jimmyb625

9 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I don't see how that could possibly be the logical conclusion of my point, perhaps in fact rather the contrary.

 

Though to answer you question, I have personally always mostly been unfortunately whenever PA support was needed at gigs with happening to have a competent sound guy behind the mixing console, and in terms of recording it has always either been a case of one of my bandmates who happened to also be a competent sound engineer (and yes, some of this was on a real record label, with the same guy engineering/producing for other artists on the same label as well. And yes, he would usually mic up the bass cabs, and with several different mics too), or in later years myself.  

 

What I wrote in my initial reply though is based on reading countless, hundreds, if you need numbers, reports throughout the years from different musicians on various musician forums being unhappy with the treatment they have received from sound engineers at gigs as well as in studio recording situations (and most of these musicians also pointing this out as being a general recurrent experience with different sound guys), and, compared to above described personal experience, what I wrote seems to be what all those reports really come down to: incompetent people who call themself sound engineers who are not working with the musicians, but rather insisting on cramping their one size fit all solutions down over musician's heads (be it out of lazy selfish convenience or genuine incompetence), or said in another way, insisting on getting their one "magic" square block down through just about any shape of hole they meet, and following this analogy, and I guess this is where the genuine imcompetence comes in, perhaps not even recognizing the hole actually being a different shape.

This is talking about mic'ing a cabinet on stage, not in a studio, so it's a completely different situation.

There are different levels of engineers, just as there are different levels of people who call themselves musicians. The point being, if you turn up at a venue, where the person driving the PA has never heard of you or your band, expecting them to know what "your sound" is, is unrealistic at best.

It'll be even worse at a festival, where you're lucky to get anything more than a cursory line-check.

If you want someone who knows every detail of "your sound" and the complexities of every work of art you've produced, then it seems logical to get someone involved who you can take to the performances to help you achieve that.

If people are having similar issues in a studio, they're likely using the wrong studio for them.

2 hours ago, BassBeast said:

Do you use a Bongo too?

Me? Yes, I have a 5HSP, although I don't use it too often and never live with the band.

9 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Ideally a sound engineer's main concern should not be control/safety but representing the music in the best possible way, and as close as possible to how the artist in question envisions it.

 

Though I do realize that a lot of sound engineers sadly aren't really qualified for their job.

 

A one size fits all standard solution, which is exactly what many people who call themself sound "engineers" operate with, just won't cut it when we are talking music or art in general, or really in all that many other situations in life for that matter, I guess maybe with the exception of working at an assembly line where such utterly incompetent attitude might actually in fact even be desired.

 

With today's technology a properly constructed AI might in fact quite likely be able to do a much better job at serving the individual band's sound than one of those hacks.

 

 

Interesting viewpoint.

I take it from this, you have your own sound engineer, who you pay to attend rehearsals/mixing sessions etc?

Duracell Procell for me. You can usually find them on Amazon, or ebay for under £20 for a 10 pack, or you can get them at a decent price from CPC (as long as you reach the free delivery threshold).

If we ever get to the stage of having a crew, I'll be using 4 Ampeg 8x10's, together with a Trace Elliot elf.

1 hour ago, JPJ said:

So we have a new convert to the IEM world. My newest band venture features a female lead vocal. She’s struggled to pitch in ‘live’ rehearsals and even a 300w monitor wasn’t doing it for her. Last night, she tried my cheap LD Systems ME100 transmitter with a pair of KZ10’s and it was night and day and the best shes sang since we moved from acoustic to full band rehearsals. She will be using them again at tomorrows debut gig, and its been a massive confidence boost for her just at the right time. Now if I could just convert the other three…….😎

That was exactly the issue we had with our singer. Night and day difference when I managed to persuade her to try them.

I've also been asked for a pic and autograph whilst I was tech'ing for the electronic duo I do stuff for, which was pretty weird.

I think it depends on the style of music you play. We're now a 6-piece (formerly 7-piece) playing a mixture of Country, Folk and Americana (apparently) original songs. 

We've played in a multitude of combinations, ranging from a 2-piece, through to the full 7. Some line-ups work better than others and personally, I don't enjoy it as much when the drummer isn't playing with us, but they all have their place.

If we were offered a really great gig/festival, where we had to play as a full band and the drummer couldn't make it, I don't think we'd have a problem using a dep. It gets harder to use dep players for the keys and violin though, as their parts are more intrinsic to the sound of the band.

I could be replaced by any one who has a pulse...

7 hours ago, Bloc Riff Nut said:

We don't have our own dedicated sound engineer so thanks for the mic tips. I'll check out Sontronics, M88 and AKG P2.

 

Do you have your own PA, or are you using the venue supplied one, as well as their engineers?

The rig and room you're playing in is going to influence the sound out front, as will the engineer doing the mixing. It's likely that this will have a bigger influence than the mic you're using. 

Also, as others have said, the mic positioning is going to make a difference as well, so make sure you allow a good amount of time to trial it before you get to the gig.

Ultimately, it's your money and your choice, but I'm not sure you'll get that much benefit. With that said, I've used the Sontronics Halo and the Sennheiser MD421 when recording.

I've been asked a few times and it always feels a little odd. I've also had people queing for a concert say hello to me by name, which really threw me, as was the guy standing at the back, in the support band.

Another one for the list, but a bit spendy, is the Origin Effects BassRig.

DI out with cabinet simulation and also has a model that emulates an Ampeg (albeit the SVR).

3 hours ago, Linus27 said:

I really like your band, I've just been listening to quite a few tracks on YouTube 😁

Thank you very much.

This is what I have:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jb_75fl_sb_vintage_series.htm

You can hear it on this track (shameless plug)

2 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

Sorry for the thread resurrection but... what would the ideal ohmage be for headphones that will be used for 'mixed' application; laptop, PC, hifi system?  Some of these come in 32/250/600.

 

I'm looking to get a set as it will be easier than plugging in my KZ buds (+ Mrs Hunt can use them on her home office PC) and I'm not looking at top end, more budget headphones in the £50 range such as AKG K52/92. 

I bought some Superlux HD668B's after people on here seemed quite complimentary about them.

They're pretty good, although I haven't used them for a while.

A heads-up for anyone who struggles with using a separate instrument and wired IEM cable.

Design-a-cable have a version as well, but this is pretty cheap (£38 at the moment)

https://amzn.eu/d/adEflBz

On 01/01/2023 at 12:50, BigRedX said:

If the replacement is needed for that actual K&M stand then get in touch with them IME they are very good with able to supply spares for their stands.

I was just about to say the exact same thing. Send them an email with what you need and one of the engineers will get back to you fairly quickly. I lost a nut from my tablet holder and they told me the part number I needed, sent an expanded spares sheet and gave me the details for the UK supplier (Barnes & Mullins btw).

It's one of the reasons I use K&M stuff. A little more expensive initially, but readily repairable.

On 02/01/2023 at 20:22, binky_bass said:

I might stand a chance this year...

 

Our first child is due in 3 weeks so I probably shouldn't be buying any more basses/amps anyway!

When our first daughter was born, I bought my partner an expensive watch and in return, she bought me a 5 string Bongo.

The message behind this story, is that it's the last time you'll see any money for the next 15 years (and counting)! 

I was out after Origin Effects brought out the BassRig. Then I decided to compound my failure by picking up a '73 P-Bass, as an early 50th present to myself. To top it all off, I thought I'd better try a short-scale, to see what all the fuss was about.

5 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

I hope you swiftly corrected them.

I didn't, but both daughters did, which was also apparently wrong...

3 hours ago, SH73 said:

So, supposing you see something in the market place or else you always wanted but at a affordable price, you will say no. I think not.

It's like joining the gym in January......

That's all part of the adrenaline fuelled adventure that is the gear abstinence thread. It's like a real-life version of "Squid game".

Fortunately for me, the only bass on my radar would need to sell for 10% of its original price in order for it to be affordable at the moment and, as they're pretty rare, I reckon I'm ok. 

6 hours ago, Quilly said:

Anyone starting a 2023 thread so I can join it and fail miserably ?

There's one up now, it's early days, but it's looking like 2023 is going to be the year of buying as much as possible!! 🤣

25 minutes ago, jimmyb625 said:

 

George Ezra - "Rubbish! He's just swallowing his microphone and it's incomprehensible"

Andy Fairweather-Low - "what's that stupid old man doing? Why's he there?"

Gabrielle - "Why has she got that stupid haircut? This is awful."

(Stupid is an oft used description in this particular household)

Still, at least we've been allowed to have the volume back, as it was muted for about 10 minutes.

7 minutes ago, jimmyb625 said:

We're with the in-laws. So far everything has been "just awful". Poor old Sam Fender on Beeb 1 was also talentless apparently.

 

🙄

George Ezra - "Rubbish! He's just swallowing his microphone and it's incomprehensible"

We're with the in-laws. So far everything has been "just awful". Poor old Sam Fender on Beeb 1 was also talentless apparently.

🙄

You have just over 5 hours to get your last minute purchases in, if you want to join those of us who are deluded enough to think we'll make it through 12 months without buying something we don't need...

I think the rules are in the below topic:

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/331041-2019-gear-abstinence-challenge-updated-with-rules/