meterman

After I'd stopped touring in 2018, I had a full pedalboard of Boss and EHX pedals just gathering dust. I'd occasionally use one in a recording session but otherwise they remained in their boxes. So earlier this year I had a gear clear out and sold all the Boss and EHX gear on Reverb and replaced them with Behringer equivalents. Yes, they're cheap and plastic-y, but for certain pedals they are unbeatable value for money. The only reason I had so much Boss gear originally (and EHX) was because their pedals withstand a lot of tour use. Now I don't tour, I can use Behringer stuff in the studio and I know I don't have to worry about it getting stomped on or cracked or have beer spilled on it. Their analogue delay pedal is amazing considering how little it costs to buy. 👍

I've got a set of La Bella flats that I've had on a 25" scale Precision copy for about 12 years. I'm unlikely to change them ever as I had to cut them down to fit them on in the first place. They do feel and sound great though.

I always liked the old Tokai's. I owned a couple along the way too, but it was always a slight annoyance that I had to buy my own stick-on stars. Bloody copy merchants!

Oh, sorry I forgot to say earlier - I have no instruments out on display in the house, everything I own from basses to drum kits to keyboards etc, live in my studio. My choice entirely. My gear is work tools, I don't want to have them up on wall hangers or anything. I love all the instruments I have, but I don't need to be looking at them when I'm not recording. I used to have everything everywhere around the house before I got my first studio. It is cool having a Fender Rhodes in your living room but also really distracting because you keep wanting to noodle away on it, and then you realise you've burned dinner. 😂

I'd probably get the 6 CD Teardrop Explodes set, or maybe some of the XTC / Dukes Of Stratosphear reissues but the prices are bonkers now. Plus the Teardrops box set was full of printing errors, doubled pages, incorrect track orders etc. Don't know if they did a second run and fixed everything but I'd only find a secondhand copy now anyway. As for the Véronique Sanson (or ex- Mrs Stephen Stills as most non French folk might know her) box set, yes it might be 25 CDs housed in a piano shaped box or whatever but I'm only interested in the 1970's stuff with Willie Weeks and Leland Sklar and Mo Foster on it and the early publishers demos. Not paying €500 just to get those. Even if they chucked in some nudie photos and her mobile number as well, 500 notes aren't coming out of my bank account for them.

I'm sorted for instruments now (well sort of, I'm still waiting on the Dubreq Theremin) but my wife was always totally fine with whatever I bought. Music was (and still is) my sole earner, so buying new gear was never an issue. She played piano, cello and acoustic guitar and dulcimer, and she loved having a play on my Fender Rhodes or the Philicorda. She still has a little guitarlele now but sadly is too weak most of the time to play it. But she's always asking me to play. I was lucky finding her 👍

I can give you a few: John Martyn at a mini jazz festival in London in the mid 1990's, completely drunk and falling about, and giving his band total grief. I'd seen him before and he could vary from gig to gig but this was awful. Thankfully I didn't pay to get in as I was bottom of the bill as a support act, but still it was grim. Psychic TV, again somewhere in London, can't remember where now. I had a couple of their records and liked them so went to see them play live, and I shouldn't have bothered. The band was direly underrehearsed and there was a really 'off' vibe in the audience. I left before they finished their set. Worst ever? Japanese so-called 'psychedelic' band, Acid Mothers Temple at the Tmesis club in Manchester. Just total free form noise, none of the musicians seemed to be playing the same song at the same time or even in the same key. The lady on drums was particularly bad, it genuinely looked and sounded like it was her first time behind a drum kit. She dropped her sticks frequently and wasn't in time with any of the other musicians, but then it was impossible to tell if any of the other performers had noticed as they were loud as f--k. Loudest (and that includes My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr) band I've seen to date and easily the worst. Mind you, The Cranberries at the Fleadh festival in Finsbury Park in the 90's were pretty bad too. I never liked them anyway but it was píșsing it down so we went into the tent where they were playing an acoustic set as Delores had broken her leg, so it was a sit down gig. And they were so totally awful we left the tent after 15 minutes and braved the rain instead. I don't know how we lasted that long 😂

Oh? They were just guitar and drums when I saw them, although that’s nearly 10 years ago now. Pffft, backing tracks? They’ve gone all modern 😂

Maybe travel over as a passenger rather than as a working musician and borrow gear once you're over here? This way you avoid the cost, and possible hassle, of obtaining a work visa plus the carnet for any gear you'd want to take with you. If it's just two unpaid gigs, check if there's backline available and either borrow a bass or buy a cheapie while you're here. You can always sell the bass on, and even if you made a loss on it, it would probably still be cheaper than getting the work visa plus carnet necessary for the gigs. There might be an easier way but that's just an idea for starters. Good luck 👍

No backing tracks when I saw them, just a raw, garage-y guitar and drums duo. Should be a good night if they're on form 👍

I was mostly a paid session player during my live career (1984-2022) and gigs could be anywhere between 25 minutes as a a first-on-the-bill support slot, to maybe a 50 minute festival slot, and then the occasional longer set as a headliner. Perhaps 90 or 100 minutes including encores. Longest for me was 2 hr 40 on a tour of Greece. I toured there five times and every show I played there was 2 hours plus. One time I went to DJ in Athens and that lasted over 6 hours. Finally gave up around 4am, I was falling asleep at the decks, and a mate took over. He was still playing at 7am when the club was chucking everyone out 😮

I thought it was Isle Of Wight's TV studio, yesterday. (David Icke not pictured)

I remember the Stagg short scale BC300's being about £159 - £179 when they first came out. Confusingly there was a 34" scale version too but the short scale ones were really good for the money. Only ever saw those in black and natural. Bright pink is a new one on me!

I only remember ever having had it twice, once was at a pub gig where the band were set up in a corner. Some písśed up idiot came up beside me (I was playing drums) and started randomly hitting my cymbals with his hands for a laugh in front of his mates. He didn’t do it for long because first I whipped the back of his hand at full pelt with a drumstick, then when it looked like he was going to get ársey I whipped him across the face with a drumstick and gave him a look and luckily for me, he scuttled off. Him and his mates could have easily battered me but it didn’t happen, thankfully. Other time was on a stage and we had a few drunken but fairly harmless idiots trying to climb onstage. The stage was fairly high for a ballroom and so it was easy to see them trying to climb up. I’d just put a foot on their shoulder and give them a gentle shove back into the audience. That was again in the late 80’s when I had a load of vintage guitar gear onstage with me, probably near £15,000’s worth today. I wouldn’t take posh gear out on gigs if I was still playing live today. After that I rarely played gigs without stages, and often with a row of monitors at the front, and rarely had any bother from punters. (Apart from them shouting at me to “get off, you’re śhït” 😂) Load out time is a different story though...

Oh bugger. The Talk Talk track "It's My Life" probably isn't from 1982 either. I'd still take either of them over Duran Duran though. Oh, and a Curly Wurly and some superglue as well, please. 🙏

This ⬆️ absolute monster 👍 Also "It's My Life" by Talk Talk, even on crappy laptop speakers or on a site radio you can still follow the bassline. Absolutely beautiful bass line 👍

I play a 25" scale Precision copy, and I hadn't really considered different hand positions or finger techniques at all. I just play the same as when I play my 34" scale Precision. They both work just the same for me. But I love playing the little 25" scale bass, it's total fun 👍

That was my reasoning for buying the Nord 5D61 whenever it came out (10 years ago?) - all the acoustic and electric pianos and organs, plus the Mellotron samples and orchestral samples and the synth patches, with a 5 octaves all in one keyboard. Having said that, I bought the YC and CP anyway for even easier transport. I do wish Yamaha had included Mellotron strings and flute in the YC but you can’t have everything!

Damn, I spent a lot of money with them over the years. I hope nobody on here was part of their current team.

The '81 USA Fender Bullet and the Squier MIJ that I bought on here both had the '51 neck and headstock. Nut width was 45mm. I loved them but they were like playing classical guitars or something. God knows how bassists who play 5 or 6 stringers manage! I'm so happy to have a Jazz width neck on a Precision body now 👍

I'd never heard of her before this thread, and even though her playing isn't my cup of bovril, she's a waaaaay better player than I'll ever be. On any instrument, and without any performance enhancing substances. Also she's apparently famous enough to get Fender signature models, which is more than I'll ever do. Full respect. Sadly the bass itself looks like it's made by the same people who design Haribo, (or overdose on it) so I'm out on that one. But fair play to her. She's got a bigger career than I have.

A regular old Boss FZ-5 always worked for me, particularly the 'Maestro' setting with the boost almost on full. Rock solid build quality as well and £50 off ebay.

I had the Pyramid flats on my Ignition violin bass. It's true that your choice is restricted by the tiny holes in the tuners, which are more like guitar tuners btw. The scale was something like 39 - 95 but they felt fine on the bass. Never used strings as light as that before but they were pretty solid. The E string was fine and the intonation was as good as I'd ever need. If I'd had the extra money at the time (we'd just emigrated and were skint at the time) I'd have bought La Bella flats but they're my favourite for any bass.

Maybe Ian Anderson’s the fellow to ask if he would fancy a South of France tech holiday? 😂 I still think “17” is one of the greatest late 60’s tracks, and it was only a B-side. JT have some really underrated but brilliant tunes 👍

I started out on a short scale and stayed with them and for 30 years they were my main preference, despite every ‘proper’ bassist laughing at my Mustangs or Musicmasters or whatever. I owned 34” scale basses too but they always felt like a bit of a struggle until I discovered the joys of the Jazz neck. Now I have two basses - a 25” scale Precision copy and a regular 34” scale Precision but with a Jazz width neck. But short scales are still my #1 go-to bass, and it’s great seeing the multitude of choices available now for everyone.