SpondonBassed

Thanks for considering anyway. Can you PM me with the expected start time for your set in Borrowash please?

Welcome Phill.

As a bassist, I wouldn't. As part of a rhythm section I would have no objection to working with a drummer who uses one for the count-in. In fact, I'd feel better in that situation. I think it's important to know that you are on tempo, even if you are consistent and accurate on your own. As an advanced motorcyclist, I could ride to speed limits to within a unit or two of any of the national speed limits without looking at my speedometer. Engine vibes and string vibes are similar in that you can feel their frequency and regulate accordingly. The difference being that you wont get unwelcome attention from plod for drumming without a clock. It's nice if a band gels and tempo is never an issue. Getting there is the trick.

Perhaps best not to let him have access to a tambourine then.

Bump.

(Passes Japhet a moist flannel to place upon the weary brow) See that's the thing I suffer from. I don't trust my laptop's ability to play recordings at their proper tempo either. Most of the PCs I use have that time-slice thing that interupts media playback regularly. On Win 3.1 it was a fiftieth of a second. It's still apparent on current PC based digital playback but less perceptible. My latest lappy (second-hand) sometimes changes pitch during playback. I am not sure if the tempo changes with it but I kid you not, I was sure I was listening to a cassette player just starting to run down its battery before it righted itself! The problem occurs infrequently so I haven't been able to trouble shoot the problem. It's only a low level annoyance just now. If it gets worse I think I will use my lappy like a frisbee and give it flying lessons. Sometimes I.T. is just a quicker and more expensive way of reproducing what was annoying in the analogue years.

I accept your viewpoint. If I was more than a hobby-bassist it might be relevant to me.

At my level Mark, you are lucky to find any sort of a drummer to practice with. I liked your description of how it works on stage where it's applied.

PMd.

It's refreshing to see such a well reasoned reaction in this age of consumerism and litigation. It is also great to see another example of BC camaraderie.

Has anyone checked to see if he can state what BPM he is playing to accurately? I don't doubt his consistency, you understand, instead I am wondering if a competent human can play to a within a beat (or two for leniency) of any given target tempo in BPM on demand. If so, how commonplace are drummers like that? The visual element. I think I might get on better with the mechanical baton waggle better than a flashing LED. I am certain that the mechanical tick-tock will sound better than the bip. I can't say if I'd like the click any better than the bip as I have never had IEMs to try with but it goes against the grain in my current thinking. I can't be arsed with click tracks or MIDI. I have no use for them just yet. Maybe down the line one day but not now. It's just more electrickery. Good man! I must find out more about mine. Have you any idea what age yours is?

I was interested to read elsewhere in this parish of drummers who use metronomes in practice and on stage. These are of course gigging musicians. I hesitate to use the term professional since its meaning has been severely diluted in recent years and it does not serve well for this topic. To me it makes sense for the drummer to use it as opposed to the bassist but since both roles are crucial for the rhythmic drive of a band, others may have an alternative view. I am referring mainly to the use of metronomes (as opposed to the click) when performing. I assume that no bassists do this on stage. Correct me if I am wrong please. ***** At home, I am very weak willed when it comes to practice with a metronome. I have a few of them. Most of them are bundled with tuners in pocket sized devices powered by battery. To access either the tuner or the metronome functions I have to press and hold a button for a few seconds. Further, I have to cycle the time signature options and if I miss the one I am looking for, I have to go around again. This is so off-putting that I seldom bother unless I have a specific reason. The result is that I don't spend enough of my practice time with a metronome. It's shameful of me to be so neglectful. This morning I have taken my grandfather's (latterly my father's) clockwork metronome off the shelf and I will put it in my practice area for easy access. Standing alone and with no other responsibilities than to keep time, I am optimistic that I will use it more than the others. My tuner need only work as a tuner and its nested functions can rest in peace forever. There are no wires or batteries, just a winder for the mainspring in the mechanism. I have removed the excuses that bundled devices allow me to get out of jail with, so to speak. I am optimistic that I will get more use from this metronome than the others. It's also a lovely bit of kit if all I ever do is look at it. Wish me luck. PS: I'd love to see one like mine being used by a drummer even if it is out of sight of the audience. Then again I would like to see a world united by peace and the pursuit of a Winter home in a new solar system. Silly me.

You should put this in the Build Diaries. I think it would get a better airing there.

Welcome Mick.

Ouch. I was glad to have used the outer two strings at this stage in my own kit build because the saddles' centreline was slightly offset from the bridge backplate centreline. It is still hard to see why it would be like that but BC builders always check with strings at the bridge alignment stage so I wasn't going to fly in the face of experience. It paid me well to follow that example. Jez and Andy were the two I had been reading up on if I recall correctly. Cheers chaps.

Welcome Charwood.

PMd

I don't gig. I only plug a tuner into my rig. I don't want anything between my bass and amp as I haven't become fully aquainted with what I can already do with what I've got. One drawback to my situation is that it is rare for me to play at gigable volumes so my view is hardly representative. I do however echo the sentiment above that fx complicate things and make troubleshooting more of a chore if things aren't quite right. If I ever got to gig regularly I might change but I think it is unlikely. My Ashdown has Five band eq, Compression, Deep, Bright, Overdrive and Subharmonics already without plugging anything into the FX loop. I'm happy enough with what I've got.

Welcome Claptonite. That's a great screen name.

I think the factory was the main source of income for Spondon families for many years. Look at Spondon Historical Society for example. In the gallery there are quite a few images of the factory and workers taken at various times through its history.

Is anyone in a position to give me a lift there and back (Spondon-Enderby-Spondon) please? I am only carrying one bass.

Yes. Celanese as was. It's almost completely demolished now.

Excellent.

Good man! Watching with interest.

Welcome Bora.