JapanAxe

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1437325149' post='2825090'] Here's us at a country festival a few years back. Note the hats in the audience. This is nothing compared to the country festival we did at Skeggy around the time. Just.. unbelievable. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feSBUWJLBbk[/media] [/quote] Great performance! 'Unbelievable' - in what way!?

I have run a country trio on the UK circuit for the last 4 years. To put it mildly, they are a funny lot! Most clubs are run by enthusiastic amateurs. They typically hire a village hall or social club for the evening, and charge about £6 per head on the door. Organisers are usually good at looking after performers, laying on tea and coffee, and sometimes cold food. There are various tendencies. Most clubs comprise of a mixture of listeners and dancers, but you need to make sure all your material can be danced to. Some clubs are heavily into line dancing, and these don't mind so much what you play, as long as there is a strong beat to latch onto. Others like to dress up in 19th century American style, though I have no idea how this is connected to 20th century electrified folk music! The more traditional-minded clubs, or those with small dance floors, tend to prohibit line dancing, or sometimes even partner dancing. There are also various festivals (some with camping, others in hotels) which are good to get yourself better known once you have got your act together. The bad news is the prevalence of solo and duo acts, with backing tracks, which makes it difficult for actual live bands to break into the market and get decent-paying gigs. Most clubs publish their contact details and upcoming shows in [url="http://www.crosscountrymagazine.co.uk/"]Cross Country[/url] magazine, where clubs and live acts also get reviewed. To Paul H - follow the link and you can download a free preview copy. Hope this all helps! Oh, and here's my band diamonds & Dirt at a club near Bristol, with yours truly on guitar and vocals: [media]http://youtu.be/IXcQaLqXkWw[/media]

I'm another drum machine user. I tried Hydrogen, but it was just too much faff for what I wanted. I like to be able to pick a style, set the tempo, and off you go. I used an SR16 for years and now have an SR18 (£110 from Cash Converters online) - the backlit display is a boon!

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1437308956' post='2824973'] Time to put down my popcorn... This topic is begging for a blind shoot-out along the lines of Lozz's Precision test. - Well-spec'd reference cab - Precision bass - blindfolded player - simple bass line - Variety of Class D and conventional SS heads, EQ set flat, volume adjusted up/down at request of blindfolded player - The whole lot behind a curtain One for the next SE Bass Bash? [/quote] [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1437313640' post='2825010'] Already done. . . last year or was it the year before? The differences were on a par with. . . do you prefer yellow socks or red socks. I didn't hear anyone say that they would be changing their amp as a result of anything they heard in the test. [/quote] Link to the thread? Can't believe I missed it!

Time to put down my popcorn... This topic is begging for a blind shoot-out along the lines of Lozz's Precision test. - Well-spec'd reference cab - Precision bass - blindfolded player - simple bass line - Variety of Class D and conventional SS heads, EQ set flat, volume adjusted up/down at request of blindfolded player - The whole lot behind a curtain One for the next SE Bass Bash?

Depping with rock/pop covers band Purple Fish - opening slot (6.45) at the Party in the Park, Melksham. Onstage sound was a bit 'unfamiliar', but my G&L 5-er sounded great through the full Demeter/Barefaced rig, and Mrs Axe reported that out it front it sounded 'like a proper bass'. I'll assume that's a good thing! Only one notable c0ck-up, when my fingers got caught in the strings during the start of Toto's 'Don't Chain My Heart'. Soon recovered though! Posing at soundcheck: Note correct LH position, and Todd Johnson stylee RH position!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1437217796' post='2824473'] I have one of those but I'm not using it for bass because despite how nice it sounds, it just cuts too much low end for me to be able to use it unless it's permanently on and compensate with the amp controls... [/quote] Part of the way the standard TS works is to roll off lows. The R18/C10 takes the HP frequency lower.

[quote name='Heket' timestamp='1437211299' post='2824422'] On a side note, if you want an amp that doesn't disturb anyone you could give the Yamaha THR series a go. They are digital modellers with 2 X 5" speakers and small enough to fit on your desk. With it I can play amplified but as it's tiny with tiny speakers the sound doesn't travel far. It still sounds good though. Don't expect to get any sort of volume out of it, but that's not what we are after here. They are not cheap but go give one a try. A bonus is that they function as an easy recording amp, just plug it into your USB socket and go. I originally got mine for guitar but love it for bass. You won't get as much use out of the models, but the other features are still just as useful. There's a Yamaha shop in London if you go near there, otherwise I've seen them in plenty of other stores. They're not advertised for bass at all, but they are suitable. [/quote] And there's one for sale in the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/265371-fs-yamaha-thr10-practice-amp-more-pics-added/"]Basschat Marketplace[/url].

To some extent that sound comes from the position of the pickup i.e. its distance from the bridge.

+1 to buying a cab. If buying/trying in person, take your MB head with you to see how the head and cab get on.

I had a Mono dual bass gig-bag but I found it too heavy and bulky. The idea was to reduce the trips from the car, but in the end I sacrificed that consideration and bought an ABS flight case (for 1 bass). If I need to take 2 basses, I have a Hiscox case.

And a word from Scott: [media]http://youtu.be/-vUNUo3TbyI[/media]

Here's a couple of mine. Boo Instruments OD-T/S tubescreamer clone - etched, and lights up round the bottom: BYOC CE-2 clone which I rescued from eBay, sprayed pale blue, and added a waterslide decal taken from the manual (before and after):

Yes, and still teaching myself. Latest resource is the Bass Bible, bought from another BCer.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1436799079' post='2820854'] The key to being able to achieve anything at all is the ability to get up in the morning and put your shoes on. I tend to avoid people who can't manage this as they are inevitably feckless, lazy bastards who think they're 'special'. Your mileage may vary. [/quote] This entirely.

1980s Ibanez SD9 Sonic Distortion pedal (sister to TS9) - £4 from Brixton Exchange (or something). They originally wanted £10 for it, then I watched the sales eejit connect it to a power supply with the wrong polarity. Unsurprisingly it didn't work, so they £5 as spares/repair. I had £4 cash or my credit card, so they took the cash. That pedal has served me well for 20 years.

[quote name='72deluxe' timestamp='1436790306' post='2820733'] They look good! Hopefully he will want to buy them, as I can't see him willingly spending money on them... [/quote] €500+ price tag, large bulky item to store and transport - you might have a problem there!

Right decision by the venue.

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1436788274' post='2820699'] The 'Tupperware' jug also dates the photo. We still have one, use it to top up the garden bird bath. Never saw Slade live, to my regret, but the first time I was aware of them they played Shape Of Things To Come live on ATV (Midlands news program). They were skinheads then. Must have been '69/'70 [/quote] Yes, Tupperware jug it was, intended to hold the blackberries we were picking. '69/70? The band might still have been known as Ambrose Slade.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1436784834' post='2820641'] Did they play the Christmas song ? [/quote] In July? Of course they did! [quote name='JellyKnees' timestamp='1436785243' post='2820647'] Was he having cuppa soup for his breakfast? [/quote] I didn't say we saw him [i]having[/i] his breakfast, I think he'd been out to get a paper. Anyway it's not on the Travelodge breakfast menu.

[quote name='Donnyboy' timestamp='1436781705' post='2820594'] What about the 1975 hairdo? [/quote] Actually this was 1976. It had grown out a fair bit but the curvature of the fringe is still clearly visible: [quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1436782035' post='2820597'] What's his hairstyle like now? [/quote] Side parting and pretty long. Let's just say the hat covers up a certain deficiency. Here he is on stage that evening with his 'Super Yob':

Mrs Axe and I went to Cambridge at the weekend. Whilst checking in at our hotel I noticed a chap talking on his mobile and realised it was Dave Hill from Slade! Another guest got a selfie with him, then I went up and shook his hand and told him about the 'Dave Hill haircut' (i.e. curved fringe) that I had in 1975. He laughed and gave me a hug, and told me that Slade (non-Noddy line-up) were at the Big Weekend free festival that night. We caught the second half of their performance, which was brilliant (Noddylessness nothwithstanding), and saw him again on our way to breakfast next morning. I am playing at a party for the wife of Slade's manager in August, so I do hope he will be there too. What a down-to-earth and friendly bloke. Before someone demands pictorial evidence - my word is my bond!

I could not live with this. If the drummer won't change, walk, and politely tell him and the rest of the band why.