chris_b

How about selling on commission through Bass Direct or The Gallery.

. . . . so you can mime!

A few years ago I was doing some gigs with a very popular local singer/band leader. I always wondered if it was my hearing that was wrong or was he slightly off key for a large part of the set? No one else commented and the packed audiences didn't seem to notice or mind! They were good gigs. I can make a lot of allowances in a good band.

I would imagine the audition piece is only a small part of the process. I guess they will expect a potential student to be able to play, count time and have a plan to use what they are about to learn. In their place I would be looking for someone who would benefit from 3 years at ACM. Someone who is flexible, open minded and motivated. Who would be able to grow and evolve while on the course, and project a positive and successful image of ACM at the end.

I won't blindly buy everything an artist puts out. Even the best can release stinkers, but I have nearly all of the recordings of The Band, Little Feat, Delbert McClinton, Keb Mo and Robben Ford. PS I forgot Stevie Wonder. I have all the good albums.

You've got a two phase solution. Warm up properly. If that doesn't work, get another bass. . . . but keep doing the warm up.

I've been in several of those and there's always a them and us feeling.

Do they have a full diary? If so just play along with the drummer and enjoy the rhythm section.

Congratulations. I was going to do this course but pulled out when they told me Green Onions wasn't a good audition piece. ps Not really!

I have several cabs to choose from but my one cab, cover everything, solution is my Super Compact.

Start up one of the online metronomes and play to it.

I bought my first BF cab in 2013 and have used them exclusively since 2015. I'm gigging with either a BB2, SC and/or SM. What cabs are you currently using? What are you looking for in a new cab? I can't guarantee that you will like the BF cabs but I haven't heard better. These cabs will see out my playing days. Buy a new cab and you get 30 days to return it. Buy a used one and you'll find they keep their prices if you want to move it on. It's a no risk move.

Got a photo?

Sadly Roger Hawkins died yesterday. You might not know his name but you've heard his work a million times. He was the drummer at Fame and Muscle Shoals studios, and played on 1000's of classics, including When A Man Loves A Woman, Mustang Sally, Respect Yourself and many more. Another large part of my history has gone.

If someone phoned up tomorrow and asked me to play Wembley Stadium, the last thing I'd do would be to use a rig I'm not familiar with. So I'll bring my usual rig. I want the stage sound to be as per usual, with monitors for the other instruments and I'll DI through the FOH.

So you haven't got a Ric. I don't see why that means you're missing out on anything. More players haven't got one than have. I'm not a fan of Rickenbacker basses (the look or sound), and I've noticed that none of my favourite bands feature Ric's, and none of my favourite bassists play them. This is just a symptom of cabin fever. Now the lockdown is ending you'll get over it.

Selling my Wal paid for the patio.

Bending strings doesn't feature in my bag of bass tricks. I use the fattest strings I can find.

GHS Precision Flats feel good and make a great sound.

I've just been in the shed. . . . and I'm loosing my memory and marbles. It's the Mike Lull bag that is crap not the Sadowsky one. Sorry for the misinformation. I think I'll be keeping it now.

4 of us got together last week to film 4 songs for a promo video and we all had to take a Rapid Lateral Flow test and show it to the drummer before he would join us. His daughter is quite ill and living at his house, so I can understand the caution. I feel that me and my family have safely come this far. Messing up right now and getting ill would be a crazy thing to risk. I have no advice to the OP re band members, except chose professional players. But even that isn't a guarantee of finding "normal" people!

If that's anything like the gig bag that came with my Sadowsky Metro, forget it. Buy a Mono M80 Vertigo. Seriously better protection. Recently there were a couple in the classifieds.

If you think one sounds good? Use both. Even better.

I'll play anything I'm asked. Listening for pleasure? That's a much more specific thing!