Franticsmurf

This is the piece of music that got me playing bass. Listening to it on 'Yesshows', I assumed the solo was on guitar. When I found out is was on the bass, I knew I wanted to play the bass guitar in a band. It took me a few years to get there as I was playing guitar at the time. Whether or not its the coolest bass solo song - I don't know but the bass is pretty much up in the mix for the whole 20-odd minutes. (Don't worry, the clip below is just the solo). 😀

I played a duo gig a few years ago where the singer/guitarist was using his phone to play the backing tracks. Some amber nectar may have flowed in his direction (I don't drink). We started on Dakota and I noticed how accurate the backing track was. Then it dawned on me, he'd managed to select the actual Stereophonics song rather than the backing track. Fortunately, the crowd (a rugby club that had just won their league - the amber nectar was gushing rather than flowing) didn't notice and he apologised to me before moving on to the next number (Summer of 69, I think). And yes, that ended up being the full song too. For that and various other reasons mainly to do with the crowd and venue, it remains the worst gig I have ever played although I can now look back and laugh at it.

I'm working on a few of those amazing basslines at the moment for a new project. They are so much fun to play.

Hi GBD. I came to the bass via the guitar side of the stage. I liked having fewer strings to worry about and I've been bass only in bands for about 10 years.

Hi Rob. Just signed up myself.

Last minute gig via an agent (phone call at 4pm, on stage around 8.30 with a 90 minute drive). No info other than it was a pub gig. No problems, we were doing them regularly at the time but we were all working so it was a bit of race to finish, gather kit and head off. We turned up a little later than ideal and set up in a rush. Only after we'd got everything ready did we really notice the crowd - the usual suspects for the kind of pub we were in, but they were very well dressed. We started with the pub set (I don't remember most of the set but it would have been pub rock/blues standards). After the first three or four songs, there was no response from the audience - none. We weren't that bad so in true professional style, we carried on, trying different styles, slow, fast, medium, quiet, loud. Eventually we were getting a little half hearted and polite applause. At the end of the first set, we decided to do our rocky version of 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' (starts off like Clapton, ends like GnR but fast with a really nice guitar solo). In the past it had never failed to get an audience reacting and usually positively. Except when you play it at a wake. The landlord told us during the break - our agent had forgotten to mention it. We took a longer than usual break and the second set went down much better as the beer had been flowing for a while and the ties had come off. By the end of the night it was like regular gig and we managed several encores.

Pre Covid, the band I was in played some function gigs but mainly clubs and pubs. I enjoyed the mix of setlists and I liked the challenge that a wedding or corporate event of functions but for me, the best gigs (i.e. the ones I enjoyed the most) were the pubs. I have every respect for the discipline required by a good function band but at my level of playing, I concentrate so much on getting my parts right that any performance often takes second place. Our pub gigs are rougher around the edges but much more fun for all. If the band is having a good time, it shows in the performance and the audience will pick up on it. As part of the audience, I always enjoy a band who are clearly having a good time.

I've usually got a spare power, mic and instrument lead, fuses, tape, strings (the ones that came off the bass last), 9v batteries, screw drivers, multi-tool and torch. Takes up next to no room and it's what I would expect others to do if I was paying them (and as above, it may be 'The Day' for the happy couple). I used to take a spare bass but haven't for the last few years of gigging. With the new band I may well be using a 4 and 5 string which will take care of that. We had the PA mixer go on us at the last gig we played. Fortunately, we were close to home and were able to get hold of another without having to break any speed limits.

And me - and I'm not a dad (as far as I know).

Many years ago when I played in a duo, 'Alice' and 'Hey Baby' (will you be my girl) were particular offenders. I understood the need to play them but never enjoyed the experience. During the line dancing craze (late 90s ish) 'Achy Breaky Heart' was a miserable point in the set, lightened only by the alcohol fuelled line dancing attempts of the audience. More recently I found that repetition of the most popular songs means I get tired of playing them and it's increasingly harder to perform them with any enthusiasm. Wonderwall, Sweet Caroline, Hotel California, Take It Easy - all great songs that I like but that for the last 6 months or so I don't enjoy playing.

Added bonus with the rough on the pedal - pedals off a board will have a certain amount of grip on carpeted stages or floors. The downside is they will skate like Torvill and Dean across shiny floors. 😀

I played my second ever gig in the back garden of a house in Pennard.

With the guitar, I used to mix in some of the 'normal' pickup sound to cover any glitches.

I'm guessing the tracking was improved as well if it was a later model?

I had the guitar version - GR707 and the GR700 floor unit to go with it. As I remember, the floor unit was basically a Roland JX3P synthesiser. The cable was almost as thick as a transatlantic cable and had large computer style connectors either end (not the standard MIDI plugs). Tracking was ok for the day (I got mine second hand in the early 90s) but you had to alter your playing style to make sure it tracked well. The guitar itself was really nice to play. The bar (to stabilise the neck, I was told) didn't get in the way. I gigged it for about a year but slowly the songs I used it on fell off the setlist and I sold it on. I'm guessing the tracking on the bass version would be less accurate.

A second hello from Wales. 😀

Hi Adam.

In the early years I was influenced by Chris Squire and slightly later by Tony Levin and his work with King Crimson and then Peter Gabriel. I wanted a Ricky, knowing very little about them. Actually, I wanted the Squire gritty sound and assumed it was the Ricky sound. I couldn't afford one and by the time I got to the point where I could, technology had progressed to the point where most sounds could be approximated by boxes. So when I had the finances and the incentive to get a decent bass, I took a moment before jumping in. I decided on a Sterling Ray34HH. I liked the look, loved the sound that the players who used them (including Mr Levin) were getting and went with the twin humbuckers so that I could get a variety of tones from the bass alone before stepping on any pedals. A partial influence but also some practical choice on my part. I'm still after the Squire grit sound, though. 😀 I just hope the band plays songs it would be appropriate to use with.

A few years ago I was in two bands - one rehearsed a lot but gigged infrequently, the other gigged often enough that rehearsals weren't essential. I managed to balance the two nicely and the two different setlists (one Britpop, the other Blues Rock) it kept all interesting. Just after lockdown last year, I joined a second band on the understanding that the current band had priority over gig dates. They were happy with that and as it turns out there were no clashes.

No. I'd need to know (and trust) the person who was going to borrow it and ideally be there. Is there an option to arrange rental for the player?

I started out in a band doing our own stuff (spacey/proggy/rocky) and even with the clarity of hindsight, 30 years on there are a few songs that I still think are quite good. I joined an existing covers band and really liked only about 25% of the set. Most of the rest was ok and there a few songs that we had to play, usually at functions. I spent some time in a duo (me and the singer/guitarist from the band) and I struggle to remember any songs from that set list that I actually liked. A particular low point was the song 'Alice' with the modern audience response to the chorus which I won't repeat here. But having experienced that response several times a week from club audiences I was close to calling it a day. It paid for the bass/amp/effects/bass/bass/bass though. I went through many changes in direction with the covers band, including a side project with the same line up playing Eagles songs (during which we were often asked to play non-Eagles songs from people who hadn't seen the posters). With one or two exceptions, I'm not the biggest Eagles fan and the project folded when, during a relaxed rehearsal, it turned out that none of the others were Eagles fans either and we'd only agreed to do it to break the monotony of the 'usual' set list. 😀 The band I'm in now (recently formed and yet to gig) is putting together a set list that we're all pretty happy with. A second band I'm involved with plays a huge range of genres from folk to country, funk, soul, rock and a little prog (I may have had an influence there) and I love playing those songs despite not being a huge fan of country, funk or soul. The band is so laid back and fun to play with that the actual song takes a secondary role to the playing of the song, if that makes sense?

I was at the Hammersmith Chronicle show too. I'd seen them the previous year, same venue, when Lemmy guested. I took loads of 'great' photos, probably some of my best work 😀 - but my camera was stolen at the end of the night so we'll never know. I went on to see them several more times over the years. My first band was heavily influenced by them - synths, sound effects, spoken passages between songs. We covered Assault and Battery/Golden Void, Utopia and if we needed a filler, Silver Machine.

I remember watching Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' series and hearing the excerpt from 'Heaven and Hell' and wondering what it was. Took me a while to find out (pre-internet days) but it's a great album. I also have Aphrodite's Child '666' which is a great, if a little bizarre, album. Vangelis is my go-to chill music provider.

Same here. I wanted to learn how to programme decent fills and I was given the remains of an ancient Carslbro electric kit that had been plundered for spares. It has no dedicated hi-hat or snare pad but for my needs its perfect. I started to understand fills, but more importantly for me as a bassist, I started to get what the drummer was doing, and that it wasn't just banging things with sticks. 😀

I spent ages experimenting with the best balance between bus and car to get the perfect grungy urban sound. The clean sound is based around the Nissan Leaf. It has a bypass switch, too, which is modelled on the Newbury bypass, I believe. 😀