Recent content by Steve Helland

You are always worthy of new gear--but you actually purchase it either before you get married or after you get divorced.

I'm generally OK with clueless comments/jokes from non-musicians...most of the time these folks just simply don't know (the state of education/misinformation in the US is an entirely different topic). But it's the idiotic remarks from folks who call themselves musicians that are inexcusable...

Wow...that is gorgeous.

There is really nothing to be gained from wishing you had said something. When it's over, it's over. Just learn from the experience and move on to something better.

Here is a guy who looks a lot like EC playing bass with Sonny Landreth and Derek Trucks...

Agreed...very doubtful there's much of a market for it. Just be patient, watch the price drop and then make a lowball offer in a few months (unless it gets claimed/confiscated as stolen property). Maybe even plant a hidden webcam behind it... ;-) "Honey, little Johnny says he wants a bass...

"It's really much better than it sounds." --Mark Twain on Wagner's opera music Many years ago at an audition I responded in kind with some variation of that little ditty...received nothing but a blank stare in return. ;-)

I agree with most folks here that the wedding band/corporate event/cruise ship-type gigs pay the best (which I did both before and after beating my head against a wall for years playing in original bands in the 90's). It just became a matter of how long I could do it before losing my mind and my...

Exactly. All of these comments are interesting, but they ultimately miss the real point--which is that the terms should have been discussed ahead of time. There are paid pros and there are hobbyists...why wasn't that established to start with? Would have saved everyone time and confusion.

Lots of great fretless recordings out there, but since the original question was regarding rock or metal songs with fretless...I'm kind of surprised that nobody has mentioned Les Claypool of Primus yet.

I don't have any loyalty to any one dealer...I just go to whoever has the gear I want at the best price at that particular time. That being said, I've never had a bad experience with Sweetwater...plus, I also like that they have lots of photos/specs of the instruments they have in stock so that...