TimR

It is. Hence the diminishing returns.

Pino is quite selective though. https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/columns/gear-rundown-pino-palladino/

Of course there's an objective test. For example. If you have a tuner that slips every now and again because you bought a bass with cheap hardwear, then the instrument is taking your time up getting right. And you'll put a price on that time. If you're in a session and spending time tuning that's costing everyone money because you thought you could save initially. There's a direct relation to the price you paid and the amount of maintenance. I've had hardware fail at a gig. Luckily I've had a spare bass. But the replacement hardware I bought is more expensive, better quality and more durable.

Yes. Sure. But it would have been in someone's price range. So the law of diminishing returns affects how much a individual is willing to pay for an instrument. But not the other way round. And yes, sound, playability, etc are all factors.

Not really. That doesn't really enter into it. The diminishing returns happen regardless of what you're willing to pay. The point at which the step up to the next one is worthwhile is one factor that might determine what you'll pay. I know anything over £2,500 I can't tell the difference. Doesn't mean there isn't one. It would be pointless me paying £3,500 for a bass. In fact I don't want to spend more than £500 on a bass. That's because I'm happy with a £500 bass, it does the job and I like the ergonomics. That's not because I can't afford a £3,500 or am not willing to pay that. I just don't need to.

That's the question though isn't it. What is the relationship, as the basses get more expensive, the amount you have to pay to get a small difference is greater. But by how much.

The law of diminishing returns isn't about whether an expensive instrument is better than a cheap one. It's about how much better it is. Is a £250 bass 10x better than a £25 one. If not, how much better is it? If it is, is a £350 one 14x better than the £25 one and 1.4x better than the £250 one. And by logical extension is a £2500 one 100x better? In order to quantify it, you need to set some parameters rather than, "I like this one better." which is entirely subjective.

Yes. But it's turnover that they look at. If I do 20 gigs at £50 I don't have to tell the taxman. If I do 20 gigs at £250, my turnover is now £5000 and I'm supposed to then go self assessment. The fact I'm instantly giving out £4000 is irrelevant. They want to see where that £4000 has gone. To stay within the tax laws. Ultimately there's no profit and no tax to pay, but that's not the point. I doubt many hobby players are going self assessed anyway.

Yes. But it's instant. If I buy a beer, the pub doesn't send an invoice to my home address and ask to be paid within 28 days.

The pubs are suppliers to customers. There's no reason why once you are on their system, the money can't be transferred instantly. Either on this thread or another, this is going to have tax implications for band leaders whose bands turnover more than £1000 of gigs in a year. At £250 that's 4 gigs.

Dealing with transfers is fine. Invoicing and waiting for payment isn't. Pubs don't invoice their customers.

Just be careful with the apostrophes. Steve Brownings Band Steve Brownings' Band Steve Browning's Band All would be technically correct, but still plenty of opportunity for disagreement over the band name. 😆

Still playing. A friend of mine travels quite a way to see them.

I don't think it's weird and unreasonable. You're probably just fine tuning your Bellshill radar. Depends on what you are looking for when joining a band and how many bands are looking for you. If you're able to filter out bands that filter you in all well and good. I signed up to Bandmix and put a fairly open CV on it. A few weeks later I spotted a band looking for a bass player like me. Maybe a lot of people don't actually look that hard through the 'available' ads before posting wanted ads. If you're ending up with a blank list then you're going to have to compromise, or go and kiss some frogs to see what happens.

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/459125-maybe-everyone-in-the-usa-isnt-dim-after-all/

3% on a £20k motor is a lot to swallow. Guess that's why Amazon have just said no.

Amazon are stopping Visa in next few days. They did a deal with Mastercard. So there must be something about not charging. But a friend of mine tried to buy a car and there was going to be a surcharge for that.

I think the £1k turnover is a response to the pandemic isn't it? I've never heard of it before. It's to encourage people into business and reduce the amount of paperwork. If you're doing pub gigs at £50 a gig and doing 2 a month then you're nowhere near it. It's only really going to make a difference if you're playing lots of function gigs and at that point you're going to need to keep tabs on the Financial side of things. If you are claiming tax for car use, you have to do it one of two ways, you can't do half of one and half of another. ie you can't claim the car as a capital expenditure and also claim per mile. If you own the music equipment personally then you don't have to include it in turnover, if its part of the business then you then have to include any profits and losses from sales. I suspect deciding which of the basses you personally own or not would get complicated. It sounds to me like an awful lot of work to try and claim a few quid if you're not Self Assessed already.

That's intended for business expenses. Not personal expenses. If you're continually trying to offset your PAYE against your 'hobby' expenses that's not right.

Because, unless you're trying to make a business out of it and turn a decent taxable profit, the HMRC aren't interested. Its just classed as a hobby if you're continually making a loss. I'm not sure how you get a cheque from them. I'm not sure that's correct.

We used to call it semi-pro. It kind of relates to providing a professional service and be in demand enough to be paid, but it not being your main profession.

I think regards payment for pub gigs we also need to understand the 'amateur' musicians' role and the costs of equipment. You can now purchase a pretty decent PA for a few hundred quid. And a lot of the pub musicians have well paying day jobs which mean that costs of gear and transport are incidental and heavily subsidised as part of their day job. Musicians Union rates apply to professional working musicians within the industry. Your plumber who plays bass guitar will be using the money he got for his Friday night emergency call to pay for his van and £3,600 coffee table top bass.

Well. It was a rush on supply. There were plenty of drivers. Some bloke who should have known better said that there was 90% of fuel availability. What he neglected to say was that's the normal availability, but no one normally notices. Once the whole country had filled up their tanks with fuel they're never going to use, the 'crises' suddenly was over.

Like Warner Bros?