Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Chrismanbass

Member
  • Posts

    527
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Chrismanbass

  1. [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1444835908' post='2886539'] That doesn't seem right to me. If you've got a tour with spaces you want filled, then shouldn't you audition someone properly and tell them they're being auditioned? If that audition process includes playing in a function band then you should be preparing them so that they can show you what they can do. You're wasting everyone's time by not giving out enough information. [/quote] most of the time people book people they know but my point is that if there is an audition process then its generally invite only but to get an invite you have to have a reputation as a good reliable player which you won't have if you've screwed up functions with people deciding who gets invited. IME its a very small community of people who put these king of gigs together and they tend to talk to each other.
  2. [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1444826872' post='2886422'] I have noticed a few threads where function band players are critical of 'Jazzer' deps who 'don't learn the set'. I am guilty of this. To be blunt, I don't even 'learn the set' of the function band I actually play in in as much as I regularly turn up at gigs to be presented with a chart for a 'first dance' song or a new addition to the set and am expected to deliver. There is always a tacit assumption that I will know the latest Jesse J. hit or Beyonce masterpiece but I don't; never heard it, probably never will. In strictly professional terms, the simple truth is that 'learning' a load of new songs for one gig is not economically viable. Spending the time required to learn anything up to 40 tunes for one evening's work is not realistic (I have even been asked to learn 40 [b]band specific[/b] arrangements from a cd for one gig, FFS, No charts, just hours of listening/shedding - I didn't do it, Busked the gig. Punters loved it. MD didn't and I never worked with him again which was ok because he was a rip off artist and has exploited hundreds of musos before and since). We busk it because, at the end of the day, it rarely matters and punters aren't really listening. Write out the dots if you want perfect arrangements flawlessly executed. I did a function recently and the MD had done exactly that and he got the product he deserved; a flawlessly executed set. Calling Jazzers to do Jazz gigs tends to be a safe bet as there is a common thread of material that can be drawn upon at a pinch. Put a 'Functioner' in there and they will flounder because they don't know the material. Put a Jazzer in a function band and you are likely to have a similar problem. The difference is, a Jazzer has a chance of having heard 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' whereas a Functioner is not likely to find his way around 'Chelsea Bridge' by ear. At the end of the day the issue is preparation. Asking a dep to learn a set from scratch for one gig is an abdication of responsibility. 'I can't be bothered to write the charts out so you do it'. If you need a dep, either pay him to rehearse or get proper charts prepared. Simple as that. [/quote] I guess it depends what you are doing function gigs for some people do them for financial gain which IME they aren't great payers and yes i agree its a lot of work for what it actually is However a lot of musos use function gigs to try out deps and musicians that they've just met or know by reputation its a stepping stone to getting booked on bigger gigs. No one wants to book someone on a 3 month tour around the UK with a named artist if they've never heard them play before. Rule one is learn the tunes if you won't bother doing that for a crappy wedding chances are you won't get the chance to do it on a bigger gig because people will always know you as the guy that turns up never prepared and blags his way through gigs and unfortunately on other gigs that just won't fly. If I book you on a function and you screw it up I'm definitely not going to book you for anything else also i've seen plenty of players who I wouldn't consider proper jazzers blag there way through tunes following a chart on their phone its pretty common place now
  3. Just heard from a very reliable source that the gig tonight at Hammersmith Apollo isn't sold out so if anyone is wants to go you still can
  4. not sure about the other questions as I bought pro tools HD but i can tell you that yes an ilok definately works in a usb hub I have one for my pro tools and another for my live waves plugins both of which go through a usb hub all the time with no problems give Avid an email if you have questions they're pretty good at getting back to me normally Chris
  5. you can't connect and aux in on your stereo to an input on your practice amp as it won't work i assume that you're using your stereo to play cd's and the like which means you need to come out of an output of your stereo (probably the headphone out if it has one) and in to your bass amp in which case you need a mini jack cable to whatever connector the cd/tape in is on your bass amp (at a guess i would say either phono or mini jack) one of these cables should work depending on what connectors you're working with (mini jack to phono) [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Mountain-Plated-3-5mm-Phono/dp/B002IRRISK/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1441741097&sr=1-1&keywords=phono+to+mini+jack"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Mountain-Plated-3-5mm-Phono/dp/B002IRRISK/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1441741097&sr=1-1&keywords=phono+to+mini+jack[/url] (mini jack to mini jack) [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5mm-Male-Stereo-Audio-Cable/dp/B000Q6EBNU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441741166&sr=8-1&keywords=mini+jack+to+mini+jack+cable"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5mm-Male-Stereo-Audio-Cable/dp/B000Q6EBNU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441741166&sr=8-1&keywords=mini+jack+to+mini+jack+cable[/url]
  6. gah! the curses of working late beaten to it you need a TRS cable (stereo jack) to make this work properly but thats been said already
  7. this one? [url="http://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Wireless-In-Ear-Monitor-System-by-Gear4music/OUE#full-des"]http://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Wireless-In-Ear-Monitor-System-by-Gear4music/OUE#full-des[/url]
  8. [quote name='phil.c60' timestamp='1441394230' post='2858659'] ...and do you guys who dep regularly (whispers........)use a music stand for your charts? [/quote] Ipad (drops mic walks out)
  9. over under is industry standard for coiling cables in fact is sound engineer 101 (literally i've had to prove I can do this to an employer before they would hire me) if you are tying knots in cables then by grabbing the end (to tie the knot) youre putting stress on the solder joints in each end also if you over under your cables properly they will sit on the floor nicely and then won't knot when you run off onto the dancefloor with your bass for a boogie, because getting yanked up short by a massive knot isn't a good look if anyone isn't sure how to do it this video shows you how [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEd7ru24Vx0"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEd7ru24Vx0[/url]
  10. [quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1436036452' post='2814538'] I would suggest that bands who dismiss out of hand well meaning advice deserve to have a crap sound, personally if someone I don't know comments on the sound I'd thank them for their comment and then ask someone who I do know whether the advice is good or not [/quote] thats the best tactic really fellow musicians in the audience are good for this purpose just telling someone to F**k off just makes you look like a dick even if their comments are completely unjustified
  11. I use two basses for the Bon Jovi tribute band I dep for occasionally one for most of the stuff because it cuts through the mix nicely and sounds lovely and then another with a deeper sound which is my "shake the floor" bass which has a more piano like B string which i use for stuff like It's my life, Wanted DOA and Blaze of glory both 5 strings i quite often get asked what the point of having two 5 strings on stage but they also act as backups to each other
  12. [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1434964185' post='2804122'] I played at a big local venue again on Saturday. I had a little chat with the soundman after. Now, I know this guy is clever and knows his stuff, but I was bemused when he said "Yeh, it sounded great out here, but it was so loud!!". He's got the volume control right, and he can ask us to turn down on stage if necessary, so he's in control of how loud it is. However, I have a new theory... On modern recorded rock music, the cymbals are generally far quieter than the close miced drums. When a rock drummer plays live, acoustically, the cymbals are generally the loudest bits of the kit. If the sound engineer is trying to create a mix that sounds like this (rather than compromise) then he'll have to raise the close-miced drums to ridiculous volumes, and then the other instruments are brought up to compete. [/quote] I've adopted a way of soundchecking drums which i think works quite well in that i ask the player to just play, it doesn't really matter what they do as long as they use the whole kit. i refer to it as drummer fun time as they love to show off. Then i start of with my overheads and get as fuller sounding kit sound from them as possible (obviously you wont get everything but you'd be amazed what you can do with a bit of effort) after this with the drummer still playing use the close mic's to fill in the sound to your preference if you want a massive thumping kick (which is great for some rock and dance/electronica music) then you can I tend to find i get a more defined and natural sounding drum kit than using the traditional method of Kick....... snare....... hats....... tom 1....... etc its a studio mixing technique but it works really well for the gigs i've done with it so far
  13. my job involves engineering jazz gigs in a very dead room including quite a lot of jams i regularly have 7 or 8 different players on an acoustic piano and an acoustic double bass (i know we're talking about electric bass here but the point stands ) and each player to me makes the instrument sound completelydifferent to the point where some have more warmth in the sound and some bring out the harsher overtones of the piano just in the way they hit the keys without me touching any of the settings (EQ Compression etc... ) this say's to me that even though the electric bass isn't an acoustic instrument the way you play the instrument has a large influence on the tone bear in mind that theres no compromise in the way the piano or bass is mic'ed up we have access to a fantastic mic collection through a very nice PA system in an incredibly non reflective room this experience has completely convinced me that at least some if not a vast majority of a players tone comes from the way they play an instrument and not whatever process is used to amplify their playing
  14. where abouts in lincolnshire? i have a few contacts in the south lincolnshire music scene who might be able to shed some light on it i'll have an ask about chris
  15. practice without a drummer you should be able to play all the songs without him anyway if you can't then [b]you[/b] don't know them properly and need to learn to count through the breaks where the drummer brings you back in with a fill it'll make you a better player
  16. ahhhh i see fair enough never heard of that all the swrs i've come across have been on fire or about to catch fire (seriously i've had an swr 900 start smoking midway through a yellowjackets gig before)
  17. [quote name='lojo' timestamp='1432829726' post='2785417'] I think if you can communicate prior and agree things with confidence then thats great. We did one last year where both I and the band we where supporting brought almost the exact same mark bass rig, in the end we just set mine up, but he would have happily shared also, seems silly we both dragged the gear there. [/quote] put both on stage and run in stereo!
  18. [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1432833933' post='2785477'] So maybe unwanted, unnecessary phantom power could damage it..? [/quote] ahhhh one of those ribbon mic emulating di's i've heard so much about
  19. exactly (except you don't need phantom power to use an amp DI) coat duly gotten
  20. Hi Clairebear you basically need everything on there which you will require for a show from a technical standpoint you'll need Backline requirements - you may bring you're own in the UK, but for dates abroad you'll need a list of all equipment you need to do the show including makes and models of amps required (best bet is to give two or three options for example mine are Markbass EBS or Ampeg and its best to pick fairly common models. The hire company in Romania isn't going to have your guitarist's lovely boutique valve amp which is number 3 of 15 in the world ) Drums need to have makes, sizes and all hardware required including drum throne (assume a complete lack of common sense) and whether you are flying breakables (kick pedals/cymbals) with you do you need keyboard stands or any music stands or any other miscellaneous stuff to do the gig PA requirements - This can be a bit tricky if you aren't traveling with your own sound engineer but the common line is "Clear, hum free and capable of producing 110DBa at front of house and sufficent to cover the entire audience" also what you will require in terms of monitoring on stage whether people are using in ear monitors or wedges how many of each you'll need ect channel list - this is purely a list of mics you need for the biggest gig you're ever going to do its important to state if you bring any specific mic's with you or have any special requirements this may be subject to change if you aren't using your own sound engineer but it gives the engineer doing the gig a rough idea of what you expect Stage plot - this is fairly self explanatory but it should have how many monitors you need and where everything goes. Also power requirements where you need them, how many what voltage (110V or 240V) and if you need them to provide local to british adapters (this might also go in the backline section) Hospitality rider - this is food and drink for dressing rooms and also water and towels for stage use. how many people are in your band and any extras that you bring along including sound engineers/ tour managers you get the idea. (this part depends on how big you guys are and how much promoters are willing to spend on you) I hope this isn't too overwhelming i write and read these for a living so you're more than welcome to pm me with any questions i have a couple of examples kicking around if you'd like to have a look give me a PM with your email address and i'll send them over chris
  21. see i just lie and say that the DI out on my head is really hissy and horrible and that my sansamp is much nicer never had someone call me out on it yet
  22. most important question is whats your budget for them? active speakers are sometimes slightly the wrong shape to be floor wedges and end up pointing at your knees rather than your head its pretty easily fixed (with a roll of gaffer under the front edge) but is a bit annoying i would say that 65 watts probably won't be enough although if you've been working with no monitoring it'll certainly be and improvement
  23. ahhhhh massive tv broadcast and not a single microphone to be seen anywhere ....... tis lovely miming though
  24. [quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1432474589' post='2781788'] Good ole Keith, he really is THE man [/quote] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GODaPVTvYKs"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GODaPVTvYKs[/url] and bailed the guy out afterwards
×
×
  • Create New...