Norris

A few years ago I was in a Pink Floyd tribute band. We rehearsed for 3 years near enough, but never played a gig in that time. The sound was actually fantastic, trying to get as close to the original as possible and occasionally borrowing live arrangements from the then recent Pulse live dvd/cd. The keyboard player/band leader wanted it to be just right - a perfectionist, and the rest of us were willing to try to achieve that. Damn we got close, but that's probably another thread "The best band that never happened" Anyway, at one point we needed to get a new second guitarist. The existing singer/guitarist was excellent, and would spend ages getting his parts spot on. However to do the arrangements justice we needed another competent guitarist, who could share solo duties too. You lot seem to have extremely good memories, whereas my recollections of the audition process are a little more hazy. However here are three candidates that stuck out from the crowd... Guitarist A. Brilliant guitarist, lovely feel and very expressive playing. Didn't learn the actual recordings as requested, and "interpreted" the solos. Good for a pub band, but not for an "every nuance" tribute. Guitarist B. Turned up with a stack about 8ft high. Fuzz, fuzz, widdley, widdley. Bye. Guitarist C. This is the one that really sticks in my mind. He was slightly older than us, but then we were no spring chickens either. Modest gear, but seemed keen enough. We start with the first song of 4 we'd given them to learn. He gets about a verse into it and kind of drifts out and stops playing. We try the song once or twice again and the same thing happens. Ok, move onto the song he says he knows best and get him to play the solo... hmm. Faltering again. Eventually we realised that he was totally in awe of the sound, especially the other guitarist. So much so that he forgot to play and was happy to stand there listening. He finally admitted that what we wanted was beyond his capabilities. Eventually we found a decent young guitarist, keen to the extent that he had Dave Gilmour signature pickups in his strat. He picked up the parts quickly, and played them accurately. Great - we were getting somewhere. Three months later he announced that he was leaving to go to university. After that we decided to give up and continue with one guitar, putting the essential second parts on the backing track. Eventually we thought we might actually be ready to gig. That's when the drummer announced that he'd been helping us out all this time (because he's a mate), but he's not really into the music, can we find a replacement? Then it finally folded having never played a gig.

I didn't want say...

@KiOgon could help you there. He made me a new loom with series/parallel switch for my PJ

+1 for musescore. It might be slightly more quirky than Sibelius but it's free. It has voicing enough for composition, unlimited tracks afaik and then you can output a midi file to use in Reaper if you want to use some decent samples

It's called finesse. Some drummers have it, believe it or not

Sweet looking bass. Well done!

Looks interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress. Take your time, think things through and I'm sure you'll be fine. The best tool in your toolbox is free - it's patience

Bring yours if you fancy @KevB. I wasn't planning to bring mine (early 4003, before the vintage switches were fitted as standard) but can easily do so on request... I have a gig in the evening so am trying to reduce the amount of clearing & packing up I have to do

Wear your bass with the strings facing outwards for improved ergonomics and much better sustain

They are too busy racing up and down the racks in order to fill their beige boxes to give a hoot

You could look for a sanding belt in the bargain bin of your local DIY emporium. Then stick it on with normal wood glue and trim to size with a Stanley knife when dry

I never could get on with picks Great for getting stray pieces of beef out of your teeth though

I started learning acoustic guitar as a kid but never really got on with it and gave it up. Instead, I was fairly proficient on piano and bass trombone (having migrated from trumpet to ever larger and deeper brass instruments). These days I own nearly as many guitars as basses, but regard myself as strictly amateur. I play for my own enjoyment but wouldn't consider inflicting it on an audience Edit: In fact I only discovered fairly recently that guitarists "cheat" - they don't hit the whole chord on the beat a lot of the time, but hit a few key notes while they are still forming the chord. Maybe that's why it can sometimes take a while to transition from a bass player mentality, where you have to hit the beat

These decals are MUCH thinner than the old Airfix ones. Same principle though, just a bit more fragile

A "clear" coat will probably give it a honey tint anyway. Got any scrap to try it on?

Anybody else think he looked less creepy WITH the makeup?

I think to get a great live bass sound you need to spit REAL blood, not that fake stuff. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Gene... oh - you don't do drugs

Why not. I wouldn't mind taking a look at how it's put together as I'm planning to build a multi-scale at some point

Conductive paint is another alternative. I think I got mine from Black Cat Music iirc

If you're going to glue it maybe consider mitering the corners i.e. cut at 45°. That will give you a slightly bigger gluing surface. I'd probably still put a staple across the join as well

I'll be bringing an example along to the East Mids bash, if anyone wants to see/hear/smell/touch/taste one

It might be a bit on the edge of your travel zone, but last summer I was down in Cornwall, in "Poldark" country. There were quite a few abandoned mine buildings that were accessible to the public, although maybe slightly more ruined than you're looking for. You might need to choose your time to avoid tourists though.

My guitarist regularly plays a Vintage in preference to the many more expensive guitars he owns. I prefer my Squire to the other more expensive basses I own. Don't get hung up on the name on the headstock. Play the one that feels and sounds great

If needs be you might be able to get hold of a new metal strip. It looks very similar to the edging strips used in some VW camper vans e.g. edging the table. Certainly you can still get hold of most things like that for restoring campers, as there are still loads of them around. Edit: Ah-ha... https://camperinteriors.co.uk/products/plastic-insert-for-table-edging-black-other-colours-available-per-metre

Have you tried prising the rubber/plastic centre out of the metal strip? You might find some nails under there. I think that's how they are normally fixed on. Edit: warming it with a hairdryer might soften it slightly