PaulWarning

I bought a Fender Rumble because I was fed up with lugging heavyweight cabs around, but, the place we rehearse in has a Trace Elliot amp, lovely tone, pity they weigh so much

that needs using as an example as to why bass solos (and drum solos) should be banned by law, if I'd have been there I would have walked out, what a load of pretentious crap

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1443744383' post='2877429'] If I'm reading this right, you've got one bad ear and one good ear and you're not putting an earplug in the good ear? That's dangerous. You're potentially heading in the direction of 2 bad ears. [/quote]no I use a generic Alpine in my good ear which, depending how loud things are, I decide how far to put into my ear, I should also add that being a lefty I always stand with my left ear (the bad one) towards the drummer. Both ears are about the same in terms of hearing loss but I only get tinnitus in my left ear, which, incidental was a result of industrial noise, not playing in a band, as is the hearing loss, according to the audiologist anyway

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1443728540' post='2877286'] Have you tried putting your plugs in about 15 or 20 minutes BEFORE you start playing. I found that often helps as it gives the brain some time to get used to the changed set of frequencies it's getting and re-normalise your hearing for having the plugs in. Lessens the psychological effect of wearing the plugs and means that your ears aren't adjusting while you are playing but beforehand. [/quote] [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1443742416' post='2877425'] I use the ACS ER15's and I can hear everything. The treble is reduced but it's no problem for me to hear everything comfortably from stage whispers to flat out guitar and/or drum solos. Sure the sound is different and you hear less, but you hear even less when you're deaf. I saved what was left of my hearing when I started using these plugs, about 8 years ago, and I wouldn't/couldn't gig any more without them. [/quote]If I put them in 20 minutes before we started playing I wouldn't be able to hear what anybody was saying to me, but I will try it, maybe it's because I already suffer hearing loss but if I use both ear plugs the feeling of detachment completely ruins the atmosphere of playing live. I'm not saying they're not working for some people but they do create problems and this should be taken into consideration before paying over £100 for them. Having said that I don't regret getting them now because my tinnitus is a lot better since I started using them in my ear with tinnitus

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1443641225' post='2876573'] Yes, it was recorded and mixed at JT Soar. There's a whole thread about the recording [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/261888-the-terrortones-are-making-an-album/"]here[/url]. I suppose polish (or lack of it) is down to the band's choice - mostly it's down to production. We spent 3 days doing the basic recording and another 3 days doing production and mixing. A lot of what is recorded at JT Soar is done a lot more quickly than that. The majority of the album was recorded live with just vocals and few guitars and other instruments overdubbed. Mastering was done by [url="http://mastering.ninja"]Formation Audio[/url] who have mastered our last 3 releases and done an excellent job each time. [/quote]thanks, asked about the mastering because the album I heard seemed to lack the final polish that good mastering gives the final mix

was it recorded at JT soar? I heard another album that had been recorded there and it wasn't nearly as polished as this, did they do the mastering as well?

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1443389444' post='2874377'] Have you ever heard the version from the Concert For Bangladesh? - Klaus Voormann does a great job with it although he simplified the A minor twiddley bit. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei6VyjlgxZU[/media] [/quote]don't know about the bass line being to busy, but that keyboard certainly is

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1443487110' post='2875234'] Then I might ask, what happened, why is it no longer enjoyable? Blue [/quote]a whole host of reasons, for instance our drummer and guitarist just left because they didn't want to gig 2 or 3 times a month anymore (although pressure on the home front may have had something to do with it) our new guitarist quit his last band and joined us because they weren't gigging enough.

tricky one, is it a hobby or a living? personally I think I'm happier keeping it as an enjoyable hobby, so, back to the original question, "why do guys give up?", the answer is always because they stop enjoying it

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1443383234' post='2874313'] I've had about 6 months out from bands. I went to a couple of practices with a new set up over the last few weeks and I'm already ready to quit. The prospect of learning another set of covers that, as the list is unveiled, I start to dislike fills me with dread. Just being in a band, playing for the sake of it, isn't enough anymore, it's got to be something that bit more. Music, especially covers band, just isn't doing it for me. There's other stuff I'm finding more rewarding. Anyone want to buy some gear? [/quote]just my take on this, I don't think enough effort is put into teaming up with guys who have similar musical tastes, I love playing the covers I do because I really like the songs we do, some more than others, but I don't dislike playing any of them, or maybe I'm just lucky

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1442733763' post='2868990'] I think though that there are plenty of places trying to book bands that don't even research the bands they are booking, they end up paying cheap , getting mediocre and the punters feeling non-plussed . then it goes downwards in ever decreasing circles , even if they hit on a decent band there is no-one left going to the venue. [/quote]I've come across this, how hard is it to check up on a band? surely a few phone calls to other venues would do it, or even the bands gig list gives a vital clue to how well they're thought of if you know what the other venues are like in your area, and that's without even getting up off your arse and actually going to look at bands play live,

I'm perfectly happy with my MIA P have no wish to try any other bass (unless someone can find me a left handed one with a maple neck), mind you, being cack handed my choices are limited, I think the fact that the bass you see most amongst professional bass players is a P says it all

[quote name='mentalextra' timestamp='1442661988' post='2868571'] I like squeeze too. I'm all for seeing music on TV but at least with OGWT you didnt have to listen to the BS. Sadly, I find Jools a struggle to watch. All those chats with musos that are desperately trying to be 'cool' and cultured but are pretentious just make me cringe. And sorry but Danny Baker makes me vomit [/quote]which is why I record it and fast forward through the crap, it's the same with Match of the Day

[quote name='Lynottfan' timestamp='1442656699' post='2868500'] I can't imagine giving up, so far this year its been a little lean for me, only a few gigs played, a new band sort of started that is taking its time, but giving up playing? never! Not till they nail the lid down on me! [/quote]this is the way feel at the moment, but our drummer and guitarist of 10years recently quit because they didn't want to gig regularly anymore, the replacement guitarist joined us and quit his last band because they didn't gig enough!

my rumble 500 started to fart a bit last night, mind you, the gain was full up and the master on 2 o clock, the sound engineer comes up and says "do you want to go through the PA?" "yes please" says I "well you'd better turn your bloody amp down then" says he

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1442654367' post='2868465'] I've seen many bands "having fun" and sounding crap. Whatever your reason for playing, if you're sounding crap you're getting in the way of better bands. So some guys "bounce around" for 2 sets and think that's where it's at. My earlier point was that more playing makes you a better musician, a better player, a better band. It's a different approach. You don't run a mile the same way you run a sprint. The guys who can do it get better the guys who can't, should stop. In my book, either way, it's a good outcome. The money is important. It has nothing to do with being "mercenary", "trying to get rich", "we're only in it to have fun" or any thing else. The bottom line is because most of us are playing in a commercial environment and if someone is making money out of our playing then we should be too. [/quote]not for long, if you sound crap the bookings will soon dry up, at the end of the day everybody, more or less, finds their own level, for instance I couldn't play in a function band (which, I'm told, is where the big money is) because I'm not good enough, or motivated enough, to play all different styles.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1442654243' post='2868462'] And, I don't believe ego is very far away from most of it... I can't think of a single musician I know who doesn't have one tucked away somewhere or other.. [/quote]absolutely you've got to have a larger than average ego to get up there and do it, and why? because we crave the applause and acceptance of other people, human nature.

[quote name='ivansc' timestamp='1442649511' post='2868405'] PaulWarning: Having worked both sides of the Atlantic, I would have to say the standard of players I saw & worked with in the USA absolutely obliterated most of the pub and club bands I see in the UK today. Part of the problem is the number of people like yourself, who do it for the love of playing with no thought to the money aspect. You crowd out a lot of the bad bands, but also reduce the number of paying gigs a professional player can go after. There is a whole other level above lightly-rehearsed amateur bands where a good 4 hour show is perfectly do-able IF you put the time in to get road-hardened. Not easy, but then if you are working at that level it IS your job And 40 songs? When I was working solo in the UK I would play about 50 from a selection of over 300 I had rehearsed up well. Depended on the gig. Life is tough if you decide to make a living at music. FWIW I was making the same or better money as a 4 piece band when working solo, which is WHY I went solo. Paid the mortgage, but very hard work. [/quote] [quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1442650640' post='2868418'] I don't know Paul personally by the way...... Where in his post does it say how much he earns? maybe he earns twice as much as you per gig but wants to enjoy the music,maybe not. The point is this is a forum for BASSPLAYERS ...not PROFESSIONAL BASS PLAYERS ONLY.... I have earned a living from my bass and i have played part time for fun too. I don't hold with this " amateur bass players are taking gigs away from the pros'" nonsense....I've never taken a gig off john Deacon by offering to play Wembley for free ....I would have mind given the chance [/quote] [quote name='KevB' timestamp='1442652494' post='2868443'] The truth is there are bands that won't play for less than a certain amount and won't touch venues that don't come up with it. It is equally true that there are those venues that won't touch some bands with a barge pole because they have a budget and those bands ask far beyond what they can or will pay no matter how much the band thinks they are 'worth it'. That's how there is a playing field out there that can accommodate all sorts of approaches. We all have our limits and level of compromise between the social and financial side of being in a band. Being in a band you love and getting very well paid is best but there are many shades of grey from then on down. This thread seems to be moving more toward one that's been repeated many times on this forum so I probably won't contribute any further. [/quote]I really shouldn't post when I come in from a gig after a few pints, I come across as more augmentative than I mean, but I did say personally as the first word of my post. I've had this professional versus amateur discussion before, "you amateurs are doing us professionals out of work", are we supposed to stop playing then? how did professional players start? as amateurs. as the other two posts have alluded to if you play for a living you had better make sure you are a notch above the rest of us otherwise you shouldn't be doing it. I didn't say we only knew 40 songs but that's how many we play in an energetic 2 hour set (we are punk band btw) to play for 4 hours I would imagine you have to pad the set out with solo's and long songs and pace yourself, again, personally, I'd rather go and watch a band giving their all for 90 minutes than a band playing 50 songs in 4 hours, but that's just me

personally I find all this talk of money a bit depressing, I play gigs because I enjoy it, the money is a bonus, but it's the buzz you get for a good gig that makes me want to do it, as for playing more than 2 hours, surely the quality has got to suffer, I know my band puts a lot into gigs, we jump around a lot and do about 40 songs, I don't see how that could be kept up for 4 hours.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1442607056' post='2868264'] Fair enough. Now get thee hence to the Greyhound and get sound checking Good to meet up mate. [/quote]yeah, thanks for introducing yourself, felt a little bit bad about my good luck with the new band

[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1442601040' post='2868192'] Another thought, if the front of house sound is fine and you still can't hear yourself, invest in some decent earplugs (such as Proguard Noizezz) as they will cut out a bit of everything but more guitar than bass will go. I use these a lot and I can hear every instrument clearly with them. [/quote]I have the opposite problem, I can hardly hear the guitar (we only use monitors for the vocals) ear plugs make it worse, although I still use them, all the ear plugs I've tried, including ACR pro custom jobs all cut more treble that bass

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1442594538' post='2868126'] The Stereophonics are on next week, got to give these up and comers a helping hand... [/quote]by having established acts on it boosts viewing figures achieving 2 things, it keeps the programme from being cancelled and the up and coming acts get more exposure

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1442564505' post='2867752'] Excellent! It's back on. Trouble is, I cancelled my Sky, so I can't record it plus Coast are playing in our local town hall tonight and I want to go and see that. Oh, what to do? [/quote]buy a freeview recorder, get them for £50 of ebay

everybody has faults, some peoples you can put up with some you can't, some people have faults that nobody can put up with, but the older you get the more diplomatic you become, well I have anyway

apparently he did a Faces gig recently, I'd have watched that