What would you do?

[Brandonh]

Ok so, Im 16 I could get a job this summer at a plastic factory and make 9.50 A hour and I would be working 9 hours a day everyday but sunday and I have it calculated that by the end of the summer I could easily have a Made in America Fender jazz Along with a Nice ampeg 800 watt amp and a 1000 watt ampeg head. I woulent have much time to play and I would be dead tired considering this is alot of work.

My friends are telling me to just not get a job and play with what I have.

I have been playing for 8 months. I have a MIM fender precision with a badass bridge two and seymour duncans. I have a 300 watt half stack peavey amp.

Now should I stay home and get better or buy equipment for the future?

[setekh]

I got a summer job when I was 16. then another one at 17. by 18 I had to start working part-time yearlong (needed the money). You do miss out on some stuff (you cant waste your summer doing nothing like the cool kids ), and it's hard on you both physically and mentally.

In the end it's all about goals. If you really want it badly, go for it. It will make you grow, and you'll earn money of your own However, you might consider working part-time - at least that way you'll have more free time for yourself/hang out with friends AND will still earn a few quid. You probably wont be able to buy that rig, but you might consider a cheaper rig or no rig at all for now (and you'd get to save the money) Besides, you've been playing for 8months - I'd get A LOT more experience and try out other different brands before I would commit to buy such a monstrous rig. Oh, and BTW, do you really need all that power? O.o I've got a 200W head and its more than enough for my small gigs

[bassbloke]

Go and do the job. When you get home make sure you put an hour aside for structured practice. You'll probably accomplish 10x more than you would in a day's worth of nooding in your bedroom.

Don't buy the Fender or Ampeg- stick the money in a high interest account and make a point of looking around everywhere for something really nice - inckludign the small ads.

I made the mistake when I was a student finishing school and before goingto uni (14 years ao) of a getting a well paid job over the Summer and blowingall of the cash. I could have turned up for uni in september with a coupleof grand in the bank but I tutned up with nothing.

[Paul Cooke]

[quote name='bassbloke' post='13990' date='Jun 8 2007, 06:59 AM']Go and do the job. When you get home make sure you put an hour aside for structured practice. You'll probably accomplish 10x more than you would in a day's worth of nooding in your bedroom.[/quote]
if you do it that way, you'll be too tired to practice properly when you get in... too tempted to just let it slide...

instead, just get up an hour earlier and get the practice in before going to work... then you'll be alert for the practice...

and when you get in from work, you'll be entitled to rest and not feel guilty about letting another practice session slide...

[Sean]

You'd also have to get a second job to save money to buy a transit van to carry the rig in! :wacko:

I'd advise really looking at how big a rig you really need for whjat you're doing. Many of us go for big rigs to later realise that they are impractical for the kind of gigs we play. I have two and it's the smaller 2 x 10 Gallien Kruger combo that sees the most action as it's loud enough for most venues, fits in the boot of my Peugeot 406 saloon and has wheels whereas my Ashdown needs quite a bit of manhandling. If we are playing a large venue or an out door venue I use a DI to the PA.

How about getting a job with less hours and striking a balance between the the two options?

[GreeneKing]

Hiya

£9.50 an hour, thats very good. I'm an old guy albeit a graduate and working part time in school I earn less than £5 an hour!

Everything is a positive here and we are all different. My advice would be to get the job and learn to fit the practice in when you can as that will be a valuable skill to develop later in life when theses things happen all the time.

Work will be another valuable experience too.

Working to enable yourself to buy gear, yet again, at the risk of sounding boring, a satisfying and valuable experience.

Oh and sod the Fender, get a Lakland Skyline.

All the best whatever way it goes

Peter

[Machines]

Yep £9.50 PH is certainly not to be snubbed. Take advantage of it and get yourself some gear to last.

[kevcooke]

I wish I got into a part-time job when I was sixteen. I'm with Matt on this one!

[thumbo]

I reckon you should do the job. It's only for the summer, you'll have a nice stack of cash to spend on bass things. I really don't think you'd regret doing it. What are you reeeally gonna miss out on anyway? Perhaps your mates are a bit jealous that you've got this opportunity?

[anti-barbie]

Sorry to be a killjoy but i'm just wondering if it is legal for a 16 year old to work 9 hrs a day 6 days a week?

If it isn't then go for it!

[Hamster]

That's a lot of work, a lot of bass, a lot of amp, and a lot of cab.

In a word - excessive.

By all means do the work - it's a great experience to work hard and earn your own money and £9.50 p/h is a good rate.

As for the kit - you've done your homework! I just have to echo several above comments, put most of the money in a building society with a 30 day withdrawel notice requirement (to stop the impetuous spending urges!)

Do you really need that level of a rig? If you have set your heart mind and soul on it then ask yourself a very hard question - why? Write down 10 advantages of following your plan, and then write down 10 disadvantages.

If the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, then go for it - BUT discover the joys of buying secondhand and save a lot of money. Look in the for sale sections here and ask for advice from the wealth of experience on the forum. Then you have to sort out the transport of a rig that size/weight.

And to answer the question, [quote]Now should I stay home and get better or buy equipment for the future?[/quote]

Go to work, do 1 hour a day [i]quality[/i] practice at home, and think long and hard about what quality/size/price of equipment you need for the future.

Hamster

Edited June 8, 2007 by Hamster

[alexclaber]

Get the job but see if you can do 5 rather than 6 days a week. Don't blow all the cash on designer label bass gear, stick some of it in a savings account and spend some of it on upgrading bits of your rig that you really need to but only once you truly know what you want. You could even invest in some bass lessons!

It's all too easy to see what the pros use and think "I need to have that to be a proper bassist". Remember that many of them only use that gear because they get given it free or heavily discounted. Keep learning about gear and you'll make better choices, spend less money and sound better - especially once you understand that wattage is one of the least important of all the specs on speaker cabs!

Alex

[Sibob]

+1 for the above post

+1 for if you get a job put the money in an account for uni!!!!

And perhaps just spend the time playing and practicing, maybe a part time job instead of a 'life-killer'.
What kinda gigs are you doing to warrant a 1000watt head???? Not many people do gigs that need that, thats like stadium onstage volume lol.

Si

[Kiwi]

A high interest account isn't going to give you much of a return for two grand unless you keep it in there for quite a while. Plus, if I was in your shoes, sweating my arse off and trying to motivate myself to get through the day, I couldn't think of better motivation than a better piece of kit. I'd probably print out a pic off the internet and carry it in with me to work so that when the going got tough I'd have a reminder.

I did exactly the same thing when I was saving for my Jaydee bass way back in 1991. Worked two goddawful jobs to save the £450 and never regretted it (in the long term). Yes I could have saved the money but I had no regrets and I used that bass for 12 years exclusively afterwards. I got good value for my effort.

So if you're passionate about bass then get yourself a better bass if thats what you want! Enjoy your money because you've worked hard for it. Just make sure you get the best value for your effort as you can and don't succumb to fashion too much.

However if you know you've got priorities with university or living expenses then it only stands to reason that you think of those needs first.

Otherwise I say go for it! Reward yourself for sticking with it!

[pete.young]

[quote name='anti-barbie' post='14035' date='Jun 8 2007, 09:51 AM']Sorry to be a killjoy but i'm just wondering if it is legal for a 16 year old to work 9 hrs a day 6 days a week?[/quote]

You're right. According to

[url="http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/YoungPeople/Workandcareers/Yourrightsandresponsibilitiesatwork/DG_066272"]http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/YoungPeople/Wo...twork/DG_066272[/url]

assuming that the OP has left school, at 16 he's limited to working 8 hours a day, max 40 hours a week.

It's also in breach of the European Directive on Working Time, which limits you to an average 48 hour week
over a period of 4 weeks.

GreeneKing, how come you're being paid less than 5 quid an hour when the UK minimum wage for workers
over 22 is £5.35 ?

[2wheeler]

You have some useful gear already, even if it's not your dream set-up.

Get a part time job in a record shop, do a bit of playing, work on a bit of technique, take it easy.

One day you'll have to do the full-time plus job to pay the mortgage and it won't just be for a summer, it will be for years...

[King of Loss]

Personally, I hate working, but I'm only 18. I have done kind of what you are thinking of doing though, only not SO MUCH work. That's how I bought my small MarkBass rig and Ibanez BTB1206e, but to be honest, now what I do for money is play jazz. It's great, playing at parties, weddings, that kinda thing, for like £50 for an hour an a half's work, it is fun, not difficult at all, and doesn't require alot of commitment.

I hated regular jobs where I had to work like 8 hours a day, I just can't hack it. There are so many other things that are more worthwhile than making money. Although, the decision is up to you.

[The Funk]

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='13996' date='Jun 8 2007, 07:58 AM']£9.50 an hour, thats very good. I'm an old guy albeit a graduate and working part time in school I earn less than £5 an hour![/quote]

I'm working at a law firm after 6 years of undergraduate, post-graduate and professional education and I only get £0.50 an hour more than that. Take the job and buy some really cool gear on 1st September. You might never need to upgrade.

Like someone else said above, get up an hour earlier in the morning and practice then.

You should remember that a lot of the jazz, blues, soul and rock legends had sh!tty day jobs - even after some people started to know who they were.

[kevcooke]

Yeh the laws on hours is something to consider.

Really though, people say money doesn't buy happiness... well it bloody does in my experience (most of the time anyway). As long as the job doesn't suck, money is money and get the gear you want man. It'll make you feel more like playing it and in the long run you'll have a good set up and +1 to who ever said it earlier: an hour of QUALITY practice everyday.

[chris_b]

Listen to us, we are older, wiser and more experienced........ are you mad!!!

For less than a year playing, your gear is fine. I wish I had that gear when I was 16, or even 18. There'll be better gear out in a couple of years anyway.

I assume you're living at home? Take the job, make it up to a full stack and piss the rest up the wall. You're 16 for god's sake! Go out, party, have a great time. Make this a summer to remember. Oh, and take photos. You've got plenty of time to worry about savings and interest rates etc.

[tigerfeetLeonard]

at 16 i was unsure of the direction i wanted to take in life so i had fun for the summer and got a job after, with the job i bought some gear that helped me through the years till i got the gear i wanted. I've still got a wish list of stuff i want.
i'd say go out and have fun. you've got better gear than when i was younger. besides having a load of top end gear doesn't mean your a good bass player.

Go out and have fun with your mates. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif"]http://basschat.co.uk/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif[/url]
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif"]http://basschat.co.uk/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif[/url]

[Musky]

Another thing to bear in mind is that taking a job now will make it that much easier to get work in the future. It might not be the line of work you're looking to go into, but your next employer will always look more kindly at someone with a bit of work experience than someone who hasn't.

[Hamster]

[quote name='pete.young' post='14055' date='Jun 8 2007, 09:35 AM']It's also in breach of the European Directive on Working Time, which limits you to an average 48 hour week
over a period of 4 weeks.[/quote]

That's an average of 48 hrs/pw over a 17 week period (or the period of employment if less than 17 weeks) Which is something you can opt out of if you want.

Hamster

[Buzz]

At 16?

Get the job, possibly not 6 days a week, it's a killer doing 9-5 for 5 days a week, let alone for 6 (been there, done that, even done a 7 day week once, horrible, got up at 7am to go to work on my day off, I was on autopilot).

Save the money though, 1000w's is a tad excessive.

At 17 I'd get the summer job still.

At 18 I'd say f*** it, take the summer off (just have a small partime job, like 1-2 days), and then proceede to have a good time out and about on the town with mates.

[funkysimon]

I'm with those who've already said take the job but limit those hours if you can. Once you finish education you'll be stuck in a job for the rest of your life (well, with a bit of luck!), so there's no need to sign yourself down for more time at the grindstone than you really have to. On the flip side, having no money is sh*t, so a bit of work is always good.

Spend time learning to play better with what you've already got so you feel confidence in your skills, or do the job then go out and buy a flash new bass that will encourage you to play loads and make you look forward to playing, but at the expense of losing practice time due to the job... I don't think there's an answer to that quandry.