geoham

I'd tend to agree, but this is pretty good!

I totally agree with all of the above. We're a pub band, doing 25-30 gigs a year, and using our own PA at the majority of them. There's just two venues, accounting for maybe 7 of these gigs in total where they have a sound-man and in-house PA. It absolutely is a lottery and we'll be unlikely to bring our own sound man to these - as the regular one will be on stage playing bass and we can't afford another! We always do have friends from other bands in the audience, which helps somewhat. This definitely seems like a good idea - that whole threat is pretty interesting - thanks. George

Hi guys, I'm been gigging without an amp for several months now, using my Helix LT. I mostly use our band's PA and wired in-ears, and am happy enough in those situations. However, there's a couple of situations where I've been less happy. We played a gig last week in a venue with an in-house PA and sound engineer - I wasn't especially pleased with the sound from the stage monitors (in-ears were going to be a pain to set up), and I obviously had no idea what was going out front, although I'm assured by a friend it was great. We're back there five more times this year, so keen to improve matters! When using rehearsal rooms, the PAs vary a lot and I'm often struggling to dial in a decent eq on the desks. Last night in particular, despite there being masses of large PA speakers, my sound seemed thin and almost hollow sounding. I felt I could do with cutting the high mids and boosting the low-mids - but could only do one or the other on the desk. One idea I have regarding monitoring when using in-house PAs is to put a mic on a FOH speaker and mix that with my bass signal on my in-ears - I use a two-input belt pack. If anyone else has tried this, I'd been keen to hear how you got on. I'm also keen to hear any suggestions for improving consistency when using different PA systems. Thanks, George

I investigated this before, ended up not pulling the trigger on it. I had trouble getting a template, and without one Lakland themselves seemed to be the most promising option - they quoted me $50 USD+ shipping. Some custom pickguard places could have done it too, though seemed to favour laser-cutting, which would have given a straight edge, rather than the smooth, angled edge that makes a 3-ply guard look pretty! All a few years ago now, I'll keep following this in case anyone has more up to date information. George

I’ll drop you a PM shortly, thanks. Tab is often the devil anyway.... especially the crazy fingering choices often seen online.

@funkypenguin It looks like the attachments or links to these files is broken - I think it's related to the upgrade that was done a couple of years ago. Do you still have the original files? By the way - I love your tone in that video!

Thank you, I'll give those a bash. Perfect timing, I was just looking at some Patitucci books on Amazon!

Certainly plenty there! Can you point me to any transcriptions or books for any of these? Thanks, George

I don’t think any incarnation of Pink Floyd has performed live without both Mason and Wright. No Gilmour in the beginning, then no Barrett, then no Waters. Even after Wright was fired, he continued to play live as a session man. George

I saw Thin Lizzy a few years back (Scott Gorham, Brian Downey, Darren Wharton, Damon Johnson, Ricky Warwick, Marco Mendoza) - it was an enjoyable gig, but felt more like a tribute act to me. I did feel it was significantly heavier than Thin Lizzy ever were. More recently, I saw Brian Downey’s Alive and Dangerous at the Cathouse in Glasgow (capacity about 200!). Really enjoyed it, much truer to the original Thin Lizzy sound. I’m glad they didn’t try to pass themselves Thin Lizzy though. George

Cheers, I’ll have a listen to them all and see where it leads me.

So I unexpectedly received a six-string bass for Christmas... my wife misunderstood my suggestion of a six-string guitar (with a cheap Tele in mind!). I’m quite pleased with the bass, and would like to put it to good use. It probably won’t see much use playing 70’s covers with the band, but I’m open to trying some upper register chordal stuff or anything a bit different.... expand my bass horizons for the first time in about 20 years! I saw a clip of Otiel Burbridge with Scott Devine that seems interesting. Any recommendations or pointers? Happy to buy a book, dvd or whatever. George

So after putting the bass back in the box yesterday and convincing myself it had to back, I spent an hour with it plugged in today. I must say, I’m very impressed and have decided to keep it. The neck pickup is a bit dull, but the bridge is great - really powerful and punchy. The truss rod could probably use a slight turn and the intonation needs tweaked, but no fundamental issues with workmanship or playability. Goodness knows how they can make a bass like this for under £150. I reckon I’ll pick up a Harley Benton Tele soon enough! George

An interesting idea, thanks.

I am thinking of keeping it, doing a bit of chordal stuff at the traditionally dusty end of the neck, that kind of thing to push my boundaries a bit. I’ve had a strict three bass rule for the past few years, and any that don’t earn their keep have to go. This definitely won’t earn its keep or push any others out the door, so it may end up being a exception! This is the bass - has anyone ever used one? https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_b_650_black_progressive_series.htm George

Merry Christmas! The wife had asked what I wanted for Christmas a few weeks ago. I’d suggested a basic six-string guitar to mess about with at home with my Helix. A Squier Tele or something would have been ideal! Today she surprised me with six-string bass, a Harley Benton progressive B-650. It seems a LOT of bass for the money, but realistically is useless to me, I can’t remember it getting gigged ahead of my Lakland or Fender. She asked my guitarist mate for advice, and even after I told him I’d like to get my hands on a Tele after having a go of his, he still led her to this! I’m hoping Thomann will let me exchange it!

I had a similar problem with my iPhone XR, and managed to overcome it by using headphones and holding one ear of those at my pickup rather than the phone itself. Strangely, that problem has since gone away. I don't know if it's a TC app update, IOS update or just pot luck!

Just in case anyone else has the same problem... I finally sorted this. For whatever reason, the preset knob seems to have been jammed down - the bottom of the plastic knob was flush with the surface of the unit - which definitely isn't right. I popped two plectrums under it, and it wet pop and now works exactly as it should. I've no idea if this was a factory problem, the previous owner or me - I always do my tweaking on a computer. Regardless - sorted now.

There are indeed too many variables. Despite being often ridiculous, I prefer when the ‘wanted’ ad gives some specifics. I recall seeing one looking for a ‘tall, skinny, punky bassist’, citing Duff McKagen or Sid Vicious as examples. The band seemed interesting, but being so image focused put me off straight away. I had a telephone conversation with another guy who was more interested in how I dressed and what my gear looked like than anything else. I didn’t audition for either of these, but I don’t think I’d have got either gig due to some non-music requirements. On the music side of thing, a drummer friend of mine recently failed an audition for a cover band for playing the songs properly! He spent time nailing ‘Hundred Mile High City”, only to be stopped after a minute to be told he was doing it wrong. After letting them hear the original, they agreed he played it properly - but they just wanted a ‘simple 4/4, like their last drummer played it’. This would have sounded interesting, given the song sounds like it’s in 6/8!

This has got me thinking about my own bands over the years, and I think only one would have been unique - “Gimme Server”. A Stones tribute made up of guys working for the same computer firm! My last two originals band both had their music mixed up on Spotify. We managed to sort out one - Scarlets is fine, but Underwood’s second album appears to be sung entirely in Russian. I think it’s less important for cover bands to have a unique name, given they’ll generally cover a limited area. For example, I was in a wedding focused band called ‘Something Borrowed’ (get it?), and we discovered one in London with the same name. I don’t think either of us would have travelled 400 miles for a gig. One tip for uniqueness would be to follow the example of Chvrches and deliberately misspell a common word, making it easier to find you on search engines. Enough rambling from me....

And to prove the point... I was recently in a cover band called ‘Loose Cannon’. There’s at least one more with the same name... I had to handle a complaint via our Facebook page from a gentleman in the US regarding our namesakes disturbing his elderly father with noisy rehearsals and late night load-ins!

We play regularly in a large chain pub in Glasgow, and there is a DJ on playing crowd-pleasers before we go on. Without fail, while we’re setting up we’ll be asked to play some ridiculous pop song - clearly intended for the DJ. Usually while I’m crawling on the floor running cables in to a monitor or something equally glamorous. I’d more expect to be mistaken for a janitor than DJ! While actually playing the same pub a couple of weeks ago, we do ‘One Vision’ by Queen I’m the first half of the set. After EVERY song for the rest of the night, a girl approaches the stage and asks us to play Queen. We don’t know any more. Emotions rise as she gets more drunk, and she’s almost in tears by the end. Though while we’re actually playing, she’s very happy and dancing to every song. There’s also the punters who request songs that are obviously not going to happen. Like Beyoncé or David Guetta. We’re a bunch of guys aged from late 30s to mid 60s...

I was showing a friend the Helix LT today, and couldn’t figure out how to switch setlists via the unit itself - I normally do my editing on a computer. According to the quick start guide, you press the ‘presets’ dial. However, it doesn’t even feel like it moves when I press it. Turning it scrolls through the presets. Does anyone else have one who could check for me? Thanks, George

The (distinctly average but vastly experienced) drummer from my last band insisted on counting 4 at the start of White Room. Which starts in 5/4. I tried pointing this out and was ridiculed. “I’ve been playing White Room since before you were born blah blah...”

I did a little work on this today and I think I improved it somewhat. I shielded the control and pickup cavities with copper tape and gave the wiring a general tidy up too while I had the circuit out. I also adjusted the gain-trim to have the passive and active volumes equal. I reckon this is the most important part. It seems successful. There’s definitely less hiss in my in-ears, and engaging the active circuit doesn’t cause it to get louder. Any hiss I hear is present with my other passive basses too. Damn in-ears highlighting imperfections! George