casapete

Tonight (Monday 16th) on Channel 4 at 10pm there is a showing of ‘Summer of Soul’, a 2021 documentary

about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Apparently the footage was rediscovered in a basement and

then restored. Features many great performances including those by BB King, Stevie Wonder, Mavis Staples,

Sly and the Family Stone & Nina Simone. 

23 minutes ago, Minininjarob said:

I played in a rehearsal room last week and it had a 450w version of that amp running into a 4x10 and a 1x15, holy crap it was brutally powerful, couldn’t turn it up more than 1 out of 10 and it sounded fantastic. I’m now looking for one second hand!

Probably the HA5500 model, 500 watts into 4 ohms.

Don’t know your location, but Rich Tone Music in Sheffield currently have a s/h one in stock for £179.

😊

31 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

has Hail Hail Rock 'n' Roll with Keith Richards been shown anywhere recently?

I don’t think so, although I’m not sure about all of the streaming platforms.

( DVD’s still for sale on eBay though by the looks of things.)

Happy days for rock’n’roll fans shortly  -2023 Little Richard biopic ‘I am everything’ on CH4 at 11.05pm.

Alternatively Chuck Berry ‘The King of Rock’n’roll’ at 11.15pm on Sky Arts.

Halfords used to happily give away the boxes that cycles were delivered to them in. 
Various sizes so probably be worth a visit?

2 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

I'm on a tour with Greg Douglass, the guitar player with Steve Miller. We're at Kinross tonight and tomorrow and travelled up from Hull yesterday. Albert was playing last night and is coming to our gig tonight. 

How do the Hull gig go Steve? Nice venue The Wrecking Ball, putting on some great stuff.

Albert is a class act, seen him many times both playing with his own and other bands. 
Great he’s still out there doing it. 

1 hour ago, martthebass said:

 

Played a smallish venue at Withernsea last night...pain in the derrière to get to as you can’t avoid going through Hull and the never ending roadworks are, well, never ending. Strange layout, long and thin with rooms off to the side. Couldn’t crank it up too loud as you’d deafen the punters at the front which meant the back of the place was a bit quiet. Despite it being ‘off season’ the place was packed and up and dancing from the off. The Landy was well chuffed and even made between spot sarnies.  It’s a bit of a trek but worth it with this kind of reaction so hopefully we’ll be back there sometime in the new year.

One thing, another one of them small stages which was a challenge but apparently the previous week’s band had been a 5pc with keys...god knows how they managed it 🤪......smallness demonstrated with pre first spot pic of drummer waiting out the ubiquitous bingo.

Withernsea can be a drag to get to Mart. Hull’s roadworks are going on for years yet, building a new intersection

by the Marina. Once it’s done you’ll be able to whizz straight through to Withernsea though! Would have liked

to come and see your band, but family health stuff meant I was unable to. Hopefully catch you soon.

All the best, Pete.

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Gotta wonder how you ended up thru Biggar heading from Hull to Kinross all on the East Coast. ?

Believe it or not Dave , when we go to east Scotland it’s usually quicker going up the A1, then across

the A66 to Penrith and then north on the M6/M74 etc. Going all the way on the A1 to Edinburgh looks

like it should be quicker but some of it is single lane with a 50mph limit for vans. 
My band is in Dundee this Thursday and we’ll be heading there via the same route.

Mentioned these before, but the best case I’ve ever used is the ‘Bass guitar foam case’ by G4M.

I bought two of these, and in over 10 years of use on the road all over the UK I’m still just using the

first one! Light but very strong, mine originally cost around £30/35. They’re now £49.99 but

even at that still very good value for money IMO.

My onstage settings rarely vary, with everything centred tone wise. However, last night for instance

(at the engineer’s suggestion) I turned down the lower mid control a touch and quite liked it! I do

prefer a rounded sound onstage, but have found that what often sounds a bit more ‘middley’ at

soundcheck sounds just right when the theatre is full, so a good compromise. 

I think I’ve reached a point using the same amp/cab/bass combination for so long that if anything 

altered too drastically I would feel uncomfortable. Sounds a bit sad but it just suits me as it is. 
Occasionally get to use something else and I manage okay but prefer my own rig. 

8 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Better have a look for some with covid on the increase.

Dave

Got some from Amazon this week Dave, £6.99 for a pack of 5 tests.

1 hour ago, cetera said:

@casapete you were in Epsom last night?!? Damn, I missed it.... literally the only show in driving distance for me

 

We were. Few spare seats so could have sorted you a couple of comps too!
Next time round maybe?

Our upcoming gigs over the next few months, ( although we’ve just heard that the Carlisle gig has been 

cancelled due to problems at The Sands venue regarding the concrete structure of the building.)

1 hour ago, ricksterphil said:

Vintage Trouble.

 

They were awesome and their frontman is superb

Couldn’t agree more. Seen them a couple of times in small venues and they are a powerhouse.

17 minutes ago, asingardenof said:

 

Aren't £50 notes plastic now? Or is it just £20 and below?

You’re probably right - never get to see any! 🤣

4 minutes ago, Musicman666 said:

on a face to face meetup is cash ie 1k the usual done thing these days or is that a red flag in terms of possible counterfeit issues for the seller?

Depends on how much really - once you start getting into four figures then someone may start

getting a bit twitchy about notes. Definitely best to avoid £50 ones as they still carry some stigma

from counterfeiting operations in recent years. If you’re doing a bank transfer also beware of dodgy

accounts, although this is maybe more of a problem when selling with scammers using fake screen

shots to show the funds have left their account, and saying it will show up in yours after a ‘delay’ etc.

I always prefer cash still, and think most sellers probably do.
(Best to take a mate with you though of course, just in case. 😆).

Also back on OP, a Trace BLX combo. Great idea, small combo design etc and very well built.

Just sounded meh and heavier than my car. 

32 minutes ago, colleya said:

Penultimate Jump the Shark gig was a weird one.

 

The Railway in Royton, usually a great gig. It was busy (not as packed as usual) but the crowd didn't seem as into it as normal. As a consequence we never really got into the top gear you find when you're getting a great reaction.

 

Sound gremlins meant I had half an ear out for feedback all night too, which probably affected my ability to relax and properly enjoy it.

 

Rig was my Ibanez sms1005, Ashdown RM 500 and TKS 212, which sounded reliably great.

 

You’re a better man than me for allowing the mixer to be placed on top of your cab!
Admittedly I am a bit touchy about things that may vibrate or cables everywhere though,

and when set up space is limited there are sometimes no other options.

Like the look of your TKS cab too. 😊

32 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Absolutely, a number of people on here have had good results with the Hartke, which I must say surprised me after the one I had.!  Perhaps I was unlucky and got a bit of a dud one 

That’s quite possible. The preamp tube may have been duff, although I think you can run them without

it in the signal chain so who knows?!! Also the earlier ones were ( IIRC) a Mosfet design which I believe

was later altered so perhaps this affected things too. I had one of the matching cabs with the aluminium

cones which I didn’t get on with at all. 😆

On 06/10/2023 at 22:51, Waddo Soqable said:

Actually, back to the original question..

Yes, a Hartke HA3500 amp, it was utter piece of shlt and couldn't get a decent sound out of it. 

I had a load of gigs coming up and ongoing so thought I could do with a "decent" amp & just grabbed one of the above, brand new, from GAK as I recall, purely as an easy option, so I thought. 

Did a whole bunch of gigs and put up with it for a bit, but in the end gladly got shot of it and replaced with an old Peavey which was brilliant, shudda just got something like that in the first place. 

Great that we’re all different on here - I really liked the couple of Hartke HA3500 amps I had.

(There’s also a recent thread in the ‘Amplifiers’ section with quite a few glowing comments.)

For me they are solid, reliable and loud with a good EQ and one of the few compressors I’ve ever

got on with! Only moved mine on for smaller amps, but would happily use them again. Had 

hoped the newer TX models would be as good but many comments about them being 

underpowered. 

1 hour ago, Richard R said:

If he really thinks that John Entwistle bass is worth a hundred grand, then surely it wouldn't be just on display so easily bashed?

 

It did seem a bit like that, but the owner was very watchful when anyone approached. Would like to 

know if he had any serious enquiries on them.

56 minutes ago, asingardenof said:

Nice! I never managed to get to Hall for Cornwall when I lived down that way but it looks great from the stage.

It really is a wonderful place, and run so well too. If Carlsberg made theatres…..

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

Looks great Pete

Thanks Lozz. It really is a superb place. When we arrived, we got signed in at the stage door and each had

lanyards with a photo ID made before we went in. We only had to show the ID in the cafe to get

unlimited free coffees and teas - just a small gesture but very much appreciated by us after such a 

long journey to get there. For the whole gig we were made to feel appreciated, which these days is

getting more of a rarity.
I’ve just found out we’ve been given a choice of two dates for returning there next year too, so happy days.

First of two gigs for us this evening in the south west of England.

The Hall for Cornwall in Truro is a fantastic Grade II listed building which incorporates the recently opened

auditorium ‘The Cornwall Playhouse’, a superb venue with a seated capacity of 1,354. Both front

of house and backstage are really top notch, and coupled with a decent cafe/bar it is a favourite of ours.

Lots of helpful staff ( many of whom are volunteers ) ensure a good night for their customers.

We all but sold out the gig, so had a great evening. It’s a good sounding room so we got soundchecked

pretty quickly too. Always a pleasure to play in Truro, despite it being a massive trek for us. We are back

into Devon tomorrow night playing in Torquay.

I’m the only person in my band who uses a conventional wedge monitor onstage, everyone else

uses IEMs. I like to hear the FOH sound in the room, whilst having enough in my wedge of the things

that are key to my playing and singing. This is usually lead vocal, backing vocals (including my own),

drums ( kick and snare with some toms and hats etc) and acoustic guitar with some electric (if it’s

a large stage and I can’t hear the guitar cab). Don’t have any of the violin or two cellos in it as they

are usually loud enough being on my side of the stage. The monitor really does the job of giving

me a balance of what is lacking on my side I guess.

Have to add that we use electronic drums, so no onstage sound for me other than my wedge and my rig.

I also don’t like my bass in my monitor, as it doesn’t sound like my rig! If I need any more of that I can 

just adjust my amp. It all works fine for me, and I like having control over my overall monitor

level - depending on the venue/my mood I can have it all pretty quiet or alternatively kicking

a*s without really bothering anyone else. 😊