neepheid

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1424773345' post='2700188'] Getting gigs is easy provided that: 1. Your band is entertaining 2. Your band is prepared to put in the hard work required to get gigs in the first place and then to get re-bookings. 3. Your band is prepared to travel to where the gigs are. Simply turning up and playing your instruments is never going to be sufficient. If we wanted, The Terrortones could be out every Friday and Saturday night for pretty much the rest of this year playing songs we wrote to enthusiastic audiences up and down the country and getting paid for it. However we've decided to slightly scale back our gigging and concentrate on better gigs and quality support slots while we record our album. The band has no problem getting gigs and repeat bookings because we put on a show and we put in the hard work making contacts sending out promo material and chasing up every lead we are given. IME for most bands this is just too much effort and unsurprisingly they struggle to get gigs. [/quote] Was it easy at the start though?

I held my fingers to ear, I couldn't hear any tone - any sound at all actually. There was a hissy, scratchy sound when I rubbed them together, but that's about it.

Aberdeen's pretty decent on the whole, 5 venues regularly put on original bands, not including the larger venues typically used by folk who have "made it" (Music Hall/AECC/Lemon Tree) and many pubs which regularly have covers bands in. I find it's everywhere else that sucks - so far I'm finding it really hard to find venues/promoters who are willing to at least meet our travelling/subsistence costs never mind the band actually making any money. That's when you get a reply at all. I'm not very good at all this and I feel like such a knob for even having the audacity to ask for expenses sometimes, but we're not running a charity here and when you can't even secure a gig at cost, it's pretty poop. But it's probably my fault - the language is wrong, the promotional material's wrong, no-one's taking a punt on out of town bands any more, I dunno. I think we need a manager. Someone organised and savvy who's willing to get us gigs, in return they get a sixth share of f all.

You'd need to check the dimensions but I'm guessing that something made by TV Jones might fit: http://tvjones.com/pickups-2/bass-pickups/

The Gibson RD Artist, if that's weird enough to qualify.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1424450269' post='2696487'] There must be a market for a decal that reads 'Fender Imprecision' in the correct logo/font for cack handed blokes like me when faced with a fretless P. [/quote] Been there, done that

[quote name='gelfin' timestamp='1424385548' post='2695904'] At a wedding gig a little old lady came up to me with a tea tray, tea pot cup n saucer etc. and asked if I would like a cuppa. She then poured the tea, pulled over a chair and left the tea on it for me. [/quote] Brilliant, I'd love to play a gig as civilised as that. We do like a cuppa, there's at least 10 cups consumed between us at every rehearsal.

I have never left the UK to see a band. The only time I've left Scotland to see bands was when I went to Download 2007. They can come to me - even Maiden did in 2011, first time since 1990. I'm a patient man

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1424433552' post='2696222'] Active doesn't (necessarily) = better. Passive pickups have greater dynamic range and are more responsive to playing touch. After years of playing active basses I've recently rediscovered the simple joys of my old passive Fenders. They just sound more open and expressive to me. But then I am getting old and steadily regressing to my 60s roots when of course everything sounded better [/quote] I would have said the exact opposite. I just got back my twin EMG-HB wearing Epi Les Paul bass and I have to really watch how cleanly I'm playing, it picks up everything - every careless string mute, every slight snag of a fingernail, got to be clinical playing this beast.

Well it's really weird but the now previous owner got in touch with me 5 days after I posted on this thread. Dunno if he has an account here, so I don't know how spooky it actually is. I sold it back to him back in June 2010, it's been away quite a while. I did my first proper gigs with it. It's an important part of my musical life, but I wouldn't have bothered if it wasn't A) so damn fine looking and so bloody great sounding

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1424379162' post='2695782'] Nice one! Was it the Epi LP Bass? How did you do it...cash, blackmail, murder???. [/quote] It sure is. Cash, along with registering an interest with the now previous owner about a year ago. You don't ask, you don't get

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1424345867' post='2695325'] Average payment to artist per play on Spotify $0.007 [/quote] Yay, I'm contributing.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1424259565' post='2694408'] I did think of getting a couple of those picture frames , where you put your fave album sleeves in . Has anyone on here done that? Audio quality; do you prefer amp/ speakers., or is a dock the way forward? Soundbars off the TV anybody? I know things have been said before about the above, but I'm trying slightly different angles;) Cheers [/quote] Yes, I've done the LPs in a frame thing, bought a couple of LPs to support friends' bands despite not having a device to play them on. They look nice on the wall. I have a Bose Soundlink Mini and fire everything to it via Bluetooth, either from laptop or phone. It's surprisingly good sounding for the size of it, and being portable, if I want to listen to some tunes while doing some dishes in the kitchen, I just pick up the thing out of its charging dock and take it through with me. Not quite as swish as a Sonos multi-room setup perhaps, but works for me

Jack Bruce and cherry red over mahogany did for me. Took me a while to get into it beyond a quick plonk now and again, but been playing seriously since 2009 now, loving it and hating that I didn't realise it was the instrument for me sooner than this - got a lot of ground to make up!

Played it for a laugh at rehearsals a few times, didn't have a pick on me so I used a coin instead, that was convincingly zingy/clanky. Strings probably didn't thank me for it though

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1423331006' post='2683666'] Would love to give one a try.....Macari's in London have two in their window but at around £1000 its a big buy that needs a good test drive and some thought.....but non reverse and Pelham Blue is a great colour. [/quote] Well, if our paths should ever cross, you're welcome to try mine. I'll have it with me at the Moffat Bass Bash in March if that's any help

[quote name='Mark_88MPH' timestamp='1424165941' post='2693250'] Looks good, I haven't seen t-bird pups like that before!? [/quote] That's because they're EB (2013/14) pickups, with the coil split switching moved from push/pull pots to individual switches.

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1423865892' post='2690005'] You know the thing, music with a fashion and a scene. Can't think what the last one was, probably Gunge (Grunge) but that was 20 years ago. The Chav thing didn't have an associated music, but it's more than 7 years ago since that started. What's new? [/quote] What's new? Too much choice, that's (relatively) new which neatly torpedoes any chance of a new sub-culture appearing - too many splinter groups, too much stuff out there, the market is flooded and nobody cares. Or at least it's harder to get through to enough people who do care. I don't shout loud enough and I'm not proactive enough to make a success of music, so just as well it's a hobby of mine otherwise I'd probably starve!

Popcorn time...

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1424043274' post='2692011'] Aha! This goes a long way towards explaining why the bridge on my L1505 stays in place with just 2 screws, even with 5 strings top-loaded into it... [/quote] You might want to read this: http://www.bassesbyleo.com/l2500_bridge_mod.html

I don't read so good, I thought the whole bass was a G&L. Nothing to see here

Repositioning the bridge is going to be made more difficult because the G&L Saddle Lock bridge has a sizeable route made into the body for a protrusion from the base of the bridge.

YAS, I have my lost dog back with me!

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1423957658' post='2691000'] Also: Rickenbackers have no low end. Ashdowns are ill-defined and muddy. Gibson have never made a decent bass. [/quote] I'm going to assume this is a critique on the whole "opinion as fact" thing. If I'm wrong about that, shut your piehole

I think it used to be mine