skankdelvar

Huzzah! With your qualities of diligence, perseverance and hard work - great things are in store for you.

As a contributor to the last debate on this subject, I'm amazed you're still even thinking about it. And you haven't even mentioned the xylophone player who hasn't actually got a xylophone stand in [i]this[/i] thread. Or was I dreaming that? This isn't a band - it's a clown car. I'm astounded that crowds of small boys haven't turned up at your gigs to point at your compatriots and laugh themselves all the way to a soggy trouser-leg. It's the [i]worst band I've ever heard of[/i] in this respect, no matter how well everyone plays. Trust me, you'll tell them you're pissed off and they'll be sooooo totally surprised. "But we thought you were really happy - well, maybe a bit moody" they'll say. And they'll be genuinely astonished. And why will that be? Because you've told us all about it, but you've not yet managed to get the scale of your dissatisfaction with their abominable behaviour across to the only people who can do something about it. Your bandmates. Though I use the term loosely. In the spirit of 'Tough Love' here are all your possible choices: * Tell them what the problems are. Propose a new approach. Your continued involvement is conditional on rigid adherence to your demands. 99% likelihood of failure. * Continue to enjoy the amazing music while being everyone else's bitch * Select the most promising musician from the sorry sack of fish-heads, fire everyone else, keep the name and the songs. F*** 'em over and laugh like a maniac. * Audition for other bands and leave this one when you're sorted. On departure, tell the 'drummer' that if he actually [i]had [/i]a bass drum, you'd piss in it. Move on to stardom and riches. * Leave this band and sit at home in the bedroom practising scales. Mournfully. Minor scales are good for this. * Give up playing and take up knitting. Best of luck sorting it, Linus. You're in my thoughts. [/rant]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='625224' date='Oct 13 2009, 04:58 PM']There's a special mystery prize, by the way, for anyone who can find solid & indisputable evidence of a link between these basses & Tokai. And I don't just mean retailers' website listings.[/quote] Er ... that there was an incredibly sh*te Tokai EB3 hung up next to the Anniversary in Express music? Someone had slapped some clear mastic along the fretboard edge where the binding had stripped off. Sundry other MF-ing faults. Quite put me off my tea.

[quote name='The Funk' post='625902' date='Oct 14 2009, 12:33 PM']Well, that explains it! If the structures are flexible then you're going to need: 1. cues to transition from one section to the next; 2. play with your ears open and watch for the changes.[/quote] 3. Major eye contact with drummer, lots of frantic nods, winks and grimaces. 4. Hand-signalling from the frontmen 5. 'Rendezvous' parts for if it all goes horribly wrong - e.g. "If we're lost, singer raises both arms and counts four, everyone drop out on the next "1", a full bar of drum fill and everyone back into the verse part together". And practice this too.

Remember it's not just your competence in delivering the notes in the right order. It's about working with new people. This can initially be a bit disconcerting - e.g. the drummer suddenly looks at you and nods. Christ! What's that mean? Whoops - distraction - there goes the bass line. In an ideal world, I'd prefer to spend the first few rehearsals working on a severely limited number of very easy songs while people bed in together and get to know each others musical characteristics, etc. Then [i]slowly[/i] expand the material, adding a couple of new ones - in detail - each week. How much do you need to practice / rehearse? In the early stages (and depending on your objectives), I'd hope for at least a weekly band practice and a weekly gtr jam till everyone's comfortable together. As for my own parts, ideally I run through the whole set on my own at least once every couple of days. Anything that needs specific work gets a serious kicking for an hour or so - start slow, speed up, break up into constituent parts, phrases etc. YMMV...but I'm sure you'll be fine. Keep plugging away at the material till you've nailed it.

An even split of £700 per gig for six gigs over Christmas / NY would be enticing for most people, I'd have thought. Peety - If it's £700 [i]each[/i] per gig, the next sound you'll here is me tuning up my Strat.

Hi Joe and welcome Sounds like you're a prodigiously busy bunny and well-travelled. Hope you can share some of your experiences with us. As for putting out an album with the missus - that's a rare enterprise for BC members. Most of us here have to employ the 'baggy trousers ploy' to smuggle new basses past our GAS Inspectors. Good luck finding your Mesa - and enjoy the forum.

Hi Gary RJB and welcome [quote]but play anythin with anyone who will let me[/quote] That's the spirit, Gary! I'm sure you're going to like it here. Enjoy the forum S

Hi John and welcome It's almost certain that you're not the oldest one here. It's never too late to come back to the fold. Glad you like your bass - very pretty - and I hope you find the amp you're seeking. (I regret the impertinence of the other poster. Please be assured, 99% of BC-er's are possessed of far better manners). Enjoy the forum.

[quote name='OldGit' post='623905' date='Oct 12 2009, 12:56 PM']Sorry chaps, I''m not being diuffcult but I do have about [b]20[/b] hats already and I've had a long think already but I'm fairly stuck on this which is why I'm calling on the great combine "knowledge bass" of basschat[/quote] OK then, Lord Hattington, why not try one of these lads? Now [i]that's[/i] a hat.

[quote name='The_D' post='623171' date='Oct 11 2009, 03:34 PM']Our singer told me last night that some organiser who is booking bands for a pub in some dirtbox town turned us down because I didnt look interested?![/quote] Sounds like a wild, feeble excuse to avoid booking your band. Don't dwell on it. If you're [i]really[/i] bothered, practice waving and smiling between songs. And wear a 'zany' Timmy Mallet hat.

OK, how about this? In maroon for that beach-pimp look.

Actually, maybe scratch the [i]panama[/i] - the other one's already got little holes to stick the lights in... horizontally revolving pattern would look well cool.

Panama hat. Classic. Perfect beach-y image for the mature gentleman. Rope-lights and mini-laser optional.

+ 1 on the fret dress. Shouldn't cost a fortune.

Def a case of one man's meat is another man's ceiling, horses for courses, etc., etc. Saw the exact same bass that Yorick saw in the Solihull shop. Looked rather nice - even close up - and felt OK. Being picky, there was a noticeable gap around each neck inlay and a hint of brown in the fireglo. On the whole it seemed like a reasonable bass - nice headstock shape, hardware pretty close to the original, compared to other clones. Now, you could maybe spend £500 on a better 'all-round' bass, but what you're paying for here is the look and some lawyers' fees. Clearly, it's not the same quality as a Rick, but it was as good looking a clone as I've seen in a long while. Ideal for tributes and (my opinion only) looks better than anything else that's available at the moment, particularly the risible Rockinbetters. Anyhow, looks-wise, I'll leave you all to make your own minds up - here's the Anniversary I saw in Express Music: [attachment=34354:annivers...ric_copy.jpg] And here's the Indie:

Interesting. I usually assume about a 50% failure rate in these circs. You must have been very unlucky.

[quote name='Tait' post='623356' date='Oct 11 2009, 07:16 PM']right, i get it! theyve moved all of the affiliates into other forums![/quote] [i]Why[/i] was I not consulted? Agreed, I never actually read any posts there, but it's the principle that counts. I might have been saving it up for a special occasion like a wedding anniversary or suchlike. Someone will be hearing from my solicitors. Outraged. Spitting bullets.

Is the neck a snug fit in the pocket? If so, take the neck off. Lay it upside down. Measure the heel itself, rather than the pocket.

There was a time when it seemed like everything I listened to was him or Leland Sklar. Great feel, beautiful tone, brilliantly song-supportive.

The idea of a hammer-wielding posse is intuitively pleasing, but could lead to an outcome more serious than losing £173. Shaming's about as far as you can safely go, I reckon. But beware of defamation that can't be supported by documented facts... Looking at his posts, he claims to be unemployed and skint yet about to 'start a shop'. Sounds (and looks) like a sad, delusional, desperate sp*nker wearing strides inappropriate for a man of his vintage. ...if anyone sees him around, give him the ol' stink-eye.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='619259' date='Oct 7 2009, 07:11 AM']Above all, I can assure you there's NOTHING egotistical about Mark Knopfler.[/quote] +1 - Heard a radio interview with him last week - self-effacing to the point of near inaudibility. Mind you, his brother Dave might not concur.

As with all these things, yer gets wot yer pays for. You could easily splash £20,000 on a daft big pro-tools rig that's going to be obsolete in 3 years - but there's lots of interfaces around the £500-£1k mark that would probably do the job. Your first question is 'Firewire or USB?' And [i]there's [/i]a can of worms. About the cheapest is the Tascam US-1641 for around £300-350 - I seem to recall someone on here using one of these for the same purpose you have in mind. Mind you, 6 of the 14 ins are line-ins, so you may want a little sub-mixer with the appropriate number of xlr ins / line outs - maybe dedicate this to the drums. Eventually, you may wish to trade up. This is a good primer site to get you started [url="http://www.tweakheadz.com/"]http://www.tweakheadz.com/[/url] I found the forums and gear reviews on the 'sound on sound' mag site very useful - [url="http://www.soundonsound.com/"]http://www.soundonsound.com/[/url]

Hi Alauth and welcome Your own studio, eh? That must be enormously satisfying - no messing around with availability, bookings, gear - just walk in and turn on. Hope you enjoy the forum