SumOne

Pre-gig band catering:

The Pioneers, in Brighton (Komedia) on 20th October. https://www.komedia.co.uk/shows/the-pioneers/ 7 decades of releasing music! This being the most well known:

At the moment it is the Boss GT 1000 Core as it sounds good, is small (sits on top of the Amp) and is tough and reliable. I am only using it as an 'always on' though - Compressor, EQ, Amp sim, small amount of Drive. If I was in a band that was more dynamic - like a Jam band, then I'd like more control to individually click on/edit effects on the go. I found the Pod Go to be one of the best Multi-fx for that (but I think I'd probably go for individual pedals if I was doing more of that mid-song stomping on/off effects sort of stuff).

I'd also highly recommend the Yamaha CK 61. As far as I can tell, it is basically the Reface YC, CP and some of the stuff from the DX and CS, all in one 61 key full-sized keys keyboard for about 2.5 times the cost of one Reface. Sounds good, decent keys and controls, good in/outs, built in speakers, bluetooth, lightweight.

Probably only Flea & Bootsy Collins for being Bass players. Possibly Paul McCartney, Lemmy, Sting, if people notice that they play the Bass. ......then erm.....that one from the muppets.

As his brother said: 'he's like a man with a fork in a world of soup'

^^^ Yeah, exactly. I think singing something like 'Is it worth the aggravation, to find yourself a job when there's nothing worth working for' basically needs a punky/boozy/aggro/attitude/don't give a shit....sing-shout in the street after a few too many beers sort of delivery, which is what Liam does. Someone with a powerful pitch perfect operatic five octave range isn't gonna really deliver the same message/character.

It's like saying Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Rotten, Kanye West, Britney Spears etc. can't sing. Sure, they can't sing like an Opera singer but that's not what they are doing.

I'm possibly tempting fate, but I don't take a backup Bass. I've never had a Bass suddenly stop working on me, they're fairly basic and sturdy things really (when compared to electronic things like my stage keyboard or DJ setup, which I don't backup). If I was backing up anything then I think it'd be the Amp, they seem to be the most likely point of complete failure.

Lucky Dube, Guns & Roses He reminds me of Peter Tosh, which is no bad thing.

I used the Alpine ear defenders at band practice last night and they didn't really work out for me. Seemed to make the Bass too quiet, but certain notes from the sax really boomy, wasn't an even reduction in sound like I get with the ACS PRO17.

'The world exists as you perceive it. It is not what you see, it is how you see it. It is not what you hear, but how you hear it. It is not what you feel, but how you feel it.' Rumi ..... The perceptions of audiences might well be different to drug induced perceptions of the bass player that perceives themselves as a playing genius though!

Rock n roll is an old man’s game.

Dragons Den idea! Basically the opposite of hearing aids. High-end active noise cancelling headphones have decent microphones built-in and can be set to varying levels of 'transparency' to play outside noises through the headphone speakers, perhaps having that sort of technology built into passive isolating (ear defender type) headphones could work. Sennheiser is owned by a hearing-aid company, Sonova.

You're not wrong....didn't have to say it like it is though! I mean, life is futile, and Basschat more so, passes the time though!

I found this Bass player online review of the Vic Firth Headphones: .....so it seems they are actually too good at isolation to just use them over-ear alternative to earplugs, you'd need to plug them in to monitor whatever you want to hear (that wouldn't work for me as we don't mic up the drums or mic/DI the bass). I've ordered some Alpine Defender over-ears as they are reasonable cheap (£25) and via Amazon I can return for free if they don't work out. They are -26db though which seems like it'll be too much (my ACS in-ears are -17db, which is about the right amount).

You're ready already! Just need to find the right people and the right music. Bass is definitely a social instrument that works best playing with others. Luckily, one of my best friends is a drummer, so just doing boozy rhythm section practice/jam sessions was my starting point. Then I joined a 3 piece that just did practice stuff, then onto bands that were a bit more serious and played live, now I also do some Dep stuff so can have very little practice time before playing live. I'm yet to play anything bigger than pubs and small festivals though so there's still hopefully a progression. The gradual progression seemed a good way of doing it.

Each to their own, but I reckon that was a golden age (possibly as those were my late teenage years). Robson & Jerome, Vanilla Ice, Boyzone, Menswear, Aqua, Hanson. It had it all! Seriously, though, the best 90s UK music was Electronic stuff: Orbital, Underworld, Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, Aphex Twin, The Prodigy, Boards of Canada, all the Jungle/DnB stuff and UK Garage. Like it or not, it was genuinely world leading, innovative, original sounding stuff. Whereas Britpop was always a bit of lame nostalgic/throwback radio-friendly/Saturday morning kids TV sort of stuff. And there was the really pop sort of stuff like boybands for the 13 year old girls, which in hindsight was perhaps quite good to have that quite clear boundary, nowadays pop is a bland mush to try to appeal to as many people as possible.

Are there such a thing as a decent over-ear noise defender for musicians i.e. one that basically keeps stuff sounding the same but quieter (rather than muffled)? I have ACS custom earplugs that I'll still use for live stuff, but using them for weekly band practice sessions there are a couple of issues: They are a bit of a faff to get in/out (and need lubeing up!) and cleaning, and I've lost one pair so far, whereas over-ear are immediately straight on/off and a bit more tricky to loose, and for the second time in recent years I have needed to get my ears un-blocked via microsuction with different ear specialists telling me that regularly pushing the ACS earplugs into my ears is probably causing the issue (best not to push things into your ears if it can be avoided). Over-ear defenders tend to seem to be designed as workplace ear defenders, or for children - rather than for musicians and preserving the sound. Perhaps the Alpine Defender? Or, perhaps a good passive noise isolating headphones, the types Drummers tend to use , perhaps Vic Firth isolating headphones? ...I guess if they are too good at passively isolating stuff I could plug them into the mixing desk to monitor.

Perhaps something like this and add some red knobs: Although, for me, THE Reggae Bass look is a slightly knackered Fender Jazz with a sunburst/tobacco burst. e.g. Aston Barrett: Robbie Shakespeare: Flabba Holt: .....all of them played all sorts of other Basses too, but that's what I always assume a Reggae Bass to look like.

There's a lot of hate from people who play in guitar bands towards the likes of Oasis, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Nickleback etc. I'm not a big fan of any of them, but surely the fact that they have actual Bass players on stage is a good thing? I mean, have a look at the top 40 and I'm pretty sure there isn't hardly a single 'band' in it. If Oasis play to 100's of thousands of people then hopefully a few of them will pick up instruments and there will be some type of revival for bands and live music in pop charts.

standing on the shoulder of giants

Yeah, I suppose it is they were so blatant about the heavy influence for a while - with look and sound (even through to Liam naming one of his kids Lennon). They also covered a few Beatles songs . But I agree, that is how music works and I wouldn't say they are really any more 'influenced' than a lot of say, metal bands are influenced by Black Sabbath etc. I'd say, if you like Oasis, then you'd like a lot of Beatles stuff. They certainly do anyway. Supersonic’ – “Sail with me in my Yellow Submarine” ‘Morning Glory’ – “Tomorrow Never Knows what it doesn’t know too soon” ‘Fade In-Out’ – “Get on the Helter Skelter” ‘Be Here Now’ – “Sing a song for me, one from Let It Be“ ‘She’s Electric’ – ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’ outro ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’ – lyrical references ‘The Fool on the Hill’ and ‘I Feel Fine’ https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-beatles-references-in-oasis-songs/ And copied from Reddit: