dmccombe7

I took your advice few yrs ago Blue when after passing the audition i found out the band were simply asking too much and altho i could have managed as retired early i was in it for enjoyment rather than money. The band were out to make money but they also enjoyed it. They were playing typically 1-2 gigs every weekend either as a T.Rex tribute act or a 70's pop covers band. I liked the idea of it but after learning the first set of 34 70's cover songs in 3 weeks with no rehearsals and doing first few gigs they then told me we had a gig in 10 days and it would be all T.Rex songs and wanted me to learn a further 24 songs in the next 10 days. At the time i mentioned it on here and you suggested if i wasn't in it for the money then maybe i should step down and let someone else in that needs the money. I agreed with what you were saying plus it was a bit too much to learn a second set that soon after the first so all was good. They managed to get someone else who has been with them for past few yrs. I've been asked to dep with them on occasions where bass player can't manage and i'm still great friends with them all including their new bass player. Dave

I quite like that altho i could see it being quite limiting. What you have is really good and easy to listen to but i'm into atmospheric / prog styles. Well done mate. Dave

Not clear whether this is for rehearsals only band or you have intentions to gig at some stage. My current band has singer and guitarist in an Ozzy tribute band and drummer in punk covers band. I'm the only one in one band. Because of their commitments we can't rehearse on a regular weekly basis and over the summer we went a month between rehearsals. These were gigs that were booked from last year and we knew from the outset this would happen. We are now past that stage and block booking rehearsals thru Sept and in monthly advance to guarantee we all make it and have nothing else in the diary. Its a Sunday 12-3 rehearsal with an hour travel each way for furthest away members. WE found that if you try it on a week by week basis other things get in the way as the singer does a lot of charity solo singing events on Sundays as well. He runs this band and altho its all really down to him that he has other bookngs it was his suggestion to block book. If you cancel the rehearsal at short notice you still need to pay for it. That might be the way to go with you guys.

I remembered askng you when you posted pics in another post. I guess that's cheating a bit

Out of them all whats is / has been your fav bass. I'm sure Cetera who also has a rather shop like list likes his Spector NS-2 i think as his fav.

Thanks for that Cetera. I have a bit of catching up to do by looks of it. I'll show my wife this as my wish list see what she says Dave

Basses :- Columbas Jazz Shergold 4/8 string twin neck Aria SB1000 Fender P fretless WAL custom fretless Rik 4003 Fender Jazz maple neck Ibanez Musician Yamaha BX1 Warwick Thumb NT4 Fender Jazz Geddy CIJ ESP 6 string Overwater custom fretless 6 string Overwater Contemporary J4 (not a Tanglewood version) Peavey Cirrus BXP 5 string Epiphone Thunderbird Jaydee Roadie fretless Fender deluxe Precision (PJ) Amps :- Selmer 30W Sound City treble n' bass combo Marshall bass head Marshall 412 stack Peavey MkIV head Custom cab with Peavey BW 12 and 15 speakers fitted Roland pre-amp Mattamp all valve power amps (x2) Custom 210 cab with Celestion speakers Custom 1x15 reflex cab with Celestion speaker Went DI for many years. Ashdown MAG300 combo with 15" speaker Ashdown 210 deep cab Genz Benz Streamliner 600 head Bergantino AE112 (X2) Bergantino HT322 Warwick Profet IV head Markbass 112 combo with matching ext cab Hartke Kilo (never worked out the box so sent back for refund) Ampeg SVT4 Pro GK1001RBii head GK MB200 head Orange OBC115 cab Orange OBC210 cab Effects :- Roland GTB Mfx Aphex compressor TC Polytune TC Delay TC Reverb

Were they qualified Doctors and Nurses or just friends dressed up for the occasion ?

Milk on my porridge. No salt. and maybe a spoonful of honey for a change. My Father in Law has porridge every day and always has done and he's 80 and still going strong. And he makes it the old traditional way too. None of that microwave stuff for him

Take advice from your consultant and no-one else as far as the heart condition is concerned. With regards playing and dealing with stress i think others have already mentioned it. If you stress about gigging you need to re-evaluate what your doing. There's a difference between pre-gig nerves and getting stressed about gigging. Can i ask what exactly is it that stresses you about gigging ? Perhaps we as a bass forum can offer some advice on chilling out and reducing pre-gig nerves rather than actual medical advice. At least there's no heart damage which surely is a good thing. Dave

Are you still married. ? If not then do it now. Its never too late to start something new. Don't think i could do that kind of work not just because my readings skills aren't good enough. I just don't think i would enjoy it plus its playing for long hours at a time. Hard work and i'm basically lazy Go on go for it. Life is too short to have regrets like that. Make the most of it while you are fit and able. Dave

My car has a reverse ??? Couldn't resist that one - i'll get me jacket on way out

I don't sight read. I probably could if it was a pretty simple bass line tho but its not what i use it for. My use of music is when learning a song i can either use my ears, bass tab or manuscript to quickly work out the tricky parts. I still have to sit and work out the notes if its anything more than a few notes in a bar. I take that learning from whichever source i can find and i'll write it out myself on A4 paper but instead of dots and lines i'll just write the note and mark the timing as a manuscript does. Basically i do away with the lines on the page and just write the note in place of the dot. That way i've remembered the song in my head and i also remember what i've written down. I may abbreviate a bar or 2 if they are straight 8ths kind of thing like many rock songs or if a song has the same hand pattern but played on different notes i'll write out the first bar and then just put the Root note in each bar. It might sound over complicated for most but it works for me. Been doing this for quite a few years probably more so since TABS appeared on line. The one item i did forget to add was Youtube VID clips. I find them a very useful learning tool. Dave

I just think its a useful tool for learning any song. I'm all for making life easier and using whatever tools are available when learning songs. I've seen me using my ear, bass tab and manuscripts when its a tricky song to learn so anything that's available is a useful tool. Dave

I play mostly rock bands and i'm usually the only one that reads or uses music unless we have a keys player. Keys players generally read music and it works far better for me. I've played in a very few bands where guitarists didn't even know the chords they was playing. Needless to say i didn't stay long with them. Too disorganised for me. Dave

No matter what band i play with i always write out the bass part. Generally don't write it out as an exact manuscript style but have the bars and notes placed exactly as they should on A4 line paper. I find reading or knowing the basics has always been helpful for me. I learn the song first by ear to get a feel for the melody and then either using TABS or manuscript where available and the fact i write it out myself note for note is also an aid to remembering the structure of the songs. I have learned the song in my head and also have the memory of my hand written notes as a fall back and of course the short written notes as an absolute fall back if required on short notice gigs. Dave

Burke Shelley, John Wetton, Greg Lake, Glenn Hughes

For me the Dep is the guy filling in because the full time guy has another gig with his other band(s) If we all stuck to one band we wouldn't need Deps. Dave

You gotta laugh.

It can be a lot of work doing more than one band. You need to put in the additional time learning the songs, the rehearsal time with the bands and as long as everyone is aware of when the gigs are there shouldn't be too many problems. Most guys i know in several bands will be first come first served with the gigs. If a band puts a gig in the diary then the other bands need to be able to accept that. Maybe that's why we have so many Deps available these days I have no issue with guys being in more than one band altho i find it just takes up too much of my own time. That's just a personal priority for me tho. My current band the singer is in 2 bands and also does solo with backing tracks. Guitarist also in 3 bands and drummer in 2 bands. Some of their gigs are festivals gigs thru the summer so they don't gig regularly as an Ozzy Tribute. Just remember to be up front with it all. Might be worth casually asking if it woukld be an issue for the rest of the band. You might find they are already doing it themselves and haven't told you Dave

One other thing many of us seem to forget is the physical size of London. Its huge so when you say go across London that's further than me going into Glasgow. Dave

Better than yours i reckon but mostly towns and villages apart from the first 8 miles thru gorgeous countryside. I remember back in late 70's doing a training course at Foxboro in Redhill Surrey. 2 weeks course and i was bored at night so decided to get train home for the weekend. I got the train at Redhill and into London somewhere. Onto the tube to Euston and walked upstairs to my train to Glasgow. Off the train at Glasgow and then downstairs to the underground station and home to Motherwell station. I wasn't outside at all all the way from Redhill till i reached Motherwell. I was fair impressed by that. I just found London to be a bit over-whelming with far too many people. I don't envy anyone that lives there Dave

Like many i've had various basses and rigs that have come and gone. I still have my Warwick Thumb NT4 from 89 that i just love playing but too heavy now to do a full gig. My goto bass is my CIJ Geddy Jazz. Love playing it and i can get a good sound thru most rigs with it. My current fav rig is my GK1001RBii thru my Berg HT322 but the cab is a beast to carry. Like my Markbass combo and ext cab and it gives me a great sound no matter the venue but doesn't have the same tonal character as the other rig. At the moment i'm contemplating selling a fair bit of gear to fund a Mesa Subway rig that i will try before buying but i've not read any poor reviews on them and they do sound great in the VID clips i've watched and ones that guys have sent me to let me hear their set up without FOH support. So i guess i'm stil not 100% happy just yet. Dave

For me to get where i worked would be :- Bus to Lanark. 2omins Either a bus or train to Motherwell between 30mins and 60mins depending on train or bus. Train being quicker. Bus to Carfin 15mins Walk to work 10mins Total minimum estimated 75mins minimum. Bus to lanark is on the hour so if i started at 9am i would need to get the 7am bus getting me into work at maybe 8:15am That's 45 mins before i start. Knowing my company they would expect me to start working right away at no extra wages. Car = 45mins allowing for traffic (25miles) at 30mpg just under a gallon of fuel currently £1.29 a litre lets say £5 each way. Total return max £10 Leave the house 8am ish get to work approx 8:40 to 8:45. Public transport buying return tickets = £4 for bus to Lanark, think its about £6 for train then approx £3 for bus at Motherwell again so total £13 return

i normally use Google translations if required. Think they are ok. I've not had any threats when using them Dave