solo4652

Every single one of these happened to me in the past 12 months. I'm the bassist who went to the wrong Flying Horse, and I'm the bassist who regularly injures myself trying to compete with sailors who are 40 years younger than me. I'm the person who has been responsible for organising rehearsals in my last three bands. I volunteer to do it because I have the time - I'm retired. It's a thankless task. My current band is no different, and I'm exasperated by all the effort that's needed to get the same 4 people into a room once a week having all practised the same version of the same songs in keys that everybody agreed the previous week.

Bottled oxygen; I played a few times with a drummer who, sadly, wasn't very well with some sort of lung problem. He used bottled oxygen supplied via a nose tube. He had to increase the oxygen flow rate for faster songs. "Oh, hang on, I don't think we can do that song - I don't have enough oxygen left".

Just re-opening this thread with a few more excuses that are all true, and have all happened to me recently: The bassist has gone to the wrong Flying Horse pub We were due to use the basement of the rehearsal building, but there are frogs there We were due to use the first floor of the rehearsal building, but it's haunted The drummer has run out of bottled oxygen The drummer's just messaged me saying "I can't be bothered" The two guitarists are punching each other in the car park The bassist has broken three ribs playing sport. Again. The guitarist says he can't find his picks

Quick update; The funk/soul/blues/pop beach-bar band I joined in April couldn't find any actual beaches in Stockport, so disbanded. So, I'm back out there looking for a decent covers band. PM me with anything you may have. Thanks, Steve

You ask a deep and concerning question. What is the collective noun for dentists?

Just had a quick look at that UKCAT test. On the face of it, it looks pretty good, with most of the key design points from professional Psychologists I'd be looking for. Just a shame the designers didn't quite finish the job off by including an objective test of fine-finger dexterity - they do exist. It may be because of practical constraints - traditionally, psychometric tests of motor (as opposed to cognitive) ability have generally needed 1-on-1 administration, not group administration. I'll shut up now.

I'm riding a hobby horse here - sorry. Apologies if I'm taking this too seriously. This sort of nonsense does frustrate me. Some thoughts, 1. I spent all of my working life assessing people's suitability, including dexterity, for jobs. If your interviewers really want to assess your dexterity properly and objectively (and I can quite see why they should for dentistry training), then they should go and speak to an Occupational Psychologist. There are well-researched psychometric tests available. What your interviewer panel is doing is amateurish and would make me wonder if they know what they're doing. Be that as it may, you're going to have to do it their way, so; 2. Use the old consultancy trick; I if you can't decide whether your client would prefer X or Y, ask them. So, instead of wondering what music would impress them, why not give them a choice? "I've prepared a classical piece by X and a pop piece by Y - which would you prefer to hear?" 3. Even better - can you demonstrate dexterity and handskills in a way that's more obviously relevant to dentistry training? Slow, controlled, small movements in a small space. E.G. Soldering some wires inside a small box? Sewing a hem neatly? Some small-scale sign-writing, again inside a small box? Pick up a sugarcube with a pair of tweezers and paint the 6 faces in different colours using a fine brush? Ask your interviewers to draw two parallel lines about 1 cm apart and 50cm long (corners and curves are fine) on a piece of paper. Then show how well you can draw a third line in between theirs that doesn't touch theirs. Apologies. My whole working life... Good luck with your interview.

@Ortogo, post 24 No problem at all - I can see that Cornwall to Manchester might be a[i] bit[/i] far to try out a bass. Let us all know how you get on with the 1024. Steve

@Ortogo Hi. Don't know where you're based, or whether you've played the 424 and 1024. If it's of any help, you're welcome to pop round and play my 424. I also have a Yamaha BB1200 and a couple of Fender P's for comparison. I'm in Stockport. Steve

Bless you all! - I've even had a PM from a genuinely concerned B/C'er advising me to stay clear of Negart Records. When I first got the message via Bandmix, I was convinced it was a scam, and I thought other people should be warned about it. Then, I found out that Negart really does exist so, to be on the safe side, I removed the phrase "possible scam?" from my original posting. Rest assured that I will not be sending Negart Records £20, expecting the most awesome PR job in return! Edit; Winking Smiley retro-added to my initial post to signal that "something doesn't ring true to me" was me being subtle and careful, or something like that.

Via my Bandmix account, I've had a message from Negart Records promoting their "Brand New Artist 2016" competition. Something doesn't ring true to me. Or is it just me? [url="http://www.bandmix.co.uk/negart-records/"][/url] [color=#555555][b]FROM:[/b] Negart Records[/color] [color=#555555][b]SUBJECT:[/b] Brand New Artist 2016 | Album Deal | Huge Platform[/color] [color=#555555]Hello We are looking for Artists to Join Brand New Artist 2016. Join up and you will get a minimum 7 weeks of PR, and Radio Coverage just for taking part. If you have an Album, or E.P already recorded, then we will Schedule this to be played from start-to-finish on our Radio Station at no cost to you. If not, then we will still promote you over the airwaves to encourage people in your area to support you. The Winner will walk away with a Good Album Deal that will include a Cash Advance of �25,000, plus expenses, plus Gig Money. There will also be a huge consolation prize for 60 contestants who do not end up winning. Stage 1 - Public Voting Stage 2 - Judging Panel All of the Voting will be Free-of-charge because this is about the Music. The Joining Fee costs �20.00 per Contestant to help us to cover costs of running the show. This is being run at non-profit. If you are in a Band, then this will only work out at a few quid each respectively. One way of looking at it is that if you wanted 7 weeks of PR, and Radio coverage, and ended up paying PR Companies, and Pluggers, then it would cost a lot more than �20.00. All ages, and styles of Music are welcome. We are looking for something different. We will be in a lot of Newspapers, Magazines, and mentioned over the airwaves a lot soon, but we are doing the online campaign now to encourage artists to Join up sooner rather than later as a lot of people are expected to Join Brand New Artist 2016 due to this being a Good Platform. For further information, and to view the Current Winner visit www.brand-new-artist.com and this is also where you can pay your Joining fee, and to submit your profile that should include; 1 Artist photo, biography, social media links, and any music that you are happy to share to the Public. Our E-Mail address for this campaign is [email protected] Closing date is 31st October 2015, but the sooner you join up, then the sooner you will be on our Website that received over 60,000 visitors last week, and rapidly increasing. Brand New Artist 2016 is all about the Music, and having the Music done your way. If you Win, then this will be about you after-all. All the Best! B.N.A TEAM Follow Negart Records on Facebook Follow Brand New Artist on Facebook[/color] A quick poke round the web throws up these links; [url="http://www.bandmix.co.uk/negart-records/"]http://www.bandmix.c...negart-records/[/url] [url="http://www.brand-new-artist.com/#about-1"]http://www.brand-new...st.com/#about-1[/url] This is a hoot - definitely worth ploughing through. [url="http://negart-records.com/about"]http://negart-records.com/about[/url] [url="https://www.facebook.com/NegartRecords"]https://www.facebook.com/NegartRecords[/url]

Here, I'm wearing my Applied Psychologist's hat. I can't sing. I sound like a stuck pig. There are known links between auditory feedback and speaking - did you see "The King's Speech", for example? Also, just think how disruptive outside words (conversations) can be on your ability to process other word-based information such as talking and reading (referred to as The Stroop Effect in Psychology). That said, slightly delayed auditory feedback can sometimes be a good thing and can help to correct some speaking problems such as stuttering. I wonder if that's what's happening here? Monitors provide (slightly delayed?) auditory feedback to singers who then have to work especially hard to overcome the disruptive effect if they want to sing properly. Curiously, it may be that in order to help speakers, stutterers, bad singers to vocalise better, it's better to give slightly distorted auditory feedback than bob-on, crystal-clear, immediate feedback. This may help to explain why singers often say they sound good in the shower!? Also, is this why vocoders are currently popular, perhaps? There are various machines and even apps available to help stutterers. Be interesting to see if they can help poor singers. Any speech therapists or singing teachers out there? More here: <a class="bbc_url" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boostlabz.auraldelayer&amp;hl=en_GB" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">https://play.google....elayer&amp;hl=en_GB</a> and: <a class="bbc_url" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_fluency_device" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">http://en.wikipedia...._fluency_device</a> Google "Auditory feedback and singing" as a start-point for reading.

L-1000's have a bit of a reputation for developing "ski-jump" and/or warped necks. Potential buyers should ask lots of questions to satisfy themselves that the neck is straight and unwarped, and that the truss rod works properly in both directions.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1433771106' post='2793787'] Me too, but soundwise it can't really make much difference, but the OCD does tend to kick in. [/quote] Whole new thread here!? Same number of string turns round each tuning post?

I had a look under the pickups in case a wire had been trapped, but no. Put the screws back in at a slightly different angle and that levelled things up. Maybe I have too much time on my hands.

Thanks for the link, which covers pickup height moving across the strings from E to G. My question is about pickup tilt in the other orientation. Looking down from the top edge of the bass, the left-hand edge of the front pickup that's closer to the neck is lower than the rear edge. Opposite for the rear pickup. If you can blow up my photo, I think you'll see what I'm trying to describe.

Just got this P bass. Front pickup is tilted so that the front edge (closer to neck) is lower than rear edge. Opposite for rear pickup. Result is an "apex roof" orientation. Sounds OK. Should/need I check under pickups to get them level? [attachment=193878:100_0829 - Copy (2).JPG]

Looks like you're right; http://basschat.co.uk/topic/249681-identification/

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-guitar/321764881514?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D31101%26meid%3D744ebc36f0984a01810b8a91e0b18d80%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D131519712772"]http://www.ebay.co.u...%3D131519712772[/url] Decal's been removed from headstock. Through-body stringing, neck-through construction, brass nut. Factory fretless? - Can't see any fret scars. Crack along top side of neck/body area??

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/World-record-attempt-bass-guitar/231569626468?_trksid=p5411.c100167.m2940&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140131123730%26meid%3D0e4f640b07224cc69d94a6272ee07ca8%26pid%3D100167%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D361305440024"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/World-record-attempt-bass-guitar/231569626468?_trksid=p5411.c100167.m2940&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140131123730%26meid%3D0e4f640b07224cc69d94a6272ee07ca8%26pid%3D100167%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D361305440024[/url]

Hi Lozz - I read your previous threads on pickups. You know your P basses, and it seems like you've tried most Pickups in them! Thanks for your advice. Any thoughts on these from Entwistle? http://www.findinstruments.co.uk/entwistle-pbxn-precision-p-bass-neodymium-pickup/

I have a Fender MIJ fotoflame/62 RI P bass here with the stock pickup. I'm considering replacing the pickup and I've been reading up on what's available. Shortlist is DiMarzio DP122 or a G&L MFD. Before I drop a fair cash-wedge on either of these, can anybody suggest a cheaper alternative? I'm not looking for a bass-heavy Motown sound - I'm looking for high-output mids-forward clarity, as found on my (now sold) Ibanez Blazer, and Yamaha BB1200. Thanks, Steve