TimR

You don't need huge amounts of vibration to get something to vibrate at its resonant frequency. You don't even need to vibrate it at the resonant frequency. Any sub-harmonic will do it. The stage doesn't even need to vibrate that much as it's the chamber underneath that amplifies the boom. Sit on your cab next time you play and tell me it's not vibrating!

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1351023241' post='1846410'] This. In our early days I went out and found us gigs only to be blasted by other members who couldn't be arsed to go looking but wanted more cash. ... [/quote] Indeed, getting gigs is a thankless task. You're always too cheap, too far away, on when the footy is on, too a bunch of old people, to a bunch of kids.... Then you get people who want to pick and chose which gigs they can do and leave you to get a dep for the ones they can't be bothered to do. Getting a band to agree on price is only half of it. Getting them to be open and honest with themselves about why they're in a band first helps.

[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1350978888' post='1845673'] Country to prog and many ports in between, just not mainstream and I fear that for 90% of those songs we shall just look like a bunch of old farts (which is what we are). I am also not the one that vetoes the songs, but the one who suggests stuff to have everyone else make a half arsed attempt at it so that it'll never gel and gets dropped. But never mind [/quote] I see. That's similar to what I found. He suggested only certain tunes that we would do no matter what, whereas other people suggested tunes and he refused to play them. I don't think anyone looks like an old fart trying to play tunes like that. As others have said it's all about how you play them. You do need to have a certain 'attitude' to carry off some tunes. There are tunes we avoid because the guitarist doesn't have the chops/attitude.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1350981309' post='1845704'] That wasn't my point at all... My point was that people on here can call shows like X factor and the like as 'pap' and trivial and contrived and because of that they think that is a curse on music as a whole. Well, that is one point of view...which, IMO, has a degree of truth... ... [/quote] The contrived and pap bit is the judges and the way it's fixed. Most of the artists are good, it's not their fault that they're part of the pantomime, other than they volunteered for it and should know that they're being manipulated. With a covers band no one is being manipulated, other than the audience...

I find a spare guitar works best. One new years eve my E-string machinehead broke before we'd even played a note. No spare bass. I had to restring my whole bass moving the E up to the A and so on. Took less than 2 minutes. Then I played with no G-string for the whole night. The band carried on regardless and I joined them in the third verse. They didn't notice the bass player, until I came in! The audience generally won't notice unless you're a three piece and your guitarist sings. In wich case he should practice singing while re-stringing Now I always take my old passive bass just in case, no batteries, old set of strings but works in an emergency. Never had to use it since though.

1. Never trust a man who wears sunglasses indoors. 2. Never trust a man who has a £50 note. 3. Never trust a man who knows what a bass guitar is.

[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1350925430' post='1845142'] ... In response to which my immediate thoughts were[list] [*]Don't recognise a load of them (unsurprising with what I listen to) [/list] ... [/quote] I was in a band with a drummer who had a similar outlook to you. Only listened to a narrow range of music and practically vetoed every song because he had never heard of it (and therefore no one else would have.) It was a real shame and an effort to get him to play anything, including songs that didn't have the same line up as us in the original recording. I struggle to see how anyone can call themselves a musician if they don't listen to practically anything and everything.

[quote name='Dropzone' timestamp='1350906391' post='1844816'] My bands current set list. No Sex on Fire or Mustang Sally guarenteed BORN SLIPPY - Underworld BREAK STUFF – Limp Bizkit LAST RESORT – Papa Roach LAND OF CONFUSION - Disturbed IN THE END – Linkin Park GOD DAMN ME – DZ 30 30 150 – Stone Sour FROM YESTERDAY - 30 Seconds to Mars NIGHTMARE – Avenged Sevenfold HEAD LIKE A HOLE – NIN BEFORE I FORGET - Slipknot INSOMNIA - Faithless BLIND / FREAK ON A LEASH - Korn PROPANE / VODOOO – Pendulum / Prodigy WEEPING SORE – DZ LAST SERENADE – Killwitch Engage CHOP SUEY – System of a Down BODIES – Drowning Pool DUALITY - Slipknot BRICK IN THE WALL - Korn ZOMBIE – DZ/The Cranberries DAVIDIAN – Machine Head [/quote] Hmm. That's quite a specialised list. Do you do many pub gigs?

The x-factor is a bit of fantasy so that the viewers, and some of the contestants, can escape from their dreary lives for a couple of hours and feel good that their own lives aren't as bad as the contestants. Same as Eastenders and Coronation Street etc. The x-factor is not a search for the next big thing. I think the general moan about x-factor is from the people who believe that they're actually looking for someone with the X-factor. Cowell is a clever guy. Everyone gets what they want, even those who want something to moan about. You'll find the people who moan about x-factor also moan about karaoke in pubs.

[quote name='gapiro' timestamp='1350805443' post='1843563'] We go to the pub after most rehearsals. Last time we went in a local had put nessendormer on the jukebox. Can't see many bands doing that [/quote] That'll be those football fan people. Ain't never going to please them.

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1350778293' post='1843501'] I got a phone call this morning from a friend of mine asking if I'd dep with his band at a birthday party over in Derby tonight.He'd been told by the bandleader that the gig was worth £150,great.....He phoned me back about 10 mins later telling me to not waste my time-turns out the £150 was for the whole band. He was really pissed off about the situation-take away expenses and the gig is worth about £30.Not cool. [/quote] This is a valuable lesson. If one of you is ill at the last minute you cannot cancel a wedding. You either have to get a dep in or another band. You (your singer) will end up seriously out of pocket.

It's more about what tunes have become part of our musical heritage. What tunes do people like to sing along to. Name one tune released this year that everyone knows the words to. Being reactive and playing tunes that are in the current chart is a good idea, but they're not played once they're out of the charts because they just haven't passed the test of time yet. That and the charts are mainly aimed at 12 year old girls. Who generally don't go to pubs.

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1350749162' post='1843042'] with the exception of 6, i wud say this list is for coffin dodgers only [/quote] Lol. Coffin dodgers? Anyone over 45? We play all those. In fact loads of them get requested. Next time you're in a pub with a jukebox listen to what the punters are choosing (and paying!) to put on. Seems to be a lot of snobbery about what we're basically being employed to play. They're basic standard tunes, compliment them with a bunch of others, but if someone asks for Oasis, just play it, it's just a bunch of notes, the crowd will thank you and come and see you again, the landlord will thank you and ask you back. You'll also get better gigs off the back of your pub performance.

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1350722946' post='1842609'] ... Have you tried changing the battery in the bass? a dying battery is often the source of distortion [/quote] This. You're not getting volume when into the passive input and when you get the volume from the active input it is distorted.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1350655984' post='1841874'] Can quite well believe this but without wanting to say too much..it is the band themsleves that need the time put in. ... [/quote] I think I know where you're going here. They're basing it on their own ability to learn. Their "versions" of the tunes will have been messed with and over-complicated to try to be clever. In reality they would have been better concentrating on nailing the originals as close as possible first. As I say, they have a lot to learn.

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1350647046' post='1841683'] Here's the band's response to some comments on the original website: [url="http://nwb.co/blog/post/46993/souldout/dep-bassist-required"]http://nwb.co/blog/p...assist-required[/url] [/quote] This is another of the problems of doing your "own" arrangments or "making the song your own" - Did I say how much I hate that phrase? Save yourselves the hassle and record all non standard tunes on an MP3 recorder and write out charts. £400 is OK for a start up band - good luck to them, they have a lot to learn.

Unless you are in ill health 60 is very early to retire. IMO. Most people I know are semi retiring at 65 but still working at least part time at 70. Depends what your job is I suppose.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1350547471' post='1840233'] ... Anyone with high interest credit card debts and a low interest mortgage on a house with sufficient equity should be thinking about increasing the mortgage to pay off the credit cards. [/quote] That's not very good advice IMO. If you still have many years to run on your mortgage you could end up paying more. If you do this you should increase your mortgage repayments to a level that makes this advantageous. Do the maths first.

Your drummer looked a bit excited.

You're right. No one notices the bass player, until he's not there. Which makes networking even more important. Getting yourself noticed as a bassplayer is either standing up front doing slapfest (and no one really wants to see or hear that) or locking in with a drummer who likes playing with you and recommends you whenever he gets a gig.

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1350392288' post='1838146'] ... like he doesn't know the song ! [/quote] Maybe he didn't. How much time did they take between writing and recording? A story I heard about David Bowie when recording under pressure. When the band went out to lunch he asked to hear Freddy's vocal line. Then joined them for lunch. After lunch they all went back in and Bowie did the song in one take, harmonising perfectly with the 'previously unheard' Freddy vocal. Freddy was astounded at how good Bowie appeared to be. So no practice with the band even before visiting the studio. Just turn up and record something....

Good question. Just rotate. If you're the only person standing near the gear you wait until the next person gets there before leaving with a bit of gear or going back to get some more.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1350298090' post='1836864'] TBH I would rather not gig than do that gig, but that's just me, I wouldn't enjoy doing the cliche party band cover repertoire. Also I played with a group of 10 for three years so 8 would be a bit of a step down anyway. [/quote] Yes, I think everyone's done 'The Commitments' thing. Any combinations of the play on words with souled and sold says Avoid Avoid Avoid to me. Good luck to them, I've just looked at their pics, they could do with a bit of styling, I think I can see just from the pics that they won't be getting hundreds of pounds for gigs.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1350296119' post='1836830'] .. Try, premiership football on telly in pubs is killing the gate take at your local footy club and you'll be closer. [/quote] Fair enough. Analogies never really stock up do they. Wayne Rooney being affected by a kick about is like saying Bruce Springsteen being affected by a jam night. The 'pros' we're talking about aren't big famous local musicians either, just your average Joe trying to make a living playing other people's music. Look at the theatre world. If an amateur production want to put on a show, they have to ask the publisher for permission. They won't get that permission if the show is being toured by a pro company.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1350288936' post='1836721'] There's a sequel: Everybody on the island was so jealous of the fisherman, they started doing the same thing. Eventually the market was flooded with fish, and the fisherman lost his only source of income. He retrained in IT support, and now works in a local call center. [/quote] Kind of what I was thinking. The story is a reminder not to lose sight of what you are doing and why you are doing it. The fisherman is doing it to feed his family, not to make loads of money. It's not relevant because in our case the other "fishermen" are throwing the dead fish back and their family are eating burgers because it's more productive for them to rear cows and go fishing for fun. This leaves only dead fish for the fisherman to pull out of the water. Oar not.... The answer is for every musician to work in IT and become weekend warriors. Which I think is happeneing already in the main. Although some must be very greedy to want to be paid for having fun at the weekends while earning loads of money during the week