• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Dark stage and an unexperienced fretless player

#21
Funny, whenever I have trouble seeing on stage, or need to sight read or something, I prefer fretless. Think of it this way, with a fretted if you're slightly sharp, you end up playing a half step higher. With a fretless it's only a few cents. I'd say you got lucky:D

Sorry you had a less than stellar gig though. It always sucks when things out of your control affect you. Dont put too much stock in it, there will be more and better gigs in the future.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Moo, Artman, ThinCrappyTone and 4 others
#22
I had the same issue with my fretless on a dark stage. I drilled the neck and installed Luminlay rod. I positioned them on the "fret", not inbetween as the old markers were. All fretless instruments should have markers at the point of intonation, not "inbetween".
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Moo and TDSmith
#23
The first album my band recorded (I was on guitar) the bass player bought her first fretless two weeks before, and that was what she recorded on. Most of it sounded great. Some of the stuff high up the neck... I wish auto tune had been invented (or our so-called producer had gone to plan b (frets).
 
#24
The OPs story reminds me of last week when I did 2 shows in Mexico with a bass-and-bassoon duo. First gig was a small festival and due to various circumstances just as I am about to step inside the Uber at 8pm to go to the festival, I learn that we are to go on first of the evening - at 8pm sharp. And then I learned about traffic chaos in Mexico City and how big the place really is. They've held up the whole festival for us, and I get to set up pedals, check my cables (of course something is plugged in wrong - now which cable is it?) in like 1 minute with an annoyed organizer breathing down my neck....akward! Then he dims all the lights and I can't see sh*t, let alone finetune any of the o-so subtle soundscape settings in my pedals, what with a really weird tiny crackling amp they gave me in a rather boomy room. More awkward.

So it wasn't the greatest gig we ever played but the important thing is we got through it as well as we could, and that is all you can do and demand of yourself.

Things happen, will happen, and you did the right thing - you played as well as you could. Don't be too hard on yourself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pablomago, Mr_Moo and Artman
#26
Yrs ago, our band was one of several at a festival. Right before we went on the generator died. Took them 20 minutes to get it working. They told us to cut our set short so the festival could stay on time. Our 45 minute slot shrunk to about 15 minutes. We weren't happy but complied.

Another time we were one of 3 bands opening for a national act. Each warm-up was told "5 songs max". We did 5. One of the other bands did 12. That was the first and last time that radio station used warm-up bands for their concerts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Moo
#28
lfmn16 said:
Sorry, but the real lesson is that any multi-band event is a crap shoot and you need to be ready for anything. Refusing to play because you don't get your own way is a good way to not get asked back for these events.

I've played in tons of these events over the years and they never, ever go off as planned. I do know that the planners appreciate the bands that make things easier, not harder.
Click to expand...

Partially agree with you, but to side with the OP, it does suck when other bands are allowed to be irresponsible and show up late and/or not show up at all and the responsible bands have to suffer by being forced to play a sub-optimal set, only to find out the irresponsible bands show up at a convenient time where all the kinks have been worked out and then get to play a good set (may or may not have happened to me more than a few times).
 
#29
707GK said:
Partially agree with you, but to side with the OP, it does suck when other bands are allowed to be irresponsible and show up late and/or not show up at all and the responsible bands have to suffer by being forced to play a sub-optimal set, only to find out the irresponsible bands show up at a convenient time where all the kinks have been worked out and then get to play a good set (may or may not have happened to me more than a few times).
Click to expand...
I'm not saying it doesn't suck. It absolutely sucks and it ticks me off that these people can't get their acts together, or when they schedule 15 minutes instead of 30 minutes between bands and by the time the last band plays they are running about 2 hours late. All I'm saying is that if you want to play these things, you need to accept that is how they work, you can't tell them, "We're playing 4th or we're going home."
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: theretheyare, Mr_Moo and LBS-bass
#30
darwin-bass said:
Another time we were one of 3 bands opening for a national act. Each warm-up was told "5 songs max". We did 5. One of the other bands did 12. That was the first and last time that radio station used warm-up bands for their concerts.
Click to expand...
One of my pet peeves - when no one has the stones to tell the band that's going overtime to stop playing. We had that happen to us once. We played a biker event, the opening act went way over, but no one would tell them to stop. They wound up driving away most of the crowd. Fortunately it was an event at a camp ground so almost everyone stayed on site and when we started playing they all came back. No one in that band ever opened for us again, not that they lost any sleep over that. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Moo and n1as
#32
I've been in bands where we occasionally practiced in the dark. It's a good thing to do once in a while.

I regularly play dark stages nowadays. I play fretless on a regular basis. However, the gig I play fretless on is not a dark stage. Didn't think about that until I read this thread. That sounds like a real challenge.
 
#33
If you can play a fretted bass without looking, you're well on the way to playing a fretless of the same scale without looking. You do have to be able to hear yourself well onstage, since that's the only way to know you're in tune.

EDIT: Well, almost the only way. My DB teacher told me about a deaf cello student he had. She played in tune by feeling the notes through her fingers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dark Red Moon
#34
dr_gonzo said:
Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share an experience that I had over the weekend.

Context
I've been playing bass for a while, but only in the last year I got really serious about learning, practicing and being a good player. It's been awesome, because I've trascended from playing covers in my living room to actually having a band and composing the basslines in our original songs.

Our format is usually semi accoustic. Cajon and other percussive items (no drums), guitar and a bass. Our band leader said that she loved the sound of the fretless and that it'd be perfect for our sound. I agreed, and loved the idea of the challenge that playing fretless meant. So I've been at it for the last three months. I've practiced really hard to play on tune consistently and also to do a better job interpreting and letting the instrument "sing".

The gig
So last saturday we had what was our biggest gig so far. Around 15 "upcoming" bands, a fairly large stage and lots of people in a hill outside town. We were meant to play 4th. We arrive early hoping we could do a soundcheck and to chill and check out the other bands. When we arrive, the staff says that they're almost 2 hrs behind schedule because the generator isn't working (we're literally playing in the mountains). So, we wait. Then, the guy in charge comes to us and says that we need to play first because the bands that were supposed to play before us hadn't arrived yet and we needed to get started. We refused but he just wouldn't take a no. We HAD to open. So we did. When on stage, I couldn't hear the percussions at all. This had never happened to me because we usually play much smaller gigs, and it really threw me off. We started playing our set after dark and the stage was very dimmly lit, and I couldn't see my fretboard at all. I panicked a little bit inside and did my best to let the musuclar memory flow and to follow my ear, but messed up a bunch of times. The generator failed twice during our set, and everything shut down for ~5 minutes each time. We were out of focus, nervous and just not feeling it at all.

The aftermath
We obviously felt like crap about the whole ordeal. It's so frustrating to rehearse a show, to work on your tunes and have everything go wrong when you have to show your creation. We gained an enormous ammount of experience during this gig, alas, the hard way. We definetely need more practice and to work more on our transitions and endings, but also... if we're playing 4th, we will play 4th. If you don't want us to play, we'll leave. We were the guinnea pigs for the festival's organisation and to suck it up so the other bands could sound better. I absolutely HAVE to practice without looking at my fretboard so I can trust my hands & ears better.


I guess I just need to vent. What are your experiences regarding stuff like this? I would also love some advice on how to get better at playing fretless blindly. Thank you so much for your attention.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you know the answer, practice in the dark!

I use visual cues on fretless but I'm just not playing it that often. I gotta look. I think if you are committing to that instrument then you gotta put the blindfold on, so to speak.

But think of how awesome you'll be when you nail it!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Moo and DJ Bebop
#35
Good input so far. Another adjustment is true for fretted or fretless - if necessary to compensate, try to play the songs in the first five frets rather than all up and down the neck (accuracy when you can't see).

Lastly, you and your bandmates make a list of crap scenarios that could happen out at live gigs while you are on stage and talk over how to handle them. That kind of band meeting can help a ton of different things in different ways - including band factors.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Moo and DJ Bebop
#38
We've all been there I'm sure... I did a gig a few months back with lousy monitoring and a lighting guy who thought pitch black was the best canvas for his art. Even though I've been playing fretless for many many years and my intonation isn't too bad without looking I won't listen to the recordings :)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Mr_Moo

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back