Franticsmurf

A muscle injury recently made me rethink my bass amp and cabs. Initially I went for a TCE Bam200 and a Warwick 1x10 cab (together they came in at under £250) and enabled me to rehearse and play a couple of gigs. But all the while I was trying to find out more about the TE 1x10 cab, which I'd read about on this forum. After the positive reviews here and elsewhere I finally received mine about three weeks ago and gigged it for the first time last Saturday. On its own a great punchy sound and combined with the Warwick and a Peavy Minimax head I was really pleased with the way it handled the range of sounds I used on the night. In my opinion, the sound was much clearer and cut through the band mix (loud drums, electric and acoustic guitar and three vocals) far better than the Laney RB7 with its 1x15 extension cab I was using before. I think the RB7 combo will go but I'll keep the 1x15 as it does give me more low end if I need it.

Early in my band career we auditioned for a bassist and ended up picking the fretless player. In all honesty, fretted or fretless was not a consideration. As I remember (and it was a while back) it was initially a compatibility of influences and at the audition it was whether the player could add to the stuff we were doing (original and a few covers), play competently and whether he fitted in with the rest of us. He ticked all three boxes and was with us for about 6 months. We parted company for a few reasons, none of which were to do with frets.

Last night was a return to a popular seaside venue, The Smuggler's Beach in Port Eynon. New band (we'd only played together in that line-up for a 2 hour rehearsal on Wednesday, but all experienced from previous line-ups), new set (finalised at the same rehearsal). Parking was a lottery as the village was never designed for vehicles and has a large caravan park nearby. Quietish first 30 minutes followed by a steady build up of folks until by the middle of the 2nd set they were dancing beyond the stage area into the back of the venue. Great atmosphere and band-friendly staff, including the rare 'drinks for the band on the house' service. About half of my other band (a big 13 piece) were in the audience and they were all up front. Great feedback from them. On paper this should have been a car-crash gig. About three weeks ago we didn't have a singer and the guitarist and I had been preparing to cover the vocals ourselves (if I have to sing, it's definitely an emergency). Then we had found a singer prepared to stand in for the gig. Two weeks ago we found a 'permenant' singer for the band and a few days later he pulled out. So on the night we had another new singer (and we'd modified the set to include a number of her songs). The guitarist and I took a few songs as well. I was pleased with my version of 'Bad is Bad' but 'I'm a Believer' - well, I think 'tries hard but could do better' is the correct phrase. 😀 First proper outing at volume for my mini rig- Trace Elliott 1x10, Warwick 1x10 and Peavey Minimax head. I was really happy with the punchy sound.

Me too, and I don't normally suffer from bad nerves. I think in order, my concerns would be no singer, parking, tech. Having just been through a 'no singer' scare, I have started learning some simple songs to sing (I struggle playing bass riffs and singing, and that's before my poor vocal skills). I've had to park in some dodgy places in the past ("park as far away from the fence as possible as the kids like to throw half bricks at the cars" was one memorable line from a club owner). We usually have enough kit between us to cope with most tech issues. Good luck and let us know how it went.

In the clips where the guitar goes flying off out of shot, there are priceless moments where the spinners stop and look in disbelief. I think this is the crucial learning point from this instructional video - you must perfect that look of incredulity that it hasn't worked quite like you thought it would. 🤣

Muscle injury has forced me to downsize amp and cabs. This is the rig for Saturday's gig - first time live for the TE cab but it sounded good in rehearsal. We've played there before and the space for the rhythm section is limited, hence the headless. As you can see the TE cab has already sprouted some leaves and I'm hoping for a nice crop of 1" tweeters in the new year. 😀

If it's the one I've just watched, then I'm already halfway there. 😀 I just need to not play for half a song and perfect my 'I'm not of this world' stare!

I've had a couple of voluntary breaks. The first was for around 3 years and was because I was fed up with what the band were doing (never changing set, 'wing it' attitude, same gig different venue etc). I became disillusioned with the whole playing live thing and my motivation disappeared. I clearly recall the last gig I played before this break - I was stood on stage at a club in the Welsh Valleys playing only root notes to songs I didn't really have to think about, thinking about how much I could sell my amp for. 😀 I did a little recording at home but played very little and sold most of my gear. I returned to dep, ironically for the same band, as a favour. The set list was very similar to the one I'd left behind several years before but my attitude had mellowed a little and I had a fresh perspective on it. I brought a couple of new tunes to the band and the depping became permanent. I had to invest in a bass amp and a second bass to replace the stuff I'd sold, but that was no hardship. The second break was for about 18 months when my mum was ill and I was looking after her. It wasn't practical to be too far away at gigs as she was seriously ill and I was on call. I stepped down so the band could get a bassist in. (As it happens they never actually got a regular bassist but made do with deps - nothing to do with keeping the slot open for me). I didn't sell any gear this time but I found that the break helped me refresh once again. After my mum passed away, I needed things to get me back on my feet and playing live was one therapy that helped. I depped for a while, did some short lived band projects and then fell in with a couple of old band mates to gig regularly. I spent most of lockdown working in one of the field hospitals and my down time was spent getting better on the bass. Both breaks gave me the space to recharge the bass playing batteries and if you're feeling a little jaded or disillusioned I'd recommend a break as one way of overcoming it. Play as little or as often as you feel like, think carefully before selling gear (although a clear out can be therapeutic too). Only come back to the gigs when you're ready. I kept in touch with my mates in the bands I'd been with, went to see their gigs etc so I didn't cut myself off 100%. Good luck.

Hi Chris, welcome aboard. I've never owned a Fender bass either. More a financial thing than sonic but I don't feel I'm missing out.

Yeah, play. It may lead to great things. But don't forget to compensate for not having a guitarist by increasing the mids and treble volume at least twofold. 😁

I can read music very slowly, not nearly fast enough to play along to, so I answered no. I could use notation to figure out a part, but I'd have to translate it into my own form of chart to stand any chance of playing along to it in real time. Most of the musicians in my circle can't read music. The two exceptions being a violinist and a sax player.

Rock 'n' Roll! 🤣

I don't like watching bands that aren't having fun (or don't look as if they're enjoying). I always pick up on it if I'm a punter, so I always try to play like I'm having fun as a band member. I'm not known for smiling but I make an effort (not sure what it looks like out front but no one has recoiled in horror yet), pretend to talk to the singer/guitarist (and gently blow in his ear to try and put him off) and try and make eye contact with the audience. Mostly it's the drummer and me exchanging 'what are we playing next' looks as the singer goes off on his fantasy set list.

Hi Ralph.

Hi MSB.

Great multi-band line up yesterday. I managed to play three times with different bands - a couple of songs to support a drummer whose guitarist and bassist/singer had pulled out at the last minute (all new to playing and never played live and I think the nerves took a hold). I played three songs with the band of 13 year olds I'd been mentoring all week (they were brilliant) and a couple of tunes with ex-band mates in a jam at the end. I was using my Gretsch Electromatic shorty - first outing on a stage for her - through a Laney RB2 (the communal bass amp) DI'd to FOH. The rest of the day I was on sound duties - with around 20 acts and varying levels of professionalism (from 0-100% 😀) it was quite a challenge. But no complaints, and several compliments from people I respect so I'm happy. And the students from the Rock School performed really well and all went home as happy rockstars! No photos of the kids (of course) but here are a few of the acts. As I was also the photographer, sadly no photos of me either. Today is a day of rest, calm and quiet. 😀

Hi Paul.

They never did that when I went to se them.😀 I missed out there! The buffet looked as if it had been there all day so there were probably enough bacteria to have a similar effect.

We did one like that at the end of last year. Birthday, not well attended but in a large club so no atmosphere. No dancing until right at the end and the guests were split into two groups that didn't mix all night. We were glad to get out as it felt a bit wierd.

Playing here tomorrow - I've spent the last week with with a bunch of like-minded muso/mentors putting 7 bands together from students of the Spidermusic Swansea School of Rock. The age range is from 6-15, none of them had played in a band before and on Sunday they'll each be performing two covers and an original on a proper stage in the fantastic Gorseinon GEC. The manager, Andy, has been brilliant and opened up the venue specially on Thursday to show the kids around.

I always wanted to be in a band that called itself 'Weaveworld' (from the novel by ?Clive Barker?) as it sounded proggy with a hint of sci-fi/fantasy. But the band never existed and the groups I was in didn't meet the requirements (usually because they didn't like the name). Then on day we used a dep bassist (I was on guitar at the time) and he was in a band called... Weaveworld. I liked the band I was in and his band was full.

The name of my first band was Nightshade - Hawkwindesque sci fi originals and a few related covers, around 1988. Never gigged and no singer, quickly morphed into: Jovian Winter - Similar originals and covers but with a few more accessible covers thrown in to try and extend the set to 90 minutes. We had a marathon naming session at which the classic suggestions 'Cheese Sandwich' and 'Jackboots of Buddha' were put forward. Fragile Earth - proggy originals, a few similar covers to flesh out the set. Frantic Smurf (hence my tag) was a one off reunion of the three bands above in one appallingly chaotic gig. Well attended but soon forgotten. Mr McHenry - all covers, an eclectic mix from the four of us which included 'Like a Virgin', 'Blockbuster', 'Black or White' and 'Black Dog'. Ramtops - Britpoppy/rocky originals with some strange time signatures. Shine - Britpop covers There followed several years go duos (I played guitar and bass with the same singer for all of them) including 'Getting Even', 'RUK', 'Stigma', 'Louie & Co' and the last one which became: The Insiders (and later, The Insiderz) which had a great pub rock set and a not so great (I wasn't a fan) function set. On and off I played bass and sometimes guitar in this one for about 20 years until Covid. Skeleton Krew - a one-off gig at a venue that liked us. We played on the Friday as 'The Insiders' and they had also booked us to do Halloween which was the following night, but they didn't want the same band name on the posters. The Long Road - music of The Eagles, which worked alongside The Insiders as it was basically the same line-up. This lasted a couple of years until Covid. The Rewinderz formed from 4/5ths of The Insiderz, initially to play rock 'n' roll covers but sort of slid back to the pub standards when the R 'n' R gigs didn't materialise. I record, but don't perform, my own originals under the name 'Phunki Drengka' (which is one of the many ways to spell the name of a village on the Everest Base Camp trail).

On the face of it, 2 quality gigs per month would be my choice. But thinking about it for a while, some of the best gigs (the ones I've enjoyed and the ones that have gone down best) have been at the lower end of the venue spectrum. I've done the 100+ gigs per year thing and it was valuable for learning the practical side of being in a band and made me a better bassist but it also resulted in many of those gigs being played with less enthusiasm from the band than perhaps the audience deserved. I stopped for a while as I found myself turning up to a gig prepared to 'wing it' rather than having learnt the songs properly (particularly true of the duo gigs I played) and I didn't like it. In the last few years (2020 aside) I've been fortunate enough to play with two bands that have been getting decent gigs. One organises their own festivals, charity gigs and Christmas gigs that are always well attended. The other uses an agent to get some good work. I would say that on average since 2018 I've played 15-20 gigs per year between the two bands and that, to me, is comfortable.

Yes. I have a couple of right angle jack plugs reserved just for sofa practice. So I guess I merely tolerate sofas that are not designed for bass guitar practice while seated in comfort using any old lead. 😀

When I was a teenager trying to be cool, it was frowned upon to like anything in the charts. So I missed out on the likes of The Police, Gary Numan, Duran Duran, Simple Minds, REM etc. I have been introduced to them through the power of the set list. Learning new songs is a great way to find some great tracks overlooked first time around.