Franticsmurf

I could pick ten individual years quite easily. But a continuous decade is harder - as has been said above there are good years and bad years in any 10 year period. But thinking about what I'm listening to (and have been for the last few years) my favourite decade for music is '66 to '75. (and I could easily have gone a year either side of that). And that excludes my favourite Yes studio album - Going for the One, from 1977. And it doesn't allow me to include any of Peter Gabriel's solo stuff (also starting in '77).

We played at a 40th wedding anniversary last night, conveniently held in the local hall where we rehearse. First half was a bit subdued as there had been a bereavement in the family who were celebrating, (they had asked us to keep the set up-beat regardless) and they had a short 'celebration of life' during our break. The second set was like playing to a different audience - dancing, singing and general running about from the kids (and our singer, who is very good at running around). We must have played the longest version of 'Hey Jude' ever as everyone wanted to sing along at the end. One of those gigs that, in the Great Scheme of Things wouldn't have registered, but was immensely fun to play. P Bass into front of house, with a feed to my little TCE BAM 200 and Warwick 1x12 cab for the drummer, while I was using in ears from the desk.

No, although as I play in a couple of bands and dep occasionally for a third, I do have basses that are more suited to the different styles. For the Hulla band (a general mix of popular stuff arranged for and played by a thirteen piece) I tend to use my P Bass, which sits nicely in the FOH mix, and/or my Sterling HH which gives me a little more punch. For The Rip (three piece playing a dirtier rock) I'm playing an newly acquired Ibanez EBH1000s and my Spirit headless, as we are likely to be in smaller venues and I need a more gritty sound. Depping I'll use whatever is appropriate to the gig. For practice I tend to cycle through the bass collection as I like playing them all. I don't have a problem swapping between basses - even with the shorty EBH. If I had to pick one from the collection to cope with any gig I would like it to be the Sterling as I love the neck and the range of sounds I can get from it. But the reality is that taking a professional approach, the choice would have to be the P Bass because it works in most situations.

Fair point. 😃 Dave 'Lord of the Gates of Hell in the 9th Kingdom of the Minds of Angels who dance with the leaders of Men' the bass player. Edit: Sorry, just saw your other post and I see it's taken by 'Lord Jimmy of the Gates of Hell in the 10th Kingdom of the Minds of Angels Who Dance with the Leaders of Men.'

I would just like to point out that I am not now, nor have I ever been, a bass guitar. 🤣 Dave the bass... no, no, Dave the bass player.

My Digbeth is set up for a mix of tube and FET channels for some grit on bass. I was initially thinking of switching to the FET only as a starting point - the idea being minimal adjustments as I'll also be swapping instruments on stage. I hadn't thought of the Tilt, although i use it a lot to adjust for venues, so thanks for that. It's all theory at the moment. I'll keep you posted.

I'm in a similar situation - in the new three piece I'm involved in, I may be playing rhythm guitar for three or four songs when we break down the set a little. I have a nice little electro-acoustic 6 string and I'm wondering what to use for amplification. Fortunately, my current board has several pedals originally intended for guitar (the Plethora X3, a clean boost and a Behringer T800 Tube Screamer clone) and I'm wondering whether my Digbeth pre-amp and Peavey Minimax 600 will do the job into a pair of TE 1x10s. We're still developing the set so it's a bit 'what if' at the moment which I hope will be resolved during our rehearsals. I have an old Roland Jazz Chorus combo but it would be nice to just have the one signal path. FRFR would be the way to go for me but I've invested in the amp and cabs and can't really justify selling up at the moment.

+1 for the TC BAM 200 which I use as a practice amp (attached to a Warwick 1x12 kept at the rehearsal space)/spare. XLR and headphone out.

Generally, no. 'The Stingray', 'The Precision' etc. But when they play the wrong note (it's never me, always them) I sometimes call them names that would be autocorrected on here. 😃

Great review, thanks. I have one of these on my board giving me a boost with some distortion (the settings are the same as at 2'29"). It's replaced my Behringer Bass Distortion pedal, and compliments the always on grit of my Laney Digbeth.

I suppose it makes you focus on technique and that can't be a bad thing.

Just got me a new gig bag and it came with a free bass guitar. How amazing. 😃 But seriously - I've been GASsing for a headless and reading the BC comments on this one, I was tempted. But it was just a little too much money for what would be a 'nice to have' rather than an essential addition to the fold. After all, I have a Spirit XQ headless, long scale, passive only, and it's the bass I've had the longest. Then this Ibanez EHB1000s turned up 'ex-demo' at a price too good to ignore. I can't find the 'paint blemish on rear' described on the website; it's super light and lovely to play. As has been mentioned in previous posts about the EHB series, the fret markers are hard to see but they will go the way of all my basses and be replaced with adhesive dot markers. One of the reasons I got my Spirit headless was that it was small enough that I could fit into tiny pub spaces without hitting the cymbals or other band members. This shorty is even better for that and as I have small hands, the 30" scale fretboard is perfect for some of the stuff I'll be playing in the three piece I'm currently putting together.

I have a strap for each bass and they are adjusted to let the bass sit at about belt height - the centre of the body could attach to the belt buckle. It's a little lower than sitting down height.

I used to dread if England won the rugby and we were playing in the Welsh Valleys - the Welsh punters would be a little upset (!) and I have more of an English accent that Welsh. 😃

I feel your pain - being from Swansea and having played across South Wales during the 6 Nations games, it's common and not a reflection on the acts. To be fair, it's not just Wales - I've played gigs where England are playing in the World cup; last year we actually stopped playing so that everyone could watch a penalty shootout. I played one gig where we were on at the same time as a local darts tournament - same room, opposite ends (thank goodness). And I've played while watching a conveniently placed TV.

One of the bands I'm in does 'Your Love' and the bassline is a repetitive one. I have just acquired an easy to use looper and with the full knowledge of the drummer, I will be trying it out at the next rehearsal. 😃

I have a drop D tuner on my Spirit headless. I still have to remember to go back to E, but once that instruction has made its way through the synapse closures and diversions, it's one flick of the lever. 😃

aye me too. Dave And me. Another Dave

I have in the past been introduced to the audience by the singer as 'the guy that never smiles'. My excuse was that I was concentrating so hard on trying to anticipate what the singer was going to do with the arrangements of the songs on the fly. I make more of an effort now and it helps that I am actually enjoying playing as I no longer have to cope with random song arrangements, keys and set lists. This is my serious muso pose... You can clearly see in this photo why many prefer me not to smile...

It always feels like a setback when you don't get the numbers you expect. But 10 paying punters is better than none and there have been gigs where I would have been pleased to have 10 (one springs to mind - zero people at a gig until just before the end when two turned up - to get away from the big fight upstairs in the pub). But every gig makes you stronger. And if two of those 10 come back, they may bring their mates/partners/offspring. And most of the well paying gigs I've done in the last 5 years have been through people seeing us play. As has been said, treat it as a paid dress rehearsal (but always perform at your best for anyone who has paid). You can experiment with new songs or the new arrangement you've been working on. There have been a lot of bank holidays and celebrations this month and another one next week. Maybe the punters are running out of money.

Glad it went well. I had a hernia repair at the beginning of the year and once the initial 'ow, ow, ow' was over I thought I could get back to at least rehearsing (sitting down). But no, it was too early. Listen to your doctor and only start back when he gives you the ok. The risk of further damage and an extended (or even worse, permanent) break from playing is not worth it. I was fortunate - my bandmates took the opportunity to have a break as well, and when I was getting to the point of returning, I had visits from them just for short jams and updates to break me back in gently.

Yes, I'm the same. I bought my first expensive/proper/decent bass (a brand new Sterling HH) a couple of years ago, having made do with cheap 2nd hand basses until then. There was nothing wrong with them, but the Sterling was the only one that made me want to be a better bassist. I felt I had to justify the purchase and I think I have. I feel I've improved as a bass player more in the last two years than in the time before. It may be co-incidence, but I still get a thrill when I pick up the Sterling and on the days when I don't want to practice, that thrill is a great motivator.

+1 for the Plethora X3 - I've just added it to my board and while there's tweaking to be done, I love the sounds I'm getting after only a few days. It does have a cab sim built in to the global settings (i.e. doesn't take up a pedal slot) but you can switch that off.