skankdelvar

[quote name='3V17C' timestamp='1336996296' post='1653630'] Its already got to the point where myself and the other two guys are talking about travelling seperately to gigs.[/quote] There's your answer. You cannot change how these people relate to their offspring nor is it your responsibility to ensure the little mites are enjoying a rounded education. So focus on changing what you can affect. Simply paste a sh*t-eating grin to your face and soapily inform Mr And Mrs Addams that they make such a [i]lovely[/i] family unit. They really should be able to enjoy their time together without the encumbrance of other people. It's [i]good[/i] to have time alone with the kids, they grow up so fast these days etc. So you'll be travelling separately from now on. You'll even meet the additional fuel costs from your own pockets. By this simple expedient, you will restore some peace to your lives while facilitating open discussion about their perfect ghastliness and how quickly you can either rustle up some replacements or find another 'star' to whose wagon you may hitch yourselves.

In fairness to the complainant and his spouse, it is possible that the acoustics in this place of worship might have combined with certain notes to produce specific, distressing effects. I recall an occasion many, [i]many[/i] years ago when I was performing before a Royal Personage at St Mary Le Bow London. Her Majesty the Queen Mother was nodding along to our sprightly jazz interpretation of Jesu Joy Of Man's Desiring when I misplaced a low C and detonated her colostomy bag. Such was the charm and grace of our (then) dowager Queen that she affected not to notice and discreetly despatched an equerry to her car for 'the back-up'. How wonderful she was. We shall not see her like again. [color=#ffffff].[/color]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1336934904' post='1652980'] Can someone summarise this thread for me, please? [/quote]

Such a shame he's gone So many of the greats are reaching 'that age' now - it's going to be tough ten years or so for the rest of us.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1336851064' post='1652021'] EH played all the instruments on that particular recording, including the rubbish vocals lol. [/quote] Sweet Jesus, Eddie. I'm [i]hugely[/i] impressed. That's some mighty multi-instrumentation, matey. Never realised you were so talented. Not being rude or patronising or anything, but it's a startling revelation - rather like opening one's wardrobe and finding Albert Einstein inside.

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1336807003' post='1651244'] Yep. Johngh and you were right. [/quote] That's very gracious of you, considering the bloat of my gloat. Hope it all works out.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1336815493' post='1651387'] why not listen to it yourself?: [/quote] Really sorry, Eddie, I'm being dim again. Is that you playing drums or you playing bass? Either way, it's a corking song and delivered with exemplary precision. Anyway. Is it worth permitting your bassplayer a song or two where - for a limited period only - he plays the guitar line while the guitarist plays a harmony above? Would that get this guitar-foolishness out of his system?

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1336829065' post='1651644'] The little musical imp on my shoulder persuaded me that playing a tempo compensated 'Remember You're A Womble' riff in amongst 'A Nightingale Sang In Berkley Square' would probably work.... it does... [/quote] Kudos. That's going in the famous quotes thread.

[quote name='jay' timestamp='1336785114' post='1651193'] I wonder if i've lost a certain innocence of being able to just listen to a song, without thinking about how its been made, and reducing it to its component parts and devices? [/quote] Oh yes, indeedy. I wish I could unlearn [i]everything[/i] and go back to the time when a good song just overwhelmed me in its totality. TBH, I'd give up playing, just to get that back. [color=#ffffff].[/color]

So, another road trip with my mate who's looking for a new, small tube amp. Off to Guitar Guitar in B'ham and very nice it is too. Scads of gear and attentive, pleasant salespeople with only [i]some[/i] of their teeth filed to sharp points. First up - [b]Marshall Class 5 Combo [/b](mk 2 version). Loads of positive reviews, guitar mags squirting love wee. Well, it 's easy on the eye, with classic Marshall looks, but at £540 it f***ing well should be. And only a single 16 ohm ext output Sounds? Well we both found it very generic, [i]very [/i]boxy and very one-sound. And not even a nice sound. Twiddled the eq, ran it loud, ran it quiet, looked at each other and went 'Nah'. Quite muddy, so I rolled all the bass off, mids flat and full treble, turned it down a bit - no, dull - and cranked it full up (again). Whatever you do to it, it just sounds dull and very murky. [b][size=3]'Sparkling highs'? My arse.[/size][/b] Oh, the chagrin. Just totally disappointed. Is this why Uncle Jim dropped off the perch? Killed stone dead by the shame? At this point, another customer sticks his head round the door of the booth and says 'That sounds amaaaazing out here'. So he and I swap places and - yes - with the door closed and the amp now muted to a whisper it sounds [i]very[/i] nice. Back inside the booth, this bloke is looking like someone farted. Comes back out. "S'awful, isn't it." How weird. An amp that sounds better when you can't hear it. The Class 5 sounds no better than the Blackstar HT-5R - which has 'two channels', reverb (essential for quiet home stuff for a bit of depth) and comes in £150-200 cheaper. And an 8/16 ohm ext speaker option. Much more sensible. Now the salesbloke comes up with a [b]JMP1[/b] (limited edition 1 watt 50th Anni combo with 0.1 watt option). He beams at us. "[i]Gotta[/i] try this! Sounds just like a Plexi" says he, all bright and full of hope. [b][size=3]JMP1 - doesn't sound like a Plexi[/size][/b] [size=3][size=4]So we plug in the gorgeous-looking Ltd Ed JMP1 and - [i]wet fart[/i]. EQ does virtually nothing. The 0.1 watt option is so quiet as to be functionally useless - my cat snores louder than this. [/size][/size] [size=3][size=4]And - like the Class 5 - it's over £500. PCB construction, too.[/size][/size] [size=3][size=4]Both the amps stab blindly at a 'Marshall' sound but I've heard just as good out of modelling combos, (yes, IMO, I know). [/size][/size] [size=3][size=4]Neither of them convince 'in the room' or make your ball-sac tighten the way a bigger Marshall does. Maybe it's my ears, maybe they were bad examples, maybe Marshalls stop being Marshalls when they go under 20w. Who knows and - for this sort of money - who cares?[/size][/size] [size=3][size=4][size=3][size=4]That said, they sound great through a closed door. Or perhaps - as the other customer speculated - they sound fantastic miked up for recording. [size=3][size=4]YMMV, of course and NOI to anyone who loves their Class 5 or mini-Marshall. It's all a matter of taste, isn't it. [/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size] [size=3][size=4][size=3][size=4]Maybe this whole 5w thing is a bad idea, for my mate's purposes. I think that some grunt is required, so I've suggested what he really needs a 15-20w head and a 2x10 cab. Or a Blues Junior, but he wants a Marshall sound.[/size][/size][/size][/size] [size=3][size=4]Why can't he just lash out on a Dr Z? Ever onward.[/size][/size] [color=#ffffff][size=3][size=4].[/size][/size][/color]

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1336723757' post='1649897'] It turned out that it was only the second time that the band in its current line up had played together. The setlist I'd been sent related to the previous band's line-up, was way out of date and was going to be completely changed anyway ... I don't think the band had painted a true picture of the current situation [/quote]

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1336771783' post='1651003'] I think the whole point is though that he has just got to accept that the bass is the bass and not the guitar. There is only so far you can go with it.[/quote] Y'know, reading this is like being in a weird parallel universe. Or on a guitard forum. It's really rather refreshing.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1336739516' post='1650246'] The bass player in my band [/quote] That's the thing that's confusing me. Which instrument are [i]you [/i]playing, Eddie?

While I was lurking in an emporium last week pretending I might buy something, a visibly very, [i]very[/i] rich daddy was trying to foist a £79 acoustic off on his lad. He asked me what I thought of it, so I pointed out that it was useless and he'd be much better off buying the very best guitar he could afford. The lad would progress quicker and Dad would get much more of his money back on a re-sale. Like what? Well, a Martin D18 would do. So that's what he did.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1336687280' post='1649672'] Never had a new sofa till I was 40 either.[/quote] Well [i]we[/i] lived in a septic tank in't middle of lake, etc. Nowhere to [i]put[/i] a sofa.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1336666419' post='1649219'] Right, that does it! The sticker is off the bottom of my amp and IN THE BIN! I've rebelled and I'm still only 52! [/quote] Fly your freak flag high, brother! [quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1336666577' post='1649223'] Remember in the old days, new cars used to come with clear plastic seat covers. [/quote] That was sofas. In the old days the car seats were [i]made[/i] out of shiny plastic. [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1336667094' post='1649236'] flip, I'm an artist/designer by trade and I'm struggling to think of an £8 pencil.[/quote] Must be a Fodera of pencils [quote name='CS2' timestamp='1336669531' post='1649287'] any damage to the neck is unacceptable, I've had necks repairs because they had tiny amounts of damage. I've not bought instruments because the neck was dinged, even one. [/quote] Polyfilla

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1336663585' post='1649153'] Can I generalise and say its older people who become anal about their gear? I've never like getting digs in my basses, never, even when I was 18, but now I'm 52 I take maker's advertising stickers off the top of an amp and preserve them underneath. [/quote] Can I specific-ise and say I'm 53 and remain entirely relaxed about anything other than severe structural damage. As long as it was me that caused it

[quote name='jamesbass116' timestamp='1336663816' post='1649158'] I went into the store where the bass cellar (Literally now a cellar full of basses) is situated. [/quote] IIRC, they started out in the cellar. Then they moved upstairs and everybody said "Why are you called the Bass Cellar when you're on the ground floor? Is it a pun? Hallo? Hallo? Can you see me?". Now they seem to have moved back to the cellar. Life goes on.

[quote name='daz' timestamp='1336466827' post='1645863'] I wonder how many would welcome me if I went in and totally truthfully said. " I have no intention of buying today. But if I find something I like, then at sometime in the future is I get the money I may well come back and buy it, if I can get it off you at a fair price"[/quote] Funnily enough, that's pretty much exactly what I say the minute I go into a guitar shop*. Nice smile, all business-like before they even get a chance to speak. Works a treat, because it puts oneself on the front foot. [size=3]*(apart from the part about 'if I get the money'. They don't need to know that bit).[/size]

[quote name='BB3000S' timestamp='1336167091' post='1642158'] So, what's new here? [/quote]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1336662163' post='1649122'] Actually, there's one thing worse than that... [/quote] Yes. Yes, there is. Regurgitated bouillabaisse when they've gone a little too heavy on the fennel.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1336640488' post='1648663'] Years ago equipment used by bands I used to see was always pretty tatty, well used and often had the band name stencilled on and plenty of stickers on guitars, amps etc. Nowadays, despite the relative cost of the gear being much lower, we seem to be much more materialistic and frightened to even pull off clear plastic protection [/quote] To answer the first part of the question - no, I don't think we've changed over the years. Touring gear has always taken its share of knocks and bands still stencil their rigs, flightcases afaik. On the other hand, most amateurs tend to keep their gear in virgin condition, partly because it's a toy not a tool and partly because their stuff doesn't leave the house that often, when compared to a pro's schedule. Hence they have both the desire and the means to keep their gear pristine. I think that's always been the case once one acquires some decent kit. Thinking back to serious amateurs and semi-pros I worked with 35-odd years ago, they mostly all cherished their gear. As for beverages on amps, my chum has a story about getting a JCM 800 head in for repair that had 'stopped working, dunno why'. The cabinet interior and chassis were covered in vegetable soup. .

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1336562885' post='1647458'] Someone like Wilko Johnson is only in that enviable position now because of all the hard slog he's put into it in the past. [/quote] True. Just saying that sort of gig would be a nice compromise.

Of course, full-time doesn't have to mean vast blocks of time away from home. Could be a year of Fri and Sat night gigs round the UK. Sort of like Wilko Johnson and suchlike. 100-odd gigs at a £200 (net) per gig would be nice.