Russ

Vince - thanks for the post. To be honest it's not really my thing, but best of luck with it. Sci'entia guys - did you get my PM?

Great day. Good to see everyone, old faces and new, and lots of great gear to ogle. And hey, I won a T-shirt! Gear highlights of the day were Alex's new Barefaced cabs, the Markbass Multiamp, a Mk3 Wal and Billy Apple's raucous Matamp rig.

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1379499535' post='2213308'] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]66. alexclaber - some Barefaced thingies, a RIM Custom 5 36", and some amps and maybe some T-shirts![/size][/font][/color] [/quote] Dude, bring a 69'er if you've got one around, and maybe a Super 12! Also, as a heads-up, your website's throwing an error right now...

[quote name='Bloodaxe' timestamp='1379447191' post='2212894'] Very decent of you sir. The Coach & Four is 'up on blocks' at the moment as I believe the lower classes are wont to say. Actually, I was toying with the notion of experiencing one of these new-fangled horseless carriages that seem to be rather popular, so if anyone was planning on going that lives anywhere near Lewisham, Forest Hill, Catford or even the horror that is Croydon & would be willing to give me a lift I'd appreciate it. Happy to bung in towards petrol costs. [/quote] I'm in the Cronx, and I'll have a spare passenger seat. But I won't have too much room for extra gear, since I only have a little horseless carriage...

[quote name='urb' timestamp='1375003753' post='2155557'] After last year's M25 hell I'm thinking if I come this year it will be by train - if so I'll only be able to bring a bass and maybe some fx - my only problem is I have a very important gig on the Monday so may have to rehearse that day - if not ill be there - I'll know nearer the time - I'd be happy to do some kind of technique workshop this year but again I'll have to confirm in a few weeks once I've sorted the rehearsal thing out. Cheers and hope to see you all there Mike [/quote] Even after last year's debacle, I'll be driving this year and a lift shall be available! Although I'm not going to tempt fate with the "how can the same $hit happen to the same guys twice?"

The MB series always sounded great and offered good bang for the buck. Shame about the reliability issues. It is sad if Marshall are indeed throwing in the towel. A reissue of the DBS range (possibly with less ridiculously heavy cabs) could have done well - they've developed a bit of a cult following. Plus there's something about the Marshall name that's timeless and aspirational, even if that reputation is mostly based on their guitar amps. Maybe they should rebrand the Eden E-series (formerly known as Nemesis) as the new Marshall bass range? Or enter the lightweight fray with a competitor to Ampeg's Portaflex? Who knows... they might have something up their sleeves. I hope so.

[quote name='rockwaves' timestamp='1374259062' post='2147025'] We certainly have some flexibility when it comes to age. What is important to us at the moment is someone who can fulfill the gigs we have lined up. How much over 28 we talking? WPF [/quote] About, er, 13 years over 28?

Love it, right up my street. Got any flexibility on the age thing though? I'm a little bit over 28...

I've had several Seis over the years (Flamboyant 4, Flamboyant 5 fretless, singlecut 5 and a Sei Jazz fretless) and they've all been wonderful instruments. The singlecut 5 has been my main player for close to 10 years now, and it just gets better with age. Martin is a master craftsman, and will work with you to make sure you get exactly what you want in terms of appearance, tone and feel. I've also had a GB - wonderful instrument, amazing tone, but it didn't really work in the mix for the kind of music I was playing at the time - very hi-fi and a bit mid-shy, even with the huge 21dB mid boost.

[color=#111111][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Are you a band in the rock/prog/metal/alternative vein? Do you need a bass player? Are you located within easy reach of Croydon? Will you consider someone (just) over 40 (with a good head of hair and surprisingly few wrinkles)? Then read on... [/font][/color] [color=#111111][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Me: Bassist. 41. Been playing well over 20 years. Loves to sit back and groove, but also loves to play chords, widdle, stamp on effects pedals and use weird techniques. Top-end gear. A car to drag it all around in. Lots of ideas and very open-minded. Lover of great songs, big hooks, chuggy riffs and huge, wide, thick arrangements. Given up the whole notion of being a "rock star" - been there, tried that, didn't like it much. Now just looking to be involved with some great music played by good people, write some tunes, play some gigs, record some stuff, put it out there online and hopefully find a few people around the place who might like it. [/font][/color] [color=#111111][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]So, that's the pitch. If you think I could be a good fit for your band, please drop me a line![/font][/color]

I'm in. Hopefully I won't get stuck on the M25 for four hours like last year. [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]1. Hamster -[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]2. Silverfoxnik - BC Rich Eagle, Schecter Diamond P5, Levinson Blade B15, amp & cab tbc 3. Happy Jack - Matamp GT120 with Barefaced stack 4. Bluejay - something left-handed [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]5. [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]OBBM - Bergantino CN212, Aguilar TH500, A couple of old Fenders, perhaps a Sadowsky UV70.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]6. chris_b 7. Clarky 8. Russ - Sei 5-string, Spector 5-string, Markbass 6x10"/Ampeg SVT-7 9. 10. 11. 12. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]13.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]14.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]15.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]16.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]17.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]18.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]19.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]20.[/font][/color]

Looking forward to trying one. But no CAR? They've missed a trick there!

Not massively motivated to play myself as of late either. Being a dad takes up most of my spare time these days. I still want to play, but it's hard when you can't find a suitable band - I'm 41, am past the whole "making it" thing (kinda been there, done that), but still have absolutely no interest in doing what most players my age do, which is playing covers. Most people who want to play original rock/metal are in their 20s and, despite still having a full head of non-grey hair and not too much "experience" on my face, I suspect I wouldn't fit in as I have different priorities in life these days - no interest in record deals, all-night pi$$-ups or groupies any more (it actually hurt a little to admit that ). I have found myself playing a lot more acoustic guitar though - working on my acoustic technique, my singing, and trying to do a little bit of songwriting too. Time to move on to another challenge. And I'll go back to playing bass when a good band or project comes along.

I know most of their tunes, am the right age, and even look a lot like Adam Duce. But I won't do it as it involves posting a bass video to Youtube. No thanks!

Bah. My old GB Rumour 5 is up for sale on eBay again (custom body shape, twin Hipshots, LEDs, etc), and I don't have the money to buy it... I think someone here should get it and give it a good home. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GB-Goodfellow-Rumour-5-String-British-Boutique-Bass-Status-Maintained-Mega-/140919638823?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123

The Bass Of Doom obviously had its own sound - even today, with the bass having been completely rebuilt literally from pieces, it still sounds much the same as it did in Jaco's hands. He obviously knew he had a good 'un and played the hell out of it, hence all the wear. Here it is being played by Victor Bailey, Will Lee and Vic Wooten: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp1L-Vw0Ems[/media]

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1361192926' post='1982441'] Oh, who wouldn't? Although i think being a really massive rock star isn't as glamorous as it might seem. But this term "Make it" gets thrown around a lot. Make what? what, as a musician, is the goal that we are all supposed to be aiming for, this "It" that everyone refers to. Sorry, but if i can live comfortably off my music, frankly, i have made it, and everything after that is a bonus. A year or 2 ago, my friends tried to say that i shouldn't focus on music as a career because very few people "Make it". I had to point out that they clearly know f*** all about music, even at a local level and that they should stop trying to dictate how i should live my life. I'm not saying that they were wrong, but they obviously don't understand the very many ways that we as musicians can make money from our skills. [/quote] The whole notion of "making it" is nonsense. Someone who plays in a pit band for a West End show has made it. Someone who plays in an orchestra has made it. Someone who gigs covers for a living has made it. It's not all about groupies, drugs and throwing TVs out of hotel room windows (not that that side of it isn't fun ), it's about making a living. Never got to that point with it myself - even when I was in a signed band I still had to work a day job. It's almost like I don't want to though - to me, once playing music feels like work, that's when it stops being fun.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1361183921' post='1982247'] Like Flac or high-bitrate MP3? Vinyl junkies are a dying breed (and they're demonstrably wrong that digital doesn't sound as good, but thats another debate). People aren't going to buy new hardware to buy a new album anymore. They just won't. CDs flew off the shelves because the benefits of cds over vinyl were obvious to everyone---smaller, harder to damage, etc. The benefits of some new format over what we have at the moment will be very technical and not very accessible to the public---they just won't care. [/quote] No. FLAC and high bitrate MP3 are still 44.1KHz but are lossless (FLAC), or less lossy with less artifacting (MP3). FLAC is the same as a CD. High bitrate MP3s are still not as good as a CD. And whether a new physical audio format can take off is, like most technology these days, entirely dependent on content. If there's enough great showcase material for a new format that highlights what it can do that other formats can't, then there's going to be an audience for it. Vinyl junkies aren't as much of a dying breed as you think, they're just becoming much more genre-specific. There's still quite a lot of people out there who are buying the high-end turntables, top-end speakers, etc, but they're mostly listeners of classical, jazz, reggae, prog rock and some kinds of dance music. These are almost always people who take the time to listen and concentrate on their music rather than having it as audio wallpaper. But these people will often also use digital formats when they're out and about, but prefer vinyl for home listening.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1361178039' post='1982138'] I completely agree. There are obviously some very intelligent people on this site, but i think sometimes their intelligence overtakes themselves. Of course the music industry and musicians are ying and yang. The part about asking somebody to invest in something you wouldn't is bull- the amount of money it takes to produce a high quality album, and then marketing that album costs an absolute fortune. Unless you already have a fortune, or assets which you can secure a loan against (which puts a lot of risk in your hands, and you are never the best judge of your own work. You could have something you think is brilliant, but nearly everyone else thinks it's horrible, you will likely loose whatever assets you have you loan against.). Record labels are needed. To say that they aren't involved in making music is just silly. [/quote] Record companies are not needed. Not any more. All they ever were were glorified marketing agencies and loan sharks anyway. Many people see them as the gatekeepers, the arbiters of taste. In the digital age, that job is now the responsibility of the listeners. The more an artist's work is listened to, shared, added to a Spotify playlist, tweeted about, etc, the more visibility they'll get, the more potential fans they'll reach and the more potential they have to make money from gigging, merch, endorsements, use in other media (soundtracks, adverts and so on), etc. With cheap DIY recording technology, advances for recording aren't needed anymore so the whole "loan shark" element becomes unnecessary. With social media, you're playing on the same marketing playing field as the labels since social media is the biggest influencer these days. There is basically nothing a label can do for a band these days that they can't do for themselves for little to no expense. If you like a band, share it. Tell other people. That's how it works these days. Labels are becoming an anachronism. Milty - have you ever been professionally involved in any other creative field? When you're first trying to break into the field, you've got to spend a lot of your own time (and probably a fair bit of money) on building a portfolio. A recording is a musician's portfolio. The fact that they've got to self-finance it just means they're in the same position as every other aspiring creative professional. Once you get the gig (literally and metaphorically) you find yourself in the same boat as more or less any other small business - it's just that now the customers have changed from the labels to the fans themselves, with various upselling opportunities on the back of your loss leader (your recordings).