TimR

Playing bass isn't really that hard or important. The drummer keeps time. The guitarist plays the melody and important solos. The singer is the most important with the words and is who everyone really goes to see. I'm not even sure what the bass player does. Usually owns the van or operates the PA or something...

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1424342407' post='2695264'] I have a great ear. Just the one; looks like the BFG's. The other is all shrivelled and weak. As for TABS done by 'professionals', can I be a professional TAB writer? Can I? Can I? How much will I get paid? Is it millions? It is, isn't it? Yum yum!! [/quote] If I was paying for something I'd expect full proffesional notation, not of this amateurish TAB. What is it anyway?

[quote name='darkandrew' timestamp='1424340175' post='2695227'] On a slightly off-piste (but related note), what worries me more is that most younger people seem to listen to music on tinny iphones (or similar) where you can't hear the bass properly anyway and just sound generally awful. With that being the case, does it matter what you play or how you play it, as no-one's going to hear it reproduced properly anyway. [/quote] 'Properly'? Don't overlook the missing fundamental: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_fundamental

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1424333443' post='2695138'] Although I'm happy playing in covers bands, I agree that you should try and replicate pretty closely. Punters may not be musical very often, but they know, sometimes forensically, how their favourite choons go. What REALLY hacks me off is people putting whole extra musical interludes in the middle of things. [/quote] Some punters do and some don't. Never heard of 12" remixes? Very popular in the 80s. You'll find out when people come up at the end and tell you they really liked your take on ..., or that they've never heard a band play that tune before. When you've recognised that an overproduced tune is actually very simple and sounds just as good with bass and guitar. The basic idea is to work out how verse, chorus, bridge and mid sections glue together. What the 'turnarounds' are. So altering the song to play double verses or double choruses works, and why sometime you can't just skip sections that are 'too hard to learn' and sometimes you can.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1424262731' post='2694470'] The Eagles in concert had a reputation, perhaps not wholly deserved, of sounding exactly like the studio album. That's all. It was intended to be a mildly humorous comment. They did do a greatest hits album which is often said to be the third best selling album of all time. There was a financial point. [/quote] Thanks. However, they may be one of a few exceptions that proves the rule. Most bands I have seen do live versions of their song that are not exactly the same as the recorded version.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1424253296' post='2694293'] So, you never saw the Eagles. [/quote] No. I'm not familiar with the Eagles history, so don't understand what you mean. Either they're very particular about getting it spot on or the versions are completely different? Judging by the fact that they've recorded 'live' albums, I'm guessing it must be the latter. What would be the point (other than financial) of releasing songs that are exactly the same? Just do a greatest hits album.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1424169921' post='2693308'] ... My gripe is that no-one listens properly and are happy to say 'that'll do, it's close enough' or leave out important phrases or anything else that might be initially difficult to sort out. It's not just bass players, it's everyone. Which is why I'm not in a covers band. There is no way I'd use a YouTube bass cover to learn a song - only a forensic assessment of the original will do. Thhpp!! [/quote] You are so wide of the mark here. I played with a drummer like that. Once. I think it's called OCD. He would listen to tunes and dismiss them straight away. "We haven't got keyboards, we've only got one guitarist, we don't have an entire gospel choir for backing singers...". A recording is simply a record of how a tune was played on that day at that time. The punters do not expect a complete facsimile of a recording, it's just not physically possible. How can you play a tune with keyboards on the recording if you only have a bass and a guitar with that attitude? You'd be so limited to your setlist that you'd never get any gigs. Too many people are far too anal about music. It's an art form, go and have fun. Listen to the original artist play live, tell me that they play their own song the same as the recording.

The thing to remember with this song is it builds. Don't play the same all the way through. Start with fifths, just two notes per bar and add something each verse until you're playing like a possessed bass player. Great fun.

[quote name='awdl22125' timestamp='1423921409' post='2690382'] Has anybody any good experiences of getting gigs in London. My original rock band would like to try the big smoke to get a bit more recognition, any promoters we can trust etc. [/quote] London is a very big place. Do you know exactly what you want out of the exercise? As Loz says, there are some proper rip off merchants in the city and at the well known venues. Generally you'll get offered a weekday slot. But if it's just exposure to lots of people you'd be better off heading to some of the venues on the outskirts where you'll get people who don't have to travel into the centre. ie pubs with good local support.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1423655460' post='2687437'] It`s not you Jenny - in my old punk covers band we kept getting the trendy young things ask for Sex on Fire when it was a big hit. Our singer just used to laugh at them and ask had they heard the rest of the set. Keeping in the punk mode, when they said yes he then just used to tell them to eff off (there`s a way of doing this so people remain relatively pleasant, but I`ve never found out how he does it yet, I`d probably get smacked, `spose it`s cos he`s a cheeky chappie). The one thing a few people have said to me is they like the way I stare the audience out, but do find it a bit aggressive/confrontational. It really destroys the punk/skinhead image when I tell them I`m just looking at the audience to see if anyone is enjoying what we`re doing - I obviously need to smile on-stage more. [/quote] You can play anything in punk style. I played Postman Pat in a band once. It was like Nellie the Elephant. The crowd used to go absolutely mental.

Fingers all the way for me. Even if I have to use all four. Froggy, in think your main stumbling block is going to be finding guys of your own age and standard. They are about, I ended up believing some guys in an audition and joined their band only to be very disappointed that their gig experience and playing ability didn't match up to the audition. We never really left the church hall where they practiced. On the plus side stick yourself on bandmix. Be honest about your age and ability and you'll find a bunch of guys that'll give you a chance. Might not be the type of music you particularly want to play, but beggars can't be choosers and it's a start.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1423563685' post='2686265'] Is that MK's brother? He's certainly an awesome guitar player. [/quote] Yes. I could tell he was a guitarist

Some music on my playlist has made it's way onto the setlist. Once I've learned it and the band starts to play it regularly, it comes off my playlist. Music that is destined for the setlist is moved onto my playlist while I learn it but then gets taken off. I tend to listen to a tune until it is embedded in my mind before I even touch my bass.

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1423551791' post='2686122'] At one point, I did a kind of pregnant, disabled Angus Young walk right out the front across the stage in front of the monitors and I was like, sh*t! I can't hear anything anymore and quickly reverted to using my personal square metarage of stage area. So any rock star moves have to be carefully thought out as they could potentially leave you in a musical wasteland. I suppose big bands who do put it about a bit, have bass coming through every monitor along with a nice balance of every instrument , so that they are never left in dead areas. As long as I was in the one spot, the sound was spot on, but the guitarists obviously have a different idea of what constitutes a good sound than me. [/quote] The big band will have their own engineer and possibly a second engineer running the monitors. They'll also have rehearsed on a big stage prior to their performance to iron out any problems. We'll just get a rudimentary soundcheck for signals. Going in front of the monitors isn't the best idea. Keeping the backline together near the drummer is a good idea and there is nothing wrong with grouping in on the drums as long as you move about a bit. Watch some queen videos for how the ultimate arena band did it. They seem to cover the stage but not stay away from each other for too long at a time.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1423468027' post='2684988'] Yes I watched a youtube vid of that performance - good innit. Someone told me Franks's retired from 'rock' music? [/quote] That would be a shame. I saw him a couple of years ago at Bush Hall (2011-12?). About 200-300 people. He was superb. He does a lot of house parties. I also saw It Bites about three times around that time as well. Reading, Bush Hall, Islington O2. Superb band still. A couple of gigs with Lee Pomeroy and once with Nathan King. I thought Pomeroy was a much better player than King.

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1423503177' post='2685617'] I did try to make use of the space, but as the lead singist, I was too often tethered to my mic stand. It rather annoyed me that my band mates hardly moved from their respective chosen spots. I think this heightens my dislike of larger stages. If we were a visually vibrant sight, then maybe the whole experience would be better . [/quote] I played a mini festival once with a band where the two guitarists set up right near the back of the stage. Complete with music stands. For 8 numbers? The video is quite funny. The singer and I are on one side of the stage moving about quite a bit, interacting with each other and the crowd. It's like the guitarists were at a different gig in another band.

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1423335706' post='2683718'] Don't the landlords in question have ANY balls at all? It's their pub and unless they've signed a mutually exclusive contract with an agent then they should be able to bring in whomever they want to play music. [/quote] What I've seen is that the Landlord has a 'mate', usually a regular who manages the entertainment side of things. Not on the paid staff. Organises the quiz nights, karaoke, discos, bands etc. Takes a small commission on it. Gets free drinks etc. To get into that pub you need to know the guy/girl as they've already got their idea of what they want. The landlord will pay all the lip service - "yeah, you're great, you'd go down really well, I'd love you to play here" - but you need to talk to X because they handle the bookings. Best chance is to keep calling X on a fortnightly basis and hope for a cancellation. That's the only way we got into one pub. But you have to ask why you want to play that pub so desperately.

So long as someone else runs the PA I don't mind them. Running your own PA from a big stage is a nightmare. The position of monitors, mains and backline have such a big effect on the stage. Running a PA from the floor of a big venue is completely different. Performancewise, it's a case of using the space. Not necessarily busting big moves but walking around a bit and making yourself look 'big'. Having a bit more of a 'here I am, look at me' attitude rather than standing in front of the bass stack tapping your foot and nodding while gazing at your frets. I don't mind either. I do quite like big stages though. .

[quote name='Froggy' timestamp='1423394554' post='2684209'] ... My biggest weakness is when I try to play too fast my fingers become less accurate when fretting, I hit the right note, but I'll often get fret buzz in faster numbers. My tutor thinks I'm too critical of myself, ... [/quote] Usually a lot of the buzz gets lost in the mix. Once you add drums and guitar you won't notice it. Lots of us were in bands before we learned to play. Quite a few are still in bands and can't play. Playing with other musicians will hugely raise your game.

I used a small agent. She was very good. Found us lots of work and took a percentage. Because they know how much you want they're good at matching bands with clients. This means that there's not much wiggle room with the money. Take what they offer. Sometimes you can haggle a bit more but the agent will know and advise you when to take the money and when to haggle. The only caveats were. 1. She expected a reply quickly, sometimes within 4hours. This caused tension in my band because they were inept at keeping diaries and making descisions. 2. If someone drops out you've agreed to do the gig so you need to find a dep. although she knew enough musicians to fill slots if we got stuck (we didn't) 3. We got some very strange gigs.

Withdrawing over £1k in cash is not without problems. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-2540445/What-maximum-money-I-withdraw-HSBC.html

Maybe the seller likes to store all his money in shoe boxes in his wardrobe. Definitely ask to look in his wardrobe if you change your mind and go to collect the keyboard. In fact I think you should ask anyway.

There is just too much wrong about that video.

[quote name='The Admiral' timestamp='1423275078' post='2683126'] There is one of the half dozen straight away. [/quote] It's quite surprising what goes on that people are generally unaware of. A friend of mine recieves tax credits as, I suspect, do a large number of us. Someone 'tipped off' HMGC that she had someone living with her. She didn't. But HMGC now want to see all her bank satements for the last 6months. So that's another reason. No doubt it's not a regular payment and the OP could provide a signature to indicate he had paid the money in return of a bass. Who knows. It's certainly not an indication of trustworthiness.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1423238024' post='2682648'] Having a system of multiple votes as you suggest & still getting no votes I assume would be even more soul destroying. [/quote] Probably "soul destroying" is a bit strong. Although if you're in an originals band it may be similar to that feeling you have when you're last on the bill at 12:00 and everyone has gone home.