rushbo

[quote name='lefrash' timestamp='1480262657' post='3182877'] I often think about this too. I have never in my puff had a bass stop working. I've never seen a brass player (for example) take a spare. I put it into the same bracket as people taking 2 4x12 Marshall stack to play in the local boozer, or folk that have wireless systems who never move an inch from where their pedals are. All the gear, no idea. Reaks of amateurism to me. Obviously if there is a functional need for a different bass (different tuning for example) then it's fair play. [/quote] I think the prohibitive expense of a decent trumpet/violin/cello rules out taking a spare. They're less prone to electrical issues and even though some brass instruments can be incredibly complex, they seem more resilient to wear and tear- possibly because they're played in a less "physical" way - ie no nutcase bassplayer swinging it about (as I am prone to do when excited...) I play with a Viola player and he can tell quite a way in advance when a string is going to go, so he's never popped a string on stage. As for the wireless thing - I play my share of pubs and clubs with cramped stage areas and I always use the wireless. In my experience, you're more likely to trip over a trailing lead in a situation where everyone is practically on top of one another than on a big stage with lots of room between musicians. I don't think that's amateur. I think it's common sense to have as few wires on the floor as possible. ...the multiple 4x12 Marshall thing always baffles me. Maybe it's for tone. Or maybe it's just for showing off. 9 times out of 10, my humble Genz Benz Contour combo is perfect for the gig and the extension cab stays at home.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1480254790' post='3182800'] You only need one failure and it'll change your mind for life. [/quote] Beautifully put.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1480211280' post='3182588'] I am planning to have myself cloned in case I stop working mid gig too. [/quote] Ha! The world ain't ready for two of me... I have a "gig box" full of spares of everything, including a DI, just in case the amp goes phut... I've used everything in it - apart from the DI.

Always two. If space is tight, one stays in a case but I haven't taken just one bass to gig in over ten years. I saw a Bill Nelson show in London a few years ago, where in the space of a 14 song set he played (approximately) 11 guitars. His roadie must be the highest paid man in showbiz.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1480166401' post='3182158'] Misuse of the word 'epicentre'. Plus, what's the point of this nonsense anyway? Bah humbug. [/quote] Epicentre: "The central point of something, typically a difficult or unpleasant situation". Sounds like playing the Bass to me.

I make "Fedner" decals for my bitsa basses, so I'd call it the "Fedner Purpleone" ...

Great stuff...more power to yer elbow!

My old band supported Stackridge a few times...a great band and lovely people.

I've used them both. They're ace. The B3 has the edge for me as you've got the facility to use it as if it were three easily tweakable pedals. It's sturdier, but I never had an issue with the B1.... As I needed a multi fx for live work, I went with the B3 as I find it easier to use. The B1 is great, but if you use a number of patches, it can be a faff to swap between them quickly, unless you plan out your pedal changes in advance. Sound quality wise, I'd say there's nothing in it. Both are really logical to use and build quality is great for both. For noodling at home or recording, I'd go with the B1. Great sounds at a pocket money price. For live work, it's the B3 for me.

Bought a Billy Sheehan DVD from Cliff - lovely comms and speedy delivery. The guys a gentleman. Buy and sell with confidence.

I play in a Dr Feelgood style, edgy R&B band...two guitars dovetailing nicely, so not a lot of room for anything too floral on the bass....check out Andy Frasers early stuff with Free, Norman Watt-Roy's stuff with Wilko and the "Beano" album, with John Mcvie playing like a badass.

Love Crowded House. Musicians at the top of their game. I saw them a load of times in the nineties and they never failed to deliver. They'd often go off into lovely little improvisations, which sounded better than most bands' carefully considered compositions. Nick Seymour is a cruelly underrated player and a great visual artist, too.

Any 14 year old metal heads fancy something gruesome that they'll grow out of in six months and then bury in the garden? Ta-dah! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BC-Rich-Mockingbird-guitar-customised-T800-Terminator-themed-/172385705205?hash=item2822fd1cf5:g:fOAAAOSwn7JYDiIG

I'm in a four piece, raucous rhythm and blues band who play in the back rooms of tatty (and some not so tatty) boozers in the Midlands and I bloody love it. My hat is off to guys who are happy jamming along in their bedrooms to tunes or who are "hired guns" and can step up with minimal rehearsal and deliver. My sight reading is closer to "de-coding" than fluency, I'm afraid. I love to play in front of people (even if it's just two men and a dog...) and I'm fortunate that my current band plays regular, paying gigs. Not enough for me to jettison the day job, but it keeps me in strings and plectrums. Playing live is, for me, the logical extension to all the back bedroom practice. When the day comes that I can't get out and play with a band - and I hope that day is a long way away - I'll still tinker on my lovely basses, but right now, my favourite part of being a musician is live performance with a few like minded fellow travelers.

I laughed a lot. Then I stopped because I embarrassed myself. Then I started laughing again.

Probably a good time to leave the thread now....

[quote name='CrackerJackLee' timestamp='1479681773' post='3178482'] No, but it substantiates a persistent cultural rumour... Here's a recent British tourist, jolly and relaxing in the Great Canadian North... [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FshU58nI0Ts"]https://www.youtube....h?v=FshU58nI0Ts[/url] [/quote] ...the post was funnier before you edited it.

A funny picture isn't a denial.

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1479680354' post='3178463'] TIM! [/quote] ...it was only a matter of time. Or should that be TIM? Was Carol any good for metal?

I think CrackerJackLee is really Carol Kaye.

I'll take the Billy Sheehan DVD if it's still up for grabs, please?

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1479588882' post='3177744'] For me personally art and music in particular were about the only things that I was any good at. I have autism, and have always struggled both socially and with communication, verbal and written, though I can write amazing essays. Music lessons at school were a huge benefit to me, which I why I feel so strongly, and passionately about this subject. [/quote] My experience is the mirror image of this...I couldn't engage with music at school. Our teachers had an incredibly low opinion of almost any 20th Century music - even Satie was treated with suspicion. When I finally picked up an instrument later in life it was much harder for me because I didn't have a decent grounding in the fundamentals of theory. The curriculum today is nicely balanced between "classical" music and "pop" music - students learn about both, but they get to focus on one for their more practical pieces. One of my roles is to record their compositions and prepared pieces. Some are a little wonky, but many of them are superb - to hear students coaxing fantastic, original music out of car boot sale instruments is humbling.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1479588743' post='3177741'] Music is fine, but there's so much more, too. [/quote] Absolutely true. Often, it's not a question of funds, it's just that the students (and teachers) are under such pressure to pass exams that any extra-curricular time is taken up with catch up lessons for English, Maths, History blahblah...) You can argue with head teachers until you're blue in the face that the Arts are a vital part in the education of a significant percentage of students - enjoyment and fulfillment come under the heading of "unquantifiable data" and as such, are useless as they don't count in league tables.

Winston Churchill, speaking in 1938: “The arts are essen­tial to any com­plete national life. The State owes it to itself to sus­tain and encour­age them….Ill fares the race which fails to salute the arts with the rev­er­ence and delight which are their due.”

There have been some genuinely astonishing posts on this thread. I've been working in music education since 1999. I teach in Birmingham - Chelmsley Wood. Brummies will tell you that it's an area with a number of problems and the residents tend not to be well-heeled city workers. As a consequence, many of the kids I teach come from families with little or no money and often have turbulent home lives. Unsurprisingly, behaviour issues are not uncommon at my school. When you sit down and talk to some of these kids, you’ll find that many have an interest in music – either as consumers or as people with aspirations to play. In many cases we can then offer them some assistance - the loan of an instrument or free or subsidised music lessons – as an incentive for them to improve their attendance and behaviour. These are not kids with an IPhone in their pocket and an Xbox at home. Some of these students live in chaos. Not all of those kids turn around in some Walt Disney-esque series of happy endings, but many of them do. For some of them, their music lesson is the reason they come to school and the transferable skills they develop, help them in every other aspect of their school and home lives. Then there are the students who are already committed to music, but whose circumstances dictate that they have little or no money to buy kit. They proudly show me their second hand Benson, Stagg, Eastcoast instruments and play them at school. These kids go on to GCSE music and often struggle because they can’t afford lessons to help them develop, or afford to take a graded examination on their instrument. Universities are now accepting ABRSM/Rockschool/Trinity grades in addition to GCSE grades, so a grade 5 in theory or an instrument can make a huge difference to the educational future of a child. Once again, extra funding can help them with subsidised examinations. In recent years, Arts funding in schools has dwindled to almost nothing – the focus has turned to pushing kids through their academic exams, to the detriment of almost everything else. We are in danger of returning to the “tambourine and out of tune piano” music class. Or worse, rooms with decent gear that no-one has time to play as students are herded into compulsory catch up lessons on “proper” subjects while music, dance and drama classes after school are empty. Young people are still active consumers of music. Next time you’re in a newsagents, pick up a copy of Kerrang or Rocksound magazine. See all those funny looking bands you’ve never heard of? Kids go and see those bands every night of the week. Some of them might even be inspired enough by one of those bands you’ve never heard of to pick up an instrument. A decent instrument has never been cheaper to buy and there are a number of perfectly decent, free bits of recording software available to download. But if you can’t afford an instrument or you have no physical person to support you when you are struggling, then frustration may derail you almost instantly. Extra funding in schools would help immeasurably. To those of you who battled through adversity to master an instrument (and I am one of them…) congratulations. For every one of us there are others who would have benefitted from some timely support. I won’t go into detail as this post is long enough, but I have had students from incredibly difficult backgrounds go on to make records with Chris Tsangarides and DJ at many of the major clubs in Europe amongst others. These kids are now out there inspiring the next generation and keeping our industry buoyant in turbulent times. And you think this is unworthy of a few quid from your tax bill?