solo4652

Impressive! But way beyond my capabilities, sadly.

Heart very much in mouth, here's a short phone-video of us under the "Loose Change" buskers collective banner at a local Makers market. Forget the drummer - he was only there for that one gig, and is not part of our trio. Please remember; I'm not the coolest dude in the bass world. You'll see me wrestling with my notes at a couple of points. Schoolboy error. Will take clothes pegs next time. First time the singer had ever sung in public. First time we had played together in public.

Thanks folks. Here are my thoughts, as prompted by some of the responses; We'd like to keep the band footprint as small as possible - so, 3 people, not 4. Like @Sibob, I don't really enjoy playing bass with no percussion - I feel a bit lost. I tend to agree with @Dannybouy regarding the novelty factor of having the cajon in the line-up - even more so if I switch between it and bass. Joe public would almost certainly not have seen that, and it would differentiate us from virtually all other local acoustic trios. Easier to get gigs as a result, maybe? I'm happy to switch between bass and cajon, depending on the song. I suppose my question is - How do I choose which songs to play bass on, and which songs to play cajon? My first thought was cajon on the slower numbers e.g Don'y know why - Norah Jones, True Colors - Cyndi Lauper, Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen, and bass on the faster songs e.g. Breathless - The Corrs, Sunday Girl - Blondie, Mr Rock and Roll - Amy MacDonald. However, the guitarist and singer have different ideas. Then there's the in-between songs e.g. Thank you - Dido, You're still the one I want - Shania Twain, Out of reach - Gabrielle. Consequently, I'm dazed and confused about what I should play on which song.

I'm involved with a start-up acoustic trio. Good acoustic guitarist who adds a voice-synth and guitar synth to his acoustic guitar. Also sings BV's. Pretty good female singer who does not have much live experience, but is coming along really well. She prefers slower/jazzy numbers to up-tempo toe-tappers. Then there's me. I started off playing (electric) bass to all songs, but at the last rehearsal I played cajon on a few. Straight away, both the guitarist and singer said they preferred me on the cajon. Probably a reflection of my rubbish bass-playing! I don't want to play cajon all night. I am happy to switch between bass and cajon, depending on the song. But - how do I choose? I am now faced with the job of saying whether I'd play bass or cajon on a growing songlist of 16 songs. I don't know how to make that decision. Can you good people help, please? Three examples: Breathless - The Corrs. I'd have said bass straight away, but no. Guitarist and singer want me to play cajon. That man - Caro Emerald. Hotel California, specifically this cover: I'd want to play bass, but guitarist is suggesting cajon would be "a better fit".

I googled "RFI Room" and I got this image. I'm serious!

I've just bought a Squier Vista Musicmaster. Stock pickup is 4-pole single coil job, and it sounds great - clanky and mids-forward - sort of reminds me of DiMarzio P I had in an Ibanez Blazer a while back. My understanding is the Vista Tone pickup is not a strat-derived guitar pickup like the Fender Musicmaster one - the Vista tone pickup is/was specially designed for the bass. But, it's not a humbucker, so it's noisy - it especially likes talking to my washing machine. And my amps (all of them). And my outboard laptop speakers. This is what I've done so far to try to shield the bass: Lined the cavity with aluminium tape. I made sure it was conductive tape. Same tape on the underneath of the pickguard. Resoldered the jack ground lead to the pot, since the original solder was only just hanging in there. Put some isolating tape on the bottom tip of the jack prong to make sure it wasn't contacting the cavity shielding. Installed an extra ground wire, soldered onto same point as bridge ground wire, then screwed into cavity tape. All this has helped quieten the bass, but it still hums and picks up various RFI no mater what room in the house I'm playing in. I don't want to replace the original pickup because it's just the sound I'm looking for. Besides, I'd like to keep the bass as original as possible. So - is there anything else I can do to help quieten the bass? Or does the fact that it's a single coil mean there's only so much that can be done? I'll just have to stop playing when I'm washing my smalls, I suppose.

Thought so......

The covers band I was playing with folded a couple of months ago, so I'm looking for a new project to throw time and energy at. Duos, trios, small acoustic set-ups, coffee-shop/wine-bar crews, full bands - all good for me! I'm into pop, soft-rock, soul, neo-soul, funk, motown, indie, reggae, chillout, cheesy 80's power ballads. I'm not into noisy-blokey classic rock, goth, rap. My main instrument is (electric) bass. I also play the cajon, but would regard myself as an "Impover" with it, being honest. I've recently been playing with an acoustic trio, switching between bass and cajon depending on the song. Unfortunately, the lead singer can't find the time for rehearsals, so we can't continue. I live in Stockport. Here's my Bandmix profile, complete with videos of me in previous bands: https://www.bandmix.co.uk/solo4652/ Here's the band I was in until very recently: https://www.facebook.com/replaycoversband/ More videos from the past:

Hi Mark, Please can you tell us a little more about the band. Specifically: Band name? Band line-up? How long have you been together? What sort of venues/gigs are you aiming at? Do you have any in your gig diary? So that we can appreciate the high standard at which you play, do you have any Facebook/YouTube/Website/Soundcloud links you can post here? Thank you, Steve

My original post was about a scam that was pretty obviously dodgy. I could see that, but I was gathering other people's views and experiences. Much more interesting is the information that's come to light about PayPal's (non)-protection. I've changed the topic title to reflect that. I'm sorry to appear pedantic, but I'd like to understand this as best I can, since I use PayPal fairly frequently. Let's say an item is sold via an online marketplace. The buyer pays for it upfront via PayPal. The seller organises and pays for a tracked courier. The item is duly delivered to the correct address, and is signed for. Then, the buyer claims not to have received the item and claims their money back from PayPal. Who is culpable? Who is responsible for the loss of the item, and for sorting things out? The seller? Should have been able to prove that the person who signed for the item was indeed the buyer? How does the seller do that? The courier? Should have been able to prove that the person who signed for the item was indeed the buyer? How does the courier do that? The buyer? Up to them to track down the item that was delivered to, and signed for, by somebody at the address they provided.

That's pretty worrying. Where does that leave us?

Itsmedunc's experience seems to describe a case where delivery was to the correct address, and was signed for. No collection in person.

Blimey - I'm learning lots about PayPal here. If a Gumtree buyer can claim never to have received goods, and then be reimbursed fairly easily, where does that leave us paying for goods from other websites such as Preloved, Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, and Basschat?

Thanks for those links.

Well, I've learned something very useful there about PayPal. As for the Gumtree scammer, I've deleted and blocked him, and reported him to Gumtree.

Two weeks ago, I sent a £650 bass to Belgium. Up-front payment via PayPal. EU, of course, so no concerns about VAT or import duties. Very helpful buyer who volunteered all necessary information without being asked for it. Smooth and worry-free transaction. This is most certainly not how I'm feeling about our friend the "Operating Officer" who is currently "On board..."! If/when he replies, I'll politely tell him to get lost.

Really!?. And there's me thinking that payment via PayPal would give me some protection...

I'm also slightly intrigued why somebody would want to pay over £300 to import this bass - nice as it is - to the USA, when something like a MIM bass would be a much easier and simpler buy for him.

I'm in Stockport. Ball's in his court to send me his private email address for PayPal payment request to be sent. I'm also waiting for him to ask for my address and phone number to pass onto a courier. I rather think I'll have quite a long wait!

I have my Fernandes bass on Gumtree. This morning, I had an enquiry from somebody who describes himself as: "...from London, UK" and "...i'm a very busy man working all day, am an (Operating officer) am presently on-board, i'll be looking forward to the total cost of the shipping and buying i dont mind adding extra £50 for helping me please i really need to get them send to [my son in Texas] as a birthday gift..." Hmmmmm. My antennae are in full twitch mode here. I've said that I will only proceed if he pays me for the bass up-front via Pay Pal. He'll need to send me his email address so I can send him a payment request. He will need to pay for and organise a courier and insurance. He will be completely responsible for any US import/sales duties. I am happy to pack the bass securely, and drop it off at a courier, or wait in for collection. What do we think, people?

Yes, you're not the first person to say that to me about the bass! It is curious, isn't it. People do seem to gravitate towards different headstock shapes. Pointy headstock = Rock (?), or 4 in-line vs 2 + 2, or "that silly hook-come-bottle-opener" on G&L basses, or ....

32" MIJ Fernandes PJ-45 here. I bought it to see if I could/should switch from 30" to 32". I've decided to stick with 30", so I've put the Fernandes up for sale in the For Sale forum .