thumperbob 2002

I had a `Ray for 15 years and played this in all sorts of bands, Funk Bands, Rock Bands, Ska Bands, Soul Bands- it could do everything- thats what EQ and fingers are for. Mind you- I have now gone back to a Fender jazz! What does that say about me? I`m not really one to change my bass too often but playing my deluxe was just like going home. Bob

"Loud bass, when everything else isn't loud is bass overkill. Loud PA, when everything is balanced in the mix can be overkill for sure, but if the FOH mix is too loud, it can be lowered, retaining the balanced mix - having everything in the FOH mix facilitates greater control (typically by just one person, who usually knows what they're doing and usually has an idea of what a balanced FOH mix entails" !n my experience soundmen do not know what they are doing- only met a couple that did in 30yrs bob

Hi All I dont suppose there are any bass players who fancy a regular dep gig in the Hull area. The band I am in are www.soulpatrol.org.uk. We are a 7 piece band and are pretty good but the gigs are coming in thick and fast. I have a business and wife and family to keep happy so cant be playing really more than 4 per month. Looks like we will have more than 6-7 per month so could be lucrative for someone.Some quite well paying-£150 per night- some a little less -£40-50 per night. All local to Hull- couple of residencies in Hull and Beverley- all good gigs with good crowds. Nice people in the band-some good musicians. All standard Soul Songs- sam and dave, eddie floyd- Wilson Pickett- you know the score. The band are aged from 24-54. Really looking for someone who will listen to a couple of CDs and play- we dont like rehearsing but if someone would like to visit me I`ll show you the exact basslines or you can use your own! I dont have the dots but the stuff is pretty easy. Bob

I have been in bands with pa`s large and small. At the mo` we have two rigs- a 1kw HK rig for small gigs-I tend to use a Markbass LM2 and schroeder 1212L for these 100 audience gigs. vox, keys, brass and bass drum through the pa. For larger functions in typically dead rooms we use a 2K rig with everything going through the pa but just a little bass as I use my markbass plus a little giant into a schroeder1212, 1515 and a peavey 2 x10. Total of 1.5K of bass. Dont have it stupid loud but really try to get the bass heard from the backline as too much bass into our little rig will kill it!! On stage mixing as we cant afford /dont want a soundman. We are a 7 piece soul band and as long as you take a little time in soundcheck and through the night you can get a good sound with almost anything in any combination. I`ve been in bands forever and had my own pro studio in the 80s so hopefully I should know a little. Bob

Mex Jazz with a very heavy Peavey TNT Combo- in 78-sounded pretty good- from that I have had everything- now use an LM2 and Little Giant through 1-2-3 Schroeder cabs- probably my three cabs weigh as much as the combo- how times have changed!! I now have 1.5K of pure bass power but can carry it all easily in the car!! Bob

Looks like you live near me! Check us out www.soulpatrol.org.uk We do lots of weddings- never advertise ( other than the website ). We do a couple of monthly residencies at the Weir in Hessle ( first Thursday ) and the Fusion Tapas Bar in Beverley ( last Friday ) Almost every gig we do at these two venues brings in another function or wedding. We dont change the set too much - everyone likes soul music do they not? and the main thing is to get everyone dancing. Be prepared to set up very quickly- they will tell you to set up at 7.30 after the speeches but you will always wait an hour to do this. But just in case they are on time ( never happened to me in 30 yrs ) you have to be there on time. Look as though you really want to be there and as the man said act and dress smart. Bob

I would always prefer to use just a bass and an amp- sick and tired of buying batteries and messing about with more leads than I need and tripping over pedals. Agree that most tone comes from the fingers and instead of people contantly debating about this small bass thing or that small bass thing why dont they just go out and gig.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='735098' date='Feb 4 2010, 02:48 PM']I think any bassist who gigs regularly with unknown-quantity sound men soon learns to be less precious about "their tone". If you're lucky you won't be reduced to a boomy sub-bass sludge that ruins the sound of the rest of the band. Anything more than that is a bonus. Imagine saying to the sound guy in some pub somewhere that you can't hear the inherent brightness and bite of your bespoke bass's AAAAA maple top in his mix. [/quote] +1 Been there many,many times unfortunately Bob

I am a complete convert from the idea of needing valve amp and a Fender, Stingray, blah blah. The future is digital. Get the bass you REALLY want. [/quote] +1 though I have recently sold my valve amp and moved from a Warwick thumb to a Fender Jazz so sort of half agree. Still cant beat that Fender meat and potatos. Bob

Yeah- I agree- there will be good and bad in all years. Marcus Miller still loves his `77s. Bob

Just bought an Ashdown little Giant for £249- really surprising and the bargain of the century. However I have a top end bass and cabs- dont know what it would be like with any less. Still mega cheap.

Sold my Marshall VBA 400 as it was getting a little (lot) heavy for me. It would have been OK if I was only doing 1-2 gigs per month but our diary is full so it had to go. Been using a Markbass LMK through a Schroeder 1212l and used the Marshall to power the 1212L and 1515L for bigger gigs. Both systems sounded great. I have bought an Ashdown little giant for to power one cab with the Markbass powering the other and dealing with the tone. At £249 delivered its the bargain of the century. I really like this head so it looks as though I can power both cabs with the one amp- 500w at 4 ohms each side. Overall I can see that its really cheaply made and I`ll have to care for it otherwise it will simply fall apart. The EQ seems a little thin but my bass- with everything flat -sounds great!! The input seems a little weak- bit like the old trace stuff but overall it goes LOUD. I`ll try it out at the gig on Thursday- and take the Markbass too just in case. For this price- even for a back up you cant go wrong. Really surprised. And its tiny. Bob

Theres loads I can think of but the two that always get me are the Beatles at Shea Stadium- the start of I want to hold your hand George plays in like a totally different key. Mind you they cant hear themselves too well and have a good laugh about it. Bob Marley- no woman no cry- terrible, terrible feedback in one part. Oh and a record called Zoom- cant remember who the band were- was it fat larrys band? Singing way off key in the chorus- everytime!! To be honest the audience would really never know a bum note from the bass- but from a singer or timing error from a drummer- thats different. When I was a young lad I was in a duo with a much older attractive lady ( she must have been in her late 20s at the time and had a great voice ). We were doing this Streisand number I think and it went from quite a high note to a low one for the verse. This lady missed the note quite badly and the audience- in this quite well know cabaret club all went "OOOOOOOh!" I still remember that and laugh. I always have thought that when a band member makes a mistake these are the most enjoyable parts of playing a gig- I myself and my band members are expert at it!! Bob

Really really sad and shocking for the families. God bless them. My brother died very suddenly very young and something like this brings back terrible memories. It will take time to get over this. Bob

[quote name='chris_b' post='730248' date='Jan 31 2010, 01:38 AM']How did you daisy chain the amps? Did you "send" from the MB to the "return" on the Marshall?[/quote] Out from the Markbass- from the effect send- into the input on the Marshall. Could have sent it simply from the line out or tuner out too. It just seemed as though it was clearer and certainly more punchy and louder. Not that the Marshall was lacking though. I think the Markbass is less bassy than the Marshall and more transparent- so that is probably the reason. Bob

I usually use two rigs for different gigs- one a Markbass LMK into a schroeder 1212L and for bigger gigs use a Marshall VBA 400 valve amp into a Schroeder 1212L and a 1515L ( this amp does down to 2 ohms unlike the Markbass. Used the Marshall last night with both cabs in a large hotel for a function and the room being totally dead and rather large I wasnt happy with my sound too much- fine close up but the room just sucked out the volume- using a 4k rig too- fine out front. I was up to 2/3 on the master and 2/3 on the input which is a bit more than usual. I play in a 7 piece soul band with a loud drummer, guiter , brass, keys- you name it. Tonight for a bit of an experiment I used the Markbass powering the 1212L and sent my out signal to the Marshall into the 1515L. Unbelievable tone- I could set exactly what I wanted for the fairly modern clarity of the Markbass and the old school vibe of the Marsahll rig. Really , really powerful with loeds of headroom. Totally filled the room. Lots of comments from non-musos who actually noticed the bass player. Was thinking of selling the Markbass but as usual dont know what I want- was thinking of buying another Markbass amp to power the 1515L- but I really liked my sound- fairly transparent but with that warmth that S/state never really gives. Does anyone else do this?? Bob