jimmyb625

1 hour ago, Dankology said:

That's a great poster/photo. Did you do it yourselves?

The main photo was from a shoot we did for the 3rd album, it was used on the CD inside cover. We added the band name graphics and the venue put their details on it. 

A guy called Trevor Palin took the shots and then he and Dave (the band leader) worked on the digital stylisation of it. Dave's also an artist, so had a clear concept of what he wanted for it.

This is the album cover. You wouldn't think they were both taken at a National Trust place in Cheshire.

If anyone's in the Chester area on Friday 30th and has run out of paint to watch drying, we're playing at Telford's Warehouse.

2 hours ago, yorks5stringer said:

Nice Starbass, China or Korea?

It's the Chinese made one. At some point, I'd love a German Team-built version, but it's probably just a pipe dream. 

This one, unless I ever manage to afford the German made version of the same bass.

It's the Warwick Lee Sklar signature bass (rockbass version).

1 hour ago, MacDaddy said:

 

C

 

Country Music Awards and not a Stetson in sight! 😉

There were one or two, but not as many as I was expecting. 

We played at the British Country Music Festival last year, which was noticably different on that front! 🤣

23 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

I think with Americana you're allowed to play more than root and 5th.

Well, that's setting unrealistically high standards! 🤣

We played a set at the UK Country Music awards. Short and sweet, as there were numerous acts on the bill, interspersed with some talking and eating and general awarding. 

Really friendly and helpful crew and there was no chicken wire in place, so it was obviously a civilised crowd.

We played well and got some positive reponses from the audience, which was nice, as we're more geared to Americana, than straight country, although I've no idea what the difference is really.

Anyway, the band's called Fine Lines, just so I don't get shouted at.

18 minutes ago, Marky L said:

I had a salutory reminder that I can't drink a lot and play. A pre birthday gig + didn't have to drive = Oh dear.

Oops! I try to limit what I drink before I play, as I've had that experience as well!

Roger Waters is still touring his Pink Floyd shows. His voice (which I don't think was ever his biggest asset) seems to have gone south, but he uses backing singers to support what he does. Should he stop? Possibly, depending on your political leanings, but are the shows an experience, most definitely I'd say.

3 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Ok, 2nd gig of the weekend.

 

Holy Hill Arts & Crafts Festival

4 Piece Acoustic

 

1. Hours were great 2:00-300

2. The provided sound was gear from the 70s which sounded awful.

3. Pay was respectable

4. We sounded awful

 

Guys, it was not a good gig.

 

Blue

 

Did you get bottled off stage? Yes = not a good gig, no = a good gig.

If the crowd enjoyed themselves and you got paid, it's always a good gig. We're always too quick to find fault with what we do, life's too short to focus on the negatives.

I've been using a Protec Contego for the last 3 years. I really like it, very comfortable to carry (longest was 1 mile) and very spacious accessory pockets.

At a push, I can fit a small TC head in the main pocket, with cables and strap in there as well.

Just now, mike257 said:

 

Mixing Station is great - it was that much better than the official apps that they hired the developer to make the official XR-series mixers Android app. 

I never knew that.

I agree though, Mixing Station is a great app. I like the common theme across a number of different manufacturers and it's good to be able to make your own custom layouts.

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Impressive but makes you wonder if you want that much stuff, why not go for the X32 which has the 16 channel sliders and the 8 bus sliders?

As a guess, I'd say it's so they can have the mixer on stage and just run a single cable out for the control. Unless they're using wireless MIDI as well...?

I saw this on Facebook yesterday, pretty impressive, although possibly a little OTT for a compact setup...

2 hours ago, alexjbassist said:

Cheers for the replies 👍

 

We've been using 2x Alto TS310's and an alto sub - they're fine, and have served us well, but have struggled at a couple of bigger events, and we'vehad them for around 4 years now.  The need to get a new desk has prompted a re-think really.

 

I've been looking at the Yamaha DH series - yamah stuff always seems to be great, and the play cabinet appeals.  A previous band I played in had a set of RCF's - is there much difference between the 3/7/9 ranges?

If you can, it might be worth doing a comparison between your current setup and whatever you're thinking of getting.

If it is just a couple of larger gigs, it may be better value to hire something specific for those and keep the current setup you have.

What's your budget for this and what sort of places do you play?

At the less expensive level, I use Alto TS312's (obviously not 15's). I use them without a sub when we're running a 5-piece set (using a cajon instead of a full kit), but we have done the kit through it as well. We're not an overly bass heavy group, so it works ok for us in your average pub.

A DJ friend has used the TS315's (although a friend of his managed to blow the hf driver) and he was very positive about the bass response and volume available.

Alto have just released the TS4 series, so there may be a price reduction coming along, although that's purely speculation. 

As Phil's just said, higher up the price line, the RCF's are quite well regarded, particularly the ART 745's. Again the 900 series has recently been released (I'm now odly considering a pair of 945's) so prices for the older series may drop.

The band I tech for uses an A&H QU-SB and we use it for the stripped down "acoustic" version of our band as well. It has 4 x mono and 3 x stereo groups, in addition to main L&R.

It needs a router and a tablet to control it (unless you can get the MIDI connection to run) but it's a pretty useful piece of kit.

We use the X-Air18 at the theatre, which again is a good mixer and is directly compatible with the Behringer X-Touch physical surface.

If you look at the number of posts that go out about bands having gear lifted, either from the venue, or the tour bus/van, it makes sense not to take ultra-expensive/rare instruments out on the road.

We're touring in October and November and even though I'm planning on keeping my bass with me, there's no way I'm thinking of taking my '73 P-bass. I'll use my main Warwick Sklar rockbass, but even then, I'll be watching it like a hawk.

Edit to add: I'm not a pro bassist by any description

Like others have said, lynx, design-a-cable or DIY 

Not strictly my gig, but the band I tech for played at Krankenhaus festival in the Lake District today, which is organised by the excellent Sea Power.

A really friendly, small festival, with acts today including Steve Davis (yes, that one) and Daniel Wakeford from Channels 4's "The Undateables"

https://www.krankenhausfestival.com/lineup/

Another Orchid fan here. If you get the classic, you can always power it from a 9v battery if phantom power isn't available.

I use a Sontronics Solo for our female singer, which is a great mic for the price and the people there are really friendly and helpful. It was designed to be run flat on a desk, so as a plug and go, it's a good choice.

The sennheiser e935 (or e945 if you want a super cardiod) as mentioned by others is also a great choice, as is the new (and fairly pricey) 435. For slightly less money, the 835/845 versions are also a good option.

For higher-register male vocal (think David Gilmour) the AKG D7 is a good choice, but it is quite sensitive, so needs careful eq'ing of any stage monitors.

2 hours ago, musicbassman said:

Just returned from an afternoon gig with a decent 7 piece south coast band who were playing outdoors at the New Forest Pride Festival.

Considering the train strike, event was well attended and a good atmosphere.

Unfortunately the band were struggling with a rather poor PA system and a soundman who gave the distinct impression that he’d rather not have been there at all. Only 3 monitors instead of the 6 requested, and no DI for the bass available, (‘sorry mate, it’s broken’) so I had to crank my Vanderkley/Hartke rig way up for the bass to be heard, which in turn meant that it was way too loud on stage. And as there were no monitors for bass player, drummer or keyboards, the backline had a real job trying to hear what was going on.

Apparently it sounded good out front, but on stage it was a real struggle. I was trying to lip read the singer to see what she was singing.

Remember guys, you can submit a technical requirements sheet for a gig to the stage manager, but when you arrive at the gig and find the PA hire company haven’t brought the right gear or some of it is broken it’s a bit late to do much about it.

 

It'a still a win, you got out there, overcame the struggles and played a good gig to people that enjoyed it.

Stick a cheap DI (Orchid electronics is my choice) in your bag and you're sorted for the future.

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

i used to always prefer on thedrummers RHS. It allowed me to easily glance at my neck while still looking at bandmates on stage whereas i am now on the LHS of the drummer and cant glance at the neck and left hand positioning without it being obvious. 

I guess that's a good thing 😂

Dave

I'm on the drummers left, as he tends to look at the snare/hi-hat and can't turn right! 🤣

I tend to look at the neck a fair bit, but no-one in the audience ever looks at me, so that's not a problem. 

You could try Pete Cornish, but it won't be cheap.