dmccombe7

Jack Bruce Chris Squire Geddy Lee Jeff Berlin (not 100% sure i could recognise every time but maybe)

Ultimate Bowie at Motherwell last night. Another fantastic tribute to the late great David Bowie. Probably the best tribute act i've seen. Dave

I'm guessing Berkeley by the gear description. Out of curiosity did you change the active / passive switch on the amp when changing basses from passive to active. If not you might find the amp was being driven harder because of the active circuit. It gives those EBS heads quite a kick when playing like that. Dave

Our guitarist has just bought one of those last week and put a Bigsby trem on it. Bringing it to rehearsals tomorrow to see how it sounds before gigging with it. Dave

I'd call that dedication rather than geekiness

All the best with it Blue. Dave

+1 for Chris McIntyre. He did some work on my Warwick Thumb NT. Brilliant, knowledgeable, very helpful and just a really nice guy. His list of customers is something to behold. Not expensive either. Dave

As normal as any bass geek can be.

Think that says it all Dood. The ultimate bass geek

I have a bass cave where my basses hang on the wall and the one i'm currently using sits on a floor stand next to my amp. I have bass player T shirts as well i'm afraid. I'm not a fanatic for cleaning them all but will clean when changing strings every 2-3 mths on the bass i'm using most. Some basses have Elixir strings and don't get played very often so maybe 3-4yrs . My Warwick and Overwater fretless get the necks oiled or waxed every 1-2yrs. Is that enough in a centrally heated room ? I don't take basses on holiday but i will always take my set list in the car. I love driving holidays cause i'm also a car geek Dave

Don't let the better PA influence how he sings or behaves. That might be a bonus but try and focus solely on the person's ability and how he at least tries to fit in. Does he chat away like old mates or is he reserved and quiet and is that a problem for you guys either way. I've found that bands work better for me if we are all of a similar nature and attitude towards things. Our new keys player is different to the rest of us and has caused many problems because of his different outlook on playing. For him its solely money and made that clear from the outset. Because of that he didn't want to accept gigs less than £500 at all point blank refused to do them. Still waiting to see what comes out of that. I made my feelings clear to him what i thought but agreed the band sounded good and have since just kept it as a more professional approach more like a job, but still a job i enjoy. Rest of the band didn't want to voice an opinion but were forever talking behind his back because we had gigs already booked. Anyway good luck with the auditions and keep us posted on how you get on. Dave

my current band we met in Costa coffee at motorway services for a chat first. We hadn't met as a band before. We had an informal chat and we all just clicked. Enjoyed same kinds of music and had the same ideas on what we wanted from the band and what direction we wanted to go. We discussed some of the songs we thought would work for us even down to discussing how many gigs a month we wanted to do. Altho we had never met as a band we were all aware of each other in other bands so it came from word of mouth. I found that a good experience and made the first rehearsal a bit more relaxed

I've never personally auditioned anyone for a band but for me it helps if everyone relaxes and tries to behave as normal as possible. We record every rehearsal these days so that's a great idea to record the audition. The best auditions i've done have been the ones where the guys just played and acted as if i had been a member for years. I was relaxed and able to just play without nerves. I enjoyed it and i've only failed one audition in 40+ yrs. In that atmosphere you'll see the true person or as close as possible in a short period of time. Sometimes a 2nd audition is a good idea as once again everyone is a little more themselves and that initial worry or concern has eased a bit. Sorry i cant be any more help Dave

I can only offer my sympathy and best wishes to you guys and hope that things improve for you.. I've had no real experience of depression. I've known some anxiety but its probably more adrenelin or worry more than anything else for me. I've just been very lucky in life i guess so it would be an insult to offer any kind of advice from me. Shame you can't get to some gigs tho as its something that i enjoy altho more so when i was younger. These days i'm very selective mainly cause i'm gettin old and its too much trouble getting to gigs unless i drive an hour each way. Dave

Have to say i'm liking the Sandberg steels. Had them on since i got the bass few months ago. The twang wore off after about a week of playing and they've kept pretty same since. After a 6 hour rehearsal on Sunday i've noted they are starting to show signs of becoming dull but only just. I don't know how old the strings were as i bought thru a shop but the bass was new and was set up by Chris at Classic and Cool Guitars. That's about the same as the Fender and Daddario nickels i've been using recently. The steels haven't been as bad as i thought they would on my fingers either My memory of using Rotosounds years ago were of blisters and at some gigs blood from my plucking fingers. I did play very hard back then to be fair. Age has mellowed my playing a bit. Dave

Great pic for your collecction tho.

4hrs ?? jings i'd struggle keeping that up for as long. Well done Blue. Shame about the accomodation. Good to see the gigs still coming in for you. All the best Dave

Damn that stage lighting

I have a thing about keys players. Arrogant, full of their own self importance. If they arent't overly loud cause they think they are the star of the show they are playing the bass part with their left hand when its not required. Personally i'd get rid of him but its a tricky one with him and the gtr'd being best buddies. Maybe he had good reason for cancelling ......did he not say why as a matter of courtesy ? At the start of a new band the set list is short so there can be a lot of spare time at a 3hr rehearsal. Once set is longer you can "gig" your set list. Play it as if at a gig with no gaps or delays between songs to get a feel for how it will all work. That won't give him time to faff around between songs. Dave

Jings i thought that was a young Lemmy there. Had to take a 2nd look. Now that's got energy. Nice one with some nice playing there too. Dave

That's one more than me. I don't count bandmates as friends mainly because we don't socialise other than as a band. I do tend to socialise with my brother more than anyone else and even go to occassional gigs. Not bad considering he was the one that got me into rock music and took me to my first ever gig back in 76. Dave

Surely you have mates that would go even band members ? Wouldn't give up on seeing bands. I used to go to the occassional gigs myself back in 80's thru choice rather than circumstances. It was ok but something good about having a few beers and chatting with a mate(s) is all part of the experience. Shame you might need to give that up Dave

Always liked Nikita by Elton John.

Used to play in a few 3 piece bands and we very rarely did a proper soundcheck. Was a case of set up on stage balance and then thru PA. Was our own PA's and channels were same so didn't need to change much other than volume for most gigs. All so simple in them days. Any tewaks were done during the gig. Dave