mrtcat

17 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

An answer to the question of how those fancy systems wind up sounding if you don't trip their limiter when putting whatever through them sound would be nice. How about the full skinny please?

 

A: e-drums, restrained backline not enough to be interfering in vocal mics, not covering whole venue but not giving a damn, Auntie can natter away to drums and vox and some bleed just fine, dancefloor @ something under 96dB thereabouts avoiding engaging the limiter.

 

B: full e-band backline IEM.

 

😄 1 mousepower backline monitors, e-drums and everything into the mixer.

 

😧 live drums, IEM everyone.

Basically we run with absolutely no backline and fully electric drum kit. If you back everything off so that you're not engaging the limiters you can actually hear plectrums hitting strings, drumsticks hitting plastic cymbals and the vocals are way too loud for the mix because the natural volume of singing voices is louder than the overall output from the system.

Like EBS_FREAK says, the gear is quality but the way it's set up just chokes all the life out of it.

19 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

And your venue name is still there in the second page.

There are literally dozens of venues with that name. I redacted the group name that would identify which one the info sheet refers to. 

These are the ones that make me chuckle the most when we get them. Sounds like an incredible system on paper but in reality they sound worse than a pair of old wharfdales. Designed to completely compress the sound with brick wall limiters that suck the life out of everything. The bride and groom will have been told that the venue has an awesome set up and that any failure to sound amazing is entirely the band's fault. 

19 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Offer to meet them halfway. Tell them you are used to playing social gatherings where people need to talk. You will put some of your lights on their circuit and if it goes dark you will turn it all down some more but you don't expect that will be necessary as you are professionals. You know what 96dB sounds like but you don't want to risk your amps having their power cut.

Sadly they're unlikely to go for that. There are lots of bands out there that are prepared to work with noise limiters and do so regularly who will happily do the gig on the venue's terms and the venue know this.

Noise limiters are pretty much the norm at wedding venues, especially the newer ones. You either work with it or don't do as many weddings. 

We do over 100 a year and probably about 50 have a limiter of some form, 20 have a zone array system or similar (you plug your mixer into their system and it squashes all the life out of it to get you under their limit) and half a dozen will only allow pre approved bands. We have two venues where we have had to do the daytime sound check weeks ahead of the wedding so they can approve us. Both of those are in Northamptonshire where we are based because we wouldn't go farther afield for an unpaid sound check. The up side is that we get a lot of bookings at these local venues. The down side is that it sounds pretty average for the punters. 

Especially you need electric kit and in ears if you want to enjoy playing these gigs. 

To the op I'd say dont dismiss it if the venue is nearby. It could lead to more work on your doorstep which, with the rise in fuel prices, might be a godsend.

No matter what the bride tells you, she will have been made aware that they only allow bands that will sound check ahead of the date at the time of booking. These venues may not care about bands but they do care about the reviews they get and won't be dropping bombshells on their customers.

Anyone refusing to work with limiters in the wedding industry will see their work dropping off as these become more and more common.

Theoretically playing for DeVere hotels in Reading but, with omicron doing its thing you never know. Pretty sure ticket sales for the event are way down. Either way, unless force majeur comes into play, NYE is a decent player even if we end up staying home. 

I've massively simplified my gigging patch for my main function band. Starts with a touch of compression and then  split signal at 400hz with lows going to a woody blue and the highs to a matchless guitar amp. A couple of different eqs (one for overall and the other that i use when I use a pick) and then an Aguilar 8x10 ir. 4 snapshots all with progressively more drive on the matchless. Works well for indie pop rock stuff.

On 07/12/2021 at 19:03, steantval said:

Very nice, like it, great bass tone.

We have just added this to our set list, we are doing the Phil X and the Drills version.

Thanks so much. Yeah that Phil x and the drills version is absolutely killer. The bass tone is really gnarly on it but it works so well for their version.

Some pretty standard wedding stuff going on here.

From Saturday night. Standard wedding guff but my mate Steely was depping on drums. So much better and far less arrogant than our regular guy lol.

11 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Yes, yes and yes! 😎 

What model have you got? 

 

Euro 4 LX with Aguilar pickups and a John East Uni Pre. 

8 hours ago, Al Krow said:

I hadn't clocked that @mrtcathad also got a Spector in his life, which has blown him away. Kinda interesting that quite a few of us Yammy fans are also huge Spector fans. I'm definitely a signed-up member of that particular "dual-bass club". 

I absolutely love my Spector, it just punches it's way through every mix and I find the body shape super comfortable. 

7 hours ago, Maude said:

 

I've not tried a Spector. I know it's shallow but I just don't like the look of them, they always look a bit Wonky. Although I'm sure there must be Spectors without the melted look. 

 

On the flip side however, I will know what a 1024 is like by the end of the week. 😁

Haha, my guitarist describes my Spector as looking like a half sucked boiled sweet. 

Tone is so subjective and also context is everything. That Flea tone at the end was god awful to my ears but most of the rest worked within the context of the song it was in. I thought the fieldy sound was poor tho. Just sounds like his bass needs a set up and that the engineer had mixed him terribly. The only thing wrong with Newstead's tone is the same thing I've always struggled to like with Metallica. Lars Ulrich.

Willie Weeks bass sound on this is killer, especially from 8 mins.

Bands can't carry bad drummers. As the other half of a rhythm section, bass players will find working with a bad drummer a pretty soul destroying experience. I certainly couldn't play with a bad drummer on a regular basis. 

We managed to wing it. Fortunately we use an acoustic kit converted into an electric kit. Drummer was able to pull the trigger out of the electric kick pad and turn it into a makeshift stomp box. Thankfully the td50 brain was able to make it sound like a convincing kick drum. 

I don't think he'll forget his pedal again in a hurry. Gig went well but I don't think it made for enjoyable playing for him. 

Sadly he's a partner in the business that is our band so sacking him would be a major hassle.

My number is 07519 642091 if you can help.

Long shot. We just turned up to a gig in Bridgenorth and our drummer has left his kick pedal at home. It's a 4hr round trip and we're due on in 3. Can anyone help. Will pay for fuel and give a good donation to your beer fund. Happy to collect and drop off if we can make it to you and back in time.

Jamiroquai's 1st 2 albums are the only two I really love. The later stuff is so much more sterile in comparison. That said, I love Paul Turner's playing and we'd all love to play with Derek McKenzie on drums every week.

I've met JK a few times. My wife works for Audi motorsport but was previously involved with Porsche at Silverstone and he has been a regular at events with both companies. He's a very likeable character and really polite and respectful. He isn't at all standoffish like many of the other big names.

Jesus Christ that's a lot. Our function band has a repertoire of about 200 but 1) they're all well known and 2) only about 45 ever see the light of day.

On 02/07/2021 at 13:29, FinnDave said:

Mind you, it's not an easy house to find, tucked away kind of behind a lay-by. Worth the effort, though.

Just use the postcode and look for the house with the white Nissan 300ZX. Easy spot from the road.

2 hours ago, E sharp said:

I like that. But what’s the world come to, where cabs are now lighter that heads he he 

Both amp and cab were bought with sound quality in mind. I'm only in my mid forties so weight isn't really a concern. 

Does a job very nicely. 

13 hours ago, Bobo_08 said:

Lovely instrument... however I am equally impressed by you immaculate lawn grass!!! Kudos to you! GLWTS

Haha, that's very kind but if you get close you discover approx 70% clover, 20% dandelions and only about 10% actual grass.