dmccombe7

When i audition i'm not necessarily looking for better musicians but lookng for guys to impress me with how they play whether that be the fact they are confident, competent and don't make mistakes or they simply gel together as an existing band and provided you've done your bit you run thru the songs first take. That's a nice feeling. I'm usually impressed by a well organised band. A band that turns up for rehearsals / audition and can't remember what songs they asked me to learn and then suggest we do something else that they can remember is a disaster to me and i'd walk from that. I like a band to know exactly what their intentions are i.e. how often they gig, where they gig and who is running the band. I hate when a band needs to ask each other what the main structure of the song is and what comes next especially at an audition Dave

If its an 80's metal band you'll already have these in your trousers.

I'm learning a lot from this thread to be honest. Dave

Think its all been said before on the thread. I've done so many auditions and only failed one in 40yrs playing. The one i failed was because i wasn't 100% into the style of music and from the word go just didn't feel right with the band members. Other than that i always learn the requested songs inside out. If its a covers band i'll learn the song exactly as the original. If i start playing and they are not playing exact to original i'll relax a bit and ease off to adapt to their style of playing. Some bands prefer bass to be exact and allows the guitarist to drift a little. That usually makes you the more competent player and gets a little respect for it. With originals material where the song they've presented for the audition has no bass then i would stick to holding the rhythm with the drums. If basic root notes is what it takes then do that but in some prog bands they are looking for a bit more and want to see how you can add to the song. If you have time before the audition learn different parts for the song and ask their opinion what fits best. I normally ask for their set list and learn a few more of their songs (time permitting) Shows you are keen to join. Take a bottle of water for the audition if its a ful rehearsal slot with the band and a snack bar of some kind. Make sure your gear is in good workng order and that strings are relatively new. If you have more than one bass take the one that you feel most comfortable with. (I usually take my Jazz as its my goto bass) Don't forget your tuner. Don't be late. Be friendly but never pushy at an audition. Listen to what they are saying and get a feel for their personalities. Who is the dominant leader type and make sure you connect with the drummer as he wil be paying attention to what you do. Don't ad-lib too much. I'd rather play root notes than attempt to show off how many different styles i can play. Never play between songs when people are talking either. That's one of my pet hates at rehearsals. Hope this helps and let us know how you get on. All the very best Dave

I remember learning this song when i first heard it and hadn't played it for many yrs. 6 yrs ago i was asked to do it again and while learning it from manuscript i was sent from someone on BC and by ear i actually cam across Neil doing a live festival type gig using his Kramer bass, The tone was so sharp and clear it was easy to pick out the bass part and you could hear the ad-lib. That was a better version than the album for me. The start of that song when the bass kicks in is instantly recognisable. An absolute classic song. Dave

Not heard that in such a long time. Was probably my fav YES album. That and Going For The One. Thanks for posting. Gonna have a wee listen to that album now. It just brings back so many great memories of that era.

I know we had silica gel bottles on our large transformers that electricians replaced once a year i think, so does it depend on what type of silica gel is used. No expert and just guessing. Dave

That's a good idea. I do have my basses on the wall right enough but could do it with my main goto bass. Cheers for that one Dave

Anyone know what bass he's using in that clip. Its like a Warwick with Di Marzio PJ pick up config. Dave Edit to say i think it might be an early Spector bass ?

Jack Bruce was probably my biggest influence yrs ago when i was learning. Over The Top and few other session albums he did were fantastic. Had the good fortune to see him at our local pub venue (held 300 people) during the 80's with Clem Clempson on guitar think it was simply called Jack Bruce and Friends tour. He was so loud the local police station a mile away complained of the noise. It was a summer evening and the venue had all the windows open. They had to close the windows but Jack was just phenomenal on bass and vocals. Using his Warwick fretless at that time too if i remember right. I have some of the official pics that were taken at the gig. Also great with B.L.T. Bought that album and it was quite a powerful trio. Dave

Like for like gauge i find they are a little tighter but its not horrendous. I'm trying to remember back to the day i first used them as to whether i needed to adjust the neck to suit them. Maybe someone else can comment on that. I would think they have the tension feel of a gauge up from my normal strings. I typically play 40-100 and recently tried 45 - 105 which feel more like the 40-100 Elixirs if that makes sense. I'm gonna try them on my Jazz when next due which should be end of the month. Not had them on my goto basses for some reason. I've also used them on my fretless 6 Overwater and they were pretty good on that bass I had to get a taperwound for the B tho but it was a few yrs ago now. I went back to Overwater strings on my Overwater fretless. Dave.

Nothing worse than rusty nuts.

Not tried that but worth a shot. Do they last much longer after doing this ?

Are you sure that its not day follows night Just following in the tradition of BC debate on everything Dave

Wouldn't mind trying these strings but at £10 for shipping for a set at just over £4 is a bit much. Maybe if i buy something more expensive i'll add a set in to the order. I have Elixir strings on my Warwick Thumb. They def do last at least a year but i find the tension a bit tighter than standard of same gauge. Smooth feel to them right enough. They don't have that same zing you get from new strings even straight out the pack. They have an even tone from the word go and i think the tone does change but at a much slower rate and you tend not to notice the deterioration as much. Might actually try a set on my Jazz gigging bass to see how they feel. Dave

That surprsied me as he did the Godin guitar pre-amp for me and i refitted it in the guitar again. Wonder why he doesn't do hi-fi gear. ? Same basic principles i would have thought. Looks like Falcon Acoustics will be a good bet. All the ebst with it. Dave

I used to buy the mag if i was thinking about getting some new gear then i joined BC and i now suffer constant GAS. I quite like an occasional read thru a bass Mag tho. Sometimes you get some interesting items. Dave

There's a topic just appeared on BC asking about Revelation bass at £200. It loks pretty impressive. Jazz shape body, P bass neck and twin P pick ups. Seems to be getting some good comments so far. Dave

Not sure if this would be of interest but if its just cross-over parts why not try an electronics repair. I use Glasgow Studio Electronics for all my repairs from Ampegs, Trace amps to Godin guitar pre-amp. Iain will repair anything electronic with excellent workmanship. Might be worth trying him. Never found him too expensive either. http://www.glse.co.uk/ I think he may be on Paternity leave at moment but he usually replies to his mobile quite quickly. Also try these guys i found on line altho i've never used them ? http://www.retrotechaudio.co.uk/classic-kef-spares.html Dave

I bought one of those Smart Tellys few yrs ago. I added the USB hard drive to enable recording only to find that i can only record the channel i'm watching. So it was back to the old Hard Disc recorder again. I only use the USB version late at night when i'm in bed and not watching TV at all That's technology for you. Dave

To be honest i'l record some of the late night movies and rewatch them during an evening or just put Prime on. At the moment i've just started watching Game of Thrones after my brother got me the box set 2 yrs ago at Xmas. Have to admit i'm really enjoying it. Only thing i make a point of trying to watch if i can is the F1 but new band rehearses 12-3 on a Sun so i miss quite a few and just have to reccord them. Dave

Yep that annoys me too. Also the adverts are meant to be no more than 4mins long yet channels don't include their own program adverts in that 4 mins and add on at the end giving up to 5-6mins of a gap in a program. If you want to advertise your own programmes then do that instead of the paid adverts you get and let people enjoy the actual program that is on. Its getting to the point every time i flick onto another channel i get adverts more often than not. Adverts are my pet hate in life. 😠 Dave

You have an unusual taste in program likes Stu-khag. Will need to google Man Like Mobeen. Not heard of that one but landfill and sewers just seem like a load of rubbish and crap to me.

I started watching Game of Thrones for the first time. Brother bought me the box set 2 yrs ago for Xmas. Just getting started and have to admit to enjoying it so far. I very rarely watch standard crap telly these days when its on. On rare occassions i record any good programs that might be so Sat night i usually watch something i've recorded or Prime. Dave

My current band all play in other bands (i don't) but it was discussed from the outset that there would only be about one gig a month, on average, with maybe a few extra around Xmas. I'm kinda happy with that. I've never been in it for the money but since retiring and getting a bit older i find that weekends don't mean much nowadays so gigging more wouldn't be a problem and the extra cash would come in handy to buy new gear and satisfy GAS if that's actually possible. So maybe my attitude to playing is turning towards chasing the money Dave