doesn't guarantee the level will match the other bass anyway: a preamp does not give you a higher level necessarily. Some preamps are hot, some are not, some allow you to set the level... The John East MMSR I have in my Stingray is comparable to most passive basses I have, and a bit lower than some, for example (there may be a trim pot inside, I never checked because it doesn't bother me as I only use one bass at any given gig). If the signal is a bit low... turn up the amp up? If the issue is having to match another hotter bass when switching basses live you could probably use an EQ pedal set flat but with some boost (or use a clean boost pedal, there's a few of those too) to switch between them.

Great combination

A guitarist who is not a musician does that, maybe, yes. There are a lot of people who are not interested in showing off but rather care about 'music'. It's a tired stereotype that one, in my opinion and experience.