chris_b

I think you should play what suits you at the time. There is no going forwards or backwards and no upgrading or downgrading when it comes to preferences. The only rule is to always sound the best you can.

Whenever I've played through an SVT the sound was fantastic. It was and still is a perfect design, but. . . reality check required. . . it's perfect in someone else's world, not mine. I would love an Aston Martin but I know it wouldn't be as good for me as my Volvo estate. You have to know when to stop.

New guitarist. . . sorted.

There's an SM-400S on Ebay in Brighton, for £300. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SWR-SM-400S-Bass-Amp-Head-case-/221903380064?hash=item33aa78de60:g:pcoAAOSwgQ9V01HZ

Allbang and Strummit. . . I used to go in there in my lunch time, when I worked in Covent Garden. A great little shop.

[i]What have the Romans ever done done for us?[/i] Apart from the quality of the unique sound, the well crafted feel, the ergonomics, the look, the QC and customer service? Why have players around the world and at all levels prized Wal basses for over 40 years? Beats me.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1445438518' post='2891485'] Music should be at an 'appropriate' volume for the venue. [/quote] Rock has never been about what is "appropriate". As I was told one night, if the venue isn't telling you to turn down you're not too loud. One of my favourite gigs was playing in a duo with an acoustic Ragtime guitarist, but I also loved playing with the Led Zep band. When I saw the barman at the back of the room taking all the bottles off the glass shelves I knew my rig was working as intended.

[quote name='Grassie' timestamp='1445438443' post='2891484'] Looking forward to not having my ears hurt during a gig, and ringing like church bells for days afterwards. [/quote] It is academic who is too loud. If your ears are ringing after playing you should be wearing ear plugs.

IME it's the guitarists that set the volume level. My current Thunderfunk amp has more watts in it than the whole of my first 3 bands put together, so I think bands today are being very stupid. But, hey, I want to gig and as I don't run my own band I can't dictate, so (earplugs at the ready) I'll go with the flow. I play with a very loud SRV type guitarist and the drummer commented that I was too loud. At the same time the guitarist was complimenting me on my sound. When the band leader gives you the thumbs up it seems sensible that you keep doing whatever it is that's making him happy. Last year the cover band had a gig where the neighbours were kicking off and they made us (meaning the guitarist) turn down. It was very quiet, and I loved it because we played with a better feel than on any gig before or since. Sadly, for me, the sensible bands seem to have faded away and the loud ones are the guys that are still gigging. But ultimately the level of musicianship and the material we're playing will be the thing that matters to me.

These kids shows aren't nearly as cheesy as the crap films Elvis made. I'd rather be a Womble than in Viva Las Vegas. I forget which program Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band did, but Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated was the house band on the 5 O'Clock Club, a kids TV show in the 60's, Strange stuff happens. Just gotta make it work.

The irritating thing is that people seem to equate poor with simple. Whereas simple is effective and poor is actually just bad. The only successful band I ever heard of with a poor bass player was The Sex Pistols. But that was kinda the point.

My Wal, a Mk3 5 string, sounded glorious. I've been going over some old recordings and you can hear the tracks where the Wal was used. They have a better quality and an authority to the sound. Wal basses are a 40 year old design that is still in the top 5 basses ever made.

[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1445247516' post='2889832'] You never miss the water till the well runs dry [/quote] A great William Bell song.

[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1445237902' post='2889728']I only wish I had invested in them before my hearing difficulties materialised [/quote] I'm in the same boat. And that's the main point. . . . you don't get insurance [i]after[/i] your house has burnt down, so the sensible thing is to start using them when you don't have a problem.

Tony Bennett on the Muppet's, anyone on Loose Women and most actors, stand ups and musicians many times in their lives. . . . you do what you have to do to earn a crust. PS Just remembered Mike Batt was lead Womble. . . . . . . you can't live on fresh air.

I don't get the good ear bad ear stuff. If you played in a band for any length of time you've got a bad ear and a worse ear.

If you've got to the point of considering ear plugs you're probably well into damaged hearing territory. If you want to keep playing in a loud environment then earplugs are your only solution. It doesn't matter how much sound or tone you miss by wearing them, if you don't use plugs then what you will end up with is no definition at all in your (diminished) hearing. Get moulded plugs with proper filters, I use ACS and my compromised hearing has remained pretty much stable for the last 8 years. It doesn't matter what they sound like. It's a very easy choice, learn to love them or stop playing. This is as good as it gets and with anything less you'll be missing a significant part of your ability to hear before your much older.

Back in the 60's the music world was run by the managers, promoters, agents and record execs. The opinion of musicians wasn't required!! If you had a contract you turned up. I saw Jimi Hendrix playing a pub gig while he had a record in the charts because they had a contract.

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1444982364' post='2887767'] Our 10CR250 isn't a custom version of any standard speaker - obviously we don't get a frame stamped or cast for us, we just use an off-the-shelf frame that fits our needs. But everything else is unique, motor, voicecoil, soft parts etc. There's literally nothing else even vaguely similar on the market. [/quote] OK, thanks for the info.

My cover band ranges from Aerosmith and the Who to Cee-lo Green and Daft Punk and everywhere in between. So far I have never EQ'ed to sound like another player. [i]I'm[/i] playing the numbers so I use my sound. . . . . on all the numbers, from blues bands to originals bands. It works because I make it work, and probably because I don't have an extreme style or sound. From what I see, most top players don't significantly change how they play or sound, from Duck Dunn, Nathan East and Nathan Watts to Gail Ann Dorsey, Guy Pratt and Paul Turner. I watch guys like Laurence Cottle and Phil Mulford playing at the local and, apart from an occasional palm mute, they seems to be one tone guys as well. As with gear, it's still all about what you play and your groove.

I don't think the drivers will sound the same. Both Bergs and Barefaced (don't know about TKS) use custom versions of standard speakers so there will be differences and the implementation will be totally different in all three. As I understand it, Alex's cabs use a unique design, and then there's a night and day difference if crossovers are used. IMO a B string with a fat low mid EQ at lower volumes needs a 112 sized cab. With a band and a normally loud drummer I'd always use 2 112's or a 212. I haven't heard any [i]bad[/i] cabs for years, so you've either got to be brave and guess, or play them all to see where your preferences lie.

When depping I always ask for a set list. I was told on one gig that they just played the "usual stuff". "The guitarist calls out the numbers and we just play them." I phoned again asking for a set list and was told that they weren't very happy as they were "expecting a professional player". I cancelled right there.

We operate an all black dress code. Which seemed to baffle our 2nd guitarist for the whole of our 2 years together. He moved to black shirt and jeans pretty quickly, but we never managed to get him out of his brown shoes!!!

No one is indispensable. Not even Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters or Eric Clapton.

I know a very good drummer who was given a CD of the set. He asked how much and they said £50. He said: I'll give it a £50 listen then.