mcnach

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1493850003' post='3291360'] I would go with the mim Fender. Only because the hardware is slightly better than on the Squier, even the top end Squier versions have similar quality hardware to the lower end ones. Which is useable and works but not as durable as the Mexican Fender hardware in my opinion. [/quote] I'm sorry but that is just... plain wrong. CV series Squier hardware have nothing to envy any other instruments and it would work and last a lifetime.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1493830654' post='3291103'] +1 The best Precision(s) i've had in my hands were two Classic 50's MIM basses. Only sold both as i use 5 strings verytime. Light, comfortable and great sounding basses that cost(ed) what i considered to be a fair price for the product. Would be my first choice if i ever find myself in need of a P. [/quote] I have a Classic 50s myself and I agree. Personally I'd get the Classic Vibe or a Classic 50s if the budget is there.

[quote name='Yukimajou' timestamp='1493819329' post='3290927'] I am gassing for a P Bass (I only have an Epi T'Bird at the mo), and was wondering if it's worth getting the [url="http://shop.fender.com/en-GB/squier-electric-basses/precision-bass/squier-classic-vibe-p-bass-70s/0303090506.html#cgid=%09squier-electric-basses&start=1"]Squier Classic Vibe[/url] for £440 or spend a couple of hundred more on a [url="http://shop.fender.com/en-GB/electric-basses/precision-bass/standard-precision-bass/0146100502.html#start=1"]MiM Fender P Bass[/url]? I don't have the option of going to try them both out, which is why I am seeking advice here. I know Squier are the budget range, but I actually prefer Epi to Gibson, so prestige isn't an issue here. Thanks. [/quote] I'd go with the Classic Vibe. They're great basses and I don't find the standard Mexican one being worth the extra £200. I had a CV 60s in Fiesta Red and it was a beast. Superb.

I check tuning before we start and then only if I have doubts about the tuning (because I hear something slightly off somewhere) or after an 'energetic' number maybe (particularly with popped strings). Or if it's a very warm place and I didn't get a chance to let the bass get used to it from the outside cold, then I check during the first 20min too. It rarely needs correcting more than a tiny fraction but I can't stand being out of tune. If an instrument can't stay in tune, it has to either be fixed (if possible) or retired from live use, in my opinion.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1494269958' post='3294595'] Yep, I`ve got into some really good bands purely by watching them as we`ve been on the same bill. If I`d been playing Jonny Big B*ll*x and the evening being all about me I might not have seen them. And that would have been my loss, not theirs. [/quote] !!! Not staying to watch others is not the same as acting as Jonny Big B*ll*x! But the image in my mind made me laugh

[quote name='tonyclaret' timestamp='1494272299' post='3294627'] I have one TKS S112 and it sounds lovely. Haven't used it in a live gig situation yet, but have been pondering adding a second cab for flexibility. I'll be playing mainly pubs and clubs, got a festival coming up but would have PA and monitor support for that. So hoping I may get by? Or do I pull the trigger on another cab? [/quote] I find a single S112 a bit limited except for stage monitoring. Adding a second one makes the pair just as nice sounding but noticeably bigger. I wouldn't like having just one. They're so light and portable that bulk is not an issue really.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1494254178' post='3294355'] That's kind of reassuring, given that I'm using DIY cabs with the same driver which ought to perform similarly. The power handling doesn't look particularly impressive when modelled, but possibly efficiency in the mids helps them to seem loud, and it can be hard to know how modelled low end handling relates to a real bass signal. I have got the impression that they could handle a bit more amp than my MB200, and that would appear to be borne out in use. It sounds like a fun gig. I haven't been up that way in a few years, but it's a beautiful bit of the country and playing outdoors in the sun is always good when you can get away with it. [/quote] I was a little worried because the power handling is not tremendous and they're not the deeper sounding cabs. I thought that playing outside I might have to crank the lows and the volume. But while the bass control was turned up more than normal, it wasn't crazy, and same volume-wise. I've played many times louder than I did on Sunday, so I wasn't concerned. Bear in mind that this is for a beer garden, so loud enough but not loud that people could not have conversations at the back. In other situations it may not have worked. I did not get a chance to wander around to check but our guitarist did, as he usually does, and it was him who asked me to turn up just a little bit. My girlfriend was at a table in the middle of the garden and I asked her to indicate to me if she thought I needed to do something (she knows what we should sound like and likes her bass, as well as her bassist ) and she just gave me the thumbs up. I had told her about my worries, and she said it was just perfect for the place. That didn't help her being sympathetic with my "but I also need the two Two10 cabs" explanations... but it's too late to return them now The Stingray + LM3 + S112 are a great combination and I love them. Those wee speakers aren't going anywhere. I generally use a single Two10 for most gigs with PA support, as a stage monitor. It's much more capable than a single S112 and the sound is not that different (although it does sound clearly bigger, but it's the same kind of sound). But the two S112 are very capable in small bars without PA and better than a single Two10. It's nice to have the options... but if I had to, the two S112 would do just fine for me (just being careful).

[quote name='DangerDan' timestamp='1494145615' post='3293542'] This is always a bone of contention. I will tend to watch a few tunes (more if i enjoy the band) from as many sets as i can, and stay to the end, but i really don't mind if other bands stay to watch mine. I would much rather know that the people in the crowd (or lack thereof) are there because they want to be, rather than because they are bound by some sort of etiquette. Essentially I'd rather play to an empty room than a bored one. If i pay to go to a gig i don't feel i have to watch every band, i paid to be there, i'll enjoy the experience how i want to, i know it's different if you are on a bill together, but still, life is short. [/quote] +1 summed up nicely

[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1494145182' post='3293536'] Hands up I don't do many of these kind of gigs anymore but other bands disappearing used to really get my goat. What they don't realise is they kill the atmosphere for the whole evening, and by extension the live music scene. (Or at least contributing to the slow death) [b]When they truck off, their crowd goes too and everyone falls flat. As many people in the room together for as long as possible, get the energy levels up, make sure it's a great night[/b], more people show up next time. Best gig I ever did in London village ran the bill like Later. Headline band on first, reverse the bill, resident act on at the midway point then the bill in the proper order. Everyone was rocking. [/quote] Ah, so you mind that their 'crowd' leaves, not so much the band. I have never seen any situation where a particular crowd leaves because 'their band' leaves. Rather, they leave because they were only interested in one or a few specific bands in the event. So, if you want everybody to have a great night, are you suggesting they should stay even when they clearly would rather leave? I think this highlights a weakness in the organising of the events. Some people put shows by merging a bunch of bands together that have little in common. Those mostly attract their own separate crowds. Some are in for the whole thing, many are in just for one or two bands. So the crowd in front of the stage shifts a lot. This also means that if the crowd falls just before you play, don't blame others for leaving, blame yourselves for not having a stronger crowd interested in what you do! Ok, maybe not blame, but... certainly don't point fingers at others when it's YOUR responsibility to get YOUR own thing going. Rather than being upset at the ones that leave, cherish the the ones that do stay, make sure that the ones that stay love it, and if you only make 2 new fans that night, that's 2 new fans. It's your choice to be upset or not. One thing, however, that I would not be happy about is about bands who disrupt things by moving gear about. If you're going to leave, make sure you plan your exit to ensure minimal disturbance. If there's a side door, use it. If not, leave on the side and preferably not all at once pushing people on your way out. Take big gear out before the next band starts and the crowd assembles, or wait. More than leaving, I find it annoying when bands just hang out backstage unnecessarily being in the way. So you're getting off stage... and there they are having a drink and laughing and waiting to go in... just move! Leave some room so that they can get out and then you can get in. Similarly, when you're getting out, don't just stay there chatting and laughing when another band is on the side waiting to go in and set up... THAT does annoy me. I had one guy coming onstage at a local music bar where we usually play (2x45' sets typically, 3 bands a night) coming onstage to put his gear in barely 2 minutes after our set had finished. He bumped me while I was kneeling reaching over to unplug some equipment... I glared at him and just told him that we'd get out of his way a lot faster if he did get out of our way while we were collecting our stuff. He looked at me like I was asking for something impossible. I had to follow by a stern "please get out and leave us room, you'll have plenty of time to set up later" and then he left grumbling. Idiot.

It varies, but I rarely stay to watch the whole thing. Over here, when you play multiband events that are somehow genre-coherent, chances are you know some of the other bands, and chances are you've already seen them and you will see them again. Some of them I go out on purpose to see their shows and pay my ticket to do so. Some I would not. I have never encountered a situation when anybody feels offended that members of another band don't stay to watch them. It seems childish to me. Similarly I don't expect other bands to stay and watch us. It is cool when you see some of them at the front having fun for a while, but we don't feel bad when they're not. Some times gigs are something you go to early and stay and take it as a whole day (or evening) kind of thing. Others, you just go a little earlier, play, have a chat with some people and leave to do other things. The whole "bands should stay to support other bands because... we're all bands!" makes zero sense to me. I'm sure some get offended when they see other band members not stay to watch their amazing performance. But most people I meet seem pretty normal and easy going, and rather than being upset if you don't, they show happiness if you do stay to watch even for a couple of songs. I would like to imagine that it's not like that just in our circle, but in general. Otherwise it would sound pretty sad.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1494203486' post='3294000'] An outdoor gig in Mallaig, now I've heard everything. They're hardy folk up there. [/quote] The weather was amazing yesterday It would have moved inside if the weather were not good enough. We were very lucky. And they're indeed hardy people there. On Saturday night one of the guys was dancing barefoot (at a ska gig?) I suspect he had enough alcohol in him not no notice when his toes were stomped on. I saw no blood on the ground afterwards so maybe he was ok. It got rowdy by the end of the night, but in the best possible way. Great people, I loved it there.

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1494149685' post='3293588'] There's no way I would loose a friend over a band,we'll just have to try to tune him up a bit. [/quote] Yeah, it's a tough call when you're there, and a friendship is worth more. Which is why it pays to do these things early. I was in a similar situation with a friend who sometimes could pull it off, but most times was painfully out of tune. I thought with practice/coaching he'd get better... He did not. In the end the band just folded. But I was also involved in other bands so I was getting my 'fix' and he got to sing... but we could never get the right people to stay and I am positive it was because the vocals were not good. It really makes or breaks the band. I hope he improves with better monitoring, although I suspect that vocal coaching might do him more good than that. My friend took lessons for a while and there was a clear improvement over that period... but then he got sick, stopped going and it never get good enough.

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1494005443' post='3292597'] I like it and like the singer's voice but his voice is out of tune. [/quote] I loved it initially... then the singer came in. Ugh. The band sounds great but I feel you're let down (badly) by your choice of singer. Lead guitar is not great but it works well enough, however the vocals being off pitch really puts me off and I could not watch the band because of that. Being out of tune (any instrument) hurts my ears.

Two 3h gigs (three sets with a small break each) at a very nice bar in beautiful Mallaig just off the Isle of Skye. The weather was amazing, and I got a room to myself with great views included in the deal, which was great as I brought my girlfriend with me (the location, weather, and full weekend business made it a really attractive option). Saturday night was indoors, Sunday afternoon was outside in the beer garden. I love outdoor gigs. Everything sounded great This is a band I joined last summer and well known in this place. Apparently I'm not as handsome as the previous bass player, but I'm more exotic A pair of small TKS S112 cabs and the Markbass LM3 with the Stingray. I wasn't sure it would have the 'oomph' for the outdoors gig, but it worked really well (it wasn't extremely loud, it wasn't a festival, but a place where it could be loud enough for people to dance close to the 'stage' but not so loud that people on tables farther away could not have a conversation). Lucky I had my hat. It's not often this sunny here, but when it is, it bites!

This weekend I had two gigs at a beautiful place, The Steam Inn in Mallaig. Beautiful place and beautiful weather, and I got my own room and everything so my girlfriend came along, as it seemed too good an opportunity to waste (we never know when the weather will be this good again! ) Anyway... I thought both gigs were indoors, and I brought the two little S112 cabs and the Markbass LM3 with my Stingray. Saturday night, typical small bar, no PA, ska/reggae band... it worked just fine. But Sunday... was outdoors in the beer garden. I wasn't sure the little S112 cabs were going to be much good. But surprisingly, they were. Granted we were not extremely loud, it wasn't a festival, but a place where people could dance at the front, but also sit down and have beers a bit farther away. The drums were not mic'd. The TKS S112s worked just fine, I had to add a bit more low end than normal, but I wasn't even pushing the amp much and it sounded pretty good. Those little speakers are fantastic. I love playing outdoors, where there are no weird reflections or boomy stages... I didn't think this setup would work as well as it did. Very impressive.

I need one in each ear. Plus backup.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1494014480' post='3292677'] The fella got back to me earlier to confirm it was carbon in the neck not steel. Unless there's a sudden upsurge in folks smashing up HB's and J&D's we'll never know just how common the carbon bars are. [/quote] somebody here must have access to an X-Ray machine

[quote name='mentalextra' timestamp='1494064480' post='3292924'] My nephew said the guy didn't turn up at court, not a huge surprise. But its still not over as if he can give a reason for not appearing the saga will continue..... NOTE: I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but I feel that it is relevant to show that some sellers 'will' go the whole nine yards? [/quote] As is the seller who initiated this... does it mean he gets to pay court costs when he doesn't turn up?

and I thought it was going well...

You could have done much worse Can't go wrong with a MusicMan!

An experience of mine a while ago... Wednesday 8.30am: Having breakfast, I hear the sound of a letter or similar being pushed through the letetr box. No knocking or ringing. I assume it's just the usual mail and I'll check it later. When I checked, I found it was a red "sorry you were not in" card, about a parcel delivery. The card was dated MONDAY. It also said they'd try to deliver on Wednesday again, and if unsuccessful I'd have to collect from the depot. That was ParcelForce. Oh, how I laughed...

[quote name='Shylock' timestamp='1493593171' post='3289356'] I have had this happen to me now. Three times in the last two weeks and only on basschat and when on my laptop. Now using my iPad for now. [/quote] yep, it's getting a little tiring

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1493551917' post='3289041'] I love my zoom and record all my gigs (and a large amount of the practices) but I can't really imaging using it as a monitor, as all it would give me is the sound on stage, whereas I am trying to hear mostly the things that i am responsible for. If I could hear that where I was I wouldn't need the monitor would I? [/quote] one reason to go that way is that you control the volume (i.e: reduced, if it's loud), essentially acting like a set of earplugs, but with a much clearer sound than you get from any earplugs. You can also add complexity to the minimal equipment shown here by adding some kind of EQ, and/or feeding in further signals if you add a small mixer: you could add your own instrument, or another microphone elsewhere onstage, or a monitor mix and then the zoom adds 'ambience'...

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1483279470' post='3205840'] Flare earplugs... my guitarist last night admitted he's not liking them after the initial honeymoon period. He says he cannot hear his guitar as clearly as he needs and that's the reason for extra loud guitar in his monitors, which is starting to throw us off.. Apparently they are very comfy, that's true... and they look great. [/quote] well... update: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/303944-flare-audio-isolates-tip-longevity/page__p__3288659#entry3288659"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/303944-flare-audio-isolates-tip-longevity/page__p__3288659#entry3288659[/url] (post 26 in this thread if the link fails to take you to the right post) in short: I tried them and didn't hate them

Right... I haven't read anything about these plugs 'tech specs' that make me thing they'll be any use for me. If you want to reduce drastically external sounds, yes, but onstage? No. One of my guitarists uses them. He was very happy at first (but then he rarely used any earplugs before, and when he did it was the foam ones). Now he's not as happy, but he still likes them. I hear others like them too. It makes no sense to me. But I decided to have a go. I got a pair of the aluminium ones. When I first saw them last year they were around £70 (fundraising site), but now it's around £25... and I can certainly use heavy duty earplugs when I end up sharing a room with some bandmates, so why not? I tried them last night. They are comfy. Two 45-50min sets, no trouble at all. They cut down a lot of noise, more than probably any others I've used. That was a little off-putting at first as it felt a bit detached, and I could not hear people talking to me as clearly as with other plugs. But they clearly offer good protection against loud noises onstage. They're most definitely not 'hi-fi'... no surprises there... BUT, they were actually surprisingly pleasant after the first couple of songs. I had to make sure they were well inserted. I used the small tips and maybe I should try the medium ones too. When they're not completely sealing the ear canal, it's horrible. However when they're properly in... I had no trouble hearing the guitars, or vocals... Drums were also clear, even if they lacked some of the sharp attack of the snare/cymbals, but it was fine. Bass? I turn down the low end quite a bit, as usual in this particular stage, but I could hear myself very well, it sounded bassy enough but there was great definition which in this stage with this band (it gets loud onstage, and I hate it, but I just can't have this fight every time and I love the band too much to quit over it) is always hard. There's one song where we do a little silly audience participation thing where we all go down and squat on stage, meaning I'm usually blasting my bass cab right at my head, and it can be a bit unpleasant at times, but not yesterday. I thought I played better and had much more control... So, my verdict is "not hi-fi, not amazing, but considerably nicer than I thought they would be" I like them more than the xmas tree ones, and although they sound different I think I prefer them to my custom moulded ACS with the 17db filters. I would not say "quick, everybody, buy these!" but they do sound better than sticking your fingers in your ears and they allow you to free your hands so that you can play, and the noise reduction is big. Cons: depending on the band mix onstage maybe it won't be so good for some as they are definitely not flat response, but they're good enough for the bass sound I like [1]... also, they do reduce noise a lot so you can feel a bit detached from the music at first. [1] I favour bridge pickups... Stingray for example. Not lots of booming big lows, but prominent and low-mids rich, "finger funk" type of tone, if that means anything to you. edit: second gig tonight... festival at a sports hall. Big, echoey. Loud. I enjoyed listening to the band before us with the earplugs, without them it was urgh. The 'stage' sound was just as bad. Sax player next to me was complaining about not hearing well. I heard my bass loud and clear and well defined, and heard the guitar and vocals quite well too. Still a bit weird as everything is MUCH quieter... but I enjoyed it.