BigRedX

[quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1490879060' post='3268716'] Yeh - my happy situation is playing 1 or 2 gigs a month maximum but it's very hard to find people with the same lack of ambition. They either don't want to gig at all or hate their day job and want to play 7 nights a week. [/quote] Join and originals band. Most of those will only be playing once or twice and month. You will however been spending more time in the rehearsal room working on the songs as you write them, but that tends to be more "sociable" hours.

If you're not feeling it any more, then don't do it. I'm now in my mid-50s and would still be playing at least once a week if my band was being offered the gigs. I don't always like the late hours and the travelling, but TBH I wasn't anymore enthusiastic about that side of gigging back when I was in my early 20s, so for me nothing has really changed.

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1490852094' post='3268457'] Indie was originally artists releasing on independent label music , so bands not signed to a big label... ...I could be wrong of course and often am [/quote] The Independent Charts which is where the term "Indie" originally comes from was always based on the status of the distributors being used and not the labels themselves. Many of the so-called independent labels were subsidiaries of major labels but used independent distribution rather than using their parent label's distribution network, and therefore their records were eligible for the independent chart.

If that was me, I'd be looking at spending lots of time and money experimenting with string gauges (and tweaking the truss rod) to find out what suited my playing style and the guitar I was using. I'm sorry I can't offer any more advice than that as IME everyone is different when it comes to gauges and tensions. I like my strings fairly taught at the bottom end to the point where I have a dedicated guitar for drop D with a slightly heavier bottom string so that the "D" feels the same as the "E" on my guitars with standard tuning.

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1490803288' post='3268201'] We've distribution via Cherry Red at the moment. It's their money tied up in the physical product too. We get a statement and royalties every quarter ....we sell copy via our own outlets but effectively have to buy product from Cherry Red to do so..... [/quote] With Cherry Red funding the physical product and being the distributers, you should be fairly safe when it comes to getting your money - to me it looks more like a licensing deal than a distribution one. When you are a small label (essentially a band self-releasing) relying on 3rd party distribution it's unfortunately fairly easy to get ripped off. My personal experience with distribution deals has been disappointing in terms of getting either unsold product back or income from those records that did sell. However at least I didn't suffer the same fate as a band a friend of mine was in where they lost their entire stock of their debut single and any money owed after their distributer went bust.

You should also have a look at the Pagelli Golden Bass, which is one of the very first basses that I saw which had the full-length fingerboard (and tuners at the back of the body IIRC). There aren't any images on the Pagelli site right now, but a quick Google should reveal some...

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1490780046' post='3267835'] or Pinnacle or Jungle or...there were many back in the heyday - today there are several new ones [/quote] Why would anyone want independent distribution for physical product these days? IME in the past when distribution of your records and CDs was essential if you wanted to sell any outside of your home town; unless you were a massively popular act and could guarantee sales of at least several hundred copies of your album or single every month, the best you could hope for would be to get most of your records back unsold and in slightly worse condition than when you initially supplied them. Most likely you would never see any product returned or any money paid. Nowadays it's far easier to sell your records directly from your band's website or a site like Bandcamp, and you don't need to worry about half your stock disappearing never to be seen again.

Is this the 4th or 5th thread for this bass?

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1490717142' post='3267347'] Re: The headstock end and securing the "ball-less" end of the strings I found photos of a Bogart Blackstone (well Stu Clayton posted pics of his in the For sale thread) which suggests that Andy's plan should work. Imagine this with grub screws (Andy's proposal) instead of tuners.: What's that thing where two people/nature invent the same solution to a single problem??? [url="http://www.ebay.de/itm/SKC-Bogart-Blackstone-5-/382002414720"]http://www.ebay.de/i...5-/382002414720[/url] [/quote] Bear in mind that the tuner mechanism on that Bogart will make it easier to change a string in a hurry than grub screws...

Schaller are normally very good with spare parts, so long as it's a genuine Schaller Straplock and not a knock-off. Send them an email.

Why do boutique pedal makers insist on giving all the controls stupid names (and then refer to them by what they actually do in the description rather than the names on the pedal) which makes it very difficult to actually work out what does what. At least the graphics don't look as though they were done by a 5 year old...

It's all very well the rest of the band saying that you really need an acoustic bass to fit in with the look, and in a way they are right. However I doubt any of them will have spent the kind of money on their instruments, that you need to in order to get a decent electro-acoustic bass guitar. I once spent a weekend auditioning electro-acoustic guitars, and while the really good ones were all £1000+, if I had been on a budget I could have been perfectly happy with something costing £200 - £300. I've yet to play an equivalently priced electro-acoustic bass that even begins to feel and sound any good at that price point. After having had a play of a Takamine TB10, I really wouldn't be happy gigging with anything less. Unsurprisingly it cost about twice the price of an equivalent standard electro-acoustic guitar...

[quote name='Ba55me15ter' timestamp='1488808247' post='3251907'] No speakon-out, only one 1/4" jack which struck me as a brave decision these days. [/quote] [quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1489929498' post='3260849'] With regards to the jack speaker out, I hate jack outputs because most connector are NOT rated for any sort off power. Many plugs and sockets are rated at 0.5A as they were designed for line level signals. So hopefully Peavey have used reputable jacks rated at 5-7A and that means you have to make sure your plugs are also power rated. Neutral, Switchcraft, Amphenol and Rean make high current plugs so be careful. [/quote] IMO any amp rated at over 100W that does not use Speakon connectors is not a serious piece of kit.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1490642274' post='3266744'] Maybe it's a genre thing? We play there to some cracking crowds, especially when supporting some better known touring acts [/quote] Actually I think it's down to whoever is organising the evening. I've played two really good gigs there, but neither were booked by the Maze itself, they were just providing the venue. All the standard Maze gigs I've done have just been just a hotch-potch of very vaguely related bands playing at the same venue on the same evening, and very poorly organised with regards to running times and equipment sharing.

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1490638596' post='3266704'] The defifition of indie used to be that you were not signed to a major label... [/quote] Actually the original definition of "Indie" (and the only qualification for eligibility to the Independent Charts) was that your record was not distributed by one of the major label distributors which essentially meant that it was done by either Rough Trade or Red Rhino.

Didgeridoo by the Apex Twin. It's just one note all the way through.

My initial comment might have been a little harsh, but as someone for whom electronic music of the late 70 and early 80s was a pivotal point in my musical education, it always irritates me when others say that music from the early 80s was bland and boring crap, and when pressed on this point they trot out the likes of Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw, Go West etc. to back up their argument. It's at this point that I feel the necessity to point them in the direction of great electronic orientated music of the period by bands such as Freur, (pre-Dare) Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, Vice Versa (and just about every other Sheffield band from that era except Def Leppard), Fad Gadget, Propaganda, Hard Corps, SPK and many many more.

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1490612220' post='3266355'] This shoe gazing drull kind of Indie is not my thing at all. I don't like it very much and find the just playing the 8 notes type of thing musically uninspiring to play or listen to especially when accompanying very under accomplished musicians who are indifferent to any thing that requires musical substance. Or can I say, learning how to play an instrument beyond anything remedial level because you just aint got it or usually from experience ..are a stoner. Its very rare that any of it is IMO good .Its like they all think they are the first one to come up with the same dull song idea. Which is true of other musical styles, fair enough but at least I can get into the other styles. I have to admit however I've been a musical prostitute and done many a paid gig to encourage this kind of behaviour. I'd never do it for the love of it though when it comes to this IMO dross. Peace to anyone who likes this stuff though. Just saying it doesn't float my boat either. [/quote] That's the sort of statement made by someone who has yet to learn the difference between musicianship and music, and why for everyone except self-involved musicians the latter is far more important.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1490610430' post='3266324'] Maybe because they want to? I can't understand why anybody would want to play blues or soul music but plenty of people do. [/quote] Also +1.

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1490426944' post='3265019'] Whereas I wouldn't know where to begin writing songs... [/quote] It's a skill that you learn, just like the way you learnt to play the bass.

They might be good musicians but everything about these two leaves me cold. Despite being a massive fan of synth-based pop from the 80s, to me, they embody all of the worst aspects of the genre. If anyone wants some interesting insights into Ni(c)k's early career they should read the relevant chapter from [url="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Music-Giles-Smith/dp/0330339176"]Giles Smith's book "Lost In Music"[/url].

[url=http://www.thedoghousenottingham.co.uk]The Dog House[/url]. It's quite a way out of the city centre on Carlton Hill, but for the right band(s) can attract a decent sized audience. My band will be playing there on the 8th supporting one of the versions of Danse Society. I wouldn't bother with the Maze unless you fancy being 3rd band on a badly organised multi-band evening.

The last time I seriously looked at getting a motor vehicle to transport myself and my musical equipment, was when I had just started playing in my covers band. By the time I had actually added up the cost of buying a vehicle and insuring it, and before working out what the petrol, tax, MOT and everything else was going to cost; I had already way passed what it would cost me in taxi fares to get to 12 months worth of gigs and rehearsals, so that's what I did. Outside of the band I have no real need to own a motor vehicle, so the cost/benefit has to be solely focused on musical activities. I've managed perfectly well in bands without owning any transport for the 40 years I've been playing. I also think from my experience of both, and from some of the attitudes displayed here, that there is a big difference in band dynamic between originals bands, where, in a good one, everyone pulls gather for the good of the band and everyone has their own different non-musical abilities that all go together to make to band a functioning unit; and covers bands where it seems to be a bunch of individuals who get together a play gigs and that is it.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1490279520' post='3263901'] When MacDaddy gets a lift there are three of us in the car... [/quote] Doesn't he have his own transport? ;-)

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1490192363' post='3263085'] Fair enough, but I think that is a pretty unusual talent you have. However, are your original songs good/catchy enough for audiences? Sadly if a band doesn't entertain it's audience it is likely to find the gigs drying up... [/quote] Every "classic" song was a new original song in the beginning. It all depends on people other than the song writers and performers liking it that makes it a classic. If you could predict that, then you'd be very rich indeed. The best we can is to gig them as see what goes down well and what doesn't.