TimR

You've had 5 years use out of the PA. How much did you pay towards it. The ususal way to solve this would be to put it on eBay and split what's left 4 ways and give the guys who walked away their cut too. The speakers will be no use to you on their own and second hand value very low. I'd either take his offer or walk away. Personally I would always go for one person owns the PA and the band hire it.

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1418061092' post='2626447'] The X factoe one ain 't Zep tho. I think it's that Violin quartet of hot woman that did well on BGT. Would that be the same as it's not a zep recording but a recording owned by cowell. I may be wrong, but them violin woman def did a version! [/quote] Vanessa Mae? Page and Plant have done many versions.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1418044753' post='2626215'] ... Their method of sound checking was an eye-opener to say the least. Rather than start with the drums and build up from there, they got the vocals loud and clear both on-stage and FoH and then mixed the other instruments underneath. I saw then use this method at three very different venues and they sounded great at all of them. [/quote] I used to do this with our function band. We used to get complimented on the sound being the 'right' volume. It forces the drummer to think about his volume because if he plays too loudly he can't hear the vocals (or anything else!)

[quote name='Thurbs' timestamp='1418042704' post='2626187'] ... I was thinking of going tablet based, but the thought of digitising about a foots worth of lead sheets and scores rapidly puts me off. [/quote] I'm going to go tablet based and scan everything I have. Only really for future reference and convenience. My folder isn't a foot thick but it wouldn't go on a music stand. Everything we play is memorised anyway but would be useful if I get dep gigs, to let them know what I already know.

WEEK 1. Top 22. 1. Superstition (5) =. Teenage Kicks 3. Sex on Fire (4) = Dakota 5. Pretty Vacant (3) =. American Idiot =. All the Small Things 8. Brown Sugar (2) =. All Right Now =. Jumping Jack Flash =. Proud Mary =. Valerie =. Mercy =. Soul Man =. Time Warp =. Tommy Gun =. Can't Explain =. Rock Away Beach =. Hey Joe =. Substitute =. All Day and All of the Night. =. Mr Brightside I've added a few that we do as well so the numbers may not appear to add up completely at the moment.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1418041811' post='2626177'] It could well be that. In which case, it might have less to do with the backline and more to do with him being perceptive about the sound each band were going for. [/quote] There's a reason a lot of bass players make very good producers.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1418036109' post='2626096'] ... As it happens, the supplied backline that year was an SVT and 8x10" with a mic in front of it. I have no idea whether that was the root of the better bass sound or just a indicator that they had a different and more sympathetic sound team than in other years! ... [/quote] My guess is the soundman was a bass player. Who has that kind of gear lying around for backline?

Indeed. It's all about asthetics. And that's the band leader's descision. .

With no notice, it's a hard one but having a dep that you can call on makes a big difference. We took a gig that singer pulled out of with a weeks notice. I called a friend who is a pro singer and she said she'd do the gig no problem. The drummer then pulled out saying it wouldn't work and we shouldn't do the gig. So I got a pro drummer to dep for him. The singer sent us a list of the songs she knew from our set plus a load of standards that she did. The guitarist and I got together during the week and went over the standards. It was a smoking gig! Everyone was on their toes and if I'd been given the choice I would have continued from then on with that lineup

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1418029926' post='2626023'] What does selling out really mean? Is it that people want to keep bands a secret so they have the cool factor of being in the know? I guess bands want to reach new audiences, so that is why they do it. [/quote] I thought it was when you give up your artistic freedom and alter your songs so much to please a producer and record company and make your songs commercially viable that you have lost your integrity. Led Zepplin and Queen can hardly be considered as bands who have sold out. When I was in my teens some friends in a band were approached by a big label. The label wanted to take the band (who were proficient musicians and sounded very good) and give them music to play written by the label's songwriter, style them using a stylist and coreograph their moves. That's selling out!

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1418026909' post='2625997'] So in this discussion, am i right in saying that we've ascertained that some use music stands and some don't? It would also seem that a majority of those that don't believe that those who do shouldn't. The don'ters appear to categorise the do'ers as maybe less capable than the don'ters. However the do'ers are questioning the don'ters on their right to see them in a lesser category than the don'ters. Would that be a fair appraisal of this debate so far? It certainly makes for very interesting reading. 😎 [/quote] Time for a Venn Diagram?

They're just jealous because they can't read music/don't know the names of the notes.

I don't use music when playing in the current covers band. I used to in other bands. For me it depends on whether you are performing or whether you are just playing the music. I like to be able to see the reaction of the audience to what I am playing. It's a two way thing when performing. The problem is, even if you've been booked for a party or wedding, you don't know until part way through the evening whether the guests are the type to dance or the type to watch. For a function band I would learn 100% of the popular most played tunes. The ones that are called out as requests, learned specifically for that gig or not regulars in the set; it's out with the pad.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1417796756' post='2624137'] It's like anything. You can learn how to do something, but there's those who have the natural skills to put things together well & those who don't. Many folk can be taught how to make cakes. Many don't spend time learning how to finish them well. It's a patience and perseverance thing. [/quote] Good analagy. I'd also go further and say like a good cake it's the cake that's important. The icing is ok as long as it's not too thick with too many sprinkles. Put it on a plate. Eat it. Make the next one. Don't try to re-ice it or keep moving the sprinkles around. .

My dad nailed it when he came to see us play and I said I was having trouble playing even simple lines. "Yes, he's very busy isn't he."

[quote name='Krysbass' timestamp='1417788058' post='2624030'] ... [/quote] That sounds very familiar. Good luck.

https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070419062802AAOcYfk

Could have been worse. I suspect everyone has seen this Iron maiden clip: http://youtu.be/knC743Nds4Q

Have you called them? Fingers crossed.

There are some basic qualities all drummers should have: 1. Keep time. Not slow down or speed up if the bass player played ahead or behind the beat. 2. Play the right number of whole beats in a bar. The band shouldn't have to wait until the fill has finished before they start the next bar. 3. Pick up the tune from middle of a verse or chorus etc. during rehearsals. He shouldn't have to count everyone in everytime from the top. 4. Play fills to fill a gap in the music, not just when they fancy and trample all over another instrument or vocal line. 5. Play with appropriate volume. 6. Stay sober. 7. Not start fights. Some will bring more to the party but as long as those 7 are present I'm happy. Edit: And not miss drums, drop sticks or fall off chair. There are some right clowns around. .

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1417704159' post='2623243'] Don't forget that the majority of covers bands need a reasonably steady supply of new original songs to keep their audiences happy. It's all very well saying that originals bands don't have the song writing skills required to compete with the "professionals" but IME most professionals are hardly turning out hit after hit, and remember that we only get to hear the songs that they consider worthy, which are generally only a small percentage of the ideas they actually come up with. [/quote] Quite. I'm thinking more that if the inspiration is there the rest of the song should be simple to build. I have a feeling too many people are trying too hard. As was mentioned above, "originals are boring to play". You have to ask why are they boring to play and yet the audience can't seem to get enough. Look at bands whose songs are not boring to play, perhaps bands who are at the technically difficult to play end of the spectrum, and ask what kind of audience do they attract. So as far as I'm concerned the creativity bit is over once you write the melody and fit the words. After that you're into technical construction skills and the creativity needs to toe the line.

[quote name='Jonesthebass' timestamp='1417688411' post='2622995'] Time is too precious to waste on incompetent players. We dealt with those guys growing up. If I'm playing in a band I have to work with guys of equal abilities. I teach music by day and don't want to lecture/nurture players when I'm trying to relax and enjoy a gig or rehearsal. If they can't play they don't get the seat. On a recent set of auditions we had a couple of drummers who screwed the pooch within 30secs of playing, one who put his head down and just hit everything for 5 mins without listening to us and one who wasn't gonna get the job even if he'd been steve gadd cos he walked in said he hadn't prepped but that our music was pretty simplistic in the most arrogant tone. Incidentally he could play the simplest grooves we gave him. I have left bands if I can't work with the drummer. sh*t drummers seem to secretly know they are sh*t which is why they then seem to work harder at being the band fixer. One was bloody awful but pulled the cancer card on everyone. I could play better than him..... That's not good. The other never listened to anyone's opinions and wouldn't listen to me about timing and groove cos I was younger than his sons. The last guy was a good drummer once but by the time I left with the guitarist he was pulling fills in every bar. I counted in excess of 100 cymbal splashes in money for nothing!! It was hard cos he was a friend. We didn't talk for a long time but we have a common ground in bikes so we speak more often now but I won't be stepping on stage anytime soon. [/quote] Playing with people like this can easily make you bitter if you let it. My advice would be to go for some auditions and watch some bands in pubs. You don't have to accept the gigs if offered but there's no problem with paying in several bands. What you will get a taste for is whether the drummer is that bad or whether you need to run away very quickly before you become bitter. It's what I did and ended up playing with several bands and in the end the descision to walk away from the first band was not a hard one to take.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1417648775' post='2622772'] ... [size=4][font=Arial]This thread is not really for the, [i]" I have a job, I don't need the money"[/i] guys, however please chime in with your 2 bobs worth.( I'm a Yankee and I have been on this forum to long. I'm starting to talk like you guys )[/font][/size] ... [/quote] It's Tuppence worth. 2p Anyway. I'm unsure of how much creativity there is in successful songwriting. If you understand how most popular songs are put together there start to be very few choices once you have come up with a melody for a verse, the chords are fairly obvious and a chorus should lead on and not sound out of place. I can see how people can get frustrated when their baby doesn't become a hit but a lot of original material I hear has the basic elements wrong under the guise of being creative and original. Depends on what you want to achieve with a song. I wrote a ton of stuff when I was 17. At the time We were all going to be famous but I listen back now to maybe 30 or 40 tunes and I think maybe two or three of them stand out as hit material that I might consider getting some musicians to play now. But our fans loved it and we packed halls with 300+ people at a time. I depped a few years ago with a band who had a reasonable local following. Their material was very good but I would have changed quite a few of their tunes. They would have then sounded more commercially viable but probably lost a lot of the creativity. Don't know. It's tough and always a personal thing. While you write music for yourself you may only have an audience of one. What's more important? .

You can run a bass through a guitar amp at bedroom volumes.

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1417633999' post='2622533'] I remember reading that our perception of volume varies by audio frequency such that you need a lot more power to achieve the same apparent volume between bass and guitar so a low wattage bass combo isn't going to match the same wattage guitar combo - I guess that when you factor in the heavier duty speaker and a bigger power stage (more/larger valves?) then you'd exceed the £200 limit pretty quickly? The key thing here though is your assumption of mass production involved - a low wattage bass valve combo has less flexibility than its guitar equivalent and probably less appeal meaning the production volumes couldn't be that large. [/quote] Fletcher-Munsun curves.