joeystrange

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1336902050' post='1652421']At the other end of the scale our drummer packs his gear away wearing cotton gloves. The acidity of the sweat on your fingers attacks the cymbals. Apparently. [/quote] I'm guessing he never chokes his cymbals whilst playing then? Or does he quickly whip out the polish if he does?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1336662163' post='1649122'] Actually, there's one thing worse than that... [/quote] Nickelback??

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1336144369' post='1641630']I think the section on other bassists from not very well known bands is a pretty good section, gives coverage for quiet promising acts and opens up readers to new music. [/quote] You should pay particularly good attention to this month's! I bought BGM for the first time this weekend and, I have to say, there was very little in it that interested me. Although, that said, I've never been all that interested in technical kinda stuff and I don't know if any similar magazines would be any different to this.

I think it might take a little while to get used to it. I'll be using it properly for the first time on Sunday but it's an all day gig with 15 minute change overs so I might not have a lot of time to get it sounding just right until the next rehearsal. I just didn't like the whole 'cartoony' look of the logo, the colour included. It's the sound that counts though!

[quote name='Icunningham' timestamp='1335893777' post='1637700'] it would be awesome if you could do a youtube demo of it rather than listening to the americans talk rather than the amp [/quote] I can't play at any reasonable kind of volume at home, unfortunately. I did notice that there are surprisingly few demos of this amp online though. Just the heritage model. I think I actually might have to join the gym too!

If you don't know her already, Emma Scott is always looking for Birmingham bands for her gigs. I know it's local for you but her gigs are usually really good. Plus she'll probably put you on her podcast/radio show which will help your exposure. [url="http://www.emmascottpresents.com"]http://www.emmascottpresents.com[/url] Try The Maze in Nottingham too, they seem to be cool about putting out-of-town bands on. [url="http://www.themazerocks.com/"]http://www.themazerocks.com/[/url] Of course getting gigs further afield is a lot easier if you're willing to do gigs for little or no money. But, with petrol they way it is, it's a lot less feasible to do that these days.

Picked up a 1998 Ampeg SVT CL yesterday. Sounds incredible although I haven't had chance to put it through my 8x10 yet. I've seen a few of these amps before and the logo put me off for a while but I figured it doesn't really matter, at the end of the day. It's pretty heavy by itself but in the flight case it's just ridiculous! Anyway, I'm happy with it. Looking forward to trying it out properly at a gig next weekend!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1335616925' post='1633753'] Photo from Wednesday's gig... [/quote] Are you sure you've got the right singer? He's wearing clothes!!

I currently have a Squier VM and Fender MIM (both Precisions) and, to be honest, there's not a lot between them. They both play and feel almost identical. The wood is different which makes the Fender feel a bit sturdier, as it's a bit heavier. I think I preferred the Duncan Design pups in the Squier to the Fender stock pups too, although I swapped out the Fenders almost as soon as I got it. I know the build quality of these basses can vary but I think I got a good VM and a good MIM.

I hope I'm allowed to post this here. This is my band's new video that we shot back in February. It got finished last week and is online today to coincide nicely with the release of the track on 7". I think it's a good bit of fun. Maybe you'll like it too! [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anF6Q5BNgGw[/media]

I pretty much always wear two sweatbands. I much prefer thin ones to the big fluffy type ones and all the double-wide ones seem to be the fluffy kind so I've stuck with two. Failing everything else, the singer in my band used to use socks... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0d3XMuy004"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0d3XMuy004[/url]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1334859108' post='1622559']Mr Venom managed to break the cast iron base of his microphone stand! We are going to have to invest in something much more seriously built because at the moment no stand is last more than a couple of gigs - some have died during the first song! [/quote] Have a look at these: [url="http://www.rebelmicstands.com/rope_mic_stand.html"]http://www.rebelmicstands.com/rope_mic_stand.html I[/url] reckon he'll have a job getting through that!

Has anyone heard this yet? I'm not a big Rush fan but it's pretty cool to hear it like this. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir-NYVFsSB4[/media]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1334653296' post='1619041'] It wasn't too long I don't think, maybe a couple of months. I don't really remember. The whole UK had ran out of stock at the time so one was being shipped over from the US especially. I do love my rigs. I need to get the big rig out again at a gig but it's so much effort to move it about. The "mini" rig is so easy in comparison haha. I mentioned to Joe that you guys would be interested in playing with us at the Bell again btw and he's up for it. Just give him a buzz or a nudge on facebook or something and assuming the Bell stops having all these problems it's having currently, I'm sure we'll find a space for you. [/quote] Cool, I'll mention it to the rest of the band. Cheers mate!

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1334651890' post='1619009'] Damn, that sucks. I had the same thing with GK with one of my cabs. Luckily a 2001RB into one 410RBH was plenty. These bloody endorsements, they're not all they're cracked up to be. [/quote] How long did you have to wait for the second cab? Your rig sounds pretty sweet!

I asked that and he said that judging by the amount of back orders they have there might be many dealers that have any and that he couldn't tell a dealer to do that anyway. I also asked if they had a ex-demo unit that I could buy and he said they sold the one they had a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure it'll work out eventually, it's just a pain right now.

I few months ago I got an artist deal with Ampeg. I've wanted an SVT CL for years but, as I'm sure you're aware, they're bloody expensive! Anyway, this deal made it affordable so I sold some gear (including my amp) and e-mailed the guy at Ampeg yesterday afternoon to order the CL. Turns out Ampeg don't have any amps! Well, they don't have a single CL or VR in stock and he said they've got no idea when they'll get any more in as they're moving production to a different factory. It's nobody's fault but it just happens to be really bad timing and now I'm left without an amp for god knows how long. Pain in the bum.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1334562461' post='1617480'] Had a look on the Newtone website - look really interesting (and they're British!), especially the Platinum Bass type. Anyone had any experience with these? At £25 a set (3 times the price of the Legacies) I'm conservative with trying out new strings, but these look really interesting. [/quote] I used them for a while a few years ago - they're actually made about 2 mins from where I work. Anyway, I used them for a few months and they were great. Nice and bright and lasted pretty long too. Then I put on a new set and a string broke at a gig the next day. T^hey were the last set I bought. I've also heard that they're really helpful and will make you a balanced set of strings for whatever tuning you want.

The sad thing is that even godawful covers bands get gigs and get paid. I'd be willing to bet they get paid more and more regularly than most of our original bands too. I've had this conversation many times and me and my drummer have even thought about starting a purposely crap covers band just to see how east it is to get paid gigs doing it. I know there are rubbish originals bands out there too but the difference is they probably don't make any money. What a completely arse-backwards industry we all choose to work in!

I use Dean Markley Misfits Skullbusters. Not bad strings. I'd like a heavier set but I'm not gonna complain, I get them for free!

Hey! Have fun around here! Played a gig at Meisenfrei in Bremen once. It's a really nice place!

[quote name='Nibody' timestamp='1334224448' post='1612690'] They (Cowell etc) tried the same trick with that music charity - Rhythmix. [/quote] Didn't they do it with Liberty (who were forced to become Liberty X) too?

I heard about that yesterday. I can understand wanting them to change/stop using the name but wanting a share of the band's profits is just silly. Why do they think they're entitled to a single penny?

During one two week tour in my old band our van broke/lost parts of the exhaust three times (that happened fairly often). One show was at Newcastle Academy. The exhaust had already broken and been fixed that day so we were already running late when the fan belt broke. After waiting for a repair guy to show up we called the headliners and their manager drove 45 mins from the venue to fetch us after they'd loaded in. Oddly enough their van had broken down on the first night of the tour so they had a replacement van which was smaller than the first so we had the drums and bass amp in our van. We finally got to the venue ten minutes before doors, got the gear on stage so the headliners could do a quick soundcheck then the openers went on. I remember a guy that we didn't like very much came to most of the gigs on that tour. One night he gave us a bottle of brandy which we drank most of and topped up with piss with the intention of giving it back to him. Our manager either forgot or didn't know this and gave it to the guy that came with a new fan belt. Poor guy. To top it off we managed to get a puncture as we were leaving the car park after the last gig. It was a fun tour though! Over time I don't think there was anything that didn't go wrong with that van.

I once played the entire intro and first verse of a song completely wrong but still in the right key. The weird thing was our guitarist was also playing it wrong but playing exactly the same thing as me! It worked with the drums too so we somehow got away with it! Fell over the drum kit once too