flyfisher

Well, I was really responding to TimR's assertion . . . [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1394749757' post='2394905'] £500 isn't in my opinion a beginners bass. That's firmly in the territory of intermediate to professional level instrument. [/quote] . . . so I don't think it would help to digress into a discussion about how best to spend £500. TimR's basic point is that such a sum will buy a fine instrument and my point is that it's such a relatively small amount of money that it means anyone seriously aiming to become a decent bass player cannot fairly use the instrument as an excuse for being held back in their playing. I'm not suggesting that £500 is a trivial sum, but in comparison of what else it will buy it really isn't very much. It's an iPhone. It's a PC. It's a handbag. It's a decent suit. My point is that when such good basses can be bought for such relatively small sums, why would anyone bother to buy a £90 bass and put up with its shortcomings? Basically, I don't buy into this whole 'beginner's bass' thing. A beginner's bass is the one that a beginner uses to start learning, that's all. I see no reason for that bass to be a poor quality instrument. Fortunately, basses are cheap enough that that's not necessary - and that's a good thing isn't it?

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1394749757' post='2394905'] £500 isn't in my opinion a beginners bass. That's firmly in the territory of intermediate to professional level instrument. [/quote] Precisely my point. Why do you believe that a beginner's bass has to be the cheapest possible instrument? Especially when £500 can be an 'intermediate to professional' instrument. What better motivation for a keen new player than to have a quality instrument that he knows won't hold him/her back and can probably be seen being played by some of his/her musical heroes. Especially when they are so cheap. When FF junior started bass lessons at school I didn't bother buying him the lowest cost bass I could find, I just let him take my MIJ Fender P to school and saved myself £100. What's the worst that could have happened? Quality basses are cheap as chips these days.

Are we overlooking an important thing in all this? The point, surely, is that a 'professional grade' bass is affordable by probably 99% of the population. What are we talking about here - £2000? For an instrument that could easily do the bidding of a full-on professional bass-legend. Even £500 will buy a quality instrument these days that could easily last a good player a lifetime, if they didn't just fancy a change after a while. Some people will spend more on strings over two or three years (maybe less)! It really isn't about the instrument, it's all about the player. I simply cannot believe there are any bassists who are being held back by their instrument - and if they are then they haven't got their priorities right.

I can't say I've noticed any playing effect, but the advent of snowdrops lightens my mood and daffodils bring a full-on smile so it's entirely possible. Everything is better when the sun is shining isn't it?

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1394628720' post='2393443'] It will. There are, or certainly used to be, real dogs, that are practically unplayable and you spend a lot of effort wrestling with them trying to make them sound. That's things like tone knobs that don't alter the tone significantly, frets that are not dressed or fitted to the neck properly, and other things like Bilbo mentions. That's not to say (as I did earlier) that all inexpensive basses are like this. There is a difference between 'cheap' and 'inexpensive', there are a lot of good inexpensive basses and if (insert your hero here) picked up a good bass and a poor bass he would definitely be able to tell the difference. For all of us there is a 'tipping point' where we can't tell the difference to the next step up. Mo Farah's shoes? If he ran in my model of shoes he would really struggle. If I ran in his model of shoes I would be able to tell the difference but they wouldn't make me run significantly faster. I've done this with running shoes too. Start at £20 shoes and work up to £130, I got to £80 and decided the extra wasn't going to give me the benefit in return of investment. [/quote] All of that misses my point, which is that good running shoes and good basses are affordable by almost everyone these days so it's not gear that holds us back.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1394628493' post='2393441'] Sod what anyone else thinks, buy and play whatever bass you think works for you as a player [/quote] Or, better still, develop your playing skills using a cheap old beaten up bass. People then won't have any expectations and will be blown away when you play. Actually, no. Rob is right - sod what anyone else thinks.

In some professions, the 'tools of the trade' can make a big difference. An extreme example would be F1 where you could be the best driver in the world but will be outclassed by someone with a better car. Music is not like that because the sort of instruments that our musical heroes play are really quite affordable. We CAN get our hands on the same sort of gear that the best pros play, just the same as we CAN don the same running shoes as Mo Farah, but they will make little difference to our playing ability.

More expensive = much better. Obvious, innit. Apple has built a whole business empire around that principle, so that proves it. Bottom line - people like shiny new things and if they have some spare cash they'll look for ways to spend it, whatever their particular interests. Could be a 'better' car, suit, handbag, jewellery, whatever. I seriously doubt that an electric bass is the limiting factor in anyone's playing (assuming it's well set up), except perhaps for that elusive 'feel good' factor helping you to play better. I reckon Pino could pick up my Fender MIJ precision and play anyone off the stage with it, but I wouldn't be any better if I played his bass. Fact is, it's talent and ability that hold most people back, not their gear, but gear is something that's easy to change so that's what people do.

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1394555093' post='2392632'] The Superfly wasn't a stereo amp either - but did have two separate 25 watt power amps - also with two such outputs. That's why I'm slightly curious as to have this one works. [/quote] Hmm. Fair enough. Strange arrangement to force someone to have two cabs for max output. If they are going in for such things then it's a shame the manuals are not clearer.

It's not a stereo amp so it won't have two channels of 275W each, just one channel of 550W into a 4 ohm load. The two speaker sockets are just a convenience for connecting two 8 ohm cabs to give a 4 ohm load and extract the maximum 550W power. Use a single 4 ohm cab for the same power or a single 8 ohm cab for something around 2/3rds power (366W) - but don't quote me on that figure because it can vary quite a bit.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1394536199' post='2392291'] Never once been asked if I get paid and a lot haven't said they don't cover instruments/gear etc [/quote] Trouble is, the onus is on you to inform the insurance company of any 'material facts' and the standard advice is that if you are in any doubt about something then you should inform the insurer so they can clarify their position. In general, house insurance is for personal items and not for items used in connection with a business. Do paid gigs constitute 'a business'? - well who knows how each insurance company will treat such things, hence the advice to tell them. If you tell them and they still offer cover then fine. If you tell them and they decline cover then it might be annoying but not as annoying as having an actual claim refused because you didn't disclose a material fact - not to mention the waste of money paying premiums that won't actually cover you in the event of a claim. I'm no apologist for insurance companies, but fair's fair - they have to know what risks they are insuring.

I agree with the comments about jigsaw blades bending such that they might follow the top line but could wander off track quite a 1-3/4 inches below. Bending can be minimised by ensuring the blade is really sharp (maybe use more than one for the complete job) and cutting very slowly and not applying too much force to the saw, This allows the full length of the blade to cut evenly and 'straighten out' before being forced forward. More difficult to describe but you'll quickly get a feel for things. I'd suggest trying on a bit of scrap first though - that's too nice a piece of wood to ruin!

Reminds me of that recent BBC4 film about Muscle Shoals studio and the story about how Atlantic sent their black artists down there to record and were amazed to learn that the 'swampers' (house band) were a bunch of white guys

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1394468232' post='2391631'] I guess it's commercial equipment wherever it is not just when you're using it. [/quote] That's an interesting point and could mean that home insurance wouldn't cover [u]any[/u] 'music gear' at all if they find out the person concerned plays paid gigs, no matter that the gear in question is only rarely used for gigging.

What? They won't even cover the gear while it is in the house? Shows how important it is to check these things. Musicians Union crops up here a lot for gear and liability insurance so might be checking what they can offer.

[quote name='Matt P' timestamp='1394454154' post='2391425'] i'll echo what others have said about reading the small print, my wife phoned up to check what our cover was because i was going to start being paid for gigs, the broker was very nice and said that he would check our policy and get back to us, he phoned back about 30 minutres later to tell us that our insurer had cancelled our policy! as i was being paid they counted that as a part-time occupation and they didn't cover musicians so that was it! [/quote] A good example of why it's important to make full disclosures to insurance companies and clarify (in writing) anything you're unsure about. I had a similar sort of thing last year when buying travel insurance for FF junior on a trip around Europe. It was a 3-week trip (no problem) but because TWO of the days were for a sports competition some of the insurers would not cover him because the trip was not WHOLLY for holiday/pleasure. I couldn't even get them to cover him for everything [u]except [/u]those two days, it had to be all or nothing.

Wow - I didn't realise they were that picky. I've never bothered with insurance because I never leave gear unattended in a car and I don't leave the venue when we're gigging so it's pretty easy to keep an eye on everything. On that basis the risk of any theft seems pretty small to me so I don't bother insuring for it. Besides, the money I've saved over 20-30 years would easily pay for a new bass should the worst ever happen. I guess it all depends on how nervous people feel about having stuff stolen or damaged.

[i]"Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4"[/i] Surely you mean the 'Light programme', the 'Third programme' and the 'Home service'? There were also the so-called 'pirate' radio stations, which I think had some commercials, though I'm straining my memory about that.

Check that the amount of cover outside the house is adequate - e.g. the total value may be covered inside the house but the 'all risks' cover may be less. Might not be a problem if you don't take your 5 basses out at the same time, but double check to be sure. I'm not surprised they've not asked for specific info, but if you ever need to claim you'll need proof of ownership. If you have receipts then keep them safe and serial numbers as well, as they will help to prove what type of 'fender bass' you have, which will be important when buying an exact replacement. Photographs of you playing each bass would also be helpful to help prove your ownership in the event of a claim. But do check the policy very carefully for exclusions. A home policy probably won't cover any 'commercial' situations, so a paid gig would not be covered. Also, if gear is left in a car and is visible then it may not be covered either. If there is any doubt, write a letter to the insurance company describing exactly what cover you require and ask them to confirm that the policy is suitable for your needs.

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1394398739' post='2391050'] The main obstacle any of us will face as musicians is sheer indifference. That's what we're all fighting...except bands like Coldplay and U2 who everyone loves without reservation, of course. [/quote] Sadly, I think there's a lot of truth in that. We can spend a huge portion of our lives learning to play, writing songs, agonising over the words and music, getting the sound just right, recording take after take, listening to mix after mix, rehearsing for gigs until we finally play it to an audience for 4 minutes and their response is 'yeah, nice song' before wandering off to the bar for another drink. The following morning (or week if we're lucky) they've forgotten the song and have moved on to some other band. Even bands that do build a following can only number their real hardcore fans in the tens, maybe hundreds. Of course, there are some bands that break through and become the next Coldplay or U2, but the triangle of success has incredibly wide base and the internet has only made that base even wider. Music is a wonderful hobby but it's a bloody tough business.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1394443852' post='2391273'] To be fair, he's released fifty one odd albums, so could it could be just 1.37 million hardcore fans ;-) Edit: same wavelength as HJ [/quote] Fair point . . . or it could just be half a dozen really obsessive fans! Alternatively, it means 5,930,000,001 (ish) people don't have a James last album. That '1' is me.

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1394376351' post='2390794'] I don't quite know how to reply to this... other than to say I [i]sincerely[/i] believe from the [i]bottom of my heart[/i] that James Last is MUSIC FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE MUSIC. [/quote] That's at least 70 million people who 'don't like music' then. [i]According to the British Hit Singles & Albums book, he has reportedly sold in excess of seventy million albums worldwide[sup].[/sup][/i] [sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Last#cite_note-British_Hit_Singles_.26_Albums-1"]http://en.wikipedia....es_.26_Albums-1[/url][/sup]

[quote name='Bassman Sam' timestamp='1394378776' post='2390819'] My Dad, who was a dour Yorkshireman, . . . . . . would take me to gigs when I started in bands with all the gear on the back of a flatbed truck he borrowed from work, picking up everyone and dropping them home afterwards. He sat in the truck during gigs rolling his fags for the rest of the week. He only came to one gig though with the rest of the family and they left at the interval as it was too loud for them. Afterwards,he was telling anyone who would listen how great the band were and how proud he was of us. We lost him in 2007 to cancer on his 84th birthday and I miss the bones of him. [/quote] Lovely story. Sounds like a great Dad!!!

My parents were not (are not) into music at all and don't have a music collection at all, or anything to play it on. How weird is that? I remember them having a Dansette when I was at school ( infants) but the only record I can remember was an LP of the Lone Ranger and Tonto! Then my grandad bought me Last Train To Clarkesville and I must have worn the grooves out playing it. They did have a 'Stellaphone' reel to reel tape recorder though and I would record songs from the radio. When cassette tapes came out I got a small Bush cassette recorder one christmas and started my 'record' collection by copying friends albums. By the time I was into my teens (early 70s) I had persuaded my parents to buy a half decent record player and started buying albums instead of singles. My first one was Van der Graaf Generator's 'H to He' ( still a great favourite!) that I bought from a friend and the first shop-bought LP was a reggae sampler called ’Reggae Chartbusters', so I started off with a fairly eclectic tastes and continued with all the classic prog rock bands as well as some of the more obscure ones. I never bought singles though if I heard a single I did like then I would buy the relevant album. My parent's record player was pretty crappy so I worked one summer holiday stacking shelves in Tesco to save up for a 'proper' separates Hifi system consisting, laughably, of an Amstrad IC2000 amp, a Garrard AP76 deck and Celestion County speakers. But my pride and joy was an Akai 4000DS that my parents bought for me the christmas before 25% VAT was introduced on 'luxury' goods and I used it for multi-track recording the schoolmates band I was in at the time as it had a 'sound on sound' feature ( basically bouncing one track to another). The sound quality wasn't great, unless you liked a lot of hiss from all the track bouncing, but it was fun learning the basics. I even used to play around with splicing tape loops and was amazed how effective it could be when the splice timing was spot-on. Happy days. I didn't really click with the punk wave in the late 70s. Ramones and Stranglers were the ones I bought before giving up on it altogether in favour of going back to rediscover all the 60s stuff I was just a bit too young to really appreciate at the time. The Beatles albums were a revelation, as I'd only really heard their singles before, as well as the Kinks, Beach Boys etc. it was also the time when I started to seriously listen to the blues and discovered the likes of Buddy Guy on Chess Records, which opened up another huge genre while punk was playing itself out.

Sorry to hear about this, but sounds like the problem is now known and can be treated, and very effectively if the above experiences are typical (I hope they are!). As for the actual condition, is it 'just one of those things' or can it actually be [u]caused [/u]by bass playing in anyone or is it a pre-disposition thing?