Thanks for the input guys. At this point i haven't had much time with the tracks to get a feel for how to integrate extra fills with taste and not sound like i'm sneaking in a bit of bass soloing. A lot have punchy pedal bass lines so there is that solid groove to maintain. ad well. Hmmm......

An added thought:  When I suggested power trios as a guide, I did not mean Z.Z. Top (Dusty Hill was the epitome of the 1-5, part-of-the-drum-kit bassist) or Double Trouble (but there is one track on a posthumous album from before Tommy Shannon replaced Jackie Newhouse, and it's a little closer).
The Who were, instrumentally, a trio, and Entwhistle did it great.  Jack Bruce killed it with Cream.
So did John Paul Jones & Mel Schacher - but I like you, so I won't suggest listening to LZ or Grand Funk......
And outside power trios, try Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Allman Brothers Band, and Achilles Wheel for what it sounds like they're talking about in a larger ensemble.

Peter

Congrats Jazzy, it's always fun to get challenge to play with other bands!

Well, I had my first rehearsal/auditon with the band last night and it went fine. I was able to play through all the songs they picked out so that was good. As expected Some of the songs, the band have slightly different arrangements and are in different keys to the original songs so that caused a few hiccups but no disasters. I had to diplomatically coach them through the outro of one song which they claimed was reggae..... They took it well but we shall see next time. I have agreed to join. Having said that the sticking point for my is that they are too way too loud. i did quit the house band I was in a few years back for that reason. So I will have that discussion with the band leader.
I think they. have gig sometime in early June.

https://www.rea-loaded.com

The bass rig in the room was dreadful, I had my all maple black signature Europa which as we know can be really bright especially as I restrung it on Monday. But I could not coax any tonal bliss out of it through the Ashdown Combo, It was muffled and no definition. :-(

Have fun. I thought Chris Rea sounded like Dire Straits which sound like Richard Thompson. I think Chris Rea's music is interesting enough to enjoy playing. In Japan, I always use the bass rig in the practice studios or the live setting. Sometimes I'm really happy with the sound and sometimes not.

Too Loud can be challenging.  
We all have been in those situations.   
It was difficult when I was young.... These days whooo boy!  
Good luck.

Quote from: DistillaMatto on May 07, 2026, 12:37:11 AMHave fun. I thought Chris Rea sounded like Dire Straits which sound like Richard Thompson. I think Chris Rea's music is interesting enough to enjoy playing. In Japan, I always use the bass rig in the practice studios or the live setting. Sometimes I'm really happy with the sound and sometimes not.

Yes I agree, when I first started listening to the tracks on the setlists there were some phrasing and tones that sounded a bit Dire Straits like. For example the chorus in "Soft Top, Hard shoulder" has that flavour. All the rehearsal studio's I have used in my city have dreadful bass rigs. The guitar rigs are not much better.

I must share some concern about the volume you face.  A couple of years ago I was asked to go to a practice session in a nearby village by someone I know.  Nice and friendly people.  I had prepared the songs they said. The guitarist had a HUGE Hi-Watt rig and played OK.  The drummer arrived with a HUGE undamped kit.  There were no count-ins and it was very loud.  I fulfilled my duty until 9pm and said I had to go.  The female singer (also friendly) asked if I was coming back and I politely said that I wasn't as I couldn't play at their sort of volume (even though my Genzler Magellan 800 and Bergantino Cabinet could easily handle it). We parted amicably.
The band I play in is quality, not loud tunes from 50s to 80s from reading parts and it is great.
Looking back (I am 76) over the last 60 years of playing, I have never been in loud bands.  I did 5 years when I was 20 at the Top of The World, Stafford, working for Mecca. I tell you this just to say that even not playing loudly over the years, I have inner ear damage in my right ear.  A hearing aid can level things out in that ear if I need to use it.
A bit of a long post but don't put yourself through it Jazzy as once hearing fails, we can't get it back.
Glynn   

I'm kind of late to posting but loud bands and not wanting more hearing loss is why I got fitted for musicians ear plugs back when. I gave up on trying to get loud folks to quiet down and decided ear plugs were the only way to go. I went to an audiologist at a nearby hospital for a hearing test and he fitted and prescribed the ear plugs. This allowed them to be covered under my insurance at the time. I still would have gotten them had I had to pay out of pocket. The ear plugs have a flat response and while I went with -15db inserts I can order higher reduction inserts and it is a simple matter to switch them out.

There are a couple of drawbacks. The first is getting use to having something in my ear. This goes away with regular use but is something I go through each time I take a longer break from wearing them. The other is when I'm singing. When I'm in a situation where I sing I found I cannot always hear the other singers over my own internalized voice. To get around this I need to remove one of the ear plugs partially defeating their purpose. 

I was never in loud bands till I did my first tour, on guitar, which was in the USA and I was shocked how loud the stage volume was. Loud on stage monitors and huge side fills plus backline.. Since that tour I have always worn ear plugs when playing in loud bands and often at rehearsals too. I have a -17db set which are flat response and great for stage and -22 for when I go to listen to live gigs. Sometimes if i am playing a dep gig and not really rehearsed with the band, wearing plugs can prevent you hear communication cues from then band or sometimes with reggae having less upper frequencies, you can be a semitone out on an unfamiliar song and not hear it. 
Last rehearsal wasn't as bad as the first so we shall see what happens. 

I finally said something to our guitarist the other night but he wasn't having it. I'll invest in some earplugs. It's finally bothering me enough. Especially if I'm singing and can't hear my voice.