HeavyJay

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='451716' date='Apr 1 2009, 05:04 PM']Hi all Due to a bit of double booking confusion between me and our drummer (it's always his fault though) i could do with finding a replacement band for an annual ball. It's an army do so not too formal (they booked us cos we aren't the usual old wedding band codgers), should be a riot. One we were looking forward to playing but it seems our drummer had booked us in for a civil partnership function so meh Possibility of follow up gigs too if they like ya. It's 18-50s so a variety of material would be ideal, we do older 60s/70s, a bit of TRex and Beatles, then more modern stuff later on (Kings of Leon, Killers etc.) Any takers? Pm me with details and i'll pass them on Cheers! Steve[/quote] PMed!

[quote name='xgsjx' post='449643' date='Mar 30 2009, 04:54 PM']I might have a look at these. & here's me thinking they run out of T's & only had N's left.[/quote] It took me two days but I just got that.

[quote name='bremen' post='449645' date='Mar 30 2009, 04:58 PM']They write songs and everything, and probably tune their instruments.[/quote] Sellouts!

[quote name='yorks5stringer' post='449506' date='Mar 30 2009, 02:45 PM']Looks like you may have taken a shine to it? I had a Shine Telebass that was well put together and passed the Ronseal test ( did what it said on the tin) but you see loads of their 5 and 6 stringers on ebay and they don't seem to keep their value. If you bought new at £275 I guess as long you did not expect to get the money back when you sell on then it looks cool and presumably sounds OK. Epiphone do as similar one based(!) on the EB2 and I think Italia do something simliar as well. P.S. Don't expect a hi-fi tone! P.P.S. Get back to work![/quote] Yeah yeah! hehe:) I've been tempted by both of those but this price made the Shine the favourite.

[quote name='Delberthot' post='449511' date='Mar 30 2009, 02:50 PM']I had one of their neck through 8 string basses. Very well made but the clear coating always looked cheap to me. didn't they make Epiphones at one point?[/quote] The dude in the shop said the factory that Shines are made in make Epiphone and Ibanez too, this is their own brand. Wiki says this: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shine_Guitars"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shine_Guitars[/url] Edited for poor grammar.

I've seen a [url="http://www.saein.co.kr/2007/bass/spb1100h.php"]Shine SPB1100H[/url] for £275. Are they any good? I had a play yesterday and it felt quite nice with a fairly decent tone, looks cool as hell too. Anyone got any experiences with Shine basses in general or this bass in particular? Ta

[quote name='lozbass' post='447102' date='Mar 27 2009, 12:15 PM']I'd advise strongly against staying in Manchester at all if possible. However, if the stay is non-negotiable, you could do worse than a trip to: (i) Music Ground (on Oxford Road opp. the BBC building) (ii) Dawsons (music shop - on Portland Street opp. Britannia Hotel) (iii) Rusholme for a fantastic curry - Rusholme is just past the University area - around 40 restaurants on Wilmslow Rd (a continuation of Oxford Rd - see above) - my personal favourite is the Punjab Tandoori - excellent Dosas, Paneer Tikka, and Shahi Paneer. Prices are extremely reasonable (iv) URBIS gallery space - nice bar on the seventh or eighth floor - expensive but exclusive booze and a great view over the city (v) Chinatown for the best value lunch in the city - lots of restaurants around George St and Faulkner St in the city centre offering a three course lunch for £5.50 (vi) my house to buy one of the lovely basses I'm selling (Fender Jazz '76; Fender Jazz Masterbuilt fretless; Sei Jazz 4?) Good luck - pack a big umbrella and a stab-proof vest. Cheers, Lozbass[/quote] You beat me to it! I was going to say "I recommend getting the f*ck out of Manchester"! In all seriousness however, I always seem to gravitate towards Oldham Street and the [b]Night and Day[/b] and [b]Dry Bar[/b]. Seen some wicked bands at both of those places.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='446975' date='Mar 27 2009, 10:12 AM']Over twenty years of playing, that works out at less than an hour and a half playing a day... I've easily put in more than 10,000 hours... but I'm by no means a virtuoso. Sounds like BS to me.[/quote] I've not read the book and it could well be nonsense but I think the point is if you clock up 10,000 hours playing bass in the same band (possibly a fairly fixed style of music for all that time) then you'll be a virtuoso in that very specific and particular field i.e. playing that music in that band (a la the Beatles). The book goes into other examples in different fields (I think Bill Gates pops up) and the outcome of the 10,000 hour practice is success rather than skill level (although one would assume there is a correlation).

[quote name='elom' post='446757' date='Mar 26 2009, 11:51 PM']I got a book for Xmas, [url="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/book-of-the-week-outliers-by-malcolm-gladwell-1027343.html"]The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell[/url], which I've only just got around to reading. It's about what makes successful people successful. That makes it sound like a really dull business book but it isn't at all. So what does this have to do with bass? Well one of the elements that gets picked up on is that when you look at virtuosos in almost any field, not just music, a common factor is that they have put in about 10,000 hours practice to get to the top. That is one hell of a lot and goes some way to explaining why I'm still a plodder! So who here reckons that since they first picked up a bass they've clocked up 10,000 hours practice (that's playing to improve, not just playing)? And if you have, just how good are you? (don't be shy!) It's a really interesting book that I'd definitely recommend, especially if you want to know why Koreans crash airliners![/quote] I'm pretty sure I'm nowhere near but I read a synopsis of the book (on W*kipedia no less) and it seemed to indicate that to was 10,000 hours of doing a particular activity rather than just practicing. It used the example of the Beatles clocking up more than 10,000 hours of gigging time together in Germany prior to becoming massive back here being the reason that they were such virtuoso performers as a live band. Not specifically their individual musicianship.

Good to see you're using your retirement productively! Looking good so far.

These are some comments I found whilst searching: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=8437&view=findpost&p=268233"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=268233[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=8437&view=findpost&p=87775"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...ost&p=87775[/url] Mostly the comments have been along the lines of: Looks great, sounds average to not very good.

[quote name='simon1964' post='436918' date='Mar 17 2009, 09:27 AM']And they look even cooler in the flesh![/quote]

I quite fancy one of these: [url="http://www.guitar.co.uk/guitars/bass/1745-italia_rimini_standard_bass_guitar"]http://www.guitar.co.uk/guitars/bass/1745-...ard_bass_guitar[/url] Does anyone have an opinion as to whether they are any good?

I love Oh Well by fleetwood mac as a throwaway fun line to play.

[quote name='Andyalfa' post='419930' date='Feb 26 2009, 10:51 AM']We are a five piece covers band based in the Midlands, and I reckon we are pretty good at what we do. We generally get repeat bookings wherever we play and post gig feedback is positive, on the whole. So the question is, why is our gig diary is looking so very empty at the moment? I think we are all feeling a bit de-motivated right now. We practise regularly and are always adding new material to the set in an attempt to keep fresh, but what we all want to do is play live. Pubs, clubs, weddings, functions...we really don’t mind. The year started off really well. We played two gigs in January, but we’ve only got one possible and two definite so far for the rest of 2009, and one of those is my 50th bash in October. We’ve got a new website under construction and are recording a second demo CD mid March, but is that going to be enough? I doubt it somehow. This leads me to wonder what do you guys do to get work?[/quote] You sound like you've got the basics down in that you practice regularly and add to the set to sound fresh. This keeps you tight and gives your regulars a reason to keep coming back. You get good feedback which is also a positive. What you really want is to get good feedback from whoever books you and pin them down for a repeat booking (or more preferably several repeat bookings, two or three over the year maybe) ASAP, preferably the same night or if not then definitely the next day (if they haven't got their diary on them). The most effective way we spread the word is having flyers (with our next few gigs on) all over the places we play (pubs and clubs, not functions), and wondering around schmoozing with business cards after we play. Satisfied punters then pass these to friends in conjunction with the tried and tested word of mouth method for extra emphasis. By way of approaching new places, we go through the gig lists of other local bands and see where they are playing, check alive and the gig listings in local papers and just give the venues a ring. Another good idea is to go to other gigs by similar bands and introduce yourself to the promoter / gig booker / landlord there and then. To persuade them to let you play, you may have to give them introductory rates (don't do any for free though) or if you've been popular at other places, point them to the landlords / gig bookers / etc of these places for a reference. We've found that some places ask for a demo so your CD could come in handy then but you could put them on your website to save CD printing costs and point potential customers there. I'm not a fan of cover bands selling CDs at gigs (I've never bought one) but that's not to say it's not good advertising and / or a money spinner. I generally email the landlord outlining where we've played and directing them to the website for places to get references and recordings. If they make me jump through too many hoops, I sack it off and consider it their loss. A good website and / or recordings might help to seal the deal when someone is booking you but I don't think anyone is ever going to book us after finding the site through Google. All of this is from my own experience in a covers band and is by no means the only way, just a way that worked for us. Oh, and make sure you get posters up in the place a few weeks before you play. I hope it helps.

[quote name='josh3184' post='419480' date='Feb 25 2009, 06:33 PM']how did you guys find your bands and decide to do weddings etc? Thinking it might be something for me to look into a bit further down the line but have absolutely no idea how to start up![/quote] We started learning covers to keep ourselves in check whilst looking for a singer for the originals band we did at the time, we never found one that worked out but realised we were pretty good as a three piece covers band(bass, guitar, drums with dual lead vox from the bassist and guitarist). Did a few pub gigs at pretty cheap introductory rates to earn a few quid and get in with venues and with that we bought some more decent (reliable) gear. As we got more gigs we got more people asking if we did weddings, I was sceptical at first as I liked the casual nature of the gigs we were doing. Wedding gigs, as outlined earlier in this thread, inherently carry more pressure that the gigs we were used to, even if you begin with the premise of "this is what we do, no swaying from this script" and the punters are fine with it. Cancellation policies suddenly become very official sounding and even if you said that you don't do no requests to the bride and groom beforehand, saying no to the bride's mother on the day of her only daughter's wedding will make you unpopular and a host of other factors (as you'll have read earlier) are to be considered. I thought this was all too much hassle and more trouble than it was worth. The other two chaps only saw the inflated price tags for the gigs and were much keener to do them. We eventually did a wedding gig as a last minute replacement for a friend's band who pulled out a week before the date. I thought I'd give it a try because there were plenty of in-build excuses if it went badly. Fortunately for us (and the couple) it went well. We've done a few more weddings and functions since (in amongst the pub and club dates) and haven't had any mishaps as yet due to learning our own lessons from near misses and taking advice from places like this (although I'd rather eat my own face than play Mustang Sally). Hope that helps.

[quote name='3V17C' post='418277' date='Feb 24 2009, 12:22 PM']well i've tried other basses but can't help but keep goinig back to the trusty old Yamaha Attitudes but as I'm sure some of you will agree they don't fit in to some band situations visually because of their 80's/90's widdly widdly look. So...I have hatched a plan to (at some point, laziness + money permitting!) to refinish one in a more traditional/retro kinda stylee... so far i've got as far as mocking one up in photoshop, but i reckon it could look kinda good - aged white body, tort pickguard and chrome finish humbucker at the neck..... thoughts/comments?.... [attachment=21012:attituderetro1.jpg] peace c[/quote] Looks a lot like our guitarist's 69 reissue mustang: [url="http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/527/mstg3025.jpg"]http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/527/mstg3025.jpg[/url] (photo from google images). Groovy.

[quote name='OldGit' post='417275' date='Feb 23 2009, 11:39 AM']Ask for one and half times your normal pub fee[/quote] You're generous. It would be double if that guy wanted us back, and it'd be in advance. Edited to add a story: When my band first started booking gigs, our guitarist would do the ringing around and he had a tendency to offer our services for nothing and say that they only had to pay us if they thought we were good, leaving us wide open to getting shafted. On one memorable occasion the landlord offered us £200 for two sets and our guitarist said, "no no, £100 is fine if you'd prefer". Fortunately, no-one tried to take advantage, but the gig booking committee consists of me now.

Is there any particular technical reason why a fender p bass headstock is parallel with the neck and a Gibson LP one is angled? I was pondering whether it was because of the machine head configuration. Anyone know?

[quote name='Delberthot' post='409187' date='Feb 14 2009, 12:34 AM']I think the best way forward is to find the one that you like best[/quote] Wise words. Ta.

I'm looking to refinish one of my guitars and I think I want to do it sea foam green but looking online for examples there seems to be fairly significant variations. For example these are all from page one of a google image search for "sea foam green bass": [url="http://www.bobknarley.com/bass/telebass001/DSC02596.JPG"]http://www.bobknarley.com/bass/telebass001/DSC02596.JPG[/url] [url="http://www.stratcollector.com/images/invlarge8/V016150-sea.gif"]http://www.stratcollector.com/images/invla...V016150-sea.gif[/url] [url="http://www.stratcollector.com/images/invlarge/sc0122194sea.gif"]http://www.stratcollector.com/images/invla...c0122194sea.gif[/url] [url="http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/images/sea-foam-green-telecaster.jpg"]http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/imag...-telecaster.jpg[/url] [url="http://www.thumperfaq.com/downloads/yamaha%20attitude%20bass.jpg"]http://www.thumperfaq.com/downloads/yamaha...tude%20bass.jpg[/url] [url="http://www.rudysmusic.com/images/17.jpg"]http://www.rudysmusic.com/images/17.jpg[/url] [url="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/rhomco/My%20Sold%20Guitars/SeaFoamSurfGreenP-Bass003.jpg"]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/rho...enP-Bass003.jpg[/url] [url="http://www.joetheguitarman.com/86%2057SFG%20STRAT.jpg"]http://www.joetheguitarman.com/86%2057SFG%20STRAT.jpg[/url] [url="http://www.beringmusic.com/store/images/Vint%20V6VG_MED.jpg"]http://www.beringmusic.com/store/images/Vint%20V6VG_MED.jpg[/url] [url="http://www.gpguitars.com/images/IMG_8731.jpg"]http://www.gpguitars.com/images/IMG_8731.jpg[/url] [url="http://www.bobwiremusic.com/images/rongreenbass.jpg"]http://www.bobwiremusic.com/images/rongreenbass.jpg[/url] [url="http://www.motorera.com/corvette/1950/1958/58green1.jpg"]http://www.motorera.com/corvette/1950/1958/58green1.jpg[/url] Which one is nearest to the colour in real life? And is anyone aware of somewhere in the UK I could order this in aerosol spray lacquer? Manchester Guitar Tech doesn't have this particular colour and reranch don't ship abroad I don't think. Any help and advice would be most gratefully received.

[quote name='Golchen' post='405511' date='Feb 10 2009, 05:00 PM']I'm amazed that people can sing at the same time as playing bass. I can't sing. Having said that, I sing for my own entertainment at home. I have a go when playing guitar, and can strum along to chord charts whilst reading the words, I read chords on the keyboard and sing along, but bass seems totally impossible! Even for stuff that I know well. For some reason I just can't make it work unless it's something incredibly simple. So how many of you can sing at the same time? (loads I bet!) Anyone else the same as me?[/quote] I share lead vocals in the covers band I'm in, we do lots of dual lead vocal harmony type stuff. I sang backing vocals for years with an originals band. Trick is to start simple so you're singing and playing along with the band, like anything musical (in my opinion) playing in a band is the best way to learn because it firms up your timing and makes you improvise when you make mistakes to catch up. Pick something with a simple bassline and simple vocals and then: PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.

[quote name='basswesty' post='405158' date='Feb 10 2009, 10:46 AM']and............a pair of Crocs!?!? Oh dear... [/quote] I was with you until that point

[quote name='gafbass02' post='404531' date='Feb 9 2009, 05:18 PM']First I actually ASKED for slippers for Christmas and now I have started to think about a nice sunburst precision?!!!?? Noooooooo! I've even decided that the two bands I'm in (check my sig! Esp useless wooden toys!) will be my last originals bands!! I always wondered when I got 'bass old' and I consider this to be it! I'm even happier having LESS basses than I did!! If anyone has a sunburst fender or squier p going über cheap or fancies a partial swap for my cheap sixer, now might be the time to pm me before I have further crisiis (how exactly do you spell cry-seas??) and decide I need a flying v in metallic blue or something! On another note try to be hold of the album kon and amir off track vol 1 - the Bronx, Serious funk bass heaven![/quote] You did okay, I got to 29. Enjoying the hell out of it now though!