KingPrawn

I really enjoyed this. Having fallen into every trap around upgrades and mods over the years. This is very much where I'm at as a more mature player

We had another one with the band that did the 'black country tour thing'. We were asked to play at a festival in Leicestershire. The organiser asked if we would play at a local venue a few months before as a promo thing. No PA needed just us and backline. What a shi$ show. The promoter was like Joe Exotic from Tiger King. Complete tool. The support band were a group of local Uni Students who dressed in homemade space suits and sang one long song called 'Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy. Jeremy etc etc. They were wonderfully weird. We got ready to set up and the PA blew up during the sound check. It was a piece of shit Carlsbro thing from the mid 80's. Joey Exotic is nowhere to be seen. We backed up and drove home. Guess what we never did his festival

We used to do a gig in Tipton in the Midlands, part of the 'Black Country tour bus' route. This is basically bus companies that fill a bus with hen, stag, and group outings and drive them to iconic bubs around the Black Country. we would set up sound check and then sit around until the gaffer told us a bus would be pulling up in 5 minutes. As the doors opened we would start our set. They would stay about 30mins or so and we would stop and wait for the next bus. Maybe 6 a night. One night there was a bus with a female biker crew arrived. They had clearly been to a few venues and were well on it. we played a few crowd-pleasers etc. As the bus driver gave them their 5-minute to departure call. It turned into a scene from 'dusk till dawn ' several of the party started to undress and join us on stage. It was shocking and not in a good way. Their bits were dragging on the floor and flapping about. I remember a few kept shouting "It's just a laugh" The most Spinal Tap moment I've ever experienced

HA! Not in Bromsgrove they only like two e's!!

Not long in. A jam-packed night at this legend of a boozer in Bromsgrove. Great crowd on their feet from the start.

As if Scott does any of this himself!

It's a shame your drummer won't completely leap to 15" Speakers. I use RCF 15's more than capable which means we are full IEM. Would there be any mileage in having a small desk for yourself between you and your amp? You could take a signal from your thru output if it has one. IEM units have 2 channels you could set up the mixer by taking the guitar and bass through your mixer. Take a signal from the aux on the mixer to one channel of the IEM unit and a signal from a small desk to the other channel and set your mix?. I think it should work in principle?

It's the scourge of being a weekend warrior. I've often wondered about the life of a daily player, those special few who can make it their task every day to practise and learn. I get a few minutes a day or less to play, as it's not my full-time job. Go easy on yourself. When you think about the number of songs we know with all those notes and little complexities, it's incredible, really. The odd mistake drives me on to try not to do it again. I generally substitute one mistake for another, iron it out then move onto the next.

All 4 string 1. Wal 2. Zon 3. Musicman 4. Warwick 5. Fodera

There's a great interview on YouTube that Rick Beato does with Tony Levin. He touched on this exact issue when Musicman asked him to consider one of their 5 string basses. He asked them if the E string sounded like an E string on a a 4-string bass. They assured him it did and he never turned back

What an interesting thread! I find the emotion in the bass to be how it fits into a song and the role it plays. It has often been said that if you remove the bass line from a great song, people find it hard to connect with it. When I play and see people's reactions to a bass line, that's enough for me. Or maybe, as you say, I'm playing a supportive role, and that is also enough for that particular song. I think it's a very personal thing. I'm not someone to get particularly emotional about lyrics. I love a well-crafted song and can appreciate the lyrical craft but for me its in the music I feel the most emotion which is usually classical or ambient at its core. Bands like 'Stars of the Lid' or albums like 'Spirit of Eden' by Talk Talk. I also love bass players who resolve pieces beautifully Niels-Henning ørsted Pedersen was a master at this. I was at a funeral recently for a truly wonderful person and whilst some of the songs that were played by the family were not maybe emotional in their writing or arrangement. The memories and triggers for those present was clearly evident. Good luck and id be interested to hear your results

I use these if we have a stage punters can't get close to. https://www.gak.co.uk/en/hercules-gs-402b-mini-electric-stand/3076?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_lAC-dOVj2rk48KHbXpLJINU11Z&gclid=CjwKCAiAxea5BhBeEiwAh4t5K4C-hN9fqnR9mEwuo8vDC35Eg8OJLO9ammvfc4D2eMp5IJcO-DjQShoC15AQAvD_BwE or one of these to deter the "i used to play bass" brigade for floor level gigs https://www.gak.co.uk/en/hercules-gs414b-plus-guitar-stand/918478?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_lAC-dOVj2rk48KHbXpLJINU11Z&gclid=CjwKCAiAxea5BhBeEiwAh4t5K_QHjRvznz79fCn3hylCILwfA3xJBeRVs8wGjSXRXglWEdsEn2WNXRoC8dwQAvD_BwE

Don't take too much notice of the " my method is better than yours" stuff on here. Don't let your Ego take over the enjoyment of music and the bass.Join a band or play with others. It really helps to understand musicality and where you fit sonically in a song. If you want to be a Pro then do pro stuff etc. if you want to be a weekend warrior then do that stuff. Enjoy yourself its later than you think

What a collection. I tend to use the same strings across my basses as I like the continuity of the resistance I feel. The only caveat is labella flats on one of my P basses