peteb

There's a line! No one wants to play with a d1ck, no matter how good they are. But then again, you don't want to give the gig to a nice guy who just isn't good enough because you don't want to have to sack him further down the line if he can't cut it. I agree that personality can be just as important as musical ability.

What difference does it actually make?

I'm intrigued by the KiOgon loom. Can anybody tell me exactly what difference it makes and how mush it costs, what are the advantages compared to a Stellartone pot, etc??

That is quite unusual for the UK in my experience. Generally, I've found that UK punters want to watch a band, have a decent break to chat to mates then more music up to last orders

I think that America is generally more like the European mainland, where you are more likely to be playing bars in bigger city centres where there isn't the expectation that the audience will watch the whole set and your job is to try and keep punters to stay for an extra couple of drinks before they go elsewhere. Pub gigs in the UK tend to be more out in the suburbs, where punters go to see meet their mates and hopefully stay for for the whole show (or a set at least).

The way I see it is that I’m a musician (specifically a bass player rather than a songwriter) and I like playing music. I also like being paid for playing music where possible. Most of my friends are also musicians. It makes sense to put together a covers band to make a few quid for playing music together. Of course, there is nothing to stop any of us pursuing other musical avenues. I am currently in three bands: a tribute band, an original band that has an album coming out this month, and I am rehearsing up a rehash of an established band that plays rock covers in pubs, bike rallies etc. I was asked to join the tribute band by the singer who also plays the pub / club circuit and knew of me from an earlier version of the covers band. I was then approached by the new guitar player in the tribute band (who has a bit of a track record in a certain rock sub-genre) to re-record the original bass player’s parts on an album and subsequently to join his band. The new album is getting plenty of interest on social media from all over Europe and hopefully will do well. I’m open to whatever opportunities present themselves, but it always makes sense to have a gigging covers band on the go to keep your hand in. I pretty much approach playing covers in the same way as I do original music anyway…

I'm afraid the Precision is still wearing the same set of DRs that I put on it when I last gigged it two years ago. I do have a new set of strings ready to put on to see if that helps.

It doesn't seem to be so apparent with other basses, certainly not with active ones. My home set up is a Phil Jones Double 4 and a reasonably decent pair of AKG headphones. It sounds fine with my active jazz and seems okay with my passive American std jazz. No one adversely commented on the P bass live, so perhaps I am getting overly picky when hearing it through the phones. I have looked at the Stellartone replacement tone pot, but wondered if there are any alternatives if I decide to do something to the bass??

Perhaps I haven't explained this well. The pot itself isn't scratchy when you turn it, it just sounds unduly harsh when wide open. However, I will give it a good clean with switch cleaner to see if that helps...

I have noticed over past few months that when I fully open the tone control on my 57RI Precision, it sounds, well a bit scratchy and harsh. It's become especially apparent since I've been playing it through headphones a lot recently (I haven't been taking it out for gigs for a couple of years). Does anyone have any suggestions how I do something about this; be it maintenance or changing the pot or wiring or whatever??

For me, the real difference between guys like me and decent pros is maintaining the consistency that he talks about. Very difficult to do while holding down a full time job.

I think that his argument is that he is and that there are more income streams for pro musicians than just gigs and sessions etc.

Damian Keyes is bang on the money as usual. He does mug for the camera for humorous effect occasionally (which will put a few people off), but this should be required viewing for any aspiring muso or weekend warrior...

I can't understand this hair shirt mentality of feeling guilty that you have nice things that you actually use. I admit that I have occasionally rolled my eyes when hearing about certain guys who used to be on here who had tens of thousands of pounds of gear, but have only ever played three gigs or so. However, if you are doing two paid gigs a month, then you are certainly justified in owning a few expensive / genuinely nice basses, etc. A bass player who plays with some friends of mine paid nearly £4k for a 4 string Alembic 25 years or so ago. He has gigged it pretty much every month since then, so it certainly doesn't owe him anything. It sounds great and has the added bonus of people like me remembering him as 'the guy with the Alembic', even before I had ever met him! He could have bought something much cheaper, but why should he? He knew that he was always going to get his money's worth from it. If you are going to worry about such things, then don't fall victim of GAS and spend money on gear you are not going to use. But for me, its always worth investing in the best gear you can afford if you are going to use it regularly...

I agree, especially about the neck pockets. I used to have a couple of 70s P basses many years ago, one of which was a great bass but the other was just poorly put together with a serious problem with the neck pocket. A mate has an 83 jazz (that I think he was hoping was going to acquire vintage status) that was even worse. My point is that from about 2005 onwards (maybe a bit before), Fender seemed to sort out these QC issues and I haven't seen a genuinely poor one from this modern period.

I think that you have to be careful making blanket statements like that. I currently have two American Fenders, both made in 2009 (a 57RI P bass and an American Std Jazz) that are very nice, well built basses. I have also played a 2011 American Std P bass that was probably the nicest P bass I’ve ever come across (including various vintage models, etc). However, virtually every American Fender from the 80s or 90s that I have played have all been awful. I have a 95 Jazz that is far superior to any 80s or 90s Fender that I have come across, but certainly not as good as the more recent US built ones.

I thought that the whole point of this thread was that it was 'bothering' you...

I can't give you a technical reason why, but in my experience it tends to be connected to whether it has a Class D power stage.

I haven't got a later LM3, but based on the difference in volume between my Italian 500w rated LM3 and the 800w Mesa D800 (spoiler, the Markbass is MUCH louder and generally has more umph), I'm guessing that there would be. Bear in mind that I actually liked the basic tone of the D800, it just wasn't loud enough and didn't cut through.

What about the earlier Italian built LM3s??

I actually thought that the D800 was the best sounding Class D amp I had heard, but I still ended up getting rid of it (to be replaced by a Handbox R400) as I thought it lacked something, especially at volume in a band with a lot of keys. Also, it wasn’t massively loud for an amp rated @ 800w (a common issue for me with Class D amps). I also have an old Markbass LM3, a great amp that I think does what it does really well. I may be wrong, but I always that the old Markbass amps were not actually Class D. It is certainly pretty loud, a proper 500w. My Mesa Mpulse is still by far my favourite amp…

The thing is that bands are not corporations with defined recruitment policies and it's pretty obvious that the friend would have been an automatic choice if they had known that he was going to be available. Every music scene is as much about contacts as anything else and this lot have admitted that they have wasted your time and that it has nothing to do with your ability or personality. If you walk away with as much good grace as possible then you have increased the reach of your contacts and increased your reputation as a good guy to work with. Who knows, they may very well recommend you the next time another band that they know are looking for a bass player.

Also, I think there is another outfit called the Petty Heartbreakers doing the rounds

Apparently, this announcement was due to Carlos Ghosn's great escape from Japan...!

If only you had asked two weeks ago - I did this journey the weekend before last. Not much help I know.