MiltyG565

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1485847725' post='3227080'] A mate at work had his internet banking account hacked and one payment of £350 went missing amongst others, he could prove he hadn't sent it and was refunded by the bank. There was a police investigation from the other end as the money was sent to a guy in Nottingham to pay for a camera bought off gumtree by the person who hacked his account. He was interviewed by the Police and was obviously fine but they told him the other guy was a student and was distraught as he had only been selling the camera to fund his car insurance and couldn't afford it any other way. My mate felt so bad about it he offered to donate a few quid towards the lads insurance and others at work agreed to chip in, he made the offer to the coppers but we never heard anything back. When he was dealing with his bank they didn't seem to need much evidence to do the claim back from what he said. He also said that the person he had dealt with had told him that people mistakingly thing its bullet proof but due to the amount of fraud on it they have introduced new rules a couple of years back which make it much easier to get the money back if needed. Sadly for every method or protecting yourself as a buyer/seller there is always some scumbag trying to work around it. [/quote] This is true - Banks can claw-back transfers. I had a customer once tell me we had fraudulently taken money from her account. She had a direct debit with us, and owed us a lot of money, so a lot of money was taken on the direct debit. She called the bank, got it refunded, and then cancelled the direct debit. People are mental.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1486247133' post='3230393'] I had an issue with them last year, bought an amp, contacted them to make a return, tried telling me I was out of the returns period - because they waited for about 3 days before opening/replying to my e-mail. I challenged this, on the basis of simple mathematics, as in, just count the number of days from date item arrived to date of e-mail. OK, send it back. Then it took about 2 months of going from this person to that person, all of whom "were dealing with it". In the end I sent a very rude terse e-mail and from then it was sorted. Unless I absolutely have to, it`s unlikely I will use them again after that episode, however up until this time I`d never had any issues at all. [/quote] Just a classic example of how inappropriate handling of a fairly simple issue destroys the relationship between a customer and a business.

Stacks of groove. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npqD602G90o

[quote name='Davo-London' timestamp='1483700534' post='3209330'] I had a Vulfpeck-fest last night. Amazingly tight group of musos having fun. Great playing. Davo [/quote] Totally agree! A friend and colleague was having a bad day yesterday. I sent her the Smile Meditation video last night, and she said it really helped. I think the pictures of smiling dogs is what did it for her [quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1483701685' post='3209339'] What you do in private is [i]your[/i] concern, just...consensual, eh ? [/quote] Friend or foe, we can both enjoy the dugga dugga

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1483481122' post='3207616'] Dugga dugga's okay by me. [/quote] Come for the groove, stay for the dugga dugga.

I'm also really into this track. Very mellow tone, but there's a great sense of fun in it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9KpI5YY9ts

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1483346182' post='3206299'] Aha! Could it be that you define "teen idol" as being someone who is both a teenager and an idol where a lot of us define it as an artist idolised [i]by[/i] teens? [/quote] That's what I thought too. Ed Sheehan, for example. I don't want to start a language war (again), but it also bugs me how "momentarily" in America means "in a moment", whereas we use it to mean "for a moment". So when the cabin crew on a transatlantic flight say "The flight will take off momentarily", half the passengers must be thinking "Surely it's going to take longer than a moment to cross the Atlantic?".

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1483345307' post='3206288'] I've been listening to Vulfpeck for a couple of months now. I thank Basschat for that. There is a lot of their material on YT. I want to buy a couple of discs of theirs but not until I have the excesses of the season behind me. Far more accessible to me than Jaco. Maybe it's my age. [/quote] Their latest album is great. When I worked in the music shop, I used to play a playlist called "Hipster funk", and it had one of their songs on it called It Gets Funkier II, which was my first encounter with them. I think they're a very talented group of musicians, who have made funk and jazz elements accessible.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1483337408' post='3206263'] Historically "teen idols" don't grow as artists or performers nor become generally accepted. [/quote] Michael Jackson.

This is great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le0BLAEO93g

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1482793604' post='3202800'] I'm going to risk what little cred I have by saying I quite like his most recent stuff. [/quote] I suppose it may be more acceptable for me to admit it too, being one of them-there pesky Millenials, but I agree. I think he's transitioning well from being the teen heart-throb who only releases songs with very generic and accessible lyrics about making love, baby. That's much more of a marketing ploy to keep the emotional teen girls interested. But after a troubled few years in his late teens, I think we're seeing a more mature side to him. I think in reality, he feels a great weight of expectation on him, and that must be difficult to cope with. I think his newer stuff is more accessible for a wider audience, but I think most people still have the image of him as a polished teen wooing the youth of the world. As he grows as an artists and a performer, I think he'll become more accepted generally.

It's actually quite straightforward in principle. If you're familiar with music editing software, think of each video as a track - don't worry about recording everything in sequence, you can pick and choose which parts to use later. Load the recordings into your editing software and review them (If you have a Mac, there's a programme called iMovie which is quite good). Select the parts you want to use, and arrange them in order. That's pretty much it. Here's some videos my friend makes. He invites local artists to his music shop, and they perform live. He and a small team record all the video and audio. It's worth bearing in mind that from recording to having a finished video, he probably spends a few days in total perfecting it, but he does exactly what I've described there - He loads in all the recordings, and selects the parts he wants to use, then he overlays the audio track (recorded and mastered by another friend), applies a large amount of polish (he's a bit of a perfectionist), and then uploads it. I think they're great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HyTqlqjrUw

You're probably right - The model bands are using to fund the endeavour is a bit broken. Many pubs can't afford it, and most bands want more than they're offered. I would take the higher paying gig. I'm not too bothered if it's half-empty. It might be less enjoyable, but months of practice, paying for and travelling to a practice room, investing in gear, and hauling it all to a venue does cost a lot. I don't mind losing money on it, because I enjoy it, but I'll also make money where I can.

Things you can get online that make you sound important. Degrees. Doctorates. Knighthoods. Chaplaincy. The chaff is sorted from the wheat based on merit, not whatever piece of paper you have. Some "real" courses are tougher than others - Some universities are known to offer the same degree as more prestigious universities, but with dumbed-down course content - Instead of reading War And Peace, they read Bridget Jones's Diary. Does that mean the person that took the "dumbed down" course is any less capable? Not necessarily. It's all a bit of a distraction. I get what you're saying about the dumbing down of education, but honestly who gives a damn? An education is only as useful as you make it. You can have qualifications coming out of your ears, but that won't make you smart or successful. Don't worry about it - You'll be happier

I posted an ad a few months ago. The gist of it was this - I can play bass or rhythm guitar. I'll be sh*t at both, but let's have some fun with it. There are no prerequisites for your own ability, influence, or location (within reason). I got several responses - Very good responses. I'm now in a 5-piece band, and we're doing some covers while we all get to know each other. When the pool of talent in your local area is narrow, beggars can't be choosers. If you want to get out and make some noise, cast the net as wide and as far as possible. It might just be the thing that distinguishes you from all other acts.

[quote name='OddBass65' timestamp='1472939810' post='3125525'] EDIT : I really like the ad's no-nonsense approach. Maybe consider including a couple of bands you'd like to sound like? [/quote] I'll be sending my CV off to Saatchi and Saatchi with the ad attached in the morning, but I deliberately left out bands that I want to sound like because I don't want to pigeon-hole what could be (but even I'll admit probably won't be) a glorious meet of musical ideas. If I wanted to be like another band, I'd post an ad for that. I just want to find like-minded musicians who are interested in a bit of fun. I've already had a response from a guitarist.

Well I've made it pretty clear in the ad that I'm rubbish https://www.gumtree.com/p/community/sh*t-musician-wants-to-form-band-with-you/1186011812

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1472911270' post='3125291'] Sometimes I just want to jam. But alot of musicians don't actually know, either how to or dont know the language of music. It really suffocates music when people don't understand even the basics. [/quote] Oh maybe I won't bother with it then.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1472905919' post='3125244'] I can imagine you playing some Quo ... Down Down, Derry and Down ... [/quote] Although you can't play that version in certain parts. It has to be Down Down, Londonderry and Down. Kinda takes the wind out of its sails.

[quote name='barneyg42' timestamp='1472901935' post='3125198'] Good for you Milty!! It's like a drug! [/quote] It's something I haven't done for a few years, but I feel now that I'm at a place where it would not only be beneficial but highly recommended. I have a decent income to support hiring rehearsal space and for maintenance of my instruments, so why not? I'd even play a few gigs for free if it comes to it

After an extended period out of the game, I've decided that I wanted to be poorer and have less time to myself, so I've put up an ad looking for muse-icians to form a band with. The impetus for this is that I just love music, and I want to have fun jamming and playing some cool music again, and performing would be cool if we get that far. But my main reason is that I want to have fun - I'm not interested in some ego-maniac guitarist that thinks they're going to sell-out the O2 arena by 2020. If any of you folks know musicians in the county Antrim area (parts of Derry and Down also handy enough), please point them in my direction so we can have a frank and open discussion (make horrible sounds with our instruments) about forming a band.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1472145332' post='3118885'] Hi there, I've picked up an old Westone Thunder (are there any new ones?) The tuners are a bit crook, really and I'm thinking of replacing them all. I've seen the Gotoh and Wilkinson ones and other flashy brands. I've also seen the cheap Chinese ones on ebay. The price difference is significant. What would you go for? Do cheap ones stay in tune, or do they all fall apart? Any thoughts. BTW, I'm a compulsive doer-upper of basses. So there's no assurance that I'll keep it, so I guess that's a significant point of me, but I'm interested in folks experiences. [/quote] You never know you have good tuners until it comes to replacing them, and you replace them with rubbish ones that feel more like grinding than tuning when you use them. I've had Wilkinson tuners before. Very good tuners, and won't break the bank, as a happy medium. Lots of the really cheap stuff is rubbish. I can't tell you how many tuners I've replaced on cheap classical guitars, simply because the little gear gets worn out and then it gets all chowdered up and when you turn the knob, it just jumps right over the gear. Bass tuners are unlikely to ever have that problem, as the gears used are significantly bigger, so it's hard to have a level of play in them that allows the worm gear to jump over the top of the pinion gear. However the quality of material used and how well it's all put together will determine how accurate it is as a tuner, and how long it was last for.

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1472074455' post='3118362'] Yeah I think the exchange rate scuppered any chance of a fresh order... [/quote] From the sounds of it, you'd have a while to wait before you could take delivery anyway! 4 per month at full-tilt!

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1472032451' post='3117782'] I asked for a quote for a flea 5. $4999 Before tax. Before shipping. [/quote] Staggering, isn't it? I don't doubt that they're great basses (I've never played one before, but I love the sound!), but that is a lot of money! Maybe I'll wait for the pound to rise before placing an order...

Curiosity got the better of me this morning, and I searched to see what was happening with Modulus, as for a long time I've coveted their "Flea Bass" Funk Unlimited range. I remember a few years ago, the company seemed to be going under, but after looking on their website today, it seems they are alive and potentially well. However the name has changed to Modulus Graphite, and after a bit of reading, it seems the company was bought by a bass shop in the good ol' you-ess-of-ayeh. This has no doubt insured that the company will remain a supplier within the market for the medium term, however when reading further, a couple of other things struck me. - The basses can now only be bought from that particular bass shop (all previous suppliers have been ditched) - They're apparently producing 2-4 basses per month, an devoting most of their time to product development (I suspect a polite way of saying they're running a very small scale production line and regularly pull people off the line to help build new models) - The prices have jumped up a significant amount I'd probably still buy one if I had the money, but the lack of a UK supplier (and therefore the import burden would fall to me), and the price increase could be a deal breaker.