machinehead

A total of 51 gigs for me in 2019, mostly with my main covers band but several dep gigs, including the NYE gig this year.

Being retired from full-time work, I'd be happy to do a few more in 2020.  The revival of a dormant blues band with a few gigs already booked, might mean a few more gigs this year.

Frank.

17 minutes ago, casapete said:

Just got in from my gig. Quite a good crowd, most of them up dancing all evening so job done I think. Am now enjoying some cheese & biscuits with olives and a glass of Punk IPA, marvellous. ( My sleep may be threatened by this Silvia, but as it’s the end of my run of seasonal gigs I’m risking it!)

Happy New Year!

 

Me too.

A good gig tonight.  Some cheese and crackers, sliced apple and chutney and red wine.  Very nice as I was driving so no booze.

Happy new year everyone.

Frank.

25 minutes ago, la bam said:

Well, I took mine to a new years eve gig tonight.

Now, you know when you have nights that are just odd....

Well, the promoter (without telling us) managed to combine two nights into one. Our Queen tribute and a happy hardcore / bounce / rave selection of djs. (wtf!!). Needless to say it didnt work! (Whod have thought?!)

any who at soundcheck I went bass guitar, into stomp, into return of fx loop, into cab.

there was a slight hum / buzz coming through the soundmans kit. I dont know if it was because of the routing into the fx loop, but I didnt have time to investigate it, so I went back to the quilter just because we had no sound check time to play with.

so, perhaps I'll have a look at that tomorrow. Maybe ill try in line or turning the stomp input down etc. I'm sure it's not an issue, just simply because I hadn't time to work it out.

one thing though - with the gain on 12 o'clock and volume on 12 o'clock, through a 4x10 it was very loud. No need to worry about power output.

I gigged mine tonight too.

Peavey miniMax into a pair of Barefaced one10s.  It was a dep gig in a bar with a feckin DJ upstairs and we could hear the music through the floor during songs.  I didn't know the band previously,  but it went well.  The Peavey was barely ticking over and still loud enough.  They were quite a loud band too.

You could do worse for well under £200...

Frank.

2 hours ago, tom1946 said:

Hahaha will do Frank, They have them for a stupid price at the moment, should be £676, Andertons have 3 left at £499!!!!

Mine arrived today and I'm getting used to it, colossally powerful is the first observation, back later when I work out what all the switches do....

Stop that at once Tom.  It's far too tempting.  I had one before and only parted with it to make a deal work when I bought my USA Fender Jaguar.

Yours is a much nicer finish than the sunburst I had, plus the maple fretboard. 😕

Frank.

Excellent chaps.

I gigged mine on Saturday night through a Barefaced Super Midget as stage space was tight.  It was a well packed medium sized bar.  It performed really well.  Great sound and power to spare.

Some thoughts... the fan is noisy but you only hear it at home and never at rehearsal or on a gig.  The case isn't great but better than nothing.  The tuner seems to be accurate  and a useful feature.  The build quality is high - not the highest in the market but perfectly functional.

EDIT If you want to remove the silly sticker on the top, do it after using the amp for some gentle heat.  Mine came off in one piece quite easily.

I hope you enjoy yours.

Frank.

Lovely bass Tom.  A perfect colour and a maple fretboard. Yum yum.

Let me know when you're selling. 😆

Frank.

For lightweight, loud and great tone there are many good cabs to choose from.  Personally, I think PJB are great for tone but not the lightest or loudest as Dan Dare said above.

I have joint problems and have to avoid heavy lifting.  I've also found Barefaced cabs to meet my requirements for great tone, loud when required, but very lightweight.

Tonight I'll be gigging a BF Super Midget in a medium sized pub in a 5 piece band and I know it'll cope easily.

The usual advice to "try before you buy" applies, although Barefaced offer a month to return your cab if you don't like it.

Frank.

Barefaced one10 and any lightweight head you like.  Job done...

Mine stays connected in a cajon bag - just the same as a combo.

Frank.

Frank

I've got a dep gig with a band I've never met!  Looking forward to it though.

Frank.

10 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

500W at 4 ohms, so going to be around 300W at 8 ohms.

I do have a slight hesitation on the EQ centre points, but I reckon these could be finessed with a bit of care:

• Initial reaction was that bass centre point was just too low at 50Hz and that would be a deal breaker for me, but I think the way I would work it is by cutting a touch at 50 Hz and engaging the PUNCH switch which boosts by 6dB at 100Hz;
• Semi para mids with a choice of 250Hz (which would be my default) or 600Hz via the MID SHIFT, gets am unqualified tick from me;
• Treble centre frequency is 8KHz (which is very high) but compensated for by the BRIGHT SWITCH which  provides a 10 dB boost to frequencies above 1KHz. 

Like the fact it has aux in, head phone out AND a tuner on the amp (yeah!). And DI gives pre/post EQ options.

Currently £239 elsewhere. But at around £175 posted (allowing for forex costs) from Thomann - this does look like great value. And as a back-up amp (or indeed a main amp) should give the Bugera heads a run for their money.

I agree. It's excellent value in my opinion Al Krow.

I'll probably get corrected here, (or more likely, shot down ), but sometimes I find it difficult to see the value in some class D amps.  There are a few on the market now that are £1000 or so, MORE than this Peavey.

I understand that the Bergantino ones have lots of clever features, and some have higher quality components and design, but there are others in that price range that are simply a custom preamp and a bought-in power amp that lots of other makers use.

It's all well and good, but for my pub/hotel/club and the odd festival gig, when the drummer's hammering it out, the guitarist is belting it out, maybe keys wailing, sometimes brass, and then the singer and two BVs, the subtleties of that £800 to £1200 amp is beyond lost, on me anyway.

Marketing is a well honed and powerful tool, but I honestly don't think an amp costing ten times the price of another offers ten times the performance and utility in the real, gigging world that I live in.

But that's just me.   And I'm sure most people will disagree.  I'd be surprised if they don't, because I'm a grumpy aul fecker...

Frank.

Ah, come on lads.  Cut him a little slack.  That was the first one he built, when he was still in primary school.

Frank.

3 hours ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

FWIW, I bought several brand new Warwicks (two Pros and three Rockbasses), and they were always perfectly set up, and ready to play. I only play flats, so I got rid of the rounds they came with, and I have slightly idiosyncratic tastes about action and saddle height, so I re-did the setup, but that wasn't because they were unplayable to start with.

I bought them from Thomann, but as far as I know, they don't even open the boxes, let alone set the basses up; they simply sell them on as they come from Warwick.

I have a korean built Streamer LX4 Pro.  It's a superb instrument.

It's the same quality in every way as the German Streamer LX4 I had.  (Except for the use of different woods, but that's a design issue, not a quality one.)

Frank.

I just spotted the Peavey miniMax selling on Thomann for £165.99.

I have one of these - bought as a cheap backup amp (bought for over £100 more!!) but often used as my gigging amp.

It's loud, flexible, well built, lightweight and compact.  I highly recommend one.  Especially at this price.  There is a new model out but the difference isn't worth the extra cash to me.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/peavey_minimax.htm#bewertung

Frank.

Don't dismiss the Korean Streamer LX4.

I've owned a German LX4 and a German Streamer Stage 2 (a superb bass) but I now have a 2012 Korean Streamer LX4.  It's really got that Warwick growl.  I like this one as much as the German built ones I've had, and, in my opinion, the quality is just as good.

It's rekindled my love of Warwick after years back in the Fender camp.

Frank.

On 14/12/2019 at 16:47, steantval said:

Our guitarist suggested the Slade one for next Saturday, the singer can’t be bothered to learn the lyrics.

Its a pretty tasty bass line by Jim Lea, more difficult than people think, can’t bluff it by just playing root notes, you totally loose the feel.

Yes.  I had to play it last night on a dep gig.  It's far, far more difficult to play than it sounds.   It's a brilliant bass part.  I must learn to play it properly.

Frank.

Best gig by a country mile: Dom Martin.  Astonishing talent.

https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/dom-martin

Worst gig:  Some horrible thing my granddaughter likes that they called R&B, but not R&B as I know it. 😨

Frank.

3 hours ago, AlphaK said:

Super refreshing to get someone not immediately shouting that their latest shiny thing isn't the best thing since sliced bread, before moving it on 6 weeks later...

 

I've had my Quilter BB800 for at least a couple of years.  My opinion of it has only got better. 

Frank.

5 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Given a thunderfunk and BB800 you gig the Quilter ... interesting, I had a thunderfunk a while back and always wondered if I sold it too soon - but if quilter>thunderfunk that give me something to think about

I maybe didn't word that very well.  I meant I rarely use the EQ knobs on the Thunderfunk.  I do gig it though and it remains my favourite amp, especially with a Barefaced BB2.  I don't intend to part with it.

Yes, the Quilter is right up there with the Thunderfunk - they're quite similar, but I feel the Thunderfunk has a little more warmth.  It's a close thing though, to my ears.

The Quilter wins for all-round ease of use, price, portability, weight, and simple convenience.  I'd be happy if it was the only amp I owned.  It's a masterpiece of engineering.

Frank.

32 minutes ago, 51m0n said:

Anyone else seen the elephant in the room?

https://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/product/bass-block-802

I did see that and I'd be interested in trying the new BB802, but not interested enough to buy one in favour of my BB800.  I'm happy enough to stick with that.

To be honest, most amps I've owned I've not used the EQ that much - maybe a little bit if in a boomy room or trying to hear myself a bit better.  Or occasionally boosting the lows slightly on a Barefaced Super Midget.  Nothing that the BB800 can't deal with.

Ironically, I have a Thunderfunk amp which has an awful lot of EQ controls, but I rarely use them.  🤔

Frank.

38 minutes ago, tubbybloke68 said:

lugging wise the bb2 is easy to carry weight wise but still large enough to be awkward sometimes so I’ve ordered a super midget to pair with it for bigger gigs and hopefully use the midget on its own for rehearsals/small gigs.cheers jeff 

That's exactly what I do.  Both cabs together is really overkill though, but sounds wonderful.  I'd rarely need both cabs and besides, either is equally capable alone on a gig.

Frank.

44 minutes ago, la bam said:

Mine is my favourite all round amp ever.

I think people get can get confused, but take time to properly understand the controls.

I say this as I assumed at first 'depth' was clockwise for more bass (which it is), and 'contour' was clockwise for more highs. But it isnt. Clockwise is a smooth smoothed out sound. Anti clockwise gives you that high end bite especially when then turning 'depth' anti clockwise also.

All the controls work with each other.

Gain adds a bit of dirt and compression clockwise, and is clean as a bell anti clockwise. Again, work that in with your eq sound.

Yes, it does take a little thought and practice.  Also, reducing highs and lows, then increasing volume, gives stronger mids.  It is all there when you get to know it.  It's a great little work horse gigging amp for weekend warriors like me.

Frank.

1 hour ago, HazBeen said:

My BB800 is going nowhere:)

Neither is mine.

I gigged the Quilter through a Barefaced Super Midget on Saturday night in a medium sized pub doing covers.  While I prefer the BB2, the SM and Quilter were amazing, especially considering the size and weight.

But, as I said above, the Quilter doesn't have really high frequencies so it might not suit everyone.

Frank.

The EBS Reidmar 750 is a superb amp and, in my experience, totally reliable.

I've also used it with a single Barefaced one10 and never had a problem.  As chris_b says, use your ears and you'll be fine.  Even more so with a pair of 12" cabs.

Frank.

What a beauty!  You don't see these for sale that often, especially in this condition.

I have the USA version and highly recommend the (very versatile ) Jaguar basses.  I love mine.

This should sell quickly.  Have a bump.

Frank.

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

I haven't made a 110 work on a gig yet, but I've used a 112 quite often. 

I've gigged a single Barefaced one10 on lots of gigs in small pubs with drummer and guitarist.  It coped easily enough using with a GK MB200 or, over the last couple of years, with a Quilter BB800.

I have a pair of one10s and combined, they can cope with any gig I'm likely to do.

Frank.