peteb

I used to use them back for a bit in the 80s when they first came out. The 110 was to accommodate a drop D when in concert pitch and worked well enough, but the higher strings were to light (for me at least). I currently use 105 - 50 D'addario nickel roundwounds for one bass in concert and for one tuned down to Eb. What you need as a minimum is a hex wound string and I would suggest that a 110 E string, or even a 115, is a good idea if you are regularly going to drop down to Db. Next time I change strings on the bass tuned down 1, I may well try a slightly heavier guage set of strings.

Some of the guide prices for the guitars look quite reasonable, but you have to factor in mega-fans getting giddy and putting in silly bids and then you have to ad 32%+ in fees.

Yea, I can see that, with maybe a touch of Glenn Hughes (but without all of the over-singing)...

I saw Kotzen with his solo band in a small club in Leeds about fourteen or fifteen years ago. He was really good, but perhaps not the greatest frontman in the world! Seriously talented though - I reckon he's an even better singer than he is a guitar player! Beware, not all of his albums are great and he does seem to repeat himself a bit (inevitable really when you're putting out as much product as he was at one point). But his good albums are very good (Peace Sign, 40 Deuce, Live in San Paulo, etc) and some of the songwriting is top class. I rather liked the first Mr Big album he was on (Get Over It) as well...

I always thought that he was going for the "comedy Yorkshire" thing! I see him in the local pub from time to time. Nice guy, but very short!

I just want to know which Richie Kotzen songs you were playing in a covers band in a pub?? I wouldn't mind seeing that...!

A mate of mine, who's a really good drummer with a pretty decent CV, was always a big Quo fan. He was always a bit defensive about it, as a few of us found it quite amusing! He's now got a Status Quo tribute up and gigging, with some good players involved. I'm going to have to go and see them at some point - Roll Over Lay Down (and a few others) were always a guilty pleasure...!

I think that you've got it exactly right there! People can like tribute bands for different reasons, just like they can for any other band they go to see. First of all, you've got to be a good band that is worth seeing, and secondly, you have to be a tribute in some way, in terms of image or sound or attitude or whatever. As a tribute band, you are trying to satisfy different sections of the audience at the same time: the hardcore nerds who want to hear some of the more obscure stuff and for it to sound exactly how they think it should, the normal fan of the band who just wants to hear a reasonably accurate version of the songs that they loved when they were growing up and the more casual fan who just want to hear all of the hits and aren't too bothered about anything else!

I've got a mate like that. He's got Jagger down to the bone, but seems out of place in anything but a Stones tribute act...!

I've played in a couple of tribute bands in the last few years, and for me, the thing is to get the spirit of the band down. The music must be pretty accurate, above all else. If you’re going to do Elvis, or Kiss or someone where the visuals are such a major part of the act, then you have to dress up – but get it right or don’t bother. I was in a Magnum tribute of all things for a while, which was a bit niche but a great band with a couple of the guys having a connection to the main act (i.e. they had been in the Magnum singer’s solo band or recorded with him). My approach there was to play like I would if I had been asked to play live with Magnum. There was no attempt at all to look the part! I now find myself in a Led Zep tribute. When I originally started playing for them two and a half years ago, the band had some great players, but they also had a reasonably good singer who wore a wig and kinda dressed like a Primark version of Robert Plant but looked absolutely nothing like him. He was obsessed with trying to get the details right, and (for example) we never had me and the keys player onstage at the same time. This was sometimes to the detriment of the overall sound. He has since been replaced with a guy who looks the part more, in that he’s thinner and has long curly hair (even if it’s the wrong colour). More to the point, he’s a more experienced frontman, as well as being a better singer (genuinely sounds like Plant). We also have an extremely good new keys player. The first thing the singer insisted on was playing as a five piece on the songs with keys, making everything look and sound like a proper rock show and not getting hung up on minor details. I still keep trying to impress on the drummer that while we have to capture the essence of the band, we must be what people want a Zep tribute to sound like, even if it is a bit different to what LZ actually were fifty years ago. It is a very good band now, plays all over the country and generally makes money and does well. However, it is more of a tribute to the music of LZ – if you want to see someone dressing up and trying to look like their idols from half a century ago, then it’s probably not for you!

It's not just sound engineers, it's band leaders as well. You can sense the palpable relief when you pull a Fender out of the gigbag when you first play with someone new, not to mention everyone seems fascinated with any 70s Fender that you take out on a gig! Let's face it, it is an industry reference sound that most people are comfortable with (be they sound engineers or BLs) and image wise, a 70s Fender is cool on the vast majority of gigs!

I've been guilty of that. Despite being someone who prefers P basses, I have two Fender jazzes and a further two 'super jazz' basses, which are basically an active version of what you would like a Fender to be (one a four string, one a five string). Essentially, I reckon that people (including me) are looking for something with a slightly refined version of a Fender in terms of build, sound and aesthetics when they go down the 'super jazz' route. For some strange reason, I prefer the real thing when it comes to Precisions as opposed to Jazz basses!

As ever, you are taking an argument to an absurd extreme to make some dubious point. I assume that @Dan Dare was talking about everyday working musicians rather than millionaire superstars like Slash, Steve Howe, Joe Bonamassa, etc.

That was really interesting Daryl and, unfortunately, not at all surprising. There just isn't the money in live music these days that there used to be, save for a very small number of top acts! Funnily enough, I came across this guy a couple of days ago and nearly posted his video on how to get gigs in response to a post you made on getting deps on another thread.

Funnily enough, looking at how the market conditions are now for live music (although at a more modest level for guys like me), this doesn't surprise me at all.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! You can call it 'an elegant simplicity' if you like and I have no issue with that. The main point of my post was that many experienced, good players appreciate Fenders (especially older ones) and Fender type basses more than they do the more boutique brands.

The TSFTS quote is actually in Cozy's other big hit 'Na Na Na', is played by Bernie Marsden and references an earlier line in the lyrics ("I know you get your kicks Playing Hendrix licks, You're a wizard of Wembley Central"). Still one of my favourite lines in a throwaway pop song...

To be honest, depending on the gig (how challenging the material is, if it's been rehearsed, etc), I'm quite happy to have a few drinks on a gig. It's whether I've got to drive home that determines if I have a drink or not.

Apparently, eating a banana will register a small but appreciable amount of alcohol in your system!

I'm not sure what you mean? Perhaps, I should say that it is my understanding of how the body metabolises alcohol. I'm not too bothered about what people believe about issues like this, just the biological facts. I don't want people believing that they are OK to drive after a few beers, then killing someone on the way home!

How exactly does that work? If you eat a banana, then that will register as alcohol in your system.

I believe that it's four hours - one hour to get into your bloodstream and then three hours to metabolise (for a normal pint of lager, assuming that you haven't got a cold / headache or whatever else effects the giant chemistry set that makes up your body). I've always been careful with drinking when driving and these days I can't be bothered with worrying about a single pint! I will occasionally have a swift half at the end of the night if I'm thirsty (but obviously not in Scotland)...

While it is correct that a P bass is essentially a tool, there is a certain type of functional beauty about them! On Saturday, I went to the 60th birthday party of my old housemate, a former pro bass player and music shop manager who now unfortunately has MS. As you might imagine, the place was full of musos (including quite a few pros), with a band of mates playing and a jam session afterwards. The house bass player for the night brought along a couple of 70s P basses that he had just acquired for around £2k each. Everybody who got up wanted to play the Fenders and there was a bit of talk about the various old Fender basses that we all own or have owned. I don't think that anyone there has an out and out boutique bass, but we all own Fenders (or FSO type basses) and there is a lot of affection for that type of instrument.

I think that we are talking more about economics than changing tastes in entertainment. While rock'n'roll band is obviously not as dominant in popular culture as it was in it's heyday (early 60s to whenever, probably late 90s), live performances were still drawing large crowds up to the economic crash of 2008. Since then there has certainly been a drop-off in crowds, but certain events will still attract a healthy audience. In my experience, gigs in the more affluent areas are still pulling crowds as big as ever, where shows in poorer areas are much more hit and miss.

Confusing him with the early 70s Rolling Stones guitarist perhaps??