chris_b

What about taking up the bugle? Fingers crossed!! I hope your doc can find a solution. Good luck.

The production company is obviously looking for ways to increase the viewing figures, but as always TV exec solutions miss the target by a mile. On a music program, it's the music that wins the viewers, not adding to the faff that surrounds the music.

I've never been in a rehearsal room that did justice to the sound of the band, let alone my sound.

I initially put GHS Precision flats on my P bass, which I thought sounded good. Then I lucked into a set of TI flats for a great price, which IMO sound even better. I have no need to change my strings for the next decade, but if I did I think Labella's look interesting.

I'd only support the side edges. Sometimes these amps are built so that the case forms part of the heat sink and they need an airflow on all sides. If you sit the amp on foam it may not be acting the way it was designed. My 2u Thunderfunk sits in the middle of a 4u rack case and it can get hot underneath.

I have to say that the new format probably means this is the beginning of the end for the show. We, I, don't need Jools chatting to someone who I've never heard of. What is the point of a co-host? It's not interesting, it's irrelevant, pointless and taking up music time, which is what the show should be about.

If you have a "bad gig" because you find you are a square peg in a round hole, be flexible, adapt and turn it into a "good gig". We did our usual blues/funk/soul set at a wedding and the band leader was very annoyed that the "audience" was ignoring us. After I spent 10 mins trying to explain that they were wedding guests not an audience, we played top 40 songs for the second set and went down a storm.

I have never noticed the difference between 34" and 35" scales. I move my hand for every fret up or down so a few mm either way is pretty much unnoticeable. If you are sensitive enough to notice such small measurements then practice should resolve any issues.

The best way to avoid bad gigs is to always play with great drummers. Everything else pales into insignificance.

The Faces Jeff Beck Group Steam Packet

I see you've experiences the M2 after a gig in deepest Kent!

If you are playing at a certain level you might not get away with it, but at my level. . . . it was explained to me by a jazz bassist, "Play a different note every beat. You're either playing the right note, a harmony to it, or a passing note". I have done this on gigs and it works.

A bad gig for me is when I end up with a drummer who can't play.

No patronising intended. . . but take a step back. The guys who design these amps know what they are doing. They understand the tolerances involved and there would have been reports of problems if these amps didn't perform as designed. 20 years ago I used a 45lb Mes 400+ and it supported itself from the front plate with no issues. You really are over thinking this.

Bass Direct is closer for a grand day out.

Me. My parents bought me a Spanish guitar and the action was so high I couldn't hold down enough strings to make a chord. A friend had a proper electric guitar, a Futurama, so as I wanted to play along with him and a second guitar part was out of the question, all I could do was try playing bass lines and it worked. After that I started listening to Bill Wyman, Chas Chandler and McCartney etc, but the guys who really made me a bass player were Willie Dixon, Duck Dunn and John McVie.

+1 A Precision is a one trick pony. The magic is that the trick encompasses everything from James Jamerson to JJ Burnell.

Don't worry. Your amp was designed to be supported from the front only. As most rack mount amps are. I'm sure EBS know, after all this time, how to correctly design their products.

Maybe guff, but maybe not. . . . . . I remember the days when you needed a carnet when you travelled abroad with your gear. And the joy on some customs men's faces when you drove up to their post at Dover. They could wave you through, or just as easily make you unload the whole van onto the road and justify every piece of gear against the documentation. The one thing that is certainly not guff. . . . we may or may not be going back to the bad old days, but gigging in Europe will be a much more difficult process that it has been.

IMO if your hands are big enough to play a 4 string bass they are big enough to play a 5 string bass. I've seen guys making this change struggle because they are not good at adapting. All you have to do is rotate your left hand a little more to reach the B string. Don't be put off, it's only a small adjustment to your current technique. Your hand should already be "animated", ie easily moving up and down the neck. A 5 string just means that you have to be equally "animated" and move across the neck. IMO it's a good idea to keep the same string spacings as you are used to on a 4 string. Most of your playing will be on those strings so keep the changes to a minimum.

If I could turn back time I would do more and do it all a lot better. I'd have bought my Precision when I did. It was the first time I had the cash so I couldn't have bought it any earlier. Musical things I'd change. . . . . . I was "good enough" with little effort and I rested on my laurels too much. Basically lazy! If I had a second time around I'd push myself, everyday, to become a better player. I wish I'd switched to 5 string basses at least 10 years earlier. I never took up double bass, that has always been a big mistake and I should have made the effort to get my vocals together. I sang in my band at school, but stopped when I started playing with much better players. Sadly we can't turn the clock back. All we can do is make the right changes in our own lives now and tell others about what we have learned, so they can build on the experience of others.

Word of mouth and recommendation.

The guy who says most with least. . . Larry Graham Thank You ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOa5UOHdwnc Sing A Simple Song ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51837yh4hec Also, I Want To Take You Higher, Stand, Dance To The Music, Family Affair. . . the list goes on.

I don't see the need for different amps for different bands. Looking at your current rig, I'd keep the amp, sell the 212 and replace it with a TC 112, which can be used on its own or with the 210. I used to split my gigs between a duo with an acoustic guitarist and bands culminating in a flat out monumentally loud rock blues band. I used the same 500 watt Thunderfunk amp for all bands and just varied the cabs. In the duo I used a Bergantino 112 , 3 Berg 112's for the loud band and 2 Berg 112's for any other band.

Do they? I seem to remember the brewery, Shepherd and Neame, paying Invapay.