chris_b

Surely I can't be the first person to mention Anita's older sister. . . Hylda Baker?

Might be!! There is a mighty Jules on one of the guitars. In fact the band is based around him.

I play in an Allman Brothers band, only 2 gigs a year mind. I never liked them back in the day. Endless guitar solos never did much for me! In this band we've got 2 very good guitarists which is fun. I still doze off in E Reed though.

My main strap is a Harvest leather strap. Very comfortable. http://www.harvest-guitar.com/en/Buffalo-Silverado-oxid-11.html

If they say that then you have a choice. Either tell them you'll always put their gigs first, or you've changed your mind and won't now join the other band, or you can tell them they're a bunch of selfish gits and they can shove their band. Maybe you could tell the second band that the first band takes precedence and forget to tell the first band about the second band. Who knows. . the second band might fold after a few rehearsals, or they might fire you in a week! Don't let yourself end up without a band at all!

For most of my playing life I've been in at least 2 bands and for the last 20 years I've been depping. Bands in the area I live in don't expect exclusivity and don't demand it. If they need a dsep there are some great players to call on. My rule of thumb is: There has to be a pecking order. Whether it's first in the diary get your time or you have a main band, whose gigs take preference over a second band. Everyone has to know about the order of priority and agree to it. You will have clashes so make sure you give people enough time to get deps. Some bands leave it up to you to get a dep, others want to do it themselves and some don't want deps at all. It's all down to negotiating and whether they are willing to share you. Rule 2: pro bands take preference over semi pro bands, working bands take preference over bands who just rehearse and gigs take preference over a rehearsal.

Aretha Franklin's R.E.S.P.E.C.T and I Say A Little Prayer are all you need to know about covers.

I used an Ampeg SVT3 PRO for 10 years through Mesa Boogie 210 & 115 EV cabs. A great room shaking sound every time. I tried a BB800 through a Barefaced SC and liked it, a lot, but not enough to make me sell my Aguilar AG700. No accounting for taste.

That was Michael Miles. Didn't know he was a bass player.

There is a bass called the torzal natural twist from the Little Guitar Works which has a twist in the neck which might help. Maybe try to lower the action on your current bass, and see if that helps. The bottom line, if a baseball bat grip is what you've got then you can make it work for you.

He had Hep C and had a liver transplant in 2001 and he's also waiting for or just had a kidney transplant. He's not a healthy guy atm.

If you have different playing requirements, from small and quiet gigs to loud and noisy gigs then the old way of doing things, ie having multiple stand alone rigs makes no sense any more. Using smaller, more powerful, cabs to make up 1, 2 or even 3 cab rigs is a much more sensible and flexible way of doing things.

OK, I get that you don't think it's a good model, but I don't understand the cynicism. If that buys me access to the whole site for a year, I'd make use of every part of the site for that time. $168? If we stay in dollars, that's 46c a day! 46c buys you access to several lifetimes worth of bass knowledge and experience. To me that's peanuts and if I signed up I'd make sure I got $2 out of it every day. What can you buy for 46c? That's probably less than the cost of the electricity I use logging on to Basschat every day!

Marc has spent a lifetime gigging at the highest levels. He has worked with TOP before and is regularly touring with them during Rocco Pretsia's numerous health issues.. I doubt there is any "dep panic" there.

It's a standard business procedure to offer a discount for paying a lump sum annually. I do it on lots of stuff.

Love it, and I love the powerful sound Marc Van Wageningen gets out of that Fodera.

+1 Does your playing need to improve? This is no magic wand. It requires that you put in the hours to make it work. If you do, you will improve as a bass player. I'm currently taking lessons, for the first time in my life. I can play most of what I've been asked to play, but I needed help to dig me out of the comfortable rut I've been inhabiting for decades, ie change the way I think. I play in bands and gig most weeks and I saw a benefit from week one. IMO improving your technique should be an objective, even if you are only playing as a hobby .

Anything by Stevie Wonder, Incognito, Steely Dan, Keb Mo and Eric Clapton. For working on your technique, timing and groove.

What sort of festivals are you playing? What did all the other bands on the bill use? What was their sound like? I've done about 5 this year from small to large and we had FOH every time. Short of bringing 15 SVT's there is nothing you can do to make the sound work for these gigs. They are always full FOH for a reason. If some brain-dead promoter is making these decisions there's nothing you can do about it.

Good luck with this. I'm still waiting for a reply from the message I sent in May!

Good move.

IMO an LM2 into a 212 should be pretty loud. Mine was. I'd suggest you change your EQ. I used to run with the tone controls at 12 o'clock and boost or cut slightly from there. I also had the filters off. They are fully anti-clockwise when they are off. Your EQ could be killing your sound and definition, leading you to think you need more volume.

I'd have done this a slightly different way. Your D800 and an SC or BB2 now and save up for an SM later. For 2 SL112's I'd try the TH500. IMO they are a perfect match. The D800 will easily drive the SL112's, They are conservatively rated so don't run the amp past about 1 o'clock on the volumes and you should be loud and safe. Probably leave the deep switch alone though. Save up for a third SL112 for the very loud gigs.

I answered a couple of Melody Maker ads in the mid 80's and it's been word of mouth ever since. Do what ever else you think might work, but IMO networking is the best way. It goes something like: meet as many players as you can, impress them with your skills and personality and keep reminding them you're looking for a band. I guess it's easier for me because I live in SW London, a musically busy place, but if you live somewhere more isolated you've just got to work harder.

I understand, I actually gave up playing completely at one point when I couldn't balance the family, job and band. Recently I saw two top session/jazz players, one had a Squire P bass and the other had a Sire 5 string. They made those basses sing. So it's not about the gear, it's how good you are and what you can do with an instrument.