MiltyG565

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1441289875' post='2857605'] Because the Lidl drill is not up to the job of being used by a professional builder, but an SX bass is up to the job of going on stage? [/quote] Who says it isn't up to the job? It's not about the drill, If you can get a job done with it, that's what matters, is it not?

It seems that most of you are saying that it's generally just an act of hedonistic consumerism. Interesting.

[quote name='bonzodog' timestamp='1441289053' post='2857590'] I get frustrated most of the time on here because a lot of the conversations are about gear I can only dream of. I don't blame anyone for spending a lot of money on gear. I have a young family and am the sole earner so I made my bed so to speak. I play cheap JHS vintage basses through a hartke amp and TC cabs. All of them considered to be at the budget end of the spectrum but in 20 years of playing I have had lots of compliments about my playing but no one has ever mentioned my gear. [/quote] That's awesome! There are tone-hounds and gear-snobs out there, and they would quite disparage going on stage with budget gear, but the important thing is that you're bringing music to people, and enjoying it. Minor differences in tone are irrelevant, as many won't notice or even care, and in fact, it's hard to tell what the differences are when you play with a full band.

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1441287901' post='2857576'] I doubt many punters would know the difference between my £50 Jazz Bass copy and my 1970's Fender Precision. They are both the same colour and to their ears (and mine) both sound the same. A muso in the audience might, but would they really care that much? As long as it sounds ok and is in tune only a "gear snob" would worry surely? [/quote] I have to agree. Besides which, the quality of cheap instruments today is shocking good. Edit - Also, I've sold many instruments to many beginners and parents buying for their kids. Selling the virtues of tone rarely gains much traction. Parents look at the bottom line, and kids look at what's cool/pretty. [quote name='Oopsdabassist' timestamp='1441287932' post='2857577'] I have what I have cos I like it, what else needs to be said? [/quote] Well there are people who say that they're tools of the trade, and a builder wouldn't go on site with a Lidl drill, so why should they go on stage with, for example, an SX?

I know we like to sit around and chew the fat about gear - What's best for gigging, what's best for recording, what's best for this amount of money, what's best for metal. And I've long since held the view that, actually, nobody cares. The majority of an audience when you play live won't care. Other musicians might, but are you writing music to please other musicians? I had the experience recently of playing with many fantastic musicians, who played on various qualities of instruments. The instruments were completely sidelined by sheer raw talent and songwriting/performing ability. Nobody was interested in talking about which year Fender stopped making their switches out of bakelite, or what bass is best for metal. Everyone got stuck into the music without pretentiousness. So what compels us to still talk about what instruments and backline we need to play the crow & fiddle on a gloomy Saturday evening? Does it make any difference to the punters? What if you spent £500 on a bass, and £500 on an amp - Wouldn't that be good enough? And in video format - metal guy yells and swears (that's your warning) [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSiv45KEFGY[/media]

[quote name='HengistPod' timestamp='1440766630' post='2853669'] Just had to purchase new supplies of strings and my Rotosounds turned up in a plastic, not-resealable crisp-packet sort of affair. I'm all for recycling and packaging minimisation, but I've been in the habit of keeping a couple of sets of used strings in the relevant-gauge paper envelopes so I can quickly retrieve one if I break a string at some point. A new plan is evidently in order here. Also, I note from the packaging that, to ease the pain of not knowing the difference between a .105 and a .65 without the envelope to tell you, they've colour-coded the ball-ends now - red, white and blue. I foresee a drop-off of sales in one half of Glasgow there. [/quote] And potentially a significant drop in NI too. Now every time I change my strings, I feel compelled to chant "January, February, March! March! March!". Anyway, the new packaging is down to a problem with the old packaging, which was supposed to be water-resistant (and was water resistant for a long time), but something changed (without Rotosound's knowledge) and the packing was a dud, so strings were arriving tarnished to shops. So they've decided to put them in the plastic sleeves with a sachet of silica gel to absorb any moisture. [quote name='doctorbass' timestamp='1440848559' post='2854313'] Cant see a problem with it really. The "[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]environmental reasons" is a load of old tosh if you as me. Businesses have been trying to use their green credentials as a sales pitch for years, the new packaging will no doubt be cheaper and if it stops the strings tarnishing the thats all good. I like Rotos![/font][/color] [/quote] One thing I know is that this wasn't a "cheap option". They've had to invest in new packaging, new designs, and new machines to seal the packets shut and the like. If Rotosound were looking for a cheaper option, they'd simply have asked another paper supplier to make their boxes for them.

[quote name='72deluxe' timestamp='1436779165' post='2820558'] The drummer does have deafness from decades of playing (he says he can't really hear his hihats, and also can't hear if you rub your fingers together next to his ear - he can't hear that) [/quote] He's almost completely deaf, then. That's the problem. Your guitarist can't hear himself because of the drums, but the drummer can't hear himself because of himself. Your drummer won't play any quieter. I don't think he believes he's playing loudly. I think he genuinely can't hear himself, due to years of neglecting his hearing. IMHO, that makes him a danger to your hearing. How do you resolve the problem - I think there's probably very little you can do. I don't think the drummer will play any quieter. You could get super-reducing ear defenders, but then you'll never hear yourself. You could ask the drummer to leave (which likely won't go down too well), or you could leave (also unlikely to go down well). Good luck.

[quote name='OPTIMUS-BASS' timestamp='1436975417' post='2822503'] I picked up a second hand Jazz Bass knock-off a while ago and it had a set of strings on it which I want to purchase. The strings sounded great on this bass and I can not for the life of me find them. The shop that re-strung the bass has no idea either. The only major description for them that I can give is that they have a dark pink cotton wrap around both ends. Similar to Rotosound Swingbass Strings. However these are not Rotosounds. Anyone who has any idea on who makes strings with a dark pink cotton wrap around the ends please speak up. [/quote] There area a vast number of string brands that are aiming so low in the market, that you'll likely never hear of them... a bit like Poundland brands. They generally make cheap knock-off versions of other more popular brands, so they might look similar, and they might even sound similar, but they're mostly sold to manufacturers of low-end market manufacturers. So, I guess what I'm saying is that if it is quite a cheap bass, it's entirely possible that the only place you'll see those strings again is on another one of those basses. You could go to the manufacturers website and see if they sell them or give more details on them.

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1436377768' post='2817709'] Far prefer the first two, ie without the looping/multi-tracking. [/quote] Yeah, I've heard looped tracks before, and they can be really great too, but I just admire somebody's ability to write an accessible song (i.e. not something played on a coffee table and rammed full of muted slap triplets and harmonics) for bass only.

[quote name='Kirky' timestamp='1436169906' post='2815446'] Does it have the offline facility like Spotify and is there a download limit (3334 tracks on Spotify which came as a surprise to me). Pricing for the family option is £14.99 for up to 6 people I think. [/quote] I have no idea. Like I said, I'm not an involved user. I just select an artist or a playlist, and let it run in the background while I get on with other things. I have noticed that there's sometimes quite a lag between pressing play and the song starting, though.

[quote name='tonybassplayer' timestamp='1436133991' post='2815314'] Having had the virtually free 3 months Spotify trial and now paying £9.99 a month I am just contemplating cancelling and giving the Apple Music one a go with their free 3 months trial and then $9.99 dollars a month ( not seen it in real money yet ) Anyone tried it yet ??. [/quote] I've been using it for a few days. It's £9.99 in the UK. Pretty much the exact same as Spotify. All the artists that I normally listen to on Spotify are on Apple Music too, along with all my other music. It's not really the game-changer that Apple alluded to it being, but it's cool. I don't know if I'd spend much time deliberating over whether to use Apple Music or Spotify, though. They're pretty similar IMHO, and I don't invest hours into streaming services - I hit play and get on with what I'm doing. People who like to browse might have different opinions on this.

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1436134109' post='2815316'] How can it be constructive if someone can't offer help or advice for improvement? [/quote] Because they'll have highlighted the issue. Constructive criticism doesn't mean hand-holding and leading somebody to improvement, it means highlighting areas of improvement. People often also give pointers on how to improve, but I don't think that's necessarily a part of constructive criticism, although it can be. When your employer comes in and looks at your work and highlights the areas that need to improve, that's providing you with feedback on your performance which you are then able to work to improve. Your employer doesn't necessarily need to lead you to that improvement.

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1436132742' post='2815306'] You're obviously qualified to, if you can hear it. But. As a non musician, you don't really have any right to offer criticism unless it is asked for. In my opinion, because, as a non musician, it probably wouldn't be constructure criticism as you can't offer any helpful advice. [/quote] Constructive criticism doesn't need to offer advice on how to improve, it just needs to highlight areas for improvement.

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1436123683' post='2815202'] Probably a good idea to take it down from here. [/quote] Done.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1436122545' post='2815185'] Frankly, if someone went off like that in a shop where I worked I'd be filming events just in case he lamped someone. World class rant from a possibly 'not [i]entirely[/i] normal' person. A bit unfair to post the film but it's given us all something to talk about on a quiet Saturday. Hey ho. [/quote] I think they were ok in filming him, after all there's no expectation of privacy in a shop that's open to the public, and many do have CCTV to record such incidents. It was a bit crude to post it online, especially as the consensus seems to be that this particular customer wasn't the full shilling. That's the concerning part, and only seems to add weight to what the customer is complaining about - bad attitudes. Frankly, if what he's saying is true, it would probably annoy me too. Not enough to flail my arms and threaten to "twat" somebody, but my annoyance would probably be at the same level as this chap's.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1436121167' post='2815166'] It wasn't you I find your posts genuinely funny, this guy only [b][i]thinks[/i][/b] he's funny. [/quote] Then it must be [i]me![/i]

Gents, I get the distinct impression that it's an independent store, and not part of a chain. I don't know how involved chain owners are in the day to day running of their stores, but it seems unlikely to me that a regular customer would come into contact enough with a chain owner to form a fully rounded opinion on them.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1436099959' post='2814895'] Pretty much my thoughts on first view, it doesn't look 'normal' does it? (whatever that is). [/quote] I sincerely hope that we aren't bringing this person's mental faculties into this discussion as a means of explanation. I agree, the man was a bit OTT, but there appears to be some reason for that from what he says. Certainly, if it's obvious that he does have mental issues, then shame on whoever posted it online for people to laugh at.

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1436075472' post='2814698'] May have been filmed by a customer of course, but something makes me think not. C [/quote] They appear to be filming from behind the counter. IME, the only people that come behind the counter are very good friends, and then not even for more than a few minutes.

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1436056112' post='2814676'] No, but it could be brain science [/quote] I prefer to split my time equally between the two. I'm a committed rocket brain!

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1436053576' post='2814664'] It's a few months since I've been in, but I'm pretty sure there's less space between the counter and window in Red Dog and the acoustics live at the back of the shop. I haven't watched it with the sound on yet, so I can't say whether I recognise the owner's voice. I generally find the guys in there to be quite good, so I'd sort of like it not to be them! [/quote] I don't think the owner is present in this clip as the customer is yelling about his attitude, and telling the guys to give him a card or something. It did sound like the guys were from somewhere in England, though.

I've just found this video, and it's of a man getting quite wound up about a music shop owner, complaining about his attitude. The video is of little interest to me (ok, it's of mild interest), but I would like to know why he dislikes the owner so much. There's little to work with in this video, but does anyone know this store, and perhaps pass comment on it? The fact that seemingly one of the staff filmed a customer and put it on the internet (so people could laugh at him) isn't a good starting point.

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1435826711' post='2812685'] Played with a guitarist a while back who had heard someone make a comment about one of his solos which, to be honest, was a bit sad with quite a few bum notes in there (no, it wasn't jazz before any joker asks) I understand that no-one likes criticism however, his argument was that the guy wasn't qualified to make a comment as he was not a musician. My personal view is that if something is not good, it's not good. It's not as if he was playing anything so way out and clever that he could employ the "I think it went over their heads" argument I believe that if someone is into music appreciation, as opposed to actually playing it, they're more than qualified to say what does, or does not, sound good. [/quote] "They aren't qualified to criticise my guitar solo" = "I have an inflated ego and I'll happily bat away any criticism with bullshit excuses just to protect my ego". Sorry, but that's what it amounts to. A punter doesn't need to be qualified. They have ears, and music is subjective. Now, your guitarist probably recognises that it wasn't the best guitar solo of his career, but probably finds it adds insult to injury when people... well, insult his playing. In any case, what does qualify one to criticise somebody's music? I don't think there is such a thing. You either think something's good or bad, or somebody is good or bad. It's not rocket surgery.