BigRedX

That's pretty much doubled in price in the last 10 years. I had 100 done last time and it was only slightly more than £300. However every T-shirt run I've done in the past has more than paid for itself despite having loads of S and M sizes left. Our next design will have front and back prints which will double the print price. I am hoping it will still be possible to sell them for £10 and make a profit.

Because I have a long history of doing my own home recording I have fairly clear ideas about what I want and what I don't want when I'm paying money to go and record in a studio. I've discovered the hard (and expensive) way that I'm not a very good engineer, so what I want is to feel comfortable playing in the studio in order to get the best musical performance and let the studio owner/engineer/producer deal with the technical aspects so I don't need to worry about them at at all. So I expect all the equipment in the studio to work properly and when it doesn't for the engineer to come up with a quick fix. I once wasted a whole morning in a studio that I booked because their ProTools rig kept crashing when synchronised to my Mac running Logic. Only after it had occurred numerous times in succession, with long waits while everything rebooted and re-sync'd did the engineer think to look on line to see if it was a known problem and when they did it was fixed in seconds - it turned out that Pro-Tools didn't like the SMPTE start time of 0:0:0:00 and once that had been changed in Logic to 1:0:0:00 everything ran fine for the rest of the day. TBH the whole session was less than brilliant - we were fobbed off with a trainee engineer and despite the fact that we had laid down drums, bass and guitar for 4 songs I ended up only using the recorded high hats and some bass guitar and the rest was redone at home with programmed kick, snare and toms and new recorded guitar and bass. We didn't even consider going back into the studio to record the vocals. I also expect the engineer to accommodate slight compromises in the technical aspects of the sound in order to get a better performance from the musicians. In the 80s I did a session for a local radio station with my synth band where we were forbidden to use our taped backing because it was deemed to be of insufficient quality for broadcast (without it even being listened to) and therefore the contents had to be re-created in their studio. As a result instead of recording 5 songs which all the other bands did, we only had time to do 3 and even then there were problems with the vocals that we didn't have time to fix. I doubt, when it was broadcast, anyone would have noticed the extra crispness and clarity of the drum and sequencer sounds, but they most definitely would have spotted that a couple of high notes on one of the vocals were out of tune. Most of the time I'm happy to use my own instruments, effects and amplification. I know how they work and have spent time before I set foot in the studio sorting out the right sounds for the songs that I am recording. I'll try something else provided that either there is an immediate improvement in the sound or my ability to play the part, or if I'm not actually paying for the time wasted experimenting with something new. Spending time on experimentation is fine if someone else is paying for me to spend a couple of weeks in the studio making an album, but normally I'm only there for a couple of days to record 2 or 3 songs. A guitarist for a band I used to be in was subtly pressured by the engineer into playing through the studio's vintage Marshall amp rather than the very good modern amp she had been using for the last 6 months for rehearsing and gigging. TBH I couldn't really hear any improvement in the sound and I could tell that she was struggling with it being too loud (we'd booked this particular studio so that we could record the whole band live without using headphones) once it had been set with the right level of drive. With it being my first time back in a studio that I was paying for in 15 years I kept quiet, but on reflection I should have politely suggested that she try her usual amp to see if it was better. And finally I don't want to be lied to. If the engineer has made mistake with the routing which means that they have inadvertently recorded drums as well as bass on the bass guitar track, don't try and blame the fault on the pickups in my bass. Admit to the mistake, after all everyone makes them from time to time, and give the band all the free studio time required to fix it without quibble.

Up to just before the age of 11 I had pretty much zero interest in music. My parents were both quite musical (my mum has sung in several well known choirs and even now in her 90s plays in a Ukulele orchestra that probably does more gigs a year than I do) although at the time I'd never have known it as there was rarely music on in the house. However in 1971 I went on a Scout summer camp where Radio 1 was on all day every day and I came home obsessed with pop music, in particular the emerging Glam Rock movement. Like @NancyJohnson the band that I favoured was The Sweet who had the right combination of pop catchiness with their A-sides and heavy rock on the B-sides of the singles. The first record I bought was Hellraiser. My parents were not at all keen on my new-found interest and it took me another 2 years to actually start learning how to play the guitar, and I didn't get seriously involved with bass playing until I bought my first bass using my student grant money at the beginning of 1981. It wasn't until the bass guitar became more prominent in Post-Punk music, in particular Joy Division and The Comsat Angels that I took more of an interest in playing it. I've always been interested in playing in order to be able to write/compose so I've never felt any particular affiliation to a single instrument. The more instruments I can play the better I can understand how they work together in a band. I bought my first synth in 1982 again with grant money, and have spent significant times in bands playing guitar and/or synth as well as bass.

I f you don't mind me asking how much was this? Also what sizes did you go for? I've always found that no matter what size your typical audience member is, only L and bigger tend to buy band T-Shirts. I know it's quick and easy to call, but it would be more efficient to get a rough idea of the price from the web site first.

Looking at the OP the the bass is 25% less on-line. That's a big difference and more than the typical customer would expect to get off the price by haggling. Plus the two prices are either side of the magical £1k mark. I suspect that anyone looking for a bass under £1k would immediately dismiss it at the price shown in the store and not even bother to ask if there was a deal to be done.

Following on from supporting B-Movie at their sold out gig last weekend, Sunday 3rd December sees us in Gateshead at The Doll at the Black Bull This is an late afternoon/early evening gig starting at 5.00, with In Isolation on just after 6.00 Tickets are £6 in advance

Once again, sloppy journalism, that doesn't properly explain who owns what. AFAIK Northern Songs only own the Publishing of The Beatles songs. Now what percentage this actually is will depend on what was actually signed at various points in The Beatles' careers but it is unlikely to be more than 50% of the total, and is more likely to be around 33.3% (the traditional split was three equal ways for the composer, writer and publisher from the days when the music and words to a song were usually written by different people and without a publisher no-one was likely to ever hear your song in the first place). Anyone who is a PRS member could potentially look up to see what the various splits for a selection of Beatles songs is in actual fact. Publishing covers actual performance royalties of the songs, so there are still the mechanical royalties which are split between the band (and their descendants) and the Record Company. Again what the percentages are will depend on what sort of deal was signed. Publishing, especially when The Beatles were a band should have come with an advance (unless they were very badly advised when they signed their various deals) which is paid to the song writers for the express purposes of being able to concentrate on writing songs, so it's not as though they were "written for nothing", and I'm sure what percentage Mr McCartney actually still owns of performance royalties, but it's enough to give him a more than decent income. Yes he was stupid not to have bought back the Publishing when it became available, and he must have been very badly advised if he thought that they were ever being over-valued.

So long as the application runs and the computer can cope with recording 15 tracks simultaneously, stick with what you know. What OS do you use on your desktop machine? Your biggest problem may be that the computer simply isn't up to the task no matter what software you want to use for the recording. You will probably need to configure your installation of Windows so that nothing unnecessary is running in the background. That means disabling WiFi, Bluetooth, and network capability other than what is required for the computer to "see" XR18. You'll need to turn off any anti-virus software and disable all those unwanted background processes that Windows insists on running.

What makes a track/song great is essentially entirely subjective, and for me it rarely has anything to to with the technical ability of the musicians involved. For me the best music is where the clever or complex features aren't signposted in the sorts of ways that the majority of examples here show, but where you don't notice until you have to deconstruct the song in order to learn it. Subtlety is always best IMO.

It's about 15 years ago now, so I don't remember exactly what I wrote in my original email to Ashdown, but I sure it was polite, especially considering that at the time it was a known problem (high pitched noise coming from the amp) and well documented on TalkBass and whatever version of Basschat was going at the time. I was told that the problem wasn't fixable but for what I considered an unreasonably high price Ashdown would take a look at it. Shortly after this the amp developed an additional fault where it wouldn't power-up reliably and I went and bought something else to replace it. Considering that I'd owned the amp from new for just over 12 months and had only used it for home practice and a few rehearsals, had the shop I bought it from still been in business, I would have taken it back and demanded a refund under Trading Standards regulations. I ended up selling it for spares or repair on eBay for a fraction of the price I paid for it. I would have left it at that except that IIRC @TheGreek had bought the same model second hand with exactly the same problem and posted on here how Ashdown had fixed the amp for free for him. When I mentioned this to the Ashdown rep who was posting on here they were rude and sarcastic. I have no more time for the company other than to remind people that they are not always as brilliant as is made out, and I think you'll find that I am not the only person who has been treated this way by Ashdown.

I've got a Burns Barracuda (Bass VI). It's as well made as anything else with a £500-600 price from the far east. There are a couple of design issues that mean it's no longer my first choice of Bass VI, but those are down to it sharing too many common parts with the Marvin guitar which really IMO should have been redesigned for a bass instrument. If it wasn't for those I would still be using it as my main instrument in one of my bands and not looking to replace it with a second Eastwood Hooky. By comparison I used to own a 1962 Burns Sonic Bass. This was no-where near as good an instrument although it did have a unique sound that I've never quite been able to duplicate on any other bass due to having the two Tri-Sonic pickups wired in series when both were on. Overall the modern Burns instruments are well made but probably not quite as unique or quirky as those from the 60s and 70s.

And just for balance... IME Ashdown are the worst. They treated me really badly when I had a problem with one of their amps due to it being badly designed. I would have put it down to experience but I then I discovered that someone else with exactly the same problem with their amp that had been bought second hand had their's fixed for free. When I called them out on it here on Basschat, their rep took the fosters. Nasty people with double standards. Personally I'll never buy or use any of their products ever again.

You still play your bass, just not with the amp switched on. I do nearly all my practice with the bass unplugged, and only have it plugged in when I am sorting out the sounds on my Helix that I am going to use for a song.

I've used Shirty Something for Terrortones T-Shirts and I believe the last In Isolation design was done by them too. However I'm not impressed with the current web site design as it makes finding print prices far too difficult. In fact AFAICS you now have to call or email them to even get a quote for anything other than unprinted items. That certainly wasn't the case when I last used them. BTW the full colour design while looking fantastic may turn out to be too expensive to print unless you are considering a print-run of thousands

When this body shape was originally released for the Thunderbird and Firebird, Gibson were threatened with legal action by Fender due to it being slightly similar to the Jazzmaster. Therefore the body shape was modified and renamed "Non-Reverse" - the original shape being "reversed" from how a guitar would be traditionally shaped. Yes, it's complicated and non-intuitive.

On Saturday I was back at The Angel this time with In Isolation supporting B-Movie. The gig was sold out and I have never seen the venue so full. There were people queuing up the stairs waiting to get in just after we had finished our sound check, and during the gig the room was rammed with the promoter turning people away who didn't have tickets. Played really well including the new songs and the audience who more mostly there to see B-Movie were very appreciative. Sold some CDs and T-Shirts. And got more gigs in 2024 from the promoter. I don't think there will be any photos to post as I didn't see anyone taking any while we were playing. New gig on Sunday 3rd at The Black Bull in Gateshead - apparently it's in the afternoon.

Deconstructing a song from a musical PoV doesn't tell you why it is great.

Which is a cover - the original is by 60s garage band The Wilde Knights.

The reissues don't have much in common with the originals other than the body and headstock shapes are similar. Different pickups in different positions and a different scale length. I used to own the limited edition 5-string which was essentially a TRB II with the "samurai" body and headstock shape.

Looks like it’s been made using a wooden body to make the mold.

In Isolation have a series of gigs to round off 2023 where we will also be selling CD copies of our new single - our version of "I Believe In Father Christmas". Saturday 25th November at The Angel in Nottingham Supporting B-Movie (sold out) Sunday 3rd December at The Black Bull in Gateshead with The Scarlet Hour (afternoon gig) Friday 8th December at Ye Olde Salutation Inn in Nottingham with Discord & Rhyme and Ombudsmen Friday 22nd December at The Fidler's Elbow in London with Discord & Rhyme and The Jan Doyle Band

In Isolation have made our version of I Believe In Father Christmas available on limited edition CD. I also includes the Matt Pop remix of the track. Copies will be on sale at our next four gigs and should also be on our Bandcamp page later today (you can already buy the downloads).

...and here I am in my 60s still playing, writing and gigging

I'll be playing the Gus on Saturday (and for the rest of the gigs this year) with In Isolation.

Anything that will hold the nut in place will do. I've owned guitars where the pressure of the strings was the only thing holding the nut in place which I didn't discover until I restrung it. If you are planning on making lots of adjustments, I'd go for something that will hold the nut in place with no strings attached but will allow you to break the bond with a single careful tap of a hammer.