chris_b

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1479036454' post='3173412']When I've played P-type basses I've not been able to hear myself through the rest of the band.[/quote] I'd say that's either an effect of bad EQ from the guitarist(s) or keyboard players or you need to raise the cab or you just need to turn up. Everyone hears me when I play my P bass! I don't play with bad guitarists but I am always telling keyboard players to lay off the left hand and take the low bass out of their sound.

You need a plan. You want a gig on a ship and for that you'll need to read music. Get a teacher who will help you achieve the plan to a time scale. . . . 6 months? A year? Do it. You have no responsibilities or ties at the moment and you have a "trade" you can fall back on at a later date. Get a 5 string bass. Playing across the fretboard is easier than playing up and down when you're reading. Good luck.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1478999059' post='3173271'] . . . the guys will always say of they like something, or prefer the previous etc. I don`t think there`s anything wrong in a band knowing what fits their sound best and letting the band members know that. [/quote] +1

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1478957302' post='3172957'] I've never 'got' Pink Floyd, and what I have heard does absolutely nothing for me. [/quote] This was me until I was given a ticket to see Dave Gilmour at the Albert Hall last year. What an amazing show.

Real men laugh in the face of comfort zones. Go for it.

Are the strings buzzing? Is there actually a problem? Unless there's more to this than the picture is showing, I don't see a problem with these frets at all. Fret clank? New frets won't stop clanking if it's caused by your technique. Don't hit the strings so hard or take the bridge up a little.

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1478953847' post='3172915']For me, instantly recognising a familiar chord sequence takes away from the effect of the lyrics and melody.[/quote] If people were worried about the chord sequences you've used then you haven't written a very good song.

. . . . because it's the melody, words and voice that matters in a song.

They've apologised and explained the mix up. Cock-ups happen. I'd give it another go. Get a mobile number so you can check on the day.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1478880418' post='3172388']No one is telling me what bass to play[/quote] I don't get the "digging heels in" approach. If anyone has a constructive comment on my gear, technique or style I'll listen. Sometimes other people's opinions will be valid.

I'm not sure he was touring out of choice. I believe he came out of his Buddhist monastery to discover that rather a lot of his money had gone missing. I think the touring was a necessary source of income. Roscoe Beck was his band leader.

I'm not a Jazz person either. I played a 4 string P bass for 25 years and only one person commented on it. A record producer said "Oh, good. Turn everything up full and we'll do the rest in here". That was it! I switched to 5 string basses (MM, Wal, Lakland & Lull) for the last 25 years and all I've got is, "That looks good" and "How many strings has it got?" The guys I mix with don't care about gear, but they do notice and comment on how the band played and whether the groove was good or not.

It's not cobblers. Your technique is what it is. . . . but however good you are I bet you'll play better on a bass with a 5 mm action than one with a 10 or 15mm action. The better your playing gets the more differences like that will matter. If your technique progresses you might notice the difference between 3mm and 5mm.

Sad news.

XX cheers chris

[quote name='geoham' timestamp='1478852469' post='3172070']I responded to an appropriate looking ad for a start-up band. [/quote] This is what you get with amateurs. And professionals who don't have a professional attitude. I file these situations under "Lucky Near Miss". You're better than these jokers so keep looking. The last audition I did was a shocker. Only the singer and guitarist turned up. Neither knew the songs I'd been given to learn (even though they'd written them!) and it was an hour of shambolic nonsense. The record company guy who was also there said he was very embarrassed by the whole thing and apologised to me.

I'm not a PF fan but the cover band plays Another Brick and it always goes down well and gets the best reception of any song we do.

Again, sad news. We play First We Take Manhattan. He was a world class talent who wrote many great, great songs, but like Dylan, I prefer his songs sung by others. The Neville Brothers and Joe Cocker singing Bird On The Wire for instance.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1478811447' post='3171903'] Doug thought the internet was the work of Satan and thought it would never last. [/quote] He's not wrong about the first part. . . . . but it will continue to go from strength to strength and continue to take over the world.

If you change your strings and have a problem then you adjust the truss rod, bridge, nut and possibly the fret heights as you would no matter who or what last set up your bass. The Plek machine just automates the manual process so there is no difference in the end result between Plek and luthier. You do not understand the Plek process so I'd refrain from calling it a con.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1478792849' post='3171693'] . . . . Otherwise it's just a question of "monkey see, monkey do" which isn't really music. [/quote] You've just condemned all classical music, a significant proportion of ballet music and rather a large amount of the Jazz that's ever been played as "not being music". A rather sweeping and inaccurate statement.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1478784029' post='3171611'] Was that the place that had one of the Plek systems for fretwork? [/quote] Yep. I believe Charlie developed and beta tested the Plek system with the company.

The title says it all. The OP thinks that 2 in the bar is boring and wants to make the number more interesting for him by adding more notes to his playing. In Country simple is best, but simple isn't easy. You've got to work hard to make 2 notes per bar interesting because the interest isn't in the notes but how you play them and how you make those 2 notes interact with the rest of the band.

I hope this works out for them. The Chandler repair dept was always one of the shops strengths.