bassace

Ah Weddings, doncha just luv em! First thing, very few weddings ever run to time and the people who book you have virtually no experience of putting on a gig. And there are usually kids whose parents like nothing more than dumping them on the dance floor and letting the band entertain them while they, the parents chat to their grown up friends. Very ocasionally things go to plan, no kids, gorgeous women and good tippers. So, assuming the former is the case, just remember that the day belongs to the bride and groom, be very friendly towards the catering and bar people so you'll be fed and watered well, expect the worst but hope for the best, quote a good fee, smile and put on a good show - you might get return (hopefully non-wedding) bookings.

Well, started off with a bit of de-GASsing. The Steinberger CRM stick went, not because it's not a good instrument but nobody wants me to gig with it - so it went to a good home. Bought a Sansamp Paradriver and promptly resold it and also sold a nice SWR 12" monitor. Have just bought a gorgeous Thomas Martin double bass from the man himself. He's just done one for John Patitucci. It's just amazing and I'm so chuffed; I'll post a photo and some more description in the Double Bass section. So future GAS for the rest of the year is a no-no and I've told Mrs Bassace that if I get any more ideas she can shoot me. Surprisingly, she seems quite enthusiastic about this.

I'd like to try to get there to see some of the stuff, particularly Alex's speakers. If for any reason Jakesbass can't make it I'll definitely bring a double bass for anyone to have a try on.

I've got a CEB-3 in the Effects For Sale section right now!

I've got Spiro mediums on my basses. The E was a bit quiet on my Upton and they recommended substituting an Evah Pirazzi medium. That did the trick. Trouble with going up to a Spiro heavy is that you get a bloody thick string. But you need to find out what's on the bass first. Some shop bought basses have very low spec strings as standard and a complete upgrade may be in order.

I heard a covers band some time ago. They had a very young bass player who could play well and was note perfect. Trouble is, he had no drive, no feel. I bitterly regret never having spoken to him and said something along the lines - you're a very good bass player, you read well, you play the stuff well. But just take a moment to think what you are there for - to propell the whole band forward. So, relax a bit, enjoy your stuff and go for it.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='561402' date='Aug 5 2009, 07:42 PM']I'm not sure if there is a language difference between english as used in Lithuania and english as used in britain. finishing a question with " , mate? " tends to come across as a aggressive challenge rather than a friendly thing you would actually say to a mate. just a thought on colloquialisms.[/quote] Yes, I find it a bit confrontational from someone I don't know. OK from a friend, perhaps.

Wow!

Ah, the well known Bowie song 'The man who failed to earth'.

Enjoy your break. It won't do you any harm and it'll in all probability refocus your view on bass playing, the world etc etc and you'll emerge from it all refreshed. I took several years out when I was your age and I'm sure I came out a bit more rounded. There's a saying that goes 'What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?' Think about it and apply it to bass playing - or any other interest, really.

I don't think you'll have a problem at all. You did not say what strings you're using; some are more tune-stable than others, particularly Spiros. If you are going to do this regularly I'd recommend laying your bass down on its back, completely dutuning the E and slipping it off the bridge and top nut. Then get a soft pencil, something like a 6B, and coat the nut and bridge slots with graphite. That'll give the string an easy slide when tuning back from D to E and there will be less risk of pulling the bridge out of line. Incidentally, it's well known that if you completely detune the strings and then bring them back up to pitch they will sound much brighter for about a week. I put a post on TB recently to ask if anyone does this regularly between gigs. The consensus was NO mainly due to the difficulty in keeping some strings, particularly guts, in tune afterwards.

Musician's Union gives you insurance up to £2k.

I've no experience of the Shadow so I'm hardly qualified to offer advice - however; Rather than rough up a part of the bass or pickup you could try sticking a pice of masking tape to one or both faces of the pickup. From other pickups I've done this to it shouldn't have any effect on the sound. Failing that, thin rubber (cycle inner tube?) should guarantee a slip free result. Incidentally, I'd be interested in contact details of your guy in Cheltenham. If you don't want to put him on the forum perhaps you could PM me.

Good start, Marley. One day you'll be so famous you will have your own camera man.

I bet at least 50% of the clammy hands and butterflies will be down to the excitement of looking forward to a new challenge. Go and enjoy it, you'll do fine - you're a bass player!

Respect!

Two rules:- 1. Always wear something suitable for the audience you are entertaining (like the man said, a cooler version of your audience) 2. Always wear good shoes.

[quote name='Clarky' post='537802' date='Jul 11 2009, 11:51 AM']Bassace had a nice looking German 1960s plywood bass on for £900 - check the FS section[/quote] Thanks for the plug Clarky but I didn't have much interest at the time so I thought it was a lost cause. I've become so attached to it all over again that I'll withdraw it when I get round to it.

[quote name='Shaggy' post='536553' date='Jul 9 2009, 04:07 PM']2500 V.......[i]pah[/i], the X-ray tubes I use (I'm a radiographer) use 100,000+ V !!!! OK, so my body hair fell out and I grew an extra testicle but so what......... [/quote] So it [i]is [/i]true!