Truckstop

Just wanted to say that I think my band is awesome. We gig 2 or 3 times a week and rarely rehearse. We all decided on 10 new numbers to work on over the last two weeks in preparation for a rehearsal tonight. We've been playing the same set for the last 3 months so decided to have a shake up. We're also looking to drop some of the more bluesy numbers in favour of rock n roll and rockabilly type stuff. Anyway, we ran through each song twice and then we all went home. Love it. Everyone came fully prepared and ready to go. We figured out intros and outros and that's it; job done! Never before have I worked with a bunch of guys so professional and eager to work. Anyone else in the same place right now? Or anyone currently living in a nightmare with their bands? Alex

Gorgeous! I miss myBlazers Truckstop

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1376823100' post='2179421'] Nice one Truckstop, this answer probably explains at least two of the under-attended venues we play. So ... you looking for bands at the moment? [/quote] We're booked until April 2014 but PM me with your bands details and we'll sort something out (in exchange for a go on the Alleva!) Truckstop

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1376781996' post='2179173'] I think he's a lawyer or some kind of prick. [/quote] Ha ha ha ha!

Yeah, Pingray all the way! Also I always recognise Charics green ACG. Truckstop

I've been involved in pubs all my working life (12 years) and have just taken over a pub with my wife that we've already been working at for the last 4 years. We have live music every Saturday night and over the summer every Sunday afternoon with a barbecue and other garden party-type stuff. We pay from £240 to £350 per band depending on how well known they are and how much we think we'll earn on that night. We are a small pub; maximum 120 people inside and out. In the winter, maximum 80 people indoors. Believe it or not, we take just as much money in the week as we do in the weekends. We have bingo, pool league, darts league and also a conference room. We use this money to subsidise the weekends entertainment. It's very rare that we actually make good money after paying a band. On an especially good night we'll take £2k behind the bar and after all outgoings are considered we might have £300 to bank. Pub economics is real seat-of-your-pants type stuff. We've survived by turning our pub into a community centre of sorts. We host all kinds of events, provide catering services for local events and we involved ourselves in local life as much as possible. Truckstop

With a credit card one doesn't actually have to have £1k in their pocket. So it is possible for people to 'afford' new instruments at those prices. For example, on my credit cards I could buy a brand new £1.2k bass. I certainly couldn't afford one, but if I wanted a new instrument then it is possible for me to buy one. Truckstop

Credit cards! Truckstop

My band do music almost entirely from the 50's and 60's and we always seem to go down pretty well. I think blues and rock n roll has a great vibe and feel that people naturally gravitate to whether they know the songs or not. Some of our best gigs have been in front of a bar full of 18-30's!! Truckstop

Does it have to be a Jazz? Yamaha 2024x's are wonderful instruments and you'll end up with a few hundred in change. Truckstop

Yeah I would definitely buy an AC if I could. They look and sound incredible (I played Happy Jacks AC Jazz once). If I had £3k to spend on an instrument thats what if get. I think people place too much stock in customer service these days anyway. The dude's not a waiter or something and as such he's not there to cater to anyones needs. He's there to build and sell basses that he thinks are better than anyone else's and that's it. Truckstop

Right: You need some speakers to make the noise. You can get active speakers (amp housed within the speaker cabinet) or passive (powered by an external power amp). I've used 15's all my life with no problems but I suppose 10's are more compact. You'll need to make sure the frequency range is suitable for your needs and to make sure the power handling is suitable for your needs also. You need a mixer. It needs to have enough inputs for all of the things you want to put through the PA. Ie, 3 vocals and the kick drum = 4 inputs. You don't need to bother your arse with a big mixer if you only want to amplify the vocals although it may be handy for when you expand the Pa in the future. You can get mixers with all sorts of room effects like reverb and delay which are handy but not essential in my experience. You can get powered mixers (a power amp and the mixer in one big box) or passive mixers (for if you have active speakers or an external power amp). You need enough power. For pubs where you only need to amplify vocals I reckon 300-500w a side is plenty. If you want to put the whole band through the PA you'll need a massive power section, especially in the subs to really push out those bass frequencies. 1k a side minimum. You need monitors so you can hear yourself. Most mixers have auxiliary outputs for monitors or recording purposes. Small active monitors can be had for around £150, bigger (better?) one's cost more. You can run passive monitors off the power section of your PA but might not be as flexible as you'd like. You need cables and other stuff. Cables are obviously essential and you need to remember to budget them in. Decent 10m XLR's cost £40+. You need microphones (Yamaha and Peavey make decent one's for not much money second hand) and mic stands (Gumtree and eBay will have loads). You'll also need bags and cases for all your expensive gear and also tripods to stick your speakers on. There's lots of different ways to achieve the same results and there's a lot of options when it comes to choosing what would be most suitable to your needs. Trial and error! Truckstop

Well put them on yesterday and had a rehearsal today and I'm very happy with them. Not too sparkly (which I like) and tonnes of definition. I find the tension comfortable too; my usual LaBella Stainless Steels are slightly stiffer so not too radical a departure. We'll see how long they last though! Truckstop

Oh, I thought this was 'HORSE the band' Had a quick listen though and yeah, very nice! Great sound/production! Truckstop

Nice, just grabbed a set to stick in my gigbag and use as spares! I love Stringsdirect. £1 delivery and you don't need to register with them to buy stuff. Truckstop

Yeah just use it as often as possible and get nice and sweaty! Leaving it in the sun or in an exposed corner of your music room should also help. A friend of mine never bothered buying a case for his guitars and they all look pretty worn out from being in the back of his car or laid on rough floors etc. Truckstop

I would go for the 210 purely because I know I prefer the sound of multiple speakers than singles. I'm gassing for the Orange Isobaric 2x10 right now! Might not necessarily get the volume of a traditional 2x10 but I'll get the tone I'm after. For what it's worth, I don't think speaker sizes have characteristic sounds. You can get really inarticulate 10's and really bright 15's these days. I think it'd be wrong to assume you'd get a rounder smoother sound out of a single 12 compared to a 2x10 cab. If you need volume and spread right now, then you'd be better off with a 2x10/2x12. Truckstop