Monkey Steve

my favourite version - it's the B-side on one of their singles...can't remember which

I have similar friends - one in particular who can barely play the guitar (seriously - I'm one of the few people who has ever actually seen him play, and he basically can't) but has loads of them, and lots of effects and amps, recording software...for that day when he will actually sit down and learn to play his instrument. It's just a matter of time, he just needs to sit down and soon he'll be a virtuoso. He's 47 years old and has yet to find the time. I think he likes the idea of being a musician much more than he wants to actually be a musician - he was the (appallingly bad) singer in a band I was in 25 years ago, has never been in another band since (well, technically he was in another band with me a few years later - I knew nothing about it until I turned up at the first rehearsal...he lasted about three months before we sacked him) but likes to give the impression that he is simply "resting" between bands and will be ready to go again as soon as someone asks him. Among his collection is a Parker Nitefly, an impressive bit of kit with both standard pickups and a piezo, and you can split the output for separate electric and acoustic sounds. So obviously he bought a fairly high end acoustic amp for those occasions. He has never played the guitar outside of his front room, and I'm willing to bet that he's never used the amp other than when he first got it home from the shop. His last major purchase was a Variax, with the Line 6 effects module that allows him to control all of the guitar, effects and amp modelling settings...for an instrument that he basically cannot play. He contacted me a couple of months ago as he is in the process of clearing out his two bedroom flat so that he can rent it out, and is moving into a new one bedroom place with his girlfriend next month. Space will be at a premium in the new flat so he's asked me if i can store his spare musical equipment in my loft for a while. The latest count is five guitars, probably a bass, and at least three amps, as well as a box full of reasonably high end effects. His girlfriend has never heard him play. She's looking forward to hearing him actually play, as up to this point all she's heard are the regular excuses of why he doesn't want to play her anything because he's working on "projects" that aren't finished and he's not ready to show them to anybody yet. Still, if he keeps the musical instrument industry going, there's no harm, and we all get to laugh at him.

I was discussing this last week with a band I'm helping out. they all use some custom ear plugs, whereas I have yet to find a pair that doesn't alter the sound to the extent that it puts me off playing. I tried using them (again) but after a couple of songs they were pulled half way out, and a song or two later had been discarded completely. I do think it's a discipline, to get used to playing with them, but the band made a comment that most of them only use them in rehearsals, because their on stage volume is completely manageable and thus much lower. It helps that the guitarists both use Kempers, so can DI to the mixing desk and don't need to crank their amps to obscene volume. Mind you, they do rehearse three times a week in their own studio where there's no hiding from the drums, and only tour once a year, so the damage is far more likely to be done in practice. If gigging is the issue, can you get the band to better manage the on stage volume?

Glad the OP managed to solve this one amiably, and quite cleverly to make it part of a wider discussion about the band's direction. It's always puzzled me that song choice causes so much trouble in bands...seems to come back to: 1. some of the band realising that being in a band is a compromise so you'll have to put up with some stuff that isn't your favourite thing to play; 2. some who take the view that they are giving up their free time to be in the band so should only be expected to play songs they like (but who never seem to mind making other people play songs that they might not like); and 3. the raging ego of those who just know that their choices are the best thing for the band. I'm very much in category 1, albeit that I will argue if I think that a song doesn't work for the band, Best experience of this - a punk covers band where we could all suggest new songs to learn and we'd give anything a bash. Usually it quickly became apparent what worked and what didn't, whether because the song just didn't fit or because we couldn't play it well enough, or whatever, and we could discuss it if we had any particular objections. But what really helped keep everybody happy was that we all took it in turns to write the set lists. If your favourite wasn't being played this week, or if you really hated playing a couple of the songs then you'd swallow it for this gig and could change it when it was your turn next week. There were a few rules - some crowd pleasers that had to be played every gig whether we personally liked them or not - but outside of that you could put whatever you wanted on the list and everybody would play them. Worst...I was once in a heavy metal covers band where the lead guitarist would only learn the songs he liked, usually the ones he had suggested. More than once he rolled out "I haven't had time to be able to work that one out properly so in the meantime why don't we work on this one I'm suggesting instead..." A really passive aggressive approach to get his own way, which works once or twice but is very quickly seen for what it is. It created quite a bit of tension - we tried loads of different ways of letting everybody else suggest songs, which was all agreed to at the time and then forgotten about when he came up against a song that he didn't like, or thought of one that he did like that he wanted to skip to the front of the queue of songs being learned. On a few occasions we had to tell him we were downing tools until he had learned the songs that the rest of us had been wanting to play for months. Everybody else was happy to wait until it was their turn and then suggest the next song to be worked on, but whatever was suggested he'd moan that nobody in the (non-existent) audience would know it, so why don't we learn another Iron Maiden song instead? I once had to tell him that I wasn't ever going to learn any other Iron Maiden songs, what with us having a choice of five at that point in a total song list of less than 20, and not being a Maiden tribute band, how about we learn some songs by different bands? He genuinely didn't understand the point I was making - everybody loves Maiden. Ironically enough, when we sacked him and the band split up, the others (drums, vocals and rhythm guitar) formed a Maiden tribute band and he wasn't invited to join. That still makes me very happy.

ooh, good thread I'm another one who has always understood "it's all in the fingers" not to mean that you will always sound (for want of a better phrase) "tonally" identical no matter what you are playing, but rather that regardless of how good or expensive a bit of kit you are using, you won't become a better player because of it, your phrasing won't magically improve because you've got a much "better" bass. You will sound like you playing a more expensive bass. And as someone who uses an assortment of different techniques I'd be pretty annoyed if my slapping sounded like me picking or the couple of different finger styles I switch between depending on the sound I want for a particular piece. But I've seen the opposite belief more than a few times, that using a better instrument will make them a better player, mostly in guitarists - very average players chasing that one guitar or amp that will magically transform them into a brilliant player. One in particular used to watch YouTube videos of players that he rated, and rather than sitting down to work out how they were playing the music he liked, would instead go and buy the amp or guitar they were using in the belief that not using the same gear was the one thing holding them back. He used to turn up with a new amp almost every month - amazing that with every change of amp it never once occurred to him that perhaps it wasn't the tools that were at fault but a bad workman. And to be clear, he did always sound like him - the tone may have varied, but his phrasing was always the same, and the mistakes always sounded like mistakes. But that brings me on to point 2. It may well be that the audience don't notice the difference between instruments, but that's largely because they don't know what the difference is: as long as it sounds OK, or even as long as they don't think it sounds bad, then they're happy, and that's all they should be worried about. However, if the bass makes a difference to you and your playing because it's "better", even if it's not tonally but a confidence boost, then that's a win for everyone. I remember the bass player in an old band of mine where I played guitar upgrading from a Squire P to a US Fender P - I thought the sound was noticeably better (more punch), and it was certainly true that it gave him much more confidence, albeit that his playing wasn't any different...but not once did anybody in the audience (and we played a lot of the same places every few months and chatted to the audience a lot) make a comment about any change or improvement in the bass sound, probably because it was fine to begin with. I always remember a (very good) guitarist telling me, when I was staring out, that a better, more expensive instrument won't make you play better, but it will probably respond to better playing, that it will allow you to play better if you have the skills. Perhaps "better" isn't the right word - maybe "fittest", in the same sense as Darwin uses it in "survival of the fittest" - not meaning the strongest (as people who misunderstand the phrase think) but as in "the best fit" for the particular situation. If we stopped worrying about whether one bass is "better" than another and concentrated on which bass is the "best for me"

I think this ad may in fact be genius. If you can understand what they are saying then you are exactly the bass player they are looking for. If, like me, it's largely unintelligible and you only have a general impression that a bass player is wanted but not a lot else, move on, it's not for you.

I read something about this a couple of years back, and the explanation was Taylor Swift - a girl playing guitar with bazillions of teenage fans. And a follow up was the CEO of Gibson blaming shops for Gibson's lack of sales because they traditionally situate themselves in the rough area of town where girls are less likely to be passing customers. Not sure he's entirely correct, but there is probably a point somewhere in there, with a lot of guitar shops feeling like a male preserve.

depending on what your definition of stumbling distance is, Heaven is just across the Thames. Known as a gay nightclub, but rebranding as a mainstream music venue - I'm off to the Anti-Flag/Cancer bats gig there next month: http://heaven-live.co.uk/ If that's close enough, then it's only a small further stagger north to the 100 Club on Oxford Street. Not as reliable for bands as, say, the Underworld, but still has a few recognisable names in there - Gang of Four played the other week. although the current listings include a fair amount of higher end tributes: https://www.the100club.co.uk/ If you'll extend the distance to fifteen or twenty minutes on the tube then Camden is your oyster, and I'll save the links but there's the Underworld, Electric Ballroom, Roundhouse, Koko and Forum (OK.that's Kentish Town) putting on well known bands, as well as a ton of smaller places like the Dublin Castle, Barfly/Assembly, Black Heart that will have up and comers fairly regularly...and if we're including Kentish Town then the Boston Arms and Dome at Tufnell Park have a mix of big and small bands on too

yeah, sit down, properly clear the air on all sides (so, tell him you think he's acting like a c#nt - I haven't copy written that phrase so you can have it for free), remind him of the practicalities about gigs and comms and other people's lives that he seems to have forgotten when it doesn't suit him to remember, and discuss the issue around song choices not being solely down to him. I had very similar issues from one guitarist in an old band (he was always right, we were always wrong, he only ever did what he wanted and expected us to be grateful for it) and it resulted in the band splitting up because most of us couldn't stand to be around him any more. I think that if we'd actually sat down and pointed out what a spoiled tw~t he was to his face much earlier instead of moaning about him behind his back and then politely under-selling the complaints to his face (never once worked) then I think it could have been solved before we got to that point. And you have nothing to lose. If he maintains his right to act like a c#nt then your decision to fire him or quit the band should be fairly simple. One big tip - have a word with the rest of the band ahead of the meeting. Find out where they all stand, so you know which side they're on if it comes down to picking him or you.

had a couple of guitarists like that...not the reason they both got sacked, but it didn't help their cause when other problems surfaced. We reckon that one hadn't bought a pick in three years - he just turned up to practice every week or at the gig,, play acted that he definitely had some picks somewhere but which pocket are they in, he's sure he put them somewhere...queue rhythm guitarist offering him a selection. The other one had a midi pickup that went to a keyboard, so his set up was a bit more complicated than usual. We twiddled our thumbs through half an hour not sound checking at the Rock Garden while he sat on the stage unwinding these cheap and tatty leads and then trying them all out to find some that worked. We then sound checked, I went to the pub with the drummer who swore a lot and told me that if he had to sit through that again he was going to do the guitarist some permanent damage. We sacked him that night

sounds very much to me like the BL didn't want any arguments from any pesky kids, telling him how to play songs and threatening his position as clearly in charge! My only sacking came in similar circumstances - there wasn't an agreed, established BL as it was a new band and i knew all the others apart from the guitarist, but I butted heads with him. I genuinely didn't like anything he suggested, from the music he wrote and expected the rest of us to play like we were his backing band, to his suggestions for band names, to the full brass arrangements he brought in on his computer one week (and this from the days before laptops - he spent the entire rehearsal setting up his desktop, trying to get it to play through the PA, trying to get the click track to work to that it would only go to the somewhat bemused drummer). In turn he hated all of my songs and played them with an unimpressed look of long suffering, he didn't like my bass sound, technique, or anything i had to say about his stuff. So when the singer popped round to relive me of my duties it wasn't a big surprise, and I genuinely wasn't that sad to go as it clearly wasn't working. Move on to bigger and better things

In my experience... I've had periods of thinking "what's the point in having all of that gear?" but from a different perspective, of not being in a band so having little practical use for the gear, rather than simply not wanting to play any more. I've also had periods where I've needed to generate some cash, and could list the low prices I got for some stuff that would make you wince (usually in retrospect, it seemed like a good price at the time, but a couple of years later it turns out I've sold on a collectors piece for a pittance). Funnily enough, while I've missed the extra money that I could have got if I'd held on to them for a bit longer, I've never really missed the instruments - even the one's I've played a lot have been replaceable, and haven't ever been "the one!". So I still have the 1975 Rickenbacker 4001 that I got when I was 19 and played throughout my 20's (my most active period playing in bands) and i would really not want to sell on my custom Warwick - partly because I would only get about a fifth of what I paid for it if I flogged it, and couldn't replace it second hand, but mostly because it was made to my exact spec and it really is "the one". Or at least "one of the ones". I'm currently on my third Lowden acoustic guitar - I love them, but I don't play acoustic guitar in bands so when I've needed cash they are easy to let go of, and easy to find a new one that plays and sounds just as good when it's time to get a new acoustic. Much less fussed about amps, cabs and anything with an LED on it - pedals come and go, and all of them can be easily replaced. I did once move on a lovely 1977 Marshall Super Bass II head, but that was because i was playing through something else, so while I'd love to still have it , it's really only for the sake of having it, not because I would want to play through it. In fact I've been debating whether I should just flog all my amplification because most of the gigs I've done in the last five years I've just DI'd anyway. If it was me (and my motivations would be different so this isn't necessarily good advice) then I'd still hang on to my "irreplaceable" instruments, just in case the urge to play in a band ever returns. If the Jazz really is "the one" then I'd see if i could hold on to it for a bit longer, just in case things change and in a year or two's time you want to start playing again. If it's not, if it's just an expensive bass that will cost you a lot to replace if the urge takes you in a few years, then, so what? That's a problem for then, not now, move it on, spend the money on the family and worry about buying a new bass when you actually need one.

I think I'm somewhere between the two - the punters will notice if the bass isn't there. But only because the song doesn't sound right. So they might not know or care if the bass player isn't on stage, but they will notice that the song doesn't sound right. So in answer to the thread's central question, what the audience wants is for the bass player to play the bass lines correctly. How that happens is something they're happy to leave as none of their concern

I think there's two sides to this It's a true-ism that crowds only really pay attention to the singer, with rock/metal crowds also paying some attention to the guitarist. So, while I have had people come and speak to me about my bass after gigs, they generally don't care what you're playing. However, they do dance/tap their feet/nod their heads to the bass and drums, and that lizard part of their brain may not actively be paying attention to the bass you're holding or the quality of your stomp boxes, but it can tell a good sounding band from a bad one, and if your gear helps you sound better or play better, then it's all helping whether the audience know it or not

On tuning the E string... Some tuners are better at handling basses than others, although the ones that aren't good typically struggle on notes lower than the bottom E (such as five string basses that go to a low B). However, if you're struggling with a brand new bass I wonder if the strings need stretching...let me find a link as it'll be easier than explaining it, but basically tuning tends to be a bit unstable when strings are fresh on the bass, and the way round that is to stretch the strings... here you go: http://www.studybass.com/gear/bass-strings/how-to-change-bass-guitar-strings/10 or look for "stretching bass strings" on YouTube

Hmmm, having had a closer look at the pictures, I think the split pickup has been angled for the camber of the fretboard - the fretboard is curved so if the strings are set up at an equal distance from the fretboard then they will be higher in the middle than at the edges, and the pickup is trying to mimic that. Again, have a listen, and if it dousnt sound right, give it a tweak. one other tip is to just change it a little, have a listen, if it’s not right change it a little again, have another listen, and repeat until it sounds right

That looks a little wonky. But you’ll need to plug the bass in and listen to how it sounds before you make any adjustments. It’s probably not a huge issue at this stage unless the sound is badly affected you typically want the pickups to be angled so that they are closer to the thinner strings because the thicker ones create more of a disturbance in the pickup’s magnetic field, and are thus louder. If there is a huge mismatch in the volume across the strings then they are easy to adjust. Depending on the sound you want the trick is usually to get them as close to the strings as you can without them either being hit by the strings or your pick when playing, or distorting the sound. You may need to adjust them over time as your playing style develops. the same applies across the different pickups - for example if one is much louder than the others then you might want to drop that one a little or raise the others. And you may be dealing with different pickups that are louder or quieter because of how they have been made, so trust your ears rather than what they look like

I haven't seen that one, but I was surprised that fender were having a big mainstream advertising push on their new Player series - I've seen a couple of ads on the tube, and I've definitely seen a video ad...possibly at the cinema... or it could just be part of this from a year ago: https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/fenders-stylish-new-ad-campaign-hopes-attract-next-generation-musicians-175513/

the one that makes me laugh was when Algy Ward left Tank in 2006 he let them keep the name as he was going to do something else and while none of the rest of them had been on the first three albums some had been in the band since the mid '80's. then Ward wants to make music again and decides to release it as "Tank", what with everybody knowing that it's really his band. Doesn't seem to have descended into legal attrition, but I'm sure that there are some ruffled feathers

I'd expect Geddy to come round and read it to me for that price that said. while it's not worth anything close to the money, it's a very nice package - special applause for the tolex case

so this is like when you find that one of your favourite bands from back in the day is touring and when you go and see them it turns out to be one of *insert band name here* and some sidemen helping out? By the sounds of it you're now the effective BL...I think a name change to The Quilly Experience or Van Quilly is overdue

probably... the logic is largely for valve amps, where the bass version will typically stay cleaner at higher inputs and louder volumes...you will probably learn a lot about "head room" now that you're a bass player. There's also how the amps are "voiced" and some guitarists prefer certain bass amp characteristics (Fender Bassman's have a long history of being used by guitarists, as have old Marshall valve heads) At practice amp levels, what you'll probably find is that guitar amps aren't "voiced" to handle bass very well (plus, as above, the speakers aren't designed for it) but the bass amps will give you a fine clean sound for guitars. What the guitarist is likely to miss is any overdrive or distortion that they might expect to find on a guitar amp's dirty channel. Easily fixed with a fuzz box. The contour button you asked about will have a pre-defined eq shape, and that would be aimed at the range for basses, not guitars, so anything like that isn't likely to work very well for both instruments, but the basic amp function will be fine... Which leads me to one final point - effect pedals. It's a bit early in your bass playing journey to be stocking up on pedals - learn to play first, don't get distracted with a load of other whistles and bells that you don't need yet, but as a rule of thumb, for anything dealing with eq you really need to get a bass specific version - for example if you want a Boss graphic eq pedal you should go for the GEB-7 rather than the GE-7. Doesn't always apply - for example things like delay are fine, but others that work brilliantly for guitars, like distortion pedals, usually don't work so well for bass. If in doubt, you know where to come to ask...just be prepared for a range of opinions.

I don't think Acoustic is available in the UK so it's unlikely that many of us will have an opinion. That said, they have a good pedigree - it used to be the house bass set up at the Rock Garden and sounded brilliant...presumably those old rigs will have very little to do with the new cheap combos. My suggestion is to simply plug in a bass and see what they sound like - or if you're not confident, ask an assistant to demonstrate the differences between them for you. They will all be functional, and in all honestly, the tonal differences between practice amps for a complete novice are unlikely to be significant

I did once buy a pedal from them that was delivered the following day - I have no idea how that could possibly happen, but it did. In general it's what others have said, three or four days. However, I have had one occasion where stuff shown as being available has taken a little time to get through the pre-posting process of having the order accepted, invoice created, blah blah blah before it made it's way to me - the item went from being "available in 2-5 days" when they acknowledged the order, to "available in 2-5 weeks" and finally "available to order" in short order and I had to wait the best part of a month. How large is the item? If it's likely to be sent via the Post Office them my strategy would be to order it to arrive a few days in advance of the 11th so that you can either go and collect it or ask them to try to re-deliver it on the 11th.

if you play a bass through a guitar amp the amplifier part will be fine, although it probably won't sound great, but the risk is that you'll knacker the speakers. take it back before you break anything...might be difficult to get the shop to accept that it came with a busted speaker when you're asking to replace it with a bass amp Conversely, playing a guitar through a bass amp is absolutely fine, and I know a couple of guitarists who prefer it as the sound tends to have much more depth