4-string-thing

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1116527' date='Feb 5 2011, 01:51 PM']i've played with the same small bunch of people forever. we've had our ups and downs. sometimes one of us (me) will halt proceedings if things get stale. if you grow up with musician/friends, thats the best thing in the world. i can't imagine starting a band with people i don't know too well, and if they were arses, my gut would tell me straight away, and i wouldn't turn up twice.[/quote] Not sure about this, my mate is a brilliant guitarist, we've been mates for over 40 years (we met at infant school) I've tried to be in bands with him many times over the years. It never works, we like the same music, obviously get on well, and are great friends, but just cannot play together! He frustrates the hell out of me, cos he has so much talent yet so little ambition..... I like starting bands with people I don't know, cos they usually behave themselves for a year or two at least, before they turn out to be total ar*es.... If they seem like an ar*e at an audition/first rehearsal, they don't get the job!

[quote name='Doddy' post='1115696' date='Feb 4 2011, 06:14 PM']No one is adverse to a drummer joke (or any musician),but I just don't like the 'neanderthal' references. I don't like the term 'guitard' either. As far as ego-I don't know any player that doesn't have at least a little ego.[/quote] I admit to using the term "guitard" in the past (if you'd met the two in my last band you'd understand why) but you're right, it's not very nice. From now on I shall refer to them as "Ham-fisted meat heads" To the OP, yes, a good drummer is a very important part of any band and does make all the difference!

[quote name='Zach' post='1115542' date='Feb 4 2011, 04:21 PM']Just realised that i've had the same set of la bella flats on my bass for two years now. I still like the sound, so don't really see the point in changing them, but part of me just feels i should do. So I was wondering who on basschat holds the record for longest time without changing the strings on their main bass. Anyone over the decade mark?[/quote] Over the decade, oh lordy yeah! I had rotosounds on my P for at least 15, probably more like 20 years, and they sounded great! I hate new strings...

[quote name='bumnote' post='1115201' date='Feb 4 2011, 01:09 PM']Serves you right for retiring the acoustic, its got the hump and is bringing you bad vibes man[/quote] Funny you should say that.... The only reason I bought The MAG 600 was cos I needed to be really loud to keep up with 2 idiot guitards.... The 220 may be brought out of retirement and one of the MAG heads will be surplus to requirements, along with a green Yamaha BBG-4A....

I'm not a huge fan of REM, I liked their earlier stuff and I think they have lost their way a bit recently, but Mike Mills is a really good bassist and is what you could call genuinely underrated.

[quote name='bumnote' post='1115111' date='Feb 4 2011, 11:59 AM']Why dont you advertise for musicians of similar taste and then you are much more in control of your own destiny[/quote] The folk-rock band was my idea and I ran the band, that in itself led to all sorts of problems. When I say, I ran the band, the bandleader role was something that I got landed with really, not something I really wanted.

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='1115104' date='Feb 4 2011, 11:48 AM']I hear your pain - perhaps we should set up a self help group [/quote] I though BC was a self help group!

[quote name='risingson' post='1115025' date='Feb 4 2011, 10:36 AM']Anyone that unprofessional are probably terrible musicians as well (small minded people make for the worst musicians) so I'm guessing you did the right thing.[/quote] Not terrible musicians, just small minded and lazy, apart from the drummer who was very good. One guitard couldn't improvise a solo, so spent months learning every song note for note (12 songs in as many months) The other guitard didn't learn anything alone, just waited til the first one knew it and could then teach him. The singer was a good frontman, but only an average singer and had an ego the size of Wales and was a patronising t**t. They always seemed to accuse me of not knowing anything about "rock" just cos I spent 4 years previously playing folk-rock-Irish. What did they think I played for the previous 28 years? Seems that because my favourite bands are Fairport, Richard Thompson, King Crimson and that sort of thing, not Van Halen or Kiss, then I deserve ridiculing every week. I agree, JTUK, that it does look like they were after a reaction as they replaced me with an old mate within 24 hours! I'm looking forward to getting back to playing the sort of stuff I like and having a bit more input....

[quote name='bigthumb' post='1114710' date='Feb 3 2011, 11:19 PM']Yes please! I'm on the verge of quitting. Not easy but in my case necessary.[/quote] No, it wasn't easy but after an hour of them taking the p**s out of me for having the audacity to like different types of music to them, I was finally pushed over the edge. I was hoping to stay friends, but they've spent most of this evening having a dig at my girlfriend on facebook, so I'll probably be breaking some jaws tomorrow.... As someone on here said a few days ago "life's too short to play in a band where you're not happy" or words to that effect!

Just thought I'd say that I walked out of last nights rehearsal before the end, telling the guitards that "I've had enough of you c****, thats it, I'm done" Boy, do I feel good? Yup, apart from the fact that they've managed to replace me within 15 hours! If anyone needs a blonde wig and some spandex, pm me..... Oh, sorry about my language....

Ebay is full of people who will try it on to save a few quid or rip you off. I sold a Squier Tele on there a couple of years ago, it was in "as new condition" ie, in the condition that it had been in when I bought it from the shop. Virtually unplayed. It was a £240 Fat Tele, the one with the humbucker near the neck. It needed new strings, but this was stated in my listing. He won it for £105, and to make sure he got it ok, I delivered in person (round trip 340 miles) I arrived at his house, he kept me on the door step while he inspected the guitar for all of 15 seconds "that looks fine" says he and off I go. When I got home, some 4 hours later, he has sent me a message saying the guitar is terrible, needs a set up and the pots/selector switch need replacing cos they crackle. The guitar is a birthday present for his son who is very distraught. If I was however, to refund him £20 to pay for a set up, he wouldn't leave me negative feedback! I called his bluff and told him that ebay might take a dim view of him trying to blackmail me and that I suspected he was a guitar dealer (he'd bought and sold two or three guitars in just over a month) Needless to say my tele was back on ebay a few days later being described as "a brilliant, wonderful guitar in excellent "as new" condition, bought for his son, who had now decided he liked strats instead. Same guitar, same condition, just a much longer, more descriptive listing. He sold it for £5 more than he paid me for it and he received wonderful feedback from the buyer.... So, the guitar that he wasn't happy with turned out to be fine after all. I wonder how many guitars he has bought in the 2 years since? And how much money he has claimed back from his sellers by threatening them with negative feedback? To the OP.....You offered a case, he got a case, tell the guy to swivel.

[quote name='MuckedUpFunkies' post='1111650' date='Feb 1 2011, 09:26 PM']I don't think he was trying to "have a dig" merely make you see sense. A musician without hearing is like JK with out a stupid hat... Just doesn't work [/quote] Thanks, but I don't consider myself good enough to be described as a "musician" As for the earplug issue, its all a bit irrelevant now as I quit my band during last nights rehearsal.... So I won't be needing any for a while!

[quote name='icastle' post='1111901' date='Feb 2 2011, 01:13 AM']No doubting that! On a training course I get to teach from time to time, I describe that rather gory injury and then say "so I grabbed a soldering iron..." There's usually a few uncomfortable squirms and pale faces when they make the obvious wrong assumption... I hate teaching so it's my compensation [/quote] Never been tempted then, eh?

[quote name='mrtcat' post='1110721' date='Feb 1 2011, 10:17 AM']At the risk of dragging this off topic I feel I must state that I have never heard a credible argument against earplugs. If you're not wearing them cos you're worried what others think then your not only totally stupid you're also going to suffer badly for your pig headed vanity. My father played in a band in the 70's for just 7months and in that time they played just 11 gigs. Ever since then (for the last 35yrs!!!!) he has suffered with the most mind bendingly bad tinitus. He can't bear to be in a quiet room as the high pitch whine drives him mad, he can't sleep properly and he has had to wear a hearing aid since the age of 27. He's seen umpteen specialists who unanimously attribute his problems to noise damage caused by playing live. He is now totally unable to play his guitars as he's so distraught that playing them has done so much damage to his life. He'd tell anyone who won't wear them through vanity or peer pressure that you need to grow up and accept that not taking proper care of your ears will end in misery. Sorry to rant and sorry to have hi-jacked the thread a bit but I wouldn't wish for anyone to go through the same as my dad. [/quote] I feel that this is a bit of a dig at me, which is a bit unfair, as you don't know me from Adam. I don't wear earplugs at gigs, its not because I am "totally stupid" nor do I suffer from "pig headed vanity" Its because if it's in a decent size room I don't often suffer any high pitch whistling afterwards. I always wear earplugs at rehearsals as the room is much smaller and would always advise others to do the same, especially if your band is as loud as mine. I do admit to not knowing very much about the effects of loud music on the human ear, I don't think I suffer from tinitus, but I suppose I am as likely to as the next guy and am happy to take advice. I was not trying to present a "credible argument against earplugs" I suspect that there isn't one. I'm sorry to read about your dads problems but if either of you knew me, then you would know that I am not one to bow to peer pressure and certainly don't need to grow up!

[quote name='icastle' post='1110563' date='Feb 1 2011, 06:56 AM']Gaffa tape and kitchen roll aren't too bad, but I got some decidedly odd looks off the A&E registrar when I used a soldering iron as a makeshift tourniquet. [/quote] I thought I was the one with soldering iron skills....

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1107433' date='Jan 29 2011, 06:04 PM']No. Because I was 4 years old, it was one of these and it [i]was [/i]made out of plastic. Probably from recycled Maccaferris: [size=1]NB: Tuner placement requires semi-reverse post-winding technique[/size][/quote] I had one of these too.... boy, do I regret moving that one on!

48 years old, male, been playing since I was 15 (took about 8 years off in the 80's-90's) but have never been much cop! Never get flash or technical. I'm a folk/prog rock fan and hate blues and "poodle perm rock" Which is quite ironic considering that I play in an 80's glam/poodle perm covers band! I have no desire to own a 5 or 6 string bass.......

[quote name='clauster' post='1110170' date='Jan 31 2011, 09:17 PM']I stupidly sold my '78 US Precision a few years before you looked at selling yours. They'd been out of fashion for a good few years and everyone wanted Jazzes, Stingrays and Warwicks. I got just over £200. 3 tone sunburst, all original. If I only I'd kept it....., but hey that's the benefit of hindsight.[/quote] Thats what they offered me, £40 less than I paid for it in 1979.... Actually, they didn't offer me anything, thats what they valued it at (they didn't really want to buy it) I'm glad I kept it, but am thinking of selling it again now. Not cos I need the money, just because I hardly ever play it and it seems a shame to keep it in a case doing nothing....

Great thread! A few years ago (actually quite a few years ago, about 15 I think) I was in the same boat. I was a bit short of cash, wasn't in a band and decided to sell my 78 Precision. I took it to the shop that I had bought it from some 15 years earlier and they offered me peanuts saying "nobody wants 'em nowdays mate" I decided to keep the bass and find some cash some other way. I managed to hang onto the bass and when I got back into playing and joined a band, I had a great bass and amp and realised hanging on to them was the right thing to do. The bass is now worth 6-7 times the amount they offered me and I could probably get back what I paid for the amp too. Times have changed a bit for me too, while I'm not rich, or even well off, I've managed to buy a few more basses over the years and my current gigging bass is a great £200 yamaha I won on ebay. Its a good bass and I don't worry about taking it to pub gigs etc. I now have a German made corvette and the Precision sitting at home, neither of them get played much anymore and I have the same dilemma as you, to sell or not to sell? There doesn't seem much point in keeping basses that aren't used, but bringing yourself to sell them is sometimes difficult.....

[quote name='icastle' post='1109543' date='Jan 31 2011, 03:03 PM']I live near Tamworth... In fairness, the first aid kit lives in the car all the time so it's not a concious decision to take it. People who chop lumps off just gravitate towards me - it's no fun trying to put them back together using gaffa tape and kitchen roll. [/quote] , Surely it's much more fun trying to put them back together with gaffa tape and kitchen roll?

[quote name='bumnote' post='1108460' date='Jan 30 2011, 06:48 PM']Cant you hide them under your wig? [/quote] Its a bit of a mullet at the mo , but once I've got a new one, this might be viable!

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1108236' date='Jan 30 2011, 03:49 PM']i thought it was Les Claypool.. [/quote] I was hoping someone had uploaded the video of my last gig... Sadly, they haven't!

Actually, without looking, I'm not sure it had a solid core..... My soldering skills these days are clearly rubbish, as I gave up with the 2.5mm and the 1.5mm that followed it.... I bought some 1.5m leads on ebay eventually!

[quote name='Toddy54' post='1108432' date='Jan 30 2011, 06:29 PM']I remember seeing these advertised a few years back, they are a guitar stand that plug into a spare channel of your amp and the neck sits in the 'c ' like a normal stand. I have searched all over the net, blowed if I can find them ( if they are still made ). Anybody know if they are still made and where to buy one. Many thanks.[/quote] er....or what they are and what purpose they serve? Oh, just seen the pics above..... it all becomes clear now!

[quote name='gjones' post='1108248' date='Jan 30 2011, 04:03 PM']Has any body else had this experience with a new drummer making them sound and play better than they ever have before.[/quote] Yes, in a previous band, we were always having trouble finding and keeping drummers. Then I asked a guy I know if he'd come along and help out at rehearsals for a while til we found ourselves a permanent drummer. He's an ex-pro who has played for the likes of Cliff, Cilla and Barbara Streisand, so I was surprised when he said yes. Jeez, what a difference it made to our playing when he got going behind the kit! Everything instantly got tighter, and he just seemed to know what to play and what NOT to play! Sadly though, he couldn't join us permanently and the band split up not long after he'd done a couple of rehearsals.