JTUK

[quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1467748621' post='3085949'] Interesting! I use open strings a lot, especially in WGFA. Even in normal basslines I use them even where they wouldn't make musical sense, just to fatten up a line. But I guess whatever you're most comfortable with goes [/quote] Apart from the 'New constitution' bit which works with an open D..and the bottom E I don't think you need open strings on this song. The point about good practice is a general point, but as regards JE he uses open strings so much it defines his style. When you go to play with other bands who might need to play 'down' a bit open strings becomes a BIG compromise. IMO.

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1467465455' post='3083881'] Aaron Armstrong (son of Kent Armstrong) is your man: [url="http://www.armstrongpickups.co.uk/repairs-rewind-services/"]http://www.armstrong...ewind-services/[/url] [/quote] He is..

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1467799175' post='3086295'] Well, I play drums in 3 bands and I can tell you I'm not the "flake" in any of them, but this thread is great for the following... Any more genuinely crazy drummer stories? [/quote] Yep...one guy I can dine out on and he can play too... The story of the marquee wedding and the swimming pool, How to piss off a brand new on the gig horn section Black tie and garage mechanic overalls-complete with half a sump all over them.. But, two of the best musicians I've ever played with were drummers. I'm talking 'different league and some' so not all flakes..

I'd add Demeter as simple and very good sounding. It isn't a DB750..but it more than holds its own in the lightweights takes, IMO. Having said that..I wouldn't be offended at a 20lb amp and would consider that a decent weight.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1467727503' post='3085662'] This Aguilar DB750 looks good: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/287897-aguilar-db750-in-soft-gig-bag-l75000/"]http://basschat.co.u...gig-bag-l75000/[/url] [/quote] Silly price.. I can't think why it hasn't got another £250 on top..?

You only get caught out like this once ...and then you learn to ask pertinent questions.. that help you decide if you are available.. For me...I need to know who is calling, who they have worked for..how did they get my number and what contemporaries we have in common. The latter is not bombproof by any means either... but it helps if people recognise and respect the 'talent pool' you are expecting. If someone calls, who I don't know, and is almost random, then they really need to convince that it will be worthwhile. Unless, you are from a 'gig is a gig' school where you'll take the money come what may...but then you wont rehearse and will met the guys on the gig.. I think asking for charts or a pad has seemed to flush out the info you needed.. but it seems you are obliged/committed anyway..??? Maybe you just need to do what they do...whatever that is, and mark it down to experience. If you are dreading it..then it can't get much worse on the night, can it..?? Don't forget to update us.. I'm sure a lot of us have been there.

His style is unique and even he will say this himself, ... that to get all that technique over a heavy sound means you need to dig in very hard. He is massively compressed..which is what I don't like, but can see the need. but he has a pretty bombprrof and hard technique to get it to come over... I'm surprised his hands haven't broken... Maybe gtrs don't like this sort of flamboyant bass competing with them And Tbh, nobody does that widdly widdly stuff too much these days..especially if you are trying something new..?? You only really see it it in 80's cover bands as well..??

Many popular songs have popular progressions. You should know 12bars of course from pretty much day 1....and you should know how the 6th comes into play very very often...as in 'Stand by me..Every Breathe you take ect.. Add turnarounds on your 12 bars and learn to stack 4ths as a means to return you to your starting point. On bass, this is easy as it is a shape you will soon recognise...so you can see and hear the relationship. It is harder for gtrs which is why they don't often get it, relationally, unless they are taught it..so don't expect a Gtr to teach you. However, a schooled keys should. For bass, any decent jazz gig will show you all this...or you wont survive it. This is also one reason why you should be playing with keys..and also with horns.. Horns will make you play and transpose into different keys so you will quickly see/hear the need to recognise shapes. So, you need to have a wide pool of songs to listen to and a lot of old standards...which you should have up your sleeve anyway, IMO.. will make it pretty apparent that there are only so many progressions from the 12 notes in the scale. A good bass teacher will point you the way to these building blocks as well IMO..

Because the style is rooted very much in the 80's, I'd say. Even slap has moved on massively from the big exponents of that era..ie, King and Louis Johnson, to name a few. Maybe there isn't a band vehicle for it...and anyone going down that route is decidedly 'niche'

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1467802741' post='3086335'] I very much doubt whether they will give a toss quite frankly. I know Fender's QC has a reputation for being a bit hit and miss, but I've never experienced this and I've had quite a few. That's quite a bold statement. You're basically saying that all CS basses are total sh*t. I'm going to disagree with you there. [/quote] Are we talking about CS tho..?? Having said that there seems very little diff between AM Del and CS in terms of hardware... in fact I can't see any, but I've just had the pre swapped out as I thought it the weakest component and the first thing to change, and the difference is pretty apparent. The conclusion is that you are paying MASSIVELY for the name... and more fool anyone for doing so...?? If I look at a CS and the cost, and relate that to other luthiers, I'll bet that plenty of luthiers work will blow the Fender version out of the water by some margin, IME.

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1467745489' post='3085887'] Thanks JT. Very helpful post. The above is the decision to be made I think. I might actually change track and just start acquiring my own PA piece by piece. The guitarist's PA has had a hard life. If I'd have invested years ago I'd have had my money's worth out of it easily, so maybe now it's time to focus on that. I'm doing more gigs and functions where I put the band together for whatever specific event so I should really have my own setup instead of borrowing. [/quote] Don't forget the hire-out then.. You'll be carrying it, setting it up and breaking it down etc etc.. Any gig over £250 gets a hire fee, they chip in on set-up/break-down and you'll be running a kitty..

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1467722911' post='3085624'] Yep, that's it. We want to put kick and keys through and perhaps a touch of bass as and when. [/quote] Depending how good the tops are... Good tops will just about take a kick and still give good vox at a decent level and maybe a keys bleed too...ie, he still runs backline. No bass, IMO. Something like KW112 will do this qwell as they are wooden boxes and are more bass capable. Composite will have a slight sound trade-off.. as any demo in large shops like Andertons with a P.A demo room will show you. You might decide you can live with that trade-off, but we talking about modern designs like RCF 712, Yam DX12 and QSC's.. To be frank, I doubt PV are in that league...and depending how hard a life they've had. IMO..PV score well for abuse..not sound, typically. If you are 'happy with your P.A as is sound-wise..then get a active sub that is a bit future proof, and run from an Aux/mon send. The Yam 12" subs are smallish and light...and cheap. You'll add another one soon and upgrade the tops to active 10/12's. If always planning to run subs, then good quality 10's are the the way to go, IMO... the only reason I'd go 12's would be for the extra low end and you have subs for that anyway. Something like the above allows you to upgrade/upscale piece by piece as the funds allow...# Or bite the bullet, buy a quality rig with subs for £2k or so and sub it out to the band. You are basically going to replace everything you have atm anyway..

I didn't hire the P.A/backline or have anything to do with the stage so no use there, but I think you have to determine what the budget is, first and foremost and there is no cheap way to do this. If you travel down in a hired van with own gear, I'd be thinking... off the top of my head, no change from anywhere near £1k. If you hire in and get flights, I'd guess £1k is not going to go far either

Hmmm.... subs are a tough call and need research. Also, what comes into the equation in weight and size and this further skews the process. Things like the Mackie thumps aren't good but it depends how discerning you can afford the be. For me, I'd start with RCF but they aren't cheap (705's upwards) but if you only use one...~(which is 'enough' for a pub) you start the compromise. Active just for convenience and the light issue also means space and weight become factors. Yam DXS12/15 are decent ... but be reasonable with your expectation...Kick and depth is fine. If you want serious oomph and performance you will need to look further up the tree. For a pubs, small club function, the 12' subs are ok... but not much further even with 2, IMO.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1467453379' post='3083759'] What is all this fascination with feeler gauges these days? If it feels right and it doesn't rattle, then it is right. [/quote] Me too.... it is the feeling off the strings that counts and I've never bothered with a specific height.... altho I tend to max out the bridge and the strings may choke when playing sitting back..

It depends on the person asking depends on whether I put much store in what they say.. If a pretty happy drunk, I just say glad you liked it, etc etc If someone goes into detail about sound, technique what type of bass... it is pretty easy to figure out where they are coming from.. We might talk tech for a few mins. If a musician I know, then it is nice when they say, nice bass- as in nice playing. I'm generally able to suss the tone pretty quickly but if they bother to talk to me, then it is generally going to be a positive thing. If people rave about the gig, then that is nice..but if I thought we weren't all that... I might try and tell them they should check us out when we are on form etc ect .. and if we were crap, I'd tell them that as well. It is all perspective and you should be able to get straight away where they are coming from...and be polite at the end of the day. The way I see it and band mates will say this...is that I make the band sound good because I tie the drums in and provide the foundation. I can be quite busy here but I always get ad-hoc drums fills and wont be thrown off ( provided the drummer can really play) and drummers love this and it makes the band instantly tight from day 1. The rest of the band know from the first run thru whether the song is likely to work in that regard... It doesn't matter if things like fills change, they work as long as they are in time. If the songs works from just bass and drums, then the key and gtr just need to dress up the song..they don't have to worry about filling in to make it work..

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1467170479' post='3081625'] I don't find drummers any flakier then any other musicians. .......... [/quote] Me neither... altho I do know one guy that I've got endless stories that are now hilarious-not so much at the time tho, iirc. But all the numbers I've got now...are of people who know the gig, ..otherwise you wouldn't keep the number in the first place.

Yep, I don't get it... I like my kit to look nice and altho you'll get a few dings along the way, I'm not inviting them and not doing it on purpose. I've heard some sales spin... 'broken bent Rik neck...it is supposed to be like that...authentic init'..

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1467105245' post='3081154'] Mmm... maybe not. The tone you want isn't necessarily the best tone for the band. The tone I prefer when playing solo would be totally unsuitable within my band. Getting a good sound is always a compromise ................. [/quote] To a degree in that you need to layer not crash thru a wall of sound. This is why cranking mids can be wrong... you are trying to cut thru a small space rather that sit with it.. Gtrs, keys and drums can all be guilty ...as can bass..which is why you need to work out what you want to achieve.... but my solo tone would not be incompatible with the band and so I wouldn't bechanging it. I'd like to hear some of the problems guys have when they have to change their their sound totally. Do they go for a nasal honk which will certainly cut through but just not be pleasant to listen to..and would be pretty hard to play with anyway? So, no, I don't subscribe to two sounds in order to make a 'mix' work.. I'd say that anyone who dials in mids as a matter of course, can very quickly be in danger of not being able to underpin the band...so if they have to do to 'cut' thru you have made one compromise to create another one. This happens way too often to a lot of bands I hear doing the rounds and it typically starts with a very small bass speaker up against a pokey-in terms of volume-band...

Doesn't sound like the amp and cab are a match, IMO..sell one or other. Markbass are typically good for 300 into 8 at full whack so for me it would be the cab to go. Why you have to have two cabs to sort this issue is a mystery to me.

Bobby V..the only one. AJ plays as much with fingers these days and is great, but for me it is Vega.

Check out Katie Leone... the girl is a SINGER

Good to see old 'mate' Largey still with Squeeze. Very very talented musician and deserves his success. Must be doing something right as he's been with them for nigh on 20 years..?? Must be just me that thought EWF were dull. Coldplay far far better at it than a tired old EWF... and I never thought I'd be seeing that.

Kind of enjoyed E.L.O altho as bland as hell. Not my thing but he has a few hits and it is good he is still playing them for people who like that stuff

[quote name='4stringslow' timestamp='1466964350' post='3080077'] Clearing up the mess left behind? [/quote] They do that every day ... but a friend of mine engrs stages and that is the figure he said.. No reason to disbelieve him, but it is hard to get the head around that figure.