thepurpleblob

I appreciate it's different but a major part of my job is providing support via email. The vast majority of emails assume - in some regard - that I am a mind reader. I have a simple policy - I do a quick reply asking them for more basic information. 75% don't come back. It can't be that important then

Bit odd that... leads carrying a bit of current like speaker leads typically work or don't. Must have had a high-resistance dry joint - or (I see this all the time) they were using an instrument cable in place of a proper speaker lead.

The only really reliable ones I have found are DPD and DHL. Both German. I'm saying nothing....

I've never been to one. I've never done it. I'm not sure I really understand what the point is. I've always been a covers player though - you go home and learn something then turn up and get it right in the band situation.

In my experience reviews in magazines tend to be thinly veiled advertising copy. Also we mustn't try to extrapolate a cable that fundamentally doesn't work with a (more expensive) one that does. Once it works, then that's an end of it. More money and fancy materials can't make it work "more". If cable A really does sound better than cable B (in any environment) then cable B is broken or not up to the job.

My vet has an information sheet to give to your doctor if you get a cat bite. Many doctors (she tells me) don't realise how nasty cat bites can be.

The bumblebee thing reminded me of the word for all this nonsense - "Pseudoscience". You can demonstrate almost anything if you miss a few facts out or do some reckless approximations and hope nobody notices. Sound reproduction is just good old-fashioned physics. It's just complicated enough to be like "magic" to most people. Hence how these charlatans make money out of the unwary and stupid. Anyway, I'm off to speak to the faries at the bottom of my garden

There's a video (which I can't find unfortunately) of Yolanda Charles (who has played a gig or two by now) counting about a hundred bars in and then *silence*. She hadn't plugged her bass in. It can happen to anybody. I've tuned the B string to C on a disturbingly regular basis. It happens!

It depends why you have them. If we are talking about playing then nobody needs any more than a main bass and one backup. Any more than that and you become a "collector". Many (even most) of us here are collectors !!

I am definitely what would be described as a "scientist". Everything has an explanation. However, it's perfectly ok that we don't know what that explanation is (yet). It's just going to take a bit more work

There is a saying (think it was that Dawkins bloke but don't let that influence you) that goes, "you can believe whatever you like but the truth is still the truth". Anything you do to the supply to your amp makes no difference - there's regulating and smoothing components in the power supply which are specifically designed to produce the correct voltages and quality of DC that is needed for the amplifier circuits. And that's that. Similarly, the only thing speaker cables need to do is to carry the current with minimal resistance over the required distance. Cheap 13A mains flex almost certainly matches that criteria too. The beer, grease and other crud on the connectors will more than undo any difference paying massive sums for silver speaker cable. Similarly, the ropey 60-year old wiring in the venue your playing in is going to be your power problem if anything is. And even that is pretty unlikely to make any difference to the sound - it either works or it doesn't.

Most venues are horrible and most bands are crap. Who wants to go to a derelict cinema with everything painted black to see some un-entertaining band while standing in an inch of stale beer? Absolutely everybody involved is selling a service and a reasonably aspirational one at that. And who is this for? The punters, that's who! We forget this at our peril and a significant proportion of anybody who has anything to do with bands and small venues seem to be incredibly adept at forgetting that.

Every band I've been in and every musician that has joined whatever the current band is has been via Gumtree. From the looking for a band end it's been largely grim with the odd success. There's always ten other bass players better and thinner than me. From the wanting a musician point of view you have to decide very carefully what you need and be direct and succinct, otherwise you will get all manner of "I could have played with the Stones if it wasn't for....." types. Then when they contact you, ask again. There's no point wasting audition time on no-hopers. Getting singers is much worse. I blame X-Factor. There's a lot of pub karaoke singers out there who (even if they can sing) won't have the skills to sing in a band. Good luck with that ;-)

To a certain extent you have to get used to it. Some rooms just sound terrible whatever you do. Getting a great sound is a black art. The thing I often see with new bands is the tendency towards the "turn it up race", That is when the gig degenerates into a competition to be the loudest. Get your cabs off the floor, start with EQs flat, turn it all down a bit and listen. Try to have enough time to fiddle. It's usually a good start. BTW... drummers can play quietly, they all just say they can't. Think about it - just don't hit the bloody thing as hard ;-)

There's no accounting for taste. Seems some people actually like single-cuts

[quote name='Johnm93' timestamp='1387834497' post='2316374'] I know what you mean about second hand. The problem there for the shop is ensuring they do not by nicked stuff. Once the local herberts are in the know, the retailer has a constant flow of dodgy gear coming through the door. It's a very similar story with bicycles. [/quote] You can tell as soon as they walk in the door. The shops that are buying this stuff know, they just don't care. Which is a disgrace quite frankly.

Second hand gear is difficult because you have to buy it at the right price. Then instantly stick 20% VAT on (which goes straight to the government), add an 'effective' warranty for the problems that will stem from used gear (that the retailer will have to fix) and still have enough left for a bit of a margin. I used to work (as I'm sure I've mentioned) in the audio business and we needed to buy used equipment at around 50% of the price we were going to sell it at. People just thought we were trying to rip them off - it's amazing how many walked in thinking we should give them 'retail' for used gear! And then there's "Crack Converters" and their friends....

This is it - spend weeks getting some cool song spot on and....... sea of blank looks!! Oh well, All Right Now.....

Picking songs for a covers band seems to be a fine line between dreadful, cheesy stuff and the classic rock song. I'd be interested in opinions. I'll count how many times Mustang Sally gets mentioned

Pete drove all the way from the bottom end of sunny Wales to a Sainsburys car park outside Preston (where the M6 is cobbled) to do a deal - his PA gear for my Lakland bass. An absolute gent and no bother at all. Everything just as described and even sat about while I stuffed my face with Sainsbury's sausage and mash. Cheers!!