EliasMooseblaster

[quote name='James Nada' timestamp='1499628086' post='3332606'] I never understood why Fender would think the Thunderbird infringed on their designs. [/quote] The argument I heard was that the "non-reverse" model looked suspiciously similar to a Fender Jaguar. But then I'm fairly sure the more common "reverse" model was released first, which of course looks nothing like a Jaguar...so I'm not sure I quite understand it either, unless Fender only piped up after the NR model was released.

Perhaps I should report back: I've had one for just over a week now, and been very pleasantly surprised that not only did it work straight away, but the JACK server also recognises it as a Scarlett 2i2!

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1499243913' post='3330175'] every time I have the misfortune to here Macca sing live these days I do wonder why he doesn't drop down a tone he's obviously struggling to hit the notes and there's no shame in it, lots of singers voices go deeper with age, either he just doesn't listen to people or surrounds himself with yes men [/quote] Because there's always an exception: I believe John Fogerty's voice might have got slightly higher with age. When I saw him a few years ago, he appeared to be playing Proud Mary in E - either that, or he makes his entire band tune down a whole tone...

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1499177674' post='3329721'] I wouldn't have a problem with a singer wanting to go up or down a tone from the written key to suit their vocal range. You even get plenty of instrumentalists wanting a different key and I don't quite understand that. [/quote] Oh I don't know, you should see the faces on some of the guitarists at my local jam when a singer asks for a song in Eb or F!

Isn't it a little ironic that those of us playing instruments which are engineered to cover a three-octave range, and laid out in such a way that figures and melodies can be easily transposed by simply moving a pattern up or down the neck, should be unhappy that someone whose instrument's range is partly determined by their genes, and whose ability to transpose is dependent on a lot of ear training and muscle memory? [INSERT LOTS OF SMILIES] Obviously a dedicated singer can train to hit any note within a range that can also be expanded with training. But in the same way that you can change the timbre of a bassline by playing it up or down an octave, some of those notes are just going to sound "better" at certain points on a singer's register. Remember that in jazz, blues, rock, pop, the "character" of the vocal line is almost as important as its being technically correct. (I can provide a case study of two different singers, if you'd like.)

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1499098325' post='3329152'] No it isn't - it's cheaper, that's why Leo changed from stacked pots. [/quote] That reminds me - which is easier to wire, if I have two humbuckers on a bass and want to include a coil tap? Or are VVT and VBT much the same if I just put a push/pull for the tap in the tone control? (Edit: sorry, just to be clear: the bass currently has master vol, master tone, and a six-way switch; but I want more control over the blend of the pickups so I'm thinking of performing a bit of surgery!)

I think my own preference is that I know how to get a couple of specific sounds out of a VVT - namely that combination of neck on full and bridge around 80%, where you get a strong, bright midrange - and I just don't know how to get it on a VBT. Probably just down to a lack of experience with blend controls, I must admit...

Years ago, I took down the details of a customer called Penny Less. When she noticed me trying to suppress a smirk, she explained that "Less" was her husband's surname, and that apparently it could have been worse - before he met her, he nearly married a woman called Ruth. My sister also reported receiving an inquiry from somebody called Breezy Pleasance, which sounds like some kind of air freshener.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1498814384' post='3327200'] what gets me is that tape is now also considered cool... TAPE!!!!!!! [/quote] Allow me to join you in waving my walking stick at the sky! Seriously, I could understand the nostalgia for vinyl, especially for albums that were originally recorded during the decades when vinyl was the dominant medium...but tape really baffles me. It's almost like the hipsters were getting worried that their boutique vinyl collections were becoming far too mainstream, so they needed to find something more obscure to play their music on. "Who cares if the sound quality was crap from the off? I can look really unique and cool as I dust off my dad's old boombox and listen to this fuzzy recording of some band you wouldn't have heard of while I rub avocado oil into my beard." Roll up and place your bets on which comes back next: 1. 78rpm gramophone records 2. cartridges 3. wax cylinders

[quote name='BassAgent' timestamp='1498219436' post='3323201'] Have you ever had that experience with a band (not necessarily Radiohead)? [/quote] Oh, hell yes. It was Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds for me. First exposure was a little sampler that came with my parents' newspaper and on the whole I didn't "get" it. I remember the CD contained Red Right Hand (which I loved) and Love Letter (which I hated). The other tracks left me cold. Initially I felt like my sister was trying to like it because he was one of those 'cult' artists that 'cool people' were supposed to 'get,' but fair play to her, she did buy a couple of albums and tried to get me into his stuff on several occasions after that - as did a couple of particularly insistent friends. But then shortly after meeting Mrs Mooseblaster, to whom I explained my bafflement at his popularity, she gave me a list of songs to try. A vastly different selection from what people had played to me previously, and it was a real lightbulb moment - suddenly, it all made perfect sense and was wonderful. Turns out I'd just been listening to the wrong tunes. There are still albums of theirs I don't get on with, though ironically one of my favourites at the moment is No More Shall We Part, from which Love Letter was taken...I no longer hate that one, but I often find myself skipping it. And speaking of Radiohead, and picking the "right" albums... [quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1498410767' post='3324383'] The first Radiohead album I truly enjoyed was, I'm afraid, Kid A. Loved them ever since. Never been that convinced by The Bends or OK Computer... [/quote] ...good to know I'm not alone! Give me anything from OK Computer onwards; the first couple of albums I really can take or leave!

My personal favourite is the guitarist on the right in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M1H7mlslfk (NB sweary music in case you're watching at work/around children/with Jehovah's Witnesses at the door)

Warmest contrafibularatories to the both of you!

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1498424763' post='3324559'] I realise the whole acoustic guitar and looper thing is his thing, but I reckon he'd be better off with a band. And a grown up's guitar. [/quote] [quote name='ROConnell' timestamp='1498464797' post='3324697'] I don't think he was that great imho. Needs a band to fill out the sound. Also his guitar is horrible looking and sounding. [/quote] [quote name='bassace' timestamp='1498465886' post='3324708'] A street corner busker. With loops. [/quote] ^ all of this. I didn't watch his Glastonbury set, admittedly, but having heard some of his songs, I'm left genuinely wondering: [b]What exactly is he doing that KT Tunstall didn't already nail about ten years before?[/b]

A couple of thoughts: [quote name='musicbassman' timestamp='1498290197' post='3323630'] Mass manufacturers can’t keep on churning out millions of guitars a year into an already saturated market, no matter how cheap and well made they are, so maybe their days are numbered. [/quote] [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1498297071' post='3323667'] Two "Gibson fan" guitarists I played with a few years ago wouldn't buy Gibson any more because the quality was so bad. [/quote] [quote name='project_c' timestamp='1498297837' post='3323680'] Fender and Gibson will be tiny custom shops for niche audiences within a couple of generations. The current situation will change gradually, but steadily, as boomers start to dwindle in numbers over the next handful of years. Electric guitars will carry on, but they will be collected by a small core following and for most people they'll be remembered with fondness, a bit like film photography. [/quote] ^ My first thought on reading the article was that it was guilty of a massive selection bias. Fender, Gibson, and Guitar Centre - huge companies who depend on shifting thousands of old and rather generic designs each year while simultaneously competing with enormous second-hand and collectors' markets that they've helped to saturate in advance? I'm not surprised they're in a spot of bother. I would be interested to see whether someone like Adrian Marusczyk or Mike Lull is having the same problems. [quote name='gjones' timestamp='1498266290' post='3323572'] My niece is in her mid twenties and she would disagree. She and her friends love guitar, based, bands. She's now one of the 10 acts that have been shortlisted for the Scottish Album Of The Year awards 2017. [/quote] Without wishing to sound patronising, is it the ladies' turn to take over what's previously been a very male-dominated field? I rather enjoyed that song, and I'm also very aware that a lot of the big names in modern blues happen to be female guitarists. I know Joe Bonamassa seems to be one of the most well-known players at the moment, but there's no shortage of people who prefer Joanne Shaw Taylor or Chantel McGregor for blues-rock, Samantha Fish for country-blues, or Erja Lyytinnen and Ana Popovic for something a bit more soul-oriented.

[quote name='christhammer666' timestamp='1498058878' post='3322282'] I have recently just left a band because I cant just book x amount of time off at the drop of a hat to swan over into Europe. They had toured before in eastern Europe and admitted some nights they stopped playing after 2 songs where the places were empty, yet they were still rattling on about about lets pay £6000 to tour with so and so or lets go and play out the back end of the world to no one........nope not for me [/quote] I completely sympathise with your stance on this one. Coincidentally, we did recently receive an invitation to buy onto a tour with some American group who were booking dates in Europe. The deal worked out at something like two grand for a fortnight's worth of dates before we even considered any accommodation, and with clearly limited ways to claw that money back from ticket sales, so our guitarist and I decided to politely decline. Just as well our drummer doesn't look at the band's email address because I'm sure he'd have had an absolute s**tfit if he knew we'd turned down a tour...

[quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1498058260' post='3322277'] I do wonder if your drummer is thinking that "making it" will lead to the rewards that Kiss and Maiden got in the '70's & 80's. I know some people from bands that are household names that barely make ends meet and have to have jobs when they come back off tour. [/quote] Funny you should bring this up - a couple of years ago, he did ask us point blank what level of success we hoped to achieve from this outfit. I had a very similar outlook to blue at this point, i.e: [quote name='blue' timestamp='1498066476' post='3322340'] Being able to pay my bills at the end of the month without working for the man is my definition of making it. [/quote] ...but when I told him as much, he scoffed and declared that he wanted to be "rich and famous." I don't know if this is just the optimist's philosophy of aiming high, but I do wonder if he genuinely believes he can achieve that lifestyle from what we're doing. You've got to admire the continued optimism in the face of both his age (late 40s) and constant negativity around everything else, but I don't know if we've put enough emphasis on the fact that groups like, e.g., Mastodon apparently lay bricks between tours to keep their bank accounts in the black. Which is daft, given that our singer knows what it's like being a charting pop singer and told us quite openly that her income was pretty modest. But then I do wonder if he's actually listening to anything that contradicts his view...see what I mean about an ideology?

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1497988673' post='3321862'] Tough story and circumstance. Unfortunately when you do this for a living and depend on the money your really locked in a box. You can't quit because things aren't going well for any reason. Not until something better comes along and your income stream isn't interested. Blue [/quote] Indeed, and I think if my hopes were still pinned entirely to the band then I would be more ready to dig in my heels and fight my corner. The difference now is that I quite like my current job, and I've a family to support. Sure, it would break my heart to walk away from six years' labour of love, but it won't kill me to be without a band for a little while. And admittedly, setting up something new, on my own terms (perhaps a bit like Steve's mate's "middle-aged-men tour" described above) is starting to sound appealing.

[quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1497956514' post='3321567'] That's OK, treat it like a confessional... I think this is an issue for a lot of bands, and it's one of my annoyances with bandmates - people have different ideas about what "commitment" means. .. I also note your frustrations over the drummers inability to explain or back up his ideas...well, he is a drummer, what do you expect? Two practical suggestions before you jack it all in, which would be real shame if you're on the verge of great things. [/quote] Thank you for this insight - it's quite reassuring to know that I'm not the only musician who's found themselves banging their head against a brick wall in situations like this. I suspect a fairly frank conversation is going to follow once we've got a festival gig out of the way in a couple of weeks, and then I strongly suspect we'll end up shedding a band member. If the drummer goes then I might be more inclined to stay...it's hard to imagine regaining my enthusiasm, but you never know! [quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1497957758' post='3321577'] If your drummer mentions Maiden as a yardstick often, it's worth mentioning that they have had one of the best managers in the business (Rod Smallwood) since very early on in their career. He has been (and continues to be, I assume) pretty much instrumental in all of the business side of things for them. [/quote] This could be very useful for halting his usual stream of verbal diarrhoea - ta kindly!

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1497955594' post='3321552'] Not necessarily. THose were very different times to the times we are now, so however important those stories are doesn't mean that it translates to now. Also this is the 'how to start a successful business' story. group x, y, and z did this and got famous, therefore doing what group X, Y and Z did must be the way to get famous. Not, it isn't, because groups a-w also did the same thing and didn't get famous. There were other things as well, luck, chemistry, right place right time, etc. How many other groups who were good enough to make it didn't? I saw Maiden when they were starting. They were good. As were a lot of other bands at the time - one made it, the others didn't. They all did similar things. [/quote] Sorry, I probably should have made it clearer that that paragraph was meant to be read in Drummer's voice! And believe me, I've tried to challenge it by asking why Saxon or Diamond Head never enjoyed the same level of success. (He doesn't like it.) [quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1497955594' post='3321552'] Personally it sounds like you have something worth doing at the moment, but the tensions are there to cause issues, you can try discussing it or try to do some compromise, but it sounds like you are on different pages at the moment. How you resolve that depends on the personalities involved and if you all can deal with each other, I doubt anyone can really help you with that and maybe some changes of people are needed before you kill each other. Anyway, good luck! [/quote] Thank you! Unfortunately I've come to dread our "business meetings" because they have a habit of He With The Biggest Gob steamrollering them with his same old lecture. But I think I'm now at the point where if I can't get through that brick wall, I'm ready to pick up my ball and go home.

I haven't quit yet, but I feel like I'm on the cusp of doing so. I'm really just popping in here for a gamut of second opinions to confirm or allay my suspicions that I already know the answer... After six years of working at it, I think we've grown apart. A couple of years ago, I think we were all on more-or-less the same page, i.e., "let's try and make this profitable." I had a job which paid quite well, but it was turning out to be quite unfulfilling. Perhaps naively, I hoped I could transition to making music full-time. 2015 had some definite high points (alongside some real lows), but a few things were starting to come apart. Our guitarist and I felt we'd achieved a lot (new EP crowdfunded and recorded, first gig abroad, big festival to finish the year), but looking at the books it was quite clear that this venture was a long way off replacing our salaries. The main focus had been getting the EP released and playing as far and wide as we could, so we started looking at different approaches. Our drummer, on the other hand, was utterly convinced that if we just carried on with exactly the same model, this band would somehow start to pay four people a salary. When we questioned his logic, he insisted that the only reason it hadn't worked was because we didn't put on "enough of a show." Now, I understand the need for a band to be entertaining, and to be more than just four blokes going through the motions on a stage. But I thought our stage presence was pretty good, so we asked him what we should do differently. The response was vague, at best. So in 2016 I began a radically different approach: fewer gigs, emphasising quality over quantity, and in the meantime I started a new strategy to build the band's presence online. And it worked: suddenly we were taking more and more orders for CDs, and we had people dropping us messages via Twitter or Facetube to ask when we were going to come and play up their way. It certainly wasn't glamorous, but it was working - finally I felt like we had a footprint. Our first gig that year was up in Oxford. Things were off to a good start, we thought. Our singer stayed up there with some friends, and I crashed at my sister's place, leaving our guitarist to drive back with just the drummer for company. Apparently he whinged the whole way back to London: we're not playing enough gigs; we're not playing the right gigs; when Kiss were starting out in the '70s...; when Iron Maiden were going up and down the country in a van... It seems the problem is that I'm up against an ideology. He's read biographies of Kiss, Maiden, Zappa, Zeppelin, etc., and assumes he therefore knows the whole story: these bands went and played absolutely everywhere, and here are some bleak but faintly amusing anecdotes about sh***y motels and snorting coke off groupies, but ultimately it was touring that broke them. They succeeded where others failed by virtue of the quality of their live show. Which is kind of true, if you're prepared to gloss over the massive omissions, such as: who made sure that people were coming to see these shows in the first place? Who or what bankrolled them enough to go and play these places? Who handled the bookings and made sure they got paid? He seems content to look at the bigger picture but lose interest when asked to consider these fine but very important details. Worse still, he gets very flustered when presented with the awkward question of how one makes this old model work since, for a number of reasons, the bottom has completely dropped out of that market? Our priorities have changed, in the meantime. Our guitarist began making plans to move back to Wales, and operate remotely. Given the opportunities I'd found, I was quite happy with this. Drummer was speechless. When I then announced that my partner and I were expecting a baby, he flounced and quit the band (for about the fifth or sixth time in its existence), saying we weren't taking he band seriously enough. I haven't yet told him that I quite enjoy my new day job... In spite of all this, by the end of 2016, I was on a bit of a high: I had some great sales figures to report. They were still miles off transforming our fortunes but it was much better progress than we'd made previously, and it had great potential to grow. Sadly this fell on deaf ears. I'm still being asked why we're not playing more gigs, why we're not playing paid gigs, and I can only point out the bleedin' obvious so many times, especially given that I'm not a very argumentative person, especially in comparison to our singer and drummer who are more inclined to open their mouths first and engage their brains later. I wanted to press on with the work I was doing, to prove a point, but I feel like the wind's been taken out of my sails. Things will change quite radically when our guitarist moves, but even knowing that, I'm finding it hard to muster the enthusiasm I used to have. At last night's rehearsal, drummer was still banging on about touring. I made my case quite clearly, that it wasn't fair for me for me to abandon my family for days on end. Text to the group as I was heading home read, "I'm going to look into touring the continent. When do you think you'll be able to leave your family for a week?" On the one hand, I'd like to watch him try, so maybe he can realise how much f***ing effort the guitarist and I have to put into arranging a half-decent gig. On the other hand, I don't know how much more of this I can put up with. [b]Edit:[/b] Jesus, that went on a bit, didn't it? Sorry for the length, but it was good to consolidate my thoughts...

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1497874341' post='3320978'] That's OK if there's a house backline, and the gear isn't junk. I'd certainly want to know before booking it. They should have a printed handout of what's there. [/quote] Oh, we've done plenty of gigs with house backline - some definitely better than others! But this time they've actually specified "due to restrictions, guitars are all DIed, no amplifiers."

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1497820683' post='3320743'] #2 asking for a before-amp DI is completely illogical ([b]its not like they are going to insist a guitarist does this[/b] for example or that a keyboard player gives them a raw midi out put etc) [/quote] Well...never say never, and all that - I've recently been offered a slot on a gig where we've been told expressly not not to bring any amps at all, due to the venue's licence ([i]apparently[/i]). So both bass and lead guitar would have to be DIed...needless to say I'm leaning towards declining this one...

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1497533338' post='3318929'] Not sure on the body design.... [/quote] It does look a bit like someone cut-and-shut the front of an Aria body onto the back of an Alembic. Looks like a nice piece of wood, mind.

[quote name='richardjmorgan' timestamp='1497529887' post='3318892'] My initial thought was the Orange Terror Bass, as I'd heard good things about it and liked what I heard on the occasions I've seen it being used, but it seems they don't make it any more. TL;DR: Recommend me an amp / loud stoner rock / as small and portable as possible. [/quote] Have they discontinued the OTB? That's a shame, it's probably ideal for the job, but it's probably worth scouring the second-hand market for one. Alternatively an Ashdown Little Bastard 550 would probably fit the bill, and I think there was one floating 'round the marketplace here recently at a good price. If I remember rightly, both are a valve preamp and a SS power stage - so you'll probably need to hit the pre quite hard to get the benefits of the valves, but the 500/550W power stages will handle the deep bass frequencies* without making the amp a back-breaker. I think both have got 4 and 8 Ohm outputs, which should give you some flexibility hopping between cabs. *Ashdowns seem to be particularly good at pumping out sub frequencies - I have two of their all-valve models and I nearly always find myself backing off the bass control.

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1497435658' post='3318060'] Given the breadth of suggestions here I think it's safe to say that there are a ton of mics out there which do a better job than an SM58 and cost less. It's just the stubbornness of sound engineers which has kept them on the pedestal of being "The Industry Standard"... [/quote] Credit where it's due: the SM58's been a reliable go-to for donkey's years, while the Behringer and some of the other contenders will be relatively new to the market. I'd be interested to see if there's any shift in this "Industry Standard" over the coming years, mind!