fleabag

PS i should add that i gigged for a few years as a drummer long before i took up the bass, many many moons ago

Having played bass for many years, you have a head start on any other drummer beginners. Sadly, like many things, there's no shortcut. Thwacking out a beat in your bedroom is easy enough. The hard part comes when its time to play along with other instruments, and on top of that, fills that purposely go out of time and come back in at the right place, half beats / off beats, rolls , paradiddles, beats other than 4/4 etc etc etc ( if you get that far ) Backing tracks would be a great way to kick ( sic ) off , so thats what i would do, and then just keep slogging, and when you've got comfortable with timing, start introducing a fill and come back in on time, and when thats going well, try other options like different timings, and synchopated rhythms that work brilliantly for funk

That bass wiring is a stroke of genius. The fact that you can tell exactly what pickup is on what option, at a glance, is a brilliant idea. Ok, you may not remember how you've balanced the pickups ( bridge only, neck only, both ) as thats just a knob, but still wonderful concept The other is that the DB level sorts itself out no matter which of the single coil / split coil / humbucker combos is used. That is worth its weight in gold right there. The combination options are somewhat over the top though. Its like having 15 pickups, as he said, there are 15 different combinations to choose, although my maths says there are more Having said all that, i think the bass and Martins ideas are out of this world and would buy one in a heartbeat. Could this be unique in the bass world ? I'm sure i'm wrong , but i dont remember seeing a bass with those LED pups and those switching options anywhere before http://www.enfieldguitars.com/englishrosegallery.html

I made a point of adding castors to some of my cabs if they didnt already have them and were heavy. Thing is, do not add the hard plastic / nylon style castors. They make an absolute deafening racket. I fitted 75mm rubber castors to my Beyma / Peavey 210 and it glides nicely with minimal noise Means i can unload late nights / early mornings without waking the neighbours

Brilliant..happy ending Well done Colin. What great tenacity

Personal to the individual i guess, but i never liked that attack that pick players speak of. Most pick tracks seem to sound like mild versions of Jean Jackets Brunel of the Stranglers, a tone i really hate, despite whether he's a good bassist or not. YMMV of course

I've bought heavy duty velcro too, ( unbranded + 3 m) but the velcro part is never the problem, its always the poor adhesive on the back. Its ok with some pedals but not with others Someone mentioned Velcro ( the brand ) industrial , so maybe thats my next try

Quite right. I wouldn't even bother with an audition if a band required me to learn 20 songs to see if I was what they wanted

I like No.2

Sold Mike some Aria pickups and had a no fuss transaction. Good lad

If you can handle it, then not a problem really I must say though that we usually allow 2 rehearsals for a simple track and 4 rehearsals for a tricky one. Lazy or what ?

20 songs for an audition sounds rediculous. IMO a band is trying to assess whether you can play and have the right chops for them, and they can suss that out in a matter of 3 or 4 songs. Maybe when they landed you with the 20 tracks, it would have been wise to tell them you have a life outside of music that has to be tended to, and 3 or 4 would have been more realistic, given the time restraints in your life