icastle

We split everything equally. One person is responsible for booking gigs. One person is responsible for keeping all the kit working. One person is responsible for setting up the PA. One person is responsible for setting up the lighting rig. One person is responsible for transporting the kit. We put 10% of whatever we take into a band slush fund and fuel and band gear upgrades\repairs come out of that. We are all responsible for the upkeep of our own instruments and backline. In practice, we all tend to muck in where we can and help each other out. It might not suit all bands but we've been doing this for about 5 years now and have yet to have an argument about anything.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1173143' date='Mar 23 2011, 12:07 PM']I used to get sent brown envelopes with OHMS written on them. They were usually really boring, so I threw them all away.[/quote] And how are things in Pentonville Jack?

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1172894' date='Mar 23 2011, 08:04 AM']however I am beginning to believe that bands should sign up to some sort of Musician's Union to ensure them a fair fee is always paid and to avoid a bum deal with a venue that won't pay well.[/quote] There's already a Musicians Union. They already have some recommended fees, but it's too coarse a measurement as too many assumptions are being made. You can't standardise musicians, some will always be better or worse than others and it's really up to the individual musician to decide on whether the fee offered is appropriate for their level of expertise or the accessibility of the material they are performing. It may not be great but the reality is that you can't force a venue into paying an amount it doesn't want to pay, all that will happen is that they will book someone who [b]will[/b] play for that money.

[quote name='phatkat' post='1172744' date='Mar 22 2011, 11:19 PM']I am about to inherit an early 80's Ampeg valve Bass amp (sorry, dont know which model), its been lying unused and unloved for many years. My question is, are these amps worth the time and effort to give them a new lease of life? Are parts still readily available? Will I end up with a good sounding reliable bass amp?[/quote] Yes. There seems to be quite a market for old bass amps - one of the reasons for all the modelling amps and add on modelling boxes that are on the market. Parts wise, there shouldn't be much of a problem - modern valve amps are still using many of the same components that their ancestors did, and those that aren't available can be easily be worked around if needed.

"Set of .999 bass ropes please..."

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1172376' date='Mar 22 2011, 06:04 PM']I adopt a similar scheme & owe one venue in Bristol at least £30! [/quote] LMAO!

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1172401' date='Mar 22 2011, 06:23 PM']Might just need soldering. Unscrew your control cavity cover and check for loose wires.[/quote] +1 Also, if your jack socket is a 'skeleton' socket like this: push a guitar lead into it and you'll see where the tip of the lead makes contact with a metal strip. Is it pushing hard against the tip of the guitar lead? If it isn't then pull the lead out and very carefully bend the strip towards the hole the plug comes through - just enough to make it push harder on the jack plug. Don't overdo it - a 2mm amount is probably plenty. A small pair of pliers would do the trick here. It's not designed to be a permanant fix, replacing it is better, but if the socket has lost it's tension it'll probably last you a few more months and at least you'll 'know' what the problem is... EDIT: Oops! - too late

[quote name='dood' post='1172378' date='Mar 22 2011, 06:06 PM']Heh heh - I seem to remember that in my original build diary for my 7 string (when this forum was known as Bassworld.. or BassTalk, I forget which it was at the time) it was suggested that some of the cables from the Severn Bridge were removed to build my bass [/quote]

[quote name='dood' post='1172358' date='Mar 22 2011, 05:39 PM']Make that a .194!! [url="http://www.conklinguitars.com/bass_strings.html"]http://www.conklinguitars.com/bass_strings.html[/url][/quote] Good grief! Much heavier than that and it'd be used on the National Grid!

[quote name='blackmn90' post='1172349' date='Mar 22 2011, 05:31 PM']i opened it up and it seemed fine and then put it back together and it worked ok. I used the same bass and same leads. If it starts again i think il take it to someone who actually knows how amps work, ie not me [/quote] Sounds like something loose in there then, perhaps taking it apart and putting it back together has wiggled 'something' back into the right position.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='1172312' date='Mar 22 2011, 05:00 PM']I'll leave you to do the research [/quote] humphanumphanumpha?

If you're looking to play your material to an audience, or play covers/standards for a bit of fun and a social night out and don't care about the financial part, then pay rates probably don't need to figure in your equation. If you're looking to make money, there is nobody to appeal to and no 'minimum wage' - if you agree to do the gig then that's it! Far better to get the financials sorted out beforehand and if you think you're getting screwed then just don't take the job. I'm always wary of deal that involve 'percentage of the bar takings' or 'percentage of ticket sales' because they are a potential breeding ground for arguments further down the line. As for 'going rates' - I can only use our experiences as a 'stake in the ground'. If you're a competent, entertaining/crowd pleasing band playing a pub gig on a bog standard weekend night then probably £150 to £250 is probably about right. If the pub knows you and have a 'special' on (real ale festival or something like that) then you might squeeze an extra £50 out of them. If it's a wedding or party of some description then I'd say somewhere between 3 and 6 times your 'pub rate'. Corporate events attract the highest rates, larger companies will happily pay out 10x the pub rate if you get a reputation for professionalism (and pandering to their every need!). A lot of it really depends on what you're prepared to put into the gig though. Our higher paid gigs involve nearly a whole day setting up as we also have a trilite mounted lighting rig, smoke machine and backdrops alongside the normal multicore/PA/backline stuff.

[quote name='baz' post='1172090' date='Mar 22 2011, 01:45 PM']I have an GK 1001rb amp, the last few weeks at practice the amp runs fine for the first 45 mins or so then annoyingly it starts to cut in and out every 3 seconds, yep its almost that predictable? Sound for 3 seconds then a pop and no sound for 3 seconds another pop and the process repeats. I have check the leads and bass on my practice combo and have no problems there, so that leave's my amp and cab. Has anyone experienced this kind of problem before or have any ideas what it could be?[/quote] If the amp gets too hot (driven too hard into cabs of wrong impedance, not enough ventilation around the amp) there's a thermal cutout on GK kit that might be causing what you describe here.

Trying to get a pre-made one has proven to be a problem for quite a while now it seems. I think a lot of people have gone the 'copper tape' route but you can actually buy brass strip and make your own if you feel the need to stay authentic. Model boat builders use very thin brass strip it seems - so somewhere like [url="http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=26227"]this[/url] perhaps?

[quote name='Johnston' post='1172040' date='Mar 22 2011, 01:11 PM']Sayin about the SG sticking stuff. Our apprentice in work came running into the foremans office holding his eye open. He'd gotten glue in it and real heavy duty stuff for gluing the ends of tank seals so it needs to take 2bar of pressure. When asked how it got there his reply "I don't know" Turned out 3 of them decided playing football with a bottle of super glue was a good idea, the apprentice knocked it up with his knee the lid came off and a bit went into his eye. Pretty serious but pretty funny watching him try to not explain how he got glue in his eye [/quote] It's truly heartening to see that, in this digital age of global communications and huge advances in scientific knowledge, there is always one thing you can rely on - apprentices being ar*es.

[quote name='Donnyboy' post='1171942' date='Mar 22 2011, 11:54 AM']For my next trick - I thought this should be straightforward - ah well... I'm wanting to stick an old McKenzie speaker into an old Peavey Black Widow cab. The speaker has a black & a red connecting thingy , but the cab ( which says it was made in the USA) has a blue and a yellow wire. Which wire should go in which connector? I've done a search but couldn't find anything.[/quote] Peavey always use yellow and blue wires for their speaker connections. The yellow wire is + and should be connected to the red terminal of the McKenzie.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='1171878' date='Mar 22 2011, 10:54 AM']Ironic that. I think the only thing super glue will stick reliably now is my fingers.[/quote] I'm sure there are other body parts that it will stick reliably.

[quote name='Cameronj279' post='1171531' date='Mar 21 2011, 11:21 PM']I'm sure this has been posted many many times, however here goes. I tune down to GCGCF when i play with my band (no prizes for guessing what kind of music) but I'm in need of new strings and was wondering what are the heaviest strings out there and where can i get my hands on them? the heaviest ive found in shops around here are rotosound swing bass .130 which is still pretty floppy (although the .105 'E' string is the worst) Warwick dark lord strings don't count....although i am considering buying a pack of them[/quote] Heaviest ones that I can think of are the D'Addario ProSteels - they go up to .145. I have a sneaky suspicion that their sets also stop at around .130 so you'd have to buy single strings and make up your own bespoke set.

[quote name='shezza' post='1171447' date='Mar 21 2011, 10:26 PM']Since posting this I am a little confused! many listings for the Laney RB3 on the net state it has headphone socket, but on looking at the pictures I cant see one? Can anyone throw any light on this.........................Pete.[/quote] It's on the back panel. Instruction manual for the RB3 is available [url="http://ebookbrowse.com/laney-rb3-manual-pdf-d37379833"]here[/url]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='1171394' date='Mar 21 2011, 09:48 PM']Well seeing as he's currently using my good extension lead as a "temporary" solution to power his computer (and has been doing since he moved in)i think i'll let him cart the amp upstairs![/quote] In that case - tell him afterwards...

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1171373' date='Mar 21 2011, 09:36 PM']I use the dear Loctite stuff on everything (it's the luthier's best freind)... even then it's not a powerful as it used to be.[/quote] I'm pretty sure I read something about consumer orientated SG manufacturers reducing the potency of their glues because of safety concerns quite a long time ago. Get yourself a can of Cyanoacrylate activator - it creates a temporary 'seal' so that the glue doesn't soak away into a porous surface, speeds up the curing time, reduces blooming, removes the smell and gives a much stronger bond.

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1170878' date='Mar 21 2011, 04:44 PM'][size=1]BC Rich Custom Shop NT Eagle "Wonky" - 2003 BC Rich NJ Eagle - 1984 BC Rich NJ ST - 1987 BC Rich Platinum Series ST Lakland DJ4 Jazz Fender MIM Precision 1988 Charvel 575 1960 Ibanez 1250[/quote][/size] You forgotten something beginning with 'G' ?

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='1171348' date='Mar 21 2011, 09:22 PM']Ok cheers bud, thanks for the offer. It's been used in exactly the same spot for ages without any problems, we did change our fridge but it's been fine for as long as he's had it. I'll get him to try it upstairs, he hates moving it though as it's pretty heavy so it might be a while! Absolutely brilliant amp though, they go for about a ton and sound great. Stupidly loud too![/quote] If you were a nice guy you'd tell him to run an extension lead from upstairs...

[quote name='deaky' post='1171329' date='Mar 21 2011, 09:12 PM']Well I ordered a Geddy Lee pickguard specifically whiich I had to wait about 4 weeks on so I am hoping not to drill holes in anything. I wouldnt be keen at all doing that.[/quote] Well if it's a specific one you've got a good chance of it fitting pretty well. One thing to note though, when you're screwing the new pickguard on, don't tighten the screws fully until you've got the last one in - you might be thankful of a little bit of 'slack' to allow for any tiny inaccuracies in the manufacturing process.

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='1171290' date='Mar 21 2011, 08:50 PM']I've emailed Yamaha for a circuit diagram and their opinion on it, their customer service has a really good reputation so hopefully they'll come up with the goods. Is it harmful to use the amp as it is?[/quote] Probably not, kinda depends what is causing the click. It doesn't sound particularly devastating so I'd probably risk using it - it's certainly not going to damage you or your lodger. Something else has occured to me actually - have you tried taking it to the opposite floor you are using it on (i.e. if upstairs, take it downstairs and vice versa)? Sometimes things like fridges and central heating controls can put a juicy enough spike on the ring main to create a click... EDIT: If you scan/photograph the circuit diagram and post it then I might be able to narrow it down a bit further for you.