flyfisher

I've only had one experience of playing with a dep - a drummer. He was a better player than the rest of us, could react instantly to cues, recorded his [b]single [/b]rehearsal with us on his mobile phone so he could 'revise' during his commutes to work. We rehearsed more for the gig than he did but he played a blinder and it was probably the best tightest gig we've played to date. And this was an all-original set of songs that he'd never heard before! So I can easily believe that a good dep wouldn't need more than one rehearsal, especially for a covers set. I'm wondering if the stipulation of 4 rehearsals is more a reflection of the band's confidence in themselves than in a dep bassist.

[quote name='Greggo' timestamp='1350623573' post='1841312'] So I'm wondering, does anybody actually care? [/quote] I'd be amazed if anyone really does care, just as I'd be amazed if anyone really cares about what type of bass, strings, amp, cabs and cables are used. I can understand having a favourite bass tone, but surely people don't dismiss music on the basis of picks/fingers/strings/amps/cabs etc?

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1350575891' post='1840792'] Theres nothing like gigging full time to get you up to speed. You never know whats around the corner until you go around it and i suspect that it will lead to other things. [/quote] I seem to recall four lads from Liverpool going off to Hamburg to play round the clock and hone their skills . . .

Yep, fair point. What do we really know for sure? This is the sort of reason why I much prefer to meet up when buying stuff, check it over and then pay cash. I know this is not always possible in which case the risk of this sort of hassle increases.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1350587470' post='1841002'] If the bass is wrecked, I wouldn't want it back unless I took the repair costs out of the refund. [/quote] But if the buyer is not implicated in any 'wrecking' then it's hardly fair to land him with the loss is it?

[quote name='Fabrocker' timestamp='1350583180' post='1840922'] I feel that the guy wants to get some extra money from me. What can I do? [/quote] Admittedly I don't know the full story of the pre-sale conversations, but my instinct would be to tell the buyer that if they're not happy with the bass to send it back to you (by insured carrier etc) and you'll refund their money when you receive it.

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1350563581' post='1840529'] He says the trick is not to stop or slow down, once you do that's it. [/quote] Yep, I reckon the day people have a Stannah stirlift installed is the day they become incapable of climbing stairs.

In general, power amps should really be just that - transparent to whatever is put into them. That would be the aim of a hi-fi amp anyway. Instrument amps might be a bit different, with different manufacturers aiming for 'their' tone, though I don't think it would matter much to a 10-year old . . . not yet anyway. So, it sounds like a good plan to me. Ultilise what you have for now and see how he gets on. It'll certainly make enough noise to annoy his parents!

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1350561763' post='1840489'] All I know is that when it ends I want to be in control. [/quote] Amen to that - and not just the musical stuff.

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1350561667' post='1840485'] But, I live on the top floor of an apartment building, . . . . [/quote] Do you have access to the roof . . .

Fair point, but I've always thought of credit cards as the things for an emergency. A lot depends on the mortgagedetails . The last one I had had the facility to make lump sum repayments of up to 10% per year with no penalties. I found that doing this would instantly reduce my monthly repayments, making it easier to make another lump sum repayment the following year. It's surprising how this sort of thing can make a big difference and we got our 25 year mortgage paid off in about 15 years. My current mortgage is completely flexible and I can simply phone up to borrow as much as I like up to the agreed amount within a couple of days, with no arrangement costs. Pretty handy for emergencies and is the only reason I haven't actually redemmed it completely because the outstanding balance is under £1000 and costs me a whopping £1.70 per month.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1350554532' post='1840366'] That's not very good advice IMO. If you still have many years to run on your mortgage you could end up paying more. If you do this you should increase your mortgage repayments to a level that makes this advantageous. Do the maths first. [/quote] Agreed. I thought it was obvious to increase mortgage payments accordingly, but the bottom line is that both are forms of borrowing and mortgages usually have the lowest interest rates. If someone can afford to pay the interest on a credit card they'd be better off transferring the balance to a mortgage but still keep paying what the credit card was costing thus helping to pay down the mortgage capital instead of just giving money away to the credit card company. It's funny how people seem to think of mortgages as a different sort of debt to other forms of borrowing, leading them to leave equity tied up in their house and taking out an expensive car loan, or running up and servicing credit card debts. It's the sort of thing that leads people to have a savings account at the same time as a mortgage and getting a warm felling about having, say, £5k in the bank as a 'nest-egg'. Well, that £5k in the savings account would be put to better use by paying off a lump of the mortgage.

I wanted to see this, checked the local cinema last weekend, read all the guff about how many millions of people applied for tickets but were disappointed (obviously) and how they could now see the film of the concert . . . . . except it was only being shown on one evening! So much for 'millions' of pent-up demand. Anyway, I couldn't make it, so that's that. I guess it'll turn up on BBC4 one day. I can wait.

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1350540672' post='1840164'] My theory is live for now Lozz and enjoy as much as you can. You never really know what's round the corner. [/quote] One of the things that could be round the corner is living to a ripe old age, so it makes sense to take that into account as well if you don't want to be thoroughly restricted and miserable in retirement. It can be a tricky balance. Anyone with high interest credit card debts and a low interest mortgage on a house with sufficient equity should be thinking about increasing the mortgage to pay off the credit cards.

@ Chrismuzz - thanks for that, but I'll have another go without it - might look too provocative. So, I apologise for any confusion by introducing that joke as a "story". It didn't occur to me that anyone could possibly believe it was supposed to be true. Let's call it a joke then, or a fable, whatever you like, but I think the gist of the story/joke/fable is pretty clear . . . except, obviously, to the businessman in the tale.

[quote name='swanbrook' timestamp='1350250662' post='1836470'] What a crock of sh*te with no relevance [/quote] . . . . says the 'businessman'

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1350243869' post='1836355'] There's more to life (and music) than the fee you get at the end [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ERbvKrH-GC4"]http://www.youtube.c...d&v=ERbvKrH-GC4[/url] [/quote] Excellent. It reminded me of this little story: A businessman was on holiday on a tropical island paradise and was walking along the beach when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large fish. The businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman explained it took less than an hour or so. The businessman asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish? The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs so why would he need anymore? The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife , stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full, busy and enjoyable life." The businessman scoffed, "Look, I'm a highly educated and experienced businessman and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat and catch more fish than you need, whcih you could sell to make money. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. As the money rolls in and Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor. Eventually you could open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to the city in order to run your new business empire from a corporate HQ." The fisherman asked, "But how long will this all take?" To which the businessman replied, "15-20 years." "But what then?" The businessman laughed and said," That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." "Millions? Then what?" The businessman said, "Then you would be able to retire and move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1350231097' post='1836040'] Yes, cause I can just see the brewery's insurance company saying, don't worry, someone just got electrocuted by your amp. We'll pay. [/quote] I suspect they, or their insurers, probably would. After all it was they that let in all the free playing amateurs in the first place

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1350231316' post='1836046'] My house insurance covers me for non commercial legal stuff. But I suspect you've really got to show that no money changed hands and there was no intention of any money changing hands. Which in a band in a pub is going to be hard. [/quote] Surely the onus would be on the plaintiff to prove that money DID change hands . . . Which judging by the apparent popularity of playing for free might also be quite hard.

Now you're clutching at the scare-mongering straws. Such things are the venue's responsibility if there's no commercial transaction involved. How many people are insured for playing at a open-mic night or a kareoke evening? How many people have their laptop or phone chargers PAT tested for when they plug in at Starbucks? Come on, let's be sensible about all this.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1350221924' post='1835897'] I do wonder if people playing for free realise how much they spend on gear, rehearsals, transport etc... [/quote] So what? If someone doesn't treat music as a job then it's a hobby/pastime/passion, call it what you will, and they are likely to spend as much spare cash on it as they can simply because it's an enjoyable (to them) alternative to the day job. Just like they do with other interests and holidays. We all spend our disposable income on something so why single out playing music as something we ought to be getting a return on? Why shouldn't just the pleasure of it be enough?

Glad to hear it hasn't been playing up recently. Nothing worse than worrying about unreliable gear. It would be very interesting to take the amp back to the 'problem' pub and try again, though I realise that's probably impractical.

[quote name='swanbrook' timestamp='1350125255' post='1834812'] I think it's clear that the people who play for free are either kids trying to get a start, guys like mushy who have played one gig this year( even you 14 year old has done more gigs than you) [b]fly fisher is clearly too busy needlessly killing fish for sport ( shame on you sir)[/b] or guy just as a hobby having the craic. Really don't think it is a prob for me. .... But then I said that in my first post [/quote] For the record, I only fish for salmon and trout and eat every one I kill. Other fish-eaters choose to pay people to kill their fish for them. But that's a whole other discussion. As for being clear about the sorts of people playing for free, it may not be as clear as you think. I've just checked my band diary and it shows that I played 10 gigs in 2009, 18 in 2010, 16 in 2011 and 11 so far this year with two more already booked and, if previous years are anything to go by, more to come around Christmas and New Year. Not exactly a tough schedule, I'll freely admit, but enough to blow away the cobwebs and gets me out and about in an enjoyable manner. Only a handful were paid gigs, which probably makes me a Bad Man in your world. [quote name='swanbrook' timestamp='1350124081' post='1834792'] Play for free all you want guys I am just amazed that you are that singled minded that you can't see both side of the argument. [/quote] What is the other side of the argument? All I detect is a lot of people saying playing for free is a bad thing and telling others that they shouldn't be doing it. I don't recall 'the other side' telling people how they should run their bands. You have to deal with the world as it is, not how you'd like it to be.

Well, it was intended as a joke, not an insult, hence the . Hey ho.

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1350045242' post='1833934'] I'll play for free whenever I want and I'll take the money too if it's available, because I love to play and my reward is not financial. Music is art and a spiritual journey for me, not a business venture. I've been doing this for 35 years and I've never met a musician motivated by money that I would want as a friend, let alone play with. [/quote] Interesting point. People seem fairly quick to criticise the 'business' side of the music business, so why complain about a bit of art for art's sake? I wonder if those against playing for free ever get out of bed without being paid?