Couldn't see.......played the wrong notes

g4string · #1 04-26-2009, 07:34 PM

I played a gig on Sat.....I got tucked in the back part of the stage, poor lighting and some shadows. I had a hard time seeing where I was at on the fretboard on several occasions which caused me to hit the wrong note. Has this ever happened to anyone else?? I have been playing for about 20 years and gigging for about 15 years out of the 20. This was the first time this has ever happened to me.......

superbassman2000 · #2 04-26-2009, 07:52 PM

i suggest memorizing the fretboard

Lazylion · #3 04-26-2009, 07:53 PM

Been there. Best thing to do is stay down by the nut and use as many open strings as possible - you KNOW those open notes are right!

I played a place that was very dark, but had a lot of black lights. I painted my dots with fluorescent paint. Also put a dot out on the far end of the peghead, so I wouldn't crash it into the wall! Problem solved!

g4string · #4 04-26-2009, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

i suggest memorizing the fretboard

I dont know if your being sarcastic or helpful

I know the fretboard. Like I said, I have been playing for 20 years. I have basses w/o dots too. FWIW, It was so dark that I couldn't even see what position I was in.

superbassman2000 · #5 04-26-2009, 08:12 PM

sorry i was trying to be helpful and not sarcastic

maybe some kind kind of LED system night help? SIMS are expensive but i know there are some alternatives to that...

also maybe a cool little light you could set near where you stand so that the light would help you see but still in style with the rest of the lighting setup might help too

WashburnBasser · #6 04-26-2009, 08:15 PM

http://www.fretfx.com

Loel · #7 04-26-2009, 08:20 PM

I always keep one of these in my bag.....handy
for troubleshooting as well..

seanm · #8 04-26-2009, 08:57 PM

The only thing I can suggest is practice playing without looking at the fretboard.

bass-flyer · #9 04-26-2009, 10:51 PM

Quote:

The only thing I can suggest is practice playing without looking at the fretboard

Yep, I need to do that. I have to look way too much, and I've been playing way to long to not be able to play with my eyes closed ..... or in the dark!

T-Bird · #10 04-26-2009, 11:52 PM

Hi.

Happens to me every once and a while.

Having a stone deaf right ear doesn't help one damn bit. If I'm oriented in a certain way, a half step, sometimes a full step can be hard to tell apart in a noisy stage.
I'm taking the 'ol lady' (DB

) for a spin for a recent project, let's see how that works out

.

No one exept the band notices though, if even them, so no problems.

LEDs are cool and are easy to install.

Regards
Sam

mjwhit · #11 04-27-2009, 02:11 AM

Sounds like time for an LED mod

IanStephenson · #12 04-27-2009, 03:46 AM

I couldn't see much on this gig! I played for two hours without being able to see a thing!!!! (was hot too)

It was a good test to find out how well I really needed to look at the fretboard.

Phalex · #13 04-27-2009, 09:32 AM

I had plenty of light this past weekend and still played my fair share of clams. Some nights you're the pigeon, and some nights you're the statue.

The Golden Boy · #14 04-27-2009, 11:49 AM

... and everybody laughed at me when I was talking about playing in front of a mirror...

**Thor** · #15 04-27-2009, 11:53 AM

Everybody laughs at you because of your username.

ggunn · #16 04-27-2009, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WashburnBasser

http://www.fretfx.com

+1! I got a set of these and they work great! It's a non-invasive mod and the strip of plastic the LED's are installed in is so thin that you'll hardly know it's there. When I am re-employed, a set for my Bongo is going to be one of my first purchases.

Metal Matt · #17 04-27-2009, 01:33 PM

When venues are awesome enough to let us use our fog machine, things like this happen...

On top of all of that fog, I have to take my glasses off when we play due to all the headbanging that occurs.

I can't even see my feet or the floor when we play, and I know that I would step on my glasses if they fell off my head. So blurry vision + absurdly dense fog = some messups here and there. But I'm starting to get used to playing without having to look at my fretboard that much.

Eric Moesle · #18 04-27-2009, 02:37 PM

Many moons ago I saw a band with a blind bass player, and he was AWESOME. Needless to say, he didn't need no stinking fret markers.

I vowed from that day not to rely on the markers as a crutch. Now I smile when I have a great set and my guitarist whines like a little girl when the stage lighting is too dark in parts.

nsmar4211 · #19 04-27-2009, 06:23 PM

oooooo I hear your pain. I found out real quick that dark fretboards sucketh in dark corners, dots or no dots. I went on ebay and bought those glow in the dark stickers you stick over your dots, they lasted about 10 weeks on the side (are actually all intact on the front which comes in handy to not trip over it at night). Dark isn't as bad as too much light coming from the stage lights and blinding you and turning everything into either light or black......at least in dark you can kinda see the white dots.

I asked a tech about those LED things, he said he's put in a few sets, if you do it like the instructions say it'll do exactly what it says. Said they look pretty cool, but if you aren't careful you can damage em. I'm wary of how they'd feel under my fingers personally.

I swear, if I ever build a bass I'm putting BIG square inlays on the side of the neck where the dots are. I mean, why even bother to put dots on the front-you can't really see the front!

But it did teach me to look less at the fretboard...... and how having your own clip light handy is a good idea. Buy a blue colored floodlight, a clamp lamp, and viola! Darkness gone!

Pilgrim · #20 04-27-2009, 07:04 PM

A bit of white-out (dots) on the side of the fretboard might be visible even under low light....