mrtcat

I personally had GAS real bad for ages and kept changing but it genuinely was because I wasn't totally happy with what I had. Some amps sounded good but were very complicated, some were very heavy and some were just crap. I eventually spent some serious money on a really nice amp / cab and the gas has been gone ever since. I guess what I'm trying to say is that for me I should have bitten the bullet and stumped up for a quality rig right at the start rather than do the keep trading up as it has cost far more in the long run. To the OP - it's really cool that you found your perfect amp but I might suggest that most on here would be pretty stoked to have some nice aguilar kit behind them too

[quote name='Jambo10' post='1174015' date='Mar 23 2011, 10:39 PM']Im thinking your chat is long overdue!![/quote] lol having just re read my own post I'm inclined to agree

Do it!!! There's rarely the perfect time to get out there. Don't worry about gear people won't worry about that initially. Age won't matter to most and a keen 18yr old will be a breath of fresh air in many bands. Good luck

Workload split in my band is like this: I book 99% of gigs I own PA I produce paperwork and posters I set up / pack down PA (singer pretty good at helping out) I sort set lists I arrange practice venue I record and mix demos I liase with venues / customers I make stage backdrop etc I own lights I set up / pack down lights I play bass Singer sings Drummer drums Drummer complains "drum sticks aint cheap y'know" Guitarist drinks and plays guitar Cash gets split evenly...............................................hmmmmm time for a chat methnks!

About two years ago we reluctantly took on a drummer who would only do paid gigs. A great drummer and a nice guy but it put us under a lot of pressure. Two years on we now have heaps of really well paid gigs which we would never have gone for without his demands for cash. In hindsight he has forced us to get our arses in gear and make the band work.

What sort of PA do you use? In terms of controlling sound a decent pa is invaluable IMO. I much prefer to work with lower volumes on stage and use the pa to make a decent mix out front. If you can get to using pa for all instruments even in a small venue you'll gain a lot more control. In our band we play pubs etc and run a guitar, bass, drums (just kick in small pubs) and vocals thru the pa. Our guitarist has a small 60w 1x12 combo which is more than loud enough for even very large pubs. I think the whole 1/2 stack thing is ridiculous in a pub as most amps sound better cranked up and a 1/2 stack cranked in a pub is just silly. I use a lo cut filter (removes everything below 75hz) on everything but the bass and kick. Doing this cleans up a lot of mud and also takes a lot of strain off the power amps. Its also important to eq any subs (if using them) so that they deal with the frequencies that the bass amp doesn't. Having a bass amp and pa sub competing at the same frequencies can cause all sorts of muddyness. Overall volume is no louder than without the pa but it's so much easier to eq everyone without upsetting them. Backline amps serve purely as a monitor for the players. It also makes stage levels more sensible.

This may not be the most helpful input but if it were me I'd be taking them back to the dealer and looking at having them replaced. It may be a bad batch or it may be that they're not up to the job either way powered speakers are meant to make life simpler so I wouldn't settle for poor quality. Especially when they clearly weren't cheap and there's some good kit out there.

I find the show they put on great as is their music,imagination and use of effects. The singing does however get slap bang on my tits after a few songs.

I love clean sounds and it suits what i do with the band. I also love toys and have a couple of pedals for playing about (EBS envelope filter is my fav) but I never use it live as it doesnt fit with the band. The only effect I use live is some distortion from a "Way Huge Swollen Pickle". It's primarily a guitar pedal but with the filter it works really well with bass and can add a lot of depth to the sound which helps when guitar is soloing.

I used to have an ABM410 and it was a perfectly good cab. I only got rid of it as it was a bit bulky and heavy but would happily recommend one if you really want a 4x10. Personally I'm inclined to agree with the multiple 2x10 option as it's more flexible and stacked they give better dispersion.

If you're lacking motivation then it may be that the rest of your band feel the same so it may be worth asking them if they want to add some new material to give you something to focus on. Just an idea

[quote name='thinman' post='1169916' date='Mar 20 2011, 08:04 PM']I'd be wary of putting good money after bad here. It's all in the design with speakers and the cabinet is a crucial part of that. If you capable of cutting up and glueing plywood have a look at some of Bill Fitzmaurice's designs at www.billfitzmaurice.com. Bill's also a regular contributor on here. For £100 you may be able to get a Jack12 (DIY) although the price of imported drivers and plywood has gone up a lot lately.[/quote] +1 If you're wanting a cab for bass then you need a cab designed for bass. Guitar cabs are designed for guitars and not bass guitars. A BFM Jack 12 can be built on a budget and will give very impressive results. I always seem to prefer the end result when using eminence drivers over celestions but that's just me.

Oh yeah bass bins if of a decent quality will help your bands overall sound very much especially kick drum and bass. Speakers (bass bins and main pa cabs) are the window to the bands sound and the best quality ones you can afford should be the ones you buy.

[quote name='Who's Who' post='1169866' date='Mar 20 2011, 07:38 PM']Hi I just wanted to ask a couple of silly questions if I can as a lot of the tech talk seems to fly over my head. My band have recently changed from an originals to a covers band (sold out), so we are learning as we go with our new P.A as we never needed one before. At the minute I use my amp as backline, and the P.A is just for vocals, as we look to play larger venue's I'll need to run my amp through the P.A. Should I just Mic up my amp, or look at running it through the P.A properly. My head does have an XLR DI output, so if I run this through to the P.A, would I set the EQ on my amp as usual, or set it flat (do I then fiddle with all those confusing knobs on the mixing desk?) Also would standard P.A speakers handle the bass for now, or should I invest in a bass bin to sit under one of the P.A speakers straight away. Thanks in advance guys n gals.[/quote] I prefer to both mic the cab and take a di. These then blend in the foh mix and you get a nice sound with the benefits of both worlds. EQing your amp is important as is usung the desk's eq for your channel(s). I usually set eq flat and then make small tweaks to suit the venue. As for the EQ on the mixer this should be adjusted by the person doing the band's sound and be used to help you sit well alongside the rest of the band. I think it's important to get someone who knows what they're doing to do this as you can't play and tweak and it's difficult for you to get far enough from the stage to hear the foh sound properly.

[quote name='scalpy' post='1166310' date='Mar 17 2011, 09:38 PM']New technology is also meaning that bass is better recorded and more audible, so that the full thunder can be fully appreciated![/quote] +100

Best of luck for tomorrow and good on you for putting your neck on the line in order to get out there. Live gigging is what it's all about and I would like to think I'd be able to take the plunge like that if my band were on hold for a while.

It's a fair point. IMO the FS section should really be a benefit for those who contribute to the forum. I guess tho that if only the regular contributors could buy and sell here there would be a limited (although undoubtedly high quality and safe) selection of bits and bobs to buy. The theoretical beauty of this site is that there's a certain amount of trust amongst members and this extends into buying and selling. However like all other private trade media you really need to look out for yourself and be careful. I guess commercial sellers shouldn't be allowed but it must be a hard one to regulate as the site quite rightly welcomes each and all who are prepared to abide by the rules. As someone who has both bought and sold here I must say I've only ever dealt with nice folk and that's encouraging. I also now recognise a lot of contributors and would have more confidence dealing with them over names I don't recognise and that tips the balance back in favour of people who contribute to the site in general.

If you like Trace Elliott stuff then just keep scouring here and the bay until a series 6 / 7 AH350SMX or likewise turns up. They're far better than the current trace gear imo and you'll get a bargain for sure if you've got the patience. You'll also have enough change to find some nice cab.

Thanks again chaps, drummer ended up with an SM57 off the bay and the red5audio set so the 57 should do the snare and the red kit will sort toms and overheads! Just need a heap of xlr cables now. All info has been very gratefully recieved!

I have a solid case in the loft you can borrow and I'll be at thorpe park on saturday for my stag do so would be easy to bring it along.

On the flip side of this a few yrs back I went into PMT in oxford and asked the young lad (may have been a saturday boy) if I could try a s/h warwick. He took it down for me and asked what amp I had. I told him that at that time it was an Ashdown so he found the nearest amp to that and set it up for me then said he'd leave me as long as I like and to grab him if I need him. After 10 mins he popped over to see if I was ok. Now I like to hear gear from a step back too as the sound at the amp isn't always as it sounds out front so asked if he'd have a play. To his credit and my amazement he played almost all the riffs, scales etc I'd been playing and nothing else. He was clearly a better player than me but didn't show off at all. V impressed I bought the bass. People that insist on showing off in music shops etc are just trying to compensate........

I was right into metal when I was a teenager and answered an ad for a "rock" bass player. When I turned up dressed in black denim with leather jacket and long hair there was a middle aged ugly bird with a piano and a guy about 100yrs old on guitar. She asked if I knew My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder so I packed my bass (cheap black P bass customised to look like Duff McKagan's) quietly back into it's case and walked out. They called my house about 100 times after that asking if I was still interested but I told them I'd had an arm amputated so would never be playing again.

Two years ago I'd have sworn blind I'd never be able to sing and play but bought a mic and practiced little BV parts. It was b@st@rd difficult at first and my missus used to laugh her head off at me. These days I add bv's in the band all the time and it keeps getting easier and easier so I'd say practice is the only way forward!!!!

Bass is cool cos if done right you'll feel it before you hear it and it'll make you move. Bass players themselves are a mix of the cool, semi cool, average, tall, short, fat, thin, black, white, geek and on and on and on and that's the coolest part of it. Bass players generally gravitate towards each other and big each other up so that's pretty cool too. Oh yeah bass guitar design pushes the boundaries far more than any other instrument too IMO and everything from vintage to ultra modern is totally acceptable which again is uber cool. So to answer - YES it is and it's getting cooler every day!

Been playing 18yrs getting married in 4 weeks - bass has feet well under the table in my house and the missus knows the score!