TimR

By playing it in Eb the Brass are playin in F which has one flat. Play it in E and the they have to play in F# which has five sharps! .

Brass keys. Eb, Bb and Ab. Standard brass tuning is Bb which means that if you play a C on a trumpet/trombone it will be the same pitch as a piano's Bb. Saxes will usually be Eb.

The audience notices when you come in. They notice when you drop out. They notice when what you play doesn't sit correctly within the arrangement. Whether they know what it is they noticed is another question entirely.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1422302141' post='2670962'] Interesting. Our guitarist is always on at me to use a pick for (amongst other things) Rebel Yell. But it's just beyond me. I've started to use my nails a bit now. Makes it easier to play at speed. But just a tad too long and they can break easily I remember at one studio rehearsal I had to run out to reception and ask the guy if I could borrow some scissors as I had broken a finger nail. Felt such a girlie, lol [/quote] I still haven't, after all these years, put nail clippers in my gig bag. :/ Using a pick is just beyond me.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1422296363' post='2670851'] Thin Lizzy without a plectrum is just wrong, lol. ... [/quote] Believe me, it would sound even wronger if I used a plectrum. I've played in a couple of situations where a guitarist has given me a plectrum and told me I'd have to use it because <insert your plectrum wielding bass playing hero here> uses one. Get the nails and attack right, and it'll sound great.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1422291808' post='2670770'] I use a pick. Blue [/quote] ?

Last week we were playing 'Boys Are Back in Town' - Thin Lizzy and the guitarist said what a great clanky sound I was getting, just like Phil Lynott. He asked how I was doing it. I gave him my usual reply of 'It's all in the fingers'. Although while I was playing I was thinking 'God, this sounds awfully clanky, I really should cut my nails'. Usually I can adjust just using angle of attack but my nails do need to be of some kind of goldilocks length. Not too short and not too long. This week my nails seem to have gone mad. So, I'm just trimming my nails and wondering how short I should cut them in order to preserve the 'clankiness' yet still be able to keep a 'round' sound for some other songs. Does anyone use a template or something Anyway, just thought it be an interesting topic of conversation.

In the good old days? When were they? I remember going to Donington in the late 80s. The first three bands on where pretty much unknowns. Metallica, Anthrax and Guns and Roses. Within two years each of them were selling out stadium gigs. Donington started at 2pm and finished at 11pm. There was one stage and 7 bands. 250,000 people at the height of 80s metal. Maybe the big problem is the diversity of bands and the festivals are trying to appeal to everyone. Then there's only 8-12 weeks of the summer anyway and at £200+ for Reading, is anyone going to more than one festival? .

That's a shame. I found name dropping Andy at a sold out James Taylor Quartet gig softened the bouncer and they managed to find space for three people. BassChat is a great place.

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1418409570' post='2630062'] I guess the internet is really to blame for the current situation, I was lucky enough to get tickets for Pink Floyd at the Nordorf Robbins gig at Knebworth Park back in the late 80's? ... [/quote] 1990. Absolutely amazing gig. Too many artists to mention. Silver Clef Award winners gig. Every artist that had won it up to then played. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Clef_Award There's a DVD of it.

That's a pretty standard PA of what I (and others) used to call 'Band in a Box'. It's pretty much a set and forget type thing in that you won't be fading instruments up and down like you would with a mixer that has faders and gain (input trim). Lots of bands use them.

I can't get on using Firefox at work. I'll try tonight. It works fine otherwise. I'm a solo musician and not premium user. Looks like a browser issue.

Maybe it's your browser. I can see and click on check boxes. The alignment isn't great. I'm on ie 8 and iPhone. This is under your account, manage musicians wanted?

You just click on the individual boxes next to the type of musician. Can you not see the boxes?

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1421339238' post='2660105'] I don't understand. Are you older or younger than 60? And does your Zoom unit still sound as good as it did when it was worth £350? 'cos I've seen them cheaper these days and I don't imagine the cheaper ones are as good [/quote] That's how electronics prices work. It's priced to recover design and development costs in the first 18months. After that prices plummet for equipment where the actual manufacturing costs are low relative to the R&D costs.

Safety pin tie to shirt. .

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1421237292' post='2658705'] Back in your box Wayne - that's twisting his words It's a fair point that 'mainstream' music shops often stick to Gibson and Fedner plus a selection of pointy sh*t that the majority of buyers would at least recognise. BG, BD etc. do brands that I've never heard of with my status as 'enthusiastic amateur' - it's a different market but I know if I wanted to check out a whole range of instruments regardless of what was on the headstock, I'd look to one of those shops. [/quote] As I wrote earlier. These shops will become fewer and fewer. It's an attempt by the manufacturers to reduce competition and get the shops to be exclusive. Buy £100k worth of basses from us or none. You buy £100k of brand A, how much Brand B can you afford. Why bother selling £10k worth of basses to some small shop in the middle of nowhere who might reorder £1k worth every two or three months when you can sell thousands online?

[quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1421183529' post='2658263'] ... I know how to look after people as I'm one of the old brigade (ask Kiogon, he knows about service too) The only problems having a shop are the people that come in to try a guitar or bass and then buy it online! When they get it and there's a fault they then bring it to me and ask me to fix it because 'you're the dealer for these'. got very short shrift off me albeit very politely What to stock? that was the hard part because if I had 6 strats and 3 tele's I would have the wrong colours It's one of the reasons I retired, the net killed it, you can't have it all ways can you? Net prices or a service? you choose. [/quote] I assume you offered to do it for a price? That's where the service bit comes in. The CEO of John Lewis made a statement that shops are increasingly important as places for people to go and examine products before making a choice. I wonder if the best business model would be to keep stock but never sell it. Make money purely on setups and consumables.

The big companies now have a minimum limit on stock they sell. This is having a big impact on small business owners across every market. My friend has a small independent sports shop. All his customers want Asics shoes, Asics want a minimum order of £100k from him. How does that ever work? No wonder the high street is becoming homogenised. It's not the business owners fault. The only real option is to sell second hand or specialise.

[quote name='NoRhino' timestamp='1421014062' post='2656278'] A long time ago I noticed that our keys player was playing bass on his left hand that really clashed with what I needed to play. It's what keys players do naturally so he didn't notice. I pointed out that we were clashing and he stopped immediately and now adds other layers of sound. My point is that if your keys player is a decent bloke he'll see what you mean and play for the good of the band. [/quote] Exactly. A keyboard player I used to play with a lot said that he liked playing with me as I knew what to play and it meant I freed up his left hand. Arranging music in a band situation doesn't always just happen automatically. Often you have to work on it together. That's what being in a band is all about.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1421177697' post='2658145'] T' w'at would you attribute this..? [size=4] [/size] [/quote] Very good.

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1421064307' post='2656652'] Now you mention that... I currently use just the one pedal. A tuner. One input, one output. All I need to do is put the lead from the 'tuner out' at the back of the amp into the 'input' of the tuner. Without my glasses on I can't see what is written on the tuner, nor can I remember which way round it is from the general shape and configuration. But even statistically you would think I could get it right half the time? No. [/quote] Get some stickers and mark some arrows on it.

[quote name='tonybassplayer' timestamp='1420983018' post='2655753'] Maybe, just maybe this is the beginning of the end....... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30761947 [/quote] Seems to me the venues need to upgrade their software so that it not only verifies you are a human being but also somehow checks that the funds are coming from a unique source. It's all very well saying only 8 tickets per customer but what's the point if they have no way of enforcing it. Then have a limited percentage of ticket sales available to package tour operators who can prove they're selling them as part of a package.

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1421005842' post='2656123'] We had decided to split the pa up so as to ease the load on my good self. Gave the drummer the 3 mike stands as he had a lot of drum crap to move around. First gig and we help him in with the gear and I notice something is missing. No mike stands and he stayed 40 miles away. Have you ever played a gig with your mic gaffer taped to a spare cymbal stand and a brush handle from the pub? I have. [size=4] [/size] [/quote] Brilliant. The guitarist forgot the speaker stands once. Although he actually carried them out of the house and just didn't see them in the dark. They were still on his driveway when he arrived home.

What an odd attitude. If a band were awful I may not go seen them again for a while. But you can learn from good and bad bands. I liked to take my old drummer to gigs because he was quite blinkered in his view of how songs could only be played in the original style with the original instrumentation. Quite a few times he had his eyes opened, but he still needs to hear a tune first by all accounts.