chris_b

It's good when a plan comes together.

I don't take this story at face value and I would imagine there have been many "issues" with LB which have yet to come out. LB has been a PIA personally and professionally to the band since the 70's. There are years of back story here (some things we know, many we don't) and I guess he has used up all his goodwill. Personally I would have voted not to take him back after the first time he flounced off. I know that when Dave Gilmour was recently touring, on some stages of the tour, they were travelling with nearly 70 people. A world tour like this is a massive undertaking and demands the total focus of everyone involved. That LB wants to do gigs with his own band in-between probably indicates a lack of focus and commitment to FM, which has the potential to put the tour in jeopardy further down the line. How can the organisation that is Fleetwood Mac take that risk? Maybe they did him a favour. Now he has plenty of time for his band! About the "proposed" album? FM has been a "heritage" brand for 40 years and they have all been following solo creative paths since. Seems like the other "creative" guys want to keep the two separate. Why put a lot of modern songs into an FM tour? Nothing to be gained by doing that. It's difficult to judge what's going on. Lot of people jumping to conclusions here. No doubt there is enough material for another Fleetwood Mac documentary.

Good job I didn't make any comparisons or discuss the value.

I've been playing a Metro for a couple of years and there is only one drawback. The weight is slightly more than I'm comfortable with. So I've been on the lookout for a chambered NYC. Last week I finally played one in Guitar Guitar Epsom and I didn't like the sound. It just wasn't as full or punchy as my Metro. I need to take the Metro in and do a direct comparison but that has put me off. I've also tried other Metros and haven't liked the sound as much as mine. What's the polar opposite of a Friday bass? Whatever it is, I think I've got one.

I'm a Fender guy and always have been. A few years ago I played Clarky's CS Pino and liked it a lot. A very, very nice bass but unfortunately I don't play 4 string basses and IMO, Fender haven't yet hit the spot for me with any of their 5 strings. IMO if you want a 4 string workhorse Fender is the place to go. For anything else, shop around. It doesn't surprise me to see that people have not had positive experiences with my favourite basses. That's preferences for you!! From a 5 string perspective, it seems to me that my Mike Lull P and Sadowsky Jazz are basses Fender could only dream of making. Both these basses are a pleasure to play and make just about the best sound of any bass I've owned. Sadly, for my requirements, a Fender seems like a backwards step these days.

Listen to any CD by Keb Mo. Intelligent and well crafted songs, oh and he uses the cream of modern bass players.

I'm very happy to see that you are all back on track. Great news.

If my EQ was set as usual and I wasn't "punching through the mix" I'd start by getting the other guys to turn down. If that didn't work I try turning my master volume up. I use one bass per gig, so I don't swap between active and passive basses. I can't see any advantage in doing this.

Doesn't sound like he's out of tune with the keyboard player.

All the macho and overly aggressive comments have a certain amusement value, but in the real world, if it is his band, he's fronting it and he's getting the gigs then (fact of life) you don't have to be on the same page, you have to be on his page. I'm not saying they don't exist, but I've not met many (if any) successful democratic bands in the last 50 years. It is a necessary evil, but there is always someone who is a driving force in every good band. So breathe, clear the air with him, settle things down, make him happy and (as we are hearing it's a good band) get on and enjoy the ride.

No upset at all. At this level of bass gear we're talking about preferences, often based on the smallest things, which add up to a decision that goes one way or the other. Making the right choice doesn't make the others bad choices. Markbass often gets forgotten in these conversations, but I've heard some players getting a great sound out of that gear.

If the band is as good as you say I'd need a better reason than the rantings of your singer to throw it all away. Seems to me that the singer is asking for commitment from the rest of you. Tell him you are committed but there are things that will get in the way and as long as he has enough notice you don't understand why there is a problem. This is why the better/more sensible bands use deps. Then the band can have a life of its own without the band members putting their lives and the lives of their families on hold for it. I can see some of his frustration. Some gigs won't wait a week for an answer. A text saying yes or no to a gig can be sent at any time. As I say, if the band's that good, work out the problems. Leaving is always an option but why put it on the table before the talking starts? That should be the last resort.

The watts "thing" was a load of ill-informed internet nonsense. I had a Staccato and the RH750 and these amps were certainly as loud as they claimed and sounded pretty good too. So there was no "con" just a lot of noise from people who should have better things to do with their time. If you use your ears then these amps are very good and do exactly what they say. The only issue I have with TC is they "forgot" to mention the fact that the amps that could run 3 cabs were actually 2.67 ohms. There was nothing special about their cabs and you don't need to buy TC to run 3 x 8 ohm cabs. I did that for a year or more with Bergantino cabs.

Keep the bass you have used the most. The others can be replaced.

My first "retirement" came when my world of pro bass playing imploded and I realised I had very little to show and no money coming in. On the advice of a friend, I got into the fledgling IT industry and started a shift job, a good move as it turned out. I refocussed my thoughts, sold my amps and cabs but I never considered selling my Precision. I always felt that that bass defined me as a person. It sat in a case for the best part of 10 years, only coming out for infrequent gigs. I was a musician who wasn't currently playing, but would at some time in the future. And I did. Sell everything else but don't sell your bass.

"Locking with the drummer" is about time and timing, but there's a lot more to it than that, and in order to be successful he has to "lock" with you as well. It's about the two of you working as one, being on the same wavelength, feeling the groove and dynamics of your combined playing (not the dynamics of the arrangement). It's about complimenting each other, lifting the song and giving it extra life.

Our band went into a junior school and played for the kids. They were invited to come up and talk to us at the end. I was the only one who was totally ignored. It didn't surprise me. Sir Isaac Newton was singer or a lead guitarist. He's the guy everyone remembers, he got all the glory, but Robert Hooke was the guy who discovered and invented so much stuff and many of the experiments and equipment that proved the Science. Newton was the poster boy but it was Hooke who made the Royal Society work. Robert Hooke (not a Sir) was definitely a bass player. (Google is your friend!) We are the unsung heroes, the guys running in the power stations, keeping the lights on, working in labs inventing a cure for the nastiest diseases, maintaining the buses, trains, planes computers and telephone systems. Do we need a pat on the back or are we satisfied just knowing that everything turns to stinky poo without us? We are the calm, witty and intelligent members of the band. We know we tie the band members together, ensuring they sound good. We know that we are the heart-beat and soul of the band. We know that and the band knows that. It's nice to get recognition from an audience but we can be satisfied by the simple fact that we know just how important we are.

So you've seen my band!

No mention of Jon Cleary? The musical high point of the last 5 years? Finally, a decent band on Later!

On a gig, I was chatting to the drummer, who is also a bass player, about the differences I was finding between my P and J basses and he said "Well, I can't hear much difference between them. You're making them sound pretty much the same!" I've checked back over various live recordings and unfortunately, he's right! I'm not sure I wanted to hear that. How was I hearing myself so wrong. Made me wonder if I knew anything about my sound at all?

For a few years I used GHS Precison flats. They produced a very good sound and didn't break the bank. I now use TI's which I got cheap but were still more expensive. I just think that when you spend £1500 + on a bass you should be signing up to the whole package. Like when I tried to put cheap petrol in my Volvo 850 Turbo. The engine only started to work properly when I switched up to the more expensive higher octane petrol.

You'd better believe it. That's why "taking the knee" is so important and why the Right are so keen to misrepresent it's purpose. The Centre for Civil and Human Rights Museum in Atlanta, documenting the Civil Rights struggle, will bring tears to your eyes but when you meet this attitude face to face it is truly shocking. On the same tour, in the early 70's, in our German hotels we met several ex-Nazis. One in particular still sends shivers down my spine. Civilisation is a very thin veneer. No matter what happens in your life, always, always, always be grateful you live in the UK. . . . and now back to our regular programming.

I don't know these strings but the thought that strikes me is why have a top quality bass and put less than ideal strings on it!

I had no expectations when I started playing bass.I just wanted to be in a band and I could play bass better than guitar. Then I saw John McVie playing with John Mayall and my future was sealed. Most audiences don't hear, understand or care about the bass and that doesn't matter. Some do, though. I regularly have people (not always bass players) come up to ask about my gear, style of playing and influences. It's nice when people notice, but the one person that always has to notice and you always have to impress is the band leader. If the band likes you then you're in business. Don't get confused, while they'll expect a good sound from you they are really only interested in the lines you play and how well you play them. If you can lock with the drummer, play good lines and make the band feel good, then that's your job is done. I did a dep with a regular band last week, with a (very good) dep drummer, and we nailed it from the first number. The band leader later went on to Facebook thanking the two of us for making the band sound so good. If your playing has made the band sound good then the audience will always notice that.

. . . oh, yes. . . then there was our brief and disastrous involvement with Don Arden. The drummer in our school band wanted to be famous so somehow he got us a week's worth of gigs with Don Arden. After 7 gigs in 7 days we discovered we'd been added to the long list of bands ripped off by Arden and his mate Ron King.