solo4652

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1464175206' post='3057178'] Just join the band I started in 1996. There are now no original members. [/quote] 20 years later!?

OK - thank you to everybody for helping me to think this through. Much appreciated. Rather than push on with my new-band enthusiasm, I'm going to back off and see how things develop. I fully realise that this is a difficult time for the female singer, her husband and their good friend, the guitarist. I don't want to add to pressures by being impatient and pushy. I'll be available as and when needed. The overall picture is complicated further by the guitarist's wife expecting their first child any day now. I'm keen to get going with an active band, so I'll look for an additional crew, as sensibly suggested by the Basschat collective wisdom.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1464103014' post='3056576'] Have you got another band lined up ready to join? If not look for another band. In the mean time I'd suggest to them to take a break until the singer is ready. There's no point in half rehearsing a band. [/quote] My other band folded three weeks ago!

@countbassie, post #11 Thank you - I think this summarises my feelings. I have true sympathy for the female singer and her medical difficulties, and I genuinely wish her the best for her future. I've been in bands before that have waited for somebody to recover from illness and that's not a problem for me, within reason. My concern is that her husband appears to be positioning himself to take over the lead singing role permanently if his wife is unable to commit to the band. I'm fairly sure he's trying to be helpful, but I just don't think he's a good enough singer to do that. At what point do I say that? Another thing - both singers and the guitarist are good friends, and work together in the same office.

I'm meeting up with the guitarist this coming weekend to run through some of the songs. He knows both singers pretty well. I'll see what more he can tell me about whether she has a history of no-shows, and whether he knows anything more about her illness and prognosis. I'll also say that, in my opinion, her husband isn't a good enough singer to take over the lead singer role. See what guitarist says. In the meantime, I'll start checking the Bassist Wanted ads. Again.

The problem is not to do with her throat or voice at all - it's a gastro-intestinal issue. No gigs are booked because the band has been out of action for quite a while without a bass player.

Six weeks a go I joined a new band. Two things particularly attracted me; - Lots of promises that songs would be agreed and people would learn their parts before rehearsals. - Lead singer is/was a very good vocalist with a degree in popular music, loads of band experience. YouTube videos of her singing with bands were impressive. I like female-fronted bands. I'm in. Important point; female lead singer lives with male backing singer/band frontman. I [i]think[/i] they're married, but I'm not certain. Turns out that female singer isn't too well, bless her. She hasn't made it to any rehearsals yet, so I haven't met her. Apparently, she needs a couple of operations. Could be quite a lengthy process. Her partner - the band's backing singer and frontman/MC - is starting to suggest songs that he could sing lead to. In my opinion, he isn't a good enough singer to take over the lead role. A good frontman, yes - a good lead singer, no. The female lead singer may be OK in a month. She might not. Nobody knows, but early signs are not promising and I'm concerned that her husband appoints himself as lead singer in her absence. Am I being too impatient? Wouldn't be the first time.

Delusional singers who can't sing. Testosterone-fueled blokiness Too much volume and, my pet hate - people not learning their parts at home before rehearsal. That old one.

Funnily enough, Status half-rounds have been my favourite strings for many years. Because of the supply problems at Status, I decided on a change, and bought the Brite-Flats. Dannybouy is right - the Brite Flats aren't quite as smooth as the Hotwires, but I could live with either.

Thanks for your replies. I think I may have sorted it out. I bought two packs of GHS brite flats from the same supplier at the same time and assumed they'd be the same. One set went onto the 424, the other onto the 1024. I've spent the last two hours swapping strings around all my basses (the third is a BB1200) and I think one of the new sets may be duff because, no matter what bass I put it on, that bass is quieter than the others.

I have a BB424 and a BB1024. With exactly the same strings of the same age on both basses, the 1024 is noticeably quieter, to the extent that I'm almost at max volume on bass and amp (GK MB500 + Tecamp 112 cab) at rehearsal. With the 424, I'm on half volume on bass and amp. I've raised the pickups on the 1024 as much as I can but it doesn't seem to alter the pickup output much. Pots work properly, pickup selector switch is fine, jack socket seems secure. Any thoughts, please?

[color=#282828]@RolandRock. I can definitely hear the similarities between Steam and the Bamboos' Step it up. The Bamboos are another contemporary soul-funk band that I really like. The band's line-up seems a bit, errr, fluid, with quite a few different lead singers. Alice Russel, to me, is the stand-out best. Here's my favourite track with her:[/color] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77R3ErvQ9F4

Thank you! Is Stevie playing that bassline on a synth?

Yep - Laura Vane's a fine funk-soul-blues singer. The Vipertones are mainly dutch, I think. I played for a short while with a fledgling funk band that wanted to play Steam. I couldn't find chords or tabs online so I had to come up with something myself. It was my first ever attempt at writing a bassline tab from scratch. Playing it now, my effort doesn't accurately reflect the original, but it does fit the groove. Sort of. Laura and crew play funk-pop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYyLvG_b1pE and soul-blues (be aware - long guitar solo...): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=805vcPvFw4o Edited to seperate the Laura Vane stuff from Bamboos.

Good for you! I remember my first gig - Whitefield WMC in Lancashire. The main thing that got me through was knowing that I'd put in the hours to learn my parts beforehand. Train hard, fight easy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEDNa-jS5fs

I really enjoy watching Beverley Knight's cover of the song because; She is a fantastic singer She puts on a show and gets the audience going The backing singers (I'm making the assumption that they're not pros and they've been recruited from the audience) have a great time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g95R6-c6Z8g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jig4yfBeg84

I'm on the lookout for a good, cheap fretless to see how I get on without frets. I generally find P necks too wide, but J necks too narrow. Currently, I'm playing the Yamaha BB1024 and the neck is spot on for me - 40mm at the nut, I think. I also really like the P/J pickup layout and the simple Volume/Tone controls (as opposed to V/V/T) So, based on that, my shopping list for an ideal fretless would look something like: Passive, not active Side dot and fret markers P/J pickups Nut width somewhere between P and J Probably secondhand to get better VFM Budget: Up to £250 ish All suggestions gratefully received, thank you.

Yep - Lozz has it covered. Biggest thing is make sure you can play the songs! I've just joined a band that sacked the previous two bassists because they didn't learn their parts and wasted everybody else's time at rehearsals. Turn up on time, play the basslines properly, don't show off. Job done. Hope you get the gig!

I like the comment below the video; "..how can 3 musicians play 7 songs at once?"

I'm a groove-a-holic, and this groove was about as taut and defined as I've heard. I just felt that there could have been some melody on top - icing on the cake, maybe.

https://flippa.com/6301596-musofinder-com