bobbassguy

I think the biggest gig cock-up I've been involved in was when my band was playing this 'venue' in Elgin, which thankfully isn't there any more. We didn't have proper monitors at the gig, and the 'venue' (I refer to it as 'venue' because it was a pseudo-rock bar that was about as rock as a papercut to the eyelids) didn't have any, so we were forced to improvise - we hauled along two extra PA speakers and just sat them on the ground, facing us. However, we found that all the sound coming from it was going more to our feet than our ears. Our solution? Angle them upwards by balancing them on some bricks, or boxes, or something. It seemed to work nicely, until our set had gotten the rock/metal-starved teenagers of Elgin going a little more chaotic than we'd anticipated. Inevitably, the leaning objects got dislodged by the pit, and the speakers fell back on themselves, and the leads protruding from the back of the speakers were crushed by the weight of the cabs, cutting out all of our PA sound somehow (probably some intricate speaker setup). It held us up by about 12 minutes while the sound guy rectified the problem, so were forced into much impromptu jamming using only the power of our power amps, inevitably resulting in something not too dissimilar to Spinal Tap's "Jazz Exploration" (remember, at the Sea World place, when they're second on the bill to a puppet show?). Needless to say we didn't angle our 'monitors' with easily dislodged objects again after that.

I would recommend a P-bass of some sort...I've got 2 Squier P-basses, and in my opinion, Fenders are probably among the most reliable basses you can find. I've been learning on mine for years and they've never let me down. Also, as an added benefit to a beginner, they're not cluttered with hundreds of pots, active electronics or any other possibly-confusing hardware - just one pot each for volume and tone. Jazz basses are quite good too...I've got a Squier Jazz, but the neck's noticeably thinner than a P-bass', so they're good if your hands aren't too big.

Actually I'm living in Aberdeen, I was just 'home' home in Elgin over Christmas, is all. What sort of stuff do you play?

I was at home in Hellgin (Elgin o_O) over Christmas, and went to a gig, where my friend's band let me play bass on their final song, because their bassist was off to get wankered. Anyway, it left me with the _thirst_ to get playing live again, and I'm needing musicians to co-write some rocking material with! I'm a bassist of 6 years, with 4 years of band experience, and live experience. I'm mainly influenced by rock and metal like Alice in Chains, Pantera, Metallica and Tool, but I love many other bands too, ranging from DragonForce to the Smashing Pumpkins. I'm fairly versatile and can handle different styles, and am interested to hook up with like-minded musicians. The plan is to have a fully original set. Maybe one or two covers, but I'd prefer to keep that minimal, as my last band was heavily cover-oriented, and though it was very fun playing covers, it begins to get repetitive, and not creatively-rewarding! For me, personally, at least! If anyone (drummers, guitarists, singers) is interested, don't hesitate to get in contact!

That sounds kinda interesting. Is the sound you speak of in a similar style to Dream Theater, DragonForce, Iced Earth, etc.? Because if it is, I might be who you're after, I've been playing bass for 6 years, in bands for about 3 or 4 years, and some gigging experience. I'm into the bands mentioned above, and many others. PM me if you're interested. BtB

hey man, what kind of stuff are you into playing yourself? Heavy rhythmic guitar riffage bands (Metallica, Pantera, Alice in Chains, etc), power guitar riffage bands (Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Dragonforce), not-so-heavy guitar riffage (Creed, the Smashing Pumpkins, etc)? What bands are you into?

Sorry dude, but the comments at the bottom of the vid go a month back, it can't be Saturday's gig. It's a shame cos they used similar laser lights at the SECC as well.

Fucking amazing...I saw Tool at Download this year, but this gig blew that away. They were incredibly tight, kicked ass and pulled it off superbly. I could barely take my eyes off Maynard and Justin, particularly Justin, his bass playing never ceases to amaze me...Adam is pretty lifeless on stage I must say, but that's his style and it works for him I guess, and Danny Carey had so much control over the whole sound...in a word, fuckin' excellente (loved the jam version of Schism too!)

1. Billy Sheehan 2. Steve Harris 3. Cliff Burton I would agree it's probably better to keep the slappy/tappy stuff to yourself, as a bassist. I do slappy/tappy stuff to warm up before playing, but when I'm playing with others, it's mostly business. In my old band, we used to do some of those sort of guitar/bass duels and gymnastics when we played live, and it's fun, but I personally would only take it that far. Unless the music demands it or there's a bass solo, of course. All in all, it's the song that counts, and the bassist's role is to hold the song together with the drummer. I would agree as well about picks and fingers being equally expressive. They're both just tools - a means to a musical end. I've heard the 'self-righteous' bass arguments before, like "Plectrums are the weapon of the enemy!" etc., but I don't buy it. If you don't feel like wearing down your digits playing 16th notes throughout a whole song, you can be sure there's another way. As long as you're happy with the sound you get!

I'm a 19 year old bassist in Aberdeen, with 6 years bass experience. I'm looking for a guitarist to write music with, before seeking out a drummer and singer to complete the lineup. I'm also a songwriter, and if necessary, a backing vocalist. I'm mainly influenced by Alice in Chains, Metallica, Tool, Pantera, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Dream Theater musically, but am willing to open my mind to the influences of a willing co-writer - you needn't necessarily love these bands like I do, but it would be a good way to get talking! A guitarist with predominantly strong rhythm skills is mainly what I'm after, but the ability to solo ably would be a valuable asset that wouldn't go overlooked! I haven't played a gig in about 3 months and I'm dying here so let me know if you are up for writing some heavy music!