peteb

Yes / No

Yes, pretty much... Not playing pubs of course.

That's fine if you are gigging at a level where that is acceptable. If there is a gig where they want you (for whatever reason) to use a bigger rig, then you just won't get the gig. Simples!

I've got a little double4 combo that I use as a practice amp, on my desk besides me as I type. I also have one of those headphone amps as well and I used to have a 4x5 cab for a while, which unfortunately was nowhere near loud enough for my needs. All of them are great sound wise, but I couldn't see myself ever gigging them for the types of genres I usually play. However, I did see a guy playing at a bar when I was on holiday using a bigger 12x5 cab that sounded pretty sweet and was plenty loud enough.

Never underestimate the importance of image! To put it mildly, they sound naïve / dreamers. If you really need a SVT / fridge, the chances are that it will be hired in or provided by the promoters for the type of gigs that they were aspiring to. However, it wouldn't hurt to have a decent hybrid amp / 410 or 610 cab if you want to play in those types of bands. Likewise, you need to look at what bass you need for the gigs you are likely to get. As much as I would encourage the OP to get a full fat SR4 as they are great basses and a step-up from what they currently have, if he is going to play in modern metal type bands then a fanned fret 5 string might be a better choice. However, if he is going to do any blues or classic rock gigs then that would be the wrong bass and a more traditional looking / sounding bass (such as a stingray) would be better. You do need the right bass for the gigs you are actually going to try and get!

Just a word of warning - personally I would be looking for an older model (90s / 00s), purely because that is where the best value is (also, a lot of people prefer that era, although that is of course subjective). The new prices are rather expensive, whereas older models are great basses and can be found relatively cheaply.

My two-penneth would be to go for it! I've had three 90s Stingrays (all 3eq) and a couple of noughties SR5s. All of them have sounded superb and been great players (although I struggle a bit with the string spacing on the 5ers). Whenever I've sold one, I've always regretted it straight away and I have no intention of ever selling the 91 four string that I've got now. I've never really played the cheaper models, but the full fat ones seem to sound better and are certainly far cooler! You can also pick them up secondhand for very reasonable prices. A mate of mine, who gigs a lot but is a working lad without much spare cash, managed to get a deal on a full fat early 90s EBMM stingray to replace the cheaper model that he had gigged for years and he is as pleased as punch with it! It sounds great, but then I've never played a bad EBMM Stingray.

To be fair, he does get a share of the publishing for songs on Police albums, even those that he didn't have a hand in writing.

I've been a bit disappointed in the sound of the lower priced Spector 5 strings, the pickups just seem a bit weak to me. Same here. I've had a couple of SR5s but couldn't get on with the string spacing, or in particular the way the top string feels like its almost falling off the fretboard. They do sound great though...

In: Bergantino CN212 Out: 2 x Begantino HD112s Pretty much a straight swap really after I decided that I preferred a 212 cab to a couple of 112s. I did make a few quid surplus after selling the smaller cabs on commission at Bass Direct, but that was pretty much wiped out by the cost of the diesel to pick up the 212 from Essex.

Assuming that nothing else, happens before NYE, we will be happily drinking at a party at a mate's house (a singer I work with from time to time). A couple who would normally be there will be gigging with their acoustic duo at a pub down the road, but the last time gig I did on NYE a few years ago (in a big pub in the middle of Leeds) was frankly a waste of time. We used to usually get pretty decent crowds there (hence being asked to play on NYE), but attendance in the first set was pretty sparse. Then at half time, a load of people told us they were setting off soon to avoid the rush for taxis after midnight, so we ended up playing to ten people or so who happened to live in the city centre. I'd rather see the new year in with friends with a beer in my hand...

Pat Travers- Go For What You Know (Mars Cowling) Various Led Zep albums, anything with Alan Spenner playing on it...

To be fair, there are also some people (like the defendant) who you just can't help.

For information - the gig after Christmas has now been cancelled...

The Led Zep tribute played to a packed venue on Thursday in Chester. Great gig and a great audience. You never know these days whether it's gonna be empty or sold out, although the last couple we've done have been pretty good. On the other hand, I've just heard that an acquaintance of mine died from Covid yesterday (un-vaxed of course). First person that I've known to die from it for about a year. We have one gig just between Christmas and New Year, then nothing until late February. I'm keeping an open mind about whether we do the gig or not...

Not really mate. He could easily say that its not worth going after this one. I'm guessing that at some point he would have been consulted and that he hasn't got the self awareness to realise how badly this would play out in the press / on social media.

I used to think that he was a bit of a one trick pony / overrated, but a lot of my very good guitarist mates think of him as a big influence, so I’ve had to revaluate. I can kind of forgive him for his 70s racist ramblings, given his personal issues at the time and that he seems quite contrite (not to mention that he has worked with and seems very friendly with many black musicians), but all this anti-vax nonsense is just another step too far. My father-in-law (who’s a fan and was amazed that I wasn’t) gave me his autobiography to read. He comes across as someone you pity even though he has millions in the bank, not too bright and just not very pleasant, a guy who you would avoid in the pub.

I had never been in a tribute band until a few years ago, then I found myself in a Magnum tribute of all things – great lineup, including the guitar player from the Magnum singer’s solo band. But as you can imagine, it’s a lot easier getting gigs for a Led Zep tribute than a Magnum one. I had a look at your classical bass YT channel. Very impressive! It made me pick up a bass and try and to remember a Bach cello thing that I learnt once, just to see if I could manage to read a score (answer – yes, but only if I learnt it a couple of bars at a time over a period of three or four days)! The Zep tribute are supposed to be playing down in Chelmsford at some point. I’m not sure when, as it was a cancelled gig that we need to rearrange. I will give you a shout when they finalise a date.

I’ve recently joined Led Into Zeppelin, after depping for them for a bit when the last bassist was having a few issues. We seem to be getting plenty of gigs all over the place, with a lot in the North West, the North East and a few in the South West. There’s certainly a lot to go at for the bass player and getting the JPJ lines right is a bit of a challenge at times. I hadn’t really played that many LZ tracks before, despite being a big fan since I was a kid. I’ve noticed that JPJ plays a lot of things that are not too dissimilar to what I would play normally, so I’ve obviously picked up a lot from him when I was learning, without really being aware of it! Out of interest, what other gigs do you do / have you played in any other tributes?

That’s great. Reminds me of a DP tribute that some mates of mine had that went out as Deepest Purple (there was another band with the same name, aka Weakest Purple, who did the wigs and everything but weren’t quite as good). I always said that if they fancied starting up again, I would take the bass chair. I always loved playing that stuff (although I’m now doing a Zep tribute, which is great fun as well). It’s a shame that you aren’t playing anywhere closer to West Yorkshire than Darwen.

I have been in bands that did cover versions of both of those covers over the years. I've also played a version of 'Look But Don't Touch' many years ago. Good band.

I had that with a Stingray once. I couldn't find the rattle anywhere and ended up taking it to Chris Dobson (who builds Alpha basses). After he had identified what the issue was, he fixed it by dripping superglue into the tuner.

In this case, I think that it was pretty obvious how it was going to play out. If you work for a small company where things are not working as well as you think they should, you don’t go and confront your boss and say ‘you’re rubbish and I want you to start doing things that I tell you to’. You either leave (maybe set up in competition) or you try to start changing the culture of the company in small ways to help improve things. It doesn’t matter if you are in the right or not, they are just going to get someone else to do your job. They might go bust as a result or they might prosper with your replacement, but either way you have still lost your job and probably are not going to get a decent reference from them. Equally, if you want to people to listen to you and do the things that you suggest, it helps if you have a track record of some sort and a decent CV that you can point to. Until you have got that behind you, there will always be some idiot who won’t be prepared to listen to you because they think that they know better. If you’ve played loads of gigs with some of the better players in town, then guys like this guitar player will be much more inclined to listen.

But surely you realised that was always going to happen?

I don't know if any one has seen the Know Your Bass Player YouTube channel (a couple of senior US session players talking to various old bass players), but there's an interview with (I think) Rick Wills where they talk about the mods they've all done to their old Fenders. They all agreed that a bass isn't really 'yours' until you've drilled a hole in it! I've always modded every Fender that I've ever owned (and a few Fender 'inspired' basses) - a few quite substantially. The secret is to try and make it so that you can get back to its original state if you decide to sell it. I lost quite a lot of money on a 70s P bass that I had modded. Everything that I did to it made it a better bass, but unfortunately I also stripped the olympic white paint job back to natural wood, which not something that you can easily reverse!