MichaelDean

Started gigging with my band this year after quite a few years of not gigging. Played some sh¡t shows (lineup wise) and some great ones, which isn't bad for having played about 8 this year, but it's been memorable. Three were out of Bristol too, so I don't think that's bad for a doom band. Won a ticket to ATG, where there were many bands I'd wanted to see for a long time. Explosions In The Sky were AMAZING. And So I Watch You From Afar were much heavier at times than I'd expected - loved it. Loads of bands I hadn't seen before too and there was almost always something I wanted to see. And I ran into a mate from an old band and had a few days of lovely catch-up! Taylor Swift at Wembley was amazing. Such a good show. The band were tight AF. About two hours in I thought it was long enough, but then I rallied for the rest. I've listened to lots of good music this year too. Really getting into some stuff that if not payed much attention to before and revisited some bands that I'd not listened to for a while. Finally, it's fringe, but I've also had my soldering iron out for making pedals again after getting a couple of kits for Christmas. I've not done that in well over 10 years and I'd forgotten how rewarding it is having something "homemade" on your pedalboard. Future musical highlights is getting ATG and Glastonbury tickets for next year!

You can still send bass/guitars to IEMs without it going to FOH though. Just send them to the aux feed and keep the channel faders down. If it makes you better as a band because you can hear yourself, I'd argue it's worth the additional setup time.

I set to work on the Megalith this evening. It was all about to go perfectly. It was tidy, in the enclosure, but then wasn't doing anything. I've double checked the resistor and capacitor values, re flowed the joints, then realised I've put the diode in the wrong way round 🤦 So I've ordered some more and will attempt to fix it when they arrive. The Fuzz Dog kits are great though. Everything fits so neatly. I'll definitely see about getting another one or two a bit down the line. It was so neat when everything was in there!

Well, that was largely straightforward! Just built the Acapulco Gold. It's a TINY enclosure, which is what made it take a bit longer. When I first tried it out, I think something was shorting on the inside. I pulled everything out a bit and it was fine, so I popped a bit of cardboard between the pot and board, and the board and lid and it fired up! I won't have the chance to try it out properly until next practice in the new year. Sounded good from what I could tell though!

I've got a couple of pedal kits from Fuzz Dog! It's been a long time since I attempted a pedal, so this will be interesting. Going to try the Acapulco Gold clone tonight. The Monolith will take a bit longer - there are loads more components.

Also ended up with an Acapulco Gold clone too 😁 https://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/product/fpsunny

I've been in bands that I didn't believe in. Lack of experience/personal belief kept me in them and it was a waste of time for me. Hold out for the right thing and try Gumtree, local Facebook groups etc. I've personally never found anything worth it on JMB...

VID_20241216_070445_107.mp4 Here's an excerpt from Walking in the Air at our gig last weekend. Unfortunately, Adams guitar was a bit out of tune...

I'm looking forward to getting back to doing some pedal building. It's been a while since I've wielded my soldering iron at a pedal but I'm getting a Megalith kit from Fuzz Dog for Christmas. Should be fun and filthy! https://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/product/ultr-fk

The person who managed the Ashdown account left the business a while ago and I don't think anyone else is monitoring it. The last login was in 2020. Considering the Ant isn't listed as a current product, I reckon it didn't take off like they wanted. You might be waiting some time for it...

I said I played my Combustion. I'll hopefully be able to update with some pics at a later date. Didn't think to get any myself at the time. It was a rush trying to get people sound checked before doors at 5:30, especially as the first band were very late. Have a picture of my daughter in her skeleton outfit that she demanded to wear on Friday with my rig.

Last gig of 2024, which was also our first gigging year. We organised a 5 band night at Moor Beer in Bristol. Had 50 tickets sold all in all! Doesn't feel bad for a non-central gig with local bands. We should be able to pay everyone something with that turnout. I was on the door for most of the night, but that was just inside where the stage was, so it was fine. Band members were always about when I needed another drink or the loo and I got to see all of the other bands, so I don't mind! The sound guy we had really knows the venue and like last time we played there, he mainly let the amps do the hard work. All of the bands sounded great and meaty. My usual gear is my Combustion, GX-100 with Mojo Mojo and Bass Big Muff in the loop, Digbeth head, Zilla 212. The fact that the Zilla was a 212 didn't seem to hamper it up against two 412s and another 212. Very full and received lots of compliments from the other bassists who all used it. Really pleased with how the gig went. The crowd seemed to be really into it. Sold 4 t-shirts too! Footwear was my brown boots that have been resoled twice and have new inners. I got them at TK Maxx and have no idea of the brand!

Well, if they're doing something unusual with the tuning and asking me to record something without telling me about it? It didn't leave a good first impression.

This one is bad. Hutchins Beachcomber. Nothing flows and the whole thing looks a bit lumpy.

Not recorded, but we've done a doom arrangement of Walking in the Air for our gig on Saturday. One of the other bands has done Rudolph the Robot Reindeer. A bit screamy for me!

Ah yeah, whoever designed the Traben ones needs a serious talking to.

It looks like I'm possibly in the minority of liking quite like a lot of these. Especially the ones with metal plates that don't really need to be there. I love that sort of thing. Even the Jackson/Rick medly works for me somehow. There are exceptions (the Steve Bailey, JP-90 and the Sandberg Basic) but, yeah... What I don't like is Jazz pickguards that include the controls. Makes it look like a dong on the end and they've missed the ease of use of the metal plate.

That is gorgeous! I need something with that sparkle level in my life.

I quite like the indigo - it's subtle. I've owned a couple of red instruments and it doesn't quite work for me for reasons I don't fully understand.

The only time I've had to deal with alternate tunings like that was for a band I was planning on auditioning for. They wanted me to record a bassline to a song. I couldn't get in tune with it though. I eventually emailed and he said it was something like 432Hz. I decided then and there that I couldn't be arsed 😅

@MartinB if you can solder: take the ends off the mono and stereo cables, feed them through some braided sleeving, solder the ends back on, bit of black insulation tape to make the ends look neat. Bosh. https://amzn.eu/d/d9vF3Qu

Caveat: This is just my experience and it might be ear shape dependent. I had some ACS earplugs made while I was at uni for a discount. I didn't have a bite block and the resulting moulds didn't seal properly. Everytime I opened my mouth, it broke any seal I managed to get. Infuriating but I didn't do anything about it and just guessed they weren't that good. A couple of years later, I tried making my own custom tips for IEMs with two part setting silicone*. I had better results when I kept my mouth open duing the setting. This year, I've had ACS earplugs made and used a bite block and they're great. *The steps were: Take some from each pot and mix them up - I think one pack did two sets because you're sticking the IEM in there Jam it in your ear as deep as you can Stick in the IEM Let it set Remove the whole thing Let it fully cure, I usually waited 24 hours Attempt to drill a hole from the exit of the IEM to your ear canal (I just held a 2/3mm drill bit in my hands) Not always 100% successful, but when they were, it was delightful. I was properly isolated from everything. Each pair lasted about 6 months of daily use.

Sounds pretty good on the YT demo.

Oh man. My GAS list is too long. Realistically, it might be a few DIY pedals. I should be getting a kit or two for Christmas. And I really should finish my home build. Unrealistically, first on the list is a D-Roc 5 string. Then in no particular order... Custom Dingwall of some description Cort Space Bass A custom Alpher An ACG 4003 Squier Rascal Limelight P Bass Les Paul Bass of some sort Spector Dimension 5 HP in Plum Crazy A 6 string bass? Quad Cortex A bass VI could be fun High quality bitsa? Custom Zilla 4x12

You've missed out class AB vs valve vs class D watts 😜