FinnDave

Yep, we do that, too!

I'm just the same, I keep buying Jazz basses because I feel lost without one or two, but I mostly play Precisions. Right now, though, I am going through phase where I actually play the Jazz basses!

Played quite a few gigs for GK pubs int he last year or so, all paid via Invapay. No problems except one where the LL was sacked on the night of the gig - once I found the replacement, we were paid straight away. The small fee (usually about £3.00) is insignificant.

I'd quit, non-driving drummers can be a real pain, means they aren't responsible for getting their own kit to a show, so they get sloppy, and not driving can mean they'll drink & smoke more than is good for the music. I'm slowly stepping away from a band I've been in for the last five years as this becomes more and more of an issue.

You really can't go wrong with Born to be Wild, though Lozz!

We play some unusual covers in The Wirebirds, and it's surprising how well they go down - several times we've had people thank us for playing stuff like Steppenwolf's 'The Pusher' and tell us they'd never heard it except in the movie (Easy Rider). I was not sure it was a good song to play at the average pub, but there's always a few who are singing along, having a great time.

Most definitely not listening to that - never been my thing.

I do have (and use) a SansAmp, but can't say I've read past the first page of the manual. I have spent a lot of the past 20 years living in rural Finland, which is similar to living under a rock, but with less social life!

Whenever I've found myself in a band playing music I don't enjoy, I've left. I got involved with a Nightwish tribute band last year simply because I knew and respected the singer and guitarist who asked me to join, but once I started trying to learn the music, I found it unlistenable, so I left. I now play for a Grateful Dead tribute, and as the Dead's music is mostly all I listen to anyway, I'm very happy to be playing it. I also play in a couple of local blues bands, and enjoy the people and the playing, but rarely listen to the music for pleasure.

I'm stunned by how many of the bands put forward as 'global successes' here I haven't heard of. I remember Yes (a friend liked them, I couldn't stand them) and Rush (same friend liked them, I couldn't stand them either). Strangely enough, we are still friends and still have quite different musical tastes. Kings X? I thought it was a station. I have, until this thread, never heard of a band of that name. I'm not proud of my ignorance, but neither do I feel inclined to look them up. I have existed quite happily in my limited world for many years now, haven't listened to the radio for the last 40 years or more, very rarely watch TV (have to hear it though, my wife enjoys it, I usually sit facing away from it, often listening to music through headphones to drown out the constant chatter of the telly).

Lovely pair of Fenders, really like the natural finish, but prefer a dark fingerboard personally. I have the same experience as you, but the other way around, with US Standard Precisions and Mexican Jazzes. I swapped my US Jazz for a US Precision last year, and my new MiM Jazz is a perfectly good replacement for it.

Cheers, I'll try that, and your other tip.

Cheers, I'll check that out.

Not a make I'd come across before, but I will certainly pay more attention to them in the future.

Took it along to an 'acoustic' blues jam this afternoon and it sounded great - so long as I played the A, D, and G strings, The E string was virtually inaudible. I tried a fresh battery in the pre-amp, but it made no difference. I have no idea whether mine is faulty or if they're all like that, and if faulty, how expensive the fix is. I bought it to use at home simply because it sounds a lot better than an unplugged solid electric, so I'm not bothered. But any suggestions about the problem, and especially the cure, would be welcomed.

Never broken a bass string in 40 years plus of playing, nearest I came to it was last year when my bass and its stand fell into the drum kit during a break and the G string was all but completely severed by a cymbal. I completed the gig with a second bass and changed the string later.

There's a Wiltshire venue I've played in several times, and the first time we were there they put tables around the band, which we removed, but the pub's security guys (really) insisted we put them back. Once we started playing and the place filled up, we were glad of them!

'More efficient use of time' - I like that! I am up in Leicester about once a month at the moment, but we cram as much as we can into each rehearsal, so if I do make a BB in the area, it will be a short stop at the end of the day. Hopefully, that will work out some time though.

There's a toy I'd never heard of, but uncle Google reveals all. Not quite ready to drop 3 times what I paid for the bass on a pre-amp just now, I'll try it through my SansAmp and see how that goes. My main reason for buying the acoustic is so I can just sit here on the sofa and learn songs from iTunes playlists without having to get any gear out. Pure laziness!

Strangely, I hadn't spotted the ad until yesterday, and it was the words 'near Oxford' that caught my eye, by mid afternoon I was having an enjoyable chat with the seller (top bloke, by the way), and by half four me & the bass were back at home. I've been asked to take it to a blues jam this afternoon, I'll take a Fender in case the acoustic isn't suitable, but it is very playable, and goes up to a high F if you can reach it!

I thought I'd be in Leicester rehearsing that day, but it's been arranged for the following week now. I'll be in Devon next weekend, not exactly local to the bash!

Thank you, Josie, I've often thought of getting an acoustic, but couldn't see myself using it enough to justify spending a few hundred on one, but this was under 100 and only 25 mins drive away. It has a quite different character to my Jazz and Precision basses, makes a good change.