chris_b

+1 for you needing to try better 5 string basses. Your description doesn't fit any 5 sting bass I've played or heard on record.

Have you ever seen a really good band have an off day? Years ago a friend who's a very good jazz drummer went to Ronnies to see Tom Scott and the LA Express. The bass and drums spent most of the night talking to each other and egging each other on. At the end my friend asked Max Bennett what was going on, and he said they were having an off night and they were trying to overcome it. My friend said the gig sounded perfect! I guess you can have some shockers and even informed members of the audience won't necessarily notice but the band should notice and repeated "bad" gigs are an indicator that something needs to be done before the audience does start to notice.

These are just old fashioned country songs so you're best bet is play what they did on the original. You can make the bass lines as interesting as you like but you won't make the lines any better for those songs. Just concentrate on getting the part right. It's not an uninteresting bass line if it's right.

Sounds like you've made the move for the right reasons and are adjusting in the correct way.

Mick Taylor was being booted out of JM's band so he had to go somewhere. Not such a bad choice for an out of work musician. I've seen the Stones four times. At the Greenford Odeon in about 64ish, twice at Earls Court in 76 and the O2, at the end of their last tour. All great gigs and a spread of about 45 years.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1427969035' post='2736377'] I suspect he's trying to confirm his own prejudices as much as anything else. [/quote] +1 The article is a personal view only. Better engineers than him have been happy to let Nathan East and his 5 and 6 string basses loose on their multi million selling hit records records for the last 30 years.

If you're talking about the place I think you are, I've played there for over 12 years in other bands and doing various deps, but I just can't get my band in!

Try a Squier. If you can find one that plays well you can always upgrade the pickups.

I believe that was 1976 and The Meters were the support. I saw 2 of those shows.

[quote name='Bobthedog' timestamp='1427919588' post='2735964'] I cannot find the article I read only yesterday from a studio sound engineer [/quote] Hey Bob..... not that I don't believe you read it..... I don't believe him. There are 5ers in Blues, Rock, Metal, Soul, Pop, Country, Jazz, Fusion, Hip Hop; I can't think of a genre where 5ers aren't being played. People can play as many or few strings as they are comfortable with. IMO 5's have never been a fashion, but are a serious addition to the world of bass playing and they bring unique advantages. I can play any number that was recorded on a 4 string bass without exception, but I don't think 5's will replace 4 string basses. Those two designs will live together, as will fretted and fretless, because there will always be guys who will chose to play those instruments. I've been told that the old songs should be played on 4's because that's what they were recorded on. I don't buy any of that nonsense. If a number was recorded on a 4 it will sound just as good when I play it on a 5. IMO the only limitation is in how you play a number, not the instrument.

I've never heard of studios not liking 5 string basses. In the last 30 years there's been enough music recorded featuring 5ers for me not to believe that.

The live music scene isn't dying, but it is seriously contracting. If you're feeling the "heat" and want to continue you've got to raise your game and get better than the competition.

As you've found out, a great audience reaction doesn't mean the band is playing well. It's good that you can hear what needs to be done. Play the tape to everyone in the band and put all the "issues" under the microscope. Tell them that not fixing everything is not an option. Be prepared for push back. Timing separates the good players from everyone else.

I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

Of course you judge yourself and the band on more than the audience reaction, but the main objective is that the punters always come away thinking they had a great time and we were the reason. Promoters like that as well. My cover band usually goes down well which, over the years, has caused some complacency. Now we're in a process of rebuilding the set and focusing on how we play it. We got sloppy and now we're tightening everything up. Some of the band members are not comfortable being analyzed, but it's working and I think were playing better than ever and the reaction to us is improving. Compliments are the litmus test for a band. Whether we deserve them or not, I'll take as many as I can get. But there's no rose coloured specs here.

I've recently heard BF cabs being played with a TC RH750 and a GB STL 9.2 and both sounded fantastic. I have used an LM2, which is close to the LM3, and always got a good sound out of it. My Aguilar TH500's have sounded great with a fat, warm vintage vibe, through all the cabs I've used, including a BB2. These are all shades of great. I think you've got to hear the amps before you decide.

Merton is selling his Barefaced SC g3 cabs for the same reason. I wonder how many people are moving about on your (and his) side of the stage? How would your rig get knocked over? When I set up there's just me and access to the drum kit on my side. Also, how loud do you play? My bands are pretty loud and I had no trouble hearing my 2 112 cabs and that rig didn't even come up to my waist. I found no need to vertically stack my 112 cabs. Back in the day, we used to stack 2 412 cabs and a valve amp on some very iffy stages and I've never seen a stack come close to falling over.

Which bass do you like the sound of the least?

Foam works in the studio because it evens out the notes and prevents unwanted resonances. What foam takes away can be added by the desk, but for live work I prefer the dynamics of undampened strings.

Jack, If you included 3 tone sunburst and rosewood fret boards you'd be exactly right. Scale: I prefer 35" but my Wal at 34" was fine. So scale isn't necessarily a deal breaker for me. I could go longer without much trouble, ie 36" but I wouldn't be keen to go shorter, ie 32" or 33". That would depend on the instrument. String spacing: I was given a Yamaha 5 string to play on a gig and I had the most miserable time I've had in years. The strings were so close together it was unplayable. I prefer room to stretch out so 18-20mm is good for me. Weight: These days I can do 3 sets with my 8 1/2 lb Lull but 2 sets is a stretch on anything weighing more. As the years go by, chambered Sadowsky basses are becoming more appealing!

Check out his web site http://www.wynguitars.com/pricing/

Over the years there have been loads of "no one cares about the bass player" threads, which I think just isn't true. In the last 4 gigs I've had 3 guys come up to me and compliment me on my sound and playing and 4 ladies who told me that they were dancing to the sound of the bass. We [i]are[/i] appreciated, [i]what[/i] we play and [i]how[/i] we sound is important. My dep is a very, very good player, but the band tells me they prefer my playing. It took them about 3 years to bother to tell me. So don't assume silence means that people aren't listening and appreciating.

My preference would be to replace the cab. If there really is no budget for a new cab then give Phil Starr a PM and find out which replacement speaker would sound best. We're told that in order for the cab to sound good the speakers will have to match the cab. Then were told that most of the popular makes are designed to a budget, not to a technical spec. As most of these cabs sound OK, what I take from that is there is so much leeway in cab design that getting it right, down to the last millimeter, isn't necessary to get a good sound.

Too many blues bands in the UK seem to be playing ideas from the 50's. Based around lead guitar and limited interesting grooves and arrangements. Listen to some of the US guys touring Europe, like Lucky Peterson, Sherman Robinson, Coco Montoya, Bernard Allison. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alzAG7rCAQA"]https://www.youtube....h?v=alzAG7rCAQA[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhr36kVaDoc"]https://www.youtube....h?v=Mhr36kVaDoc[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atr73gUUn5Q"]https://www.youtube....h?v=atr73gUUn5Q[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7UdvncZAtw"]https://www.youtube....h?v=X7UdvncZAtw[/url]

Graeme, thanks for a good sale. Cheers Chris