meterman

He’ll get nowhere with that palaver!

They look alright online, and the prices are very enticing but a mate bought one of their 4-string P knockoffs and it took him a lot of work to turn it into something that isn’t even reliable enough to use as his backup bass for really dodgy pub gigs. Sharp fret ends on almost every fret, dead spots on the neck, crappy electrics, useless tuners... He salvaged the body, pickguard and neck but replaced or did serious work on everything else. However, he did only buy it because it was bright yellow and less than £100. Harley Benton could have saved him a lot of time for not much more money. Having said all that, I know someone else who has one of their super cheap violin basses, you know - the Chinese copies of the McCartney job - and that is surprisingly good. Thumps like a Hofner at a fraction of the price. You might get a good one, or you might get a stinker?

Saw him yesterday but he smelled of Bovril and he was wearing a sock on his elbow. Friendly as ever, though.

I think my uploaded ID card expires soon. I guess I’ll find out if Mr Reverb is keeping a serious watch on me if I get an email about it in the near future. Even if my details remain on their server for ages, I’ll be dead and gone before anything adverse happens. Probably 🤔

Piece of old foam under the strings right up against the bridge works for me, that might suit you better @JJMotown? Sometimes if I’m recording I’ll stuff a bit of foam behind the nut as well, as my cheap Precision is a bit of a lively bass, even with 10 year old La Bella flats on it. Overtones galore on that thing. Never ever thought about using a fret wrap though, I must admit. But then, I am a bit of an old duffer 😂

Well, it definitely works 👍

Nice understated playing, and the isolated tone in the 2nd one is good too, but if I didn’t know it was a Tele, I’d swear it was a different guitar. Neck pickup or middle position, or something else?

Bugger. Cheers for the heads up.Back to the drawing board...

Oh yeah, anywhere between 3 and 6 months notice in advance is normal, even longer depending on which festival it is.

For the big festivals, unless you're prepared to play for free in a 'local band tent' somewhere near the car park (been there, done that - thanks Isle Of Wight festival) you'll need to be with an agency or have a buzz surrounding your band, then they'll contact you. For smaller festivals, the same will apply, but if you have an 'in' with anyone doing the bookings or with PR or something, just be cheeky and ask. Send videos, band CDs, anything you've got. If it can work for dossers like me, then you'll easily have a decent chance. Good luck. 👍

No, for the full effect I'll be sleeping in a cardboard box in Bristol, dressed like a 1970's heroin addict. It's probably what the band would have wanted, although I haven't phoned ahead to check.

🙏 thank you I am googling Ryanair flights now...

That made me larf out loud, that did. (then I googled Woolworths - where are UK folks getting their pick'n'mix from now?)

Oh, bugger. At least there's still Debenhams 👍

They definitely need to up their image game. Maybe go for the tried and tested Joy Division look? I reckon a quick trip to C&A for some nice shirts and slacks, oh and some slip-on shoes, that should do the trick. Sorted. Or just do what The Libertines and all the other 2000's indie landfill bands did and look like late 90's Shoreditch trust fund heroin addicts. Or combine both and the future could be theirs, Rodders! Bonnet de douche!!! Etc...

Although music is still technically my day job, I haven’t been a full time, official member of a band since 1993. When we were active we barely gigged so only owned our own instruments. After our album came out we split up, and I drifted into session work and three of the rest of the band became the backing band for a singer songwriter. They had a system where every penny they earned went into a band bank account to pay for PA, a van, lighting, band merch, insurance etc. Although they had management, they slogged around the country for 4+ years without managing to sign to a label which was their #1 aim. The idea was to hopefully sign to a major label, get an advance and finally have some cash, but it never happened and they eventually split up. Dividing up the gear and the costs of the van and all of that, was absolutely poisonous, it pretty much ended all their friendships and after all of it they never saw a penny for themselves over the five years they were together. Super sad way to go. By rights they should have made it, but they made some bad collective decisions (don’t sign to an indie label, hold out and sign to a major was the biggie) and it cost them badly. A couple of them haven’t spoken to each other since 1998. All because of the way the band split was handled. All of them now have day jobs and none of them play at all. I think the way their band split put them off music forever. Proper shame.

A used Peavey Classic 30 would be a good start for a 1x12" valve combo, should be plenty of them around. Otherwise pretty much any Marshall, Orange or Fender valve 1x12" will get you there. Personal recommendation: try out one of the little Orange Tiny Terror heads with a random 1x12" cab - the sound and volume might blow you away 👍

Is the gear things like shared PA etc? Do the rest of the band have jobs, pensions, savings, band funds, etc? If so, they can afford to buy your share out and get the other guy to play the gig. And they should do that. Alternatively if it’s only a couple of hundred quids worth and you were going to donate it to charity, why not just walk anyway. You haven’t really lost anything, and they don’t sound like the kind of folks I’d particularly want to share a Scotch egg with, never mind a stage or even a rehearsal room. Or, nick all the mics and flog them on FB marketplace and donate the funds to charity. And for afters, taser the rest of the band for being d1cks, new bassist included. You could always tell them, “No gain without pain” or something 💥😂

Yeah, I’m very ‘out of the way’ South! Funny enough I did have a Cumbia band going for a couple of months in London in 2018. Colombian percussionist, Spanish combo organ player (couldn’t find an accordion player), Scottish bass player and myself on guitar. Trouble was, everyone said “ooh yes, let’s play Cumbia” but the percussionist was too Salsa influenced to keep it simple enough, the organ player really wanted to be in a 1960s garage rock revival band, and the bassist revealed himself to be a total jazz fusion head who kept trying to crowbar Jaco licks into everything. Good laugh at rehearsals but not the real thing. Shame really, as that particular combination never properly gelled but a decent rocking Cumbia band will usually have dancefloors heaving. C’est la vie, and all that.

Just off the Av. de Catalogne, about 50 minutes from the Spanish border. No music venues here though. Or shops. Or bars. Just a weird but generally friendly bunch of folks that fled Franco's Spain, and a few lefty Italian types who arrived in the 1950s and the odd (and I mean odd) Brit like me who likes Cumbia and Vallenato music.

I think I've seen that SG copy on here before, it looks bloody ace to me ❤️ I did have one of the same pickups and tried to get it installed in the neck position of one of my Fender Teles, but the guy who did my repairs and tech at the time refused, saying, "I don't want anyone finding out that it was me that put one of those pieces of s*** in a vintage Fender" or something to that effect. Eventually I found someone to put a Mojo Gold Foil in it later on anyway. Well, somebody's got to devalue vintage Fenders so that future generations can afford them, right? 😂

It's a Kay Tulip isn't it? Or Teisco Tulip? The pickups on the guitar version weren't as bad as folks made them out to be, either. Mind, I have happily owned Jedson and Shaftesbury basses so I'm definitely not to be trusted 😂

Gerald Lamb at https://www.osteopathnorthwood.co.uk/about-us/ fixed me up after I was knocked down by a double decker bus. My upper body was so out of alignment that it took a few sessions but he did a brilliant job. He also did great work for my stepdaughter and wife following a car crash in 1998. Sadly he's not in central London anymore but I'd still travel out to Northwood for treatment by him. Definitely recommended 👍

I remember seeing Elzef play live in Paris over a decade ago and instead of the full accordion / brass / upright bass / drums / guitar combo, like here: ...they did a stripped down trio gig of guitar, drums and accordion, playing versions of stuff like this: ...where the accordion player did the bass lines and the brass parts. He was amazing. They also covered a load of classic era hip hop that night with the same lineup and were absolutely rocking 👍

It’s a Squier 5 string for a couple of hundred quid - nobody really cares about the headstock, surely? It’s like moaning about A4 paper not being square or Colman’s Mustard being too yellow nowadays, or the traffic lights taking too long to turn green... (Would be interested in the active Jazz bass, mind)