peteb

It's a Custom Shop Les Paul with humbuckers, so obviously not a cheap guitar without shielding, etc. Never had a problem before, just an extreme situation! I have been trying to remember the name of the studio, but it was in my very early 20s, so a long time ago! Half of that band are no longer with us! I was hoping that you were going to ame the studio and see if it rang any bells. Early 80s alert - if I remember correctly, at the time it was managed by the original bass player for the Fixx...! EDIT: it might have been Terminal Sudios, but I'm not too sure (I know that I did use Terminal at one point).

The name 'humbucker' literally means to reduce (buck) the hum that you got from early single coil pickups! Unfortunately, it isn't 100% effective.

I wonder if it's the same studio where I used to rehearse forty or so years ago? Funnily enough, we had the same problem last night playing a gig in a club in Manchester under a railway arch. There was a lot of interference for the guitar player's Les Paul, while my passive jazz bass was OK if I kept the volume on full for both pickups (a lot of noise if I turned down one pickup). It probably would have been better if I had used an active bass, but there's not a lot you can really do. We just ignored it and the noise tends to get lost when the band is playing. Just remember to mute everything when its not in use.

My mate has seen something similar on Reverb for £33k. I thought that it might be worth more. Does any one who knows more than me about these matters have any idea, just to satisfy our curiosity?

Dunno, it looks to be and the guy isn't trying to sell it or anything. My mate reckoned it seemed kosher.

This is a picture of a mate of mine holding a 52 P bass outside where he works. Apparently, a guy came in and got talking about guitars and mentioned that he had a 52 precision in the car outside and did he want to have a look. We're trying to work out what it's worth...

And, do I lose points for that??

Depends on the gig! I like to keep it as simple as possible, but I do have a pedalboard for when needed. A bass overdrive is certainly useful on certain gigs. These days I am using a tiny board with just a wireless receiver, a comp pedal and a tuner (that is redundant really, as the receiver has a tuner as well). You do know that you don't actually score extra points for not having any pedals...!

I was once told be a guitar player 'buy once, buy right - it will save you money in the long run'. He was quite right and I have always followed his advice. If you are going to commit to gigging with a wireless system , then get the best one that you can - even if its more expensive than you would like. I've used wireless systems on and off for the best part of forty years, right back to the early Nady systems. None of them were great, so I kept going back to using a lead. Eventually, I got the Shure and it has never let me down on many gigs over the years. I wish it had been available in the 80s when I first got a wireless, it would have saved me a fortune...

Due, the best and worst part of any signal chain is always the player. I've got an X-vive U2 system next to me right now that I picked up for £30 off eBay for use with my little practice amp on my desk. I got it because I was sick of damaging leads by running over with my workstation chair. I've used it a couple of times for rehearsals, but to be honest, I wouldn't trust it on a gig.

Generally speaking, your sound is only as good as the weakest link in your chain (from bass to cab / PA speaker). I play in a number of bands and to me it makes sense to keep my signal chain as simple as possible, but with the best individual components I can realistically afford. I don't use any pedals these days, apart from a compressor and a tuner. However, I do have a basic pedalboard, just in case a gig comes up where I need a few FX. To me, using is a good wireless system is a worthwhile investment as it makes gigging a lot easier and it has paid for itself many times over as far as I'm concerned. Generally I leave the responsibility of providing a good PA to the band I'm playing with or the promoter (although I do have a reasonable mixer amp for rehearsals or small gigs, just in case).

The Shure GLXD works on a PSU for the receiver and you have to charge the transmitter.

I've had a Shure GLXD system for many years and must done a couple of hundred plus gigs with it. These have included big stages, theatres, outdoor gigs, a covered outdoor market (last night) and many busy pubs as well as a few that were not that busy. I've never had a single issue with it.

That's the problem - I had all this energy and attitude, but didn't know how to focus it. All it takes is the right gig and being in right place at the right time and who knows what could have happened?

Well I'm nearly ten years or so younger than you, so who knows who I could have played with if I was in the right place at the right time??

Not that I would want to wish myself to be older, but in a way I wish I was born ten years earlier! I moved to London aged twenty in the early 80s with just a Fender Precision and the hope to get in a band and do something. Had it been in the early 70s, there might have been more opportunities for someone with my tastes, talents (such as they are) and sensibilities. Then again, whether I would still be around these days is another thing!

I would suggest that you know what makes you and women with a similar outlook to you uncomfortable. I know plenty of girls who would regard the type of lyrics in question as either amusing or a complete non-issue. This attitude is helpful if they want to play in a rock band of most sorts. I totally agree with your other points.

OK, it seems that you are mostly agreeing with me. To answer your points: 1. I am basing the statement that girls tend to learn to drive and get a car later in life on Happy Jack’s post above, backed by personal experience. A sweeping generalisation to be sure, but I’m sure that it is largely true. 2. You agree that playing music in an ensemble has historically been a male dominated thing. But where are all of these all girl bands and how many have been successful? It’s a long time since the GoGos and the Bangles and where are the all female equivalents of the Foo Fighters and The Killers. For every all girl band you can name, I’m sure you can think of a hundred all male bands. 3. We are talking about girls joining a band here, rather than a manufactured girl group via a TV show / impresario or a star singer with a backing band made up of interchangeable jobbing musicians. 4. There have always been many talented female singers, whether they went to a musical college / stage school or not. There is a tradition of divas ranging from Mariah Carey to Aretha to Maria Callas, back to when women were first allowed to perform on a stage. But not so many women were in the bands / orchestra pit backing these star female singers. 5. I know that being offended is due to become an Olympic sport next time round, and is by no means just confined to females. However, some suggested earlier in the thread that no self-respecting woman would want to be in a rock covers band because of the lyrics they might find themselves being obliged to play. This is obviously nonsense, but you have to recognise that it does take a certain attitude for a girl to be OK with this, as well as being happy with being ‘one of the boys’ in the band. For many girls, this is perfectly natural and no big deal. But for many, it isn’t…

There is a shortage of singers who can really deliver on stage, both male and female. There is an added disadvantage for girls in that they tend to learn to drive later than guys, not to mention the obvious issues about childcare, etc that exist in the real world like it or not. There is also the added issue that performing music has always been tended to be a male dominated world throughout the ages, be it in a rock and roll band, a jazz ensemble, an orchestra or a medieval group of strolling players. Don't get me wrong, there have always been female musicians who have been successfully involved in playing music, but they have to have a 'one of the boys' attitude and to be able to hang to cut it in a band. If they are too girly or easily offended, then they've got no chance. What you need in a singer is someone who is a genuine musician, rather than just someone who happens to have a half-decent voice. This applies to both males and females, but it is undoubtedly rarer for girls. Having said that, I have played in bands with several girl singers who do just fine...

Something definitely not right. I would take it to a tech if I was you. I'm using a R-400 with a pretty efficient Berg 212 cab for a loudish rock band playing reasonably large stages and I'm not having any issues with it not being loud enough.

If I ever got asked by a punter for any requests, I always used to ask if they had a pound coin on them. If they said yes, I would tell them that there's a jukebox in the corner.

I don't always post in this thread, but last night was a little notable as well as being a great gig. The reason it was notable is that on Friday morning I woke up in a hotel in the Malaga after a couple of weeks driving around Spain. We checked out at midday, then had to wander around the city centre in pretty intense heat for four hours, before retrieving the hire car and driving to the airport for our late (and slightly delayed) flight. We got to bed just before two in the morning. About fourteen hours later, I had to load the car and drive ninety minutes in the rain for a Led Zep tribute gig at the Waterloo Bar in Blackpool. It turned out to be a good night at a great venue with a decent sized and enthusiastic audience. We haven't played a gig for a few weeks and it was the only the singer's second show with the band, but it sounded really good playing to a great crowd. I hadn't picked up a bass in anger for a couple of weeks (apart from my mate's not so great little Hofner bass in Spain), so it took a toll on the old fingers, but all in all a top gig. A decent payday as well, which was nice coming back from holiday...

Does an audience care about small differences in the way a bass guitar sounds in a mix? Will they even recognise the difference? No, of course not. However, they do want to be entertained by musicians who do know and care about such things. They want to hear great music with its own personality, to which such small details contribute. I would also add that when you get on a stage, it is your job to entertain an audience as well as to communicate the music you are playing to them in the best way that you can.

What makes a successful gig can be one (or hopefully more) of a number of things: 1) A great reaction from the audience 2) If you know that the band has played really well 3) If it's a great hang and you meet cool people and make useful connections 4) You enjoy some gigs just because you know that you're making a decent amount of money (although personally, I would avoid too many gigs that you are doing just for the cash) I remember someone saying (but I can't remember who right now) that before he joins a band / project he looks at three factors: whether the music is great, whether the gig will advance his career & if he likes hanging with the people involved. If he can answer yes to two of those three questions, then he will take the gig! I would say that you can apply the same kind of criteria (but sort of in reverse as it is looking back after the show, if you know what I mean) to what makes a successful gig.