martin8708

Perhaps they want a bass player that sounds like a guitarist playing bass. Not a bass player that sounds like a bass player playing a bass.

No contest , Strat for playability , sound , looks , comfort and general kick ass rockin out . Unless you have a Trussart , but that's a different league .

Play both guitar and bass for about the same amount of time ( 30 years ) Much prefer acoustic to electric guitar , and prefer nylon classical guitar to steel string . Big advantage to being a guitar playing bass player is being able to read the fret board of the other guys in the band , so playing unfamiliar songs or jamming is a whole lot easier ( providing your not standing behind the guitarist )

I think it's cool ( not $2500 cool though ) Mind you , I quite like the bog bass too, no point in letting things go to waste !

Being " shelved " from a band sounds pretty cr@p to me , it's no fun being given the elbow from a band for whatever reason. If all the gear you acquired was for the particular band that you played in , by all means sell it on and try something new , however if the Bongo is your signature bass, keep it for practice / auditions . It can be difficult to slot straight back into a great band , you really do have to go through quite a few dodgy auditions before finding like minded people , and this will take longer than 6 months . Try learning a different instrument and just enjoy meeting other muso's when trying out for other bands . Take the rough with the smooth and keep positive ! Best Wishes Martin

No point in getting arsey if some drunk punter requests a song , even better if you can bang out a half decent rendition of the requested song . We were playing a real spit and sawdust pub when some drunken chap kept requesting " Comfortably Numb " . The singer / rythm guitarist knew the words /chords so we did the song on spur of the moment with the guitarist shouting out the chord changes as we went along , great fun had by all . The punter came up afterwards and thanked us profusely for our efforts as this was one of his wife's favourite songs and she had passed away a few weeks ago . The band got a round of drinks and we seemed to make this chaps night , I don't think the punters really expect everything to be note perfect anyway .

Owned four Markbass amps and numerous MB cabs, personally I think the amps are great , everything pretty much flat on the EQ and filters turned to zero. The cabs are a bit woolly or muddy , but hook up a MB amp to a Berg or Vanderkley cab , and the sound is very clear and detailed ( will show up all the bum notes ) , providing you have a decent bass to start with .

Torn - by Natalie Imbruglia Great live version on youtube to jam along with . ( hope the rest of the band dont find out )

Find a guitarist who can play bass , or visa versa , this will give the band more flexibilty when you need to do the 6 stringy bits .

Sticking my head above the parapet , I find my LittleMark Tube 800 works well with the old P-Bass and has plenty of power in reserve . The tube adds warmth , but no real fuzz, which is fine for my needs . But then again , I like Markbass amps .

Old Yamaha FG's are made of great woods , and go for far less than they should on the second hand market. I also like the older Ovations , once the benchmark of Electro-acoustics used by Cat Stevens ,Paul Simon and Brian May. Another good make is Larrivee, the basic models are great value ,as the money is spent on the woods rather than the decoration.

Ah, welcome to the world of band politics . There is more cloak and dagger stuff in bands than the CIA and KGB combined. Open talking helps , but being in a band can be a bit like being in a dysfunctional relationship, you never know what surprise lurks around the corner.

Hey , I would much rather play Tainted love ( Imelda May or Scorpions ) than some of the other stuff in our set list ,, being in a band is about having fun and watching people enjoy themselves . You never know , you may grow to love the song , it's definitely not worth quitting the band , unless you really detest the whole set list . All the best , Martin.

Enjoy the space in the music , hopefully the remaining guitarist is a strong rhythm guitarist rather than a widdly twiddly lead guitarist , this will fill out the songs , but will allow all the instruments to be heard . Guitar solo's can always be dropped , the audience are more interested in the singing along with the band , rather than analysing the solo during the lead break .

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1338890466' post='1680485'] I had this same problem, the bands I was in broke up and I was left as a bedroom player. I soon got bored of bass playing/transcribing in my room so I switched to classical & electric guitar and just never got tired of it - if I did join a new band i'd still want to be a bass or rhythm guitar player but for now there's no going back, i'm enjoying my new toys [/quote] Same as myself ,at the moment , playing bass by yourself is pretty boring when not in a band situation , but the classical guitar certainly gets a workout when I am " in between bands " I'll definitely keep the bass gear , as I always live in hope of getting back into a band . I also find there is a lot of cross over learning , applying ideas from guitar to bass , etc .

I have never felt guilty about owning more than one bass or guitar , currently about 7 Precisions and 5 Strats and 3 acoustics . I rarely go down the pub, don't smoke , my car is a rust bucket , I just prefer to spend my money on my guitars . They all get played , some just have to wait a bit longer to get taken out the case . And I just like collecting them .

I've been through this topic a few times now , and note the definite division of Pro-fridge users and those who condemn them as an extinct dinosaur . As they have been around for 40 years , and are still being made by Orange , Mesa , Ashdown ,not to mention Ampeg , surely there must be an inherent correctness about the design , just like a Stratocaster or VW Beatle or Landrover . I have been looking at the Classic Fridge cab with interest , does the sealed cabinet design have a distinctive sound of its own , or can the sound be replicated by a smaller modern cab . There is definitely the psychological boost of having that big ole speaker behind you ,and even playing them at lower volumes must give a full sounding bass ???

I agree with BB3000, the more you play , the more you use the " tools of the trade " and the less you think of changing them . The more free time I have , the more I drift towards the For Sale sections ( just out of curiousity , of course ) and the next thing you know, a new bass or amp arrives on your doorstep . Its definately true that the Devil finds work for idle hands .

People offering low-ball offers and even people "agreeing " to buy your amp /guitar seems to be commonplace now ,even in the hallowed halls of Basschat . An agreement by e-mail does get your hopes up , but it is meaningless until the money is in the bank and the buyer has the bass or amp in his hands . If the offer comes from a well established Basschatter , you are onto a good thing , but you can normally get a feeling from the profile of the prospective customer as to whether they are serious or not . As an internet forum , the net is cast very wide over a huge bass-playing audience , and some of them may take "window shopping " a bit too far by agreeing to buy the item without having the intention or the money to pay for it ( happens on e-bay all the time ) The clues tend to be in the language/content /attitude in the PM's sent from the prospective buyer . Sometimes other things can happen , I was set on buying a cab , until I had a accident in the kitchen where I severely burnt my hand . so I could not drive / work /play bass for weeks ,but obviously let the seller know what had happened . Playing Devils Advocate , perhaps we should all agree that to buy something we should have the funds available there and then and not rely upon the sale of our own goods to fund this purchase .

I have owned a 57 Re-issue in black for the last 10 years , and 95% of my playing /gigging/ reheasals are done on this bass . This is also my "cheapest " bass as I have a few Custom Shop + Vintage P's at home , but I always pick up the 57 RI as it just seems to feel right . It is one of the early 80's re-issues , and once I got the action/neck sorted to how I like it , I rarely play anything else . The bass is now starting to feel very worn in and comfortable , I once did 3 gigs in a day with this bass , and the only thing that hurt was my feet . I think some basses are like wine , cheap ones go off with age , where a good one with good woods and nitro finish will improve the more it is played . If it is an early model with a nice light weight , I dont think you will be dissappointed , You will have to put the hours in setting it up and playing it in , but they do just get better + better .

I have heard the hippies and flower power people stripped the finish off their guitars for a more natural look. I have three pre-CBS Fenders that have fell foul of the Nitromoors /heatgun . (bought them that way ) . Jimmy Coppolo also mentions this "hippy - era " and has started building natural finish basses . The American vintage market considers a stripped or Re-fin instrument to be approx half the value of a 100% original instrument , but I suppose it will depend if it was a rare custom colour or just a plain old TSB .