uk_lefty

You've given me a great idea!

Interesting topic. I think if the band is having a good time, is reasonably competent and is playing to its audience then the audience will enjoy it and will forgive or not notice a whole list of issues and 'could have been betters'. I watch a pub band for the "knees up" and I think there's a level of acceptance among audiences that you are getting entertained by someone who is likely doing this for fun as much as money

The back cover has sold me a copy, looking forward to it

If only there was a well stocked left handed bass shop, like a more exclusive Ned Flanders leftorium... In near twenty years of playing I only ever tried my first bass (didn't even know how to play or what to listen out for) and my most recent purchase where I tried one in a shop but bought a similar one online. It's brutal out there for us kack-handers.

Dings don't bother me... this is just a really long dull patch that spoils a quite attractive bass and looks like someone was wearing a punk spiky wristband while thrashing the living sh!t out of the bass with a grass rake for a pick! The natural dings and wear are part of what the bass is - a 20 yr old instrument that rarely gets treated to travel in a case

On Saturday "my" band is playing at Magnafest, a charity festival in aid of Help for Heroes which is on in the village of Walkern (near Stevenage) at the White Lion. We are on at 5pm on Saturday, but loads of other groups on all through the weekend.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1470433260' post='3106044'] Exactly. And mine's white. [/quote] White precisions look the absolute nuts!! Jazz basses with as much chrome on them as possible likewise.

You often see these with random makes coming up on eBay. There used to be a German outlet doing double neck fretted and fretless which looked cool. I'd go for one

Nice!

Yes looks are important. I had a period when my only bass was my very 80s hair metal Kramer fretless... Didn't get the jazz gig I went for and got some odd looks. I couldn't play a single-cut or coffee table bass with my current band. I use a "traditional" looking p bass, have whipped out the headless cricket bat bass which went down ok, and will play the next short gig with a jazz.

Agree on the partnership viewpoint. Having been on both sides of this fence it's frustrating when only one party is making the effort. Nowadays with social media it should be easier to get word out to your own followers but the venue needs to be making equal effort through their Facebook, Twitter, local paper and local radio - but being a late change I'm not sure they can get all of those in place in time. Do they usually have Sunday afternoon gigs? It's a nice idea but its not going to be a world beater unless they have an established Sunday afternoon drinking and listening to live bands regime. Can't imagine it would go down well at a carvery.

Yes! When we don't have the biggest and best PA support I use my singers Peavey 115. It's a relatively older model (6-7 years?) But it is loud and clear. At 150watts it gives much better output than my 250watt Ashdown. Have used it at a gig in a "half" marquee where we had an open side and there was a basic PA, was driving it beyond the speaker warning light point at times but it was trying to fill an entire county with bass sound, being outdoors. As previously said, reliable workhorse indeed.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1470012140' post='3102701'] Do the first gig and decide after that. [/quote] Agreed.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1469736228' post='3100803'] String choice is SO important and can radically change the sound and playability of a bass. I think they get overlooked sometimes. [/quote] Agreed 100%. Decent strings can bring in so much character, one of the most important components in making the sound

Looks like the previous owner of my MIM Jazz used to play with some kind of wrist cuff on and attack hard with a pick. It's left a long dull patch on the body where it has been constantly scraped and scratched. Question is what to do now? A. Nothing. But this leaves a dull patch that can catch the light. and this is my experiment bass... B. Repair job. Could use t-cut or something similar? This is wine red though... C. Relic job. I'd like the idea of speeding up the natural wear and taking this down to undercoat and wood but not sure it wouldn't end up looking completely sh!t and amateur... Thoughts and advice most gratefully received

Oooooh expensive strings!!

If you like it, have somewhere to store it and can transport it I say get one!! Nothing to lose, there's some good deals second hand and even new online

Got Barts in my MIM Jazz, they're perfect. From glassy clean to dirty and funky, there isn't much they can't do.

They are cool no matter what anyone says!! Mine comes out every gig. I've got a hohner b2a and its great with ghs boomer strings. I would prefer a bodied headless so am personally lusting after a status... My mate is shifting a hohner the Jack soon with case, I'll let you know when it's available.

Would be good to know where you can get the ebs session 60 so cheap! Personally never got on with line six amps, but ebs are quality

My latest band gets bookings for local festivals and parties, there is a varied audience and you don't quite know what they'll react to. We want our audience to sing along and dance (both ideally). We are a bluesey rock band by nature but we are finding we need to play a diverse range of crowd pleasers but with a bluesey rock flavour to keep people happy. We made set list adjustments on the fly last gig because we had five hundred people staring blankly at us playing songs we love, but going mental for songs we didn't think woukd work.. strange thing is I only enjoy playing the song live if the audience enjoy it, regardless of what I would want to listen to alone in my car or noodle my bass along to at home. I want a set where our audience sings and dances along to every song, that's what I enjoy most. It's no big ambition and not very sophisticated but it suits my band and our audience.

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1468924722' post='3094300'] ^^This^^ I found the same. When I first hurt my back badly I wandered in the class D head wilderness for a few years, tried all sorts of manufacturers and ratings, never quite got there. To my knackered old ears a TC RH750 got close but not close enough. I bought on here an AH300-12 SMX that had been rack-mounted into an ABS case, making it 12kg. A nice balanced one hand carry when I have my Barefaced Supercompact in the other hand. Couldn't be happier. [/quote] Sounds like an option I could explore of trace head plus lightweight cab. Just interested in how much of the tone comes from the cab itself...