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Busking

the harp unstrung

the harp unstrung

Humankind: be both.
In Memoriam
Nov 2, 2014
13,070
79,799
71
On The Bus
Disclosures
N.A.
#1
I'm only months away from retirement, and looking forward to making more music. I daydream about getting a decent recording device as my graduation present, and...sound on sound...creating bass and drum passages that I will be proud of.
I'm also fascinated by busking. I've met a great bassist (Alexander Ponomorenko) who plays outside of Turner Field in Atlanta pre and post games. He's about my age, and plays a '62 P Bass, solo! I am inspired.
At my age, busking is not about the money...though that would be nice. I imagine I would just roll it over into more/better equipment, or more/better pints.
I'm giving serious consideration to a Traynor battery-powered rig that I could take out into the wilderness.
Your thoughts?
 
#5
Careful though. Lots of places require you to have a permit. You'll frequently be harassed by police, and also be a potential target for muggers, who know you've got cash in that case.

Busking is a lot of hard work. Not only do you need to be good at what you do, you've got to be charismatic as well. It's definately not for everyone.
 
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#6
get a phil jones briefcase bass amp. they are 100 watt rms . they run on 12volt as well as 110v and 230v they rock!! on 12v you can either power them from a internal 12v motorcycle battery or as I do hook it up to a 12v car battery . check them out on the phil jones pure sound website .I also got a custom made road case for my briefcase!!
 
#7
BioWeapon said:
Busking seems like a great idea if you're confident you can entertain people with just your bass. Honestly, some people don't even know what a bass is and you'd have to do a great job to be able to grab their attention.
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oh man, i wasn't even imagining somebody trying to do it with a bass! busking is for acoustic guitars and such.

i could see it with somebody killing on an upright while singing, maybe.
 
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#10
I haven't heard the trayor, but the Phil jones amps sound good. I've heard the battery life is kind of short".
busking is my retirement plan too. It's a lot of fun to play in a spot you like,
 
#13
JamesDC said:
I haven't heard the trayor, but the Phil jones amps sound good. I've heard the battery life is kind of short".
busking is my retirement plan too. It's a lot of fun to play in a spot you like,
Click to expand...
I'd love to meet a Phil Jones, though my heart says Traynor...the first real bass amp I ever owned...a pair of 15s behind a bright silver screen and a head with ??? watts. I saved for 2 summers working at the drive in theater to buy it. I was sure I was the poopie! :)
 
#14
the harp unstrung said:
I'd love to meet a Phil Jones, though my heart says Traynor...the first real bass amp I ever owned...a pair of 15s behind a bright silver screen and a head with ??? watts. I saved for 2 summers working at the drive in theater to buy it. I was sure I was the ****! :)
Click to expand...
the traynor you are looking at is more of a PA amp I think , I don't know if it will handle the lows of your bass guitar. the phil jones briefcase is a dedicated bass amp , if you have retired and have the $$ I would go for the pjb briefcase or the smaller double4 and buy a roland street cube or street cube ex to put your vocal through. that's just my opinion .also the pjb is a everyday amp u can play small venues with it, or larger ones if you di it in to a pa.
good on you for getting out there and doing it anyway!.
I myself don't busk as a bass soloist though , I busk with my band mates , IMO solo busking on the bass would be really tough .
 
#15
JamesDC said:
I haven't heard the trayor, but the Phil jones amps sound good. I've heard the battery life is kind of short".
busking is my retirement plan too. It's a lot of fun to play in a spot you like,
Click to expand...

yes you only get around a hour from a 7ah motorcycle battery ,I use a car battery 230ah you can go all day with it ,if you want . and for camping its great . or where I live there are a few of my mates off the grid and they all use solar power (Dam Hippies!!) so it is all 12volt battery power for some of our bonfire night jams .
 
#17
nzscott said:
yes you only get around a hour from a 7ah motorcycle battery ,I use a car battery 230ah you can go all day with it ,if you want . and for camping its great . or where I live there are a few of my mates off the grid and they all use solar power (Dam Hippies!!) so it is all 12volt battery power for some of our bonfire night jams .
Click to expand...
But...if it wasn't for them durn hippies, who would be saving the world...one drum circle at a time? :)
 
#18
just found this thread - late as usual! anyway, i've been busking with my acoustic piccolo bass for 3 years, mostly here in Augusta, GA. i'm almost always amplified (i use an old Roland Cube 40 watt keyboard amp for vocals and bass), but i can usually find electricity from a downtown business owner. in fact, here's me playing "Saturday in the park" on the 4th of july in a park -
 
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