casapete

Agreed. Although in our set there is one song which finishes on a long open E, which I let ring on into the intro of the next song also in the same key which starts with a long keyboard intro. One gig a while ago I couldn’t use my active bass ( due to electrical interference for some strange reason?) and had to use my spare P-bass replica. The note didn’t hang on quite as long and left the intro rather empty. Isolated incident though, just saying.

Know this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but the new Eric Clapton biopic 'Life in 12 bars' has a 'live' UK release this coming Wednesday, 10th January, with various cinemas all over the UK showing the movie and a live Q&A session afterwards. More details here - https://www.planetrock.com/news/rock-news/eric-clapton-life-in-12-bars-live-uk-cinema-event-announced/

As with nearly everybody else, my main one is heavy amplification. Barefaced literally changed my life, so much that even small conventional cabs now seem too heavy. No GAS either for - Any effects pedals whatsoever Anything with more than 4 strings ( too heavy and can’t get my head around them) MM Stingrays - probably my favourite ever bass, but unless anybody has one for sale that is > 7.5 lbs then it will have to be a distant memory. Rackmount tuners Coated strings - tried some and wasn’t blown away, especially for the price. Will stick with my usual D’Addarios.

I really dislike gold hardware too, would be a deal breaker for me I think. Probably because all the great basses I’ve ever owned or had GAS for have had chrome or nickel. Currently have 3 Fender Precision Lytes, and made sure they were all the later models with chrome hardware. The earlier ones had gold which IMO not only looked blingy but also had a reputation for peeling off very quickly.

Thanks. Always good to know a music fan appreciates what we do, as we are primarily a theatre band. I always check out anyone in the audience wearing official ELO T-shirts etc to make sure they stay till the end!! Any links to the Lee Pomeroy article you mentioned greatly appreciated.

Know what you mean. That distorted and slightly sharp thing can get tiresome.

Cheers - we are playing the Churchill Theatre in Bromley on Wednesday 7th March. We have 2 cellists and a violinist, all ladies although can’t guarantee how sparkly they may be We did get a visit from Lee and some of the other guys from ELO to a gig in Richmond a while back. They were rehearsing with Take That nearby and decided to come to see us afterwards. They introduced themselves after the gig, and we chatted for a while. Lee is a great bloke, and it was really good to see them, and quite nerve wracking too! I would love to see the article where we get a mention if you could let me know? Thanks.

Given all of the above, it never ceases to amaze me where the rrp comes from for cabs like these. Two (maybe not so custom) speakers in a nifty cabinet - still seems like a lot to me. I do love Aguilar stuff but this will be way down my (realistic) GAS list. 🙁

In this country BJ Cole has been probably the leading pedal steel player for years. Amongst his credits are sessions for Sting, Robbie Williams, Robert Plant, David Gilmour, Gerry Rafferty, The Stranglers (!), Groove Armada and Tom Jones. I believe he also still plays with Hank Wangford & the Lost Cowboys, a great band if you get chance to see them.

Great stuff. Also like a bit of B-bender guitar, enabling steel guitar effects to be played on a standard Telecaster etc. Bernie Leadon was a master of this, as on 'Peaceful easy feeling'.

I love pedal steel done properly too. We have a steelie in our band who’s a great player, using some effects to make it really sound individual. He’s also a sh*t hot guitarist as well. As mentioned previously, the old country ‘whining’ style put a lot of people off I think, but it has been used in many other genres too - as well as Gilmour, check out Stevie Wonder’s ‘Ain’t gonna stand for it’ for example. Don't know if anyone on here plays / has tried to play one, but they are ridiculously hard to play well. Using both hands, one foot on the volume pedal, one foot for all the pedals, and then knee levers as well. Oh yeah, no frets too. Respect the steelies!

I love - proper Hammond organ ( Stevie Winwood, Booker T etc ) - Great brass sections, especially with baritone sax I hate - that crap piano sound on 80’s and 90’s dance music ( think ‘ I - beef - a’ ) - that horrible drum machine sound on most of the above which accelerates into impossible speeds every now and then - the kind of noise you used to hear from a passing Vauxhall Corsa - Guitars with stupid amounts of fizzy distortion / no definition, hiding any real tone. Oh dear, starting to sound a right old tw*t here, better stop now.....

I put a Fender Noiseless Jazz pickup in my Precision Lyte, really pleased with the result. Matched up well with the factory P-bass pickup too.

I have this itch which won’t go away for a Taylor GS bass. Yes, I know it’s an acoustic bass and all the pitfalls associated with them, but having played one it just felt and sounded so right for one of my regular gigs. Only thing that’s stopping me getting one is a) I don’t have £699 spare right now, and b) If I could afford one then bet your bottom dollar my residency would disappear, leaving me with yet another bass in the spare room not earning it’s keep. Decisions decisions....

Not very cheap or cheerful to be honest - dreadful beginners brand from probably early 70’s. Bit like the Kay stuff that people try to flog on as collectible vintage instruments, when really they’re just as lousy as the day they were made. IMO of course!

Just got my stand out now for it's regular airing on NYE. Can't wait....

I was once ill, and struggled to get a dep. Only guy I could get was from 50 miles away, and demanded more dosh than just his extra travel costs, which my band agreed to and then asked me for! Similar problem really I guess. ( Can't remember the outcome either TBH, so had better stop waffling.)

In the mid 80's I had just got married, with my daughter on the way and not a lot of spare cash. Saw an advert in the York Evening Press for an early 60's Strat, and they wanted £250 for it. Rang the guy up,said I'd be on my way etc and managed to claw together £235 in cash, thinking I would wave this under his nose and a deal would be struck. Got there and the Strat was proper, even had the original Selmer case too. The seller (quite rightly) wouldn't take my offer, and I left thinking I'd let him think about it and get back to me, which of course he didn't - it sold on the next enquiry straight away. Valuable lesson learned about not being greedy / looking a gift horse etc. although to be fair on myself I couldn't raise any more. Reckon that £250 guitar would go for £15k + now, which even allowing for inflation, would have been nice for my old age.

Anyone catch this the other night? Great programme, amazing band! The bassist was excellent, and the whole thing was almost too good to be live IMO. Whatever, very enjoyable entertainment. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09kkxz7/bruno-mars-live-in-harlem

On most of the Facebook pages for selling musical gear, the requirements are - Price / Location / Picture. Any ads not showing these are usually not allowed , or deleted if when pointed out the advertiser doesn't agree. Seems fair enough to me.

Agreed, but surely it's easier with some rough idea ( eg County ) to save everybody's time? I'm with Prowla, if it's within say 40 miles then I'm far more likely to be seriously interested, and PM ing every advert I like the look of is too much of a wild goose chase for me, given the wide location of our BC brethren.

And this is exactly where I'd want to be!! Sounds great, have a good one.

Very staid dinner dance at a large hotel for me. Not my idea of a great gig.......BUT! It is 5 mins from my front door, we set up at 4pm but don't have to return to the venue until 9pm, very well paid and it's 2x45 min sets (one either side of midnight) and we're finished by 1am. Playing in a band put together by friends, which we do every NYE so no grief with deps/egos etc. Our brief is to keep the audience happy by playing stuff they want to hear, so it can be anything from strict tempo / ballroom type material through to Maroon 5. And yes, there'll be music stands involved at some point..... Happy 2018!