mingsta

I'm surprised it didn't catch on.

...is it any good for metal...etc

Have you been to ultimate guitar.com?

It's the motherlode for transcriptions and tabs and they have the full arrangement for that one in gpx (guitar pro) format.

There's lots of gpx player apps out there, particularly if you have an iPad. Great way to learn songs in a hurry as you can play against the bass score with backing tracks and mute out bass plus other tracks if you want.

Keep it. There's nothing quite like it out there.

No, but I bring spare underpants and socks.

Thanks mate, that looks like it'd fit the bill. Ever played there?

Hi all, for those of you who've gigged this area recently...(I'm thinking anywhere roughly along northern live from Kennington to Wimbledon). Do any of you know of any restaurants or gastropubs with can be hired out for 50ish guests on a Saturday night and can accomodate live music and dancing? I've been searching on the net tonight and its harder to find a place than I thought!!!

Looks like a fish. So it's great if you like fishie, I guess.

Echo'ing the above - you only need it if the venue requires it. Most don't bother.

We did about 20 gigs last year and the only one that required PAT certificates was the Orangery at Kew Gardens but its a listed building.

I've got a pjb cub and view it as a posh home practice amp and stage monitor. Definely not loud enough to keep pace with a drummer and it has limited bass extension imo. I can't imagine the briefcase could get that much louder. The suitcase has double the drivers, but at 23kg it's up against some very capable combos of the 2x10 / 1x12 / 1x15 variety. Don't get me wrong, it lovely kit and I get good use out of mine, but not my preferred option if I only had one amp/combo.

I can't comment on either except to say that I've heard nothing but good things about the Rumble series, while I've heard next to nothing about that ampeg.

With bass amps you can only read so much from the wattage rating as so much depends on the drivers and their efficiency. Perfect case in point are the PJB combos which need a lot of power to get to a half decent volume from my experience.

I've always felt that big speakers need to be played at higher volume to sound nice, so if I was after something that's good for home practice and rehearsal I'd go for a 2x10 or a 12. I'd always go for as light a combo as I can get away with. I used to have a trace combo which weighed over 30kg and it was a nightmare for moving about. I could never go back to that.

I think there's a ready market for fender rumbles so if you're not sure how far you are gonna go with bass, you could always start with that and sell in the future. If you're after something more future proof then a second hand Genz Benz combo e.g contour or shuttle is a great choice but that latter may push the budget a bit.

Regarding the the rumble 200, it might only be an extra 50 watts but the ability to add a further speaker in the future would give you a considerable volume increase compared to simply pushing more watts through one speaker.

I love a good 15, but more for gigging than for home practice. I find you need to be pushing some air with a 15 before they really come to life. So er yeah I have one of everything... 2x10 & 1x15 & 2x12

Thanks for the input guys. And thanks for the encouraging words.

I'll pass the suggestions on to the guitarist who's doing the technical stuff.

We tweaked the vocals yesterday + added the other two tracks (Sir Duke and Sweet Home Alabama). However, its not the final mix so still some time to make more adjustments.

New playlist with the updated tracks:

https://soundcloud.com/mingsta88/sets/mawrats-video-recording-2nd-cut

Thanks mate and your main observation makes perfect sense. We all noticed that the vocals sound quite separate from the rest of the band too, so good suggestions there.

Our drummer plays an e-kit which the guitarist asked for us to record Kick/ Snare / Everything Else separately on three channels. Not sure what he did after that, but yeah its probably the most pleasing part of the recordings.

A couple of observations from me:

1) You're better off uploading sound clips to soundcloud and including a link - that allows them instant access to see what you're about and make a decision about whether to respond to you.

2) Weekly rehearsals would be a turn off to many particularly if you're paying for a studio (would they be expected to chip in?)

3) "Zany singing drummer" brings up images of The Animal from the muppets, if I was a female lead singer I'd be rather afraid of that.

4) I'd take out the back story of your previous singer. It's enough to say that you're looking for a permanent lead singer.

5) I think you need to have some kind of unique selling point for why someone would want to be in your band and make sure its in your email pretty high up - Do you look like models? Include a photo or link to the website with photos. Are you great musicians? Include a soundcloud link. Do you have a brilliantly well thought out set list? Give them a taste. Have you got a couple of interesting gigs lined up?....etc

I think your email is good in that it gives lots of comprehensive info about your band, who you are and what you're looking to do. The downside is that it also comes across quite strongly in the email that you're hobbyists (nothing wrong with that, so am I!) and that you don't necessarily have a lot of gigs booked at the moment.

If you're looking for an experienced singer, you're going to need to sell yourselves a bit more and swing the reward vs effort more in favour of the reward! Most gigging musicians will want to be with a band who have a clear game plan for getting well paid gigs and where the members are experienced/tight enough that weekly rehearsals aren't necessary, particularly if its going to cost money to rehearse.

Good luck! Its frustrating finding band mates, particular at the "competent weekend warrior" level as you're caught between the stool of wanting someone pretty decent but without necessarily being able to offer lots of well paid gigs.

Yeah it'll be interesting to see much it sells for. Bongo's go for criminally cheap imo (750-800ish) when the retail is shy of 2k. But I would pay good money for a reflex as you might wait another 2 years for another one to show up second hand unless you buy from US. It's aesthetics suit a broader range of music genres than the bongo, ie you're not restricted to music that's played in the dark.

I really can't see the reflex becoming an investment piece, so not worth holding on to it for that reason IMO.

For the prices to skyrocket there's got to be limited supply AND to have grabbed public awareness in some way. Otherwise it will only be a handful of MM enthusiasts who are in the know and that's probably not enough to drive the prices up.

For example, Wal basses were out of fashion and going for peanuts in the 90s, but they have a signature tone and a body of famous bands and recordings who have used them over the years, hence the revival.

Having said that, the HH Reflex is a FANTASTIC bass. I spent an hour with one at a music shop a couple of years ago and I was massively impressed. I would have gladly pulled the trigger but the RRP was out of my price range and there was no second hand availability.

I'm in the camp of "sell it if you're not using it" free up the money for better things and its good karma to give someone the opportunity to own this excellent instrument.

Hi Guys,

We've done a home recording of a couple of short song clips. It pretty much my first time recording bass with a band so would appreciate if you've got any tips for how we could improve the mix.

[url="https://soundcloud.com/mingsta88/sets/mawrats-soundclips-for-video"]https://soundcloud.c...clips-for-video[/url]

Edit - here's a second cut with the vocals tweaked + 2 extra songs (Sir Duke, Sweet home alabama):
https://soundcloud.com/mingsta88/sets/mawrats-video-recording-2nd-cut


To me, the vocals sound a bit dry and harsh and the maybe the reverb doesn't sound quite right on a few of the tracks? I'm a bit happier with the instruments, but all suggestions appreciated.

Looking to have a few song clips for the purpose of getting more local gigs, its all pretty humble stuff so it doesn't need to be a stellar recording, but just want to do a few quick-wins to get the mix sounding better.

Thanks!

Ming

Great review and nice playing from discreet there, thanks mate!

I've been GASing for a jazz bass but couldn't justify a Lull/Sandberg/Lakland Skyline/maruwhatsit given that already have a bevy of fantastic basses. But at this price the Sire v7 is a guilt free solution.

In no particular order, bassist who's playing has really inspired me:

pino
Bobby vega
Mike visceglia
Jerry Meehan
Randy hope Taylor
Stuart zender
Stanley Clarke
Flea
Steve Harris
James jamerson

Flea and jamerson have been my greatest inspirations over the years.
I don't really go out of my way to seek out or listen to good bass playing music, it's more a case of sometimes finding music that I love which happens to have some fantastic bass.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1456347743' post='2988206']
My first ever jazz gig was at the National Railway Museum in York, right by The Mallard or Flying Scotsman or something. I don't know, I was too busy trying not to mess up Autumn Leaves


[/quote]

Nice we had an office party with the CPS there many moons ago. Three people got taken home in an ambulance due to getting pissed and falling on to the tracks!

Nice score! I find Denmark street a massive disappointment in general, but the wunjo guys are great.

Stingray 4hh
PA system (2 x Yamaha DXR15 + allen and heath desk)
Genz Shuttle 6.2 + 2x10 cab
Pedal board


I need the above for rehearsing or gigging and its my go-to kit so all justifiable.

The rest (below) is a bit harder to justify:

93 stingray 4h
Bongo 5hh
Sadowsky rvhpj4
Phil Jones bass cub
Genz Benz streamliner 600
Genz Benz Focus 115 cab
Genz Benz Nx2 212 cab

Technically impressive, but for me at least it left me cold musically. There just wasn't anything of any musical worth in there imo, but I am somewhat blinkered by the fact that I despise most music where the emphasis is on showcasing technical ability and in particular when it's about playing really bloody fast for its own sake. They might be the most soulful players in the world but that's completely lost when playing this kind of music.

Now find me the next young crop of players who can play like Bobby Vega and I'll sit up and take notice...

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1455924360' post='2983791']
I don't think the fact that you have a new amp is of interest to anybody. Why should it be? Your thoughts once you've tried it out could be though.
[/quote]

OK best take notice, no one can post in amps and cabs unless it's accompanied by an in depth review of said gear. He speaks for everyone, don't you know!

GAS comes from having too much time on your hands, access to forums and news about exciting new gear and spare funds. It's all fine as long as you can afford it and it's not to the detriment of other parts of your life. But I also think it's kind of unhealthy if you're spending more time looking at gear than playing. I try to resist the gas, as in principle it's not good to needlessly overconsume in a world with finite resource.

Having said that I've managed to accumulate a lot of bass gear, bicycles and watches over the years. But with each of them I've stopped at a certain point and not bought any more. Over time I've realised the more you have the less you cherish what you have and it just leaves you feeling empty.