neepheid

I've already played this game - I owned a '75 Gibson Ripper: If I was to do this again, I'd prefer a G-3 or take a punt on a Grabber, yet to have the pleasure of playing one.

He obviously hadn't been made aware of Robert Fripp then.

Back home super early from an afternoon/early evening gig for a birthday party. One of the regular attendees at Nine Lives gigs booked us to play her 70th birthday. Proper, old school social club. We were on in the middle and the last band (Scottish Quo - guess which band's music they do?) were kind enough to let us use their backline to make for easy changeovers - much appreciated! We got in on time to catch the first act, a solo singer with backing tracks. We only had to do an hour and a half, then we stayed back to watch Scottish Quo - seemed only right after we borrowed their gear! They were proper good too - it wasn't wall to wall Quo, they threw in some other covers too. Bass player was playing 4 and 5 string Statuses (Statii?) and put on the light up fret markers near the end, bloody showoff Nah, it was sound and I enjoyed listening to them. Main thing was that the birthday girl (ha, she's 70) had a good time, and she certainly appeared to do so, plenty dancing going on. A very pleasant afternoon/evening. Because it was a special occasion, I hammed it up to the max - wore a stupid shirt and a hat, played the Epi Explorer... EDIT - someone actually remembered to take photos AND tag us!

They have been a bunch of greedy so-and-sos of late, haven't they?

Apologies if this thread is just for lauding James' Home of Tone, but I would like to give a shout out to an indie merchant: Strathvegas on etsy - custom engraved switch surrounds ("poker chips"), knob rings (fnar), truss rod covers etc. He did my DO/DO NOT poker chip for my black and gold Les Paul and more recently he took a bespoke order from me (non-standard size and engraving) for a surround for a three way rotary and delivered it flawlessly, given a simple mockup done in Inkscape. He's in Canada, so it can take a few weeks to come through, but when you get the final finishing touch to a bass you've been modding - worth the wait.

Not to mention that c0cked hat that the latest fad gear knocks all other previous gear into...

Abuse? Well, you did ask. Hold my beer. I think it's really insecure (not to mention dishonest) to try to pass off something inexpensive as a "posher" item. Be secure in yourself - most gear you can buy today is competent, what does it matter what brand it is? I gigged a Harley Benton last night and got the most praise I've ever had for my bass tone. Don't pay the slightest bit of attention to brand snobs, they're even worse than what you're proposing!

I've made some representations on the word "c0ck"'s behalf, we're not 12. Tee hee, they said "c0ck". Really?

It has many meanings. Today I used it to mean mistake (as in "c0ck up") and I saw someone refer to a licensed establishment with the word "C0ck" in its name. C0ck a gun. Male chickens. Just because it can mean penis or be used as an offensive term to question a person's sanity/competence, doesn't mean it always is and it kinda annoyed me today. As you were...

I don't think it's helpful to deal in absolutes. It's not just random notes is it? There's also interaction between band members - the nods, the winks, the "ha ha you made a mistake" knowing look, the "hey, we're doing the same thing at the same time" move. Some thought surely must be going into actually playing the intended song, even if it is to a degree a background process. I don't think that live playing should be purely anything, it's a mix of show and musicianship, neither have to be perfect, just enjoy what you're doing and that positivity will get across to the audience.

Then "matey" can book their own courier at their own risk and expense...

"I'll never sell this bass"

I... don't? I'm flattered that you think my live playing might even be slightly controlled. Oh wait, you're talking about throwing shapes on stage. I dabble. It doesn't come naturally to me, so what little I do feels quite outlandish to me. I think the most exuberant thing I do is sometimes indulge in a bit of machinegunning the audience - now that's 'Arry's influence on me. Also I often do a bit during Highway to Hell - due to its lengthy portions with no bass, I get up to nonsense like pretending to sleep, or grabbing a chair, putting it in front of my amp and having a seat, or if the cable's long enough, going and joining some punters at their table. It is evolving - at one of the venues we play, there's a darts area behind the band area - I think I'll put the bass down and throw some arrows while I wait for my services to be required. Props might also be added, a copy of the Beano, perhaps, see if people get the reference...

I think the hate comes from Gibson (USA) being run by utter cockwombles for god knows how long now, and also their utter disdain for bassists in general. This is coming from a former Gibson owner and long time apologist for them, but these days they do absolutely nothing for me. I don't hate them, but I pity the fools.

I'm a late bloomer, I was in my early thirties and I wasn't ready. I basically got dared on stage by the future Mrs. Neepheid to do a ska/2 tone covers thing for a birthday party with a one-off band back in 2008. She believed I could do it and it seems she was right. That first gig was a blur though - I barely remember being on stage, and I was stone cold sober! I joined my first official band in 2009 - an originals band called Panda Eyes. That was a good, low pressure introduction because it was very much driven by the guitarist and singer, the drummer and I were sidemen and this was made clear from the off - guitarist says to the drummer and I "if you want to write songs, go form another band". That band is long gone, but on the upside, I've been playing in bands with the same drummer ever since. I know when he's going to c0ck something up before he does IMO you're never ready - I've been playing in bands for 15 years now and I still sometimes don't feel ready! Just do it, and get better by doing it.

It wasn't the bass...

Good gig last night at The Leathan in Portlethen with Nine Lives. We were well looked after, the band area was already cordoned off with a couple of tables which were labelled as reserved for the band (that's a neat idea!) and were swiftly removed to allow us to crack on and get set up. I went up to order a few cans of Coke for us and the landlord gave us them gratis (and repeated this at half time, came over and offered us a drink, nice one!) Gig went well, it wasn't super busy and it's an odd layout, it's almost like there are two bars. I could see a bunch of people through the doorway in the "other" bar enjoying the music but too shy to come through for a dance, ahh well, as long as they're having a good time that's all that matters. We did have an enthusiastic gang of dancers who were up for most songs, so that helped. They left about half way through the second set, but were replaced by a couple of guys who were into the heavier stuff we tend to gravitate towards at the end of the night, so it was rewarding work all night. I played the Harley Benton HB-50 through a Markbass rig (Mini CMD121P IV + New York 121) and it was sounding really good - I actually got compliments on my bassing and its sound from folk. Had a fine chat at the end with a young bass player who said that my bass tone was really clear and coming through strong. Oh no, says I, that means the mistakes were coming through loud and clear also Anyhoo, great night, really enjoyed it, and smugly played a bass no-one can buy until 2024.

Well @smithy, very sorry for the delay but I finally got the HB-50 out to a gig last night. It did not disappoint. Ironically, despite my tinkering and wiring, I used it in parallel mode - not a bad idea, because that's what you're going to get if they release it as per the prototype. Felt like series was a bit much last night, and I was worried about feedback if I gave it too much beans. Speaking of which, there was none, the centre block doing its job no problem last night despite standing in front of my amp about a metre behind me. Even though it has a centre block, this HB-50 is not overly heavy and it was comfy all night. No problem to throw a few shapes on stage with it. It was sounding really good last night, a decent heft to the sound but with plenty of mid bite to cut through the mix. Strong output, didn't need to drive the amp too hard to get a good, punchy sound. It's pretty responsive, when I dug into the strings for a big finish it gave me more oomph in a pleasing way. No issues ergonomically, no neck dive that I could discern, I forgot my wristband but the body binding isn't too sharp edged or harsh so this morning there are no red marks on my forearm (hey Epi Jack Casady, I'm looking at you...). If I had a complaint, I felt that the sound was a little weak on the D and G strings versus the E and A, but perhaps I can balance this out a bit by lowering the E side of the pickup a tad. Or grow the F up and start using a compressor... At a not particularly busy gig, I got three separate compliments about my bass sound last night - very unusual! OK, one guy was wasted, but the other two seemed reasonably coherent. Now I don't know how much they're complimenting the bass itself or the rig, but I'll take it!

IBTL = in before the lock - thread is getting heated/political and likely to be closed by mods, so people do an "I got here before the mods did" - possible sly way of suggesting people should cool it lest the mods get involved

You're not wrong, but humour being my goto on the Internet I I thought of several ways to go with this. The old classic "WHAT?" really works better in person when you get the person to repeat themselves, doesn't really work here. I did consider asking if you would like me to let you know when I inevitably get tinnitus for cheaping out on my hearing protection so you could have an opportunity to say I told you so, but that seemed far too prickly for humour so I deleted it. But it's not really a joking matter, is it? I honestly can't go back to using nothing - be it attending gigs or playing at them, I sometimes quickly take a plug out and put it back in to remind myself why I'm wearing them and it sounds like someone's attacking my ear canals with power tools.

What I want to know is... why is Japan hoarding all the old school BBs on eBay?

Don't think much of the new Doctor Who intro music... the BBC Radiophonic Workshop are really phoning it in here...

Why would they? Got their knuckles rapped for implying that their bass is for sale...

Sounds like you hit the jackpot. I was just very crudely collating some of the horror stories I recall reading about on here, for my usual attempt at dubious humour which infects most of my utterings on here in a desperate bid for approval

I think it helps to have a core genre of music that you play. It helps when people say to their friends "I saw this ace <insert genre> band last night". However, I do enjoy surprising people with a few choices - have observed raised eyebrows (but in a good way) and comments sometimes passed like "Oh cool, you do that song". We try and tread that line. There'll be grumpy punters if we don't play any AC/DC, but they don't mind if we throw in the odd curve ball. Weddings can do one - there's a reason the money's good - far too much pressure, far too much having to learn one-off pap songs that you hate, venues can be Richards about noise levels and arranging access - no thank you, I do this for fun. I've only ever played one wedding, and it was with my originals band because it was a mate who really likes us and specifically requested us - we did all our songs to date and padded the night out with covers that we enjoyed playing, it was a good night.