cheddatom

If the drums don't kick in until the first chorus, am I allowed to f*** about with the snare height during the first verse? Or is that unprofessional?

I'd never experienced it before joining my folk band. It's generally because every song is in a different tuning or capo'd on a different fret requiring tuning, so the front man will ramble on about something. Sometimes he explains what the song is about or why it was written. Sometimes it's politics. Sometimes it's just a joke Depending on the gig it either goes down really well, or falls on deaf ears. Never heard a complaint about it though

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1403687927' post='2485212'] What annoyed me when I was in a covers band: The guitarist quietly (but audibly) reminding himself of the first couple of chords of the following song, thus letting the audience know what was coming next and removing any advantage of surprise and lessening the impact! That's unprofessional, imho. [/quote] Yes I hate this. Not just covers but any band doing this. It really sucks, especially at the start of a set

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1403687072' post='2485201'] Personally I think talking between songs should be kept to a minimum unless the person doing it is both supremely entertaining and eloquent. Most musicians aren't. In an ideal world guitarists should have their instruments set up so that they go out of tune as little as possible. Failing that they should have a tuned second guitar and roadie to help them switch (and tune the one not being used) as required. IME guitarists are overly paranoid about tuning and tend to do it far more often than is absolutely necessary. I know the skinny strings are less stable (I play them too) but when I take my bass out of it's case unless the machine heads have been knocked it is still almost perfectly in tune. I'll tune up once at the sound check and once again before going on stage but TBH 99% of the time if I didn't bother the bass would still be in tune enough for no-one in the band or audience to hear anything amiss. [/quote] It really depends on your band and the kind of performance you're trying to get across, but in general I would say it's acceptable for a drummer to pull some stands closer to him in between some songs. It takes less than a second. I definitely wouldn't call it unprofessional! Excessive tuning can be very annoying and unprofessional. Especially if they're not on mute!

I tune my snare before I play, but I don't hit it hard. That would be annoying while everyone is setting up. Particularly for the sound guy trying to mic the kit. Have you seen these drummers who twat their kit while the sound guy tries to place mics around them?!? Unbelievable!

[quote name='AntLockyer' timestamp='1403615196' post='2484500'] Memory locks on my stands... [/quote] What are these?! I would love to have my kit set up exactly the same every time!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1403615073' post='2484495'] PS: What are all these drummers doing on a bass forum, anyway?? [/quote] I'm better at bass, but good bassists are ten a penny

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1403613074' post='2484449'] I'd rather that a drummer got everything right before we start playing. IMO there's nothing more unprofessional looking that musicians adjusting their kit during the set. Plus it can ruin the flow of the songs, which is what the audience really wants. [/quote] It depends on the gig. For my folk gig there's a lot of talking between songs so I have time to raise my snare a mm or two. For my reggae gig the DJ spends more time switching vinyl records than I do tweaking. For my rock gig, if the songs flow into one another, I wouldn't dream of stopping a transition just to adjust my snare, but as soon as I get the chance I will do. I don't think it looks unprofessional. I think it could be compared to tuning in between songs. Not something that every bassist does, but you should probably check your tuning (on mute) every few songs or so. Especially the guitarist. Is it unprofessional for a guitarist to tune in between songs? I don't think so, but maybe your set is all worked out to flow seamlessly with no gaps?

Well, first off, it is a bastard being a drummer. Imagine each time you come to play your bass you have to fit the neck, set the truss rod, string it, file the nut, intonate the bridge etc. This is honestly what it feels like some times, so a degree of understanding must be afforded Having said that, I regularly set up a similar kit in 10 minutes. I have to keep tweaking the height of the snare and other stuff in between songs as it's never right first time. He obviously wants to get it 100% right before he starts playing, which is fair enough, if you have that luxury. I'd rather put up with the frustration of tweaking during the set than I would put everyone through a 45 minute set-up

I have a custom heavy set on my 6 string. They took ages to come, although no longer than quoted. Anyway, when I got them the high C snapped straight away. I emailed them about it and they were dead nice and sent me a new one within a couple of days - well impressed!

Adam and Eve in Brum. It was very definitely a punk gig, and we are definitely a folk band. I could hear about 4 people clapping in between songs, but at the end 8 people bought albums. WTF?

I use a similar balloon array for excellent bass projection.

Depends on the band. CreepJoint had an intro tape once, which was ace. Not sure how to embed a YT video but here's the link: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFJZP755TkA"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFJZP755TkA[/url]

it'd be nice if you could get VSTs which are good enough! I keep trying to get a decent string sound but it seems impossible

I find doing it properly can sometimes slow down the creative process. When I'm writing I'm normally in a mad dash to get the thing down before the sounds in my imagination are lost forever!!

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1403108213' post='2479893'] Perhaps the OPs problem all along has been too much deep lows rather than too little [/quote] Yeh, could be right, good thinking batman!

you should be able to get a decent tone out of the zoom. I'm pretty sure it's got an SVT model, use that for the amp, then try the overdrives as well. I've not used mine in ages but I think I was using the SVT amp model and the Tube Screamer distortion model.

a mic more suited to low end might be better, but if it sounds good to you, trust your ears! Most importantly, test it in a gig situation before you decide you've solved it

Hi Dan, I like to think I'm pretty good, lots of examples here: https://soundcloud.com/rifffactoryrecordings-1 and I'm cheap as I've not been set up long Happy to do you a free "tester" track

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1403016107' post='2478865'] ...And I work with software, not hardware... [/quote] Ahhh, now it makes sense! Yes, when using my DAW I load up a chain of compressors. When I'm playing bass through some pedals, I use a limiter. I just keep bringing the threshold down until I can hear it, then push it back a little. It seems to work well for me. I use the Boss one with the ratio set to the max. I never, ever use the "enhance" feature which should be labelled "detract"

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1403012659' post='2478831'] I wouldn't recommend a limiter - they're fairly brutal devices and can pummel any sense of human 'dynamics' out of your sound. [/quote] Only if you set the threshold too low!

"clank" is generally high or high-mid frequencies. The attack portion of your note will generally have more high end, especially if you play hard and so that the strings hit the frets. If you want to get rid of this "clank" you'd use EQ A limiter would stop any transient peaks, the very first few milliseconds of your note. It may "smooth" out your sound somewhat. It may get you more headroom out of your amp. I reckon you might be playing so hard that the strings are hitting the actual pickup poles, which creates a horrible pop?

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1402999281' post='2478624'] I have once again edited myself but I've already been quoted a few times. Whoops. This might be my last post here so I should add that I love you all like my own children, although I don't have any children, and I will miss every one of you, or at least some. [/quote] If you're going can I have your username?

not in my experience, no, but I'm always using some dirt which would compress it. It's worth a try anyway, I suppose you never really know what it'll do with any given pedal chain until you try

Agree with Bruce Also as I was saying in another thread, a feedback loop can turn your whole pedalboard in to a new instrument