Latest
Getting You Name Out There: Internet Marketing with Carl Dawkins
Meet Carl Dawkins –
Hello all, and welcome to the next installment on how to further yourself as a musician in the industry. This article is currently being written from a tour bus in India, where I am touring with a metal band from the UK called ‘Cypher16’. Thankfully enough, the way I got this tour resulted from exactly what I am going to talk about today – promoting yourself in the right way to get you noticed.
The tour of India was secured through several actions that had resulted from various bits of promotion I had done. The first was one point I have talked about in other articles – letting everyone and anyone know that you’re available. The band ‘Cypher16’ had heard from someone they knew that I was available at these times. Someone else (who was also informed that I was free) had also let them know to check me out. This is the foundation that can lead to getting the gig, but most of the time it would end here, and neither party would end up working together, be it through them finding someone else, or circumstances changing, or the tour being pulled. If you do get the gig, then well done—start building up a good working relationship. If by chance it didn’t end with securing the gig, we need to look at how to increase our chances of getting the gig after this stage, and there are several ways to do this.
The main point of what I’m about to talk about follows one simple rule, “get yourself noticed”. I guarantee, whatever you’re doing, and no matter how much promo you’re doing, you can always do more. I’m sure I could mention quite a few bands that are now big that you would not have heard of, and I’m sure you could reel off a few bands I too have not heard of – but me telling you about the band is instant promotion for them, as you have now heard of them. The same applies to us as musicians. If you leave a good impression, or in fact any impression at all on someone, your name may come up in conversation, or at the very least they would of heard of you and would pass you on to someone else via word of mouth. Point being; tell everyone you’re available, and looking!
To keep yourself more visible, sign up to loads of different Internet sites. The internet is still a great way to get you out there and can hold a lot of the information on one page for someone to look at. Check out my site (which just redirects to MySpace) www.carldawkins.co.uk
I’ve had the site done professionally, until my proper .co.uk was finished – it contains videos, a CV, bio, artists I’ve worked with + pictures and contact info—everything someone needs to find out about me. Also, update your sites regularly – I am still constantly updating mine, and I still need to record and upload more video and audio examples. So keep on top of your sites, and when new gigs start to unfold, let people know! Let the local papers know as well. Any sort of exposure is important, and the more people that know about you and what you’re doing, the better!
Try to stay on top of all of the above. Its hard work, and needs to be done constantly, but its worth it! And, as busy as you’ll be taking care of all that, keep a balance, and don’t let your practice time suffer.
I have added some sites below, but there are many more to find by just looking through Google!
Good sites to sign up to
MySpace – www.myspace.com
Reverbnation – www.reverbnation.com
Forums – type ‘session bassist/musician’ in Google and sign up to the free sites you find where you can chat and network with other musos.
Sign up a .com and link to your MySpace, or other free site – example –www.carldawkins.co.uk
Type bass forums into Google and sign up to any sites that come up (only the free ones) as well as typing in key words such as ‘musicians classified’
www.craiglist.com
www.gumtree.com
Good sites where you pay to be signed up
www.Starnow.co.uk
Musicians jobs – type into Google
The above two have different types of work in all styles coming in daily
Bass Player Health
Preparing for Performance with Dr. Randy Kertz
Preparing for Performance…
This month we discuss how to prepare for a performance and easy strategies that go a long way.
Dr. Randall Kertz is the author of The Bassist’s Complete Guide to Injury Management, Prevention and Better Health. Click here to get your copy today!
View More Bass Health Articles
Gear Reviews
The Frank Brocklehurst 6-String Fretless Bass Build
A few months ago, my Ken Bebensee 6-string fretted bass needed some TLC. You know, the one rocking those Pink Neon strings! I scoured my Connecticut neighborhood for a top-notch luthier and got pointed to Frank Brocklehurst, F Brock Music. He swung by my place, scooped up the bass, and boom, returned it the next day, good as new. Not only that, he showed up with a custom 5-string fretted bass that blew me away. I couldn’t resist asking if he could whip up a 6-string fretless for me.
Alright, let’s break down the process here. We’ve got our raw materials: Mahogany, Maple, and Holly. Fun fact – the Mahogany and Maple have been chilling in the wood vault for a solid 13 years. Frank is serious about his wood; they buy it, stash it away, and keep an eye on it to make sure it’s stable.
First up, they’re tackling the Mahogany. Frank glues it together, then lets it sit for a few days to let everything settle and the glue to fully dry. After that, it’s onto the thickness planer and sander to get it nice and flat for the CNC machine. The CNC machine’s the real star here – it’s gonna carve out the body chambers and volume control cavity like a pro.
While the Mahogany’s doing its thing, Frank goes onto the neck core. Three pieces of quartersawn maple are coming together for this bad boy. Quartersawn means the grain’s going vertical. He is also sneaking in some graphite rods under the fingerboard for stability and to avoid any dead spots. The truss rod is going to be two-way adjustable, and the CNC machine’s doing its magic to make sure everything’s just right.
Now, onto the design phase. Frank uses CAD software to plan out the body shape, neck pocket, chambering, and those cool f-holes. I had this idea for trapezoid F-holes, just to do something different. The CAD software also helps us map out the neck shape, graphite channels, and truss-rod channel with pinpoint accuracy.
Once everything’s planned out, it’s CNC time again. Frank cuts out the body outline, neck pocket, and the trapezoid F-holes. Then it’s a mix of hand sanding and power tools to get that neck just how we like it. Oh, and those f holes? We’re going for trapezoids of different sizes – gotta keep things interesting.
Next step: gluing that neck into the pocket with some old-school hide glue. It’s got great tonal transfer and can be taken apart later if needed. Then it’s onto hand-carving that neck-body transition.
For the custom-made bridge, Frank uses brass for definition and Ebony for tonal transfer and that warm, woody sound.
BTW, for tunes, Frank went with Hipshot Ultralights with a D Tuner on the low B. This way I can drop to a low A which is a wonderful tone particularly if you are doing any demolition around your house!
Now it’s time for the side dots. Typically, on most basses, these dots sit right in the middle of the frets. But with this bass, they’re placed around the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets.
Frank’s got his pickup hookup. Since the pickup he was building wasn’t ready, he popped in a Nordstrand blade to give it a whirl.
It sounded good, but I was itching for that single-coil vibe! And speaking of pickups, Frank showed me the Holly cover he was cutting to match, along with all the pink wire – talk about attention to detail!
A couple of things, while it is important for me to go passive, it is equally important for me to just go with a volume knob. Tone knobs are really just low-pass filters and the less in the way of a pure sound for me, the better.
Finally, it’s string time! As usual, I went for the DR Pink Neon strings. Hey, I even have matching pink Cons…Both low tops and high!
Once we’ve got everything tuned up and settled, we’ll give it a day or two and then tweak that truss rod as needed. And voila, we’ve got ourselves a custom-made bass ready to rock and roll.
I want to thank Frank Brocklehurst for creating this 6 string beast for me.
Latest
This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
Click to follow Bass Musician on Instagram @bassmusicianmag
FEATURED @adamovicbasses @loritabassworks @hiltonguitars @colibriguitars @sterlingbymusicman @anacondabasses @dmarkguitars @fantabass.it @alpherinstruments @vb_custom_travel_guitars
Bass Videos
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes…
It is always great to meet a super busy bassist who simply exudes a love for music and his instrument. Erick “Jesus” Coomes fits this description exactly. Hailing from Southern California, “Jesus” co-founded and plays bass for Lettuce and has found his groove playing with numerous other musicians.
Join us as we hear of his musical journey, how he gets his sound, his ongoing projects, and his plans for the future.
Photo, Bob Forte
Featured Videos
Visit Online
www.lettucefunk.com
IG @jesuscsuperstar
FB@jesuscoomes
FB @lettucefunk
Bass Videos
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
“These stories from the front are with real-life, day-to-day musicians who deal with work life and gigging and how they make it work out. Each month, topics may include… the kind of gigs you get, the money, dealing with less-than-ideal rooms, as well as the gear you need to get the job done… and the list goes on from there.” – Steve the Bass Guy and Shawn Cav
Preparing for Performance with Dr. Randy Kertz
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
