TimR

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1434908543' post='2803766'] It's not your band so why bother? If they like their setup then leave them be. I know I'd be peed off if a random bloke said we could improve the sound doing X, Y and Z. [/quote] They didn't though. They were fiddling throughout the set. There's a difference between a band that sets itself up and just believes it's right and a band who are clearly struggling.

If someone tells me the bass is too loud. I turn it down. I wouldn't like us not to get called back just because the bass was too loud. People are too worried about what someone 'might' say. It's really not a problem if I offer help and they don't want it. What would be worse for me would be to go home at the end of the gig wishing I'd said something. We're all musicians and human beings. What's the problem?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1434895306' post='2803634'] No - but you can roll it in glitter. Our drummer refuses to indulge in GAS or even use his own drums most of the time, the lazy bastard. When asked if he would not prefer to use his own kit - the one he presumably selected over years of drumming for its sound - he said, 'Drums is drums'. [/quote] If you're a pianist then you get to a similar point. I spent 7 years off and on looking for a new bass that I liked. In the mean time I stuck with the same bass I had been playing for the preceding 15 years. My dad (now in his 70s) spent his late teenage band years playing whatever piano was in whatever pub. Changing gear is a bit of a luxury for most of us. You get to a point where what you play, how you play it and who you play it with is more important than what you play it on.

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1434879282' post='2803452'] I'm not sure, but I think you're talking about formant - the instrument's physical DNA as it were. Timbre is the sounding result, and very much so affected by the fingers. [/quote] A quick Google tells me that formant relates to human speech. I think an instrument's timbre is what differentiates a piano from a trumpet etc. Ultimately it depends on how bad the player is and how bad the instrument is on how much each affects the resulting noise. It's very subjective. The hardest but cheapest (financially) thing to get right is the fingers. Anyone can spend a fortune on gear but as the saying goes 'You can't polish a turd' - or sh*t in sh*t out.

I've sometimes spoken to bands, saying that they look like they're having trouble getting the PA right and asked if they would like some help. If you're polite about it you shouldn't come across as an arse, more likely they'll be relived. Worse case scenario you get a stare and a "no thanks mate we know what we're doing." .

I think you're all trying to overthink this. If you pluck an acoustic double bass it will sound completely different to an electric bass. That's timbre. One electric bass will always have a different timbre to another. Change amps, FX, speakers, they'll all change the timbre. The fingers won't affect the timbre. But all the fiddling with settings and changing amps and cabs in the world won't alter what you are playing with your fingers. They're your 'fingerprint'. I suppose it would be like taking fingerprints using different colour inks. The fingerprint remains unchanged and recognisable but there is still an obvious difference.

It's all in the fingers. That's where the sound is created and if the sound coming from the way you strike the strings isn't right you cannot fix it with strings, pickups, tone woods, FX, special leads, amplifiers or speakers. You can dramatically change the sound coming from the gear just by changing one small aspect of how you strike the strings.

I learned the Lets Dance line a few years ago. The notes are really uncomplicated but I think you need a really solid drummer who knows what they're doing to be able to pull them off. There is so much groove in the bass line.

IME the U.S. and Canadian immigration officials are ok if you play along with them. However, they are trained to wind you up as much as possible so that you give them any excuse not to let you in. I managed to get into Canada with a letter from General Motors stating that I was being paid by an English company. However, the guys who had entered 3months earlier had spent 5 hours being asked the same questions over and over again, often by the same official. The worst I ever had was one guy asking me five times in slightly different ways what I was going to be doing. I gave exactly the same answer every time. I wasn't sure at what point he was going to get bored. We also ran into trouble crossing the border when we had an old cut-off section of plastic pipe left in the boot of our car. "I thought you say you had no trade materials in the car." - 2 hours to explain that one.

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1433523376' post='2791874'] The bloke in the video might be right, but his voice and manner really does my head in. [/quote] I think I might work with him... .

You could look at it another way. If the basses were identical in your eyes, it makes your bass now worth £850. Happy daze!

[quote name='Bradwell' timestamp='1433257363' post='2789480'] Just checked, $100 currently equates to £65.26. For comparison, Jobseeker's allowance for those of us 25 or over is up to £73.10 a week. Any chance you could ask this bloke to email a preliminary copy of the contract for proof reading? [/quote] You think you'll get more than one gig a week?

I uploaded a video of a weekend away with some mates with a backing track. YouTube correctly identified it and as the tune was available already on YouTube they just went ahead and published it. I think there is an advert at the start. There was no 30 day delay

Maybe it's one of their ex-bass players bearing a grudge. Sending out phone number would seriously inconvenience the band leader.

Someone should really call that number and record the conversation.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1433178083' post='2788615'] I would have been much more likely to allow myself to become deluded for, say, $1500 a gig. [/quote] That's why I think it's genuine and someone who has no idea. Maybe someone very young.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1433164680' post='2788427'] Apparently 77% of Americans believe in angels and illiteracy runs at around 30%. I've just put my American in-laws in a taxi to the airport after a half-term visit. They are [i]very [/i]conservative, middle-class and close-minded, yet are among the tiny percentage of Americans who hold a passport - they are considered to be weird, dangerous left-wing intellectuals where they live - Florida. [/quote] Possibly. Although I think 'tiny' percentage is one of those popular myths. http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/03/americas-great-passport-divide/72399/

I think it's a genuine email. It scans well as a stream of conscious thought from someone who really believes he's going to make it big but has had the rug pulled. I think it's typical of the dreamers you get and I guess he's very young, certainly naive. I wouldn't want to get involved in that kind of thing. I wouldn't want to see anyone paying for a flight to the states to meet a stranger. Short story to illustrate the way 'some' Americans think and remember that a large proportion don't own a passport. - My friend was stopped for speeding on Route 66. He was doing 70mph. The policeman asked where he was from - London, England? Did you drive all the way here from there today? I bet they don't drive at 70mph in England do they? .

$100 a gig. That's £65! Send me the details...

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1432654534' post='2783634'] Unless I'm missing some kind of joke , the carpet is there for that exact purpose. Drumkits tend to slide away when you play them unless they're on a rug or piece of carpet. [/quote] I'm glad you stepped in. I was beginning to feel like I'd missed something as well.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1432502856' post='2782177'] Drumming abilities aside (and how much of a dick he comes across as in this film), he's a very successful business man. His opinion is generally worth a listen! [/quote] I was really referring to the weight of the drummers input when selecting a bass player.

Note the Lars Ulrich comment "That maybe what he says, but it's about what I feel." And they knew to listen to Lars.

[quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1432483145' post='2781882'] Either spray the plugs different colours - easier to see on a dark stage than labels. Or just fit a 13A fuse in all of them and stop worrying. [/quote] Or just label the 3amp ones and the 10amp one so that at the end of the gig they get put away with the lights or my amp?

[quote name='Weststarx' timestamp='1432307430' post='2780310'] Im with this guy ^^^ I've always found with a keyboard player, its something you want there on some songs and not at all on others. Its also another person to keep happy and less 'room' you have to play with as a band at gigs. I have seen it work though plenty of times with a singer/keyboardist [i](is [u]keyboardist [/u]a word/thing?) [/i]with the keyboard off to the side of them using it occasionally. Personally and probably immaturely I also think its slightly uncool to have a keyboard ist/player/piano man [/quote] Depends on the keyboard. Ideally a 5 octave keyboard is all you need. Then having the keys diagonally rather than facing the audience as otherwise it can act like a barrier between the player and the audience. Especially if they have a music folder plonked on top.