dmccombe7

Good to see a classic Gibson being used. Dave

Spot on. Its not a song i really enjoy playing but lots of people like it. I just don't like the feel of the E string tuned down to D. It bounces too much altho fitting Elixirs few weeks ago has meant the tension is greater and i don't notice it so much. I've now ordered a set for the Glam bands main bass my Sandberg VM4. Oh happy days. Dave

Have to say i agree with this. After 20 yrs on a 5 er it can only be GAS. Dave

If you're used to playing 5 stringers then why go back to 4 ? Personally i've tried 5 and 6 stringers over the years but i'm happier with 4 strings. In the punk band i have to tune down my E string to D for one song. I just do it between songs while the singer talks to the audience. Only takes a few seconds. I guess a drop D tuner would be the easy way around it but for one song it just wasn't worth it for me. Have to say that after 20 happy yrs with a 5 er i can't see any benefit in going back to a 4 string bass. Dave

Did they give a reason for cancelling the rehearsals ? If its a valid reason like sickness or death then ok but if its just a call to say its cancelled then i couldn't work with people like that and have walked away from those very circumstances. We all have personal problem now and again and we can't avoid them. Would it be an option to continue with these guys but also look for a 2nd band and see what comes out of it. You appear to be impressed by these guys but technical ability isn't always enough to maintain a good working band. People either need to be committed to a working band or walk away is how i've always looked at it. Dave

I have pics of bands and gigs i've done over the years and occasional poster and one backdrop my wife designed for a Deep Purple tribute band that hangs in my garage. Recent bands i find most memorabilia is on FB these days from pics vids and even reviews so i just leave it there. Dave

Emergency Exit Punk covers band last night in The Cave in Glasgow. Brilliant staff who are always dancing away. Small venue but always a great friendly atmosphere. I'm at the stage now i just leave my amp set and plug and play. Mostly flat with a little bass boost and a touch of compression. Ampeg SVT7 into Mesa 210 / 115 cabs on a Gramma pad with Sandberg MarloweDK bass. Tried 3 new songs last night and went down really well. Few mistakes made thru the night but not too noticeable. Dave

i use a Screwfix one coast me £40 or thereabouts. Lightweight and folds up flat and packs away. Decent size wheels too and i can carry my two Mesa Subway cabs on it without any probs. Just checked but its up to £85 now and i've only had it 2 years Dave

what's the amp again ? i think you told me earlier in the thread but it was a few pages back in the depths of time and i don't want my Latte to get cold while i'm searching. Dave

Sorry to hear that Andy. Sad news indeed. Dave

We get a lot of them Non-functional fans at our gigs too. Dave

I've never seen the tip jar thing up here. Maybe we should try it

I had that a few yrs ago when i auditioned for a Glam / 70's hits covers band. They asked me to learn Starman by Bowie, and a few others. I turned up on time and they were auditioning 3 bass players that night but were running quite late. They asked me to sit in the kitchen with a coffee in hand but i listened to the first guy who was a bit basic sounding almost a learner IMO and then the 2nd guy and he was a step up better but lacked flow but he did learn a few little bits on Starman that i had missed as i only had 2 days before the audition. When i went in i combined what i had done with what i heard other guy do and i was offered the job after doing Starman and T.Rex song 20th Century Boy. After those 2 songs they were happy and asked if i wanted to stay on as i was the last one to audition and we could just jam a few other songs they did. The fun moment was they had asked me to learn Caroline which i did but i learned the Status Quo song not thinking they meant Sweet Caroline but we had a good laugh about it and they said lets do the Quo one anyway. I'm still good friends with them even tho i didn't stay too long as they wanted to gig 2-3 times every weekend and it was all a bit much for me after i had just retired early from work and wanted some free time. It was never mentioned on the advert they gigged that much. Fantastic bunch of guys too and the sad thing is that after a few yrs of retirement i would now be ok with 2 gigs every weekend LOL Dave

I was 50 when i got back into playing after approx 20 yrs away. I found band adverts on JMB that suited my age group but recently when i've looked thru it i have noticed that its more focused on a far younger age group but maybe my age group are no longer with us hence the lack of advertising. I moved towards Bandmix for bands as i thought they were a better fit for what i was looking for. Surprised you can't find other musicians in a city especially London which has the same population as Scotland. You need to be prepared to travel for rehearsals and meet up with other musicians. I live in countryside so i'm usually 40 miles to a rehearsal studio most of which have been Glasgow based bands but i have worked with bands in Borders areas but that's a pain during winter months with snow and ice on roads I tried doing originals bands but found it difficult to get people and decided i now prefer just doing covers or tributes and its made life easier. I mentioned it before but i knew the drummer for 6 yrs before we finally managed to get the Glam covers band of the ground so don't despair when things are instant fix. I can't state enough about staying in touch with people you meet even if its only FB messages. When they get a band started they'll already have you in mind and job done. Glam band did go thru 2-3 keys players that didn't fit and we decided to drop the keys idea and surprisingly enough we brought in a female singer mainly as backing vocals and we got more input and benefit from her than we ever got from a keys player. Our original guitarist left after covid because he was bored with the project. We got a new guitarist almost right away altho he lives in Perth and has to drive 1.5 hrs just for a rehearsal but he's fine with it and loves the band and he's a perfect fit for us. He just loves playing but more important he has the same sense of humour as us and a perfect fit. We are now sorted so it wasn't always perfect from the start. The punk covers band has been going since 1978 with the guitarist being the only original member. Never give up chasing the dream band. Its a bit like trying to get that bass tone in your head or that perfect bass you've been looking for for 45yrs. Dave

At least the band did a proper job and that's the most important part .............. as well as getting paid of course. Dave

Awe jings crivvens now i've got GAS. Always liked the look of them and you've put it in my head as a great back up amp to my SVT7 Dave

When i got back into bands and gigging again in circa 2010 i took on any band to get experience and simply to be playing bass in a band. I went thru rock tribute, ceilidh band, 70's covers band, Glam covers, prog originals, funk/blues band, function band and finally my current Glam covers band which led onto classic Punk covers band. As mentioned before both my current bands were thru people i knew or they knew me thru other musicians. I had kept in touch with various musicians i had met or even just spoke with thru PM's on band websites. Our drummer i first came across 6 years before we got together in the Glam band and it was a case of me enquiring about the band and the singer had already heard about me thru his friends that knew my friends within the local music scene. I suggested the said drummer and was told he was already in and he had recommended me for the bass part. I finally met this drummer 6 yrs after we first spoke on a PM. We kept in touch over that 6 yrs on what each other was doing. We've been in the Glam band for 5 yrs now and when his punk band were looking for a bass player i said i'd help out and give it a try. I enjoyed it so much i stayed with it. So 100% agree the good bands seem to be the ones where you meet thru word of mouth. My main point is to try doing anything to keep playing and get to know people. Word will get around if you are good and reliable with what you do. Also helps being a nice person to get along with. I'm lucky i have 2 bands that i get along with like mates albeit the female singer and drummer are also in both bands LOL Dave

I only watched the start. Good playing from you and love that growling Warwick tone but i'm not a fan of that style of music i'm afraid. I can't understand or make out anything from the singer so no idea what the lyrics are. Dave

Sweary type words on page maybe ? Just guessing. Dave

Yep had a GK1001RBii at one point and it was one very loud amp but i just couldn't the tone i was looking for. Dave

Historically i've been same opinion on class D amps but i have to admit the SVT7 does manage to cut thru pretty well and does sound very much like an SVT. Not as much heft as full valve SVT but pretty close enough for me. Don't get me wrong the WB-100 is a loud amp but i'm not a big fan of overdriven gain sound in my current bands and prefer a cleaner warmer tone. The WB-100 was set almost flat with gain at 12 and master at very most 12-13 o'clock. If i raised the gain up to the 2 o'clock mark it gave it one heck of a boost in volume but the distortion was creeping in and i could have lived with it and audience wouldn't notice it but i did. For most decent sized gigs it did cover it all fairly easily without FOH support. The SVT7 just seems to cover it a bit easier altho for a 1000W classD its nowhere as loud as you would expect a 1kW amp to be but that's the same with all class D amps. I reckon its volume is similar to the Mpulse at 600W with everything flat. Dave

Blockbustarz is our Glam band. Doing quite well with now that things are picking up after covid. Dave

Not far apart Pete. I'm currently using the Ampeg SVT7 Pro for gigs. Still have the Handbox WB-100 that i may sell at some point but not sure. Its a nice back up to the SVT7. I did find the WB-100 struggled at bigger venues altho i wasn't thru FOH whereas the Ampeg manages same venue with ease. I still have the Mpulse 600 and like you i don't think i'd ever sell it. I use it for practice at home with my Mesa PH212 cab. I also have the MB Nano 300W as my gig back up mainly because it fits easily in my bag. I also have a GK MB200 head that i use as a pre-amp for sound effects in Glam covers band. Have to admit i am loving the Ampeg tone again and the SVT7 is reasonably lightweight. Had an Ampeg SVT4 Pro few yrs back but it kept breaking down on me and it weighed a ton. It was an older one to be fair but moved it on after the last repairs which were mainly poor soldering joints around the valve bases on the circuit board. That kinda put me off Ampeg for a few yrs but friends had bought the PF500 and had no issues at all so thought i'd give them another try. I did fancy the Mesa TT800 but its gonna cost a fortune when they start selling to UK again and i grudge paying it nowadays. I use Mesa Subway 210 and 115 cabs for gigging. I'm playing 70's Glam covers and other band is classic Punk covers band. Only thing i change is a different bass for each band altho both basses are now Sandbergs. Marlowe with punk and VM4 with Glam band We do seem to have similar taste in amps. Sometimes i wish i had gone for the R-400 which i reckon would be a little louder than the WB-100. The WB-100 is pretty loud and manages most venues i've played circa 100-150 persons. It struggled at a club venue with around 200 people tho and i had to ramp up the gain a bit more taking it into distortion which i wasn't a big fan off but you can't hear that in the vids i've seen. Dave