peteb

I've got an old Volvo V50 - can get my rig in the boot and a couple of basses on the back seat, or a guitar rig (412 & flightcased head), bass rig (410 & 4u rack), 2 pedalboards, 4 guitars / basses and a couple of bags with the back seats down. I can even get the parcelshelf over my cab now that I'm using a 212 so no one can see what's in the boot. Reasonable mpg and very comfortable on long motorway trips, except for when the clutch goes (as it did on the motorway on the way to a gig last Saturday)! Before that, I had a Toyota Celica that I used to gig all over the country. I could easily get my rig, a couple of basses, bags, etc in the back (obviously with the back seats down, but then again you couldn't get any normal sized person in the back seats anyway)!

No, of course not - I have no idea what level he plays at and I don't particularly care. I was using his post to illustrate a point I would make advising someone just picking up a bass and thinking that they could learn to play just by looking at tabs.

The real trouble with tabs is that they don't encourage you to develop your ear, especially when you are starting out. The same issue can apply with notation, but at least you need to develop some knowledge of theory to learn to read notation. It is not enough to have something that just shows you where to put your fingers to be able to play something when you start out, you need to learn why that works as well, otherwise you are never going to learn how to actually play. You need to be able to see the music behind the tab and to know that the second fret on the 'A' string is a B, but could be payed as the seventh fret on the 'E' string (or the ninth fret if 'E' string is tuned down a step).

I don't think that anyone is suggesting that tab has the same professional applications of notation and it has obvious limitations. However, it does have some uses, mainly showing you how to play a piece that you are already familiar with. For example, I can play a recognisable version of 'Portrait of Tracy' because of a very accurate tab that I found. There is no way that someone with my limited reading ability could have done that from notation and I had been trying to work it out for years by ear, but never getting it quite right. Tab can have its uses, but it depends on the quality of the transcription and what you are using it for.

I was just stating that many of the worse tabs that I have seen, appear to have come from American college kids who are probably more interested in trying out the software than getting the transcription right. America is a big country and a lot of stuff like this comes from there, both the best and the worse. The best tabs I have seen tend to be American as well. But that is because you can read notation. Not everybody can.

Why shouldn't it be? Sheet music can be completely wrong as well (and often is).

Any transcription (tabs or dots) is only as good as the person transcribing it and the amount of effort they are prepared to put into it. I have seen plenty of tabs that are pretty accurate, but there are too many done by hacks who don't want to put in the time to get it right (or have dumbed it down for a target audience who wouldn't be capable of playing the original part). Either that or done by tone deaf American students / bedroom players who have just downloaded the tablature software but have no ear at all...!

Last night’s gig was great, the Led Zep tribute played a packed social club in Grimsby. We played really well, the audience was great – all in all, a top gig. Unfortunately, the gig itself was rather overshadowed by the journey there – my clutch went on the motorway on the way to the gig! I managed to drive the last 30 miles or so in 5th gear and eventually broke down at the first roundabout once I got to into the town. I’m still waiting for Green Flag to recover my car back to Bradford, and I am going to spend every penny of my gig money from what was looking like a pretty lucrative February on an expensive new clutch for my old Volvo. That’s not to mention that I need the car recovered, new clutch fitted and back to me in time to drive down to South London on Friday for a gig at the Boom Boom Club! Obviously, there are worse things happening in the world, but still a hassle / cost I could do without…

It was a while ago, but I think that he was on the black stuff. Who knows? I do remember that me, Webby & Fergie were on it until four in the morning!

Yea, Webby is a good bloke. I got very drunk with him once at Colne Blues Festival...!

Back in the 80s when clubs first started being obliged to let females through the door, there was a club in Brighouse that, after some consideration, graciously allowed women to enter and even to buy a drink at the bar. However, there was a line on the floor that females were not allowed under any circumstances to cross, as it was a bridge too far to allow girls anywhere near the snooker table!

So more in Cambridgeshire then and only a half hour drive from Bedford / Luton, etc. Might be more of a scene around there??

Where in East Anglia are you? Not exactly the rock and roll centre of the UK, but a (very good) drummer of my acquaintance does run a jam night in Ipswich on Thursdays (https://www.facebook.com/Webbys.Jam/)

All the girls I know who do play in the bands tend to be quite happy to be 'one of the boys' and wouldn't be the slightest bit bothered about things like that. Lets face it, you have to have a certain attitude (not to mention a pretty thick skin) if you are going to get anywhere playing in bands - I would imagine even more so if you're a girl...

But this is the internet and people have got to have something to talk about, otherwise I would be forced to watch attention seeking Aussies in ‘Married at First Sight’ with my other half! However, it does beg the question, what if it wasn’t just some loser who’s never played a gig and was actually by a working band or otherwise worthwhile musical enterprise? FWIW I was once in a band in a similar situation. It was an original hard rock band back in the mid 80s (you know the thing, big hair and leather trousers, etc) put together by a hotshot local guitarist with a bit of a following. We made it known, via the local paper, that we were looking for a lead vocalist. One of the first to put themselves forward was a girl singer but unfortunately, she wasn’t considered at all despite having a pretty credible voice and look. Obviously, she wasn’t best pleased that she wasn’t at least given a shot, but it was the right decision at the time. We were going for a certain image and feel and we didn’t think that a girl singer would be the thing, regardless of how good she was. We are also very aware that we would be forever known as the ‘band with a chick singer’! He would deny this, but there was also the unspoken consideration that having a girl onstage might take attention from the ‘star’ guitar player! I think that things are a bit different these days and certainly I know of a few of that type of rock bands doing the circuit with female members, which is definitely progress. For some reason, they tend to be bass players.

I agree that a decent set-up makes a hell of a lot of difference and can make a cheap instrument play like a mid-level one, but the build quality on the Fodera (or an Alembic, etc) is a different thing altogether and yes, they are easier to play, as evidenced by Cosmo: Exactly!

Nearly a month - not bad...

The thing is that it probably would...! I mentioned Phil from Bass Gear earlier, who reckoned that people who were sceptical about a Fodera could quite often change their minds when they played one. This was mainly because they found that it made it easier for them to play more difficult things. Certainly the one that I used was very easy to play.

A Gus might be alright for a Sigue Sigue Sputnik tribute band, but otherwise why would I want a bass guitar that looks like it was designed by someone who used to work in the props department of Blake's 7? Generally I want something that actually looks and sounds like a bass guitar for most of the gigs that I do. To be fair that is something that would put me off some of the more expensive 'coffee table' Fodera models.

I think that a Fodera has become a shortcut to describe any expensive ‘boutique’ bass – it could equally apply to an Alembic, F bass, Ken Smith or whatever. FWIW, the best bass I have ever played actually is a Fodera. The build quality was out of this world, really impressive, it played like a dream and the preamp was ace and it just sounded great. I could easily afford one if I wanted to, I would just have to sell a few basses to do so. The thing is, as good as the Fodera is, do I need it? I have a £2.5k ‘super jazz’ that works great with most of the gigs I do and a 70s Fender that is really cool for other gigs. I’ve also got a nice Stingray that I really like – would I want to sell all three to afford a Fodera, as good as it is? I did once consider buying an Alembic Epic many years ago. However, when I went down to the old Bass Centre to try one, as soon as I picked it up I realised that the neck just wasn’t for me (purely subjective of course). I didn’t even plug it in! A guy I know does have an Alembic (Series 1, I think). A great bass. He had the opportunity to get it secondhand for £3k or so, so he sold a couple of basses and has since used it on a couple of hundred gigs or so, mainly pubs or clubs. If you were to try and tell him that he shouldn’t be using a bass like that on semi-pro gigs, he would think that there was something wrong with you!

I would say with something like a Fodera (based on my limited experience of having played one) is that the build quality actually makes it physically easier to play cleaner. I remember Phil Nixon used to tell naysayers to sit down and play one and that things they found difficult on their own basses would be easier to pull off on a Fodera.

I could be wrong, but I thought that only applied to credit cards and not debit cards?

If we're being honest, if a professional person working full time can't afford £3k as a one-off luxury item, then we really are in trouble...

There is no reason why a punter should know or care about what bass you use. If they do, it is likely to start and finish with Fender, the older looking the better. What punters are very good at, is comparing what your band sounds and looks like compared to the band they saw the other week. If you were to ask regular punters who know nothing about gear or playing who the best local bands are, you will find that they generally get it right! Band leaders just want you to turn up with great sounding gear that is suitable for the gig. If you want to give them confidence at the audition / first gig then turn up with a decent bass / gear.

No one has mentioned Glenn Hughes - a tendency to perhaps oversing at times, but what a voice and a good bass player as well...