casapete

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1506678575' post='3380331'] Well said that man. Played hundreds of club and ballroom gigs in the 70s and vocals were the only thing to go through the PAs we had at the time. Played at the Rainbow Room in Newcastle, it was huge, to an audience of about 350 people. Orange amps, WEM cabs, for the whole band, and a 200 watt PA for vocals. The drummer was having to really dig in, but at one point we were asked to turn down!!!! Must admit I fail to see the reasoning behind spending a fortune on a 1000 watt head and a couple of lightweight cabs, then use them essentially as a monitor. If the volume and tone out front are being dictated by the PA why not simply use a pre amp and a monitor? And all this at a pub gig, to less than 100 people. Not taking a pop, simply my take on bass amplification. [/quote] Must admit, I wonder about this all the time. Think the reason I still prefer my own amp and cab is that it's the sound I'm used to, coming from behind me as it always has done, at a level I like, and looks like a proper stage with gear on it! Maybe stupid I know, but still think people like to see a band's gear onstage to give it that authenticity somehow? Over all this though, I just love the fact that I'm in control of my sound totally, whatever happens. Rest of my band have now moved over to IEM's, leaving me the dinosaur on bass. Am hanging in there at the moment, for how long I'm not sure!

From your sig it seems you like the Fender Rumble combos, so why not one of the 100 watt jobs? Sound great and light as a light thing. Loud enough for quietish gigs too.

Mine arrived yesterday, works fine. Will be living in my acoustic bass case.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1506435688' post='3378710'] Cripes! Johnnie Johnson is unrecognisable ... [/quote] Incidentally, bassist with Rocking Horse was Billy Kinsley, ex- Merseybeats / Merseys , and then future founder of Liverpool Express. That's him rocking the black Thunderbird, which he used right through the L.Express days, often on TOTP in the mid to late 1970's. The Merseybeats were the first band I ever saw using reverse bodied Gibsons (Firebirds). Worked with them once in the 80's, all top blokes with some great stories.

[quote name='NewDad' timestamp='1506425571' post='3378593'] No million sales required to verify standard tuning, just an eye or two. [media]http://youtu.be/YtrOr3WKmyY[/media] (Seeing the original broadcast of this propelled me into guitaring.) [/quote] This broadcast played a massive influence on my musical direction / career too. Saw Chuck for the first time on the same tour at Doncaster Top Rank - my dad got me tickets for my 14th birthday. ( My folks dropped me and a mate off at the door whilst they went for a steak at the local Berni Inn!) Staff at the gig wouldn't let us in as it was supposed to be over 18s only. However, when they found out it was my birthday present, they let us in as long as we sat on the low balcony over the stage at the side. Blinding gig, despite 'My ding-a-ling'.... On leaving the stage after his usual 60 min set, Chuck shook my hand with a grin as he exited. Back OT, yet to see any footage of Chuck not in (roughly!) concert/standard tuning too.

Another shout out for GK. The 1001RB is a fairly simple head (OK, 4 band EQ but easy to use ), 2U, weighs only 22lbs and sounds great, even when set flat. 540 watts into 8 ohms, 720 into 4, so more volume / headroom than you will ever need too. Great USA build quality. Until recently I had two of these, and they both haven't missed a beat in over 10 years. Sold one of them as I didn't need a spare!

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1506134411' post='3376685'] I think I'll take the word of a successful million selling guitarist who played on a whole tour with Chuck over someone on a forum who never played with him, no offence [/quote] None taken Do you think your guitarist mate may have been referring to Chuck tuning a semitone down in his later years, rather than playing in an open tuning though? Apparently Chuck would do this and cause mayhem with the pick-up band who were trying to watch where his hands were on the guitar neck to ascertain the keys of the songs, which of course Chuck hadn't told them beforehand....

Nice one, always good to hear when companies go the extra mile. I've always found Strings Direct to be one of the better online outfits.

Chuck used standard tuning as far as I'm aware. However, he was renowned for being somewhat casual regarding accuracy. Just before walking onstage, I've seen him backstage with his Gibson 355 neck up to his ear trying to tune up, then walk on with his guitar in tune with itself, but subsequently not in concert pitch like the rest of the band. First couple of numbers were 'interesting' until he got it sorted! Never really understood why this didn't appear to overly bother him. ( There are quite a few clips on YT showing this.) All part of the Chuck legend I guess.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1506010433' post='3375890'] Sounds like they've at least nailed that aspect of Chuck's playing. He was notorious for starting songs with the wrong intro. [/quote] Wrong intro, wrong key, wrong song - Chuck was well known for sometimes repeating a song he'd played earlier in the set too - all part of the Chuck magic. I suppose with a fair few of his tunes having near identical intros / guitar parts it was inevitable really.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1505997754' post='3375744'] What, you mean turn up late without a band, have a quick run through with some local guys in the Gents toilet, play a 30-minute set and then walk off, no encores? Sounds like a winner to me ... [/quote] Err, excuse me - 60 minute set, to the second....

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1505987924' post='3375636'] It definitely does. Pickups contain strong magnets, and strings are made of magnetic materials (i.e. metal). Hold a string against the pickup and you will feel the force of attraction. That force is still there when the bass is played, but gets weaker as the string is further from the pickup. If the pickups are set very high (close to the strings) then the magnet attracts the string and prevents it vibrating as much. The sound may be louder, but sustain will be affected, as will the overall tone. It is a useful thing to fiddle about with... [/quote] Absolutely. Something vintage Strat players found out a long time ago - pickups too high causing all sorts of problems.

Playing Chuck stuff properly is nigh on impossible. As you point out, most guitarists [i]think [/i]they can do it okay, but in reality mostly don't get close in my experience. Tone is something rarely sorted properly - although in later years Chuck used Gibson 345/355's a lot, most of his hits in the 50's/early 60's were played on a Gibson ES350. The earlier versions had single coil P90 pickups, later switching to humbuckers. Thinline hollow body and a short scale too, so not an easy guitar sound to replicate, before you attempt Chuck's amazing style. Maybe too soon, but has anybody seen or considered doing a Chuck tribute show at all?

Go for the 4x10, you'll love it.

I've been fortunate to play mostly with musicians who have been generally more accomplished than myself, and have learnt so much from doing so. When I look back at some of the players, I can't believe I was actually there with them to be honest, they've been that good. And almost without exception, the best ones have also been the most humble and friendly, taking time to explain parts to me and not getting exasperated if I don't get it first time etc. So yeah, definitely being the worst player in an amazing band - if you have the right attitude it will be an invaluable learning curve / experience and you will improve your own skills as a result.

After a lengthy period of both my hands starting to hurt after long gigs, I set the action on my main bass a fair bit lower than I used to have it, and started playing with less attack. The results were almost immediate - both my hands stopped being so painful, particularly my left (fretting) hand which suffers from the dreaded Dupytren's Contracture - details here http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Dupuytrens-contracture/Pages/Introduction.aspx Would recommend anyone having similar problems to give it a try, certainly worked for me. May take a bit of getting used to, particularly if you've a hard hitting technique, but I found you don't need to dig in that much to get something like what you're used to soundwise. Touch more volume on the amp helps too.

Always been a bit of debate about this on here - for me, I prefer the cab on the floor with the additional bass coupling that often happens. ( I do realise though that the sound you hear isn't necessarily easiest to monitor accurately when it's blasting the back of your legs.)

Had email saying mine has been shipped, yay! (As you may have guessed, it's been a rather boring day here....)

[quote name='Elfrasho' timestamp='1505731332' post='3373788'] You need to put the voucher code in and it'll change to 2 quid [/quote] Yup, as mentioned in my original post.

For those of us on here who aren't too bothered about being seen using a headstock tuner, there is a deal just announced from Reverb - £2 including UK delivery. I got one of these last time they did them, and it's still going strong, so just ordered another one. This link shows them to be £8, but just add UKTUNER to the order form and they come out as £2 at the checkout. Cheers. NEW LINK BELOW for JANUARY 2018 https://reverb.com/item/2381439-reverb-clip-on-tuner-uk-exclusive?utm_campaign=uktuner

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1505495682' post='3372420'] Hmmm, since when did popularity = quality? [/quote] Probably about the same time as obscurity = the best thing ever?