Sean

The Chequers in Marlow tonight and a complete change. Mesa Walkabout. This'll be the first time I've gigged it in a few years and the first time running without a GK in a while too. It's just come back from The Amp Hospital in Guildford and it's all working beautifully again. It's a very different beast to any of the GKs and it gives the Spectors a slightly different voice. I dialled out the low end from about 50hz on the parametric EQ and we were happy with that. You can see it's right in a corner and it's elevated on a pew. It's a very cramped venue, so much so I kept bashing my right elbow on the crash cymbal. Crystal clear sparkly grit/clank all night long and the LFSys Monaco was fab. I'll be bringing this head to the SW Bash a week Sunday if anyone would like to try it. They're amazing and so classic the Mesa based the WD-800 on them. This is one of those amps where it's best to ignore the numbers. It does 165w through 8 ohm and for this gig the Master was between 3-4 out of 10 with the gain at 12 O'clock. Through the Monaco this was plenty for a large pub with PA support. Lots of very fuelled-up posh punters in this venue, who'd obviously been "playing in the snow (hey ho)" before coming out! Next gig is in two weeks and we're going for something completely different. If I've got the strength to lift a near-40kg box of bottles💪 😉

I get asked occasionally, do you play with a pick or your fingers? Yes. I can't really imagine not doing both based on what the song requirements are. There are a few songs in the current cover band set that I switch between pick and fingers from gig to gig. Crazy Train, Panama, Summer of 69, it depends on how I feel in the moment. Picks are so versatile, available in all kinds of materials and thicknesses and can give different tones, feels based on how you use them I'm learning 4 songs for an audition, they are: Saturday Night's Alright - Fingers. No brainer. I Bet You Good on the Dancefoor - Pick held straight/flat Mr Blue Sky - either but pick held flat (Carol Kaye style) makes sense to get the feel of the original. Moving to New York - 100% pick held at an angle so it slides on the wraps and gets that scraping sound. The EMGs + Haz and a DCX Bass make so much sense of using the pick in that way.

I've never had a speaker fail on me. I had two amps fail in the same gig in 2017 with different issues and a third amp fail the following week. I always carry two amps and GK Plex (DI, Tuner, Comp). Having a DI as backup only only works if there's a PA/monitors/channel available. If I had to chose just one, it would be an amp.

It'll be interesting to see how that cleans up.

Get some meths and a tub and they could be the last sets you ever need 😄

I spent years getting paid to "untrain" managers from using that technique. For what it's worth although too late in this case, The "sh1t sandwich" feedback method has several significant disadvantages. One major issue is that it often fails to achieve its intended purpose because of negativity bias; people are more likely to remember and focus on the negative feedback while disregarding the positive comments that frame it, rendering the praise ineffective. This can lead to recipients feeling that the positive feedback is insincere or merely a tactic to soften the blow, which undermines trust and makes the compliments seem fake. As a result, the positive feedback may be dismissed entirely, and the negative feedback may be perceived as more severe than intended. It'll be interesting to see what happens. If he's ex-military it might work.

Both sets back on now and it's magic. We'll see how long they last and whether it works a second time. So, this week I've saved 30% on strings and potentially doubled the life of them, which means an annual saving of a few bottles of wine, I suppose. Whatever, it's a win.

I’ve done the meths soak and it’s works even better than I hoped. It’s quite remarkable. I prefer them to new strings. All the zing and is back but they feel better than new! Brilliant! I wish I knew this years ago.

I wonder how’ll they’ll reposition it?

How do we feel about bands that don’t allow/like you to be in other bands? I get it but if said band does 2 gigs a month on average and one band member has “Martini Availability” ("Any time, any place, anywhere… that’s Martini”), that really puts a constraint on that member. Also hypothetically, and this is an endless debate we’ve had many time, what if said band does rather a lot of charity fundraisers without getting paid or expenses. I’ve played a lot of Charity Fundraisers in the past for the likes of British Heart Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Trust and they pay full function band prices but what we’re talking here is 50 miles each way to play a gig for a small local cause that you’ve no connection with other than the guys in the band are connected to it in some way. IMO, this needs to be something discussed up front before accepting any offer to join.

Me too. The codes worked fine in the Players Circle.

All of this can be done as coaching conversations if needed. It's established performance improvement methodology and was developed to keep people motivated. There are classic examples of alcoholic repeat offenders who were either given negative feedback and punishment (a night in the cells) versus coaching conversations to get them to reflect on their own performance. The results are something like 5% non-offender rate with punishment and negative feedback, 40% non-offender rate with tailored coaching. Because it turns it round and makes them responsible and puts them in control of what's next. They don't go defensive because they're being attacked, they get constructive because their being supported but in a challenging way.

Off I went to Home Bargains this morning and bought 2 x 500ml bottles of meths (£2.29 ea) and a large plastic tub with a lid (£1.29) and now I have 2 sets of EXL170BT coiled and soaking. I'll get them back on ready for Friday's gig and report back.

My approach in these situations is not to give advice or comment per se but to switch to a purely coaching approach. Asking probing but open questions and getting them thinking in a reflective way. So, how do you think that went? If you were to score yourself out of 10, what number would it be? OK, so what does an 8/10 look like compared to your 6/10? Have you thought about recording the gigs and listening back to spot improvement opportunities? If you could go back in time and play "Wonderwall" again, how might you approach it differently? How have the rehearsals been? Are they as productive as you'd have hoped? How different is that from your ideal? Obviously, you can tailor the language to make it less corporate-coaching but this stuff works and gets them doing the thinking. They don't get offended (usually) and could then see you as a genuine help rather than just giving what they see as negative criticism. Coaching does need a bit of practise, though and isn't a cure-all for everyone but it's worth trying.

A slight variation tonight. GK Legacy 800 head for a slight change 😆. The Fusion 550 is off the road for a small repair. Sounded good at sound check through the LFSys Monaco. Edit: The venue was The Queen's Tap in Swindon. It's a big traditional boozer, high ceilings, wooden floors. I was really pleased with my sound but more importantly, so was the drummer. I had to sit on a stool to play yesterday (foot injury) and was right next to the cab. The sound was absolutely crystal, I could hear every nuance of my playing and gear, all the clanking, gritty sizzle of the GK/Spector combination. The sound of my rig last night was so detailed it helped my playing, gave me confidence and when we played an unplanned and unrehearsed Sweet Child 'O Mine I got goosebumps from the playing the intro. The Monaco is that good! @stevie

Is that one of the Fujigen Made in Japan ones?

On the subject of Neck Through and Korea vs Indonesia, I notice that Indonesia is producing Neck Through Schecter 12s (Stargazer) whereas Korea is doing bolt on 12s (DP-12). This tells us that there's certainly the capability and confidence in Indonesia with NT builds so that might just point toward an Indonesia-built NT Spector. The Stargazer is around £1249 and has a lot more hardware than a 4/5 string Spector would, so the £1100-1200 mark seems achievable based on my simple estimates and that would differentiate from the bolt on and the Euro. And then there's the Euro Bolt versus NT Indonesian... I'm sticking to what I like and know. EMGs, NT, Haz (or clone). An early NS5-XL next for me, enough of the complications of product differentiation 😄

Spector. Job done. Next, please!

I shall say hi from Andy. But he's a tough one, not what I'd call very "front of house" but that's where all my amps go now for that level of expertise and it's nearly 2.5h each way, which for the UK is a long drive 😉

The Spector thread was on the brink of falling off the first page so let's get a bit of Friday interest in this slightly quirky alternative to the NS Icon fest in the other thread. This is a Rebop that has been modded (not brilliantly) but it looks to be a good price for anyone wanting a quality MM-sounding bass. It's Czech-made and the quality and DNA of these is as good as you'll get. At £699 (negotiable?) it looks like someone with some wiring skills could have a belter of an instrument. Remember, those SD pickups will sell quickly and part-fund the EMGs you'll need and then you just need to sell one dusty old unused cab to pay for the LHZ-04 preamp. Even at retail used I think this is a good buy for anyone who likes a "semi-rescue". Or, you might just like it as it is. https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/spector-rebop-4-mm-trans-blue-stain-2015-pre-owned/ The photos don't really show the detail of how bad that route is but I'm sure they'd send you a close up of you asked.

Although I won't be joining the queue to buy one, this sort of product is exactly why Spector appears to be going from strength to strength. And to reference another thread, G&L needs to have a look at what Korg has enabled Spector to do.

Good point. The band I'm meeting don't want a bassist with other band commitments that limits their flexibility with booking gigs. This could be a showstopper for some. It's certainly a consideration if you're joining a band that does say 2 gigs a month and then something else comes along that's similar or more.

Years ago, I went through the initial 400+ owner bewilderment but this thread on Talkbass gave me some good direction https://www.talkbass.com/threads/mesa-400-settings.268322/ I shan't regurgitate what it says. My 400+ is off to see Stan @ The Amp Hospital soon. It's got an electrical fault that trips out the consumer board at home every time I plug it in and turn it on.