kiat

What were traditionally the topics to avoid at polite dinner parties: politics and religion? It might just apply to bands and whole music industry.....

Views are relative aren't they? An extreme view might just be one that is at it's root very opposite to our own view on the matter. We could also discover that our particular view is equally extreme (however middle of the road and reasonable we are convinced we ourselves are) because it is diametrically opposite from the view we consider extreme. All of those people on either side would consider the others extreme. Perhaps labelling views or people as extreme may be pointless and counterproductive. Views, in my view 😁, can and should be discussed. People on the other hand, whatever their views, can act like absolute twats and if they upset the band as a whole (or pick on a member of it) then they are better off moving on. I wonder how fully pro bands handle difficult band members and where the overlap is in typical workplaces.

I prefer to use the sound of drums than a metronome. It keeps it interesting and adds feel. There are so many sources these days. In brackets (is what I use). drum machine (Alesis SR-16) drum software (Loopz on Android) drums stems, ie real drums from music tracks (Moises on Android and Linux) drums from pedals (Valeton GP-5 its cool for practice as the output to headphones includes the drums and my bass) Good luck with your journey. You're asking a load of good questions - don't let yourself get overwhelmed! Play often and with other supportive musicians as much as possible.

Has anyone got decent synth sounds out of their GP-5?

I'm tempted to have a few lessons with him. I've the time but not the budget for many lessons. Were your lessons with Ian in person or over the internet?

For bass playing in a band setting, how do you find they compare with studio headphones or other IEM brands @acidbass ? These, presumably, inexpensive IEM 75 headphones, for me, are far closer to studio headphones than they are to the KZs.

"Rod Stewart destroys AI bots with insane brick-throwing, that isn't what you think" with crappy soundtrack and American voiceover.. Feeble tragic stuff (twats that misuse AI have a lot to answer for!) but at least the comments brought out some laughs....

Out of curiosity I've just tried the basic looking headphones that came with the used "the t.bone IEM 75" system and I'm shocked how much better they are than the multi-driver, cool looking and ergonomically better KZs that I've been using, with upgraded cables too. I've been getting a lot of hiss recently, assumed it was probably a combination of the wireless bass and wireless IEMs, so was troubleshooting with AB testing out different kit, hence the IEM 75s out of curiosity really, as I had no intention of using them before. Not not though - I've got to figure out a way that they can stay in my ears. I'd not been happy with the tinny sound of the KZs either and had upgraded both the cables and the tips trying various types, memory foam etc. Even with the stock flimsy silicone tips that came with the IEM 75, the sound is much better, louder, clearer with actual bass. I'm stunned, really. With all the positive reviews and no previous experience of any IEMs, let alone high end IEMs, I'd assumed that KZs were good and it was a matter of finding the"right" pair, cable and tips for your needs and desires. Not so sure now.... * KZ ZS10 PRO X * KZ EDX Pro X

MobileSheets Pro user too. I can highly recommend for Android. Very low cost, huge range of features and customisations to get what you need. I've been using it for all my charts for a couple of years and other band members who need one and have seen mine have got it too. I like that I can import PDFs and Images on my fast phone, then do a two-way sync with my tablet in seconds. It works with my page turner has night mode etc. It also excellent documentation and a large active user base (has it's own helpful forum). From my phone (for convenience for this post, when playing I use the table)... Song view (easily filterable to find the songs you want) Setlist list view Setlist view (top song is a PDF from a bassist I depped, the bottom one is a PNG image I added)

Maybe all of us have gear lying around that can be used to listen to the bass in a very portable and simple (at most one device) fashion? The audio signal from the bass is so low, it needs amplification to drive headphones. Over the years I've practiced fine with all of these..... (when travelling, of the ultraportable ones, the Boss BR-80 has been the best)

Perhaps it depends on the use case? For cables that get reinserted a lot I prefer the best quality jacks Neutrik or HiCON. If they are static in a pedal board it matters little IMO and a lesser known brand of reasonable quality is perfectly fine if it can transit the signal without loss or interference, whilst providing the perfect form factor for the job.

Hey @simondee we had a similar problem, no one having used IEMs as a band, so we came up with this simple solution * a single mixer/splitter box (2 x vocal mics, 2 x drum mics, guitar, bass) outputting a common stereo mix * a single multi-headphone amp, outputting the same mix, but everyone controls their own volume We added individual headphone amps to each person (£15) so they can add "more of me". More here......

Another fascintating video into the world of an in-demand show bassist at the top level. Ian King covers his gear, preamps, settings, mics for his double bass and a discussion with the show's audio designer. It's not that Overwater bass though, he's got a cool grey one, maybe with a maple neck (?), with black metalwork. The tone he has is fantastic and his playing sublime.

Digital IEM mixers, like the Behringer XR18 or Soundcraft UI24 are popular with enough mono outs for small bands. The bands I'm in don't use them yet, though one band uses this stereo IEM system I put together. Some bandmates prefer wired IEMs, others wireless.

Wondered for a sec if that was an illness Found some articles on stratitis (one from over the pond) and this seems to be exactly it. Slightly raised the g-string, lowered the pickups and it's almost gone. Will see how this plays before adjusting further. Yes, you're right, this was part of the problem - magnetism! It wasn't that, these are new strings and they'd been fine on standard tuning (or at least, I hadn't noticed) but when lowering all the strings a half step the problem raised its head. A few tweaks were necessary though to get back to consistent sounds. Sorted now, thanks @ghostwheel, @Elfrasho and @jonno1981 for the tips. Learnt a new bass word too!

Generally: before the gig, do your preparation, decide on a bassline and practice it. First time gigging! Maybe play it front of any friends or family if you can, beforehand - anything to get closer to the experience of being on stage. If it's outside go in the garden and perform it there, even to yourself. On the day, give yourself plenty of time to avoid being rushed. Zen out a bit, reassure yourself you've done your prep. Just prior and in the performance, chase away any negative or self-critical thoughts thoughts with positive ones and remember to breathe - take deep steady breaths. As its for family and friends everyone will be wanting you to do well and will be supportive.

Hofner violin basses. Left handed basses.

Yes, something else crossed my mind when I just read that 😁. VID20250831154400.mp4 The problem at hand is that I just detuned my 5-string down to Bb for a cool transcription that @ChrisDev shared and I noticed that the G-string sounded markedly different, as though it had a separate effect on it. Observing it being plucked showed an odd resonance (a slow vibration or modulation atop the regular string vibration when plugged) that I've not seen in my basses before. This is reproducible and it's spoiling the overall bass sound, because it's the only string with this "feature". It's this just physics? A combo of free string length, tension, etc? Ideas to ameliorate or solve it?

Similar here in my electronics project (box) room that my music gear grew out of. Least you've got stuff to go back to.

Lincolnshire, hardly posh, it's basically a rural county few visit with the most popular tourist spots Skegness and Mablehorpe! Yeah, the stop/halt markings are in good nick generally, though the general road edges are in a right state at usually because of all the tractors and lorries carrying produce away. Bristol, maybe it's a city thing and/or an incompetent council. Even without the markings with a roundabout they should be stopping and not risking life and limb of anyone entitled to cross.

...over IEMs and on a 7-string bass! Live Improvising - Lavon Rushing.mp4 https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CXnzyCuFY/ Those hits are so tight: drums, bass, keys... I guess you get used to it, but that takes listening, reaction time, musicality of the whole band, to a complete another level. Any other genres do this?

Ok, time for me to fess up. Upstairs, right now, in my original office/workshop where I do anything, mostly IT and electronics, not DIY or music stuff, except soldering cables and whatnot.... though have done some downstairs in my m̶u̶s̶i̶c̶ ̶r̶o̶o̶m̶ front room which I've taken over to do all my music at home, which is this.... VID20250831125930.mp4 Amazingly my wife has let me get away with this. But she thinks both are messy, however I tidy them up. Maybe not surprisingly our visitors to the front room these days tend to be musicians 😎🎸🥁

I tried that before but it doesn't look right. Sorted now. And lined up by bags. I've more bags than basses 😆🤔.

Is there a thread about "pet peeves"? I'll put my music bass related ones there. Another irritational prejudice is those #@&£ers that drive straight through t-junction roundabouts without respecting the stop sign. Can't count the times I've got to the roundabout way before any traffic on my right, but can see a vehicle or line of vehicles that are far enough away that I have the right of way to enter the roundabout, but they are going so quickly without slowing down for the stop markers on the road, that they might barrel over and hit my car, me and my passengers when I enter.

Have you tried hearing more of your bass via IEMs @ezbass? It can be a very simple and inexpensive setup to be effective. Take the Behringer MA400 headphone amp with passthrough which is about £15. Get your bass into it, connect your IEMs (£5-£20). On stage vary your bass to taste, whilst still hearing the band ambiently.