Count Bassy

Allen Key? (inspired by a trampoline we bought, where the instructions referred to an Allen Key as an "L shaped stick")

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1348240738' post='1811323'] Can i have one for the guitarist pls? [/quote] cue:...... "Sounds like a fair swap".

Martin Turner is great. I love the bass solo at the beginning of Handy (from the album "Wishbone Ash")

A fan fretted 5 string with a 34" B string , going down to 31 - 32" for the G string? (And 16mm spacing).

[quote name='q_of_doom' timestamp='1343895714' post='1756839'] For a long time I used a Boss ME-50B, but the Tascam GT-R1 is just so much more portable and versatile. [/quote] Yep, I used to use the Tascam MP-BT1 but bought a GT-R1 for the extra features (drum beats, recording, plays WAV files etc) and now use that almost exclusively. There's a few thing that the MP-BT1 did better, but not many.

Just couple of things that I've seen recently: A quite old 4 x 10 cabinet went up with a starting price of £400, which I thought was a bit silly, and unsurprisingly got no bids. Now re-listed with a buy it now price of £430!! WTF? What planet is the man on? Secondly a Marshal B150 combo came up. Starting price £300!! Now I like Marshall kit and have one of these, but £300?? - I got mine for £100! Just felt the need to share. Hope neither of them is anyone here, but if it is then I do believe you're pushing your luck a bit!

I don't know what all the fuss is about - it's only a cover version, so can be of any musical value!

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1347270366' post='1798537'] Another one bites the dust, Under pressure, summer nights, blues brothers tune (whatever its called), there's gotta be loads more [/quote] There probably are loads more, but still a tiny minority.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1347188953' post='1797758'] i was 'criticised' last week for suggesting that average public person could tell when a tune wasnt faithful to the original script - people ( ie non muso types) are a lot more savvy than they are often given credit for - it doesnt take musical training/education for somebody to be able to spot small differences in performances and arrangement [/quote] If it was my 'Do you really think so ... ' comment then it wasn't meant to be a criticism in anyway, so please don't take it as such. I was just saying that that wasn't my experience, yours is obviously different. If it upset you in anyway then please accept my apologies. It doesn't take musical training etc. , but it does need someone who actually listens to / is aware of the bass line (Indeed any part other than the predominant theme at the time). Hence in some tunes, (All Right Now (parts of), Wherever I Lay My Hat etc.) a deviation in the bass line might be noticed but in many others I still believe that the average punter is pretty unaware of what the bass is doing. I made a point in yet another thread re Smoke On The Water. I suspect that if you asked a random collection of people how the bass line went most of them would sing the main theme - not the bass line. I repeat - all in my humble opinion/experience: I could be wrong - it did happen once.

[quote name='rOB' timestamp='1346870566' post='1794335'] There has been plenty of discussion around covers and tribute bands recently which is interesting no matter what kind of band you're in but sometimes things seem to differ in the world of original (as much as that term can ever be applied) music. Might be worth sharing some experiences and ideas? So recently I've put together a new band to play existing tunes (written by me for previous recording projects) and write new ones with the reasonably modest ambitions to play maybe a gig a month in our city and maybe travel to other cities once in a while, record some songs and perhaps self release an e.p. - What is your band aiming for? How are you going about it? Getting gigs has been reasonably simple so far through existing relationships with promoters and venue managers and/but they are all in local established music venues with PAs and engineers rather than pubs and clubs. - How are you approaching booking gigs? What types of venues are you playing? Are/how much are you getting paid? Promoting the band and gigs - we're focusing on social media (facebook and twitter) mostly at the moment. - How do you go about promoting? Recordings - we've struggled with finding a cheap way to record the band so far and are using some solo recordings I made at home to give promoters, venues and other bands an idea of what we sound like. - thoughts, experiences and ideas? Anything else you want to discuss relating to running your original bands? [/quote] Don't kid yourself. You may be playing original music, but the rest of the band didn't write any of it, so are mere cover players.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1346955336' post='1795353'] ... and I guess good old Elton must be doing original music but only covering the lyrics. And that Frank SInatra, he must have been just another covers band. [/quote] There's hundreds of them!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1346946099' post='1795187'] So what you are saying is that tunes that people don't know go down well even though they don't know them? I have to say that is my experience too. I see no reason to play other people's stuff other than as a path to quick gigging without having to write anything. If musos across the board worked as hard on the craft of composition/song writing as they seem to do on 'stagecraft', costunes and Swedish chuffin' accents, they may have material that is as good as or even better than the covers they play. And they can get royalties! I've got a go now; I have a gig. [/quote] How did you you get to your gig Bilbo? I hope that you didn't drive a car that someone else had designed. That's just taking a short cut to mobility, when with enough hard work you could design and build your own. Consider yourself lucky that you are able to compose. Lots of people are great players without being able to compose, others can compose without being particularly good players. I'm not much good at playing, but can't compose to save my life. Should that mean that I'm not allowed to play anything either?

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1346950595' post='1795288'] I still don't see the confusion, even if a famous person or band does a version of someone else's song it's a cover. It's black and white in my opinion [/quote] So to go back to the post above yours, - was Elvis just a covers a singer when he sang Heartbreak Hotel? He didn't write it so I guess he must have been. Does Elvis actually write anything? If a band does a song that was written by one of the members, does that mean that the rest of the band are playing a cover?

I play melodeon in a ceilidh band rather than bass, but hopefully some of my experience will cross over: A useful step towards playing for a Ceilidh is to have done some dancing yourself. If you haven't then try to fit some in before the gig. You'll soon get an idea of what is required. Make sure that you can hum or whistle the tunes - a good starting point for playing a bass line! Remember that you're playing for people to dance to, not for people to listen to. It's all about pulse and rhythm, and very little to do with fancy fills and runs. Fills and runs are great for your own satisfaction, and are generally fine, - but it mustn't detract or distract from the pulse and rhythm. If people are consciously listening to you (other than pulse and rhythm) then you've gone wrong somewhere. Watch the dancers, you are there as a support to them rather than as a show in your own right! Pay attention to the caller or whoever is the band leader (in terms of calling the changes etc) In bands I've played it its very much make it up as you go along, so although the sequence of tune changes may be fixed, don't think that it's always going to be 3 times through this, then 4 times through that. Always be ready for a call of "Extra A" or "Extra B" etc. (to get back in synch with the dancers if they've messed up) DON'T SPEED UP (unless the caller requests it). That's it for now. Have fun!

I had a similar situation, also for a rockabilly band (in Kettering). Bloke said just pick a few to have a go at, so I did chose about 6 and familiarised myself with them. Turn up at the audition and he insists on going through all of them anyway!! So I ended up playing around 20 tunes I'd never even heard before. Thankfully I didn't get offered the gig, because by the end of the audition I really didn't want it .

Covers? Original? Does it matter? I really don't care as long as I like to play them and someone else likes to hear them. (or , indeed, if someone else is playing them and I like to hear them).

Joe Rockman (What a name) , who played with Jeff Healey.

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1346661761' post='1791532'] The investment reasoning is absolute rubbish. I've invested a lot of money into my gear because I have to for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I have to sound good or I don't get asked back. Secondly (and most importantly), in an industry full of hobbyists it's an essential part of competing. For every good band who work hard and offer professional/original entertainment, there's a band of hobbyists who spend all there wages on gear and then under cut everyone else to get the gig. Example being we nearly had an originals gig cancelled the other night because another band with about £20k of PA, lighting, amps, guitars etc had rang the pub to say that they were free that night and offered to play for free. Luckily we'd protected ourselves with paperwork, but it highlights the fact that in our industry (and the current climate) the irony is that the people who go out 'for the love of music' are the ones undercutting original acts and drawing the opportunities. You can't get noticed if you can't get a gig, and you can't get a gig if you're competing with free! [/quote] "twas always thus and always thus will be" Will always be a problem when someone does for a hobby what someone else is trying to make a living at. While I sympathise with the hopeful professional (my son is one) I don't think you can expect the hobbyists (I'm one) to give up their major source of enjoyment to leave the field clear for them.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1346669010' post='1791626'] an average 'non-muso' punter will quite easily spot when a bass line (or any other band part for that matter) hasn't been played faithfully to the original but only other bass players will comment/critique each other's tone [/quote] You think so? I suspect the average non 'muso', non Bass playing punter, would struggle to spot a deviation from the original bass line except in very particular places (eg. the bass under the guitar solo in All Right Now) Edited to add: and if they do notice probably don't give a sh*t - as long as the atmosphere is good and the beer is cheap.

Personally I think that tone should be adapted to the song. (As long as it can be done quickly). Eg, the band I'm dabbling with at the moment does a Whitesnake-ish version of Day Tripper followed by Gary Moore's Midnight Blues, and I definitely change tone between those two, Mostly bridge PU for the former, mostly neck pickup (and playing further up the neck) for the latter. Can't really see either song working so well with the other songs tone. Indeed there are times when a tone change within a song is effective, though I'd generally do this just with the fingers. Mind you I would want to be fiddling for minutes with graphic equalisers and pedals etc. between songs - Just make you look a twat (in the nicest sense of the word)! . Edited having seen SteveK's comment above: I wouldn't want to be changing tone for [i]every[/i] song! That also make you look a twat. PS I still love that I can say Twat and it not get filtered out!

[quote name='tonyclaret' timestamp='1346570790' post='1790562'] Ha ha I think it's funny, probably sick to his back teeth of hearing them every week. [/quote] But not of selling drink to the punters that these "classics" pull in, surely?

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1346488081' post='1789735'] I have a set of D'Addario halfwounds on one bass. They are really quite sticky stings. They will give the sound you're looking for as they wear in. I would actually go for [url="http://status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html"]Status Hotwire Halfwounds[/url] (you'll find them in the 'online shop'). They are much more slippery and easier to use. They also last for years with a good tone. I have had a set on my Jazz for a few years now. Still sound great. [/quote] Exactly my experience as well. The stickiness does seem to wear off the Daddarios, but I went to the hotwires anyway. To my ear the hotwires are a bit brighter than the D'addarios, which is a good thing as I found the D'addarios too dull.

Fender Urge Mk1 is 32" and an excellent bass, and a thin neck. Only available 2nd hand now. A mex one went recently on Ebay for £330. US one (different/more pickups etc., different tuners, bridge, electronics, etc.) should be around £600.

Used to be a real cynic about tribute bands but one night ended up seeing "Mark Taylor - A dead ringer for Meatloaf" at the old Robin R&B club ( we were meant to be seeing Deep Purple at the NEC, but that was cancelled). I've got to say that it was great fun night out. Have since seen a deep Purple/Whitesnake/Rainbow tribute night (3 different bands) and a Thin Lizzy tribute, and both were also really good nights. Not degrading at all, If I was good enough to be in one I'd do it like a shot. - anyone fancy a Family/Streetwalkers/Shortlist tribiute band??

The ceilidh band I play have come to the arrangement where we (nearly) always state the full fee, and its then up to the individuals what they do with their share, which may be to waive it altogether. This covers mates rates and charity gigs. If it is something we all have an interest in then we may collectively decide to waive the whole lot, but only once we've all discussed it,