Norris

I've forgotten my bass before now. The worst one was probably the time I forgot we even had a gig - my mobile rang just as our food arrived...

[quote name='CraigyJ' timestamp='1332270407' post='1585914'] ... Being a guitarist a new set of strings is even alien to me...I will often leave a set of strings on a guitar for a year or so...but it would seem with a bass they fade very quickly...something I didn't know...!! ... [/quote] Some strings fade quicker than others. I've always used [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/8377-ernie_ball_4_string_bass_slinky_nickel_strings_50_105_regular_slinky_50_105"]Ernie Ball [/url]strings which are relatively cheap, readily available and hold their tone a lot longer than a lot of others I could mention. Going back to the bass, if a string and/or pickup swap doesn't sort your issues, maybe look at P/J basses - which have a precision-style humbucker neck pickup and jazz-style single coil bridge pickup. That will give you a good range of tones to play with. If you search for 'fender aerodyne' you'll see the sort of thing, although Squier and other makers do similar affordable basses of reasonable quality.

Anything active - if it has a battery compartment, take it away I prefer thin necks like Jazzes or Rickenbackers, so have never fancied MM - the one I tried 20 years ago was too chunky

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1331816141' post='1579314'] If the neck relief/action/set-up is close to optimal (for you) in the first place, I'd not bother. If it's going to need lots of adjustment, then ask them if they've ever touched it. Given it's not that old, I doubt it will have seized.. [/quote] This ^

Congratulations Clarky! I'll give it a listen when I get home

Of course you already know they're headlining the Reading & Leeds festival this year?...

... and in response to the "backing tracks 'aint music" comments, you try doing a full-on Pink Floyd tribute without any sound effects. Or splitting the mediocre money between the three backing singers, saxophonist, three guitarists, two keyboard players, bass and drums you'd need to reproduce all of those overdubs accurately.

I was in a band that used click & backing tracks extensively. We had it set up on a PC and used Ableton Live, plus some other gismo software that could also cue video playback. As others have suggested, just the drummer could hear the click. It all worked well, although it did take many months to get all of the technology working together smoothly - and more importantly triggering instantly when the keyboard player hit the relevant key. It's a shame the band didn't last long enough to do any gigs I'm not sure if a PC is the best way to go, but your options are limited when you are using a LOT of samples, without doing a final mix-down and want them all to hand without having to swap drives/reconfigure stuff. Most appliances don't have enough storage capacity (or at least didn't when we were doing our thing).

Wow - what a necro post! You still can't beat a curly cable for keeping your practise area tidy though

It's a basschat rule that within six months of joining you must own three basses, have already sold at least two more on to other members and be seriously looking to replace your rig. You'd better get a move on! Edit: To get rid of the accidental subscript that made the writing miniscule

If they were XLRs, the face would be flusher and more aethetically pleasing, plus it would have more contact area and a better locking mechanism. Also, it could give you some extra cores to run both 9v & 18v to your active bass from a power supply.

Bloody hell, that looks expensive! Edit: Hang on, it's Line 6...

[quote name='lxxwj' timestamp='1330189340' post='1553945'] Are Squier basses actually any good? [/quote] Mine is. I have an Indonesian Squier P-Bass Special - basically a P/J with Jazz neck & P body. It sounds excellent even with the stock pups, and I am currently playing it in preference to my US Jazz and my Gibson Thunderbird

From the 'pub covers band' point of view, the number of venues offering live music in Leicestershire has dwindled considerably over the years. The handful of places that survive are those that regularly put on [u]good[/u] music and pull in [u]local[/u] people. Few people will travel very far to a pub these days, pub drink is more expensive than that stuff in your fridge at home and people can easily get into the habit of not going out. The way to thrive is to ensure the locals know that on a Friday night they can pop down to the Basschatter's Arms and have a great night regardless of which band is on. This of course makes it difficult for any new venue that wants to put bands on. They need to accept that they are probably going to run at a loss for the first 6 months and promote like crazy until they are wedged firmly in the local subconciousness. Even that is no guarantee sometimes.

On my first gig I was there to watch the old bass player who was leaving. They got me up to play one song - Red Red Wine (yeah, I know, but it [i]was[/i] back in '84). Two weeks later I took over from him completely, and then went off on a summer season with the band. I never looked back.

My Rickenbacker 4002 that I part-ex'd for next to nothing in about 1986 for an Aria SB-1000. I couldn't afford more than one bass at a time back then

OK, who signed me up for TalkB*****s and can I have BassChat back please?!

Voice of Experience: Tell your guitarist to NOT keep his guitar tucked behind the sofa up against the radiator. It will take several hours to come back down to normal room temperature, and will not hold tune while doing so

You ought to have kept that Squier P-J you sold me and used the pups from that. No, you're not having it back

Khakiglo?

Sometimes a bit of whispering Bob, sometimes wander over to Radio 3, sometimes just drive in silence. The drive home is great, especially in the pre-dawn light

Drummer has a chest infection that four different antibiotics have failed to shift so far

I bought this [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/162766-fs-squier-p-bass-special-pewter-pj-l140-sold"]Squier P-J[/url] just before Xmas. It's a fantastic bass & the P pup makes for some great tone. I've gigged a few times now and am quite happy to be waving a Squier logo around. After all, it's all about the sound, not the label.

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1328552925' post='1529001'] I know what the person meant about the audience not listening. I think they meant that the tone of the bass is not foremost in most punters minds so probably isn't as big a deal as we might think. [/quote] The punters probably feel the bass more than hear it, and only really notice it when it's not there. However the tone does have an effect on the rest of the band - who are (hopefully) listening to it, and that can affect the performance - making the difference between a good gig and a cracking one. Oh, and I choose my favourite bass of the moment - currently my Squier PJ. My Jazz is wondering if it's ever going to see daylight again, and the Thunderbird is wondering what the hell happened! Both are more comfortable to play than the Squier, but the compliments about the tone from the other band members will keep it as my gigging bass for some time.

[quote name='hairyhaw' timestamp='1328461130' post='1527392'] On the subject of tribute bands - The Musical Box spring to mind - several members of Genesis have either sat in (Hackett, Collins) or been in the audience (Rutherford, Gabriel) so yeah, a funny old business. [/quote] Now there's a good tribute band! Good enough for Genesis to lend them the original slideshow when they did their Lamb Lies Down tour.