casapete

Strangely enough our local Morrisons plays pretty good stuff - plenty of not too obvious pop / soul / rock from recent and not so recent times. Those songs that get you wondering who did them whilst perusing the fruit and veg aisle…..😁

I found Elixirs the same - didn’t like the sound right from the off, but it stays the same! As a long time D’Addario user I think I’ll give the NYXLs a try.

I worked part time in a local supermarket when I was 15, and the music they played in there was truly dreadful. It sounded like even cheaper versions of those ‘Top of the Pops’ compilation albums that were popular in the 70’s. ( For our younger readers, these were cheap albums containing dreadful covers of recent chart hits, nothing to do with the TOTP programme on TV. Usually on crap budget labels like MFP and Hallmark - see pic.) The worst songs were those where they didn’t stand a chance of sounding anything like the original artists / recordings, such as Slade, Rod Stewart and Bowie. Working all day Saturday meant I’d hear every song probably at least 8 times, maybe funny the first time or two and then after that sheer hell.

Played again at The Lookout ( on the pier in Scarborough) tonight with the acoustic duo. Full house all dining when we arrived at 5pm, the food here is really good, with the seafood being a speciality - it arrives by the boats moored along the venue so couldn’t be more fresh! Our usual requests led set list with some more Kris Kristofferson stuff asked for, as well as some we haven’t done for a long time - ‘Son of a preacher man’, ‘Wishing well’, ‘Dancing in the dark’ and ‘5 o’clock somewhere’. During the second set one of the house PA speakers gave up the ghost - an Alto column type - but we managed with the others that were still okay. That’s two gigs this week with PA issues , strange. Anyway, the evening went well, happy punters and lots of nice comments. We have a few more gigs booked here before the end of the year, and they are always great to do. Home by 9.30pm for a nice glass of red with some cheese with crackers and chilli olives, marvellous.

With my acoustic duo, we never have a set list beforehand. We work on requests which the audience write down on forms we put on their tables and the bar etc. Just before we go on we check a few out for openers and then wing it from there really! Like you my guitarist mate is good with his banter, and people generally understand how we roll. We’ve been playing together now for over 30 years, (as a duo for around 25 of them ) and have honestly never had one rehearsal in all that time. Should we attempt a song which may be a bit tricky, we’ll have a quick talk through in one of the breaks and then go for it. Certainly keeps us on our toes, and the punters seem to enjoy it. We have 8 gigs this month so hopefully doing something right!

Yup, me too. Bit of structure always good, but on the night you sometimes have to be flexible.

Seeing as we’re on a comedian theme, I saw Amy Gledhill last week. Fabulous comedian / actor / writer from Hull, Amy won Best Show at this year’s Edinburgh Festival. She’s touring all over the UK at the moment, very funny and highly recommended.

This was my preferred method for keeping drunks at bay at posh weddings when I was in a function band. Standard Fender bass headstock worked fine, although I seem to remember that my Squier Katana with pointed headstock was maybe even more effective, if a touch brutal. 😆

No way I’d set up on grass, period!

Of course you’re right - budget I guess is around £1500 max. Because it’s getting on in years, and I’m just curious as to whether there’s anything better that will do the job. Happy to blow our budget on whatever works best though, whether carrying on with using the Yamaha and getting a new passive speaker set up, or going down the active cabs and a small mixer route.

Our rather old and a bit tired PA is going to need replacing soon, and I was looking for recommendations from the BC collective based on what they’ve used, possibly with similar requirements to ours. We are an acoustic duo - electro acoustic guitar and vocals / electro acoustic bass and vocals. Currently on smaller gigs we just put everything straight into our mixer amp (Yamaha EMX 512SC) and then into an aging pair of Bose 802s linked to a pair of passive 12 inch subs. Sometimes I also use my Rumble 100 combo with a DI into the PA if needed for a touch more spread on bigger/ more rowdy gigs. Problem is it’s all a bit tired, and it’s time to upgrade. Needs to be manageable for two older gentlemen, as well as built to last a few years and not a problem to repair if necessary. Our Yamaha mixer amp is a great thing (2x500 watts ) so wouldn’t be averse to keeping that and just looking for new passive cabs, or maybe just getting some good active cabs and a small desk. Not sure about the bin / line array set ups currently popular but maybe only because the ones I’ve heard haven’t been great! Any recommendations welcomed, shoot!

I’ve voted 2x45mins which is mainly our usual thing with the blues band, although the second set may be extended with an encore or two if it’s gone well. With the acoustic duo 2x45 is our standard too, but this can also be made into 3x30 mins ( or even 3x40 mins if the money is right 😉 ).

Played our monthly residency at a local pub last night with the acoustic duo. A shocking load of weather going on so we thought it may be on the quiet side, but pleased to see all the tables booked so it was reasonably full. No big surprises with strange requests, so most were played. Inevitably we got asked for some Kris Kristofferson stuff so we obliged with ‘Me and Bobbie McGee’ and ‘For the good times’. This last one was followed by ‘Highway to Hell’ so plenty of variety! Had a slight buzz/rattle from one side of the PA so that’s going to need looking at - think it’s maybe time to invest in something new. Got soaked loading out as it was still siling it down, home by midnight though.

Just seen that HB have announced a new range with nitro / relic finishes.

I had the same thing, and it was the machine heads. One of the vintage style Fender tuners where it fits into the shaft of the head mechanism was slightly loose and resonating / buzzing on certain notes. Fixed it with a small amount of superglue, job done.

I was once in a band where just the singer was enough to stop any audience encroachment. On one occasion when someone was foolish enough to attempt it, he waited until a suitable instrumental break in the song to drag the idiot away to a corner and make sure he wouldn’t try it again, and was still back for the last verse right on cue. 😆

A good call, but I thought most people on here used IEM’s? 🤣

You sound like you couldn’t have been more reasonable to me. Like some others though, I wouldn’t have set up on a wet field in the first place, and think the organisers didn’t appreciate the risks and cost that could ensue. Years ago I did a festival in the north east, and the weather wasn’t looking great. The ‘stage’ ( back of an an artic lorry trailer) was barely covered against the elements, and as I watched a couple of bands before us I rapidly came to the conclusion that I wasn’t happy going on. Rest of our band soon agreed, and our BL went to discuss options. The organiser just didn’t want to see the problem, and thought we were being too precious. By this time it was pouring down with a very strong wind blowing. We eventually agreed to go home for half our fee. As we left we heard the band performing after us on the bill start playing in the beer tent, as the stage covering had apparently blown away. I’d suggested this as an option earlier on, but was told it wouldn’t be possible. Think we dodged a bullet TBH.

Just weighed my 63 - exactly 3.5 kg. Done many long gigs in the 30+ years I’ve owned it.

Sadly we did - our regular singer was ill on the day of the gig, and the dep was supposed to be okay and we didn’t have any other options. Needless to say we never used him again.

Always remember the time we had a dep singer in my old function band. Gig was a flash wedding in a big marquee somewhere. Dep singer turned up late by which time we’d unloaded the van and set up all the backline and PA. I asked him what sort of mic he’d brought, and he replied that he didn’t have one because he’d left it in the glovebox of his girlfriends’ car! I somehow managed to remain calm, and dug out an old Peavey mic that we used for giving to people to make speeches etc. We started the first set, and the singer had lost his voice after about half a dozen songs - said he couldn’t hear himself despite having a 200 watt personal monitor provided, and wasn’t used to singing with a live band! I ended up singing for the rest of the night. Utter tw*t!

A wonderful bit of bass too IMO. I remember trying to learn it when I was a teenager, and struggling to get the same loose feel. I play it still with my acoustic duo, but we have to change the key to ‘A’ down from ‘D’ with the guitar capoed to try and keep the same feel. Such a radical key change ( for the vocal obvs) makes playing it more of an homage….😄 Classic bit of TOTP footage. Bit like the time Ronnie Lane couldn’t make it so they had a cardboard cutout of him. I remember on the album sleeve Rod Stewart didn’t even give the mandolin player a proper credit, just referring to Ray Jackson as ‘the mandolin player in Lindisfarne, the name slips my mind’. Ray was only paid £15 for the session , but in later years he tried to get a writing credit after contributing a lot to the song , including the classic intro.

After checking it out, I’ve just had an email from eBay saying the seller is now accepting offers. I bet they are….😄

OK, here are mine. 3 basses, all Precisions. 1) 1977 USA (in sunburst). My first bass - I thought that if I was going to take this bass lark seriously then I'd better get a proper instrument. Bought it for £200 in Leeds around the early / mid 80's. I didn't bond with it ever, not really knowing that Fender made some right dogs as well as decent basses. After a while it dawned on me that this was the case and I sold it for £200 so could have been worse. What made me sell it was this -> 2) Squier JV 57 (in black). Everything the USA one wasn't - lighter, vibrant, sounded like a P-bass should and far better made. Kept this for a while and gigged it a lot, and knew I'd regret selling it but this came along -> 3) 1963 (stripped to natural). Previously owned by a late friend, and in a bit of a state when I acquired it. A horrible yellow refin was stripped and refinished by Paulman (Paul McNab in Huddersfield). All original otherwise, and my forever bass. Still gig it when I can. Apart from the above I've had many Musicman / Danelectro / Japanese P-Lytes that I've loved, but the first three basses above were arguably the most important in helping me get started on playing bass for a living.

I’ve been using a Taylor GS Mini and also an Ibanez PNB14E, both of which are around the scale length of yours by the sound of it. Loved them both, and the string choice you have is probably either the D’Addario XTB3790GS set ( designed for the Taylor ) or maybe the Martin M4750 set. I use the D’Addarios and they are fine, lasting quite a long time and intonate pretty well. Haven’t tried the Martins yet. From my experience basses this short a scale can be a slight compromise in terms of playing comfort and intonation, but are much better than bass ukes with their rubbery strings. They are best not set with too low an action, and likewise sound better when not played too hard - I’ve found a softer approach ( I play finger style ) gives best results. Making sure you can hear what you’re doing is also important to stop you doing this, just like an upright really. I use mine with a Fender Rumble 100 combo which I find ideal for the small gigs I play with an acoustic duo.