chris_b

I used Bergs for nearly 10 years and would recommend them in an instant. On the other hand. . . . have you thought about adding another cab to your combo? Bass Direct has a used TC RS112. I know a guy with that rig (TC 210 and 112) and he is pretty loud.

[quote name='Jumanji' timestamp='1496441559' post='3311550'] The problem I have is that if I have 2 x 112 cabs, most of the venues would suit just one of them and so the other would sit disused. [/quote] I find I mostly use both 112's because they sound so much better together. On the 5% of gigs where I only need 1 112 then that works too.

I'd suggest a Barefaced Super Compact and use your Fender amp. There's a guy on Talkbass who rates this combination very highly.

I use a Harvest strap. Your requirements are quite specific but they should have something to fit. . . . http://www.harvest-guitar.com/en/Straps-for-Guitar-and-Bass-oxid/

[quote name='Jumanji' timestamp='1496438434' post='3311526'] I don't really neeeeeed a bigger setup 100% of the time, but it's for the times when I wished I'd gone bigger! [/quote] Go modular. A combo with an extension cab or, IMO better still, an amp with 2 112 cabs. I have an 800 watt amp and a 500 watt amp and 2 112 cabs. That gives me a choice of 4 different rigs.

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1496405197' post='3311132'] . . . . I probably wouldn't be there in the first place, unless getting paid to do so. [/quote] We should always be getting paid to gig.

+1 Most "pop" music over the years has had very high production values. I can think of many who are top quality like Motown, Queen, ABBA, Beach Boys etc. The only guy who didn't seem to bother was Bob Dylan but he had other levels of greatness going for him. I can't think of any others who didn't produce a quality product. A lot of care was taken over disposable 2 min pop songs. It might be "pop" but it was rarely "crap".

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1496382818' post='3310901'] That's interesting. A bit like stalking. [/quote] And it can also be called networking. Bands have a very short memory so you have to keep your name at the top of the list.

There's no "dead zone" but on some basses there might be a "dead spot" (usually only 1) where a note can be slightly quieter than the others. These can be a product of the materials and design used in the manufacture and can be found in many basses. Usually they are not a serious problem. Every song recorded in the last 70 years was recorded on a bass that could have had this issue. Modern basses can have graphite rods and stringers installed in the neck to reduce the chance of dead spots and the problem can be reduced by using quarter sawn necks. Fat Finger clamps will also help. Dead spots don't appear or develop. They are there from day 1 so, when trying a bass, play every note on the neck and listen to its volume in relation to the other notes and how it sustains. If there is a dead spot you'll hear it. Then you can decide if it matters to you or not.

IMO if a glossy neck is causing you problems then change your left hand technique. If you're dragging your hand/thumb along the neck then you can get problems. Fully release your grip in-between hand movements and you'll be fine.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1496398024' post='3311040'] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]I don't buy into the Dave Grohl comment above that he was 'a f***ing badass' just because he could get a crowd going by playing consecutive hits on the floor tom and kick. It was The Beatles! For the love of god, Ringo could have just farted in a paper bag and the crowd would have gone crazy. [/font] [/quote] Ringo could have farted into a paper bag, but if he did the records wouldn't have been as good, the whole world of drumming wouldn't have changed and no one would be saying what they are saying now. Don't you see that? Grohl's point was, it's what Ringo played, how he played it and how he fitted it into the song and not some "super" technique that makes him so good. I get it's not for you. . . . but it's time to stop digging!

Bad news. At least you came out of this knowing more than when you started.

The conclusions I draw from this thread are: Tab is rarely correct. Sheet music is usually written by piano players who are getting paid by the sheet and who know no one is ever going to check what they wrote down. Acid and time changes a lot of memories. Check out your assumptions before you go into print. Inaccuracies will come back and bit you on the arse in no time. In music you should trust your ears before believing your eyes.

It's a great version of Thunderstruck. And great playing.

[quote name='danonearth' timestamp='1496371426' post='3310883'][color=#191919][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]I am wondering how often people use the pinky finger [/size][/font][/color][/quote] All the time. I don't understand your diagrams but I use 1, 2, 4 and 3 the least of all. Guys who use 1,2,3 just look awkward to me. IMO you can't "overuse" a finger when playing if you're doing it properly. Are you positioning your hand correctly? A bass isn't just a big guitar, you have to hold everything differently. If you don't use all your fingers to fret notes you're wasting a resource and overusing the others, which is not good. If any fingers are hurting or uncomfortable when you're playing, either your strings are too high, you're pressing too hard or you're stretching. What ever the cause, get your bass playing technique right and the problem will go away.

Mike Portnoy summed it up. Ringo changed what a drummer could imagine playing. Ringo went further than rhythm drumming and became part of the arrangement, part of the song. 2 drummers changed drumming, Earl Palmer and Ringo Starr.

[quote name='Jack' timestamp='1496326651' post='3310554'] So I am looking to join a band (ideally a function band) what would be the best way if the ads are regarded as useless? [/quote] It's down to who you know or who has seen you play and remembered that you were OK. The last band I joined via an audition was in 1985, since then it's been word of mouth.

Change is common place and mostly goes by unnoticed these days, but Sgt Pepper was a perfect storm that changed everything. It caused a seismic change in what was possible and what was expected in every aspect of the creative side of the music business; song writing, recording, art work and musicianship. Brian Wilson said he was in creative competition with the Beatles and he thought he'd won with Pet Sounds. When he heard Sgt Pepper he knew he'd been left for dead. Then the only people I knew who were 50 were teachers and grand parents. Jeez. . . . what happened!!

[quote name='ivansc' timestamp='1496263919' post='3310105']I routinely do gigs with zero rehearsal. [/quote] As do I. If the guys in the band are good enough, your preparation is up to scratch and everyone is on the same page then it can work. I would imagine there are guys who aren't up to this way of working. Fortunately I don't meet up with them very often.

So you guys are saying this bass line is not played starting on an open E? And you've all been listening to the original recording?

Sloppy Jazz band? How can you tell? Decide after you get an impartial second opinion from someone who knows about these things.

IME, a lot of bassists are not going to be playing very often if they're intending to only play songs they like. Life is too short to be sitting at home in self imposed exile waiting for the next likeable song to turn up. If you can turn a song you don't particularly like into a well played song that an audience wants to hear then you're a good player and you've done a good job.

Over the years, I've made up for the both of you. Am I bovvered??

I was 9 when I realised that [i]time[/i] could be counted right through a break in a song and that was how they all started together after the break. What a revelation. Counting 1, 2, 3, 4 goes through the whole song and nearly everything started on the 1. I played the same bit of that record a dozen times just counting through the break. A eureka moment. This guy has to know what his weakness is and has to be working very hard to fix it. He has to be made aware that he's currently compromising the band, and he's going to look stupid in front of all his mates. Then tell him he has 3 weeks to shape up or that's it. If the penny drops you're good to go, if it doesn't and he walks or is fired you're also good. This problem is a show stopper. Cancel the gig until it's solved.

I've played several RHCP songs over the years and they always went down well. They had an energy that made them good to play. Nick Cave on the other hand. . . . . where did I put those razor blades.