PaulWarning

shouldn't really mention the 'B' word but I will, the Beatles, they were the first band I got into, and the Ramones for showing me you don't have to be a great musician to write great songs

the older I get the more I think that is true, one of the reasons I don't go to many gigs anymore is the idiots I have to put up with when in a big crowd, and why anybody would want to go to Glastonbury is totally beyond me edit, don't mind a big crowd when I'm playing a gig though

I've just put new strings on mine, so checked the set up, 3mm at the 17th fret on the E string, doesn't bother me, it sounds better like that, as @gjones said, 90% of the playing (well mine anyway) takes place on the first 5 frets

ah yes, I've tried busking, being totally ignored is far worse than people chatting while you're playing, the biggest amount I got was for looking after someone's bike while they went in Marks and Spencers

i think this has always been so?, people go along to gigs because of the media hype surrounding a band, get there can't admit they've wasted their money, pretend to enjoy it, then tell everybody what a great evening they've had, and in this age of social media it's a lot easier to fool yourself and everybody else

as others have said, if your band is having trouble with audience attention on a regular basis maybe you should look at what sort of show you're putting on, having said that it is difficult to keep the crowds attention all the way through a 2 hour pub gig

not always, but I know what you're getting at, I once did an open mic where I was asked to turn down because I was making it difficult for people to talk , I haven't been back since. Another thing is that if you're last or nearly last on the other 'performers' have already left having done their spot

try doing open mics ,

yes be very wary of small record companies, a band I know signed a deal where it's a 50/50 split of revenues but all the promotion and recording costs come out of their half which means they've not seen any money because all their bit gets spent on promo

we found the opposite, reviewers mostly wanted just a download,they weren't even interested in CD's through the post, we used dropbox

we had 500 vinyl copies pressed of our album, can't remember the exact figures but it has worked out about £4 a record, we were originally going to do 250 but i was only around an extra £40 to got to 500, it was all handled by Media Hut in Nottingham (as well as the CD's), we're selling them for £10

I'm not saying don't use any ear protection, just do you really have to pay out £140 when £20 ones will do the job? I realise when tinnitus and hearing loss has kicked in (as it has with me) the first reaction is to throw money at it, but mine has got no worse just using generic ER 20's and I don't suffer the isolation problem I got with the custom ones, plus they're a lot easier to take out when someone wants to talk to you.

can't see that getting much radio play

I do think the filters in the ACR's are very expensive for what they are, I lost one and thought I'd been well and truly ripped off a considering they're not custom made unlike the moulded inserts, which cost around £130 and include two filters

I just wonder if they're overkill, has anybody suffered hearing damage while just using say, the generic ER 20's?

couldn't really get on with custom ACS's made me feel isolated, I've lost one and I don't think I'll replace it tbh

never attended many auditions but, I knew one wasn't going to end well when the new guitarists said "I haven't had time to listen to any of the songs you sent , but it'll be ok I'll just wing it"

not just me then, I've found those clip on tuners for £2 via reverb seem to work as good as any

I doubt anybody has, sound wise anyway, I've had to replace every speakon socket on our PA speakers because they stopped locking into place, and they're fiddler to connect and disconnect, I get the connection shorting problem with jacks but provided you make sure the volume is turned down there's not that much advantage IMO

yeah, I do that, on London Calling BV's at the same time as sliding up to the 7th fret, can't do that without looking. Once read Macca used to practice while reading the paper so he could play without thinking about it, I've done the same while watching TV (not reading the paper) As regards learning words, I do open mic on acoustic guitar, I always learn the words (one of my pet hates is singers who use cheat sheets), I sing them to myself while walking the dog, once they're in there they usually stay

I don't see why not, might knacker up any warranty though

slightly off topic, but I don't really understand why manufacturers can't use the speakon sockets that take a jack up the middle, no innuendo intended

I seem to remember reading somewhere that a top session player used fingers in the studio but a pick live for this reason, can't remember his name though, I might have even dreamt it

yes, reckon so

once again guys, he's not being entirely serious, but probably making the quite valid point that with a pick you usually get a crisper sound (more attack) although I've heard finger players sound like they're using a pick and pick players sound like they're using fingers, Macca springs to mind on that one