12stringbassist

August 26th: This evening we played at a new venue for us, just south of Stockport. The evening was slightly marred by me getting yet another migraine, just before we were due on stage. Three Zapains and 15 minutes in my car in the dark sorted it out so that I could play. There was a short panic when I rooted through my pockets and found empty pill-strips. I thought I'd taken all of my tablets and had none with me to use, but it all worked out. We stuck to the crowd-pleasers. Although there were a lot of their regulars missing, because of holidays and such, we went down a treat with those who were there. One of the more involved crowds we've had for a short while. Back there in November and hoping to break into the pub chain that has that venue. - - - - - - - - - - - - - August 27th: The evening saw us at one of our regular venues in Leigh. The PA was overly bassy and boomy - even just with recorded music with a flat EQ on the player and bass rolled right off on the PA - and I ended up having complete nightmares with my bass sound. I practically had it on nothing for a lot of the second half. We usually invoke what I call 'The C**t Code' when someone in the crowd falls into the gear. We stop dead on any disruption. Of course, there was the inevitable whizzed-up bald guy. You know the type, big stupid grin, shaved head, trying to take over the show from the band, who inadvertently turn into their backing. Yeah, he's the one.... The punters usually give up and move on, not that the prat ever notices. He had probably been drinking all day and was idiot dancing wildly in front of us to impress all the punters in the pub (he failed miserably - they all thought he was making a total c*ck of himself). We knew it was coming. He fell into my mic, so I stuck my bass sharply into the back of his head and shoved him roughly away. So... out comes the code... I announced the next song as the last one - and so it was. The crowd were just limp. The sound had been too much of a problem for us and we were glad to stop and get out a little earlier than expected. The prat came up to me as we were putting the gear near the exit and slurred incoherently at me (probably to ask if we were doing any more, so he could carry on his grisly cabaret), so I told him about the C**t Code and thanked him for saving us 20 minutes playing time. He just looked confused. Take the money and run, I say. - - - - - - - - - - - - - August 28th: The jam night in the evening started late, as the Christening function in our venue didn't want to stop. It's good that they were having such a good time. They carried on until the jam night punters started pouring in through the door around 7pm. We were a number of the usual players down, but you might not have been able to tell that on the night. We made the best of the players that we had and I ended up singing a few songs and had some surprise help which was nice. - - - - - - - - - - - - - August 29th: Bank Holiday Monday. I walked the dogs then I had a bath and at around 2pm, we set off for a festival, near Blackpool. We were due on at 5, so we got there around 3pm and met up to spend time with our drummer and his wife. We were asked if we could go on a bit earlier as the band before us had rather a lot of a mishap with their guitarist failing to turn up, so they didn't play. We were asked to cover their spot for an increased fee. When our guitarist Ian arrived, we hustled onto the stage and played a longer-than-expected set. We went down really well and we look pretty certain to be doing it again this time next year. Lots of compliments from audience members and other musicians, as well as the organisers. A day well spent. Nice that my wife managed to come along for this afternoon, as she is struggling with quite a lot of severe abdominal pain and is struggling to eat or drink at present.

I am in deepest mourning for these shows. They say "next year." We'll see....

Further to my earlier comment about them 'not being Wal basses as they were', I am very pleased to hear that some people think that they are a big improvement on the originals. Companies do evolve and indeed, people do pass away or leave, and it's true that Waller and Pete the Fish were what the company was about - BUT, if the basses are now a step up and they have agreed use of the brand name, then I wish the very best of luck to them. I'm sure they know what they want to do as their business model. There's no need to do a far East-made budget range just to satisfy those with lighter wallets. Rickenbacker do it to suit themselves and I'm sure the people who make the current Wal's have thought this through over the years.

Their website https://walbasses.co.uk/about-us/ says: "After studying luthiery and learning the trade from top builder Roger Giffin, Paul Herman then worked for many years with Pete and Wal, eventually taking over Wal production and re-launching the business from a new workshop in 2009. Having had his own brand of fine custom instruments, knowledge gained from Roger, Pete and Wal, together with his exceptional craftsmanship, has made the Wal bass what it is today. From the new workshop in Cobham, Surrey, Paul’s attention to detail and his never ending quest to continually refine and develop this iconic bass has moved Wal into a new era." also: "In July 1988 tragedy struck, when Wal died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of just 43. Although devastated by the loss of his long-time friend and partner, Pete continued production, ably assisted by his dedicated team, including Paul Herman. In 1994, prompted by the demands of players, work on the first 6-string bass began. Taking the opportunity to improve still further on the design of the body, the Mark 3 model came into life. 5 and 4-string versions were also introduced. Sadly after a long illness Pete died in 2011. His and Ian’s legacy continues to live on through Paul Herman and his team. Now based in the Surrey hills the build-process and components that go into making a Wal bass remain unchanged, save for one or two subtle design improvements – an evolutionary process that has continued since the Wal bass began. Each new instrument is built to the highest quality standard, using the finest materials and traditional hand crafting techniques, with one aim in mind – to produce the best made and finest playing instrument possible." So he worked on some Wal basses at some point and is now making them himself, in another location. There appears to be some continuity there, but it depends on what has changed regarding the designs and build, I suppose and what he did on the original Wal basses, compared to what he does now. He must have agreed some arrangement regarding the use of the name. I imagine that those who own both old and new Wals will be best placed to comment on how similar they are.

I have a buttercream Player Jazz and matching P bass, spiffed up with pearloid plates. I also bought an Oceanic Turquoise Player P bass and the two P's have become my go-to basses.

I sold a Wal years ago and now wish I hadn't but what the hell, I'd fallen out of love with it. I couldn't make it growl, it was too sweet. Should Wal scale up and reduce their prices? Like Rickenbacker, they know their business model well and sell enough to keep afloat and have loads of orders to fill and they are still superb instruments (even if they are not actually really WAL basses as they were). They probably don't feel the need to flood the market with more affordable basses.

As for the use of ipads and such.. I have a kindle fire attached to my mic stand at gigs so that I can play an intro drone sound to start the gig and a siren during Blockbuster in the second half. If I need a cheat sheet for anything, it goes on my monitor, and I have a set list on the PA where I can read it. I wouldn't dream of tinkering with an ipad for lyrics.

I've only ever fired a guitarist once. It was not a happy experience. He was on and off in his attendance with the band, but we could play as a guitar / bass / drums trio without him. Eventually he came into an inheritance and gave his notice in. With about 5 gigs to go, we trooped across country from Manchester to Knaresborough, where we were supporting The Quireboys in a small theatre. They were playing acoustic, so we had to knock together a suitable set to do the same. When I arrived at the theatre in the afternoon, I got an anguished call from the departing guitarist, saying he couldn't get there as his car had broken down. With just a guitar and small amp to carry, I'd have got on the train as soon as my car was hauled to safety, One of us would have brought him back. This left us in the lurch - playing songs in a new way a man down and with our solitary guitarst playing them on a Stratacoustic that he wasn't familiar with. When I relayed the bad news to our guitarist, he said that the missing guitarist had been talking to one of his guitar students and he had said he would do anything to get out of the gig. Our guitarist was told this a few days BEFORE the gig, so the phone call was partly anticipated. We remaining members did the gig and played well (despite the Quireboys guitarist being awkward at some length about the stage lights, thus depriving us of a soundcheck, for which Spike went out of his way to apologise) but it was not really as it should have been. We then had a vote and when I got home, I rang to let the missing guitarist out of the remaining gigs, seeing as he had no transport to get to them. He went berserk down the phone at me, threatening me with all sorts of violence. If someone doesn't fit, or mucks you about, or has some problem with the band, get rid quick. We never saw him again.

We had a guitarist tell my guitar player once that Dave Gilmour didn't play whatever song it was the way we did. I said "he would if he was in this band."

My band play covers and we all listen to the record at home and learn it approximate to the record. We then bash out a joint effort at our jam night. If my guitarist doesn't play it exactly like the track, I'm relieved, as if you just reproduce the record, why not just play the record? It's about what you bring to the track. I can understand that the OP wants people to play like on the record when he has studied it. The thing is though that not everyone dedicatedly and slavishly learns tracks note for note. Guitarists tend to play along with the track and reproduce whatever they played at the time. In an working band situation if that is a stipulated way of working, that's fine, but it doesn't happen in jam situations - people approximate things.

Would I lend out my #1 bass? I arguably have too many basses and may lend out one that I don't use much to someone I really trust. The ones that I tend to rotate between most frequently - there's no chance of anyone else using those. My band host a jam night every Sunday and it's normally own instruments and mics (since covid) or you don't get on stage. A few of my basses are too expensive to let anyone else near, and i will take any of my basses to the jam night. I bring a Squier P special for any mortals, who have happened in with no bass.

Reading this thread, it sounds like the guitarist had a sound and style in his head for the bass and wasn't able to communicate what it was that he needed from you. That was possibly the cause of the tension. I couldn't play with a 23 year old sulking guitarist these days. I prefer adult players. Chin up, something right will come along. I second the suggestion of getting out to jam nights.

Apparently they have had really hideous authoring problems. Some discs are already out there and the verdict on those is that some behave as if faulty, some don't. Better to put it out when they have sorted the discs out.

I bought my Candy Cola Jazz in Boston mid-2008. Rosewood neck, but spruced up nicely with a mirror plate.

Very very sad news indeed. Apparently he had been complaining of chest pains in the dressing room. Although any such reports may not be accurate. https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/foo-fighters-taylor-hawkins-r-i-p.1140215/page-3#post-29211337

The final countdown Europe.

First point is whose band is it? Do you work by committee, or follow a leader? If it's the guitarist's band, then him pulling someone in and telling you afterwards is more understandable. If they are gigging without a bassist and not getting a dep in, this tells me three things 1) They don't have the wit to realise the place of bass in their music. 2) They possibly can't hear you, or simply don't listen to you. Some would fix that that by notching the volume up a touch and pointing the amp so the guitarist gets some of the throw. Or by tactfully suggesting that it would all hang together better if you could all hear each other onstage, then sorting the balance out at rehearsal. 3) You are not 100% required for them to perform. They will eventually work out that a fee divided by 3 instead of 4 is more fun. At the same time though, they haven't suggested that you leave, or replaced you. Whether you stay or go, depends on whether you can fix the above things that niggle with you.

I've bought some lovely basses over the years. I have a decent bass rig and an old backup rig, just in case. I play in a pub band, so I don't have much of a profile and I will take any of my basses to any gig. Musically speaking, I can play what I can play and avoid what I can't play or don't like that much. I've bought my decent basses because I fancied playing them, not to impress everyone else. There is only a handful of people who actually look at what the bassist is playing, anyway. So I know my gear will keep working and sound as I want it to and hopefully keep a decent resale value. Fodera? Quite a few of them were Fender copies if I recall correctly. I'd just buy a Fender.

I just learned Here I go again by Whitesnake and we did it in one go at the last jam night on Sunday and even though I was wary of singing it and playing without a couple more run-throughs, it went really well, except the guitarist probably hadn't listened to the version I posted for us all to listen to, so the end went for a carp. I asked how he expected it to end and he came up with an ending that wasn't on the version I posted. He also wants to sing it, which is a relief, as I find it embarrassing front pink torpedo-rock bilge like that. All his now.

I've had a Cort solid body violin bass since the mid 90's. None of the Hofner issues!!

Our NYE gig was odd. The venue asked us to start at 9. This was probably to keep the punters in who were there. About a dozen of our friends came down, which saved the night. The landlord has another venue a couple of miles away and had a tribute act on, who he'd sold 160 tickets for, thereby shooting us in the foot. It's happened before - last time he put us up against an Oasis tribute and we played one set to a nearly empty pub and were paid to go home. We ended up doing 4 short sets going up to midnight and a 20 minute set after. I was home at 1.15am. This very venue:

Nope. Three chaps with unfortunate hairstyles!!