dmccombe7

Best thing you'll ever do is retire early and join a band or two. Since i retired 6 yrs ago at 56 i've never been so busy with bands altho covid put a stop to it for 2 yrs its back up and running this year with one band booked 2-4 gigs a month and the other a handful but that's more down to member work commitments. People our age have lost their ego's and bands become a more friendly enjoyable place to be (usually). Lot less stressful than when i was younger. I also live in country and rehearsals are 40miles away but its worth it. Enjoy and make the most of it. Dave

Punk band playes 2-4 gigs a month and doesn't need to rehearse unless they want to add some new songs. Glam band plays 5-6 gigs a year so rehearsals are a necessity for me. I wont gig with a band if its not up to giving 100% at a gig especially more so when there's decent money being paid by a venue. There will be mistakes but rehearsals or regular gigging reduces that risk IME. Dave

I would have classed your Grateful Dead covers band as a Tribute band. A tribute to the songs of the Grateful Dead. I was asked to join a function / wedding band and gave it a try but i just found the rehearsals too boring and decided it wasn't for me. Different when its your daughters tho. That is pretty cool. Dave

I like that. Certainly made me laugh. Dave

Mostly gigging with 70's Punk covers band but the 70's Glam Rock for me is a covers band but because of the costumes etc some venues have classed us as a tribute to 70's Glam Rock. Dave I've always thought a covers band is any that plays mainly covers whether that be a pub, tribute or function band. The only difference for me is the type of gigs and money involved at the end of the night. I know guys that earn a living from all three types of bands altho wedding / function bands probably bring in more cash but its still a covers band. The variety of styles really depends on the gig. I've seen pub bands play every style from rock, pop, country to funk. I've never really agreed with the Pro / semi-pro / amatuer thing but that's another discussion we've had so many times on BC Dave

I didn't know that either. Even outwith Mesa forum you are a wealth of knowledge to us all @agedhorse. Always appreciated. Dave

I cant comment on the Sadowsky as never tried one but my MarloweDK has more depth and low end than my Fender "Geddy" Jazz. Dont find it overly top ended. I do find maple necks more top ended than dark woods. What neck does your TT5 have compared to the Sadowsky. I'm guessing different kind of pick ups might be the answer. No expert on what's in pick-ups just how they sound to me. Dave.

What version of the VS4 is it ? California , Electra etc ? Just curious as i quite fancy getting a passive VS4 and changing pick ups to something a bit warmer. Dave

Definitely a great combination with maple neck and light blue body. Are the pick-ups originals ? Dave

That blue one is stunning. Dave

Great story apart from rubbing it in about the Mesa TT800. Kidding of course. Well done. Dave

Sounds sudden so hope he's ok Dave

Had the luxury of a green room few months back in an old church venue that was up and coming for bands in Glasgow. One of the very few times i've come across it. Apart from taking a bottle of water we never touched it. Jings i'm getting old 🤣 Dave

We did have an issue with capacitors on a turbine magnetic bearing system where we changed out alll boards with a specific capacitor that was known to fail after time. Fortunately none of ours actually failed but others on different sites did. I had forgotten about that but it was a good few years ago. It was one of those "common faults" that the French manufacturer had picked up when they examined their own failure rates. Oh happy days. The joy of spending 39hrs in a trot trying to resolve breakdown issues at work. Happy days Thankfully i'm well away from that sort of stress. Dave

Coming from an Instrument / electronics background i dont recall ever routinely changing capacitors on kit and some of that kit has been and is still running since 76. All this capacitor replacement talk has been a bit of an eye-opener for me and quite a surprise altho i'm coming from a chemical industry background. Dave

I read on one of the bass company websites that power valves will last longer if you dont overdrive them a lot. I thik you can have the bias voltage reduced to prevent aggressive overdrive on the valves. Might have been HB website or possibly Ashdown i read it. It mentioned power valves can last up to 10 yrs if not overdriven so i guess it all depends on how you use the amp. Guitarists in both my bands have all tube amps and they've never changed any valves as long as i've known them. I specifically asked the guitarist in one of my bands who uses either a Peavey or Marshall all valve head in the punk band and he's had the Peavey a long time (several years) and he's never replaced a valve. Dave

Riverside Bar in Dumfries. My 2nd time in this venue with this band and always a nice welcome. Large conservatory type ad-on to the original bar with a wooden floor so sound i was hearing was a little bit more boomy and couldn't hear the top end too well. Used the para EQ to cut the low frequencies helped Lot of dancers as always with the punk band. Quite a civilsed gig as we arrived 5:30 set up the gear by 6:30, went for dinner in nearby restaurant and on stage 8:30pm. 2 sets and had to finish 11pm. Usual conversations at the end of the gig with punters which is always good. Several compliments even better. Offer of several drinks but driving meant no drink for me. Packed up and ready to go by 12:15am, home by 01:30, bed at 2am after my coffee and biccies. While packing my car the singer came out to say lots of nice things about the new bass player (me) all positive and complimenting me. I do love compliments at the end of the night. The band have been regulars at this venue for quite a few years now. Dont know how to copy a FB vid onto BC i'm afraid. Dave

Look forward to your review when fitted. I've spoken to HB about a WB-100 so anything on that amp will be much appreciated. Dave

PM'd you Jay. Dave

Really nice email from Leszek at HB explaining the issues he has at the moment with his covid issue plus he's lost some of his enginners thru Covid. Approx a 6 week wait for the R-400 and WB-100 but he's working on upgrades to the pre-amp at moment too. He has given me a price and its a fantastic price for such an amazing bit of kit. £20-£30 shipping. How do they manage to produce such an amazing amp for that kind of money. I'll be ordering a WB-100 but have said there's no rush and can wait till he's fully recovered and his team back to full strength again. Will proceed as he sees fit under his guidance. @wateroftyne just thought i'd let you know since you also sent a message for me. Sounds like things are a bit tough for them at moment but hopefully picks up soon. Dave

We all need our holidays from work. 😂 If you hear anything can you pass it on and it'll save me pestering him with anymore emails till he's ready. Dave

I never even gave Covid a thought but that all makes more sense. I'll just leave it for a while till he's picked up and ready to get back to work. Can only wish him all the best and hope for a quick recovery. Dave

If the vibe was there just because you were all more relaxed about then keep it going but stay relaxed about it all. If a band gets too serious the fun disappears for me and time to move on to the next project. Dave