JTUK

Well, it's decided, I'm going to commision one... as everything else I've seen/heard/played has been a let down, Degrees of let-down, sure, but a let down nether the less. What is the point fight ting something..it is never going to get there..? or maybe the fun is knocking it into shape..??

[quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1451698567' post='2942652'] Thats pretty interesting! How good and well known are your mates who are grossing one million? This isn't a dig at all btw, im hust curious because if he wasn't well known but still making a big amount thrn i reckon thats pretty cool! Is he way better thsn us as bassists? [/quote] Good and well known are relative... I say good luck to him for getting the gig... and it is a very well known gig. The other guy has lucked out and is currently very busy... no idea how much it is worth to him but both gigs are basically at years work. One might last more than that as they are on a roll... but the other is World tour and then over, I'd reckon. Just as well the money will make him. and yes, it is interesting to see how good these guys that can get this work are... The is one very best guy on these instruments around here and he can't get those gigs anymore....so..?? Very very illuminating...

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1451689943' post='2942603'] For me playing covers is also creative and fun especially if your geting decent pay. I think this whole creative thing in some cases is overplayed as well as an excuse for some that have problems getting consistent bookings. And I'm never sure about this "I don't need the money, I have a job". Seems like a slap in the face for those of us doing this for a living. Blue [/quote] Well, I approach it that if a leader calls the tunes..and I'm not much convinced they have much of a handle on this..and are just doing it for populist tricks, I'll make a decision if it is worth it to me. I might like the players, the money might be good. but it isn't a gig I'll likely take for a gigs sake. I can afford to do things my way. I'm probably too jaded to travel over an hr to a gig unless I'm very excited about it... and basically that is it.. does it excite..? I admire guys doing it for a living/career but then they need to get to a level where they don't play crap..or are not expected to..IMO. Music needs a creative outlet and I'm done with gtrs telling me how the track goes when what they really mean is 'don't get in my way when I'm playing this killer solo'. Don't tell me about the bass and drums when all you do is play str8 8's over everything. If there is no chemistry and interplay, don't bother. It should be a live band that moves, not a series of notes in sequence that you've ripped. So, that is why I want to pick the gigs... and I'm very glad I don't have to bend from that stance and take what is offered or anything I can find just to make the cash that week. I can't think of much that is more soul destroying or draining, tbh. I just think..whatever you've got, put it up there, and see how it goes. A small piece of quality goes a long way... IMO.

Makes sense... Around here too many bands play too many pubs that the audience can get to for free to be able to sell tickets. One or two pubs are more ticket orientated but a lot of bands just can't or wont go there.. It is a lot of pressure selling 100 plus tickets ..so it is easy to stick to pubs. We've offered pub bands a better than pub fee for a decent gig on the proviso they try and sell a hundred tickets and we had very very few takers. The venue held 350 plus so you needed to sell collectively 250 plus... For that they'd work for 70mins and get £400... but as I said, no takers. So much so that the venue no pretty much sticks with tribute bands ..or has to. You have to step up to that level to keep the players as they wont play pubs on prime nights.... Pay £120 per man and you get a whole load of people willing to play ... Pubs are too much work for the money but strangely nobody is much interested in moving away from them..mainly because they don't need to and therefore, IMO, most pub gigs are little more than boys nights out... I agree.

There are no rehearsals as the gig is the rehearsal. The first few gigs will have a load of songs learnt on the fly so it helps if you tape it for reference. This is where the bass player really earns his money as he is the guy that has to keep going. The bass can't drop in and out like the keys and gtr can and the bass is going to have to handle a solo or two. It is close to a jazz gig in a pub setting. Give it two years going in the right direction and the band will have evolved and outgrown pub dates... or everyone will have moved on.

10 years and it is either firewood or someone elses that they've bought in good faith, most likely. The person should be looking to buy it back -IF they can find it- and the person who lost it should have paid out and sorted this ages ago.

i understand you want a feeler but once committed either way, I think you need to put as much money as you can into a 5. The B st is critical and therefore so is construction, IMO.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1451657926' post='2942149'] I found elites to be the crappiest, deadest sounding strings I've ever used. Tried them a few times, wouldn't use them now if they were given to me for nothing. [/quote] I'm not a fan of them these days but as far as the bass go, how does it compare acoustically? I'd start there before I looked at electrics.

For me it is when the string just feels gunked up..and not really pleasant to play. That oftens detemines the strings are off the bass before the sound goes.. as there is a lot of variation in the sound you want to hear. So, a clean up will give them a new lease of life as far as I'm concerned as long as you don't have to rewind them...as this will promote a weakness in the string over a few cleans, IME

After the stretch-in strings should stay in tune but I'm of the opnion, they have a finite life. After that, they need binning, IMO. No need for sospicated tuners unless you are charging for it, you should be able to hear if the intonation is out..otherwise a basic tuner will do the open string and 12th fret well enough.

I did the same but really just went with the material that fell easily as it started at a charity gig. When I got the set list..ie, stuff the singer would sing, I didn't know about 95% of the material.. and hadn't ever heard of most of it....but I didn't worry about that because of the nature of the gig. I thought I had a large DB of tunes but ..obviously not .. The gig went down a storm...and the guys are superb players..so I knew it would be fun if nothing else. So, now, we have a few bookings and I have to pick the right venues/dates as I can't flog this. The money has to be right and I can't take stupid bookings and also accept that the guys have better gigs they'll want to do... but musically it is great. I think that alone will drag the audience to our way of thinking. And..also, people aren't always as narrow minded as you think. They will accept other stuff than the standard pub fare. As always tho, it depends on what you have and how you deliver it... Just doing stuff you want to do for that reason alone does not mean the gig is viable. The better players you use... the more the costs go up and nobody wants to play to a flat pub. Pick your players, pick your gigs and do it..if it is good enough, you'll soon know. Fortunately, I can tell people if the band is good or not and they'll go along with it.

You want a sub to play bass through?

A trust rod tweak on a Vintage instrument is a 10 min job...by the time you've taken the scratch plate off (should you need to do this) you've had the neck off, IMO.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1451267031' post='2939235'] We really dont compete with the boys night out bands. And remember typically the boys night out bands don't really want gigs and are rareley persueing them. Blue [/quote] You might be competing with them unless you are paid more, regarded better etc.. Is $500 a blanket fee or is it variable.. as in do some bands get paid more at the same gig.? Around here, I would say most pubs have £100 difference between the 'top' bands and others for the same hrs and nights..... even if the venue says this is our limit, they'll pay more if you ask and also think you are worth it. You can over-cook this angle though... and a LL is far more forgiving of the cheaper bands. He still might not have them back in a hurry but if you cost them dear...and basically don't proove your worth in bar sales, the venue remembers these things funnily enough. And for this reason, I like to take the 'pressure' off and charge just below the money that I feel they will go to.

The Vintage Fender thing with truss rods and bridges is what it is... but frustrating to work on. There is a reason why there is such a market for Jazz clones... because it really isn't that hard to make a better bass, IMO. Some basses are just lumps of wood and Fender are as guilty as anyone.

And then, of course, it depends how much money you need. The whole idea of retirement mode is you've done with the big spending. When I retire, the plan is the be able to live on a third to half what I need now.

The worst reason to keep a band going is because you need the money..IMO, Keep an open mind

Yes, but they aren't going to be bar gigs that pay that. At that rate the target money would be £20k or $30k p.a per man from a bar band..??

I thought it was typically $500 for a band. I doubt a bar would pay $2k...the waitresses would go ballistic..

Heard a Hartke and Compact the other day...awful sound but in this case I bet it was the bass player.

If it plays good, should be a given, I wouldn't want a butchered bass to come in over £2k... I'd want thought, care and craftmanship over and above for that premium. 'Plenty' of other guys can and do do it..

I'm inclined to go with the sales pitch being a load of bull, so you do indeed have to go see the thing yourself. I'm not sure what the N3 noiseless pickups and the pre-amps in the American deluxe are like.. not sure if they are anything special... and if it is put together badly, it will be a waste anyway. I think those sort of parts can be replaced anyway... but you really need the wood and construction to be a cut above.. Otherwise what is the perceived value in a name or model line.. Are Am deluxes, CS or Masterbuilt any good..?

Garbagge might be too strong a word and whilst some brands might be 'decent' for the money, I think it depends on what you want for yoour quids. £1200 may be a lot of cash but are you happy with what that pricepoint gets you. I'd generally think you'd need to research and look very hard at the price. Personally, I want to see the quality making itself obvious...

Well, plenty of players don't get the bass thing... Some of the amp/cab matches do make you wonder what people are 'hoping' to achieve.