ambient

Shouldn't it be [i]luthiery[/i] ?

If its not too big then postage should be pretty cheap. I posted a MB head recently for about £5, use MyHermes and drop it off.

Before my dad retired from his business, he had a system he called his P.N.S. system for late payers. P = Polite letter. N = Nasty letter. S = Solicitors letter. The N letter threatened the use of the S letter and usually had the desired effect. I'd skip the P and go straight to the N threatening the S.

I just tend to use Logic. There are some ok drum loops in there, and I just play in II/V/I's or whatever and practice over them. There's iReal for iPhones and iPads, that's supposed to be very good.

Mine's in baritone melody at the moment, I'm probably going to switch to standard. I've only played it for about 10 minutes so far, it's actually easier than I expected. The bass strings, although they go from high to low, are tuned the same as my basses top 5 strings E-C, so that's not really a problem knowing what the notes are. The melody side is C#, F#, B, E, A. Again, in the very short time I've had to play with it, the top 3 strings are easy to remember, and find my way around. I have to keep reminding myself about the C# and F#, which way around they are .

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1398629167' post='2436026'] He did, but he lost me a bit as he was talking in terms of individual strings & not "Matched Reciprocal", "Baritone Melody" or whatever. (To be honest I was so awestruck at being in a little club in Cardiff talking to Tony Levin I couldn't really get my head around it). I've just sold my 12 string Grand that I bought last October - really couldn't get on with the extra neck width & narrower string spacing compared with my old 10 string. [/quote] This suggests that he might use different tunings on different songs ? [url="http://www.elephant-talk.com/wiki/Interview_with_Tony_Levin_on_America_Online_chat"]http://www.elephant-talk.com/wiki/Interview_with_Tony_Levin_on_America_Online_chat[/url]

Off topic a bit, but 'Sound on Sound' is still a really good magazine, so why can't BGM be as good ? I know a couple of people who write for BGM, there are a couple of good interviews coming up, but again probably nothing that you can't discover in a few minutes of googling .

What I would say is if it's your dream then do it, try it. If it doesn't work out then you've at least tried, better to try than to spend the rest of your life wondering [i]what if, or if onl[/i]y. Like people have pointed out, there're a load of things to do as well as the singer/songwriter, all of which keep you employed within the music business. There's a songwriter course where I study, I know some of them organise a songwriting circle once a fortnight. That's maybe something else to add to the portfolio. Charge people a small amount for coming in etc. Kind of like an open mic, but for original material only.

It's not a Tom Clement. The giveaway is the fact it's a thru neck, he only makes bolt-ons.

Well as if yesterday, this amazing instrument is now mine 😊

There was a postal address on his website at Christmas, he built a ramp for one of my basses. The website shows the number as 01163 486954 and the address as 30, Steyning crescent, Glenfield, Leicester. LE3 8PJ

Just bought my new Chapman Stick from Pete. A really great instrument, and a great guy to deal with. Recommended.

Just sold my Markbass cab to Martin. A really great and easy transaction. Hope you enjoy it !

I think you have to consider what you personally want and need from life. A lot has been said about paying bills and buying houses. The reality is very few jobs nowadays pay enough to get a mortgage, that's why more and more people are renting. People can't raise the often huge deposit, and then there's the repayments and job insecurity. Consider the bills that you pay each month. You have to pay for somewhere to live, and to heat and provide electricity for where you live, and food to eat. [b][i]But[/i][/b] Do you need the super bumper platinum Sky TV package, when you probably only watch 3 channels anyway and do you have to have the latest electronic gadgetry, new flatscreen TV and mobile phone and games console ? Do you have to spend a fortnight in the sun on the Costa Del Whatever every year ? What about changing your car regularly ? Buying new clothes every season ? Eating out regularly ? [i][b]Or[/b][/i] Can you make do without any of that nonsense, and be satisfied in what you do for a living ? Being a professional musician is a lifestyle, not just a job.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1398516416' post='2434876'] I love the way that "Jack of all trades, master of none" has now become "Portfolio Career"..... [/quote] I kind of disagree with that a bit, you have to be good at all, otherwise you won't get asked to them.

Try this [url="http://www.seventhstring.com"]http://www.seventhstring.com[/url] Very cheap considering what you can do with it.

There are lots of things you can add to your portfolio, you really just need to use your imagination, and if you think of an opportunity then grasp it and act on it. I know Steve Lawson does seminars/masterclasses about online marketing/ use of social media and things like that. There's busking too, especially if you live in a touristy area, and can come up with a different slant on it, Chapman stick playing or solo bass looping maybe ? Running a website with music educational resources is a possibility. Stage/instrument tech'ing.

To do a trade or a sale ? I've met people in railway stations, tube stations, coffee shops, Tate modern.

You need a 'portfolio' of skills. Teaching - not just bass, but general music/theory/harmony/sight-reading/ear training/music tech. Playing live. Production. Session work. Journalism maybe, both online and published. I know a couple of people who write for BG magazine. Arranging. Composing. Music tech skills are really useful. I did some work for my cousin last year. She trains and rides dressage horses. I did several CD's for her routines. They use classical music, it needs to be linked to each horses gait. I'm doing some soon for some friends of hers.