JapanAxe

8 hours ago, WAYNESWORLD said:

Last two gigs have been wrecked by decibel meter.Now before I am berated by comments of turn down then.These things were set at ridiculously low levels.The disco with poor low end as usual played at a volume that could wake the dead.We produce a quality full sound at a very low volume and trip the meter.It’s been a long time since we had this happen even in venues that have decibel meters in.Even after speaking to the agent after the gig he mentioned the problems artists playing in these venues are complaining that it is becoming really difficult to do there shows.His option is to put in a single act with backing.He then tells me the venues want bands with drums but the meters will not accommodate them.I have been playing for more years than I wish to admit to and played through 70s 80s when meters were everywhere and had no issue.We have now decided not to play anymore of these venues without the option to bypass or adjust the level.If we are not required to play at these places then so be it.We will always accommodate volume  requests levels but sound quality to suite a decibel meter is non negotiable.The shows were very well received and we even got apologies from some of the audience on having our show wrecked by these meters.

Those things take all the fun out of playing a gig. I have no desire to play stupidly loud but I find myself watching the traffic lights and cringing every time the amber comes on.

I play with a light touch but I can still go lighter for quiet passages. If my bass is not loud enough I end up playing harder in an effort to compensate, and find that this really slows me down.

I have just put together my first bass ‘board in over 15 years, and that’s only for ampless/silent-stage gigs - normally it’s just bass-tuner-amp.

On guitar though I currently have three:

1. Big all-purpose board on a Pedaltrain Classic;

2. Minimal rock’n’roll board on a Nano;

3. Ampless board on a Classic Junior for one particular tribute band that I’ve been depping with quite a bit.

I do make changes from time to time but it’s important for me to know my ‘board and what it can do, so I’m not constantly chopping and changing.

Pedals that are not currently on a board sit on a shelf within easy reach, and I have a PSU block on my music room desk so that I can quickly patch any pedal into my setup.

I'm playing (mainly) rhythm guitar with excellent Bowie tribute Rebel Heroes at the Old Court in Windsor on 9th September - tickets still available here.

Still available

Trades might be possible, just hit me up!

On 20/08/2023 at 16:49, eude said:

Here's my little rig!

GK Legacy 500 into 2 x Barefaced One10 cabs.
From June 2022, I've since changed the grilles on the cabs, with the new BF logos, and the pedals have changed a bit, but you get the idea...

 

I think you might be stretching the 'mini' thing with that pedal board!

Welcome to the forum @mellortron! You could try this thread for starters: 

I’m not a fan of Jazz basses but that looks sweet, GLWTS!

I don’t make my living from music but I actively promote myself as a dep that bands can call on in an emergency. This has led to everything from well-paid wedding gigs to one-offs with tribute bands. Along the way I have found some bands who in future will just receive a polite ‘Sorry I’m not available’, and some pubs whose doors I hope never to darken again. Oh, and the occasional space cadet fruit loop.

The Radial Pro DI has arrived. Either its substantial weight is testament to its quality or there’s a lump of depleted Uranium in there. And of course it works just as expected.

2 minutes ago, Stoneham said:

Hi everyone, after a very challenging year I'm now picking this project up again.  A prototype (built onto a YI200 chassis) will be ready in next few working days.  Been really struggling with the coffee maker attachment!

The easiest thing would be to combine 2 x 6550/KT88 with a high voltage supply, say 650V.  Most high power valve bass amps use this.  It works, but high voltage is a valve killer.  I've been working on increasing efficiency so I can use a regular 500V supply and prolong valve life.

I've got a bit further to go but have just obtained 90 watts from 2 x KT88 with a 450V power supply which I'm excited about.  This first prototype will put out about 90 watts, until I get a custom transformer set wound.

I’m liking the sound of this!

6 hours ago, itu said:

Type 85 from Countryman is literally indestructible. Found one years ago used and yes, the cover had dings and dongs, but works as planned. It is now something like +30 years old.

A guy I play with uses some kind of Countryman gadget on his Dobro.

Bought a strap from Ben, it arrived super-fast and exceedingly well packed.

21 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

For passive boxes, I find Palmer to be decent for relatively little money. I'm sure a Radial or similar would be better, but whether I'd notice the difference I don't know. Orchid make good reasonably priced active boxes.

Yes I have a Palmer PDI-09 (speaker emulated) which I use  with my guitar rig.

I’ve plumped for a used Radial Pro DI. Although the Thomann unit works fine, it is larger than it needs to be (contains mostly air) and the transformer is simply glued in place! A jolt could easily dislodge it, which doesn’t bode well for reliability!

1 minute ago, Supernaut said:

Radial ProDI secondhand is a good shout. 

Yes , I noticed the one in the classifieds...

Yes I’m favouring passive. I don’t want to lose anything from the bass’s frequency range but plenty of people who reviewed the Thomann DI used it on bass and were happy.

I know the EMO DI boxes, they used to be made not far from where I lived in County Durham!

This may be in Hicksville USA but don't forget that sh!t tends to migrate from there to here, including the bad kind. It's only a matter of time before some UK venue tries it - if they haven't already.

I have been using the speaker emulated XLR output on my Origin Effects BassRig into the PA on some of my dep gigs but I’m finding I want more top end in my signal. I want a balanced output so I’ve been trying the BassRig’s non-emulated jack output via a DI box. The two I have available are (1) a cheap-as-chips Thomann passive transformer unit, (2) an active transformerless Whirlwind Mic Eliminator with 2 tone settings. I’ll probably end up using the Thomann one, but what DI boxes have people found to be particularly good at on bass? Budget would be up to £100-ish.

I’ll take this, PM incoming.

1 minute ago, ForbiddenWytch said:

Any trades?

I wouldn’t rule it out. PM me with whatever ya got! Especially if it’s a Boss Blues Driver that’s old enough to have through-hole components…

1 hour ago, TimR said:

Don't pick up your bass or a notebook until you have learned the tune by listening to it multiple times. 

 

Be that on your way to and from work, or while doing the ironing etc.

 

…

 

 

I do that if I have time but I don’t always e.g. when I’m depping at short notice.

Learning is itself a skill that can be learned. I’ve found that the more I learn, the more I can learn.

12 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

Personally, I think that if I am going to be earning money by playing other people's songs, then the least I can do is to buy the record or CD the song comes from. You never know there may be some other song on there that you enjoy listening to.

I have occasionally bought the CD or the mp3, but it’s not sustainable for me to do that for everything, considering the number of bands I dep with. I regard learning from a track that I got from YouTube as educational use and therefore fair use.

On the other hand when I’ve played in Bowie or Stones tributes I’ve worked from the CDs that I already own as a fan.

I’m probably an outlier here but I usually start by transcribing the song in musical notation. That gives me two routes for getting the music into my head - ears and eyes! Then I start by learning the end and work backwards, section by section, to the beginning. I keep track of how I’m getting on with the set by setting up a page on Trello.com.

I’m currently working through this process for a dep gig in early October, where I’ll be playing a mix of pop, soul, reggae, electro-funk, and Afro beat!