mrtcat

I'm currently using a Toshiba laptop which has an express card slot. I use a decent firewire adaptor that supports music streaming so it works well. Biggest issue is currently finding either a pc laptop with the express card slot or anything with a firewire port. If I went for a mac mini it would have the firewire but I'd need to build a clever flight case to make it usable at a gig.

Mac mini looks like really good value. Is 4gb memory enough? i5 or i7?

Current laptop is coming to the end of its life and so I'm looking for recommendations for a replacement. Budget is about £800 but I need to be able to hook it up to a Mackie Onyx 1640i mixer to allow live recording on 16 channels. Previously I've run ableton but I no longer DJ so will probably want to run one of the logic incarnations. The mixer really needs firewire and I need enough power and memory to handle a two hour set using 16 channels. Am I high or is this possible? Recommendations please :-)

Agree also that set list is essential. As mentioned by most it's fine to wander a bit from it but it's there to keep structure to proceedings and keep things slick. I call any changes in our band and everyone goes with it. Sometimes we do most of the whole 1st set as a big medley to keep people up. Guitarists who insist on regular axe changes boil my piss and if he/she insisted on doing it I'd tell them to go start their own ego trip project and stop spoiling mine.

Used yamaha trb 5. Need a 5 string again and love these.

When I was a teenager a friend gave me a bootleg live album recorded at a show in minneapolis in 1993/4 it was absolutely brilliant but I've never been able to find it since. Prince is a total genius.

Put an ad on gumtree in 2008 saying I wanted to join up with some players who wanted to start a casual covers band to get me back into playing after 4yr break. Got one reply from a guy who sang but had never been in a band before who wanted to put a covers band together. He had a drummer and guitarist interested. We've been going almost 6 yrs done 300 gigs and are now doing weddings and corporate gigs for decent money. Worked well for me.

My experience of charity events is that the cause itself is most important. If it's a big well known charity it will naturally draw more people than something a bit more niche. You should consider putting the aims and ethos of the charity at the centre of everything. For example if you are going to approach local media you need to be prepared to put across how important the cause is, how they will use the funds raised and why they are as worthy of the support or even more so than many of the other charities out there. You're going to need volunteers to help at all stages and as previously stated just booking a band because they're free is not ideal. Most bands will donate their fee if they buy into the cause so look for bands that will draw a crowd and have your passionate plea ready. Venue wise be wary of places with ulterior motives. Many will look at the profit side first. We raise for Help For Heroes every year and use pubs - particularly ones where the regulars are the type that read The Sun, hang George's cross flags off their houses. Sounds awful but these people really buy into H4H so the venue gets kudos with its customers. In return we asked the venue to pay the bands (which all bands then donate). The venue charges on the door or sells tickets in advance or both. This gets donated. The venue makes plenty over the bar with a crowd that have paid to be there so won't have one pint and leave. Finally we always get local businesses to donate prizes (golf club donates round of golf for four, hair salon donates haircut, butcher a big roasting joint etc) which we raffle. One of the best raffles is for someone to sing a song with the band. People always love that. Bottom line is to get people passionate about the cause. Really good luck with this.

Gonna be a dad in June so 2014 is going to be exciting, petrifying and tiring but I'm pretty darn happy about it. Baby is going to learn drums as I want a drummer in the future that I can control to some extent lol.

As said before by others, you should hedge your bets. Stick with what you have whilst starting something new. It'll involve extra work as you'll need remain committed to your current band in order to be fair but it'll be worth it if it prevents you having to risk having nothing. It'll also allow you to be patient whilst seeking other members for your new project. Best of luck.

Tiring but fun. Busy town centre pub full to capacity with new years revellers. Finished playing at 2am so knackered today.

Thanks for the replies everyone. It turned out good in the end. Landlord says his phone had broken after being dropped down the loo and that there was a fault on the landline. I think if I ran a pub I'd be keen to at least have one way of letting people contact me. Was a good gig although by the end of set two everyone was so drunk we could have played pretty much anything and they'd not have cared. Happy new year everyone!

Hmm bit concerned. We are booked to play a really good live music pub tonight but we cannot get hold of them on any number to confirm set up times etc. Last contact was about 3 weeks back and all was fine but since then they've not replied to messages, voicemails, fb messages (even though they're showing as having been read), phonecalls and when we phone the landline it just rings and rings. We're advertised on their fb page and we know they're open and haven't changed hands. Problem us they're over an hour away so I'm having to hike over this afternoon. Pretty sure it's just typical pub organisation / communication issue but it's pretty disconcerting. They really wanted us after we played there in may and offered really good money. Fingers crossed. Any advice?

Never made us a success although I doubt the dressing up would be enough to polish our musical turd.

Much obliged sir!

Gregg is such a nice chap I'm sure he would have put the drummer at ease very quickly. I've been lucky enough to play a handful of songs with him and he's a true gent.

Hey Thunderbird, can you let me know which shop does the good set ups?

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1388235899' post='2319753'] Yes, I did think about moving the baffle and rear panel in a bit to reduce the volume to match the Minimark. Loz, would my knackered old ears really be able to tell the difference if I used Eminence drivers instead? Half the cost, 4ohms and available now, no 45 day wait like there is with the B&C's. [/quote] The dimensions of the minimark will have been calculated precisely to suit the specs of the drivers. You'd be doing well to recreate those dimensions as exactly as you can. Using different drivers would be unadvisable and you would also need to calculate what dimensions would be needed for the new drivers. Finally you need to wire them right. I'm guessing you want the 2nd cab to have an impedance of 8ohm if thats what the current one is so it's either two 16ohm drivers in parallel or two 4 ohm drivers in series. If you build it let's see some pics! Happy building.

Bill's plans are excellent and they're hugely satisfying to build if you are so inclined. Bill invests huge amounts of time, experience and knowledge into creating plans for speakers that really work and can give great results. As a builder of his designs I have made about 90 cabs (various designs) from his range. I doubt I'll get asked to make many simplexx cabs as the simplicity of design will make it easy for the majority of people to make their own. I'm happy to take orders for finished or unfinished cabs nonetheless ;-) Anyone who thinks making a diy cab is a cheap option may have to rethink. Yes you can make savings but everything in the UK that you need for cab building costs a lot more than it does in the states. It's also much more difficult to find the right ply at a decent price if you're ordering in small quantities for just a single cab. People are often put off by prices I quote but I don't make massive profit on any build and at the end of the day I'm putting together bespoke kit for the customer. Spend time pricing all the parts (and remember to take delivery fees into account) and then decide if it's worth it for you. Finish wise that's entirely down to the builder. Discreet did a smashing job finishing his cab in his thread on here so with the right patience and imagination you could do whatever you want. All ill add is that if you build a BFM cab properly and follow bill's eq advice properly you won't be disappointed.

Bit late to the party here. I'm a cabinet maker by trade.I have built cabs for years. I used to build high end hifi gear. I now build BFM cabs to order amongst many other things. I have owned BF cabs and purely out of curiosity I have opened them up for a peek inside. They are very very well made - far better than most big brand cabs I have taken apart. They have clearly been exceptionaly well developed. They are very transparent and very loud. Alex knows his stuff and personally I'd happily buy from him. Price wise they are very competitive when put alongside other stuff built this well. Do I use one? No. I found a sound I love elsewhere but I would have no hesitation in trying barefaced cabs again.

QOTSA

Played with Craig Blundell, Gregg Bisonette, Steve White and Ian Matthews earlier this year. All we're awesome and really nice guys but what stood out most was just how hard they hit stuff. Snare skin resembled the surface of the moon after Gregg Bisonette had been on the kit. I'd love to play with Matt Sorum tho as I grew up on a diet of GNR.

Love my kilo. Does everything brilliantly and weighs what an amp should.

Gay Bar by electric six or Heavyweight Champion Of The World by reverend and the makers. Nothing tricky but both loads of fun.

Played "girls of porn" at our school end of year talent show on my last day of school back in late 90s. Had a bunch of the school's finest "ladies of fewer virtues" do sound effects.