stingrayPete1977

Cool, get it rockin'

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1471597149' post='3114258'] I have owned a US Lakland since 2003 and done near on a thousand gigs with it. It feels, plays and sounds perfect. I also own an Am Std Fender which in 2 years has done 3 gigs. It sounds and plays well. It's not a bad bass in any respect but up against the Lakland there's no competition. [/quote] A mate of mine is a full time pro player, no teaching etc, he has a wall of fantastic basses but his us Lakland 55-94 gets all the gigs, to me the 55-02s feel a little less finished off than my 2010 Ray 5 and the 55-94s feel like a luxury Stingray to me, hard to describe but I find them just as molan describes above. If I could only have one bass it would be a 55-94, all the fun of my Rays (which have pickup switching as 5 stringers) but with the jazz pickup options I use from my Jazz 5. Proper working mans (persons!) bass.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1471598800' post='3114295'] anybody got a plan if the PA fails? ours did once I put the singers mic through my bass amp and used the effects in for my bass via a Zoom pedal, it worked, no backing vocals (might not be a bad thing lol) of course we don't mic any instruments up [/quote] We use powered pa speakers so we would need four amp failures before we had no sound at all working on the basis we could just swap a monitor for a top if need be, that leaves the desk as the weak link,I take the old Mackie desk to the more professional gigs along with the new digital one, both together they take up less space than a typical euro mixer, worst case scenario we could put a Mic into each powered top without a mixer at all but it would have no eq/reverb etc.

I had one just decide to come off the ball end and another broke years ago I forget which or how. I keep spares next to me when playing, I've got loads of free ones that were destined for John Taylor, friend of a friend thing

I'm just enjoying a break in the wedding set, xair mixer sending the bass out front through the RCF 735s is sounding great, the audience can't hear my rig.

In fact here it is,this was when ampeg number two went hence neither of the cabs has a head on top. http://youtu.be/OunDwc_3m_8

I watched Sound Garden struggle on as two ampegs failed near the end of the night, no clean di to the desk, they played my favourite song without bass which sounded crap, he eventually stormed off after giving his bass away to an audience member.

I can see both sides of it tbh,I've got a van and an easy load in and out so putting an extra bass in the van really makes no difference, if I was catching the tube then I'd think otherwise.

I think it depends on the gig, we have a wedding gig tonight, spare bass (not really a spare as I'll play both), spare class D head, powered pa speakers and monitors gives some redundancy, spare passive Mackie mixer thrown in the van just in case the new digital one goes wrong. Freebie gig (yes FREE) on Saturday in the band stand in the local park during the day, 45 minute slot, one bass, practice amp.

All the Q bands are adjustable on the xair stuff or failing that insert a 31 band eq into one of the slots and use that in conjunction with the eq or with a flat eq set, the 100 band real time analyser can be displayed on your iPad during the gig if you really wanted it too, this is all before you insert a bass amp fx into the rack. I think I read somewhere that the bass amp processing is the same as the bddi which is a copy of a sansamp possibly in the x32 model only, tbh I've never needed it. Each channel has compression and a gate or again you can insert a compressor of your choice. We are already up to an estate car full of kit here without the digital mixer which has another 30 plus fx units built in, stereo 31 band eq, dual channel guitar amps, reverbs etc etc etc it's the future I have put a normal 12 way desk in the kit bag for emergencies, typical bass player,the digital one is so small I might as well.

We are basically arguing the same point here! Your saying take a preamp, I'm saying you don't need one if the pa has one either inbuilt or in the rack! Same end result

Crazy isn't it? I remember that feeling well, you'll soon be at ease with it and getting a tune out of it.

Is it here yet? I'm excited!

http://youtu.be/ITrXkhACbuY http://youtu.be/Dz_obaOa0Rg Perhaps what I should have said was a versatile mixer rather than a quality one? I use a bass head that was over a grand new (not that I paid that) but it's not going to touch the mixer for eq possibilities.

[quote name='lowhand_mike' timestamp='1471368241' post='3112570'] haha, grower not a shower nowt wrong with that [/quote] I've heard it's the size of the hammer you use to knock the nail in that matters anyway?

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1471363027' post='3112507'] Oh gawd, don't let this turn into a "let's get our d1cks out on the table" competition. [/quote] I can't even reach the table

The x air has 4 digital fx racks built in with loads of toys to play with so you can run four different effects at once and blend each channel between all or nothing independently, we currently only use one for the vocal reverb, my Stingray clean sounds great just using the comprehensive eq for that channel, you really can fine tune things FAR more than a typical desk with a row of knobs.

Well that's a good quality mixer but it has no built in fx does it, it's great for an installation or medium sized venue, it isn't however what is suggest for the OP at all, a digital mixer will have a massively flexible set of eq options to mould a fantastic bass sound out front, essentially a built in version of as you suggested earlier "a good preamp".

I'm not do sure, I could sell three basses and two amps then only buy strings, batteries and running repairs each year leaving me in a healthy profit, I don't need to as I have another income, I still feel like a hobbyist even after a good run of gigs.

I disagree totally. Maybe wet have different ideas of high quality mixer, I'm thinking digital, put an ampeg plug in into the fx rack. I've done almost all of my recoding and live playing pre eq di.

If I play an electric bass with 4 strings I lose the plot as my brain is totally 5 string now, but oddly when I play upright I don't look for the B string, when faced with a normal 4 string bass just holding it vertical works to switch my brain over.

Too much choice and so expensive to play around, I'll be checking out strings at the bash now I can play a bit better.

[quote name='zbd1960' timestamp='1471263058' post='3111611'] something to ponder. In the classical world, in the UK 90% of all classical concerts (and it may be more than that) are performed by amateurs, mostly for no pay at all. Most groups in fact have to subsidise the costs of performing through subscriptions and fund-raising etc. I've run a number of amateur choirs. We employ pros as solosists and sometimes instrumentalists as well when orchestras are required. Almost all of the choirs associated with the big orchestras are in fact amateur - it's only groups like the Tallis Scholars which are pro. I've spoken with many pro musicians who've perfomred at gigs I've been the organiser of. They love making music and make their living from it. Most have to supplement their income by teaching etc as well. We're amateurs, but we perform to the highest standard that we can and take a very professional approach to running our concerts. I don't see that big a difference - we're all musicians playing for the love of it (definition of amateur). The pro-world is small. I don't have the capability, or the time to become either a pro-singer or a pro-cellist. As a singer I've performed in a few pro gigs at major concert venues, but mostly it's been amateur gigs organised by my choirs. As a cellist, I regularly play in concerts. I've spent a lot of time involved with the administration of amateur music. I've run two choirs and an early music group. I'm currently a trustee of an orchestra and trustee of a music education charity that runs (at present) two major courses. I would have a very low opinion of anyone who thought 'less' of amateurs just becasue they're not paid, Equally, I would think it silly to 'deride' a pro, who will have dedicated much time and money to their career. My tutor at a recent summer school is a lovely young lady who had spent 3 years at a conservatoire doing a performance degree, 2 years doing a post-graduate performance diploma and next month starts a 2 years masters degree in performance at the Royal Academy (which will cost her £12k per year). At the end of that with a mega-bill there is no guarantee she will have a career at the end of it. [/quote] Yet a quartet for a wedding will cost a fortune, maybe if you book the entire orchestra it will be free?

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1471284435' post='3111853'] Is it possible to be a well paid hobbyist ? [/quote] Have you seen all the gear ebs_freak owns?!

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1471277765' post='3111757'] I'd take a decent preamp a least - the average mixing desk eq won't cut it for your bass. I agree with others' suggestions to take a combo. [/quote] With good mixers so cheap why would you have an average one? Ok if you dont use your own pa but from the OP that doesn't sound like the case.