thunderbird13

I have an audition in 2 weeks time - nothing special just a pub band who do covers but in a rockabily/ skiffle style. Anyway they have sent me a set list which has 35 songs on it all pretty standard blues material but I 've only played 2 of them before . The question is how many would you learn for an audition ( I dont know if I'm the only bass player their auditioning or not so I dont know how much time I have )?

Well its obvious that just [i]ANYONE[/i] can play bass so why not And before you ask I was going to email them but their the wrong side of London for me

Well done - nice tone and laid back rhythmic styling and yes I've been playing that bassline wrong for years as well

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1343309559' post='1748697'] I played for a year with nothing to amplify my bass other than a wardrobe (bass pushed up against it to give me a bit of volume). [/quote] I did this for so long that I convinced myself that I could play double bass

I can totally sympathise with this as many times I hear myself and feel like packing it all in The question you have to ask yourself is what are you comparing yourself to , if its a recorded bass sound played by a professional recorded by a professional with all the added studio effects then your not really comparing like with like. Best advice -go to a proper teacher , even if its only for one lesson , play him something and ask his honest opinion ( I am of course assuming that you can find a good teacher) the cost of this will be less than trying to chase the perfect amp !

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1343302355' post='1748512'] Each to their own and all that but I did have the misfortune of catching them at Glastonbury a few years back.... On the plus side it was another great excuse to visit the Cider Bus! [/quote] You obviously mean New Order and yes I agree I never found them that good a live band - much better in the studio

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1343220886' post='1747236'] Sorry to hear this Al, I know you were looking forward to giving the EUB a proper airing. TBH, he sounds a dick. There will be other bands - DB is 'hot' right now so keep your eyes peeled on Gumtree and Formingbands etc [/quote] I know but I've come out with 2 positives - I'm more focused on what I want and I have been playing my eub more now and seem to have gotten over the pain now

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1343219862' post='1747207'] I have to say the last project I enquired about got me thinking how much travelling I realy want to do for rehearsals. It's not distance any more, it's time taken to get there. Even with the relatively short distance involved I realised that with them rehearsing on a weekday evening I'd be lucky to make it to their rehearsal space before 8pm even if I went straight from work and didn't eat. [/quote] Thats pretty much it for me - I'm finding that it deosnt seem to matter where I rehearse I still get there by 7.15 after work and either I'm 15 mins late ( no real problem ) or 45 minutes early ( which is really boring ) and I get home by 12.30 which makes getting up for work the next day fun ! BUT I'm prepared to do this if its something I love [quote]As it turned out after I'd been slaving over the song they wanted me to learn for a week I just got a curt email telling me they'd then auditioned 'locally' and found someone so that was that. I couldn't see it being a regularly gigging band so I wasn't too bothered[/quote] rubbish isnt it - you would honestly beleve that some of these guys had never auditioned themselves !

actualy they said they gigged every other week TBH I 'm more annoyed because it was the first time I was going to play my Stagg EUB outside the house

Right so it looks like my covers band is in trouble ( thats OK we really werent very good anyway ! ) and although I've a few possibilites lined up I thought I'd have a look at Gumtree to see if there was anything interesting ( i.e. anything but classic rock ) , Then last week I saw an ad which seemed to tick all the boxes which the exception that they lived in North London and I live in SE but since I work in north London that should have been a bit of hassle managable. So I phoned the guy and he sent me links to his stuff and we arranged to have a jam this Wed once he had sent me his address . I learned a couple of his songs over the weeked and waited for him to send me his address - nothing I emailed yesterday , nothing , so today I called him and asked him what he was up to. Firstly he told me that they already had a bass player , I expressed suprise at this a they had renewed their advert on gumtree. Once he had been rumbled on this he confessed that they wouldnt audition me as they felt it was too far to travel I mean FFS I'm 44 and surley entitled to make my own mind up about whether a rehearsal is too far or not - I enformed him of ths fact and hung up Probably a lucky escape after all is he is that much of a control freak whats he like in band situation - amyway onwards and upwards etc etc .............

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1343128526' post='1745634'] You might need to reconsider the other musicians that you are playing with, the venues you are playing, and (probably most importantly) consider the fact that to turn up at a venue and play some music is simply not enough if you want to be paid for it. [/quote] This is what I meant by deserving to be paid - is your band run like a business or is it just a few blokes who know most of the songs in your set , turn up in jeans and a t shirt and play for a laugh BUT isnt there an underlying assumption that both extremes can't be accompdated

OK I avoided this thread becaue I assumed its more the about the professional musicians but as I more the part timers joining in here goes : I have always been in bands that have been very very average ( either covers or originals ) and in them I've only ever played free gigs - and have counted myself lucky to get them ! BUT the problem with doing that is that after a while you begin to value yourself less , ( well for me anyway ). I see other players in bands playing what I play but getting paid for it , probably not much ,BUT getting paid and the question I ask myself is why am I not getting paid for it ? Am I not good enough ? I think a better question for this thread would be Do you or your band deserve to be paid ?

One other thing about the Stagg is why does it have a strap button at the heel of the neck. I'm presuming its for a strap ( the clues in the name ) but are you meant to wear a shoulder strap with it - and has anyone dared to do this in public !

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1342709247' post='1739738'] If you can wait until 1st Aug I can lend you my copy. Its very 'traditional' (no tab!) [/quote] Thanks Clarky that would be really useful . That gives me under 2 weeks to work out what those funny dots mean

[quote name='fatgoogle' timestamp='1342704137' post='1739608'] Have you got simandl. The book has no end of exercise's in all positions and keys. [/quote] Thanks I might try that

[quote name='fumps' timestamp='1342702269' post='1739568'] Hi mate Ooo now the beast is being a very nice change to my life mate..... The only thing I regret about this is not doing it earlier & I cannot recommend enough making the change. [/quote] I'm pleased your enjoying it - TBH I havent had that much time to devote to it and its taken me a long time to get used to holding it for more that 5 mins without my arms getting tired - hence my experimenting with holding it in different positions

well at the moment I sort of rest it against my thigh and lean it backwards a bit and it seems to work . I'll experiment with the arm a bit more

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1342696396' post='1739403'] Does your Stagg come with a spacing bracket? I find that that can help you balance your instrument by allowing you to pull it towards yourself and still keep the correct distance for comfortable playing. (I've got a spacer for the HB, while the NXT doesn't need one as it's got its own tripod.) [/quote] Ahh That is one problem , the arms dont fit into the holes properly . I did wedge the long one I but TBH I dont find it very useful. I might give it another try though but TBH I didnt find it that comfortable

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1342658091' post='1738981'] Brubaker - i know Nothing about the basses, or the company or anything- but if the internet is to be believed they are played exclusively by black american men. I find this odd. [/quote] You are joking aren't you

Sorry, if this is in the wrong place but I'm assuming its all db ! Anyway - I've just started learning db and I can play in 1/2 position and which basically means that a practice session for me is playing F major and a few little riffs based on that . Which TBH can get a bit dull after a while Would anyone have any ideas for anything else I could practice just using this position , as I want to learn how to do this properly before I start shifiting position Thanks

I bought a stagg a couple of months ago and TBH I'm pretty impressed by it , although the side markings can be open to interpetation ! The one drawback that I've found is getting the thing to balance , with an acoustic db you naturally rest the weight of the instrument on you but with the stagg you have to work a bit harder to work out how to stop the neck dive which will seriously knacker your arm. BUT at least you can take the stagg on the 8.15 am to Charing Cross without ending up in an argument - try doing that with an acoustic db

Thanks Clarky - really enjoyed the gig , if anyones in any doubt All the Queens Ravens are definatley worth seeing And yes you do get a free beer if you see them twice

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1342280609' post='1732767'] Hey no worries Shaun, you have already been to two of our gigs which qualifies you for another free beer when we next meet up! [/quote] Hold on is this some sort of special offer ? do you get a loyalty card ? do terms and conditions apply ?

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1342194174' post='1731395'] Listen to the original and maybe a live version if available, try to get as much info as I can out of it then usually go to GuitarPro if there is a file avialable and 95% of the time find out bits that I'd completely missed by listening alone or was clearly playing incorrectly. GP speeds up my ability to learn stuff from scratch about 3 fold I reckon. [/quote] I was too scared to mention Guitar Pro so I'm glad someone else did - I'm rubbish at working out recordings by ear

Grimsby - ++++AWESOME+++