paul_c2

Firstly, my usual caveat on how to define "sight reading". Sight reading is different from (mere) reading, in that its the first time you've played that piece of music. If its the 2nd time, then its not sight reading! Secondly, I'm not sure what you necessarily call "high end" - 10th position? Given the above, then the answer is YES. Its harder than with fretted bass, but its certainly possible. You need to be comfortable with not only reading music but sufficiently relaxed/good that you can know where you are, look away then look back again and "find" your place again without getting lost. Because, on a bass, the neck is so indistinct that you need to occasionally glance, when doing big shifts. You can listen, and do short shifts, and not need to look but the best/most practical way is a combination of choosing the positions right (ie if there's notes which can be played on open string, use them as a "reference point" for the pitch; or just know you're positions sufficiently well that you can keep in position and not be all over the place all the time), listening to your own intonation and the experience of knowing where to put your left hand - which is relatively easy if you're in a fixed position, a bit harder with short shifts (but entirely possible) and much harder with big shifts (but still possible, but be prepared to have a quick look, or correct the intonation PDQ as needs be).

He seems to be doing okay, however I am not a subscriber and also I no longer watch his Youtube videos. For that reason, I can't really comment further on his style. The reason I stopped watching them was that the title/headline would seem interesting/topical, but the content didn't really deliver the same punch. I hesitate to use the word "clickbait" because its a bit mean to do so. Regarding not posting on here any more, I suspect he decided that it was a no-win situation - he could get embroiled in a discussion and it consume a lot of time, with no real positive outcome. Also I imagine, unlike many on here where we have a regular job and bass playing is a hobby, his "job" is bass playing (/making videos, teaching, marketing, etc etc) and his free time is taken up by unrelated hobbies or family/etc matters. I personally don't get involved in forums related to my profession!

"Volume wars" is an issue but it needs all people to recognise and fix it. Its easy to be part of the problem, not part of the solution. And tempo could be a matter of opinion, not fact.....what do you do if there's 20 in the band, all with a different opinion on the right tempo?

Things happen slower in a group setting than an individual. It might be that your criticisms, are true, but that they are long standing issues which gradually need working through. Thus while you feel they might be dismissed, they are actually noted....but that Rome wasn't built in a day, etc. But having said that, I don't know HOW you put those concerns (as others have said above) so it might be how they were raised which was wrong (even though they were valid).

Do singers normally bring (and pay for) their own microphone and PA?

thats quite sad

This type of guitar stand: https://www.gak.co.uk/en/stagg-sg-a100bk-guitar-stand/101737?gclid=Cj0KCQjwj9LkBRDnARIsAGQ-hUdgZiz-x7rYyFqa_-2nJ1tktSJ5i-wCSO0p_w7bLkOTEyM3UhtwQWIaAsjwEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds is ideal for offset body instruments such as Jazz bass. I have two basses - one stays in the bag while its at home (rehearse 3x a week so its in and out of the car and at rehearsals a lot) and the bag can accommodate the above style of stand, kettle lead, guitar lead and tuner - just about. The other bass is out, kept at home on a 2nd stand of that style, so its available for use at any time I need it. Both are Jazz basses but one is fretted and the other is fretless. Since the fretless is new I am 'forcing' myself to play it mainly, so it comes to 2/3 of the rehearsals, then for one of them I swap around to use the fretted for that rehearsal (so the fretless goes onto the stand at home). I used to have a hard case but its a bit more impractical - especially now I've changed to a smaller car - it would protect the bass great, but over time it damaged/scratched various bits of the car interior or seats.

I don't think I'd ever buy a bass on eBay, its just too much hassle. Not only with not being able to try, but the postage. What happens if it gets damaged when you send it back after trying and not liking it? I'd restrict it these days to new boxed items or something I can collect and try out before giving cash (ie so it would need to be very local).

7/8 means something significantly different in most musician's minds, than what I think you intend it to mean.

....Which is why its better to speak the same language!

7 over 8? 1+2+3+4 = 7/8 1+2+3+4 = 8/8 Sorry I haven't got a clue what you're on about, can you put it into actual standard musical terms?

Regarding the title of this thread - probably worth not confusing beats with (played) notes.

Yeah there's that option too, you could "do a Bangles".

Lots of "us" and "them" there - sounds like whoever is actually making the decisions, isn't you, and isn't doing the necessary. Do you want to be the guy that makes all the decisions? If so, put yourself up for the job of "band leader" and see what the others think - in my experience they'll probably be happy for you to do so, since it relieves them of the responsibility.

I don't think the issue is that you need a new drummer. There is a bigger issue, in that you (collectively) can't make a decision when you need to. You need a band leader of some kind, or some kind of process where you can actually make important decisions, act on them, then move on.

Personally I've found the quality of tabs to be fairly consistent!!!!!!!

Not sure about a USB connection but plenty have bluetooth connectivity. And of course, a lot have RCA/Phono in too. Or you could connect the headphone output with the appropriate adapter to a 1/4" line input. I've seen USB interfaces on mixer boards which could do what you want, but not really a PA Active speaker.

If you play the piano then you should be equally confident at both bass and treble clef. And if you play (for example) cello or bassoon (or trombone) to a high standard, then part of that is reading tenor clef (and treble clef for cello). Its a simple case of "you are what you practice" - if you rarely do it, then tenor clef will be awkward. But if you regularly do it, its a non-issue. Personally I've never myself seen the situation where a bass player would be given sheet music of the tune (in treble clef) and be expected to play the bass line to it (ie, harmonise it on the fly). If its a "lead sheet" (there is no standard, there's tons of variation in a lead sheet) then it probably has chord symbols too, so these can be followed instead of the treble clef melody. Sometimes its handy to know what notes, or chord(s) others are playing but its not essential if you have the bass line written out in a proper format.

Just move a bit closer to the drummer?

"They say" for an active bass use a passive DI; and a passive bass use an active DI. This is simply so the signal is in roughly the right ballpark for the mixer to accept, without too much gain needed (which will reduce headroom). But I use a passive DI with a passive bass and it sounds fine, just needs the gain turning up a lot compared to other sources. I have an active DI in the bag too (just in case). Its also worth mentioning an active DI (depending on model, but I think most/all do it) can run off batteries. Of course, then its one more thing in the group of things which need a battery, so never going to be 100% reliable unlike a passive DI or active with phantom. Some (most) mixers have an instrument-capable input. I've only tried it once, but I got a bunch of pops and clicks when manipulating the volume control on the bass - and nothing like that with a DI box. So its worth going thru a DI box. Also, mixers will only have one or a few instrument inputs compared to the number of XLR or balanced line inputs. I can't really comment on sound quality because I haven't done rigorous back-to-back blind listening testing. But they're pretty simple devices, I'd not expect them to alter the tone. So a favourite is normally for reasons other than ultimate sound quality, unless its weird or faulty or whatever. Its going to be one of them things which has to deal with the rough & tumble of live performances so its worth going for a physically robust one. Also, learn what all the switches do on it, you'll probably be okay 99% of the time but one day you'll need a feature such as ground lift or phase invert, etc.

"Never Loved a Man" by Aretha Franklin is in 9/8.

The ending section(s) of Spinning Wheel are pretty bonkers. From the regular 4/4, it goes into 3/4 --> 9/8 --> 6/8 --> 9/8 --> 6/8 --> 12/8 etc

At first I couldn't really find the words or make sense of this - its just so bizarre/ridiculous. On further reflection, I agree with the poster above - this guy(/girl) was looking, hoping to be offended and is probably glued to Facebook checking everything. Not a healthy way to approach your life, or life choices. The real insult is that there's probably other transgenders who DO receive genuine offensive posts on Facebook and other social media; and they can't really do much to counter it, just grit their teeth and try to get on with their jobs/lives as best they can. This snowflake is making a mountain out of a molehill, is clearly overreacting and choosing to escalate a basically non-issue themselves. Whether they are just lazy/double booked/incompetent and wanted that night off, or whether they have more deep-rooted issues surrounding their own approach to social media or the rest of the world or can't cope with their own journey they've embarked upon surrounding their sexual identity, who knows?

I can empathise with that. Bass is miserable to practise alone at home, it is a world of difference doing this and playing/rehearsing with others. Some instruments lend themselves to being played on their own, for example piano, guitar. And some don't. Playing with others is a completely extra dimension which opens them up. I can't really offer any advice on your journey finding a decent band to play with. At the moment, I kinda fell on my feet and am enjoying it, partly because I stepped up and became the "bandleader" so now I am my own boss, in a way. But you are always going to have to deal with musicians, its like herding cats. But please DO keep up the music, acoustic guitar is ideal, and getting back into playing the bass as & when will be not too troublesome if ever you wanted to.