Mark Dyer

Black Joe Lewis - Sugarfoot

Buffalo Summer - Down to the River

I've been using KaBL for 2 or 3 years now, I highly recommend them. [url="http://www.kablonline.com"]http://www.kablonline.com[/url]

I agree with the earlier statement, this could maybe be better titled 'less well known' or 'low profile bassists' but here's a few of mine anyway. Derek Forbes - Simple Minds Stuart Morrow - New Model army Willie Weeks - Donny Hathaway

I'm using a Genz Benz Streamliner 900 which fits in a laptop bag and a Bergantino 4x10. The Berg is small but by no means light, but it's flight cased and on wheels so fairly easy to get into venues. The sound is suburb, the amp and cab are perfectly matched, I rarely have it past 10 o'clock at most gigs. I'd love an Ampeg stack but it's impractical for most gigs I do these days.

I use a Roger Glover Tortoiseshell Signature model, I've had it for years and it has guided me in my musical journey since I first learnt Smoke on the Water at school. Some people who have seen it say it's just a regular Fender pick with Rogers name on it, but I know different. I don't actually use a pick to play but I like to keep a pick about my person just in case of an emergency. I've no idea what that emergency might be, but I did once use it to play Hash Pipe by Weezer, that seemed like the type of song that needed a pick. The spirit of Roger is always with me.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1390761286' post='2349180'] [b]Can your action be TOO low?[/b] [/quote] Yes.

If you're (the only) left hander in the band, like me, then it's invariably stage right, just to reduce the risk of headstocks smashing together. This usually happens when myself and both guitarists are jostling for position at centre stage to get a good look at the dancing girls... I've no idea why you would want to look at the drummer or his kit during a gig? I have a monitor and a pair of ears?

If you're really OCD about cover art there's a handy App called Cover Scout that will track down missing artwork for you.

I don't think this is an iTunes issue. Sometime ago, Amazon, in an amazing gesture of generosity, decided they would no longer allow certain Apps, iTunes and other well known music cataloging software, to link or use album artwork, or reviews for that matter. iTunes will attempt to locate and link as much album artwork as possible, but unless Amazon change their mind on their rather selfish policy, iTunes can only do so much. It is fairly easy to go get the missing artwork with a Google search.

Ooh. I think me bass tutor and meself will be attending the Manc gig! Thx for the heads up.

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1391446236' post='2357241'] Another happy Hipshot user - awaiting the reveal [/quote][quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1391446236' post='2357241'] Another happy Hipshot user - awaiting the reveal [/quote] Ha. Soz, wasn't meant to sound like some secret knowledge. I was referring to tuning the E string flat so that it stays tuned correctly when flipping the lever up and down. There's a great video that shows you how to do this, I'll try and find it.

One rehearsal will be plenty of time. Allow about four hours for a 2 set weekend covers band. Don't spend all this time running through the songs though, you will need to dedicate at least 1-2 hrs deciding on a new band name as the current one is sh*te, sharing YouTube videos with your band mates, Tweeting, FB, setting up your huge effects pedals board and drinking beer/tea. This will give you some natural spontanaity on the gig night as each song will become an adventure, you will sound edgy and dynamic as opposed to dull and plodding. The worst that can go wrong is you forget where you are and every other song comes off the rails like a runaway train.

[quote name='Kevin Dean' timestamp='1391342727' post='2355918'] What D tuner do you use . I've tried several & haven't liked any of them . [/quote] I've used HipShot on all my basses and not had a problem, although there is a little trick to tuning it correctly.

Having just read the three or four posts on stolen gear this morning I just wondered how many people here have their gear insured and to what level, ie, is it fully comp, van, venue and rehearsal space? Also, what gear do you take on a gig? I'm using a Status S2 and a MM atm which totals around £4000, add to that a Genz Benz/Bergantino rig and around a £1000 worth of effect pedals which makes an approx total of £6500. It's all insured fully comp, but I'd still be gutted if say the S2 was stolen, it's a three month build time minimum to replace if nothing else. The two guitarists in the band are the same, they have custom BC Riches, Parker Fly guitars, [color=#000000][font=Arial, sans-serif]Axe-Fx rack [/font][/color][font="Arial, sans-serif"][color="#000000"]mounts the lot, in all we're carting around £20,000 + of gear to do pub and club gigs basically. It's all built up over time but we do feel sometimes maybe it's overkill for playing the Duck n' Toilet of a Saturday night![/color][/font] Does anyone here use cheaper gear to gig with and leave the expensive stuff at home?

I've had several opportunities to compare and play Mex and US fender Jazz and Precisions side by side, it's been immediately obvious which has a better sound and build quality every time, I suggest you do the same before purchasing anything.

On the rare occasions that I use a pick I leave the my settings that same. However, when switching from finger stye to slap I boost the signal for sure.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1390298864' post='2343628'] ... Even more so with a Spector Euro LX. No matter how much I wanted to love it, it just didn't "talk to me" in the same way that my Status or MIM Standard J do! [/quote] Really? I've just ordered one, and I already have a Status and a MM. Doubt setting in...

Look at and try out a selection of basses at around £400 mark, decide on 2 or 3 that you liked playing, feel of, etc. Then be patient and start looking for second hand versions for sale at around the £200 price. You'll generally get a better instrument for your money.

If this is 'what are you listening to that you are currently learning', then it's 'Driven to Tears' by The Police. Mainly because our drummer saw the Robert Downey Junior/Sting live version on YouTube and got all excited about it, so now it'a going in the set.

[quote name='yepmop' timestamp='1389817051' post='2338323'] Out of Interest I'm doing the Rock school Grade 4 exam in March to see where I'm at, plus it's something to focus on. [/quote] WTF! What is this? Never knew your could graduate in the school of rock, well, not that way. Tell me more please? (Too lazy to Google it)

I think the biggest problem in playing in a covers band is not becoming fed up with playing the same songs week after week, and I guess one way around that is to start adding parts to the song to make it interesting. But, take two bands mentioned earlier, ZZ Top and U2, I've seen both play live several times and I don't remember Adam Clayton or Dusty Hill messing around with the bass line to "Still Haven't Found..." or "Gimme All Your Lovin'"? And they must have played those songs many, many more times than I have. When I play that ZZ Top song I'm interested in one thing only, I switch on a bit of distortion, lock into the drummer and that groove and concentrate on giving the guitarists the best possible backing to make them sound good, which in turn makes the whole band sound great. That's all there is to it, anything else is a waste of time, and your audience won't thank you for it. Saying that, we put 'Drive' by The Cars into the set a few months back, and I quickly become tired of it so started putting in some fills and lines, but only where it fitted with a lyric or vocal part, and surprisingly enough it worked, the guitarists loved it and it gets a good reaction from a crowd... usually.

Always practice without effects. But do not worry too much about some buzz and clicks in your playing, these things tend to disappear in a live mix or in the studio, in fact, some of the time it's good they are there, they can add subtle texture to your sound that you're not always aware of but can sound too clean if it's not there. I have a horrible feeling this is going to throw up a whole new debate

I think the key piece of advice here is find yourself a bass tutor, a 1hr lesson per fortnight will be sufficient, a good tutor should also set homework tasks for you to practice and achieve before the next lesson. Key points a tutor will give you: Stop you from developing bad habits, hard thing to break if you have been playing self taught for a long time, I speak from experience. Progressive scale lessons that will make you familiar with terms like Triads, Arpeggios, Chords, Tones, etc... This knowledge will speed up your ability too work out and play songs and pieces of music that will seem impossible to you right now. Train your ear. I think musicians like Mozart or Bach may have had a natural aptitude for this, who knows, but for us mere mortals it also needs training? And this is another important area where your tutor will help you. Technique. This goes hand-in-hand with point 1, bad habits. Learn the best way to place you fingers on the fret, where to start and finish. Muting, timing, feel, rhythm. Start with the correct way to physically play your bass and your ability will progress rapidly. There are of course many good online bass tutors around these days who offer very competitive rates, I won't name any as they are pretty easy to locate. Oh, and practice, practice, practice.

Hmm? Should I stock up on replacement valves for my Streamliner now?