chris_b

Sadowsky had been trying to get the new factory made Metro Express up and running as an in-house project and seem to have met with a few problems. I guess handing it all over to a company experienced in production line manufacturing and world wide distribution and management will resolve all those issues.

Metro's to be made in Germany now!! He's cutting out the Japanese side of the business?

I understand that point of view. If the band is playing those kind of tricks, just go as soon as you find out.

Your rig looks fine to me. But if I have to recommend another, I'm currently using an Aguilar AG700 through 2 Barefaced cabs. . . . . . . and no pedals. I don't need any in order to get a great sound with this rig. Start with a good amp and one cab and see if you need the second one. You probably won't.

They forgot to put a mic on the bass!!!!!

What scale? Do they do a low B?

My comments were more directed at some of the guys advising you.

I don't think stupidity comes into it. Seems to me you guys are A level students trying to come to terms with a Masters degree course. You would probably get more out of this course if you had some prerequisite courses leading up to it. I would love to play at this level of ability, but I just don't like the music that these guys play. A year spent playing and understanding what's behind Nate Watts, Roscoe Beck or Joe Dart bass lines, for instance, would be a much better project for me. Those styles are more relevant to me and how I play.

Revenge can easily backfire. If you plan to let them down at the last minute, what do you gain by doing that? If you think they are aholes don't stoop to being one yourself. Stabbing the band in the back could make you look bad when you're not. Be the adult in the room and understand that when you are working with amateurs, especially in bands, stupid stuff happens.

9 mins in and. . . . the best thing I've heard this year.

Wow. They've got to the tufted Wilton stage of their career!

Even if you are not bosom buddies, keeping things friendly is all part of networking. And a good network of contacts will get you better gigs than auditions.

The carnet also prevented you from buying or selling gear abroad, and possibly avoiding paying taxes in the process.

IMO it's a bad idea to burn your bridges. One of the guys might join another band in a years time and be looking for a bassist. So always leave amicably.

OK. misunderstood by me.

I believe nothing changes now for 2 years, while the real discussions about leaving take place. After that, we become the 51st state.

Like roundwound strings. Who needs those? Flatwound strings, now that's the sound of a bass! Or who needs pneumatic tyres when solid rubber tyres work? BBOT bridges sound fine. They were cutting edge technology when they were introduced. Then amps and cabs started to evolve and the possibility of making something better arose. Upgrading a bridge doesn't imply the previous version sounded bad, but we are an inventive lot, so if we can make things "better" we will, and sometimes "better" really does sound better. ps spelling, again!!!

Anything Bob Dylan wrote. The studio version of this was getting played a lot by the soldiers when I was playing the US bases in Germany in the early 70's. When being sent to Vietnam was a real possibility for many of them.

CITES changed but unless you know what replaced it you'd better find out before you put it to the test. You could still need official paperwork.

People were upgrading bridges long before the internet was even a twinkle in Berners-Lee's eye. The idea is that more mass in the bridge gives a better transference of energy from the string into the body and back again. Thus improving the tone. If you are recording then this might be a worthy upgrade, depends on your sound, but in a semi-pro band crashing through the usual fare it's probably not worth the trouble.

On the next rehearsal you should. Arrive knowing and being able to play the original, Willie Dixon on bass and Fred Below on drums, and then you'll find it easier to adapt to the arrangement the bandleader wants. I've played with good players who find it difficult to explain what they are doing and what they want out of the rest of the band. If they are good players (or a band leader) you meet them in the middle, or where ever they can get to. I've played this with short and long changes. It works both ways. The bass line can be an 8 in the bar rock and roll piano left hand line or just a 4 in the bar, as per Dixon's original part.

I used to drive past his house in Chiswick. I'm sure I saw him waving at me from behind the curtains.

Sounds like the band leader is telling you he wants a short change, ie up to the 4th for the second bar. A long change would stay on the root for 4 bars before moving to the 4th.

. . . . . . that's what the ashtrays are for.

You want to groove? Take a listen to listen to this. . . . . . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4XI6LXCsH8