mrtcat

1 minute ago, Woodwind said:

I'm still stunned. I didn't know women weren't capable of scruffy indy/rock

 

I genuinely don't think it has anything to do with capability. History tells us that women can absolutely nail it. I don't know what the reasoning is behind their stance but they really do book hundreds of bands into proper function  gigs every day so I have to trust that they know what they are doing.

Just now, Sibob said:

But what's that got to do with gender?

Si

I don't really know and I don't feel desperately comfortable with it but our agents, who have always been absolutely brilliant for us and keep us booked solid with well paid work have been quite clear in saying that they would find us harder to sell as a mixed gender band. 

1 minute ago, Woodwind said:

I don't have any advice, but I am stunned that a mixed gender band is regarded as a harder sell.

I think it depends on the style of music you play. We are very much scruffy Indie / rock rather than a smart funk / soul / pop etc style.

What are people's thoughts on this?

We are an all male 4 piece band operating as a business playing weddings. Our current lead singer is looking to step back from the mic and focus on guitar playing so we need a replacement. Our agents, who are a big company are clear that mixed gender bands are harder for them to sell and also bands where the age range is too broad. Not sure how I feel about advertising for a 30 something male. What would you do?

On 23/10/2020 at 09:13, Silvia Bluejay said:

I now have clapboard GAS. 😱😎

Sounds horrific..

5 hours ago, sprocketflup said:

One of my fave basses is a J&D jazz that i got off here, its bloody awesome and costs like £130 new

I had one that I bought for a gig I was doing in italy with a band i was in. I didn't fancy taking a US Fender in the hold of a plane so bought a j&d jazz and took that. I sold it after I got back but missed it so much that i bought another. I've since sold the US jazz and still have the j&d. Absolutely cracking workhorse bass.

Its probably not soon enough but I work in oxford regularly and am going to Plymouth on 22nd of August.

24 minutes ago, Roger2611 said:

At odds with @mrtcat I didn't take to my 1024x at all and sold mine on a few weeks after buying it and I know the chap I sold mine to also sold it on fairly quickly!

I found it did a Precision bass sound quite well but not as well as a Fender Precision bass (it sounded a little to transparent but not in a good way, if that makes any sense) but the killer for me was weight, mine was well over 10lbs and just too heavy for regular gig use

Rog

That's really interesting. My 1024x weighs in at almost dead on 9lbs and the solo'd p pickup is so fat and meaty sounding. I had a regular 1024 that was just the same. Maybe worth trying before buying.

I've got a bb1024x and its sublime for the money. I'd sell every other bass I own (includes fender P, spector euro lx, Warwick streamer stage 1 and a dingwall ng2) before even considering selling the Bb1024x .

13 hours ago, shug said:

In further news, I've just sourced the same stuff, locally and for immediate supply, at half the price. A cancellation call in the morning, I think...

That's a result. I get the impression that some companies are using lockdown as an excuse to take the mickey somewhat. I'm lucky that I have a decent supplier here in northants.

Plywood is alarmingly expensive these days that's for sure.

On 24/04/2020 at 14:16, shug said:

Lockdown mania continues to tighten its grip...

I've been mulling it over for years having, as I do, an Ent-like aversion to hasty-ness, and so last night I ordered the Russian birch ply needed to make me a Fearful 2x12 cab. I've got a lovely old Traynor Custom Special head that needs a mate and this looks like the very thing.

It's likely to be a longish term project.  I'll keep y'all informed. Photos and that if I can manage it. Though I'll have to tidy up me unit...

Any of you good folks out there done one of these? All input welcomed.

All Regards and Keep Safe, Comrades!

Shug

 

Made a few fearful cabs before and they always sound great. I've been out of the building loop for a while so would be interested to know where you got russian birch from and where you are getting crossover components. Happy to offer any advice along the way should you need it.

36 minutes ago, CPCustomdubwise said:

This particular thread seems to have gone a bit quiet recently.

Anyhow, just for the sake of completeness if for no other reason, ardent folliwers of the thread may remember this bass, mentioned several million posts earlier on. There was speculation about what it might be and whether it might be worth the asking price....

I looked at it a few times, bobbing there on the ocean of eBay, apparently becalmed...

I don't much like wine-coloured instruments...I've had lots of 5s, including several Yamahas, and never kept them, I wasn't after anything and anyway I was sure it would disappear quick....

But there it remained.

So I bought it; it seemed a bit rude not to.

Elsewhere there's a thread about bang for the buck; well, this cost 219 quid plus a very few pounds more for shipping. For that I've got Yamaha design and build quality, a genuinely fabulous neck and great pickups....to which someone has appended an East Uni Pre running at 18v with series/parallel and active/passive switches, and some Grover lightweight tuners.. All the work has obviously been done by an extremely competent pro luthier and it has a brilliant set-up straight out of the bubblewrap...

That is £219 for a complete gem of a bass with some outstanding upgrades and that, my dear Basschat colleagues, is bang for the buck.

You've essentially paid for an East Uni Pre and they've thrown in a bloody nice bass with it.

As with many bands we are doing a few "lockdown" tunes.

8 hours ago, DJpullchord said:

I find scoops better for sub, maybe 35hz to 80hz, depending on the music genre. What are you guys using for bass?

Are you talking about pa or backline? 

I wouldn't use either as backline. That kind of low on stage is just annoying mush and would get on everyone's nerves.  In terms of pa it would depend entirely on the spl charts for any individual box. I dont think you can endorse or write off one design over the other as there are huge variations in performance and behaviour within each type.

That's awesome, thanks Douglas. The ignite vst looks nice and simple but with loads of flexibility for what I need.

I've got to put down a few bass parts for some promo videos for the band but my helix is locked in the back of the band van at our storage lockup. Don't want to make a trip out there if I can avoid it what with covid-19 floating about on every st corner and the lockup being 45 mi s drive away. Can anyone recommend me a decent free vst? Something vintagey with a bit of grit. 

Cheers 

My main live patch for Helix floor that I use with my function band doing indie pop rock covers. Varying drive levels and a couple of eq / gain options for pick use and using my spector that has a slightly lower output than my other basses. 

I set my board with snapshots along the bottom and fx on the top row. Two parallel chains with one sent to 1/4 out which goes to an amp when i use one and the other chain to xlr to foh.

Live.hlx

Fortunately I only really play weddings so with a bit of luck that sort of venue will be back up and running as soon as they get the green light. We usually do a lot of corporate xmas gigs and I expect that to be almost non existent for at least a year or two. Pubs may well need to do a bit more of a steady recovery before they put bands on. 

10 hours ago, casapete said:

Just seen a similar thing here - band has pulled out of a gig in a club this coming Saturday and the venue and band are advertising for a replacement. WTF?

This is the problem with government "advice". Its just not getting through to a lot of people in the same way an enforced lockdown would.

I'm literally amazed that venues are still allowing gigs to go ahead. We are booked for a 21st birthday party in Coventry on Saturday and the venue have said "we are happy to go ahead as long as we can square it with the staff". The client is adamant that her daughter will have a party. It looks like we are going to be the ones to pull the plug as we feel we have a social responsibility not to be involved in gigs at the moment. 

There are lots of rumours of a full lockdown on the horizon and that the army are preparing to mobilize to enforce it. Would actually make life a lot easier for us if they did as then everyone is clear on where we stand.

49 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

That seems to be exactly what it is, a cowardly and callous approach from the government. Because they haven't mandated that venues/restaurants, etc close, presumably the operators will not be able to claim anything; if they close, it'll be their choice, no-one told them to do it. Scandalous in my opinion. 

We've been discussing this this evening. With all our gigs being weddings then whoever hits the button and cancels, be it client, venue or supplier, will be the one looking at losing the most. We're looking at every booking and wondering who's going to blink first?

I think our agency are going to pull all of ours (and all other acts on their books) until further notice. I can see a lot of agencies going under.

The announcement that the govt are making as I type will essentially put an end to most of all of our gigs for the foreseeable future. They are advising against gatherings of any size from this point forward until further notice.

We have over 90 weddings in the diary this year. So far no cancellations but surely only a matter of time. The problem is that almost every gig we have is a wedding and therefore the clients have huge amounts of money tied up in them. It must be a nightmare for them. Especially if the over 70s are forced to isolate and therefore parents or grandparents would miss the big day. 

We played a charity fundraiser last night for forces veterans. They sold 400 tickets and only 80 people turned up. It was pretty depressing.