leftybassman392

At the risk of butting into an already well developed discussion, (and I'm aware that this is probably a little OT by this time,) perhaps I could put a bit of historical perspective into Major-Minor's excellent initial post. In my final undergraduate year as a Maths/Philosophy student I researched the topic of music in ancient Greece, and wrote a dissertation of my findings. All this was a long time ago I hasten to add, and the details are fairly cloudy, but the Greeks didn't think about music in the same way we do. They would have had no understanding of the notion of a mode at all (the word 'mode' is derived from the Latin word 'modus' and has no equivalent that I ever found in ancient greek writings). Their music (such as it was) was intimately tied up with their world view generally and their religious beliefs in particular. Folk music in the sense of casual music for the purpose of secular (non-religious) entertainment probably did not exist (despite what Hollywood would like you to believe). As I understand it (and someone may care to correct me on this) the modes we use today are medieval in origin, set down (like everything else in that period) by the church - in fact musicologists tend to call them the Ecclesiastical Modes for that reason. The Greeks did not have anything like our understanding of musical harmony - their approach was essentially mathematical in its nature, and the notes heard were simply a consequence of the divisions created by ancient Greek Proportion Theory - roughly the same as the modern notion of Ratio. Most of the important work from that period was done by the Pythagorean religious cult, but also appeared in the work of others such as Plato ( check out The Timaeus). The Greek names given to the modes are almost certainly to do with the fact that the Medieval Church had a religious philosophy taken almost entirely from ancient Greek Philosophy (particularly the work of Aristotle). If anybody's still awake I'd be happy to discuss it further .....

[quote name='OldGit' post='556388' date='Jul 30 2009, 05:46 PM']I'd not worry about it. It's a bit off to not ask you but if it's get in a dep or cancel then I'd go with depping every time.[/quote] I agree. Depping is part of the business. Cancelling a gig for a reason the promoter won't understand will do none of you any good. Don't know if you have serious plans to be a pro, but if you do you need to get used to it. It's ok to have a life outside the business.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='555998' date='Jul 30 2009, 11:21 AM']A ha!, I knew it. Nice one Cyril. [/quote] Fank yoo Squire.

I use them too and have never had problems with strings snapping. Got a dead A string once but that's about it.

[quote name='wildus' post='555692' date='Jul 29 2009, 10:42 PM']Don't like headless basses but this looks the buisness[/quote] Thanks mate. It's my second headless - love the smallness and balance (I think it's just the old guitarist in me coming out).

[quote name='Mrs Tinman' post='555413' date='Jul 29 2009, 06:31 PM']I only clicked on this because I thought it said 'amazing fretless bass pants' [/quote] Sounds like you need a holiday. I hear Bali's very nice around late September...

Recently took delivery of this little number from Whynot. Sounds as good as it looks. [attachment=29926:DSCF0049_1.jpg] [attachment=29927:DSCF0050_1.jpg] [attachment=29928:DSCF0051_1.jpg]

That's just lovely! I have a question about the pickups. I'll be taking delivery of a new Jazz made by Regenerate Guitar Works in the US (it's the honeyburst lefty on their website). It's fitted with (I think) identical pickups to yours. Not familiar with them so a little unsure what exactly it's going to sound like. I have a Mexican Jazz upgraded with Fender's own vintage noiseless pups. Any info you can provide by way of comparison would be greatly appreciated. RGW has a Norstrand active as well FWIW. TIA Andy

The Rockshool exams are an offshoot of that series. If I remember correctly Alan Limbrick (of Guitar Institute fame) was also one of he co-founders. In fact Deirdre Cartwright continues to be very active with the Rockschool exam series, as does Henry himself.

[quote name='fusionbassist1' post='554233' date='Jul 28 2009, 06:03 PM']I guess i now know what must be done I meant 'anal' in terms of how meticulous i need to be in terms of collecting and keeping receipts and for those kinds of savings it is clearly worth doing! How does it work in terms of paying 'your' accountant as in is it an annual thing or a pay-them-when-you-use-them kind of basis?[/quote] Freelance accountants are self employed like you, so you pay them for the work they do

[quote name='OldGit' post='554136' date='Jul 28 2009, 04:29 PM']You'll need to decide on a start date - ask your accountant when But if you have a drawer full of receipts then you probably want to hang on to this year's and especially any for the hardware you are using - bass gear, computer, outlandish stage wardrobe, models of Stonehenge, special knobs that go up to 11, car, etc as these can be taken into consideration and written off over the years, even if you owned them before.[/quote] Excellent point. You don't need to shell out for new gear when you start the business cos your existing gear can be included when you do start up. Oh, and one more thing - keeping receipts isn't anal - it's business. Chant it to yourself before you go to bed every night. Example; my business related fuel receipts for a year add up to nearly £1500. By claiming it I reduce my net profits by £1500 and my tax bill by around £300. Think about it.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='553999' date='Jul 28 2009, 02:39 PM']A good accountant will pay for themselves. You'll almost certainly know someone who has an accountant so you can get a personal recommendation. As long as you do all the sorting and adding up donkey work yourself your tax affairs should be simple, so it won't even cost much.[/quote] +1 to that. Best to make sure you get someone who understands the music business (check out OldGit's post above). One other thing - accountants are not all equal. I had a dozy mare once who managed to lose my entire accounts for a year. Eventually found them behind the sofa or something!! As has already been said, word of mouth is usually a good option.

[quote name='fusionbassist1' post='553958' date='Jul 28 2009, 02:07 PM']Sorry to be an absolute arse but I'd appreciate some clarification of this rather scary yet real threat to the lining of my pockets...... I'm 18 (no idea if this makes a difference) and this month have ran into money that's (and i can't state this propperly [b]without[/b] sounding like an arse) a lot higher than the average monthly wage in Wales purely through playing bass on various sessions, some of which for TV. I don't have any other source of income what so ever and although this has been an amazing month I am constantly earning some kind of money from music by doing gigs but have been told by some people that it has to be regular or over some kind of bracket etc. If i've got what i've read correct I should always be keeping receipts of anything music-related and records of my fees etc in fear of mr taxman claiming I owe him a hillarious amount due to unannounced earnings? If so (and forgive my absolute lack of knowledge on the topic) wouldn't it be easier to just declare all my earnings and set my self up as a self-employed musician and take the whole tax on the chin? And if i [b]did[/b] do that i would then be able to claim musical instruments etc as a working expense with an allowance of up to £50,000 a year with me getting a tax return from these purchases periodically over a period of years. OldGit has kindly posted a list of things that could be claimed as expense (cheers!) I generally like to think i know the whole PRS side of things and stuff like that but this is something i've never had to propperly think about and people seem to just go "oh it'll be fine no one will know" in a fairly flippant manner when I try to get the jist of just what's going on in regards to tax :/ Any clarification would be really, really appreciated.[/quote] Any of a whole bunch of people that frequent this place can answer this for you, but since I seem to have got here first I'll make a start:- If you are earning money (ANY significant money) by playing your instrument then you need to get yourself set up as a self-employed musician - I believe I'm still correct in saying that you should normally declare yourself as a sole trader. There are documents on the HMRC website that tell you how to do this. It's important that you do it fairly soon if you plan a career as a musician. Others will be able to give you more details about why it's important. As a self employed person you will get paid for the work you do. This is income. You will incur costs in carrying out your business. This is expenditure. Your expenditure can be offset against your income - there are two principal types: 1. revenue expenditure (broadly speaking, day-to-day costs such as fuel, strings, etc.); and 2. capital expenditure (broadly speaking, purchase costs of major items you need to conduct your business such as basses, amps & other large cost items.) How you do this can look incredibly complex if you read too many HMRC documents, but the basic idea is simple - if it's expensive and/or essential to your business then it's a capital item (you can't really be a bassist without a bass...), and if it's less expensive and incurred progressively over a period of time (fuel for your car for example) then it's a revenue item. There is a bit of a grey area on certain kinds of things, but in time you'll figure it out. When you subtract all your expenses from your income what you have left is your profit. This is taxable. Whether you actually pay tax depends what your profit is. The calculation is done annually. Others will no doubt fill in the gaps and correct the errors of detail that I've no doubt made.

Bought two instruments from Alan recently. Would do so again without hesitation. Great bloke and a doddle to deal with. Highly recommended.

Inserted by mistake in the wrong place - admin's please delete.

[quote name='Clarky' post='550180' date='Jul 24 2009, 01:40 PM']I've started my 11 year-old son Alfie on bass. Problem is he is left handed. Managed to track down a short-scale, lefty Precision-alike by SX from the US. Cost just over £100. Reasonably good quality too and the action is OK. Was teaching him 'Killing In the Name of' last night![/quote] You wanna buy my Lefty Jaydee for him - A snip at £800?

[quote name='Rayman' post='550136' date='Jul 24 2009, 01:14 PM']I've bought my daughter her first bass. She's only 8, but I've forced the bass upon her before the dark side of the lead guitar gets her first. She's had a half sized bass on loan from Tayste2000 for a while, and I bought her a Peavey Micro bass amp. It's er......pink.......and it's made by Swift. OK, OK she's 8... I wasn't about to invest in a Fodera to get her started was I? It [i]looks[/i] nice...and....er....pink, but you could drive a bus under the action, even with the truss tightened up to it's limits and the bridge saddles as low as they'll go, but hey ho, I'm sure she'll love it, she's got to start somewhere eh? Maybe I'll post pics in the porn section? [/quote] Is the neck reasonably straight (bearing in mind that it's a budget model)? If it is then I'd have to go along with the neck shim. Also you'd probably be advised to try out some lighter strings - even some well chosen guitar strings if necessary - if she's only 8 she won't notice the difference and it will give small fingers an easier time. Biggest problem my younger students have is getting a decent note out of their instruments. Trust me, simply fretting notes correctly on a bass is going to be a big deal for an 8 year-old. The more help you can give her the better.

[quote name='greyparrot' post='541823' date='Jul 15 2009, 11:59 PM']If you can get a good deal, go for the 08/09 US jazz. Great build quality, great sound, great case! and it will sell quite well compared to mex etc. The new Jazz and P basses are top notch, and if you can get one for like £750 is gotta be worth it. At the end of the day a Fender JAzz is just that, and no sandberg/sadowsky/lakeland will ever be a Fender Jazz. They may copy the tone, and even sound better in some cases, but they wont sound like a true jazz bass. when i had my jazz, I tryed a lakeland jo osbourne, and while good, it did not have that growl of the fender.[/quote] I guess it mostly boils down to whether you want THAT sound (in which case it has to be a Fender), or whether you want something that might kid casual onlookers that it's a Fender but is actually something a bit different - and usually more expensive (in which case take your pick from any of a whole bunch of bespoke makers - most of them mentioned here - although not Martin Pietersen at SEIBass, who makes a pretty mean Jazz lookalike as well).