AndyBob09

My best advice for any beginner would be to study with a good teacher. It doesn't have to be too regularly but a lesson here and there and really taking on what a teacher has to tell you will go a LONG way.

My second piece of advice for any beginner is SCALES. Learn and practise - daily - every major and minor scale at least. There's an abundance of scalar exercises and what not. When learning these scales, stick to one finger per fret and when practising them, stick on a metronome. Start somewhere you're comfortable with then push it until you're no longer comfortable. Write down the tempo that it started to get uncomfortable. In a week, that uncomfortable tempo should be more comfortable. I'm not going to lie, this is boring as sh*t but if you want to get comfortable on your instrument, learn what every fret is, learn all the noises you might ever wanna make on your instrument and where to find them fast, this is a good method. Not to mention building coordination between your left and right hands, speed, dexterity, becoming comfortable with a one finger per fret technique - it's everything.

And after that, I think I should go and do an hour of scales.

[quote name='Carl.1' timestamp='1458735316' post='3010276']
Where are you located?
[/quote]

He's in Greece.

Does anyone know a place to get a setup in Barcelona?

I work on cruise ships and the electronics and jack input of my bass REALLY need a seeing to.

Our home port is Barcelona and I'd like someone to have a look at my bass there. Does anyone know where I can get a setup in Barcelona?

Thanks in advance.

Oh, and reading is a MUST. The good MD's will fire you if you can't read very well. The bad ones will keep you in the orchestra but every other muso will hate you because you can't read.

Currently doing it, on my third contract.

I'll try and be as unbiased and informative as possible.

Pay: Roughly $2,000 per month
Gig: 2 production shows, a few "headliner" shows - these guys come on, hand out the music on the day, you rehearse an hour then do two shows that night. A couple of jazz sets a week. A couple of big band sets.
Food: Fully paid for - But trust me, you'll be off in every port for food and beers.
Crew bar: $2 beer these days. $3 hard liquor.
Social life: Pretty good. Everyone's on the same boat. 'Scuse the pun. You'll make friends. You'll pull women.
Contract length: 7 months is pretty standard.
You'll always have the opportunity to get off in all the ports. Depending on where your run is depends on whether or not you'd want to get off though.
I've worked with great bands and sh*t bands on ships. I've worked for great MD's and sh*t MD's.
On some of the very biggest ships - in Royal Caribbean ships, Oasis, Allure, Quantum and Anthem, orchestra members get single cabins. They're tiny but they're yours therefore, they're great. Most other ships, you're sharing with another dude. Sometimes a musician, sometimes someone else from the entertainment division. Personally, I prefer to share with a non muso. It means they're out the cabin more and stuff.
Apart from that, a good place to spend a lot of time by yourself in the shed if that's your bag. Few people do this though and that's why the orchestras sound so sh*t (some of them).
Anything else you want to know, PM me.

Wow. I think I'll just leave it. Bloody power. I'll blame the Yanks! I was genuinely just gonna go with my amp and an adapter and hope for the best (lol)! There may be an option of a European 220V socket where I'm at, so I'll look in to that. If not, I'll just leave it. It seems like a shedload of hassle. To be honest, I was hoping to take it just so I had a decent little headphone amp to practice through. I'll have a main gigging amp out there which is a big affair and not too portable and not too practiceable with but I'll sort something out.

Thanks for the help though guys. I'm glad I asked!

I'm going to the States soon for a long work contract. I plan on taking a lightweight head with me (GK MB500).

I know NOTHING about electricity which I know is pretty dangerous. I do know that our electricity is a bit different to that in the States.

I guess what I want to know is, is it safe to take my MB500 and plug it straight in to an American socket with my British kettle lead with an adapter on the end? Would it work just as well to grab an American kettle lead?

Also, pedals and pedal adapters. Once again, can I just buy an American pedal cable to power my pedals?

Cheers in advance!

Yeah, I think I'm gonna give the Luminlay dots a try!

http://www.luminlay.com/

I play a lot of gigs in dark orchestra pits and dark stages. Often, I find it difficult to glance at my fretboard and see the fret markers. I was thinking about getting LEDs fitted to the top of the fretboard. Is this possible? Does anyone have this? Or have this problem and have another solution? I've seen the LEDs on the front of the fretboard but never over the top. Also, does anyone know where I could get this done in Scotland?

That is beautiful. I absolutely love it. If I had cash to splash, I'd be well in about this. Have a bump though.

SOLD

[quote name='ChunkyMunky' timestamp='1423861560' post='2689936'] Auditioning through an agency. Or agencies, rather! [/quote]

Go with one at a time, I'd say. If you're going to audition to numerous agencies, you're as well auditioning to numerous lines. I applied to one agency on a Monday evening. They called me on the Tuesday evening to ask when I was available to audition that week. We set it up for the Friday. The following Wednesday, I was called with a gig offer. Maybe I was lucky but I'd say there's contracts just lying around my agent's office. Every time I email him and ask him for work, he gets back the same day with at least one gig offer. You'll just waste your own time and that of others if you audition with more than one agent. PM me if you want to chat and want any specifics.

Anyone?!

Beautiful bass man. Sadly, I don't want to buy. Just perving and paying compliments GLWTS

Get out. Do something you enjoy. I have just taken a huge pay cut. I cut my ties with my wedding band (£20,000 per year. 90% Weekends 100% past 6.30pm. 90% within a half hours drive. Part time job. Full time wage) and now play on cruise ships for around £12,000 per year. I effin' love ships. I love the travel. I love the working 7 nights a week. I love the people I work with. I love the drinking after gigs. I love that no gig is more than 5 minutes from where I live. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that I never need to set up or pack down because that is literally someone else's job.

I understand that you're not in it for the money, but do something you enjoy with your bass. I was starting to hate most aspects of my wedding band. I also know that when I'm done with ships, I'll be a far better player and that there'll still be wedding bands around to join for the cash, should I have to.

I thought I'd update this topic.

I was invoiced for one week's wage, due to the contract that I'd agreed to. I asked my agent that if I paid it, would it result in future work. He said yes. I paid the fee and on the same day, he sent me through a contract for another job with another company that begins in January, and we chatted on the phone about working together in the future and all seems positive.

In the past year I've flown several times with United and American Airlines. Both were totally cool with me flying with my bass as hand luggage. With one United flight, at the first check in at Glasgow, one check in desk lady said to the other, "that guitar should be ok, eh?" The other agreed. All other flights, nothing more was said. On the first flight with my bass, I got on nice and early and made sure I could find some space in an overhead bin. Huge mistake. I just had to watch in fear and horror as a hell of a lot of people just rammed their bags in on top of my bass. Since then, I've learned to ask the staff if it can go in the cloak cupboard, which has always been obliged.

I'm flying in a couple of weeks with BA. I've read a couple of success stories on this topic about BA but none really within the last year or so, has anyone taken a bass on as hand luggage with BA in the past year or so?

Thanks!

PM'd Damien. If anyone else would like any more samples, I have another video and can record anything to request. Cheers!

Leaving the country in late January. Would love this to sell kinda bump.

SOLD

Just re read my contract, as my (very pissed) agent just suggested. There's a claus that says if I don't even get as far as the gig and terminate the contract beforehand, I owe them one or two weeks wages. That's about £1,260. sh*t. And the fact I asked for another contract come January, I can well and truly forget that.

Lesson learnt. If I'm not comfortable in a situation, I need to take control and make sure I'm comfortable. I'll pay them what I owe them if they can get me another gig elsewhere. If not, I'll speak to my lawyer and think about paying them.

But I would agree with everyone here that's said I'm an arse. I should not have taken the contract in the first place but on taking the contract and leaving tomorrow, I'm leaving a lot of family at Christmas without even saying as much as goodbye to them, nevermind just throwing them an unwrapped present lying around. I'd be letting guys down on gigs and sh*t too.

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1418732241' post='2632720']
With the utmost respect.....$150 equates to 95 quid a day.....to be away from your family over Xmas and New Year and away for 5 weeks.
[/quote]

I took $60 USD per day to be away over Christmas and New Year last year!

So, last night, my agent phoned me and offered me a contract for some work abroad. I'd be leaving tomorrow but paid $150USD per day for 5 weeks because of the terribly short notice and the fact I'd be away over Christmas and New Year and stuff. He was really pressuring me hard to take the gig, so I took it. He sent the contract over, I signed it and sent it back and that was all done. After signing the contract and sending it off, I spoke to people close to me about the contract and nobody was really happy that I took it. I still have work commitments in the UK that may be hard to tie a couple up in such short notice, with Christmas just round the corner, we had a family Christmas planned (I was away for similar work last Christmas) and things. I took it upon myself, around 30 minutes after signing the contract and sending it to my agent, I sent him an email to say that I was not happy taking the contract at such short notice because I still had work commitments here that I could not tie up, but if there was any alternative after the new year, I'd be more than happy (he'd spoken of a contract from 7th Jan - 15th May earlier) to take it.

This all went down last night. My agent is in Canada, 5 hours behind us. The last contact I heard from him was at midnight (7pm his time). I told him I couldn't make it at 00:30 (7.30pm his time) and he has not responded. I assume he finished work. He'll get to his desk at 9am his time (2pm here). I'm expecting a rather angry phone call. Worst case scenario, my agent drops me from his books. There's a claus in the contract that says if I terminate it, I owe him 12% of what my contract was worth. Does this come in to play here? But yeah, I'm just waiting patiently until he gets to his desk for him to open a can of whoop ass down the phone to me. How severe will this can of whoop ass be?!

Pricedrop. Will take £95 posted.

Further pricedrop. £600.