skankdelvar

[quote name='silddx' post='618383' date='Oct 6 2009, 11:24 AM']My mate's had his Ricky in Chandlers in Kew for over a month now, no comms from them, just a set up and nut recut was all that he needed. I told him to tell them give him his instrument back and f*** off. He always goes there though, can't be bothered to research properly.[/quote] TBH, most of my problems with Chandler's ceased when I stopped going there about 4 years ago. They always used to have interesting stock (guitar-wise) but the stratospheric prices and mostly sniffy attitude got to me in the end. Charlie's new-ish place in Kingston isn't much better, IMO. Bizarrely for the area and population size, I always found it very difficult to source a reliable, inexpensive luthier when I was in West-ish London. I eventually found a good one - Andrew Scrimshaw - but shortly thereafter he went to work at ... Chandlers. Maintenance stuff like this, we're better off doing it ourselves.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='617975' date='Oct 5 2009, 09:18 PM']I see little need for your comment referring to someone elses past problem with the shop in this thread. It's not relevent to the discussion and just hurts the reputation of a perfectly good local business. I think if you want to talk about whatever problems you personally have with them, it belongs in a different thread.[/quote] Balance? If he's had a problem with a named multi-location retailer, it doesn't seem [i]entirely[/i] unreasonable to bring it up. Glasgow may be good, Newcastle may be not so. These 'shop' threads have a tendency to sprawl a bit when it comes to naming and shaming. Hence my ref to Chandlers in Kew. I'm sure these threads have little effect anyhow - we've been moaning about shops for years and not much changes.

A diamond, indeed. Six bolt neck - 20% better than an MM.

[quote name='JTUK' post='617632' date='Oct 5 2009, 04:36 PM']I'd look for a unused commercial building out of town, on a farm or something and have a private cash arrangement over a period of time so you could pay up front and renew as and when..[/quote] This is a good idea - but beware - comm prems and farms sometimes have 3-phase electricity supply, and you may need an additional 240v consumer unit to power amps etc. Worth confirming this with the 'landlord' and maybe even get a mate who's a sparks to check the 'leccy before you sign any deals. Speaking from recent experience, farms can be funny places when it comes to electrical maintenance, HSE etc.

That's a [i]great[/i] tune, Craig. First time I [i]ever[/i] enjoyed a bass-led song. Nice one, Sir.

[quote name='ase_one23' post='616700' date='Oct 4 2009, 06:25 PM']i should point out that when i spoke to them the 3rd time i agreed for them to go ahead with the filter capacitor swap.[/quote] Which, if they're doing other work already, would take all of 5 mins to assess, remove, replace and test. Clearly the problem lies in work-flow management - but then lots of amp techs are the same. You walk in with an amp and the first thing they do is show the other 300 waiting to be fixed. "Oooh, I'm snowed under!" they bleat. "When will your amp be ready? M'mmmm.... Ooh - look at this original Plexi!" I had a similar issue with Chandlers in Kew. F***ed me around for two solid months on a Rivera pot-swap (board mounted, else I'd have done it myself). The fifth time I phoned up, I could hear someone in the background having a good laugh, as the tech got sarky on me. Phone down, grab my bag of hammers, round there 20 mins later. Walked out with a repaired amp 15 mins after that. As your post suggests, direct contact is always the best. Face to face, these Sad Jimmies fold like a wet cardboard box.

[quote name='slinks' post='616035' date='Oct 3 2009, 08:22 PM']i have been looking at getting a fender deluxe active jazz bass (mexican) as i think there great value for money, however i was wondering if there was any other basses that anyone has played who thinks they are better??[/quote] I'm surprised. This sort of Q usually provokes a slew of A's. Myself I'd have to ask, well - better for what (purpose / sound / image)? My (off-topic) recommendation to Slinks is that before he hands over £527 to the lovely people at GAK, he checks out the for sale section here on BC.

Supporting my lifetime heroes The Pirates at the Borderline - and the notoriously grumpy Mick Green bigging us up, a couple of songs into their set. I was in a state of girlish swoon for several days.

[quote name='Rasta' post='616441' date='Oct 4 2009, 12:48 PM']Anyone who brings bass forward to a positive light is doing a good deed in my eyes ... ... [b]BASS = ONE LOVE[/b] (including American cock rock ) A one nation under a groove! [/quote] Indeedy.

'Ere! I seen a thread wot look just like you, not 2 minutes ago. You gotta twin? Uncanny. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=62447"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=62447[/url]

[quote name='Musky' post='615862' date='Oct 3 2009, 05:12 PM']Interesting that so many people don't consider heads to be part of the backline (at least for purposes of kit sharing). I've never come across this before and I've got to admit that if a venue or band said they were providing backline I'd assume this meant both the amp and cab.[/quote] Me too. This divergence of understanding reinforces the need for clear comms.

Let me see if I've got this right: [quote name='steve-soar' post='615872' date='Oct 3 2009, 05:22 PM']* I show him the song that we will be working on (originals), * I play in on guitar, * I then show him any riffs etc, as he says he finds it hard to come up with original material. * We record it and he has a week to learn it[/quote] That's not a guitarist. That's just someone [i]holding[/i] a guitar. A £15 guitar stand would do the same job with less hassle.

[quote name='yituool' post='615223' date='Oct 2 2009, 08:51 PM']Well I think we asked the soundman, and he told us to use their gear.[/quote] There's your problem. Not his gear to offer out. But I don't quite get why they were seemingly OK with it at the time, but left it till later to send you a slightly weird message.

Re: learning how to build a valve amp: [url="http://www.torresamps.com/training.htm"]http://www.torresamps.com/training.htm[/url] Beware though. Fiddling around inside valve amps can kill. Really.

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='615329' date='Oct 2 2009, 10:41 PM']I do appreciate that I'd benefit from learning the transitions too, that and being comfortable with picking up a song anywhere.[/quote] Sorry, I should have been clearer in my post. I meant [i]the guitarist [/i]would benefit from practicing the transition - off the chords, tap-dance on the pedals, flick his selector switch, crank the back pick-up, re-arrange fingers, prepare to gurn like an idiot sucking goat's pee through a tiny straw, then do it all again, only in reverse. That sort of thing. It takes practice, y'know. I've amended my post accordingly. Absolutely no crit of your abilities intended. [quote name='Hutton' post='615333' date='Oct 2 2009, 10:45 PM']It's all about making your point with senstivity so as not too hurt someone or belittle them.[/quote] Absolutely. "Shut the f*** up or I'll kill you" usually works.

I would have thought that the guitarist practising the whole song, [i]particularly [/i]the transitions to and from the solo, would be more useful than just doing the solo in isolation. But maybe better to have done it 1-2-1. That way, if things go badly awry, you've got time to work out what to do with the body.

Maybe nothing's wrong with it. You only put it up for sale on Monday lunchtime - that's - er - only 4.5 days! It's taken me weeks to sell stuff before now.

Oohlalamanufacturing - "SodaMeiser" pedal Quite clever, really.

Well, you seem to have tried all the relevant remedies, so drop a brick on your foot. You'll forget all about the cold symptoms.

Set up, wander round talking to bar staff, soundman, promoter, landlord etc. Nod politely at arriving punters (who usually scurry nervously off into a corner). Not really a ritual, just kind of a way to 'own the room' - and relax. 5 mins pre, nip outside for a crafty cigarette. Go back in, go on.

Before you lash out on a whole new rig (fun though it may be), you might want to explore swapping out the speaker. Some are more efficient than others at translating the wattage into decibels.

Never too pissed to play. Often too pissed to play competently. Was once (rightly) ticked off by a very well-mannered drummer: "It's unprofessional to have two people in the band talking to the audience. That's the frontman's job. And telling the punters that our guitarist makes Carlos Santana look like a c**t is [i]just not on[/i]."

IMO, time for a quick summary of your position so far: [quote]* Drummer who can't make soundcheck, rehearsals or gigs. He has a very good kit which he says, only comes out for special gigs. * Singer or percussionist who can't make soundcheck or rehearsals because of other comitments. * The last gig we did, in Guildford, our singer/guitarist never bothered to bring his Guitar amp * We have a Xylophone/percussion player who needs to put their kit on a stand obviously ... they were looking around the venues kitchen for a tall bin... * Emails is the main form of communication yet people don't reply back to emails. * I seem to be doing all the running and the rest of the band seem to be sitting back and enjoying themselves.[/quote] It would seem they are a total bunch of piss-taking timewasters. Score yourself a new band, pronto. As for the drum hire, tell the drummer he can sort himself out for a kit, the lazy f***-tard