Told to buy new basses

[Graham]

Given the ages of the rest of the band, I wonder if there's some assumptions being made about disposable income and willingness to spend it on instruments

[Graham]

On 03/05/2021 at 18:07, NJE said:

If you don’t know him already look at James Leach from sikth, the last time I saw him he was using a 34” scale Manson bass and I believe he tunes to drop C# tuning as well as G#-G#-C#-F#. His tone was massive and clear, you don’t need to follow trends and look like every other heavy band and buy a Dingwall.

On a tangent, I was looking into SikTh's tunings recently as I was learning a couple of their songs and was surprised to see that G#-G#-C#-G# tuning. I've not come across a tuning where the bottom strings are tuned to the same note before. Anyone used this or know of the benefits?

My first assumption was the G#s were an octave apart, but then the gauge and/or tension difference between those strings would be huge

[pete.young]

Very nice NG2 just popped up in the Classified section.

 

[Stub Mandrel]

I bought my Hohner Jack V for £130 and I'd happily do a tone face-off against all comers 🙂

[NJE]

4 hours ago, Graham said:

On a tangent, I was looking into SikTh's tunings recently as I was learning a couple of their songs and was surprised to see that G#-G#-C#-G# tuning. I've not come across a tuning where the bottom strings are tuned to the same note before. Anyone used this or know of the benefits?

My first assumption was the G#s were an octave apart, but then the gauge and/or tension difference between those strings would be huge

Your right the G#s are octaves, he uses a 135 on the low one, I found a video somewhere on Facebook where he plays bland street bloom and he explains in the comments. Here we go: https://m.facebook.com/sikthofficial/videos/1580623935330390/

[paul_c2]

So are all the people making gear recommendations tacitly accepting its okay to tell another band member to buy another instrument?

[nilebodgers]

Just now, paul_c2 said:

So are all the people making gear recommendations tacitly accepting its okay to tell another band member to buy another instrument?

If you are a paid sideperson then some kind of expectation of the kind of instrument could be in order. If it’s a band of randoms then absolutely not.

However, if the sound isn’t working then changing it in some way would be acceptable - the OP said as much. What that change is and how much it costs is no-one else’s business though.

[peteb]

7 minutes ago, paul_c2 said:

So are all the people making gear recommendations tacitly accepting its okay to tell another band member to buy another instrument?

When Guy Pratt was offered the Pink Floyd gig, he said that there was an understanding that Gilmore wanted him to use a P bass, rather than what he was playing at the time.

He didn't turn the gig down. 

[Geek99]

30 minutes ago, peteb said:

When Guy Pratt was offered the Pink Floyd gig, he said that there was an understanding that Gilmore wanted him to use a P bass, rather than what he was playing at the time.

He didn't turn the gig down. 

Yes but he was a paid, hired hand, joining a band where a well-known musician had previously used live, and recorded with, one particular instrument - the situation is a little different 

[peteb]

22 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Yes but he was a paid, hired hand, joining a band where a well-known musician had previously used live, and recorded with, one particular instrument - the situation is a little different 

But is it that different?? Once you get above pub level, there is nearly always a band leader (or sometimes two, like Metallica) and they set the direction of the band. They are going to expect whoever plays with them to turn up with what they consider to be the right tools for the job i.e. what they want the band to sound / look like. 

[Downunderwonder]

1 hour ago, paul_c2 said:

So are all the people making gear recommendations tacitly accepting its okay to tell another band member to buy another instrument?

The waters are muddied by general opinions being in the same stream as advice for the OP.

The OP has said he brought up the inadequacy of his current axe. He still hasn't decided if the reply from his bandmates amounted to a demand or a suggestion albeit a stupid expensive one to many of us.

No wonder then that folks feel free to add alternative more pocket friendly options.

[Vin Venal]

6 hours ago, peteb said:

When Guy Pratt was offered the Pink Floyd gig, he said that there was an understanding that Gilmore wanted him to use a P bass, rather than what he was playing at the time.

He didn't turn the gig down. 

I dunno who either of them people are. Lol.

[Beedster]

9 hours ago, nilebodgers said:

If you are a paid sideperson then some kind of expectation of the kind of instrument could be in order. If it’s a band of randoms then absolutely not.

However, if the sound isn’t working then changing it in some way would be acceptable - the OP said as much. What that change is and how much it costs is no-one else’s business though.

Must admit that having slagged off a previous band leader in this thread for telling me what bass to play, I've done the same thing with our guitarist, whose choice was very much based on aesthetics (and late 60's semi-acoustic) as opposed to function. It was a lovely guitar, and no end of people came up to him at gigs to check it out. But it sounded awful in the context of our set, was a feedback trap, was hard to keep in tune and, perhaps most importantly, was not an easy instrument to play, being large and bulky with a baseball bat neck and action you could drive the proverbial bus under. He's a good mate so i doubt he would have felt as if he was being told to change guitar, but I guess that if we looked at it objectively, he was told to. 

I'm a bad person  

[Woodinblack]

9 hours ago, peteb said:

When Guy Pratt was offered the Pink Floyd gig, he said that there was an understanding that Gilmore wanted him to use a P bass, rather than what he was playing at the time.

He didn't turn the gig down. 

And he didn't end up playing with a P either

 

[paul_c2]

Its just that (IMHO)................

Bassist develops a liking of (a) particular genre(s) ----> Bassist buys a bass to suit that genre ----> Bassist joins band of that genre ----> Band progresses, allowing upgrades to equipment

It appears we are discussing stage 4 but stage 2 got omitted along the way somewhere?

[peteb]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

And he didn't end up playing with a P either

 

Yes he did.

I believe that he had a black P bass for the first tour and then used a 58 P for the second (Pulse) tour in 94 (currently up for sale for  £13.5k). 

[Graham]

19 hours ago, NJE said:

Your right the G#s are octaves, he uses a 135 on the low one, I found a video somewhere on Facebook where he plays bland street bloom and he explains in the comments. Here we go: https://m.facebook.com/sikthofficial/videos/1580623935330390/

Thanks for that, I'm a big fan of SikTh and James' playing

[diskwave]

I would utter the foulest the English language can deliver and run for the door.....

[diskwave]

On 03/05/2021 at 17:24, Lozz196 said:

From the bands I’ve been in I’m not sure they’d know any basses other than the ones I was playing.

This and Ive played with some pretty fine musicians over the decades...however the vast majority wouldn't know a bass guitar from a pair of marracas! 

Real musicians dont care and dont wanna know cause all they care about is how well you play and if you cant hit that low Eb that everyone is waiting for then you may have to get a cheapo Fiver. But other than that.......

[peteb]

As a footnote, I have just been talking to a drummer mate of mine who plays in heavy bands who detune quite a lot. Some of his bands have been quite successful in those genres (got a bit of a following, played at Bloodstock, toured northern Europe, etc).

FWIW, the bass players in his bands are using Dingwall basses... 

 

[tegs07]

On 06/05/2021 at 10:04, peteb said:

Yes he did.

I believe that he had a black P bass for the first tour and then used a 58 P for the second (Pulse) tour in 94 (currently up for sale for  £13.5k). 

He had a few basses on the Floyd tours and swapped between them for different songs.

His book is a recommended easy read. He is an amusing chap.

Edited May 8, 2021 by tegs07

[Russ]

From the videos I've watched, those Red Sub basses, through a Darkglass pedal, sound remarkably like a Dingwall. If you want that Nolly sound on the cheap, that could be the way to go. Upper fret access looks a bit dodgy though, thanks to that massive neck heel. 

[bagsieblue]

@SteveXFR any more progress?

Did you buy a new bass?

Did that solve things?

[SteveXFR]

13 minutes ago, bagsieblue said:

@SteveXFR any more progress?

Did you buy a new bass?

Did that solve things?

I'm going to get a 5 string Sterling Stingray and darkglass tone capsule. A compromise we're all happy with. 

[Crawford13]

16 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

I'm going to get a 5 string Sterling Stingray and darkglass tone capsule. A compromise we're all happy with. 

Good decision, another route to go, instead of the tone capsule, you could use any of the darkglass pedals as a preamp. There is the harmonic booster which is closest to a clean preamp like the tone capsule but with more tonal variety.