Monckyman

Mainly fingers, but occasional pick for that ultra snappy attack thing.

Rest easy kameraden Bob Carolgees has a candle shop in Frodsham,Cheshire. ps Great fretless bassist choice= Colin Moulding of XTC

Just bought Lee`s Ampeg 410HLF and it was as smooth and easy transaction. Completely easy communications, and it arrived from Devon to Manchester, in ONE day! I`m absolutely delighted with it and Mrs Rasta did an excellent packaging job on an awkward shape. Massive thanks, Dave.

Just bought an item off Martin and just like before he turned up and delivered, and even threw in a bonus gift of Bassplayer magazines for the little room! Have no qualms, this man is calm, and local! Thanks, Dave.

John just gifted me a set of double bass strings that he could easily have sold. He didn`t even charge me postage. Very much a shining example of the forum community spirit and I hope he is repaid in a hundred different ways. A massive thank you. Dave.

+1 on Dads post. A very successful sound engineer in Manchester used to use cheap maplins lavalier type mics for all sorts of street percussion and brass bands. Sounded fine, and easy to carry/attach.

This dude looks like he can make you what you need, and it`s the round hole Eden cabs type too. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110706848645&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]GrillGeezer[/url]

[quote name='witterth' post='1301378' date='Jul 12 2011, 05:53 PM']Bob Carolgees isnt dead he has a candle shop in frodsham cheshire.[/quote] This [i]has[/i] to go in the classic quotes thread surely?

This story has a nice bit of tension! Only advice, use your cheap bass and rig until stalker nutter fan has been neutralised. Be a shame for anything nice to get broken in someone elses war. Also, try and protect your drummer (you sound like you are already) he doesn`t seem ready for the poo+fan boogie just yet. otherwise, "it`s showtime!"

Of course. Just in your own way.

He may be a good bassist, but he`s definitely at the wrong gig.

Well, it could be a a gain issue. Passive or active bass? Was it always like this or has it only started happening recently? Have you tried reducing the gain on the input a lot and using the output stage for volume? Have a try and note the difference. Try an extension cab without the internal speakers to check the amp and gain setup. Lastly have you another amp you can try the drivers through,maybe borrow the guitarists etc just to see. Good luck MM

I always take another because some songs are in drop tuning mainly and I can`t be fussed tying to detune properly between songs, but it`s good to have a backup just in case. I`ve snapped a double bass string mid gig, which took a little more than a minute to sort out.

Have a word with [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showuser=3360"]RASTA[/url] He`s just about to courier a 410 hlf from Devon to Manchester. Cost app £40.00

I was once on a tour a few years back and we had to get a ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm, and then drive around to Prague, it was very glamorous sitting on a bus watching Braveheart and desperate for a crap for 3 days... Anyway, the drummer in the band was a little erratic sometimes and was constantly tormented by the other members,(not the crew of which I was one). So we turn up in Stockholm after an overnight journey and a good nights sleep, to discover the Tour manager desperately trying to locate the drummer, who apparently, was no longer on board... With lots of raised eyebrows and mutterings of wtf we discovered said drummer had woken when the ship docked on an outlying island off the mainland, where they refuel, and for some reason believing we had arrived, he disembarked. No cash, no luggage, nobody else getting off. We waited for a bit, and he eventually managed to get to the mainland but a couple of hundred miles north of us. By then we had to continue on the journey in the vague hope he would surface somewhere in time. He did, eventually arrive,in Prague, a day late after a fraught journey full of anguished desperate calls from the promoter at the gig who had not of course, taken out insurance. These calls offered drum machines, drummers, threats etc.. The drummer had fallen in with a couple of swedes who provided him with cash enough to get to Prague... We had of course enjoyed a night of debauchery and cheap booze at the venue, so the crew felt quite well disposed towards him, He never did say what actually happened, and I still don`t know. He left soon after.

When asked by a singer I was working for who might be a good bassist to use on his solo CD,(he didn`t want to use the bands regular bassist) I suggested someone like Danny Thompson might be the way to go,meaning someone [i]like[/i] that. Didn`t seem like the suggestion made an impact till a couple of months later I heard the demos for this: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Navigating-Stars-Justin-Sullivan/dp/B000089CFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310318707&sr=8-1"]Justin Sullivan-Navigating by the stars[/url] Apparently he was a real gentleman, accommodating and amenable to work with, and cared about the songs, even though some might say it was a come down from previous career highs. A musicians musician. MM

Well, once you have nailed them all relative to each other then it`s just a matter of overall volume surely? Do you use any particular sound as your "master" patch or effect, by which you judge the volume of the others?

Perhaps a distinction can be made between a "soundcheck" involving playing a song or two through a p.a and balancing levels and e.q, and a "line check" where all cables,amps and speaker connections are tested. One may be seen as a luxury/embarrassing in front of punters, the other is essential for a good gig. MM

Ear plugs. Seriously, they`ll really help with the cymbals and the guitarists will hear their tone much more clearly. As will you. Apart from anything else, you will be damaging your ears to the point where your musical activities will be seriously impaired. I know it`s not very punk rock, but neither is tinnitus. Another suggestion is raise those guitar amps off the floor, get them on stands or flightcases etc and point them at the guitarists EARS, not their ankles/knees/hips. That`ll make them turn down while still being able to hear themselves properly and the audience will still get the full effect of the tone as it will have dispersed properly over a few Metres. Blasting the audience will lose you work.They will tell the bar staff and the promoter and the bar manager at length if you are hurting their ears. Your onstage mix is very important in that size venue as it is effectively the actual FOH mix too. Remember it is the audience/bar manager who pays your wages so your guitarists need to compromise and understand that volume doesn`t equal quality, in fact they are making you ALL sound worse. I know that you know this, apologies for the egg sucking tutorial, I`m just trying to give you ammo for your cause. Good luck. MM

Very excellent news Neighbour. My mother suffered badly from RA and I suspect I have it coming also at some point. You are a great example of not letting it grind you down Congrats and get those gigs in. MM

There are many usable backup guitars available for about the same if not less than a pot to piss in. Failing that, ask him to borrow one for gigs. No excuses.

I love anti slip rubber matting of the kind used in caravans, tour buses etc. It`s great for putting amps/guitars/mixers/laptops/toneports etc on shiny surfaces without fear of slippage or scratchage. I use it at rehearsal for above and some was duly purloined by keys player who had a slippy keyboard. prob solved. Dead cheap at pound shops.. erm. app £1.00