Risk101

Wow nice - shame it’s not 5 string!!!

GLWTS although I doubt you’ll need it.

Not sure I understand either the nut is square to the neck isn't it? although the slots look unusual.

Lovely bass anyway and Mustafunk is a great seller!

Must resist my first MusicMan !!

Well he’s certainly a v good guitarist and did a great job leading!

Yep you’re right about vocals - I agree with the OP about the hazards of livestream when the poor sound person is also mixing the room !!

Livestreams should probably go through some post-production (if that’s technically possible with YY?) to get them EQ’d properly!

Yes mate it was indeed - maybe I know you?? I’m the bald 60ish bloke in the videos!

Had a listen to this, and yeah, its nice - I guess you know there's no audio at the beginning and no bass for a while, but then the sound guy must have found the bass knob on the desk!  We (Skylark Church Chelmsford)also seem to struggle with consistency in our live-feed. Usually the vocals are far too forward/loud, bass/drums too low, so you get quite a harsh sound. This week my bass was there for the first two songs, then must have been muted !  Last week's mix was better. We need to organise some proper training and make sure the live-feed is being properly mixed as it goes out, cos it sounds fine in the auditorium.

Small point, but I dislike the video focussing too much on the musicians (we do the same) and I much prefer a "wide" view for the folks watching online, as its not about us it it !!

Looks like a Spector Euro5 you're playing there? My USA Fender Reggie Hamilton V seems to work best for live stuff, but I prefer playing my Spector NS5H2 !!

Keep up the good work !

Sounds absolutely brilliant and you are spot on - it’s a real privilege to serve in the way we do 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Good spot - yeah the Vanderkley & TC Staccato do blend nicely with the Nord!!  So I have the luxury of in ears and the cab to give a bit more depth/feel depending on how high the sound people let me have it !

Ha ha!!!  v amusing - that’s my very compact pedal board 1) tuner 2) chorus, 3) Octaver and 4) fuzz/distortion. I only rarely use the latter with minimal distortion but it does add sustain for whole note bars.

IEM so we can all hear each other and the click - although I’m not a big fan.

the jugglers and dancing would be afterwards 😂😂

All set for this morning! What could possibly go wrong!!!

3 hours ago, dmc79 said:

 

I'd probably be able to remember how to play a boatload of songs without printed music in front of me if we always played them in the same key. We play any given song in a number of keys depending on who is leading. I don't mind the odd song here and there, but if we play a few in the likes of Eb, that first to fourth fret stretch is a killer. No wonder some people switch to short scale! 

 

Is it normal to get your songs for Sunday morning after 6pm on Sat?! 

 

To be fair, they did come earlier today, but normally we get them by Friday. Going back a few years though, you just turned up Sunday morning to find out! It never really bothered me though.

Well I only play 5 string basses!!

Just got the songs for tomorrow. One song we’ve only just learned is in a different key which should be fun - there goes the muscle memory 😂

Ooh that is very nice  - GLWTS!

That is very nice playing and the bass sounds terrific. Hadn’t seen your YouTube channel before. GLWTS 

38 minutes ago, Woodwind said:

 

The/your problem is not your eq per se.

If all your bandmates stopped playing you'd be able to hear yourself regardless of how your eq is set.

you'd still be able to hear your self if you turned your volume down by half.

In fact you'd still hear yourself if you turned off your amp altogether.

 

My guess, based on having no idea what your band is, is that your guitarist(s) have waaaaay too much low end in their sound.

 

if they took this out, (good luck suggesting this) you would have so much more bandwidth to fill the low end yourself and fit in and around the drums much more satisfyingly and as a result your drummer will have a nicer time and may well be able to play quieter or with greater dynamic swing.

 

 

I've been in this exact situation in bands before.

Having had to boost mid eq (regardless of the bass I was using) and still only just being able to hear my attack.

Upon inspecting the guitarists amp the bass knob was always maxed, producing a huge amount of low end that in reality I couldn't "compete" with.

 

Have a chat with your guitarist about what they can do for their eq FOR THE BAND (a lot of guitarists struggle with this) and see kf you can sculpt a band sound everyone is happy with.

 

Good luck!

This is so true and the same goes for keys players with a heavy left hand - super frustrating and always a tricky subject to broach with any other band members!!!

Agree with earlier post too about cabs but so much stuff is IEM now so you’re totally reliant on the person on the desk who may or may not like a “bass rich” sound !!

Very interesting topic!  I suspect much is also down to what's happening on the sound desk, because the sound engineer can pretty much negate/change anything you do on stage by fiddling around with the EQ on the desk, probably some compression/limiting back there too.

I've also always thought that "mids was where it was at" but I had the pleasure of seeing Incognito at Ronnies a week or two ago, and the bass was positively pumping through with seemingly hardly any mids at all - just a nice deep "thump" but cutting through over the kick etc. It reminded me of why I'm a bassist !

As an aside, I was playing my new (to me) Spector NS5H2 last weekend, and when we came on at the end for a final song, by mistake I maxxed the neck pickup and mid tone (thinking I was turning both pickups on - damm those vol/vol setups!) and thought "wow, this is very jazz fusion - Jimmy Haslip" before noticing my error and pulling the mids back and the bridge pup on - back to smoothness ! (well as much as you can with a Spector!)

Yeah this happened to some frets on my Shuker and Jon simply filed them down - no problems since. 

Surprised this lovely fretless is still here given Overwater’s quality and popularity among pro-players on the theatre circuit. Have a bump on me!

Bass Direct have started selling them and The Gallery have had a couple so I think they are beginning to get known over here - looks spot on GLWTS 👍🏻

For the Spector USA they confirmed to me on E Mail it was 4mm

 
I can’t seem to copy the link so here is a screenshot.

So I was attempting to turn the truss rod on my NS5H2 and couldn’t get it to move with the supplied “Allen key”. In fact there’s not enough width in the slot to turn it anyway!

You probably know this already but for those that don’t know, T handled wrenches (like the Fender ones) are available for a few £ and using that it shifted easily!

It only needed a quarter turn and the relief is now perfect 👍🏻 

I’m not generally a big fan of relics, but that is absolutely gorgeous!! GLWTS

Ian is not only a brilliant bassist but also a super guy to deal with. Buy with confidence!! 👍🏻

That looks lovely - how much does the bass itself weigh?

Thanks

20 minutes ago, bass_dinger said:

General issues.

 

○ We have a rota supposedly showing attendance 3 months in advance, maintenened by the Worship Leader.  It is  regularly allowed to run out, leaving the team to ask on Friday whether they are playing on Sunday. 

○ The rota should include one person from the church choir. The WL regularly forgets to invite someone or they can't make it and tell him- but he forgets to invite a replacement.

○ We did a Worship Central course but the last one clashed with the August summer break. He never rescheduled it.

○ The song chord charts are often late, or never sent. Apparently I am the only one who asks for them

○ A guitarist plays from memory, while the rest of us use the chord charts.  Occasionally the guitarist will play differently to the rest of the band but won't tell us that he is doing his own thing.

○ 3 ½ years ago, I was told that I would be on the rota for guitar.  A year ago, I gave up waiting for it to happen. 

○ the WL said that new singers would be given 3 rehearsals before they were allowed in a service. It never happened.

○ I have frequently mentioned these issues, but they are not dealt with. I have concluded that it does  not matter to them.

 

Specifically 

○ The guitarist for that rehearsal played something that other than what written.  "What are you playing for the bit that says C G C?" ",oh I am not playing that" (,(but did not say what he was playing).

○ The WL was the drummer, and was speeding up. I told him so - and he said that he knew, and carried on.

○ The WLs wife sang, and one phrase was so off key that I stopped, and asked the WL what had happened (I thought that I was in the wrong key). He said that it was "a bit pitchy ".

○ When I asked for clarification and guidance, they carried on playing. 

○ When I packed up (which took about 3 minutes) they carried on playing. They did not stop to ask what the issue was.

○ Over the next day, I got two WhatsApp messages saying not to turn up for the band .

 

I have been asked to meet up with the leaders.

 

So lots of general issues, that make me wonder how supportive the band is, and if I want to be part of it. Indeed, if I have the ability to play with elastic drummers, fretless singers, and guitarists who go off piste in the songs. 

 

Walking out was not my finest moment, but I am not impressed with them either. 

 

Right now I am off to visit my dad, in a Covid ward where he is on oxygen. Somehow, that feels worse his mild stroke and heart attack that hospitalised him on Christmas eve,  and his next hospital visit on new year's eve. 

 

My feeling is that I just wanted to play in the band, and not have to deal with the hassle of the band.

 

So sorry to hear this - hope and pray that your dad improves.

in my experience worship bands are often a bit (or more) dysfunctional because we are often a fairly random group thrown together through having musical skills - compared to a band that forms often from friendships and mutual interest.

Our group often drives me nuts, but I think I’m there for a reason (also the oldest member by far) so I tough it out for a “higher purpose”. Sometimes though I’m sure it’s right to take a break.

How they follow up with you will be important in knowing whether it’s right to return.

Perhaps also as bassists we are more aware than most of timing precision,  and of “serving the song” cos it’s what we do!!