flyfisher

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1379357012' post='2211729'] yep..which is why I say stay out of the typical pub scene and put on something different. If you are a pub band doing a pub show..then what is in it for the promoter/venue ? and why will they pay you anythng other than pub money? and how will you ever get out of the pub syndrome? Selling out 1200 seats at £10 is very good going indeed for one or two bands round here.... and they had to do a good few years of busking. That doesn't translate anywhere else yet tho... but nobody says it was easy otherwise we'd all be doing it. Something has to set you apart... however you achieve it... [/quote] Definitely not easy, though I guess a lot depends on individual aspirations and dedication, which is probably why there's such a range of opinions about this whole issue. BCers seem to range from committed hobbyists to semi-pros (with a handful of actual pros?), so it's understandable there's a wide spread of views.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1379351618' post='2211603'] People have become used to free music... because there is too much of it. [/quote] True, but that's the way the world is at present. People can see pretty much any band, any concert, any song on YouTube and similar websites. People can download most music for nothing. Music CDs are frequently given away with newspapers and magazines. Live music can be seen for free at any number of pubs and many towns organise 'mini-festivals' where people can see loads of live bands for free. Some people bemoan bands willing to play for free because they think it spoils things for bands that want to be paid for playing. fair enough, but what about bands willing to pay for non-paying audiences? Aren't they just as culpable for encouraging people's expectation of free music? I can't see that it really matters because the 'free music' genie is unlikely to be squished back into the bottle anytime soon, so we might all just as well get what pleasure we can out of playing music, whether we get paid for it or not.

[quote name='woodyratm' timestamp='1379341637' post='2211452'] From all this feedback, you would think the OP waited about 10 days to ship! I don't think the OP has done anything wrong - he got the payment late on a wednesday and was shipped on Friday. If I bought something then I would always[b] imagine[/b] the item will arrive after the weekend. [/quote] But isn't that the whole point? What you imagine may not coincide with what the other party might imagine, hence the friction. I don't think the OP did anything wrong as such and I agree the buyer is being a tad optimistic, but the point about communication is that none of this would have happened (probably!) if the OP had sent an email/text/PM as soon as payment was received, confirming receipt and when the item would be shipped and by what method (RM, courier etc).

Good initiative - glad it has worked out well so far. But it's interesting that no one seems to have a problem with putting on a show for free as far as the non-paying public are concerned, as long as someone else pays the band. I guess that's the business model for the pub though, but doesn't it all help to contribute to the general trend of devaluing music as far as the end consumer is concerned? This isn't a criticism as such, more a recognition of the reality of the modern music scene. Nobody seems to want to pay for music anymore, except for festivals and showpiece concerts, and this must surely trickle down to venues that then become reluctant to pay for bands. Tough business.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1379334406' post='2211325'] Fair comment, but once again, no harm in saying this in your original ad. Something along the lines of: [i]"I work full time and don't spend my life on BC. As a result, don't be offended if you have to wait a few hours for a response" [/i]should cover this. [/quote] Internet access, or lack of, need not be a big issue really. All my BC purchases have been agreed by PM but I've then always swapped mobile phone numbers so that any changes to agreed arrangements can be easily communicated. I once arranged to collect an item one afternoon but the seller's circumstances changed that morning while I was out and about with no internet access. He sent me a text message explaining things, we agreed an alternative venue and the collection was still done at the same time but different location - no problem for either party. Communication, communication, communication.

I'd guess that in this case the buyer thought that payment on Wednesday would mean he'd have the item for the weekend, which I think would be rather optimistic, but it's how expectations can be raised. As above, good communication is the key and the delivery/collection arrangements are as much a part of the transaction as the item itself, IMO.

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1378758209' post='2204422'] Pino has always been my favourite player. And, unfashionable as it may be, it's his fretless playing that I love. Now, his playing alone (on Call Me, Shoot Down The Moon, NY Minute, Playhouse, Wish It Would Rain Down, Do You Remember etc etc) makes my jaw go slack. But what makes my jaw actually hang open is when I consider that, without formal theory training and whatnot, he had the maturity, at the tender age of 26, after playing bass for only 9 years, to engineer classical Stravinsky ideas into a pop song - Wherever I lay My Hat. It takes a particular type of artistic mind to do that. Whoever reckoned there are thousands like Pino Palladino - I think not. [/quote] That's an interesting point. I've often wondered the same thing about Bakithi Kumalo. Perhaps we could all play anything with enough practice (the 10,000 hours thing?) but could we all become as inventive?

[quote name='stef030' timestamp='1379184669' post='2209655'] so maybe its me,or maybe I am just a rubbish judge of character,but I just sort of feel that why should I bother, [/quote] I doubt it's you. There are plenty of examples of personality clashes within bands, from hobby bands to top professional ones, so you're not in a unique situation, just an unfortunate one. I'd suggest that there's no reason to bother if you're no longer enjoying your current circumstances, but that it's almost certainly worth bothering to find a more satisfying situation - because we all know how sh1tty it can be when things are not working but how indescribably great it can be when it is.

Now that would be a fun gig!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1379166418' post='2209361'] Oh, I don't know. I like big amps because you can have effortless undistorted, clean chunky power at higher levels. Should you need it. [/quote] I understand the basic idea, I'm just trying to understand WHEN you would need it.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1379162837' post='2209312'] Headroom! Masses of headroom! [/quote] I can understand that to an extent, but where's the point at which 'massess of headroom' (i.e. unused potential power) just becomes a pointless waste of money, not to mention chronic back pain?

OK, it might not be 1600 'real' watts, but my basic question stands - what's the typical maximum power that anyone really needs? I don't really know if such high powers are really necessary because I've always understood that the real purpose of the on-stage rig is mainly to do with getting the desired sound and being loud enough for the bassist to hear. After that, any further volume requirements and monitoring for the other band members would be handled by the PA system. But having never played a large stage/arena I could be mistaken, hence the question.

What sort of gigs would require a 1600W rig? After a certain size, wouldn't everything go through the PA?

There are no rules. If you're not happy with something - for whatever reason - then there's no reason to commit to it. Some people like nothing more than messing around with loads of equipment and will go to almost any lengths to be able to do so, even if that includes driving 100 miles to set up a full PA for no financial reward ( especially if it means they can get away from a family get-together around Christmas time ). Other people won't get out of their chair unless there is some money in it for them. No rights and wrongs, just different feelings.

[quote name='pobrien_ie' timestamp='1379151557' post='2209140'] Maybe it would be better to rename the thread The Hidden Cost of Ordering from Foreign Online Retailers. Seems a bit unfair to single out Thomann, and it might encourage others to buy locally. [/quote] Good point. This is not a Thomann-only issue.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1379102769' post='2208811'] It may be worth making a list of which companies' cards result in extra costs, so we can avoid them. [/quote] Nice idea but these things can change so often that I doubt we'd ever keep the list up to date. Better to just shop around when the need arises. This is usually a good place to start: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com

Haven't noticed a problem with my BH250 on top of my RS212 cab. Could be because I've got a short but thick OBBM speaker cable connecting the two items. I also loop my bass cable through the cab handle before pluggin into the amp, so it's held pretty firmly in place. I guess it might move about a little, but it certainly isn't going to fall off the cab when held in this way.

Also, don't forget about 'cashback' credit cards. Some will pay you 1% of all transactions, more in some circumstances.

[quote name='allighatt0r' timestamp='1379022700' post='2207989'] Never put a sock in a toaster... [/quote] . . . and never put a toaster in a sock.

I think this may be just one of the ways that banks etc are ratcheting up their various charges. I've had a capital One credit card for ages and sometime ago they changed their T&Cs such that a 'transaction fee' is now charged for every foreign currency transaction. I'd forgotten all about it until a recent trip to the US. Another example is that Nationwide used to allow free cash withdrawals at foreign ATMs, which was really useful because the FX rate was generally better than most money changers so it was cheaper to only withdraw foreign currency as needed (safer too), but they now charge for such transactions. I think there are still cards and banks that won't charge for such things (as per SpaceChick's example), though I suspect they probably still make their profit margins by giving a slightly less advantageous FX rate - a bit like those 'commission-free' exchange bureaus at airports - so it's hard to win consistently. B@stards eh?

A Happy Jack indeed.

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1378977549' post='2207195'] Unless you have a preference for the media that delivers the information, which some do. [/quote] Indeed, which is why it's a personal choice. We all know people with shelves full of books that haven't been read for decades, perhaps even never at all, but are kept more for decoration than their content. That's perfectly fine, but just be honest about the reasons. [quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1378977549' post='2207195'] What are you going to put in all that space? [/quote] Isn't space the ultimate luxury?

He is singing all the right words . . . . but not necessarily in the right order.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1378894658' post='2206097'] Whilst its not quite the same, I had a similar 'indispensable' realization when moving house last weekend. When we were packing up boxes and boxes of books we came to the realization that the last time we had touched them is when we moved them into our previous house... they had just sat on the shelf for years. As nice as they are to have, We are obviously not getting any use out of them and as most are reference books all that information is now on the internet... in a convenient searchable form. I need to let this stuff go, less clutter in my life can't be a bad thing. As you say... The time has come... [/quote] But the thing about the 'digital age' is that we can now let go of these physical things yet still retain access to the information itself. Thus, we can throw away all our physical LPs, tapes, videotapes, DVDs and CDs yet still retain the ability to access all that media whenever we wish. Same as most reference books. Throw away the physical books while still having fingertip access to the information within them via the internet. It's only a physical decluttering of our living space, it makes almost no difference to our information-rich lifestyles. In practice, we are giving up nothing.

My vinyl has been in the attic for years but I regularly listen to them after digitising them all a decade or so ago. I was listening to Hawkwind's In Seach Of Space only a couple of weeks ago I can't really understand all the fuss over a format - it's the music that counts.