chris_b

I'm not sure what your employment status is. I've played at lots of festivals here and I've never been employed, in the legal sense, by the organiser. Being hired to play is not the same thing. Do you have a visa that allows you to work or are you on a tourist visa? Insurance companies might not cover you if you're not legal.

No, it's fine as it is. Also if you split the sales ads up by price what do you do when the price is reduced and that drops the gear into a different section?

I don't hate any numbers. The numbers I like best are the ones that audiences like and, secondly, that the band plays well. I shuddered when they decided to put Tainted Love in the cover band set, until I saw the audience reaction from nearly every gig. I understand that guys doing this for a hobby can view things differently but there really are no bad songs out there.

China Girl, Under Pressure, All The Young Dudes and Heroes are in our repertoire. They all go down really well. Very sensibly, Bowie wasn't locked into being a tribute band of his early self so I'd go for the later arrangements and Gail Ann Dorsey's take on his numbers. She left MM basses behind a long time ago and uses MTD basses these days.

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1429887672' post='2756049'] I know his old bass player, Baz Pethers, [/quote] Barry's now running a pub in rural Hampshire.

http://paulrobinsondrummeronline.com/ I've played with Paul is a Blues Rock band but he's comfortable playing from that to The Lion King through Nina Simone and Trevor Horn.

IMO there's no point in trying to fill out the sound. It won't work anyway. You'll just sound muddled. You are guitar, bass and drums now so you should sound like that, and not try to sound like your old band. Enjoy the spaces. As long as you can keep the groove no one will notice there are 2 guitars missing. . . . . IMO you had 2 too many in the first place!

EA did a vertical 310. But not for long. I guess it didn't sell? I have very little interest in big, and modular is the only way forward for me. I'd like a 210 with a 110 that would sit on the top, but I think Alex might explain that 2 Compacts already have that covered. How about a Retro 110 to sit on a Retro 210? I'm not sure concentrating on loud and low is the only way to go. A big low end just has to be EQ'ed out in many of the gigs I do, so mid and low mid focused cabs are where my interest would be. If I want to go louder I'll add another cab. How about a Retro 212 and a Retro 112 to sit on top?

You've just described Mustang Sally.

The best Markbass rig I heard was an LM2 with 2 STD102HF cabs.

I don't mind turning down. I've been playing long enough to balance my sound on the fly. I'd actually prefer to start quieter in the first pace, but I'm playing with 2 stone deaf guitarists at the moment who don't seem to understand the word balance.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1429304566' post='2750359'] Another 4:24 gone from my life. It felt longer, though. [/quote] Noooooo. . . . . I saw JB at the East Ham Odeon at about that time. Must have been that tour because I don't think Bootsy was with them for long. JB came on at about 2 am, second show of the day, and tore the place apart. Drivig back to West London at about 5 am and we were buzzing. That was a high point of my musical life.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1429482441' post='2751900'] It was only when I played a few basses with angled headstocks I realised what a crappy design a non-angled headstock really is, [/quote] Tell that to the many Gibson owners who have suffered broken headstocks over the years.

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1429471941' post='2751730'] There's a lot to be said for playing straight and simple bass lines. You get to enjoy the atmosphere better cause you don't need to focus and concentrate as much. [/quote] I disagree with this. . . a lot! If you want to do it properly every bass line needs maximum focus and concentration.

Deal breakers? In no particular order; sound, weight, manufacturer, string spacing, colour and price.

DR stings always kept their tone longest for me, but I wouldn't say they sounded like new for months. IMO Dunlop Super Bright steel strings would be the ones you want to try.

Network, Network, Network. Reading helps in certain circumstances, double on upright, know your instrument inside out and be proficient in all styles and techniques, be better at busking than the next guy and be available. Put yourself in the position of always being able to say yes, no matter what is offered. But network, be good, be what people want and and make them want to play with you. Nathan East said at a bass clinic last year: getting the first gig isn't difficult. Getting called back is the hard part. Good luck.

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1429256104' post='2749641'] this theory was rejected by clearly quite knowledgable individuals So if this is the case, why is it that all other things being equal, maple boards always sound brighter to my ears [/quote] Maybe they are not as knowledgeable as you or they think. This is one of those questions that would never occur to me. I prefer rosewood for looks, but I just listen to the sound of the whole bass.

I think the Martians were right. Country and Western takes some beating.

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1429191177' post='2749020'] You only get one set of ears. I cannot now play without earplugs in due to damage. I cannot hear detail in what others are doing. Playing is not as much fun as it was. Everyone sort out hearing protection. Do it today. [/quote] Ditto +1000

I'm using Steel Super Brights.

The first 3 mins of this might help. VW starts simply with fingerstyle and builds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOFf9kBnlGM

A well set up bass and a good right hand technique takes many string "issues" away. If you're trying to "dig in" with your right and have to use a "gorilla grip" with your left you're making things more difficult for yourself and any differences in strings will be accentuated, possibly to the point of making a set unplayable. I hardly notice the difference between my light Dunlop Brights and my flat wound Lakland strings.

If you play best with a pick then that is your benchmark for finger style. Work at it and you [i]will[/i] get better. Believe me Town Called Malice is easy with fingers. There will always be numbers that sound "right" played one way or the other. If you can do both that's good. Just aim to be as flexible as you can be.

Bands who only gig occasionally or form 3, 4 or 5 band nights inhabit a world I know nothing about. But if my cover band does 10 gigs next month and they are all within 40 miles of each other I'm not likely to fill every gig with mates, family or fans. It's not going to happen, We advertise online but, in the cover band world, your average punter doesn't travel very far, if at all. So these music venues have to be responcible for filling their gigs by putting on good music so punters will want to turn up anyway, in the knowledge that a good night is on the cards. The reality is there is little QC on behalf of the venue. "The band last week was terrible" is something we hear frequently. The turnover of landlords in pubs means that many of them have little interest in the music nights they inherited. The bottom line is they just want to sell food. Posters aren't put up, you can't start till the football or boxing etc has finished, we arrive to find food is still being served in the area where we are supposed to set up and during last winter we turned up at one south London gig to find an open fire blazing away in the stage area! A well run pub gig will attract punters and we will send them home buzzing, like last Sunday afternoon. If an audience doesn't turn up because the band isn't advertised and everyone has gone "up the road" to the other gig in town, like last Saturday, there is not a lot we can do about it. Back on topic. . . no I don't go to see many bands playing locally.