jazzyvee

Phil Jones Briefcase is what I use and I think it's 100w. Works with a low B too so success all round.

When I was in my late teens the band I was with had a couple of close shaves with getting a recording deal and both times we got showcase gigs and did loads of recording of our original tracks. However nothing became of it. So I continued with my day job and all that goes with it and still playing in band s in the evenings. In later years as I said in an earlier posting I got the chance to do some touring with a well known reggae band for about 3 months in the east/west coast of USA. That was a fantastic experience because the band was and still is really well known in the states most of the gigs were at great venues. Then in the mid 2000's between 2004 and 2007 I did loads of touring taking in UK, Europe, USA, Canada, and Asia with another two reggae artistes and those times I was still working full time in a day job and was able to agree the time off to pursue that. My point to the original poster is be sure that's what you really want to do and if you have nothing to lose, or are in a position where you have financial resources to cover the lean times, a supportive partner or family and you are honest with yourself about your ability to sustain a job as a musician full time, I would say it's worth taking the gamble because you are still young enough to do something about it and there are arguably more additional opportunities these days for musicians off stage too. A few of my mates have gone pro in their mid 40's and are still working musicians. It helps that they are married with supportive partners so things like paying bills and keeping a roof over their heads are covered. However they also have to do loads of bread and butter function/corporate gigs that they do not enjoy as much as regular gigs but they pay a lot lot better. Another mate went pro straight out of university having completed his music degree and was a pit musician with a touring theatre for a few years and amongst other things is now a regular session player at Abbey Road. As we all know, the music business is notoriously fickle and difficult to make it and it's hard to know if, when a good opportunity arises, if it will be the first of many, it will be the only one you ever get or the best one you will ever get. I was fortunate to get the opportunities I have and I'm happy where I am now which is combining work and music.

Marcus playing one of his signature Sire basses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLCebjPW0cI

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOTLEY-CRUE-1989-stage-smashed-by-NIKKI-SIXX-bass-guitar-AUTOGRAPHED-WOW/371378584197?_trksid=p2055119.c100022.m2048&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140122153843%26meid%3Da7fbd9cb91734321b2d5e1b7ca23384c%26pid%3D100022%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D331423961695"]http://www.ebay.co.u...%3D331423961695[/url]

I have one of these Harvest Two bass leather gig bags and they are quite heavy even without basses in. My basses are around 12.5lbs so with two it is quite a significant weight. But for me it's not a great problem once it's on my shoulders, and to be honest I rarely carry two basses to a gig anyway and when I did, carrying two separate cases is more of a headache than a heavy gig bag with two in. Usually though i carry one bass to a gig and the other compartment holds my clothes and other things I may need. [url="http://www.harvest-guitar.com/en/Bass-Bags-For-Two/"]http://www.harvest-g...s-Bags-For-Two/[/url]

I had my first opportunity to go on tour at the age of 32 and thankfully my manager allowed me 3 months off unpaid leave to go on a 3 month tour of the USA. And to top it off they forgot to inform payroll that I was on unpaid leave so when I got back I realised they had paid me and my manager said... it would be too much hassle to get it all corrected so just forget it....!!! If you are not in a band that is expecting to do a lot of touring it might be worth working self employed or temping so you can get time off to tour without too much problems. That's what I do. Just let your clients know that at the start so they can't suddenly throw a wobbler when you take time off.

I had that problem with a loud drummer even though I was wearing over the counter earplugs. I now have some custom moulded ones and that seems to have got the volume under control from my place on the stage. The band I play most gigs with are far too loud on stage and I've given up trying to get them to turn down so now I just continue to take steps to protect my hearing. They can go deaf if they want to. :-)

I'm entirely self taught on bass, never had any lessons. I've worked out songs from records CD's by ear and from watching other bass players. I do want to get more into the theory and reading though.

http://www.connectionbult.com/wp/

I have been a few times and there are bargains to be had depending on what who turns up on the day. A couple of years back I got a Morley guitar Wah pedal and a boss bass limiter pedal and sold a jackson charvel guitar without pickups so yeah I think it's ok and a good idea. More shops should do it. It would be good if they did it two or three times in the year rather than just the once. But I can imagine finding three days a year when it's not raining is pretty challenging.

Off the cuff, the only player I can think of who might be into that stuff is Michael Manring.

Yeah I know it's a bit of overkill, however I do have a set of smaller sized mesa boogie cabs that I use for gigs. The main reason for getting the bigger cab is that I'm planning to set up a rehearsal room whenI can get an industrial unit and so the cab won't move much in there. Also had to use so many trashed cabs in rehearsal rooms, so I hope having something bigger with a bit more headroom I can minimise anyone overloading them. Yeah bassman7755, trying to move that beast would not be easy, especially in my smart car... :-)

[attachment=195809:176426_2.jpg] Are these cabs any good? 800w @ 4ohms. I like a clean sounding cab and I don't use any effects and am considering getting one for outdoor backline only gigs and for my rehearsal room. Jazzyvee

I've had one of these Gig Skinz canvas bags for holding my Mesa Boogie Walkabout head for about 8 years or so and it's still in great condition. Nicely added and a good thick-ish strap. Has pockets for leads and tuner etc. [color=#000000][font=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][b]Gig Skinz DGSERATO Computer/Recording DJ Backpack[/b][/size][/font][/color] [attachment=195797:Screen Shot 2015-07-07 at 10.30.53.png]

Thanks for posting, I'm gonna get to at least on of their dates.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1435752305' post='2812075'] As I grew up playing instruments, I couldn't tell you when I've not listened to each instrument's part in the song. I do listen to the song as a whole, but my wife listens to songs very differently from me. She'll like a song just based on the overall sound & the vocal melody. I listen to it & even if the singer isn't an amazing vocalist, I listen to what they've put with the music, just like with the bass, it's not about how technically skilled they are there, it's about how they've come up with a great sounding part (Adam Clayton is a good example, many great basslines, most which a beginner could play). There's been many times I've said "Ohh, I like that wee synth sound that comes in here" & the Mrs says "What synth sound?". Sometimes I do wish I could hear songs like she does though. [/quote] + 1

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1435826711' post='2812685'] Played with a guitarist a while back who had heard someone make a comment about one of his solos which, to be honest, was a bit sad with quite a few bum notes in there (no, it wasn't jazz before any joker asks) I understand that no-one likes criticism however, his argument was that the guy wasn't qualified to make a comment as he was not a musician. My personal view is that if something is not good, it's not good. It's not as if he was playing anything so way out and clever that he could employ the "I think it went over their heads" argument I believe that if someone is into music appreciation, as opposed to actually playing it, they're more than qualified to say what does, or does not, sound good. [/quote] My question would be, what would his response be to someone who said his solo was fantastic, would he equally think that person was qualified to make that comment because they are not a musician? I doubt it. It's easy to accept praise for what you do as a performer and consider it valid but not so easy the other way round. Personally I self validate what I do as a player and that determines how I feel about a gig and decide for myself whether for me it was fantastic or below par. I am gracious to anyone who makes comments on what they experienced at the gig and/or my playing good or bad and try to engage with them how they reached their view. It's a good way of understanding your audience. From my experience most punters don't hear music in the same deconstructed way that we do as musicians so if something was sounding off they are not always able to identify what specifically or who in particular was responsible.

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1435533053' post='2809868'] Nobody. There are just a lot of rock stars around. They are all different. [/quote] Yeah how can anyone define who the greatest is unless/until they state the parameters they are using to make the claim. Is it record sales, longevity, musical ability, vocal ability, songwriting ability, most money etc etc the list can go on. Every rock star out there is arguably the greatest at being themselves. But how determine who is greater than who, It's pretty pointless as far as I'm concerned.

[quote name='tonybassplayer' timestamp='1435527103' post='2809779'] Great shots, it's not easy getting good live shots in poor and rapidly changing light. My first attempt was rubbish [/quote] + 1. I did some photography at an outdoor music festival this weekend and since the lighting "daylight" was consistent it was pretty easy getting good shots. Personally when doing this kind of stuff I generally use the spot metering option on my camera so I can isolate my exposures for the subject and have less problems with dark background in combination with bright lighting etc. It's still not an easy situation to get well exposed pictures and I find removing the colour and using black and white really works best for me personally. My favourite lens for live photography, pre digital & autofocus, was an old breech mount Canon FD 100mm f2.8 lens.

None of my basses sound the same so in that sense I don't have backups. Usually as a band we travel light and hence no real opportunity to carry spares of bulky items. Neither me, drummer, guitarist or brass section carry spare instruments. The two keyboard players use 2 keyboards each on stage so are pretty much safe. Touch wood I've not had a bass break down on me just leads, tuners, DI-boxes, backline provided heads and cabs. I change batteries regularly maybe every quarter and more often if I've done a lot of playing before a gig. I have spare strings, cables and a mini toolkit so I can make truss rod adjustments etc if needed. I wonder if classical orchestra musicians carry backup instruments?

Mine [attachment=194912:ale_eurs1burlusd2.jpg]

I don't know what Christian music you will be doing but it it's gospel music you will certainly find a low B-string an asset, If that's the case I would suggest you take a 5 string if any of the ones you list is a 5er. Also if you have insurance you might want to extend the international cover.

I've had no end of problems with house provided bass gear either it's trashed and is distorting, I don't like the sound or it's Ashdown or all three. These days if we know in advance and we are travelling light I take my own bass head as i know what how to get my sound and it's pretty simple to use. Sometimes I just bring my F1-x pre-amp and go direct into the power amp of the bass head or even use it's DI and get a monitor feed. But with a reggae band that reduces the bottom end on stage and the band want to feel the bass too. My preference would always be to use my own rig but unfortunately that is not always easily practical so sometimes you just have to make do with the situation you have, forget about it and just get on with the gig.

Most of the gigs I've done I only carried one guitar especially when I was abroad touring and that was really due to financial constraints on weight to avoid excess baggage charges. Occasionally I have had broken strings but I got good at changing strings before the song finished most times and then started changing strings every gig until I got Elixir coated strings which kept their tone much longer and i find them more durable lasting about 3 to 4 gigs so I started using them instead of D'addario's which I prefer tonally. The Wilkinson Tremsetter in my strat is a godsend for when strings break. I Just need to tune up the one string and the rest stay put. There have been odd occasions when carried two when I needed an acoustic guitar for a couple of songs but that ended when I got a Parker Fly to deal with the acoustic stuff. These days If I was carrying more than one electric guitar it would be as a backup not specifically for it's tone on an individual track. I went to see Larry Carlton in concert last week and he used one guitar for the whole set and got a great variety of tones from his 335.