knirirr

I don't subscribe to it either (nor do I have any plans to do so) and was able to read the whole thing. Here's some of the text: With hits like Apache, Kon-Tiki and Dance On, The Shadows remain the most successful instrumental band in British music history. However, their career could have taken a very different turn if they had listened to Harrison. Marvin encountered the Beatles guitarist in 1965 shortly after The Shadows released Don't Make My Baby Blue, a rarity for them because it featured vocals. He recalled: "I bumped into George Harrison in Abbey Road studios and he told me how much he loved the single. 'Take my advice,' he said, 'forget about being an instrumental group and follow up on the vocals.' "We didn't. We were idiots. Nice boys, but idiots. I remember we talked about it after I'd had that conversation with George - can't remember the substance of the debate but with hindsight we probably didn't apply very sound reasoning."

This article describes something that seems to me to be appropriate for the thread: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/6231899/Hank-Marvin-We-should-have-taken-Harrisons-advice-and-sung.html

How about The Sidewinder?

Tricky... There are so many albums where a track or two isn't particularly exciting. This might fit the bill, though: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m6hixNLj6XQlfGvUqyfGYxYfPzYQX-2GA

I play regularly at a jazz jam. Somehow, any time something I like and over which I could solo competently (for an amateur in rural England) appeared then either the bass solo would be forgotten or someone else would play over it, etc. etc. If it was an unfamiliar/complicated piece I'd not fancy risking then the chance of a cry of "bass solo!" and everyone stopping to listen would increase. I think this is mostly fixed now, though. What makes the session go well is communication. Things are usually fine when someone clearly names the piece and the key (the actual key, not the first note of the melody or root of the first chord)*, explains any special arrangement they want, waits for those who require them to find the iReal charts or real book, then clearly counts everyone in* rather than simply starting to play and hoping everyone comes in. Probably a lot easier at a blues jam, but paying close attention to the form and where we are in it is something that improves the performance no end and is often neglected. * Guitarists...

A thought occurred to me - have you considered rental? For example: https://www.bassbags.co.uk/double-bass-hire-rental/ This is the route I'd have taken if it were not for the chance discovery of an instrument for sale locally I could borrow for a weekend before purchase (there's a similar Stentor for sale here for £900). Some places allow the rental payments to count against purchase. There is probably a 3-month minimum rental period.

We were at The Royal Oak, Ramsden, yesterday. A very nice pub, though we had some sound issues as we were playing in a small alcove and different instruments were clearer in different directions and at different distances. For example, the bass was very clear at the tables nearby but not indoors in the dining area (I didn't fancy turning up too much as the cab was pointed at the drummer). A fun gig, though, and we were accosted afterwards by locals offering other opportunities.

Today I have mostly been wearing one of these excellent shirts:

Strange that people feel the need to respond with abuse. "Sorry about that, I'll see what I can do" would get far better results. I recall a chap I knew (a metal singer) who behaved as those DIY fans you mention did and was punched when he told his (justifiably annoyed) neighbour to f. off. He called the police who, when taking his statement for the assault, found various stolen street signs in his flat and charged him with theft.

Living in a terrace I am concerned about disturbing neighbours due to practice; I do about 90 minutes a day, never after 10pm (usually well before), and either unamplified acoustic, electric through a small practice amp with 4" speakers or brass with a practice mute in. I asked the more sociable neighbours on one side about it and they said they rarely heard anything and didn't mind what little they did hear. The other neighbours have a loud dog and like to let it out to bark a few times per day, starting early. A few weeks ago, after 7 days straight of barking at 5:55 am I asked them if they wouldn't mind keeping the dog indoors until an hour or so later. The response was more or less "this is the price of living in a terrace, and anyway we have to listen to your constant music practice". They did reschedule the morning bark as requested, though, until this morning when it was back to 5:55am.

That location looks familiar. I've never had chance to try the bar, though.

We found that the venue now has a small outdoor stage and seating; the acoustics here were very good and we got a nice sound from bass and drums. A few cockups, but I think we got away with it. Part of the fun of playing with this band is that I get to encounter some of the tunes (all originals by the BL) for the first time at gigs, which happened this time.

I can, or could, if I started practicing again. But, I fear my neighbours would hate it more than the sound of my badly-played trombone they currently complain about.

Same here. Getting paid is not really particularly important as long as we're not being mucked about or put to any inconvenience. Relaxing in an armchair with a beer would be my preferred Friday night activity, so if I'm to give it up then things need to go smoothly. What's always caused problems in the past are gigs where the venue staff view the band as an annoyance and/or have caused extra nuisance, e.g. one venue where they didn't want musicians getting in the way of the punters by loading or unloading during the event so insisted we dropped our kit off the night before and stored it on their site at our own risk then picked it up the day after. Oh, and no parking on site for loading for the likes of us; park in the street half a mile away and carry all the gear was the order.

I remember playing with such a chap a long time ago. It was due to the way college ball gigs were organised; our jazz combo would not be the main entertainment but would have an early and late set on a small stage somewhere (e.g. in the bar). The payment would be a ticket to the event, i.e. free food and alcohol. The drummer liked to indulge considerably between sets; the audience would have been in a bad state and probably didn't notice anything was wrong, but the effects on his timing were a nuisance for me. Nothing but alcohol-free drinks for me then, and now.

Not bad this afternoon. We had a dep. drummer with whom I've never played before but he was rather good. There was one missed ending cue (the trumpeter likes sudden endings) but we must have covered it up well enough as the public I spoke to didn't notice.

The Roland micro cube has been mentioned above. I recently had a chance to try one out and it worked very nicely; the particular band for which I use it normally complains that the bass is too quiet, but were completely satisfied during this gig. There's a video here (apologies for bad playing; recovering from illness) which I have already posted elsewhere, so further apologies if you've seen it twice: https://youtu.be/V6YLqu1Zb7E I was using a pre-amp otherwise the pickup sounds dreadful. N.B. it's fine with this amount of drumming, but is overwhelmed in the presence of a full kit.