skankdelvar

When she worked at Andy's, she was very pleasant when I came in with a stupid question about a microscopically inexpensive repair. She might have changed though. Some people do. I quite fancied her as well.

I've checked that link out [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/23213730@N03/page2/"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/23213730@N03/page2/[/url] We have a serious craftsman in our midst...love your work, Sir.

Out here in the countryside, there's never been more gigs going. Seems like every other pub or village hall has a weekly or fortnightly gig - full bands too, none of your backing tapes malarkey. And we've even had names like Sherman Robertson (at Brailes Village Hall) and Albert Lee (at Sibford School). OTOH, in nearby Banbury a couple of boozers that used to do music have gone to the wall. More to do with the economy than licensing laws. We should copy our French cousins. They simply ignore the laws they don't like - and their cops have got better things to do than bust folkies and bluesers.

Hi guys - welcome to BC!

[quote name='fatgoogle' post='543250' date='Jul 17 2009, 02:34 PM']So i think shops have to understand thats ts the one place were musicians young and old can actually come and play instruments.[/quote] Rehearsal space, own bedroom, wherever. That's where one goes to play. A shop is there to sell things. If one has the intention of trying before buying, fine. If not, don't finger the goods. Same in any shop where the items on display are sale items, not demo items. Why should a music shop be any different? [quote name='fatgoogle' post='543250' date='Jul 17 2009, 02:34 PM']I dont like playing in music shops now or even buying in them because of the treatment ive had from you adults. Were youve been rudd, snobbish and annoying. Also other people playing their have put me off. Some music shops have refused to let me play through amps or try bass's, because of my age.[/quote] Age thing alone is unfair to you. But they're not doing it randomly or because they don't like you personally. Its based on their previous experience and you're getting caught in the blowback. [quote name='fatgoogle' post='543250' date='Jul 17 2009, 02:34 PM']I dont know any of you people on this site or what your like etc, so i dont know your experiences but you all seem a bit too hard on this subject.[/quote] My experience is that I generally give certain music shops a hard time for their incompetence and bad attitude. OTOH asking someone not to handle the merchandise if they just want to use it for 'a practise' seems entirely reasonable. If someone wants to practise, they should get their bass and go sit in the bedroom. That's what the rest of us do. [quote name='fatgoogle' post='543250' date='Jul 17 2009, 02:34 PM']Does it make a difference that im 16 and have been going and playing instruments in music shops since i was 13-14.[/quote] No - I'd extend the prohibition to anyone who clearly and visibly has no serious intentions to buy now or in the future, irrespective of age. How I'd enforce that is another question! To be fair, neither the prohibition, nor this post, is aimed at you personally - I thought exactly the same thing when I was the same age. Sorry, but it's just tough sh*t and you have to get over it, like all the other nasty things in life. Y'see, it's just a simple fact of commerce. If you let gear get damaged or 'shop-soiled' you lose money and go out of business. In principle, age should be irrelevant. In practice, the OP's identified a particular group who happen to be young people.

I love this forum

I walked this path recently, so can confirm S/H Hartke, Peavey, Ashdown, Laney and some old Trace rigs can all be found at reasonable prices. The 'for sale' section here on BC has stuff that's a lot cheaper than the bay or shops. IMO, £300+ notes should see you clear for some sort of a starter rig - 300w + as mentioned above. My solution turned out to be a 300w Ashdown Mag combo (heavy) on top of a Hartke 410TP (light). Maybe not the most desirable or conventional rig, but cheap (£290) and serviceable if not particularly 'zingy'.

[quote name='TimR' post='542752' date='Jul 16 2009, 11:21 PM']This is what happens if you get your image wrong. Possibly.... [url="http://www.rockandrollconfidential.com/hall/index.php"]http://www.rockandrollconfidential.com/hall/index.php[/url][/quote] Genius. I must be in there somewhere...

It's very simple. If you go into a shop and ask to try something, it's on the understanding that you may have some remote intention of buying it. If it's clear to the meanest intelligence that you have neither the ability nor the inclination to purchase, expect to get shown the door. Frankly, you're an utterly worthless waste of space who could cost the store more than they make. Music Shops are not (or should not be) in the business of providing entertainment to whiny, spoilt, moronic peri-pubertal youths. If you don't like it, go hang out somewhere else, like at a bus stop or outside a fast food store that will hopefully clog your arteries and bring you an entirely well-deserved early death. If this is too much to assimilate, try imagining what would happen if you went into Karpet-rite and asked to walk up and down on their rugs for half an hour. Two large guys in brown uniforms would take you out the back and beat your arse like a gong. IMO, music shops should take a far harder line; rather than bitch about these tiny, irrelevant goons after the event - just don't let them in till they can show you a roll of £50's and the competence to explain what a root note is. In the meantime, Community Support Officers should be deployed to kick the crap out of anyone who even looks squint-eyed at the shopfront. F*** 'em. OTOH, if you walk into a shop with the intention of buying something and they get in your way - snotty attitude / unwillingness to terminate their tedious mobile call to their ghastly partner / pathetic desire to demonstrate their own savagely limited skills / inability to deal for cash and a sidey - then hoosh them firmly in the nuts and go buy somewhere else.

More info on your budget, intended musical genre (jazz, punk, metal, indie etc), any artists whose signature sound you like, current bass guitar, size of venues you intend to play, etc., will all help the worthies here to tailor their advice accordingly. Don't expect any unanimity of opinion, though, particularly on the subject of the inexpensive and ubiquitous Ashdown! Useful guide: [url="http://wiki.basschat.co.uk/"]http://wiki.basschat.co.uk/[/url]

This sounds a bit like going into a curry house and asking for the hottest one they've got - unfortunate farting sounds as an unintended consequence. In summary, the logical options so far seem to be: * Turning the volume down (trade-off between tone and an unplayable sound - life's a compromise) * Turning the amp input gain down * Adjusting the internal trim pot on those occasions when one is playing through a borrowed rig * Reducing the level of the output signal via an external pad or volume pedal * Hump your rig everywhere * Forget the whole idea and use a passive with a colossal pre-amp pedal

In fact, it is almost impossible [i]not[/i] to see a string quartet comprising 4 hotties in some form of 'rocking' attire. I blame Nigel Kennedy.

[quote name='Deep Thought' post='541488' date='Jul 15 2009, 06:02 PM']Which one is you then Skank? [/quote] I'm the weird-looking one. [quote name='peteb' post='541508' date='Jul 15 2009, 06:33 PM']I've always thought ... that the band should look like a cooler version of their audience![/quote] Excellent rule of thumb. Like your audience, but ramped up by a percentage.

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='541285' date='Jul 15 2009, 01:39 PM']....Of all the bands I'm a fan of, it was because I heard their music first, not because they wear cool clothes. When I go to see them live, I don't look at what they're wearing, I couldn't care less.[/quote] You're right - in the sense that you heard their music first. Which presumes they've organised themselves to get a deal or do it themselves, so they're clearly not in the game for giggles. I'd bet the image discussion's been had at least once And, yes, you don't care what they wear, because you're there for the music and rightly so. But not everyone's the same as you - lots of audience members base their initial sampling of a band on certain image cues - hence the importance of media coverage and cover art. Even the decision not to focus too much on visual image is an 'image' decision on which audience expectations have at least some bearing. And I bet it's a conversation that's been had by any band even if it's just "What are you going to wear?"- "Well, not anything flash, the audience would think we're w*nkers". Image isn't just about cool clothes. It's about the overall stage experience - movement, audience communications, the frontman's speaking voice, lighting, intro music or not, band average age, set pacing. Clothing is an important component, though. Realistically, most bands dress for their genres - metal, indie, jazz - (I'd love to see someone at a jazz gig in full 'Lemmy' fig complete with bullet belt). So actually, everybody does it to a certain extent. Doesn't mean we have to engage a 'stylist' - but it's worth looking at the difference between pro-band promo shots and amateur stuff from the early days. There's a certain quality to the image there that helps a band stand out and it's worth thinking about, even if you ultimately reject it. I once saw a band that had a very 'thought-out' image. In order to satirise the idea of 'day jobs' and the daily grind, they all wore inexpensive suits and ties and had briefcases on stage. The subtlety eluded 99% of the audience, who blanked them as white-collar 'amateurs' who'd come straight from the office and didn't know how to dress for a gig.

I'm all in favour of working out what visual image will best support the music. But I always wriggle when someone talks about "Uniforms": [size=1]Sven the psycho guitarist at far left[/size]

Some of this depends on the audience. If it's just casual punters in a pub and you're there for 'ambience', there's an argument in favour of starting with a couple of throwaways, on the assumption that no-one's really listening that hard. OTOH, you could try going in with all guns blazing, just to wrench them out of their torpor! As you say, another view is that punters only really remember the first and last songs in any set, so that's where to put your best ones. Swings and roundabouts... Assuming your aim is to 'build excitement', you probably want to plan an upward curve in terms of speed, intensity. This doesn't mean stacking all the slow ones at the front and the fast ones at the end - more like alternating 2 of one speed with one of the other, building the overall tempo so the fastest of the fast ones is at the end of the 45. Given that your songs will probably be in different keys, you may wish to look at how the transitions from one song to another work out. Some changes will sound more pleasing or more jarring than others. Something I've tried is chopping rehearsal recordings up in Audacity so that each file has the intro and the outro of each song. You can then play around with your sequencing and see what works best for you.

Hi Bod and welcome Nice stuff on myspace - well punchy, with some tricky bits. Kudos, Sir.

Hi and welcome There's been a reasonable bit of Ampeg stuff floating around here over the last couple of months. Watch the For sale section like a hawk and you'll be rewarded!

Hi Sim Welcome to the forum Hope you find what you're looking for...

Absolutely Elixirs - I left a set on for several years of rehearsals and gigs. The extra tenner or so is worth it and I've never broken one, despite playing heavy handed with a pick. It actually saves you money...

Done it.

First off, better recording quality than I've ever got from a rhsal room demo. Right - all comments intended as constructive crit and based entirely on personal taste. Song - nice to hear a restrained tempo. Good melody. Edited and tidied, could be an epic. Good singer. Structure - I'd get the vocals in a bit earlier. Intro could be halved in length Performance - guitar and violin are often occupying the same space - high up. This leads to the occasional pitch clash when their notes are (almost) in unison. One of them needs to get out of the way of the other - suggest guitarist try re-phrasing his chords lower down. Your guitarist seems to spend a lot of time picking eighth notes - could alternate with gently sweeping his chords (maybe with tempo-set delay or trem) and playing some bars as quarter notes for emphasis. Arrangement - with a strong, slow-paced song like this I'd be looking for a more accentuated, obvious build and release. Maybe sparser sound early, building to a firm middle, then cutting back to "pin-drop" at the end? Maybe the dynamics need plotting out. Bass - You must be doing something right - I was too busy listening to the song in its totality! Just my opinion. I'd pay to watch you.

H Banana and welcome I'm sure your rig will be fine to get you going - certainly compared to the cheese-grater and blanket box that I started with in 1976. As for stuff for sale here, it's definitely better value for money than e-bay, with tons of advice and info in the various sections. Enjoy! Cheers Skank