what are your best tips?

[Bolo]

Earplugs! Get all of the cheap ones and compare, until you can afford fitted ones! Best bassgear I bought ever!

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1405982295' post='2507310']
I think I'm probably quoting you... so thank you
[/quote]

No worries. I didn't come up with it!

[Dr.Dave]

Be a musician - not a gear collector. Only copy others until you're competent enough not to - no heroes. Deal with mistakes , don't fear them. Remember that you can't break rules until you know them , but that rules are for the guidance of the wise and the obedience of the weak. Make sure that at every gig you do something to ensure the punters will remember you when they wake up next morning. Have other interests - life's too big to waste it all playing music. Play what you should , not what you can. When offered money to prostitute your artistry and compromise your values - always take it. When a landlord offers you free drinks - ask if you can come back tomorrow and have them then. Never pay too much respect your audience - if any at all. Don't join in this drummer or singer bashing nonsense - strive to play with good ones. Never play in Doncaster , in fact never go to Doncaster. If you can already play an instrument that allows you to have a rest mid song and stand around for a moment looking cool - stick with that !!

[BigGuyAtTheBack]

Buy the drummer a big electric fan, he'll love you for it and he'll forgive your screwups. Worked for me

[peteb]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1406015648' post='2507428']
Be a musician - not a gear collector. Only copy others until you're competent enough not to - no heroes. Deal with mistakes , don't fear them. Remember that you can't break rules until you know them , but that rules are for the guidance of the wise and the obedience of the weak. Make sure that at every gig you do something to ensure the punters will remember you when they wake up next morning. Have other interests - life's too big to waste it all playing music. Play what you should , not what you can. When offered money to prostitute your artistry and compromise your values - always take it. When a landlord offers you free drinks - ask if you can come back tomorrow and have them then. Never pay too much respect your audience - if any at all. Don't join in this drummer or singer bashing nonsense - strive to play with good ones. Never play in Doncaster , in fact never go to Doncaster. If you can already play an instrument that allows you to have a rest mid song and stand around for a moment looking cool - stick with that !!
[/quote]
Apart for the disdain for the punters bit this is generally pretty good advice...

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1406025151' post='2507546']
Apart for the disdain for the punters bit this is generally pretty good advice...
[/quote]
In 30 odd years of gigging I still get called a guitar player , asked why my guitar only has 4 strings , asked if I 'really need all that gear ' , told we're brilliant when we've had an off night , told we're sh*te when we were excellent , told the reason we won't do the Kings of f***ing Leon must be because we can't play it - I've seen excellent musicians ignored , piss taking jokers lauded as brilliant , guitarists judged as some kind of deity on how fast they can move their fingers even though they couldn't keep time with a Rolex , bands putting an interesting spin on a cover told they 'got it wrong' - how long need I go on. Your average punter hasn't got a clue mate. That's fair enough - I don't know how an engine works or how to fix a computer , each to their own etc. I'm happy to go out and entertain and be friendly towards punters - they're no better or worse a human being than I am ( and thankyou very much for the foreign holidays and the narrowboat) but as someone who has spent a lifetime striving to be a decent player and who has learned the sense in recognising good music and good playing even when its not to my taste or not my instrument I refuse - and will continue to refuse - to accept the musical opinions of a Friday night drinker as anything other than inferior to my own or those of my playing peers whos effort and experience based views I've come to regard as worthwhile and command my respect.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Dr.Dave

[Norris]

Never wear a waistcoat. That ship sailed decades ago.
A hat is optional, but wear with caution. Most people look like a prat in a hat.
Never, ever, ever let anyone place a drink on top of your amplifier
Try to look like you're enjoying yourself, and it's ok to move around a bit

[Oopsdabassist]

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1406027168' post='2507570']
Never wear a waistcoat. That ship sailed decades ago.
A hat is optional, but wear with caution. Most people look like a prat in a hat.
[/quote]

Ouch!!

[url="http://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t1.0-9/10536914_676179962459264_1682088755353289636_n.jpg"]http://scontent-b-lh...353289636_n.jpg[/url]


[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1406027168' post='2507570']
Never, ever, ever let anyone place a drink on top of your amplifier[/quote]

At least my drink is sensibly placed

Edited July 22, 2014 by Oopsdabassist

[icastle]

A band is only ever going to be as good as it's weakest member.
If it's you, pull your finger out.
If it's someone else either nurture them or lose them, but don't ignore it.

An audience will always remember the last song you played.
Keep your best song for the encore.

A silent audience is OK... unless they're moving towards you...

[tauzero]

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1406027168' post='2507570']
Never, ever, ever let anyone place a drink on top of your amplifier
[/quote]

Unless you have it mounted in one of these rack cases:


Perfect for containing spillage.

[PaulWarning]

if you're cack handed and learning from scratch, learn right handed if you can

[Simon.]

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1406011306' post='2507382']
Earplugs! Get all of the cheap ones and compare, until you can afford fitted ones! Best bassgear I bought ever!
[/quote]
Single best piece of musical gear I ever purchased was a set of custom earplug. As a result my hearing is better than average for my age, despite 20+ years of playing in bands. Pretty much everyone else I've played with down the years is starting to show the effects of not using hearing protection.

Other advice - If it stops being fun, stop doing it.

[peteb]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1406026903' post='2507565']

In 30 odd years of gigging I still get called a guitar player , asked why my guitar only has 4 strings , asked if I 'really need all that gear ' , told we're brilliant when we've had an off night , told we're sh*te when we were excellent , told the reason we won't do the Kings of f***ing Leon must be because we can't play it - I've seen excellent musicians ignored , piss taking jokers lauded as brilliant , guitarists judged as some kind of deity on how fast they can move their fingers even though they couldn't keep time with a Rolex , bands putting an interesting spin on a cover told they 'got it wrong' - how long need I go on. Your average punter hasn't got a clue mate. That's fair enough - I don't know how an engine works or how to fix a computer , each to their own etc. I'm happy to go out and entertain and be friendly towards punters - they're no better or worse a human being than I am ( and thankyou very much for the foreign holidays and the narrowboat) but as someone who has spent a lifetime striving to be a decent player and who has learned the sense in recognising good music and good playing even when its not to my taste or not my instrument I refuse - and will continue to refuse - to accept the musical opinions of a Friday night drinker as anything other than inferior to my own or those of my playing peers whos effort and experience based views I've come to regard as worthwhile and command my respect.
[/quote]
But I have been playing as long as you (and presumably in some of the same places seeing as we are not located that far apart) and generally punters are fine with me. That is not to say that there is not the odd idiot and I have told a few to f**k off over the years, but some of my best friends are people that I originally met because they happened at some point to have been fans of some silly little rock and roll band that I was playing in!

Obviously I don’t take punters’ opinions about music too seriously in the same way that I wouldn’t expect a guy who repairs vacuum cleaners to listen to me telling him how to do his job! They can only know what they like, so then why would you expect them to understand the mechanics of how music works? Christ, have you seen the opinions of some of the supposed musicians who post on here! However, a lot of punters will often correctly recognise a good band over a poor one even if they don’t really understand the reasons why – something a lot of people who play in bands sometimes fail to give them credit for…

Edited July 22, 2014 by peteb

[charic]

[quote name='BigGuyAtTheBack' timestamp='1406024753' post='2507538']
Buy the drummer a big electric fan, he'll love you for it and he'll forgive your screwups. Worked for me
[/quote]

I bought my drummer a big rubber fan, she's called Doris

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1406066347' post='2508096']


Obviously I don’t take punters’ opinions about music too seriously in the same way that I wouldn’t expect a guy who repairs vacuum cleaners to listen to me telling him how to do his job! They can only know what they like, so then why would you expect them to understand the mechanics of how music works?
[/quote] I don't expect anyone to understand how music works , so long as folk enjoy themselves - and most of them do - I'm happy. I'm known as an entertaining crowd pleaser and I get a buzz out of that. What I don't want is folk telling me this is good or this is bad etc when they can't even tell if something's in time or in tune or not. That's a very basic measure of whether a bit of music's good or not and doesn't require an 'insider' to figure out. Of course , not every punter is the same - there are plenty of clued up music fans about but I find the majority as thick as a whale omelette and find it more useful to me as a player to dismiss their opinions as the clap trap of someone who doesn't know what they're talking about.. There's a drummer round my way who the punters love but I've yet to hear him come out of his woefully clumsy fills in time even once. There's a guitar player who gets raved about who's fast. That's it - just fast. Not an ounce of taste or soul or the slightest bit of stage craft. If I listened to the opinions of the punters I'd be playing with two jokers like that . No thanks - I'll stick to acting on my own opinions because the resultant music I make will be better for it.

[Cat Burrito]

Know your place within the band (different from being a doormat). Show up on time, only moan if you really have to and buy the odd round. I've not been fired from a band in over 25yrs and I am sure there are better players out there.... not that any of that is an excuse for not playing well.

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1406126726' post='2508579']
buy the odd round.
[/quote] Come on , mate - there's no need for talk like that !!!

[jazzyvee]

[quote name='julietgreen' timestamp='1405975593' post='2507208']
Re the earplugs: I've got a great pair of 'musicians' earplugs' that work brilliantly [i]when I'm not playing.[/i] In spite of the claim that they don't change the sound quality, just cut it down, I really find it difficult to play with them in. Perhaps I just need to get used to it.
[/quote]
I've been using the off the shelf musicians earplugs for about 10 years now but and since moving to bass i found them to be difficult to use as they don't attenuate the sound evenly and the lower frequencies are less clear making it difficult to pitch notes properly. However recently i bought some ACS custom earplugs and after a bit of a hickup with the first mould, I have a new pair which were made as an open mouth impression. These are far superior to the general non custom mould ones and are better at attenuating the sound in a more even manner so I can hear everything even cues from band members. However I do find that I still need a bit of more mids in my stage monitor to accurately hear my note articulation when playing reggae. Other genre's of music is not a problem as my tone for other stuff has more bite in the tone.

Edited July 23, 2014 by jazzyvee

[CamdenRob]

I've never had an issue with the regular foam earplugs... I grab a couple of sets from work every time I see a bag on site somewhere.

It amazes me how many bands I play in where I'm the only one that wears them...

[Paultrader]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1405956028' post='2506900']
all good advice, except what's all this locking into the bass drum? very old school
[/quote]

I lock in with drums, drummer smiles, band sounds good.

(Drummer provides rehearsal space, lends me his bass amp at practices, always has a beer in the fridge, is all round nice guy - the result is happiness all round!)

[discreet]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1406130419' post='2508637']
It amazes me how many bands I play in where I'm the only one that wears them...
[/quote]

Me too, and unsurprisingly they're deaf and/or have tinnitus. No-brainer.

[EssentialTension]

You learn most from someone who knows what they are talking about, even though you do not always agree with them.

You learn least from someone who does not know what they are talking about, even when you always agree with them.

[discreet]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1406153469' post='2508943']
You learn most from someone who knows what they are talking about, even though you do not always agree with them.
You learn least from someone who does not know what they are talking about, even when you always agree with them.
[/quote]

Not sure if I agree with that.

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='Paultrader' timestamp='1406147929' post='2508864']
I lock in with drums, drummer smiles, band sounds good.

(Drummer provides rehearsal space, lends me his bass amp at practices, always has a beer in the fridge, is all round nice guy - the result is happiness all round!)
[/quote]
nothing wrong with locking into the drums, in fact its essential, but I always think if it's just the bass drum it all sound a bit ploddy, personally I take more notice of the snare

[Dad3353]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1406153646' post='2508946']
Not sure if I agree with that.
[/quote]

Ah, but do you know what you're talking about..?