thepurpleblob

I got some Sennheiser wireless cans because I was getting fed up of the cable getting in the way. However, a word of warning. They have massive compression - play loud and they wind back the volume a quite incredible amount.

Changed a battery on my Stingray the night I got it - its first gig. The battery cable had been trapped during manufacturer and opening the compartment snapped the wires. Luckily a Stingray just (only just) works passive if you crank everything up. I don't recommend it.

My answer used to be = "I don't use one. I used to be a drummer and my timing is at least as good as any drummer I have played with". What I have come to realise that I might be less good at is locking in with drummers whose timing isn't spot on and drifts about a bit. There's no point fighting it as you just don't sound tight. I'm not sure what the answer to that is and/or if rigorous metronome / drump-loop training would help...

Seek out a guy called John Doole (last seen in Oxford). He is most definitely a guitar player who happens to teach bass but he still has a real feel for bass, has a deep understanding of the blues and of theory and is dead easy to get on with. EDIT: Here you go [url="http://www.thetutorpages.com/tutor/john-doole-guitar-bass-piano-tuition-oxford"]http://www.thetutorpages.com/tutor/john-do...-tuition-oxford[/url]

Cars, ships, guitars etc... I don't think, no matter how hard you look, that you're going to find any reproductive equipment. They are all "it" I'm afraid

Does Simon Neill of Biffy Clyro fame not come from Irvine.... he seems to be doing ok Mind you, he had to go all the way to Kilmarnock to form a band.

My greatest revelation was finding that expensive, boutique basses are cr*p. Well, they aren't good at anything I care about. I variously play a rather rough MIJ Precision, which sounds brilliant and a nice Stingray which, if I'm honest with myself, probably isn't as good as the Precision but looks a lot better. Anything more expensive that I have tried just sounds rubbish.

To repeat.... find a tutor, join a band. Also, if you are learning four or five songs a day then you are not pushing yourself. Find something to learn that you can't learn in a day. Have you considered learning to play something else? - learning keyboards / guitar / drums will open up some new perspectives. Can you read music? If not, why not? Consider doing all that grade nonsense to improve your theory? Learn jazz? The trick is to keep one step outside of your comfort zone but a good tutor would help immensely with that.

The best bit of advice I was ever given by a tutor - "don't let your interest in music spoil your enjoyment of it" You know when you are playing a gig and there's a little bunch of guys at the back standing stock-still staring at you intently - bloody musicians!!

I don't think it makes any odds if your time is taken up with church / having three jobs / charity stuff / anything else. You have something that you prioritise higher than music and you are clear about that. That is a much better than kidding yourself that you can dedicate more time that you can. Stick an advert in glasgow.gumtree.com and see what happens. I found every band that I've been in (and been kicked out of) that way. There's lots of activity in the Glasgow area - I'm sure that you'll find something that suits your needs. Also, there are bands out there that for one reason or another only want to gig once a month or less (I'm in one) so please don't reject the fun and great experience that is playing live gigs!

No effects here. Any effect I have ever tried either seems to make no audible difference at all or makes such a huge difference as to be unusable. Having said that I mostly thump away down the thin end of the neck where it's more about moving volumes of air. I might feel differently if I had the skills/motivation to be noodling away at the dusty end!

I'm a bit of a neurotic and it's only when I know a gig hasn't been organised properly that it starts to get to me. I'm old and miserable enough that I mostly try to avoid that sort of gig. When I used to play way too much it got a bit like that too. That was mostly complete exhaustion though.

A nice old Stingray or a nice old Fender USA-something. You can't go far wrong and/or loose money, surely, even if it doesn't pan out.

This is really cool.... I really like the bass player's (subtle) technique

The first record I ever bought was an Elton John single - Crocodile Rock to be exact

Another one here. I've been very taken with Ms Goulding - you can tell she's going to be good because she doesn't look like a porn star, which seems to be all that is required these days! Mind you, good luck to the GaGa woman. She's a bit weird and there's nothing wrong with that !!

I can play fingerstyle and that's it. I'd really like to learn to play with a pick but I find it really difficult. The sound would suit a lot of things I play, though. Unless I suddenly join some sort of eighties revival band, slapping seems completely pointless and, if I may say so, a little vulgar too

I can play (and own) both 4 and 5 string quite comfortably but 90% of the time I take the 4. I can't quite sort it out in my head but I don't think I completely get on with the narrow string spacing and/or wider neck of a 5. A six just seems weird

[quote name='phil.mcglassup' post='1008148' date='Nov 1 2010, 08:48 AM']Well I think I'm wasting my time!! And why oh why do guitarists 'widdle' the same old cliched riff from a an old classic that has been played to death, -the sort of riff that is banned from musical instrument shops? Maybe 'cos they can't play anything else!![/quote] The laws that govern the universe say that they must!!

I am banned from sayig, "but that's not how it is on the record"

It depends on the song - but a couple of rehearsals to nail it usually. I think there's a certain attitude/discipline to playing covers. Most players that are any good at it eventually get used to nailing a whole set in a couple of evenings. It's a skill in itself - spotting the bits that matter I suppose. It's only vaguely related to playing skill.

"I predict a riot". Mostly because it's a thrashed through set closer. The song actually has some subtlety to it but not the way we play it. It's more embarrassing than hateful to be honest....