spinynorman

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1346763496' post='1792804'] No, it's not. It is more than that. What Dylan stood for in the late 60s/early 70s is not served by someone dressing up as Dylan or even playing his stuff. [/quote] Did you see "No Direction Home"? What Dylan thought he stood for wasn't what most people assumed he stood for. Certainly wasn't what Joan Baez thought he stood for. Maybe he was being deliberately difficult for Scorsese's benefit, maybe he stood for something and then changed his mind. Whatever it was, he did a good job of undermining it. Steve Gibbons does a very good Dylan tribute, sometimes a couple of songs in his live act, sometimes touring as The Dylan Project with Dave Pegg, amongst others. Having seen him, it's clearly done out of admiration and respect. Maybe someone hears that and goes on to find the real Dylan, when they hadn't before. Maybe they get inspired to do something of their own. As Vic and Bob said, it doesn't really matter.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1346752927' post='1792591'] It is, as everything is, horses for courses and there will always be those who want to recapture some halcyon days or be satisfied with a bastard version of the things they missed because they were born too late. I would always rather see something fresh and original than people reproducing the greats of yesteryear. That applies to Jazz bands and classical stuff as much as it does Rock and Pop etc [/quote] I find it very difficult to believe you really think the way this reads to me. Classical stuff? Leaving aside that a lot of classical music wasn't originally performed by the composer, are you really suggesting we throw away the entire western european musical heritage, just because we were born too late? Same applies to jazz and even rock and pop. Where does all the great new, original stuff come from? New artists building on what went before. Standing on the shoulders of giants. That's how we progress.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1346761289' post='1792748'] I still don't get it. Why would anyone want to see a band/act pretending to be someone else? [/quote] Well, I happen, for my sins, to like The Stone Roses, but I didn't discover them till they were broken up. So, with no prospect at the time of them reforming, I could listen to albums and watch mostly awful live video. I could also go and see The Complete Stone Roses, who do a very good job of playing the music and capturing some of the vibe of their live performance. Obviously it wasn't The Stone Roses, but rather than standing with my arms folded, gnashing my teeth, I enjoyed it for what it was. Equally, why would I want to watch an actor pretending to be Richard III? It's called entertainment.

Saw a dreadful Queen tribute once. "Freddy Mercury" looked, and performed, like Bruce Forsyth in a vest. The Counterfeit Stones are excellent, they have some good running gags, and when they play it's spot on.

Some random answers which might draw some more discussion. [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1346668599' post='1791623'] Some random observations which draw no particular conclusion: * Even pubs with a rep for live music are struggling. Is live music on the way out as a form of public entertainment? [color=#0000cd]-> Maybe there's just too many outlets for live music and some of them just aren't offering what people want, even if they were successful in the past.[/color] * If pubs were full of happy drinkers they wouldn't need bands, live sports, curry nights, etc. Which suggests that many pubs - particularly the ones that aren't renowned for live music - will [i]not[/i] have a built-in audience. Therefore promotion is more important than it ever was. [color=#0000cd]-> Seems to me the successful pubs are the ones that create an atmosphere and a buzz that brings people back, whether it's the staff, the food, the good beer, the music, the quiz, the other events - probably you need all of these. If the landlord sits up one end of the bar talking to his three friends, leaving a couple of surly girls to pull pints all night, all the music and promotion in the world won't help.[/color] * Are pubs generally on the way out? Should we be exploring other venues for our gigs - e.g. shopping centres on a Saturday lunchtime, community centres? [color=#0000cd]-> I played a shopping centre once. Never. Again.[/color] * Seemingly. covers bands are popular because they draw in a wider range of people than genre bands. But unlike genre bands (blues, jazz, punk, etc) there is no definable audience to whom one may appeal other than 'local people'. As a result, is one overly dependent on a small catchment area, with the increased risk of audience burn-out. [color=#0000cd]-> So you need a rotation of regular places to play. Once every 3 months is enough for any pub, and then you need to vary the set.[/color] * Covers bands are more likely to pull a walk-up audience. Quite a lot of people go to a particular pub for a drink, oblivious to the fact that a band's been booked. They may see the sign 'Live Music' and walk away. They may go in anyway in the hope that the band won't be too loud. We cannot assume that everyone in a pub audience came to see the band. They might all just be tolerating us out of politeness or laziness. [color=#0000cd]-> Not much tolerance in my experience, there's too many other places to go. But you're right, not everyone comes to see the band. [/color] * So should we be balancing the need to engage - loudness, dynamics, showmanship - with an awareness that we might need to dial it back a bit. How do we strike a balance between being an in-your-face spectacle or providing some background music? Should we massively dialling up our showmanship? Or should we just merge into the wallpaper and calmly collect the gig fee on the way out? [color=#0000cd]-> Entirely depends on the venue and the band. Very few people can dial up showmanship convincingly. But it's no fun being ignored.[/color] * Could we be better at reading an audience as the gig progresses? Rather than rigidly sticking to the set-order, volume and speed, should we be more flexible in our delivery? Switching songs around, playing them faster / slower / louder / quieter? [color=#0000cd]-> Surely this can only come with experience, and in a pub gig you're trying to second guess so many likely reasons for losing an audience, I wonder if it's possible, except maybe by luck. Perhaps the best most of us can do is, if it appears to be working, keep doing it.[/color] * Have too many punters been 'burned' by covers bands? Not just the incompetent ones, but the good ones with a limited setlist? Should a covers band have at least 100 songs under its belt so it can keep weekly performances fresh for pub regulars? [color=#0000cd]-> See above, I wouldn't want to play the same pub, or even in the same area, every week. But yes, to do that you'd need a big set list. The number of people that have told us "you're the best band they've had in here for ages" suggests they don't get put off.[/color] * Should we keep a fake book onstage so we can say 'Yes' to requests, rather than sniff about 'not being a f***ing jukebox'? [color=#0000cd]-> It would be nice, but the reality is people ask for things I've never heard of. It's not sniffy, we can't play stuff we don't know. We wouldn't refuse to do something we know well enough to take a decent shot at.[/color] * Should we offer something else besides live music? e.g. competitions, 'live karaoke', a frontman who can tell decent jokes, a disco before and after the set? [color=#0000cd]-> Define decent jokes[/color] [color=#0000cd]We once played a club that had bingo between the sets. They insisted on total silence and got very upset if anyone even tried to order a drink. Awful.[/color] * If a venue is primarily seated, should we be accentuating melody (listening) rather than rhythm (dancing). What is good in a standing venue may be too overpowering in a seated venue? -[color=#0000cd]> Not many primarily seated pubs in my area, but it's a good point generally.[/color] * Do bands for pubs require a different skill set / offering than those which are targeting a music-fan audience? Rather than approach pub gigs with the mindset of 'rock stars in the making', do we need a different toolkit? Should we think more like DJ's and pub guvnors? [color=#0000cd]-> Yes, it probably is a different skill set and a big part of it is putting aside your own music likes, dislikes and prejudices and trying to provide a mix of material that includes as much of the likely audience as possible.[/color] * Rather than acting as 'a band' with fixed personnel and fixed setlists, should we aim towards looser collectives with greater flexibility of material and personnel? Should it be the norm that 'bands' expand and contract to fit a range of gigs. Loud and big for some venues, small and quiet for others? [color=#0000cd]-> I know a couple of bands that will do a 3-man acoustic set for a small pub and a full on band for a party. It seems to work, they're popular.[/color] Sorry about the large number of question marks, but I think we're at one of those turning points when things change and we have to develop some ideas so that we can continue to do what we enjoy doing. [color=#0000cd]-> Apology accepted [/color] [color=#ffffff].[/color] [/quote]

I've got a selection of SCART and SVideo cables and adaptors which aren't getting used. I guess they'll cost £1-2 each to post, including a jiffy bag, or if anyone wants the lot (please!), PM me and I'll work out how much. 1) SCART to RCA (female) adaptor 2) 2-way SCART splitter 3) SCART to RCA (Male) Video/Audio lead 4) SCART to SVideo/RCA Audio lead 5) SVideo/Audio mini jack to RCA (Male) Video/Audio

I really haven't that much of a difference over the last few years, there's good pubs and bad pubs, always has been. My observation is that it's really down to the landlord, whether they put the effort in to create a friendly, pleasant atmosphere where people feel welcome, and whether they've been able to put in the investment to make the place clean and comfortable. That, and we've changed our set to cover quite a wide range of style and era, so if anyone doesn't like one song, they probably will like the next one. That's definitely improved our ability to keep an audience, compared to in the past when we just did air guitar rock. The only way to build an audience that I can see is to get repeat gigs in the same pub, and if you're good it spreads by word of mouth. As a cover band, you have no chance of taking a "following" from one pub to another.

Had to go looking for this - off the Nissan Qashqai advert. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xZp9VVTWlc

[i][Please note that this item is being sold on behalf of a professional friend from the music industry. The full content of this listing has been given by the bass owner, and has simply been 'pasted' here on his behalf.[/i] [i]Please do not get in contact with your views about the listing price. The valuation is the choice of the owner, not the seller.][/i] And now it's been withdrawn. But, like a phoenix from the ashes, the [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Thunder-II-Bass-guitar-/251143684328?_trksid=p4340.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D1762251278946893876%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D4%26"]same photo turns up here[/url].

Maybe he got it mixed up with an Alembic. It's easily done. :-)

That's a fine collection Mr F. I mistook Jeff Wootton's Harmony for a Fender Coronado, so I'm hoping that's what the one on the left is. It would be nice to be right for once.

[quote name='Mr Fretbuzz' timestamp='1346236184' post='1786753'] I fancy a hagstrom but not sure about buying one in Germany if there is a design fault... :-( [/quote] Why Germany? Soundslive has a black one for £449. Though the Cherry ones seem to be a bit cheaper in Germany. But Thomann will give you a 3 year warranty and send a courier to collect it at their cost if there's a problem.

You can search the blue book on line. It doesn't say much about fenix other than made by YC in Korea 1989-1992 and 1996 to 98/99. The guitars were made in the same factory as Squier and based on same designs. So it is possible serial numbers were the same, but it doesn't say that. You can also download the serialisation PDF, but Fenix isn't listed. Bluebookofguitarvalues.com

There's nothing in the Fenix catalogues on Vintaxe to suggest the black transfer was a factory option.

There's a review of the Hagstrom Viking here [url="http://www.guitarmagazine.co.uk/reviews/hagstrom-viking-bass/"]www.guitarmagazine.co.uk/reviews/hagstrom-viking-bass/[/url]. In the 1960s I lusted over a Hagstrom 12-string guitar, but with the lack of continuity, the modern Hagstrom doesn't have the same appeal for me. I've got an Epi Jack Casady, which is long scale and works well in a rock band and is similar money - cheaper if you buy used. Mani is playing one on the Stone Roses tour and there's loads of videos on Youtube.

It's now £125 on the original link. Bargain.

[quote name='BRANCINI' timestamp='1345468014' post='1777764'] Just how many Strats does Townend need for one gig ? [/quote] Didn't Clapton give him guitar lessons? I think that could have been a huge mistake.

I just did a Google Images search for "watts". Beats this thread by miles.

I had an early Rebop 5 which was very nice to play, with an excellent the neck. I took the preamp out and used the HZs passive. I thought they were better that way, but that's just me.

[quote name='mentalextra' timestamp='1339276884' post='1686360'] This might sound daft, but with the wall hangers, how do you protect the body of the guitar from scratches off the wall its hanging from? They look like the guitar sits a few inches away but there's nothing to stop them moving if caught accidentally? [/quote] Actually, it has quite a chunky base, so the guitar hangs well away from the wall. To make it hit the wall, you'd actually need to give it a good solid whack near the bridge and then it would just catch the bottom edge. I don't think I'd use it where you have small children likely to be running around, but if you live with sensible adults it should be ok. I did tell the butler to take the basses down from the wall before dusting them.

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1345452865' post='1777544'] JJ v JPJ + Lemon song = Apples & Oranges, innit [/quote] Yes, absolutely. What's interesting is what different bands and different bass players can do with essentially the same song. JPJ works in the context of Led Zep. Noel Redding plays a simple line under Killing Floor with Hendrix. It wouldn't win him any awards for brilliance, but it still works. The other one I really like is Harvey Brooks with Electric Flag. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq3NwCHm-4U[/media]

Very few Gibson basses were a great success in sales terms, hence the large number of short lived models. Exact recreations would be playing to the same small niche market and competing with used versions of the original. So I think Gibson is trying to take iconic shapes from their past and update them. Whether it works or not is another matter, but I can understand why they'd try.