casapete

A lot depends on how sweaty your hands are! If you’re not a clammy handed person, you’ll get a lot more life out of a set of strings. Usual time to replace them is when they lose their tone and become less stable with tuning. I reckon you’ll get a good year or so on your bass. (This applies to roundwound strings - if they’re flat wound type they seemingly last forever…..)

I’m the same. I did take piano lessons from the age of around 7 till I was about 12, which grounded me with some basic theory I guess. From then on played guitar and piano in bands, upgrading to bass when I was in my 20’s - took me quite a while to get to what was my instrument of destiny! I’ve never received bass or guitar tuition and subsequently picked up some bad habits along the way, most of which I’ve managed to overcome. I think if there had been someone local to me who I knew could give me tuition I may have gone down that route, but at that time bass tuition was almost unheard of round here. Never too late though…….

Yet another reason for cash not being phased out IMO. I do like having options - cash for smaller local deals and bank transfer for larger distant ones.

I sold my car using this method of payment to a private buyer. Like you I wasn’t sure but it was fine. I’ve always stuck to cash only when buying and selling stuff, but this does seem to be the preferred way of doing things now and I can see why - safer than wads of dosh when meeting up in car parks etc, and preferable to PayPal , especially the ‘friends and family’ option. (Will keep an eye on this thread to see if anyone has had a bad experience.)

At last, another Dano user on here!

Crap electrics in old venues have meant me having to use my passive P-bass a few times. Also years ago a battery running flat in my P-Lyte at a flash wedding, resulting in me having to let the band do a song without me whilst I rummaged for a replacement - only done that once, a good lesson learned..

We’ve had a busy week with 3 gigs in Southend, Retford and Chesterfield. Southend was a blast - around 1100 people in and well up for a good night. The Cliffs Pavilion is a big theatre with a good sounding room and great staff, so a good night had by all. Managed a drink or two afterwards, although we went to the wrong hotel at first - apparently there are 2 Premier Inns in Southend, and very close to each other! Next up was Retford Majestic, a much smaller venue but sold out. Again, a great sounding room and and not our usual PA, but it sounded great nevertheless. ( I’m the only person on stage who doesn’t use IEM’s, so the only person who can hear any changes in the FOH sound. ) Then last night we were at The Winding Wheel in Chesterfield. Near capacity crowd and another good one. Local gig for some of our band and crew as well, and I was home for midnight too.

I do B/V’s in my band, and have done in all of the bands / deps I’ve done over the last 50 years. I’m a competent but not brilliant bassist, and being able to sing harmony lines has got me many gigs over better players who couldn’t sing. My voice is quite ‘neutral’ and characterless, which makes blending with other (better!) voices much easier. I also have a good ear, and can sing harmonies after a couple of listens. I’m actually of the belief that if you can play any instrument to a reasonable standard then you can sing as well - understand if you don’t like doing so of course, but it’s always a bonus if you can.

Think the only one that may be ‘useful’ would be the Laney PL100. The Peavey isn’t really designed for bass, more for guitar - worth around £30 ish. Laney Mighty Bass and the Raven are basic starter combos that are now outdated by better stuff. Nice for maybe a young player starting out with no amp, or a school perhaps as a gift? Worth very little I’m afraid.

That’s why I have a standard passive Precision type bass as my spare. Maybe once a year we’ll do a gig in an old theatre somewhere and my active P-Lyte will pick up interference that annoys the sound guy.The old Precision is always good in that respect, and it gives it an airing too.

In disgust or in a charitable way? 😆

We ( fortunately) get very few IBM’s - our theatre gig doing ELO stuff doesn’t seem to attract many. Other gigs I do can attract a few here and there. Fortunately in my acoustic duo my guitarist mate is so brilliant that they all make a beeline for him to talk about wound 3rd strings and ruptured 13th chord inversions. Just one more reason why I love being a bass player.

Another +1 for the Hartke HA3500. Seriously underrated IMHO, great amps.

Agree with you on some of the heads still being manageable, although my AH500 felt like it was bolted to the floor when trying to lift it up onto the cab. Second in weight only to my 80’s SVT.

Must admit at our gigs in theatres ( about as much of a polar opposite to S.Mods as humanly possible), I am always amazed by how many times we get people on the front row who don’t seem to be enjoying it much when everyone else around them are going crazy. It’s easy to let their apparent indifference start messing with your head - are we too loud / not playing well / a major disappointment etc. I usually deal with this by trying not to look at them much, and concentrate on others. Even though I’m not the best at ‘joining in’ when I’m in the audience at gigs, I do try to give off a positive vibe to the people I’m watching. Mind you, I don’t go for front row seats either - often not the best sound wise and depending on the stage height can be poor for vision too. ( Also at comedy gigs you’re pretty much guaranteed to be part of the show at some point ). Everyone is different and responds to what’s going on in their own way I guess.

Wowza, what a lineup - it’s easier for me to say who I don’t like than who I do. Also little BillyJoel in there, presumably in a supporting role by the size of his name. Fantastic.

Two. Depending on the size of the stage I either leave the spare in it’s case in the wings of the theatre for smaller places, or have it on a stand behind my amp on bigger stages so its not too much of a trek if the worst happens. Don’t think I’ve had to use it in over 12 years with this band, but an embarrassing incident with battery failure at a flash wedding with my previous band made me vow to always have a spare.

Wow, result. Looks like it should be a great gig, enjoy!

I had the same problem when I got my first P-Lyte, and it was the battery. Some distortion for around 30 seconds and then nothing. Replacement battery sorted mine. However, as you seem to have already ruled that out I can’t figure out what it could be - as you say probably preamp components. A good tech should be able to help. Good luck.

Seen H&O twice, and agree that their band is one of the best ever.

Found this someone posted on FB a while ago. Don’t agree with all of it, but some fair points made.

Sadly used to be the case, but I’ve found these days waving cash doesn’t achieve the same result, in shops anyway. For private sales then cash can be a bargaining tool, but the gradual demise of cash and the upsurge in plastic will maybe soon put an end to this too. 🤬

Echoing the comments above about seeking proper medical advice. I occasionally get a similar thing in my middle finger and sometimes my 3rd one too. Usually happens with me when I’ve not played regularly, so can’t do any harm to exercise your hand as mentioned by others. I’ve had this on and off for a few years, and sometimes wonder if it’s the onset of arthritis - don’t want to end up with hands like Keith Richard’s! I keep a plectrum handy on gigs just in case it occurs - I’m not good with one but it can get you through a song or two till it eases off. Hope you get it sorted.

York Grand Opera House last night. Another of my favourite gigs! Beautiful day in this great city, with Pride festival making it extra busy. Combined with the Derby and the Cup final, plenty of folk enjoying the sun and the beer along the riverside area near the theatre. The gig went really well, another capacity crowd well up for a good night. Our sound guy Paul did well with the old fashioned theatre’s acoustics and the band played great (although I had to take over the lead vocals on ‘Roll over Beethoven’ to give our singer Andy a break). Home by 11.30pm too, result! All in all a great weekend of gigs, and a lot of happy punters.

We finished off our Northern trilogy with gigs in Bridlington and York. The Bridlington gig was at The Spa theatre, a full house and a glorious day. Fairly local gig for me, so home by midnight, with a full moon lighting the way.