Huge Hands

[quote name='Crawford13' timestamp='1484073001' post='3212474'] ...I just wanted to bring one of my favourite musicians and a dude that I thought a lot of this community would like over to the UK for a solo gig! [/quote] I don't think you've done anything wrong and I'm sure a lot of the forum members would/will probably support you on it. I just personally thought that Chris' "knuckle draggers" comment and the inferences to "this is the problem with this forum" were a bit one-sided and unfair from my recollection of what went on in that period. I'd happily vote to see Sean (BBC) back on here any day, even if a lot of his posts made me wince. Most ended up making me spit my tea all over the screen laughing! (P.S. Mods - no need to explain, I understand why you wouldn't be able to allow him back).

I remember it different. I joined BC not long before he left - My memory of it is him reacting and taking offence to the slightest question of his viewpoint or opinion. Admittedly, I think some BC members spotted this and wound him up further, but I remember thinking he had brought a lot of it on himself. Maybe it was because I didn't really know who he was at the time, but then again I'm not one for speaking any different to the "stars" than the person next to me. (EDIT: Unless it is Gwen Dickey, who I will admit made me go all weak at the knees when I met her due to a youthful crush - I wasn't proud of myself afterwards).

I have a 14 year old Mk2 Honda C-RV which is perfect - I can get my entire rig, trolley and guitar in the boot without having to have the parcel shelf up or the seats down and thanks to lighter bass gear the suspension never looks overly loaded when parked either, so you can't really tell there is much in it. It is thirsty for petrol though - automatic 2.0 L. I commute via train during the week though, so the petrol costs aren't too bad when only used at weekends.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1483701881' post='3209343'] Not sure about this bit, though: [b]Fans are also accusing her of lip-syncing. From watching the video, it looked like part of the performance was meant to be lip-synced and part of it wasn’t?[/b] [i]No. It’s not lip-syncing. Lip-syncing is when people don’t sing at all. This is what people should understand. Every artist sings to a track, especially in circumstances like that when it’s really loud and impossible to have a great musical performance. You’re not singing at the Philharmonic. Every artist who goes out there sings to tracks.[/i] O RLY? [/quote] Not wanting to argue semantics with you WoT, but there are a lot of instances I've come across where there is no vocal on the verse, but the chorus is tracked, either to give them a double tracked feel if singing, or give them a rest from the verse performance. I can fully understand why she has tracked the tricky bits if she's worried about still being able to hit the high notes, but you're probably right, it is a bit of a con and she should probably just give it up and sing in lower keys/octaves! I think the response above is the best salesman's way of explaining something that is not fully lip syncing, but is in places. Funnily enough, the best one I ever saw was a YT clip of the legendary (and personal hero of mine) BB King playing along to a track on a TV show in the 70's, and you can hear his guitar on the track! He just drowns it out and plays over the top!

[quote name='Wiggybass' timestamp='1483653237' post='3209102'] I've been watching the pro audio forums since this fiasco first broke. As in most situations there is probably a grain of truth in everyone's story but I can say this for certain: * The sound company was Maryland Sound, one of the most respected providers in the US and the company who have done the Times Square NYE event for 20 years, in addition to dozens of other national-profile events including the Presidential Inauguration. * Their team would have been on site many hours before La Carey and part of their routine would have been to conduct an RF scan to secure frequencies suitable for use that evening. They would undoubtedly have had backup systems in place for [i]everything[/i] and there was definitely a row of wedges on stage which were on and working. Frankly I'd bet my house that every single piece of audio gear on that stage was not only working perfectly (as stated by Maryland's MD Bob Goldstein in an email to the New York Times) but was also being operated by hugely experienced professionals at the top of their game. * In pro-audio it is not what happens to you - it's how you react to it. Real audio professionals get to be that by dealing with the unexpected every day and I assure you, this situation was nothing that they hadn't handled before, many times. Those guys would have done absolutely everything humanly possible to bring that show in, that's what they do. * There are numerous references to the backing tracks being different to what Ms Carey was expecting, not different songs but different mixes (i.e. with varying amounts of her vocal on - allegedly she prefers to avoid the high notes now). Personally I think it's probable that the sound company played the tracks they'd been given in good faith but they were, for some reason, not what she was expecting. * It's also apparent that she didn't show up for the pre-show run-through, getting a stand-in to do that for her. How effective that might be I'll leave to the reader's own judgement. And yes, I do work in professional audio and no, I am not impressed by 'talent' who can't even sing their own bloody songs, even if they have got a great arse. Rant over. [/quote] I don't get it. Even the most prepared technical crews can get it wrong, or have failures that happen out of their control. You must know this if, like me you have worked in pro audio. How do you know the wedges were working, to a point where they were useable? I too would always defend my fellow professionals when I can, but to say they are blameless, I think is wrong. I'll sum it up like this (like EBS_Freak has been doing). From the clips I've seen, she walks on stage and moans that her in-ears aren't working. She pulls them out to see if she can hear the track from out front or wedges but either she can't or it is too confusing with echo/acoustics etc. She walks to the front of the stage and tries to listen to the monitors, but doesn't seem to like that either. This doesn't smack to me as someone who has always had it perfect and has never dealt with tech issues before. She was trying. Whatever your opinions on the professionality of how she dealt with it, something obviously wasn't right. I have done shows for local cabaret acts who have had bigger diva strops than that, but it was usually because something wasn't working, or heaven forbid after an exhausting 11 hour day I'd missed a mute button somewhere in the chain. Not something I'd be proud of, but I'd resolve it and then hold my hands up and apologise afterwards. On the clip I saw, she did suffer it for a while (more than one song) before she walked off. If that was my crew, I'd have had someone on stage with a spare beltpack or with their ear to the wedges in minutes - I saw no evidence of that. I'd also say that if her version of events is true, then if she repeatedly said "they're not working" backstage, and her crew or whoever told her "they'll be fine when you get on stage" - then that person/persons needs a good kicking, IMHO.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1483561547' post='3208320'] Well the Beatles managed when they couldnt even hear there instruments, and had no monitors, but there again, they had talent. [/quote] I remember watching a documentary with Paul McCartney and Ringo saying that they gave up the road after Shea stadium because they couldn't hear themselves over the crowd and it was turning them (and I quote) into "sh*tty musicians". If you don't believe me I think it was a South Bank special on Sergeant Pepper around the time Macca was 50. It also showed the clip of John horsing around on the keyboard at Shea, playing it with his elbow and shrugging, the inference being that no one could hear him anyway. Even the greats struggled, apparently.....

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1483574796' post='3208480'] For sure - miming is nothing new - that's kinda expected by any pop act nowadays, right or wrong. Madonna, Beyonce, Britney or <insert name>, they've all been caught doing it. Most of the time they get away with it. Even when they don't it's yesterday's news. What you have to remember, is that outside of the studio, these guys are primarily entertainers as opposed to singers... so it's as much about the clothes, the dancing, the stage, the lights... the singing is almost last on the list! (until it goes wrong that is!) [/quote] I agree again. In my experience of doing sound for new pop "showcases" - mics are often live for them to go "Whoop whoop, how ya doin!", but the vocals are often fully tracked on disc, especially when they are doing crazy dance routines that wreck the mics and knacker them out. The skill of the engineer is to be able to ride it and anticipate them going off script when they suddenly want to shout something! I must admit I would prefer Mariah did it all live and admit that it is a bit of a con, but I can fully see why they do it in that awful outdoor environment with no soundcheck (reportedly) and a load of press (and forum experts) just waiting for her to slip up so they can call her a "has been". Oh, and EBS-Freak - I thought I read Mr Packer had sent her packing (badum-tish) so she might not be so comforted after all.....

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1483550220' post='3208160'] Damn right too. The monitoring engineer should be in a whole world of pain. Taking out her IEMs sealed her fate. With the amount of reflection going on from the surrounding buildings, she stood no chance of hearing anything to sing against without IEMs. It's reported that there was nothing going into her IEMs... which certainly appears to be the case. On a big stage, with minimal reflection, you can't hear whats going on the other side of the stage to where you are. Put that stage in a place where FOH reflections (yes, building reflect sound like nothing else) are going to be omnipresent and you're...well... fked. There doesn't appear to be any floor wedges to help... but they wouldn't have helped much either... because the foh reflection would still be very much present. With regard to lip syncing, it wasn't the whole of the vocal... yes... the tricky high vocals... but that's the one bit you know that everybody expects her to get right and one bit that everybody is going to criticise if she doesn't get right... so she can't win either way. You've got to remember she's a couple of decades older than when her voice was in her prime. She's paid to be an entertainer and that what she did... maybe just in a different manner to what everybody expected. [/quote] ^^This just about sums it up for me. How any of the armchair critics can know what/how little she would have heard on a giant stage in the middle of a noisy square if her monitors were off/not working is beyond me, especially when you have the weight of expectation that she always has in terms of performance. I'm sure the papers will have loved the "diva" meltdown as they saw it, but I only saw someone struggling with really bad sound. I am not particularly a fanboi of Mariah either, but I can think of how worked up I get when I try to pitch backing harmonies in our band and I can't hear a thing.

Brilliant!

[quote name='la bam' timestamp='1481630855' post='3193836'] The PA at Skegness was changed a few years ago. The sound directly in front of the stage is usually very good. At the same time, the sound at the sides of the stage near the bar is absolutely terrible, whether its bands or pre recorded music. We've been 10 years on the bounce for the weekends to watch and the last few years has been a real change. I'm guessing, but I bet its so the staff can hear the bar orders better at the bar. [/quote] I used to be the Technical Manager there and left about 13 years ago. Before that I was the Centre Stage engineer. One of the reasons I left was that they were becoming obsessed with SPL levels and Noise in the Workplace regs - trying to apply regs designed for machine shops into a live music environment. Their options were to give FOH staff (bar staff etc) hearing protection, or turn it down - they were trying for the latter when I left. I once walked into the Reds venue to find a colleague trying to mix to an SPL meter that a manager had shoved in his hand and threatened to discipline him with if he didn't keep levels to 90dBSPL. I had to show him that if he shut the PA off, the level was still over 90dB, because the guitarist had his amp cranked on stage, pointing straight at him. Add to this, Butlins has usually been a bit of a training school, not just for Redcoats, but for engineers, techs etc too, especially due to the location and low wages. You would get some talented, eager to learn young people there, but you would also get some rubbish ones too. Also, as sound is subjective, you, and many bands may think your sound is good, but you also get a lot of critics. Add into the mix bands showing up being way too loud on stage, asking for stupid monitoring, then it can also cause massive variances. I would add that in all my years of doing it, I was never aware of any bands being intentionally given bad sound because of bill rating, although I did hear a few stories of guys doing it because the bands had been hostile to them. I never did this, because it wasn't in my interest to ever give punters a bad gig, although I have been known to cause feedback through a monitor in a soundcheck because the prima donna singer was claiming his mic wasn't on...."[i]sounds like it is working to me..."[/i] I have had headliners refuse to have their backline moved before even though the venue stage was not big enough to have two on it in a "don't they know who we are" kind of way - we also ignored them and moved it when they weren't looking! As I've said many times before, there can be a raft of reasons why it can be one gig sounding totally different from the next, and it is not always the sound person's fault. However, they could just be nasty or s**t.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1481186615' post='3190277'] Imho Most of the folk in the audience don't understand the bass. The funny thing is they dance to the bass all night, but think it's the guitar that is producing the sounds. [/quote] Being not the most attractive fella, and not getting many girls at gigs, I used to wind guitarists up with a drunken theory along these lines - I'll try and keep it clean and a lot less sexist macho speak for this thread, but my argument was along the lines of: "The bass player makes the audience move, and groove, and gets their private bits all tingly. They look up and see a guitarist shredding on his knees or a singer screaming along and assume that is what is doing it, so they go after them. So every time you get the girl (or guy), you owe it all to the bass player!" I'm not sure I believed it myself even back then, but it used to wind the egotist ones up a bit!

Loving this thread. I've had my fair share of idiots over the years, but I find it's usually around trying to get past them when loading/unloading where I get the most problem with drunks. We once had someone start playing a keyboard as we tried to get it through the crowd carrying it flat - I actually thought that was funny, but the keyboard player didn't. I also thought it was funny when a pretty young lady flirtily asked our 60 year old drummer if she could borrow his trilby hat during a break in our gig on Saturday night - and got a flat "No", then a lecture on how he would get a head cold and the dangers of not keeping his head warm at his age....he was deadly serious, but I was laughing my head off!

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1480955717' post='3188387'] Another vote for the Sire V7 Miller. I have the Natural Ash model. Just be aware that its active, because some prefer passive [/quote] Unless they've changed the electronics since mine was made, you can play them in passive mode too. +1 for the Sire V7!

When it powers up normally, is the light red, and then go blue, or is it normally blue all the way? Perhaps the power stage does not get turned on until it is happy, but it is not showing you this if the light is always blue? May be a sticky relay?

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1480546617' post='3185402'] Interesting also that no mention made of Chuck Leavell, Stones keyboardist and (unofficial?) MD, who has been with the band both live and in the studio since the early 1980's. [/quote] The biggest one never mentioned is Ian Stewart, who was a founding member but not allowed to be "in the band" because he looked too old and out of place in the line up (according to their management). However, he was their on stage keyboardist and stage manager for years, and played keys on many of their recordings, if the bios are to be believed.

Hi Tom, I'm reading this, and I can't help keep asking myself "he can't sing it unless he can hear reverb on his voice?" I get that you're trying to give him good customer service/what he wants and keep him comfortable, but it seems like you're doing a heck of a lot that probably wouldn't even be a thought for most singers? I get it if it's a special effect so he needs to get timing right to trigger a delay or something, but just a bit of reverb? Surely he can listen to what he wasn't so keen on and get an idea of what he needs to sing for his next take to be right? Not trying to be dismissive of what you're doing, it just seems like it is leading you down a road full of pain and money for something that isn't that important or will be required that often? Just my ten penneth of course! You do it how you like!

[quote name='Painy' timestamp='1476821155' post='3157624'] It was a bit of a mission to say the least. I found a thread on Talkbass where a chap had found the bridge cover on eBay. Only problem was the Chinese seller (who also did the pup cover) wouldn't ship to the UK. After a call for help on here, a fellow BCer who was going to the states on holiday to visit family was kind enough to give me the address of his sister in Florida to get them shipped to. She then brought them with her to New York where they met up. He then brought them home to the Republic of Ireland and posted them to me in Norfolk. If you can find a way to get it home, the eBay item number is 151314126658. [/quote] Blimey. I was mega excited about the possibilities of getting some for my home built Squier P5....until I read that. I think I'll wait a few more years to see if I can get them in the UK a bit easier..... I'm mega jealous of you now....

Hi Painy - sorry to hijack your thread, but where did you get the pickup/bridge covers for that 5 string Precision?

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1476433296' post='3154178'] I've played Butlins at Skeggy a couple of times... [url="http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/paul_510/media/5614aed0-8ea4-e018_zpskxqluli1.jpg.html"][/url] [/quote] I had that poster on my chalet/caravan wall during my time there. It was originally part of a calendar in the early 90's, but they re-released it as a poster in the mag one month and it caused quite a stir in the town. I thought no one could have said it any better! Seriously though, after about 3 1/2 years, I moved offsite and rented locally and got a bit more involved in the local community - I quite enjoyed Skeg after that. I left to find my fame and fortune in London...and I'm still looking....

I worked at Butlins in Skegness for 5 years during the 2000's. I was a sound engineer then head of all AV for the whole resort. It is a fascinating place, has a lot of history dating back to when it opened in the 1930s. Skegness itself is rammed during the summer, and then a ghost town in winter. It is miles away from any major towns, so can feel like a bit of an island at times. When I was there, Butlins spent a lot of money on sound gear for the main venues, and the blues festival used to be one of my favourites to do as they used to provide backline that they insisted everyone shared which speeded up the band turnarounds (only a 15min gap between each) and made soundchecking a lot easier. I don't know if it is still run like that now. I got to meet and work with Noel Redding just before he died, which was a massive tick in the book for me. He was very frail at the time as I remember. They are not the greatest payers, so whether you get a good sound person can be a bit of a lottery. It is a fantastic training ground for up and comers though, as you get to learn that the show must always go on, and how to fix some weird faults. I tend to look back on it with rosy coloured glasses now - I remember feeling honoured to work on some fantastic gigs with some amazing personal heroes/musicians (I include the house bands in that too chardbass ;-)) - but then start to remember all the kids gameshows, wrestling matches, crap internal productions etc that I also had to sit through too....

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1475845836' post='3149184'] The first few Six10 and Two10 cabs and maybe a couple of the One10s used solvent-based spray contact adhesive. We used two different adhesives, going to an even more hardcore and even more expensive version after some customers had issues with tolex peeling. That didn't solve it either. Every tolexed Barefaced cab made since summer 2015 has used a water-based adhesive which has proven far better at staying stuck (we haven't heard of any cabs peeling since then) and is nicer to work with. [/quote] Hi Alex, I got the impression that your guys were using the new glue when I brought them down for the day around August/September last year, but mine have peeled in exactly the same place by the same amount. Perhaps new glue on top of old glue does not give the same result?

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1475841175' post='3149119'] It's something I'll put up with without fuss if I'm happy with the cab in action (compact, light, powerful, good sound, not necessarily in that order ) [/quote] This was my line of thinking. They did give me a spare pot of glue when they re-did them, but as it didn't work then, it probably won't work now. I think I'll look into something stronger. I did consider the various Roqsolid extra options, but I was running out of cash due to the cost of the two cabs, so went for the basic one. They have been fine for me. The bottoms are a little scuffed from my trolley, but nothing too bad.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1475833098' post='3149034'] Were yours early production ones? I hope they sorted their glue issues by now! Other makers manage just fine! [/quote] Mine are serial numbers 9 and 10, so yes, early runs. I did take them back to Brighton after about 6 months and one of his team reglued them, but it is peeling again. I am only speaking of this as my experience, it doesn't bother me that much and one day I'll get round to squeezing some more glue on them! I would also say it's a great shout on the Roqsolid covers - I've had a few accidental bumps into things that have meant my cabs still look pristine (from the front, anyway!) EDIT: I didn't see JTUK's post above when I typed this - my covers aren't padded, but do enough to stop bumps and scrapes. I also had a drum cymbal stand press into the front while we were unpacking which saved the grille, and saved me killing the drummer.... The cover didn't have a mark on it either.

That looks like the mould on my kitchen ceiling after the bathroom sink leaked.....

I've had my pair of 210s for well over 18 months. I thought the logo thing would bug me at first, but it doesn't - Nobody ever sees them due to my fat a**e and legs being in front of them anyway. I rarely play mine on their side - I much prefer the extra whoomph from them being horizontal, and rarely need to use both. Most of my gigs are more than covered by a single 210. Welcome to the club McNach, I really enjoy mine. The peeling Tolex on the edges of the rear access panel is still frustrating, but they more than make up for that in sound!