dmccombe7

I've had various band break up scenarios from amicable to bitter break ups. One band i left was down to the BL who only wanted to rehearse. I was angry about that one as i had made it clear from outset the travelling of 80 mile round trip over winter conditions and country roads i wanted to recoup my costs thru gigs otherwise there was no point joining. He assured me of plenty of gig opportunities in the area. Had one band that had got together to play classic rock like Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake, Sabbath, Metallica etc and we had worked hard on the set list when the weaker of the guitarists with the least experience asked if we could do his local event in his village. We all agreed and after it being confirmed he comes back and says we need to change the set and drop half of the heavier songs for pop rock songs and chart hits. WTF was my response and said "Not for me" I said i would play the gig but i'm not staying in a band that wants to change 50-60% of its set list to accommodate a venue. They managed to get someone else. I didn't really fall out over it but it was an odd one where the least experienced guy was all of a sudden making the decisions on what the band should be doing. Not sure why the others just seemed to go along with it. And last but not least this is more of an audition thing but thought i would share as its funny. I went for an audition with a Celtic Rock band. When i was setting up my bass gear the two female violinists told me the previous guy was a perfect fit for the band. It thru me a bit but the guitarist and myself got on really well during the audition and i think i had won him over. Anyways i didn't get the job and it went to the guy the girls "liked". Now the funny bit is that approx a year later they contacted me to see if i was still interested in joining and the job was mine. I had a good laugh at them and said NO and explained about what the girls had said when i was setting up and i found that extremely rude and i wouldn't work with people like that. I also had my current Glam band just started so was sorted for bands. Anyway that's my best ones.

TBH i hadn't considered the bar side of it but yep that all makes a lot of sense. What i have found is that when doing long sets and 2 or 3 nights in a row my fingers struggle. Not so much mobility but more blisters and fingertips. When we do get told by the venue that they want 2 x 60min sets its a revelation and i have no issues at all. The more i gig tho the less my fingers notice any aches or pains but it only takes a month OFF for peoples hols and i'm back to square one again (maybe not quite LOL) Dave Dave

Bargain !!! Dave

I always did 2 x 45min sets back in 80's with encores of course. I've given up trying to convince both bands that two 1hr sets is perfect. Dave

We still do the bingo break or raffle as well in most clubs we do. Normally the club wants between 9:30 and 10pm for their functions Dave

That was the original selling point, to vary the set but now they just include them and you are back where you started with "we need to learn some new songs as a back up" Annoys me a lot. Dave

Its annoying when we learn a new song we just add it to the set rather than drop one out and keeping the sets approx 1hr each. Both my bands suffer from this issue. In a few yrs i'll be doing 4hr sets if things don't change. I've always thought 2 off 1hr sets is ideal. It leaves an audience wanting more. Too long they get bored. Dave

We average 1hr 10-15mins first set and 1hr 20-25mins second set but its great when we get two 1hr sets. Think the most enjoyable was with the punk band where we were 2nd support band at a local rock venue with PA and backline supplied. By the time the 1st band got off stage and we got started our 30mins was down to 20 mins and we still got paid £200. I could cope with more 20min £200 gigs. Dave

Loving the boots there Mart. Very nice indeed. Have to admit i have the same top. He has good taste Dave

Yes your bass it just surprised me how much the colour had changed. I honestly wouldn't have expected it. Like what you've done with it. Its definitely got me thinking. Dave

I'm amazed at the natural colouring being quite as extreme as that.

Are the Electra models as good build quality as the California series. Just wondered if a VS4 might be a cheap way to go with making pick up mods. Dave

What i find strange here is that the body colour under the pickguard is different from the visible bodywork. How is that even done. Surely they don't spray it with the guard on. Otherwise i'm loving this project and i'm now wondering if it would be worthwhile buying a VT4 just to do a similar job. I love playing Sandberg basses. I like the Godin idea with the 4 position switch and PJ set up. Don't know if you can get a passive humbucker at bridge position that has split coil option as that would give more variety. Dave

That's funny as the PA we were using on Sat night was tablet controlled with all wireless mics and IEM systems and i think the drum mics too. The guy running it mentioned to me at one point that it kept dropping out and he said it was possibly because of too many wireless signals. He had all the receivers in a rack mount unit at back of stage next to drummer. To be fair i didn't investigate further as it wasn't our PA so i've no idea how many channels were being used. Apart from my bass wireless unit to my own amp i have no experience in full wireless rigs like this. Our singers both have wireless mics and IEM's and altho the desk is digital and can be controlled by a remote tablet / mobile we don't use that. Drummer controls the desk which sits next to him. Dave

Brilliant. Love it. Dave

Think that kind of sums it up for me. I know if i take my VM4 i'll have a bass that will get me close to what i want and need. Its very adaptable for all venues. I'm always more comfortable taking my VM4. Dave

Emergency Exit punk covers band at Wallace Bike Rally in Stirling last night. We were first band on using the other bands PA and drum kit so that was good for us. I took my own bass gear tho. Had dancers on the floor for most songs and lot of applause and whistles after each song which was a bonus. Other band i think were Gun Law but not 100% sure. Great bunch of guys tho and very helpful setting up and making sure we were happy with the PA sound. Their bassist was using a very nice Ric Laredo bass into an Ashdown head and an SWR 610 cab. He also had a Hartke head on top of his cab too but guessing it was a back up. They had driven up from Leeds and have played this gig for past 28 years. WOW. I was using the Godin into Handbox WB-100 and my Mesa SW210/115 cabs. I realised when we started playing that i was getting a bit more distortion than normal and halfway thru Do Anything You Wanna Do i realised i had turned the Gain up at last gig when using my Sandberg bass and the Godin has very hot pick ups. Adjusted for the next song and all was good. Other bands bassist complimented me on my sound and liked the idea of the smaller Mesa cabs compared to his SWR 610. Myself and drummer decided to go in his car (Skoda 4x4 big thing.) My wife also goes to all my gigs except the Blue Angels ones. We finished around 9:45pm which was great and decided a wee Maccy D's was in order and that was a great idea before the drive home which was only an hr. No traffic either way so that was another bonus. Bike Rally audiences are an odd bunch. I think they would rather sit and talk bikes witha beer in hand than watch bands. Always an odd thiing when you are first band on. Not enough booze consumed for guys to dance yet i reckon. Also doing a biker gig in Tomintoul next month with punk band. 4hr drive for me. Fee will just about cover my fuel costs but our singer attends the rally and it was a favour for her. Dave

WOW at least he's gonna be ok so that's good news. All our best to him as it must have been a scary time for him. Dave

So sorry to hear the sad news about your Mum. As always our thoughts are with you at such a difficult time. Gig looked a great night and nice to focus on something else at this sad time. All the very best Dave and everyone at BC.

Jackie Fox from The Runaways had a Law Degree

Two different styles there and both top of their respective styles. What style do you play yourself. Just curious ? Dave

Not a fan of the Smiths i'm afraid but i've never heard of tuning up to F#. Why not just play it 2 frets up with normal tuning. Bit baffled by that one. Was there a reason for it that i'm missing ? Genuinely curious. Love his bass rig. I had one of those big Peavey heads. They were amazing but heavy beasts but you could get a huge array of tones from them. Dave

Jings that's another one that should have been on my list along with Jack Bruce during his Cozy Powell era. So many bassists to choose from. Dave

Had totally forgot about Gary Thain. Demons & Wizards was a huge influence on my musical journey so here's a wee pic of Gary. I think Gary was the bassist that transitioned me from pure rock bass with a pic to fingerstyle playing and that eventually took me into more Jazz rock bands. Such an innovative player. Dave