JPJ

As I mentioned in the ‘How was your gig” mega thread, I decided to take my Head of Doom to the gig yesterday as a bit of a nod towards the recent final Black Sabbath gig. Turned up at the venue, loaded in, set up the PA, then set up my rig. Powered up the Ashdown and she illuminated like normal but wasn’t making a sound. Tried all the usual idiot checks without success, so running out of time, I just upped the level of the bass in the FOH and relied on my IEM’s for monitoring. Tonight, I decided to check again, and in the silence of my man cave, she is making a noise, but not a noise you want to hear. So, thinking it might be preamp valve related, I whipped her out of the rack case she lives in, and had a squint through the ventilation slots. Preamp valve looks like it’s firmly seated, but more worryingly, there is that unmistakable smell of blown electronics. I’ve shot a website enquiry over to the guys at Ashdown but I think she’ll need to head back there for repair.

I did all the Idiot checks including changing cables, plugging directly into the amp, plugging into the fx loop, turning the amp off and on again, repeating the previous idiot checks etc 😂 but sadly all to no avail. So the amp just sat there with its two VU meters illuminated but unmoving, staring manically out into the audience whilst having an afternoon off.

Just in from a very hot and sweaty early evening gig with our southern rock band. Played to 120 people packed into Hartlepool’s south Durham social club or as its known locally “Hartlepool Steelies”. Decided to take the Ashdown Head of Doom coupled with my Vanderkley 2 x 12 cab in tribute to one of my hero’s Geezer Butler who as I think we all know, played his last ever Black Sabbath gig just over a week ago. Got everything set up, plugged my pedal board into the HoD and nothing, not even a flicker of an input Vu meter. Checked everything including plugging directly into the amp but the same result, nothing nil nada. Running out of time before show time, I had no option but to raise my level in the FoH, and rely on my in-ears for personal monitoring. The result, no one noticed, and we had a great gig. Looks like I’ll be calling on Ashdown’s legendary customer service tomorrow.

We didn’t attempt to get tickets despite both being life long fans because we just don’t enjoy stadium gigs any more, especially not at the ridiculous prices they charge. As I said, I’ve been a fan for close to 50 years, and whilst I’ve loved the music, I didn’t really appreciate Geezer’s playing until I did a short stint in a Sabbath tribute and had to learn the songs properly. So far I’ve only seen YouTube clips from this latest final show, and looking at Ozzy, I’d say this really was the final ‘final’ show. But for me, they didn’t disgrace themselves or their legacy. Sure, they weren’t super tight but hey, it’s hardly like this gig was off the back of a tour where you could reasonably expect them to be road ready. Thinking out loud, I suppose Geezer and Tony could do a farewell gig with Tony Martin, just to close the whole thing down……….

Interesting experience. Two questions, did you use the built-in presets on each channel, and second question, do you normally use a digital or analogue desk? My experience is that you need to use the channel presets to get the best out of the flow8, and that digital desks can sound very dry compared to an old school analogue desk like the Mackie.

It does give you the option of using AES50 for a digital split if the FOH is also using an x32 product.

A few more inputs (if you add a stage box) as the x32 has er 32 channels available whereas the XR18 has 16 plus the usual stereo channel hence the ‘18’. You will have a lot more routing options in the x32 but with it a much steeper learning curve. Same with effects, but if you are only using the desk for IEM’s that shouldn’t be an issue. You’re more than welcome to come and have a play with my XR18 if you want before you commit to the x32?

So our gig yesterday was er challenging. Firstly our singer arrived at the gig with a sore throat which got progressively worse over the two sets. Then, just one song from the end of the first set, the PA tripped. Looks like one of our extension reels took exception to the rather warm and humid conditions and tripped its thermal protection, even though the reel itself was stone cold and the cable was fully uncoiled (a lesson learned from the past). Then, during soundcheck all our in-ears were working fine, but as soon as we fired up in earnest, mine started suffering massive dropouts. So I quickly had our roadie/helper/harmonica player reel out another XLR to move my transmitter to my side of the ‘stage’ at which point I had perfect signal, but the singer/guitarist then suffered drop outs (we’re both using X-Vives and we’ve never had this before). So I finished the first set old school, no plugs or IEM’s and I had forgotten just how loud this is, and how difficult it is to pick your bass out in the mix when you are a) stood virtually on top of you cab, and b) right next to the drums. Second set I went wired with my Behringer P2M and no further problems. Oh and did I mention it was hotter than hell in the venue, a smallish pub with a great reputation for live music and fine ales.

If you are going with the MS8000 then you could save on the X32 rack and go with an X-Air XR18 which is currently retailing for an unbelievable £359

Sounds like a good plan to me. My reference to epoxy cracking was it terms of a layer of filler rather than an epoxy glue that you are proposing with veneer. My only concern with your method is how well the edge of the veneer/epoxy will feather back to the original finish, before you apply your new finish. But, if you intend using automotive style poly rattle cans, Halfords fine filler spray might be enough to mask the join.

I think the app choice depends on your choice of control device. I use the Behringer X-Air Edit app on a Microsoft Surface Go, but I have X-Air Edit on Mac, and the iPad app as back up. I’ve tried Mixing Station and I can’t get away with either the ‘skin’ or the complexity of the app. The workflow is pretty much the same as any other analogue mixer, but without the massive amounts of outboard you need in the analogue world.

So this little thing just keeps on impressing me. Tried her out through my EV ZLX15P’s last night and it sounds great. The four band eq on each channel is quite powerful but still musical, and the six band eq on the main outs is similarly musical, and you can make both of these semi-parametric if you want to adjust the width of your boost or cut, but in truth I don’t think I’ll need to do this for most of my planned uses. One thing I’ve noticed is the metering between the hardware and the software is slightly different, probably due to more graduations on the software side (i.e. four bars of yellow on the app equates to 1 bar of yellow on the hardware LED meter). The two effects processors work as you would expect, with a couple of really nice reverbs that work well with VOX and acoustic guitar. This weekend I intend messing around with the USB out recording, so expect a further update later. Ooh one last thing, if you get one of these, when setting up your channels, play around with the input presets - some are not what they seem. I was feeding the desk with a DI signal from my bass pedal board which I know to be a super quiet DI out. I used the ‘line’ preset and found it to be noisy, like very noisy. Changed the preset to bass guitar and the noise disappeared whilst the signal strength improved. So there is obviously quite a bit going on in the presets so you might have to try a few to find the best one for your particular instrument (note: not all physical inputs have the same presets available).

Shrinkage is almost inevitable. One of the best luthiers/refinishers in the business filled an aftermarket battery compartment on a bass before refinishing and even he suffered from shrinkage or print through showing the outline of the filled area. There are ways to avoid this using a skim of epoxy filler, but this will add weight, definitely affect resonance, and may itself crack down the line. A safer method might be to veneer the front of the bass after filling the cavities, this would probably be my preferred method but then you have to deal with the edge of the veneer, itself another challenge.

Nobody has yet mentioned that refinishes, even really well done refinishes, generally reduce the value of the instrument. That said, refinishing was very popular back in the 60’s & 70’s so a lot of ‘vintage’ instruments have had a refinish at some stage in their life. As you seem to be proposing a refinish simply to suit one gig, albeit your main gig, have you considered wrapping instead of paint? Easily reversible if your gig ever changes and no impact on long term value?

You could try the Basschat 1x10 here

So I have been having such a positive experience since I started using my IEM’s more and more, with the exception that even the largest Comply tip doesnt seem to want to stay sealed in my left ear. As suggested by @dave_bass5 I’ve tried a smaller tip too without success. So, I am now thinking of going down the custom moulded route. My question is, is there a significant advantage in going with a vented ambient IEM such as the ACS Evolve over a standard non-vented ambient design? I’ve had great service from my ACS custom moulded ear protection, and I am minded to go with them for my IEM solution with the Evolve being about the price point I’d like to pay.

So, following on from my earlier post with the electric bass board, some goodies arrived this morning from Anderson’s to complete the meagre double bass / EUB board. Everything I need and nothing I don’t 😎

So decision made, I’ve gone for simplicity. My doubling gig has become a full on acoustic gig (with PA support of course) so I’ve decided to go with two boards as the combined board was starting to look like I might be over compensating for something. This will be the electric bass board and has only what I need to make my beautiful basses sound more beautiful. The Capo and the Empress are recent purchases but boy are they good/worth the money in my book.

Good shout, no I haven’t tried that but I will. I’m enjoying the IEM experience so much I can see custom moulds in my not too distant future.

So I used my Sennheiser 100’s again last night with a Behringer P2M as it was a sit down gig. It was probably the heat/sweat but I was struggling with the fit of one earpiece. I’m using the largest tip I’ve got, but I think I need a larger tip for my left ear. Sound / mix wise, the gig had an in-house PA and engineer, and a quick turnaround between bands so I went with bass at unity, everything else at -6db and I had a great sound.

How was my gig last night? One word, sweaty! Played our local Billy Bootleggers with our acoustic trio, supplemented for this gig by good friend and multi-talented percussion, harmonica, and vocalist Mr Les Young. We were on straight after a local Dolly Parton impersonator who was entertaining a ‘bottomless brunch’ crowd who migrated off to other venues in and around the Ouseburn delta before we struck a chord. This gig is one with a mainly passing trade, but we did our usual trick of getting folk to stay so we had built up a medium sized appreciative crowd by the end of our second set. Lilly, my 1960’s Boosey Hawkes Excelsior coped really well with the heat and despite my fears, remained in tune for the whole gig, which is better than what I managed 😂 Picture may be used to keep small children away from open fires etc.

Yes, sound hole plugs work. Take a leaf out of the double bass players book who use F hole blockers to reduce feedback on loud or difficult stages. Also, bring that HPF up to about 60hz. I played a gig yesterday with my acoustic double bass on a very resonant (I.e. empty wooden box) stage. The whole gig I was on the verge of run away feedback and playing open strings was an absolute no no. Sometimes you just have to modify your technique to suit the circumstances of the gig.

So, initial impressions, bearing in mind that I’ve only heard it using the phones out. Build quality appears to be very high with a robust metal body. All faders and controls are reassuringly ‘stiff’. The app connects seamlessly over Bluetooth, and there is a second Bluetooth connection for playing background/break music. The workflow of the app is good, and I was able to set up a mic channel (channel 1) and a line out device (bass preamp on channel 5) both easily. FX is quite powerful although you appear to be limited to adjusting just one parameter of each installed effect. The preamps are super quiet, as long as you set the input source correctly. I have a gig tomorrow with in-house PA so I won’t get to explore further until Sunday. That said, first impressions are very favourable.

I built a five string with a pair of J’s and a P, along with a five-way switch (N, N+P, P, P+B, N&B) but only ever used P & P+B options live. It was inspired by the Fender Stu Hamm signature bass, and include John East active eq (bass & Treble stack, and a mid-stack).