chris_b

In the mid to late 80's I joined a band and we used the rehearsal studio on the ground floor. That's when I discovered the Bass Centre. Later they moved down to the ground floor but when I first went there they were upstairs. What an Aladdin's Cave of bass gear and the first time I'd seen more than a couple of basses and amps in one place! Over the years I bought several amps and cabs from Nick, Grant and Alex and used to drop for a browse on many occasions.

There are several guys who come to gigs in this area and they record the bands. It's a hobby, but they are quite professional in the quality of what they do. They ask if we mind them filming and recording and they send the videos to the band leader so he has the final say on what goes online. Of course most don't do this! These days it's difficult to have a bad gig because someone invariably posts your nightmares online. We should all have some control over our online images. So I don't think it's a problem if we ask for particularly bad videos to be taken down.

I totally agree, but I'm not sure I was implying anything like that. The post you quoted purposely didn't mention gear at all.

Humble instrument? The Tambourine that Jack Ashford played on so many Motown Records. Sometimes he's mixed up front and sometime he in the background, but he's there on most of them.

A lot of makers are using Morado or Pau Ferro as a replacement. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjAv_OqiZLeAhVoCMAKHe3iCd8QFjAAegQIBhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wood-database.com%2Fpau-ferro%2F&usg=AOvVaw1qyns2uFejzSfmxAxx2EVu

That's right. Buy a Standard (or is it the Player range, these days) or any other bass you like and create your own signature bass by the way you play it. I don't understand the trying to sound like someone else or play "their" bass thing. I have played a Pino and it was a fantastic instrument to play, but I wouldn't pay that money for it. . . . and I still bloody well sounded like me, so what went wrong there? The one thing great and iconic players do, they all sound different not because of the different pieces of wood they are carrying but because of the lines they create and the style they are playing with. Any room for me in that bunker?

Not ready to gig after that many rehearsals? Ask them what's wrong with them.

Same here. I bought a Rob Allen fretless (lovely bass) which I thought would be a good fit for 2 of my bands. Good for the rock and roll band as they were used to double bass players. I asked the band leader after the first gig and he said, "Sounds good, but I preferred your precision!" I also used it with the acoustic duo and just got a "remind me what exactly was different?" reaction. Cue sale of one hardly used bass and back to what I usually do.

This is true. If there is a musician in the audience and you are playing like you don't care, you have probably lost networking and gig opportunities. Always give 101% even playing to one man and a dog. . . you never know who's listening in the other bar. I've been asked to join every band I've been in since 1985. I've picked up every gig and band because a band member suggested me or a band leader dropped in and thought I would fit into his band. So how you sound is important but how you play is even more important. Every gig is a potential introduction to more players.

If you have a problem with the answers maybe you should have phrased the question differently. This is also the problem with "click-bait". If you point people in one direction you can't complain if that's the direction they go! Then there is the long post problem. People generally don't read long posts so any points being made in a long post will probably be missed. Long posts are generally not to the point. Sorry, but I tried reading yours and drifted off several times. Perfection is overrated. The value of anything to be "good enough".

. . . because he can!

Over the years I've asked several people about various new basses I've bought. The reply I usually get is, "It sounds good. It sounds like you". When the penny drops you realise that all anyone wants from any band member is that they buy their rounds, don't sound bad and play good stuff. . . . and no one really cares how they do it. I had a boring 15 mins when a drummer was telling me the difference between snare drums, wood, brass etc. All I knew was he sounded great and I loved what he played in the songs we did.

Every bass is the right bass. . . for someone. I don't think about the "best". All you can do is to ensure that the next bass is better in some regard than the last one. That way, when you finally stop playing, you'll be playing the best bass you've ever owned.

Sadly Bonamassa manages to steamroller anyone who plays with him, but he always has great bands. This time he's got two of the best session players in the states atm, Anton Fig on drums and Michael Rhodes on bass. Nice surprise to see such good players on Later.

Currently the EU is viewed as a single entity in terms of movement of goods between members. So you won't be required to provide documents between EU countries. Outside the EU who knows what kind of monitoring will be in place, but be prepared for the worst.

Your cheapest option is to find another Hydrive 115, but IMO you can do so much better than that. Definitely check out a BB2, but if you don't need a tweeter then a Super Compact or a Two10 might be for you. Where are you? Maybe you can check out someone using a BF cab on a gig near you.

If you want to buy gear you look on the manufacturers site and the retailers site. You can look on bass forums and ask questions. It's the buyers responsibility to find out what is being offered and what matches up with their requirements. In any field, it's the buyer who has to do their homework and if they buy a combo that can't use an extension cab, well that's either what they wanted or a good learning experience.

I would like to hear the thoughts of someone who was listening. I'm not saying you are wrong, but I'll always prefer to hear impartial opinions when I'm dealing with comparisons involving my playing. We all do that. Many musicians, great and not so great, ignore the audience but most only get away with that because the rest of the band doesn't.

That's got to be in the schedule for 2019.

You can get a degree from music college, play the cleverest lines and sound amazing with your great boutique gear. You can agonize over how Geddy Lee got this sound or that sound, but most bands (well most that I know) will give the gig to a bass player who sounds and plays good enough and who sings.

"It's all in the fingers" is short-hand for, "It's you that makes the difference". It really doesn't matter if you play a Precision, Musicman or double bass. OK, there are "rules", ie you don't see many double basses in Metal, but a good bass player will sound good on any instrument. What do others want from a bass guitar? That it don't sound bad. That's it! More important than your sound is that your timing is good/perfect, you play interesting lines, you groove/swing/rock and that you remember the arrangements. The sound of different basses? That's personal preference and not a "thing" to anyone else but you. I think most audiences do notice bass players. There is a sliding scale of recognition but the bass is heard by most people. I get comments about my 5 string bass everywhere I go, so lots notice more than you think. Some of them will actually be bothered to walk across the room and tell you. As a bass player you'll play better if you are happy and that will contribute to a happy band. A happy band will make better music and the audiences will always/usually notice and appreciate that. I rate airlines on their price and service, so basically the cabin crew and the entertainment on the plane. I never think about the guys who service the plane or the ones up front doing the steering and landing. That's bass playing and why the rhythm section is called the engine room.

IMO, TI's are great flatwound strings. If you want something less expensive, try GHS Precision Flatwound strings. They sound and feel very good.

Later is fine. Irritating people are a fact of life. I live next to a particularly fine example but irritation is just something I/we all have to deal with. The problem is that TV people don't understand that just showing the performance is enough. They always insist on adding all that "interesting" TV stuff! Never mind that it is mostly irrelevant and usually detracts from the music. We need more live music on TV of all sorts. Whether you or I like the particular content or presentation doesn't matter, someone will. With so much TV air time these days I would have thought that showing concerts, gigs and music programs would be a cheap and easy way of providing content, but as live music fans have always been poorly served by TV I won't be holding my breath.

Absolutely. Music programs should always have a place on TV. More the merrier. I watched Later and I have to say, I can't remember anyone who was on it. This week just wasn't interesting to me, but every TV station should have a "Later" in its schedules.