flyfisher

'Greener Grass' syndrome is responsible for a lot of unnecessary angst. No one has even complained about my tone so I guess my gear must be OK and I don't worry about it. My playing on the other hand . . . .

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1319115257' post='1410079'] None of them really... [/quote] Me too. In the words of Ray Davies,[i] I'm not like anybody else[/i].

No guilt here. Both the bands I play with regularly rehearse at our house and Mrs FF loves it. We also frequently have 'acoustic' evenings when working on new songs. I particularly enjoy this during the cold months as we all sit around the fire and the wine flows. I try to keep all my gear in one room but it frequently spills out around the house. Fortunately, Mrs FF was brought up in a household where her father had a lathe and other tools in the sitting room with which he built his powerboat racing engines, so she is well accustomed to such things. One in a million!

The public gets what the public wants . . . .

Nice to get a reply from 'the horse's mouth'. Good for Hartke.

Have you had the combo from new? Are you sure it's the original speaker? Could the "6" actually be a badly printed "8" ? (OK, I admit I'm clutching at straws with that one!).

If you're getting nothing out of being in the band then, almost by definition, you're wasting your time when you could be doing something else you enjoy. I entirely agree with previous comments about staying if it's a money-earner (much like you would stay in a disliked job until another one can be found because bills have to be paid) but otherwise I'd leave. But there's no real rights or wrongs in such matters, just do what you feel most comfortable with.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1318344232' post='1400876'] Oh yeah, still vaguely trying to track this one down whenever I'm feeling flush: [/quote] Not sure which is worse, the bass or the carpet.

I'm sure it's a fine example of the luthier's craft but what has it got to do with music? It's a bit like people who'll pay £80,000 for a hand-made shotgun. Absolute stunning examples of workmanship, in both wood and metal, but they don't shoot any better than a plainer example costing just £1,000. Such items are really works of art rather than working tools, and not usually any better suited for the job either.

I bought some XLR cables from Dave and the whole transaction was smooth and spot-on, exactly as it should be. Thanks Dave.

[quote name='3rdUncle' timestamp='1317893157' post='1395777'] I think I'll get away with it. Spanish airports aren't as hellishly pedantic as they are in the UK. A few mates have brought laptops over and if I get one that I can carry in a laptop bag as hand luggage I think I should be OK. Maybe declare some daft wee things and maintain the head is mine. I'm going to chance it. [/quote] Don't let all the customs officers on here know your travel plans.

Couplers, cords, connectors . . . . er, just pass me a kettle lead. [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1317841628' post='1395345'] The fact is use the same lead as you would in your own country for the same piece of kit (ie take one off another bass/guitar amp) and you will be fine, [/quote] This. (as long as the voltage selection is OK)

Ah, but what sort of IEC? IEC320 I hear you say. But what sort of coupler? What? I hear you say. Like many 'standard' things, the details can be quite involved. No wonder people just call them 'kettle leads' and know what they mean. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60320

I reckon warranty is a bit of a scare tactic used by many industries to worry consumers about certain things and 'grey imports' is one of them. If I think about all the electrical and electronic consumer goods I've bought over the last three decades, I can only think of a couple that needed repairs under warranty - and in actual fact, both items were [u]outside[/u] the warranty period anyway but were fixed by the supplier for goodwill. I wouldn't worry about not having a warranty on most things. I've bought various items while travelling: iPods (yes, plural), lenses, noise-cancelling headphones and similar) and they are all still working fine. Electronic goods are highly reliable these days. I'd be more worried about the customs people than the lack of warranty.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1317823685' post='1394997'] I know a good number of young teenagers who are heavily into Led Zep and Rush, but like young current bands too. [/quote] Yep, my lad and a lot of his friends are similar. It seems that once people move away from what's fashionable in 'celebrity pop' and start to listen to music on its own terms then age starts to become irrelevant - as it should be. Also, many youngsters today, whose parents were/are heavily into music and have converted all their old vinyl and CDs to digital, are fortunate to have some classic music at their fingertips from, arguably, the heydays of the music industry. If anything in this world is timeless then surely music must qualify. Nice one Ben!

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1317733541' post='1393821'] The other issue with the 40+ age group is most of the people this age who like going to see live music have settled down, with kids and houses and can't be arsed or afford to go out and see bands anymore. [/quote] OTOH, 40+ (maybe a bit later) is when kids start to leave home, the mortgage gets paid off etc, and more disposable income puts the spring back in the step. Even 50+ needn't be 'one-foot-in-the-grave' territory.

As rightly mentioned above, it all depends on the definition of 'making it'. I used to be 'making it' in my job, except I was working 12 hour days and travelling away from home a lot. I was making a lot of money as a result but had very little time to myself. Of course, it was great fun for a while, travelling around the world on expenses (sometimes with my family) but after a while the lack of personal time became more of an issue and I started to begrudge working so hard - especially when at least half of my time was spent paying taxes. So, when the opportunity arose, I decided to 'downshift' and effectively retired. I'm now 54 and spend all my time pursuing my various interests, including playing in a couple of bands for fun. Here's a favourite little story: [i]A rich businessman was holidaying on a small tropical island. A small, one-man fishing boat drew up on the sandy beach. Inside the boat were several large tasty-looking fish. "That's quite a fine catch," noted the businessman. "How long did it take you to pull those in?" "Only a little while," said the fisherman. "So why don't you stay out fishing longer and catch more fish?" said the rich man. "This is enough to take care of the needs of my family," replied the fisherman. "But what do you do with all the rest of your time?" asked the businessman. The fisherman said, "I sleep late, I fish a little, I spend time with my wife and play with my children. Then I rest in the afternoon. In the evening, I visit the rest of my family or stroll into the village where I have a drink with my friends. I have a full and busy life." The rich man scoffed. "I have a business degree from one of the best universities in the world. I can help you. If you spent more time fishing, you could buy a bigger boat with the profits you make. With the profits from the bigger boat you could buy several more boats until eventually you would own a whole fleet of fishing boats. Then instead of selling the fish to a middleman you could sell the fish directly to the processor and increase your profit margin. Eventually, you could open up your own canning factory and become a wealthy business owner. Of course, you would have to leave this tropical paradise by the sea and move to the city and maybe even later to another country to manage your growing business." "How long would all of that take?" the fisherman wanted to know. "Oh, at least 15 years, maybe 25" replied the businessman. "But what then?" asked the humble fisherman. The businessman laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right, you can sell your company and become a multi-millionnaire. You'd be rich beyond your dreams." "Millions!" exclaimed the fisherman. "Then what?" "Then you could retire to a tropical paradise by the sea," said the businessman, "where you could sleep late, you could fish a little, spend time with your wife, play with your kids, then rest in the afternoon. In the evening, you could stroll into the village and have a drink with your friends. You see how wonderful things could be!"[/i]

Mine arrived sometime over the weekend - not sure exactly which day as I was away. The sizing is fine compared to the other polo shirts I have, although the arm holes could do with being a little larger (and no, I'm in no way Mr Universe!). Perhaps they'll 'give' after a few washes. But very nice undestated design. Thanks Ped.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1317222806' post='1388319'] Yeah sorry mate [/quote] No worries. It's hardly the end of the world - anyway, you've already explained the circumstances of setting things up so I'm just grateful that someone was willing to put in that effort.

Shame - I was hoping to christen my shirt at our gig tonight. C'est la vie.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1317204610' post='1387913'] Has no one ever told you? You CAN'T turn down a guitarist - their amps are permanently welded to '11'. [/quote] That was my thought on reading the topic title, especially after that other thread about being asked to turn down by a pub manager. Bands are tricky things and a bit like recruiting any employee; the person in question must be able to do the required job competently enough but, most importantly, you have to be able to work with them. If you don't like them, for whatever reason, then it'll get messy. Just audition a few more guitarists and then break the news that you've found a better match.

It's not a guitar, it's a piece of jewellery. Just like gold-inlay and diamond-encrusted Rolexes are not watches.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1316528538' post='1379228'] [i]I'd get a dep. As long as they can listen to the numbers before the rehearsal 2 hrs for a 30 min set seems like 90 mins longer than you need![/i] [/quote] Well, we managed one short rehearsal over the weekend with a new drummer and the general consensus was that we do the gig. I have my reservations but was out-voted so I can't really refuse - band decision and all that. Still a bit nerve-wracking to play to a paying audience with an under-rehearsed (I think) line-up. Might have been OK for a covers set but we'll be playing all originals - let's hope they're gentle with us!

Pretty much unanimous views on this then! Hardly surprising though - it's their money, their venue, their business, so they set the rules. My guess is that bands who don't understand this, or don't comply, are bands that don't get any gigs.