RockfordStone

ill be there, can't stay late tho cos i have to drive to wales

playing is playing whether its with a pick or fingers, it all comes down to players preference, the must they are playing, and ultimately the sound they are aiming for. i play with pick and sometimes fingers, but thats due to the fact ive always played harder more agressive basslines and find the pick gets my sound.

ive been doing this for my band, takes some getting used to but once you crack it its awesome. its all about confidence at the end of the day, once you hit that groove where your confidence agrees with you, you are set the hardest thing to get used to for me was being tethered to a mic, im the kinda bassist who runs about a lot when im just playing bass, so that was hard go for it

anything spikey, anything without a headstock and music man basses... dunno why just i have an irrational dislike of ernie ball basses

i used to have one of these along with other ibanez basses always found the necks easy to play even 5 string models. i only got rid of mine as they didnt fit my current playing style, but they are well worth considering as a reasonably priced upgrade

you've been honest with both bands, and after 2 practices, who's to say either band is going to go somewhere. its a bit harsh for the drummer to start questioning where your priorities are before things have even got out of the practice room. my gut feeling is that if he's like this now he's only going to get worse and its not worth the hassle

what time is this shindig due to start?

previous years when ive been to download the traffic has been bad, but not all that bad considering the best part of 100,000 festival goers are moving about, didnt go cos i was skint this year, but from what ive been hearing from people im glad i didnt bother

was about to go on stage noticed that the nut on my neck had snapped and was sliding about, wasn't pleasant to play, but there was only the bar man, not even the promoter was there as he had given up cos the place was empty i learnt always to have a back up bass

i assume this is still going on?

i've been in bands where they have expected us to sell a certain number of tickets before. being as rock n roll as we were, we didnt bother and showed up anyway and never had a promoter turn us away at the door or make us pay to perform. it seems like an insurance that the night will make money. ive often found that these types of shows are a mish mash of different genre's, rather than a metal night or a rock night that my actually pull punters

ive had up to 5 basses at once, currently down to 3, but all have different uses or tunings nothing wrong with having more than one

in fairness, id be a bit pissed if i went to the effort of writing basslines and then taking time and spending money to record them, only to have someone replace them. that said, the guitarist is the song writer, and at the end of the day he has the vision and really has the final say on what HIS songs should sound like. he should really have told you from the outset what he wanted from the songs in terms of bass lines, and should have been smart enough to at least have an idea how they would work with vocals over them. i guess what you need to do is decide if you just want to play bass for the guy, or if you want to be a contributer in the song writing process, if the latter then i suggest you look for another band. ive played in bands where ive been told exactly what to play, ive also been on the other side and told others what needs to be played. we have to learn to suck it up sometimes and play what is right for the band and not just think of our own ego

[quote name='jaydentaku' timestamp='1338300154' post='1672340'] Go for it. But all I can think is, your sick of being treated this way, but quite happy to do it to some onn else? [/quote] my view is that im being upfront and open to start with, saying these are the songs that will be played, rather than saying that there is a mutual writing and everyone has input, and then every idea put forward by someone being rejected. the issue i have with the current band is that i do all the work for it, book the gigs, organise the gigs on the night, plug the band, sort out the radio air play etc, only for the guitard to discount my songs because they are not his bag. i guess im just fed up of churning out ideas and do work and basically ending up not getting my ideas heard. its massively frustrating

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1338291945' post='1672164'] I've done it the other way. Just turn up and play for an originals band. They gave me the bass lines I played them. Are you planning on writing everything, drum lines etc or are you planning on getting some input from the others? I think there will be very few musicains willing to do that for free. It's quite refreshing though to play in a unit where all you do is turn up. [/quote] as it stands i have written everything, all the need to do is turn up

my current band can be found at [url="http://www.facebook.com/papersoldiersuk"]www.facebook.com/papersoldiersuk[/url]

so my latest musical venture appears to be sort of fading out, due to the old classic reason that some members want to do a certain vibe of music and the others wanting to do something totally opposite. ive now got to the point that i am fed up of having to deal with the endless discussions about what the band should sound like, as well as having loads of my songs rejected because the guitarist didnt like the vibe. basically im considering going out on my own, and building a band behind me to pretty much just support me rather than help me write songs etc, so that i can give the material i have stockpiled some air time, rather than have to worry about everyone agreeing on the bands style or song choice. has anyone else ever done this? have you ever had any trouble with people not wanting to be part of someone elses band or be there backing band etc. just looking for advice from the collective wisdom of basschat as to whether its a wise/good idea to do it

ive been in rut bass wise recently, so im making the concious move to write and record some music which is not like anything i have done before, the theory being it will push me to do different things on bass and get me thinking more

i watched this the other day, its great

playing a song live and playing it in practice are two totally different things ive written and practiced songs that to me have sounded a load of tosh, only to have been met praise after sounding great live. we can never judge our own music as we are too close to it, the only way to truly judge a song is a crowds reaction in my opinion

i think everyone should pay a share, and get their share bought out if they leave the band however, the share of the two using it for the duo should be more

ive been taking lessons on acoustic guitar for some time now, it certainly helps a lot of aspects of my bass playing id say go for it, but if you want to learn stuff like opeth, you want to go for electric

ill like yours if you like mine lol

[quote name='Jono Bolton' timestamp='1336650279' post='1648864'] If a musician pitches up at a gig asking to borrow your gear, then a musician they certainly ain't. I've loaned amps and basses out to friends who I know would take care of them, but if some snotty-nosed kid comes up to me at soundcheck and asks to use anything, they'll be politely but firmly be told to do one. Any gig I've played, I've always known which bands I'm playing with, and with the likes of Facebook and Myspace it's easy to send a message to the other bands asking if it's ok to share equipment, which I've been happy to do in the past, especially in small venues. I just don't agree with the expectant attitude of some people I've played with in the past. [/quote] i hate this. i run with the standard rule now that i will only loan out my cab, and that has to be arranged before hand. i would never turn up to a gig and expect the bassist to lend me his rig ive been in the situation where i have due to the lack of planning from bands and the ineptitude of the promotor had to loan head, cab, and even cables (which i never got back by the way) as well as having speakers blown etc. the best one ive had a snotty teen come up to me and say "your amp is better than mine, can i use it"

when i was younger i had a more relaxed attitutde to gear, but as ive got older ive been a bit more conservative when i was younger i had a lot more disposable income so could splash out on gear. now i have houses and cars to pay for, and the gear i have accumulated i could not replace with if broke it or lost it. certainly dings and bangs will happen, its not worth being precious about, but i think people have less money spare now to fix things if they broke hence why gear is looked after more