TimR

It's meant to be a general point. You will have prioritised other things in your life. We all do that. My point is that we often resign ourselves to playing the best that we can, but don't appreciate how a little extra, done frequently will lead to big improvements over time. Frequently we are saying, I do enough to get by, or I do what I can with the time available, I'll never be a great player. That's great, but I suspect in a great number of cases, if we are truthful, it's not quite true. If you really want to improve, then you will find the time.

Not one bass player on this forum is not better now than they were when they started. At some point they make a decision not to do any work to get better.

The point of the quote (to help @Paul S out) is that you're only ever going to be good enough, if that's all you want to be. The top guys are only at the top because they go the extra mile. Guys who are obsessed with bass rather than it being one thing theyre quite interested in. You meet these kind of guys all the time in all aspects of life. They're the ones that have only one topic of conversation. Golf, football, cars, their work, bass. It's not that healthy.

No I have no idea why you think I'm narcissistic. Do you know why you think I'm narcissistic? I'm not sure how your input has helped with the thread...

I heard a good quote this morning. "Ways to fail: 1. Be the best you can. The people who succeed are not content with being the best that they can, they're the ones who seek out to be better all the time and not settle for today's best..." A lot of what people are describing in the thread is attributed to being comfortable with what you're doing and not willing (or able) to put extra practice in and seek new opportunities. That's not a bad thing, but people should understand why they are what they are.

I suffered for several years wondering why I struggled to play material at rehearsal that I could play perfectly at home. Then we got a dep drummer in and realised where the actual problem was. I left the band soon after and haven't looked back since.

I have very rarely heard any band cover the original exactly. Most modern songs are overdubbed and have auxiliary instruments that don't appear in the band line up. Certainly not even the original artists play it like it is on the record. Every band has to make allowances with their arrangement for instrumentation and talent. If you turn up to a rehearsal having learned a tune note for note, then you're more prepared to make changes to allow for what the others are able to play and what sounds good. That's being creative and we all have to be able to do that, anyone who can't will rapidly become very disillusioned with any band they're in when X isn't playing Y exactly as they're expecting and they can't make their bass line fit. The audience will not notice if you have spent the appropriate time on your arrangement and made suitable adjustments, they will notice if everyone is just playing their parts as per the record, because they just won't work live. You may think your band is doing this, but they really aren't.

Generally used to poke or troll people while seeming innocuous. Generally best not replying to if in any doubt.

Some players can't even remember playing on some recordings. But that may be for other reasons.

"Everyone thinks they're better than average." Certainly true for people who drive cars, doesn't seem to be true for bass players. I suggest it depends on the subject. I can't imagine many people think they're better than average at Rocket Science or Brain Surgery. Does the Dunning Kruger effect only apply to knowledge rather than skills. People spend years working in specialist fields, how much of their knowledge is acquired on a daily basis, how much of it is learned through jumps other people make, and how much through experiences. In my field of work it's a mixture but the guys who have lots of experience tend to know more, presumably because actually doing something is a huge advantage over just reading about how to do it. So I guess people need to be humble and realise just because they watched a video on how to do something, doesn't mean they can do it. But again that depends on the application and the difficulty.

We should do a survey with areas and levels and see where everyone lies on a scale. I'd suggest anyone playing gigs is a 'good' player. At least other musicians are confident in your abilities and audiences aren't walking out.

Should have hidden the masking tape and sharpie.

Guitarist's view of what makes a good bass player - plays the roots. Drummer's view of what makes a good bass player - locks in with the drums. Singer's view of what makes a good bass player - plays the right notes. Bass player's view of what makes a good bass player - owns a van, PA, lights, organises gigs and rehearsals, breaks up fights, designs websites and prints setlists...

It was weird. AFAIK it's pretty much industry standard to have: Drums (kick,snare,hi hat, Tom's, cymbals) Bass Guitar/s Keys Brass Vocals Anyone can then quickly jump on a desk and see what's going on. I prefer to organise the vocals in the same left to right order they appear on stage. So lead vocal may not be the first one you come to if bass and guitar are also singing backing vocals.

Brewery have said they're looking for a new landlord and will reopen. If the established landlords struggled it'll be difficult to see how someone new can fill the spot. Isn't this usual tactics? fail to find someone, wait it out for 3 years, claim unviable as a pub, apply for change of use and planning permission, sell building and build retirement flats.

It's like all things, unless someone really understands why they're doing something, they don't know what they're doing. It's quicker and easier to do it yourself and have one other band member fully trained up. It's not rocket science but I know at least 3 singers who can't put up and take down a music stand. Not because they're stupid, just because they can't be bothered to learn and it's quicker for someone else to do it for them. I once had the guitarist's mate do the desk for us. I set everything up before he arrived. All the faders have the instruments labelled across the bottom on tape and that is the same always, (if we don't have a kick drum mic plugged in, the chanel stays labelled but empty etc), EQs all set as normal for the band, all AUX outs noted for monitors and effects. Next thing I know he's unplugged everything, ripped the labels off and started from scratch...

The Beta has a blue band. I think a lot of brands adopt that coding.

I don't know. I just don't feel limited or restricted as I play all kinds of genres. I guess if I was a thrash metal player I'd be stuck looking for bands. In the late 80s I played mainy thrash and listened to little else. But also played in small local amateur dramatic musicals and shows, and at jazz evenings with my dad.

I'm not sure. There are some styles I don't need to play and hence don't listen to out of choice. Reggae and anything with slap bass. I can play Reggae but it doesn't sound authentic to my ears, I have to try too hard and that's not the way to play music. I can't slap. Have tried but don't have the enthusiasm (or requirement) to practice day after day. But I guess unless someone offered me loads of money to play something I can't that's not going to change. So 'limited' is a bit of an odd description.

I'm not sure that anecdotal evidence is particularly useful as we probably all know a lot more musicians than non musicians. I was introduced to BrandX by a non musician and my cousin is into Fusion, and not musical at all.

The Feedback destroyer isn't very deep. https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Behringer-FBQ2496-Feedback-Destroyer-Pro/

Just seen The Horns has closed. I played there, was a great venue, big stage, and very large building n centre of Watford so imagine their rates and electricity were huge. Sad times. https://www.thehornswatford.co.uk/

Yes. I realise that. I was commenting on how Devine approached it.

I believe everything apart from solos was scored in the Devine King project. There's lots and lots of unison and they didn't get together and rehearse. It was all single take stuff. Which pretty much shows what level of musicianship they all have.

A friend of mine was an electronics whiz and built a '16' track mixer. Although it may have been 8 or something, no EQ, everything was mic'ed up and the electronics were rotary dials, all housed in a biscuit tin. All recorded live, in mono, and sounded pretty good. I bounced the tape into a WAV file on my PC a few years ago with the intention to try and master it. About 1987.