TrevorR

Isn't the Ashdown VU for input gain not output? What you're seeing isn't the amp struggling, it's the fact that playing live you put more energy into the strings than practising at home. Therefore in rehearsal your bass is giving the amp more level than at home. Just turn the inpUt gain down a tad to reduce the peaking and increase the master vol a tad to compensate... And yes, if you do need more volume try adding an extension speaker first.

Great band. Did you know that Archive.com has a load of their shows for free legal download? Including the Electrif Lycanthrope shows... https://archive.org/details/LittleFeat?and[]=year%3A%221974%22

Sigh... Just a straightforward way of saying actually only a few are at one extreme or another but most are in the middle. Therefore a few bands (covers or original) are rubbish, a few are absolutely amazing, most are, to one degree or another, OK to quite good... Sigh...

For me the thumb behind four fingers four fret technique has been really useful and one which it is worth working on and becoming comfortable with. Ive got shorter fingers and even if you don't use it slavishly it is a really useful tool to have in the toolbox as a player. Looking across my playing I probably use 4 fret technique about 30-40% of the time. A lazy variant on 4 fret about 40-50% of the time and thumb over about 10-20% of the time, sliding between all three. Building up the pinkie works too, in fact now my ring finger is probably my more neglected finger over preference for the pinkie. It gives that little extra stretch. Those chromatic four fret exercises are good for building dexterity and strength too... Spiders crawling up the string and across the strings. Eg working up the next 4 frets at a time starting at F, then F# then G etc. Or 4 frets from F then Bb, then Eb then Ab and back down to F#, B, E, A etc... I've never had an issue with 34" scale lengths a problem but narrower necks certainly are an advantage.

Funny, I spent this morning on a diet of Doobies... Their first album and farewell gig from the 80s. With those five CDs you have the cream of their stuff. Next two two try are Minute By Minure and Livin on the Fault Line. The other two classic period albums. Tho on both the Michael McDonald soul influence gets heavier. Their self titled album is rawer but a great listen too. Tiran Porter... What a bass player! The later post reform stuff doesn't really stack up to the early stuff but is still quite listenable. There are a couple of live albums which are good too, esp Rockin' down the Highway: The Wildlife Concert. Kind of a greatest hits live set. Studio Discog... The Doobie Brothers (1971) Toulouse Street (1972) The Captain and Me (1973) What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits (1974) Stampede (1975) Takin' It to the Streets (1976) Livin' on the Fault Line (1977) Minute by Minute (1978) One Step Closer (1980) Cycles (1989) Brotherhood (1991) Sibling Rivalry (2000) World Gone Crazy (2010) Southbound (2014)[18]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1455740068' post='2982046'] My job in my band is to play the best bass lines that compliment the songs we play, sing background vocals and maintain a certain level of stage presence. I was not hired to critique or correct other members playing ability. As long as our calender is filled with good gigs I keep quiet. Blue [/quote] Dragging us kicking and screaming back onto topic I found Blue's comments interesting although I didn't agree with them. The difficulty arises when the player thinks that they're doing just what Blue describes but on any reasonable measure isn't. Where they are playing something that clashes with the song and/or other band member (either because of a characteristic of the song - to over exaggerate effect, palm muted metal power chords all through Le Freak, a Mark King slap fest all through Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding... Or by consensus of the band that that isn't what is wanted/required for their version of that number). Then, and here is where I disagree with the last comment, it should be addressed within the band context. Sometimes one member is elected (or the first to blink and elect themselves out of necessity) to be the catalyst for addressing the problem. Unaddressed it just festers and causes even greater problems down the line. Humility and teachability are great character assets for any musician, as the willingness to play for the greater good not just oneself. There have been some really good bits of advice so far on how to help open the guitarist's eyes to a need to change already in ther thread,

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1455876552' post='2983124'] A declaration of war! [/quote] No, just an over simplified statement of statistical theory... Most things fall into some form of distribution and that will include both cover and originals bands... As others have noted. On this table... X axis will be increasing goodness of band, Y axis will be number of bands...

Hake! This could drag on for dace before we all clam up. I'll just perch over here and watch...

I love the Audere pre I put on my Frankenjazz... B/M/T plus pickup pan. Plus dead easy to install...

Just saw this on one of the "for sale" pages on Facebook... now THAT'S what I call that great Trace Elliott tone... Yikes! Zoinks! PS no connection/interests etc... just thought it was a stonker of a photo...

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1455301848' post='2978057'] Or what about Koi Division... or Hake That? Or do we go full out with Codplay? [/quote] Just wondered whether Codplay would have a guest vocal slot from Beyonsea?

Not seen that video before. Genius. If my old TE Series 6 200w 1215 combo hadn't died after falling off a trolley during a load out I'd still be using it today as my main gig amp. Loved that amplifier. Always sounded great.

The day they match the rosewood neck with the ash body I'm "in"... Like a rocket!

Aimee Mann swaps and changes between guitar and bass across a live set... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbX2jAgQOgY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbX2jAgQOgY[/url]

I met Phil Lynott once, after a gig on the farewell Lizzy tour. After queuing for autographs I phoned dad and had good half hour wait while he drove from Truro to St Austell to fetch me. Bored, I wandered back into the empty hall to watch the roadies break down the set, as was my habit. Suddenly Philo appeared from backstage carrying a half empty Smirnoff bottle and clocked this forlorn teenager in a huge empty hall. He asked "What's up, you OK?" And when I explained I was just waiting for my lift he beckoned me up on stage and said, "Well, you can wait up here if you like." So for the next twenty minutes or so we sat side by side on Brian Downey's drum riser chatting about this or that and shooting the breeze. Talking about music, stuff we liked, Phil's plans post-Lizzy. He really seemed like a genuinely lovely, soft spoken (slightly drunk) guy. Bless him, he was still in full stage apparel and was dangling his legs back and forth. He was mortified when he accidentally kicked my shin with his big cowboy boots and apologised the way only a cheerfully half cut person can. Eventually dad appeared at far end of the hall, wondering where I was. I bade Phil farewell and jumped down off the stage before heading home. Also when I was putting my Wal history blog together I chatted to or met a few Wal players. All were really nice folks but three stand out in memory as particularly great. Percy Jones, great fellow, Justin Meldal Johnsen who was a laugh and a total bass geek... But loveliest of all was John G Perry of Quatrum Jump, Giltrap Band and Caravan fame. Just such a nice guy.

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1455179141' post='2976626'] It's not a Squier neck. [/quote] D'oh!

This turns up on a regular basis - some interesting comments on it below... Zingzillas is a top show which attracts tome stellar musical guests. My music mad 5 year old loves it... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/186655-why-zender-is-the-best/page__p__1804172__hl__zingzillas__fromsearch__1#entry1804172"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/186655-why-zender-is-the-best/page__p__1804172__hl__zingzillas__fromsearch__1#entry1804172[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/202941-stuart-zender-on-zingzillas/page__p__2017911__hl__zingzillas__fromsearch__1#entry2017911"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/202941-stuart-zender-on-zingzillas/page__p__2017911__hl__zingzillas__fromsearch__1#entry2017911[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/196190-we-found-bass-in-a-hopeless-place/page__st__60__p__2426853__hl__zingzillas__fromsearch__1#entry2426853"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/196190-we-found-bass-in-a-hopeless-place/page__st__60__p__2426853__hl__zingzillas__fromsearch__1#entry2426853[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/271517-when-times-get-tough-for-professional-bass-players/page__p__2890568__hl__zingzillas__fromsearch__1#entry2890568"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/271517-when-times-get-tough-for-professional-bass-players/page__p__2890568__hl__zingzillas__fromsearch__1#entry2890568[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/278348-indoctrinating-the-nations-5-year-olds-in-funk-and-disco/page__p__2970742__hl__zingzillas__fromsearch__1#entry2970742"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/278348-indoctrinating-the-nations-5-year-olds-in-funk-and-disco/page__p__2970742__hl__zingzillas__fromsearch__1#entry2970742[/url]

Since you're going to proudly tell everyone that you did the bass yourself as a project rather than try to pass it off as a genuine .fender a logo saying something like "Dan Dare Custom" with maybe a little clip art retro style rocket would fit the bill nicely. I agree that without a decal it looks a bit empty and unfinished but with a fake branded logo it looks a bit sad... Does that neck still have the Squier logo as leaving that could be an option.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1455105120' post='2975860'] Thin stuff actually. I know that the first three tracks and the last two were originally written as a single suite a-la Supper's Ready (Tony's idea) but the band decided to split them up with random tracks. There might be a theme with some of the songs but certainly no concept. [/quote] Well, I never said Duke was a great story... ;-) I'd always thought/heard that the other tracks had also been loosely woven about that faded rock star midlife crisis theme/story which bookend the album, with liberal drawing on Collins' messy life of the time. Happy to file under "theme" rather than story, though. [quote name='Bikenbass' timestamp='1455156608' post='2976578'] Camel, Flight Of The Snow Goose. [/quote] Good call, forgot that one. Love that album. I'll also chuck in Home ( and the NewYork Suite mini album) by Welsh proggers Magenta, Snow by Spock's Beard and with a loose storyline, Clone by Threshold...

Don't forget there are two varieties of concept album... The story type and the overarching theme/high concept type... Lots of great ones mentioned but here are a few of my faves... STORY: Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War Of The World's Donald Fagen - Kamakiriad The Who - Tommy Rick Wkeman - Myths and Legends of King Arthur Genesis - Duke Horslips - The Tain Horslips - The Book Of Invasions OVERARCHING IDEA: Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak Alan Parsons Project - Gaudi Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon Horslips - The Man Who Built America & Aliens Gordon Giltrap - Visionary/Fear Of The Dark/Peacock Party

Ok so my Wals have a wee bit more scope for tonal tweakery than your average passive wiring loom but for me there's a lot of fun to be had sculpting the sound with the tone controls and finding one that really works for the song and the mood. I have loads of different fave settings for different sounds on mine. And that's before you play around with right hand placement, the level of attack and where along the string you pluck, how you pluck the strings - tips of the fingers,sides of the fingers, fleshy part of the thumb... All make a huge difference. I did a wedding gig where a teenage kid came up in one of the breaks to ask what pedals I was using to get all the different tones I was using (songs from Britpop to folk to white reggae to rock n roll to funk...) . All I had at my feet was a Boss TU2 Tuner and a Lehle switching pedal to swap between my two basses.

Just do the gig and fill the space between you. As you say, the audience won't know!

Just spotted this in the Grauniad... http://gu.com/p/4gh82?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other So it turns out that the legal wrangles over Happy Birthday To You have been settled and that it is finally in the public domain. And Warner Chappell have to compensate everyone they charged to use it for media and performances. So, no longer will the guests at birthday parties on films and telly programmes have to sing "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" slightly awkwardly instead of "Happy Birthday To You".

Can I nominate Gordon Giltrap. I got to know him over the years and he's so self effacing and such a gent. Also dear old Herbie Flowers. Saw him playing bass in Jeff Wayne's WotW a few years ago in Brighton. The following afternoon my wife and I were wandering the back streets when we saw Herbie and Chris Spedding trundling their overnight bags down the street towards the theatre for that evening's show. I said to Herbie, "Don't want to disturb you or hold you up but just wanted to say how much we enjoyed the show and what a treat it was to hear you and Chris recreating your parts..." We would have just left it there but he insisted on stopping for a proper chat, wanted to know about us, asked about my bass playing, shared a few anecdotes... Just a lovely bloke!

The fix on the neck was done by Mike Lull so it should be a quality, reliable bit of work too. As you say, a US bargain.