uk_lefty

I'm amazed you haven't had the standard BC answer of Buy Both!!!

I think that's your answer. And if you still have a Helix you can run an Ampeg sim through your Ashdown with the EQ disengaged. ABM600s are awesome but dog around all the online retailers, Reverb, and the BC Marketplace. I got a cracking deal on a brand new ABM600 by buying the last one in stock from a Belgian retailer. Even after import tax and VAT it was cheaper than some second hand ones.

We've had some good discussions with promoters. For one venue reopening after a refurb they found free entry to be the killer for live music, because if it's free it can't be any good, right? But charging a fiver for the same band nobody bothered to watch for free a few months earlier tends to get in a good crowd. People are strange, aren't they?

We've not got any weddings booked in next year. Three or four a year are very good for boosting the bank balance to buy new gear, pay website fees, etc but none in. I think one venue we were booked in has shut down too. Can see it being a year of doing more pubs just to fill the diary with weddings and private parties looking a lot less likely.

We all use iPads in my band. The good point is that our set list is getting so big we can quickly recall songs. The bad point is on a LOT of photos of us as a band we pretty much look like we are starting at the iPads. I even do it when I know the song. Such a bad habit.

True, we don't know what goes on in the supply chain, but that's a huge assumption to make based on a few people saying they got ones with poor quality. I thought they were cheapest because they were probably Europe's largest music retailer, so buying the most scale and getting by with leaner margins. The numbers of everything they sell there will still be the odd dodgy one getting through. Not saying that it should happen or that its "ok", just that it's likely. I might be coming across like a Thomann apologist here, I don't mean to, just my perspective on it I guess.

I saw him walking around Covent Garden a year ago. It was right near Halloween. I thought "that's mono neon!..... Or a very niche costume".

I dunno. When they do Sire basses at £200 less than Anderson's I'd take the risk.

To be honest I don't think this is Thomann's fault. If DHL's website could actually distinguish between places that will take this certain type of parcel and places that won't then I wouldn't have wasted so much time and stress. Thomann makes it very easy to send something back... In theory. It's DHL that is failing here.

I'd love to have a disciplined warmup, practice and learning routine but the reality is... I practice along with songs New to the band set or ones that I make mistakes in. Then I forget to practice the simple ones and can often mess these up on gigs. I have books on Bach, Jaco, walking bass lines, arpeggio and fretless exercises. In reality I dip into these briefly once every few months. I wish I had more time for this. Recently I got excited about learning and practicing "somebody told me" by the Killers (all that Bach isn't so relevant) because all the online tabs I could see were wrong and I had time on my own to really figure out the song properly. It's got a great bassline with some subtle parts that are really fun to play. I'm usually playing whatever bass is nearest through my ABM600 at very low volume or a Positive Grid Spark 40. I will use pedals if I really need to work out a new sound. If I'm extra lazy and it's out of its case I'll use my Jack Casady through no amp. I like to use my fretless every now and then too to mix things up.

I sympathize. There's no way of knowing which DHL places will take it without going in and asking, the DHL website is no help at all. Took me bl00dy ages, I was even going into just any newsagent or post office and asking in hope that they could take it. Luckily it was only a £66 pedal and I found a wine merchants eventually that takes that specific DHL type of parcel.

I played a venue in Amsterdam that had a homemade baseboard supplied. It was a good novelty and made up for the ampless stage but when I went running off to the guitarists side my legs felt weird! It also had a massive engine thing sticking out the back and was heavier than a dead trucker. It was a nice novelty but a four hour gig has probably given me arthritis. I won't be buying one for personal use.

They come up occasionally on eBay but pricing can be all over the place. I like the Ashdown idea, could be worth it, though my experience of the Ashdown amp onboard compressor is not great.

I'm the youngest of three brothers so I propose there could be an option D... He's done something you haven't yet found out about that will cost you more than the bass' worth. And it's not long til you find out. That's if he's the younger of you two. Joking. Am sure he's just not that bothered about it. Perhaps take it to Bass Direct or the Bass Gallery and get it valued and share the proceeds between you?

This is a really good series. I watched it when it came out on Disney and my respect for Sir Paul grew. I even started listening to Wings!

The George III is great, especially their festival "Georgefest"! The landlord has put loads into making it as easy as possible for bands to get in and play with the stage setup and PA. Always a good night in there!

That's the great thing on here. I had someone contact me who hadn't posted much and wanted a bass sending to somewhere abroad... I flagged it as potentially dodgy and, I think it was Ped, got back to me confirming it was a real person who contributed sporadically to the site. I always want to sell or buy stuff through here as my first option so I can deal with top class people and have a level of security you just don't get with other things like eBay and Facebook.

Ask Ashdown? On their site ages ago they were selling some empty 8x10s that had been "used" on the McBusted tour.

No because they pay into the club and have to follow a lot of not all of it's rules but aren't full members so don't have a say in making those rules. They also have a cultural and political history of not getting too involved in major things happening in Europe so I'm sure they're happy with their lot.

This is what our stage looked like last time with our own lighting out... The weird spotty light thing in one of the pics was part of the venue house lighting which was a bit of an eBay Mish mash by the look of it. Our own lighting is the colour up the walls and the green and blue side fillers on the stage. Great advice, thank you.

I don't even know the names of this stuff tbh, I just got lumbered with it when I joined the band. I'll take some photos of it tomorrow. Re: additional work we all take on some responsibility in the band so I am happy to do some added work. I don't know how complex DMX Programming is but I could have a go I guess....

I've got a load of these saved up in my loft from past bass purchases and even cases. Most are double-boxed too which should help with couriering. I don't want anything for them, just want to free up the loft space. Drop me a PM if interested.

Is anyone here knowledgeable about lighting? I'm looking for good resources for making sensible, low cost changes with the gear we have to make our stage presence look more professional? I'm sure there's tons out there, just like there is for bass playing, but my base knowledge is zero here! I've somehow ended up being the storage man and set up guy for the band's lights. I have to be honest, I never wanted to be and was a bit reluctant... Then I saw some photos from our last pub gig and realised the value. Without these lights we would have looked far less professional. Now I want to take it a step further and actually understand what to do with colours and changes in the lights to make it a bit more slick. What kit we have: All the kit is cheap Chinese stuff We have lights that go up the back and side walls which we could link together but don't; Side filler lights that we hook onto the PA Speaker stands; Some crazy whirl around things that can do strobe but we rarely use them. Any advice to get me started on this would be very much appreciated.