brensabre79

I actually quite like that. Although that headstock design is dreadful. Who in their right mind would come up with such a thing?

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1334435921' post='1616287'] From the pedals I`ve used, the one I found best was the Dave Hall (DHA) VT1. Did exactly as the description of the sound required, [/quote] +1

Don't fancy that much myself, doesn't look to crazy though, just on/off for each pickup and on/off for active with a 4 band eq. As long as you have 1/2 hour between each song to get the right sound there shouldn't be any problem

Maybe I should change my avatar, everyone thinks I'm picking a fight today

No worries man, didn't think you were arguing Maybe I spoke to someone different, or they just sent you a slightly thicker string. They couldn't give me figures for tensions but they probably have a fair idea of the sort of tension between one string and another...

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1334751061' post='1620612'] That doesn't sound right, I recently asked them to increase the tension on my drop - c a little as it wasn't quite as tight as I would like and they got it spot on. Weird... [/quote] Well i dunno, I asked the question and that's what they said... I've still got a couple of sets of singles waiting to go on but I'll give them a whirl when I replace these...

I've seen those on eBay, not sure if they are around at the moment, not sure if they are any good either, I think they were chinese. Otherwise I'd suggest either a rail like you say or maybe could you route a bit more for a soapbar type?

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1334661210' post='1619220'] A reasonable expectation - quite a few of the bands around here would surprise you, though. [/quote] I'm sure thats true. And mostly because a lot of hobby bands are actually pretty good, and like TimR said just can't be bothered with the hassle of the extras that are required when stepping up. Although to be honest, Public Liability Insurance isn't exactly a hassle, contracts are pretty standard and freely available as long as you're not making special stipulations. We've never been asked for PAT testing certificate, but we do guarantee our equipment is of reasonable quality and in good working order for the engagement. It doesn't see that much extra hassle when we go and do a function for £1,000+ I also understand what people say about loss leaders. We do these too in the form of charity gigs, shooting video etc. But the majority of pubs have bands on to increase bar takings, if the bar takings are only increased by an amount small enough to only have a budget of £150 for the band, then they are not really doing the job very well, or the landlord is being a bit greedy. We pack places to the rafters more often than not, which is why people have us back over and over again, despite our fee being higher than your average hobby band. But I think all this discussion is highlighting what a grey area it is. If your band can consistently charge £500 and get booked back then you're doing well. If you don't get asked back from a £150 gig you're not! We always start low, and once we've proved ourselves go up to our normal rate. Its up to the person booking as to whether they think it is value for money, thankfully most places think that we are. If we didn't ask for more though, we'd still be playing in the same places and making far less!

Theres a few companies that can make scratchplates from a template supplied, I believe its the same material so maybe thats worth a search on google...? Of course if you want something branded you'll have to go to OEM, some of them will make you prove that you own the genuine article, but without the trademarked TRC I don't see how this will be possible

Also, I think we need to differentiate between being a professional and behaving like a professional. Not the same thing! I have a day job, and I play in a band that is paid reasonably for providing a service in the evenings. To my mind this is a professional engagement however you look at it. For two members of this band these gigs is their main source of income at the moment. So does that mean they are professional and I am not? I agree with TimR on this one too. There are a lot of 'hobby' bands who play occasional pub gigs who get £150 and don't deserve a penny more. There are also a lot of bands who don't go out for less than £500 and do many more gigs a month. If I were paying £500 for a band I would expect them to behave in a professional manner and provide me with a value for money entertainment service. If I were paying £150 I would expect them to drink all night, have crappy gear that doesn't work properly, and get most of the songs a bit wrong.

Ah true Bremen, its not hard to stick a logo on a packet... I guess any reputable company who is officially importing into the UK will have to comply by the regs. So perhaps if the company does not have a UK distributor address I'd give them a swerve!

A CE mark on the packet should be a dead giveaway

Newtone cannot provide any tension data for their strings unfortunately, but they reckon my .110 .85 .60 .45 would be pretty balanced. They will also make any custom gauge to order, but I don't have the means to test tension either so it would be a bit of guesswork, and a bit of a punt. I'm not sure if they do do flats, I know they will make stainless steel to order though. i think its a minimum of two sets on a custom order.

I would add Barefaced to your shortlist, and it'll most likely make your shorter list if you can try one out. A Midget would be right up your street, better drivers than most of the usual suspects too.

Also be careful of no-name cheap strings you can pick up for £5 a set. Like most metal things from the far east the regulations are rarely adhered to and the content of lead and other undesirable things can be astonishingly high. If your skin is going to be in contact with the metal (whether its a counterfeit watch or bass string) be warned!

Do you seriously think £10/hour is greedy? Thats [u]BEFORE[/u] buying equipment and travel and rehearsal expenses - which like any self employed person are your own lookout, but are taken into consideration when setting your rates. How many self-employed, skilled trades can you get for less than £10/hour? The guy who fixed my washing machine the other week changed my £150 to fit a £5 part that took him less than half an hour. Thats what you pay for the skill and expertise required to get the job done. Pub owners often pay bands less than their bar staff pro rata! Sure if you look at it on a product basis, the pub is paying a flat fee for entertainment, they don't care about how many people are in the band (the fewer the better usually as they take up less room). But what I'm saying is the value that a lot of places put on the service provided is not very high, if the band does a good job they will get punters in, and keep them in. Some of the venues discussed on here have a good system where the band takes a percentage of bar takings, it seems fair as long as the gig is well promoted. All of the places we play pay us well, and they have us back as generally they have to put in a large order to the brewery the day after we have played. It amazes me though that some places have a fixed rate policy that is under £200 when they are generally booking 4, 5 and 6 piece bands. Its not greed, its business sense.

Beware different makes, and even different models of strings don't have the same tension per gauge. Even for example the D'Addario XL nickels vs D'Addario Prosteel vs D'Addario EXP are all different tension at a given gauge and tuning (at least D'Addario put the tension on the packet though, most makes don't). So the Circle K tensions that they have on their website only apply to their strings! I've emailed Newtone (thanks Charic) about their tensions in an effort to get a true balanced tension set together, as they don't put them on the website. It would be great to get a UK manufacturer to do proper balanced sets, even better for me if they did them in steel as nickel makes my fingers (and strings) go black!

We usually have an introductory rate for a new venue, once we've proven ourselves that goes up. So if we fill a place (we usually do) and the bar does well we negotiate there and then when they try and book us. But we won't go out for less than £50 a man/woman in any case. If you take a professional attitude you need to think about what you're actually earning. If you arrive at 7, load-in, setup, soundcheck and play for 2-3 hours, pack down and load out you're not getting out of there before midnight, sometimes 1. So you're looking at 5-6 hours work. Not allowing for travel expenses (which most jobs do), it £50 a man/woman that's £10 - 8 an hour, the national minimum wage is £6.08, if you're going out for less than that you're a mug. A 5 piece band going out for £150 is earning £6 - £5 an hour each. Some might be prepared to do that, not me. Even at £10/hour on the night you don't get paid for time/money spent practicing, preparing 2+ hours worth of entertainment. Or money spent on equipment (how many min wage jobs do you have to bring your own tools?) even a Squier P and a Secondhand amp will run to a few hundred, not to mention the PA you have to bring, lights etc. Is it any wonder musicians are poor in this country?

Let me know what you think!

Thanks Andy, exactly as described, a smooth and fast transaction, great communication too. I'm delighted with my speaker cable cheers!

Nice guide! Thanks for that

If you insist on buing new, I would go for a Squier VM or CV and spend the change on upgrading the pickups and/or a decent setup (I mean a proper one, not the basic one the music shop does to get it playable). These Squiers are so good that they are going for about the same money secondhand - that should tell you something! I would second what everyone has said about going secondhand. No VAT, its probably had any niggles sorted and a reasonable setup done. You can get a lot of bass for £350 on the secondhand market. If you spend £350 on a new one then £70 of that has gone down the drain the moment you leave the shop.

OK tried a couple of gigs with my homebrew balanced tension set. I got some D'Addario singles at 45 - 60 - 80 - 110, which roughly is balanced based on the Circle K chart (although different makes will probably be slightly different). Its a bit more pricey than a set, but I have compensated for this by getting some DR stringlife so they will last a bit longer! So, first impressions... I have to say the difference is noticeable in the extreme! and in a good way. The bottom E is great, no flapping around - I'm a heavy player and usually end up choking the strings or rattling them along the frets towards the end of a gig because the E is so baggy. Similarly I usually pull the G off its saddle at some point too, not any more, even though its the same as my usual guage its all about the transition between strings and the force used to pluck/pick being more consistent. The difference from the E to A is marked, but I got used to it in about 10 minutes. Suddenly my playing has sped up considerably, everything is so effortless. I didn't even need to adjust the truss rod, the intonation needed a tweak though but that took 5 minutes, and now the saddles sit in a fairly straight line which looks nice As soon as the Circle K ones are available in the UK I for one will be making the switch. Although I don't think it will be long before other manufacturers follow suit...

you might also want to upgrade the capacitor on the tone pot too. get hold of the 'paper in oil type' for a lovely smooth warm rolloff

probably a cheap or wrong type of pot. I find LIN works best for tone, (LOG for volume) have a look out for CTS 10% tolerance (vintage style) pots. they are about £6 online and well worth it. changing the pots is not that hard and not expensive but can make a huge difference... I used to have an Antoria EB-3 copy which was great to play. I miss that bass sometimes. but the electronics were sh*te.