DaytonaRik

On 01/11/2021 at 14:13, SumOne said:

For those that use wireless systems to practice around the house have you been able to go fully wireless i.e. using bluetooth headphones? If you have then I assume you're going  Bass > wireless transmitter > wireless receiver > pedals/amp etc > bluetooth transmitter  > headphones. If that's the case then I've heard that bluetooth sometimes causes too much latency - is that true?

 

 

 

Yes, but as @BigRedXsay, not with blue tooth.  I've used a UHF wireless system into a bass head, run the DI into my X32 Rack desk and then taken the output feeds into my UHF IEM system with no noticeable latency.  I have previously tried using BLE headphones as an output from my iMac as an experiment and it was just horrible - impossible really.

Sennheiser EW100 G4 - it works, it keeps working, no issues/drop outs/problems/anything - just a solid, reliable wireless solution

I found this video a while ago and sums up why these mixers are just so damned good!!!

I played for 3 years or so in a Thin Lizzy tribute band - and I really don't like them that much at all!  I think I liked 5-6 tracks max - the rest I hammed it up, did the front man thing and went home with money!!!

2 minutes ago, DaytonaRik said:

 

... and always, always, ALWAYS leave guitars in cases until they're absolutely needed.

 

And not because a guitard wants to have a 100w Marshall/Les Paul fuelled w**k-fest in front of the bar staff and 6 people who got there early!!!!

1 hour ago, TimR said:

Our guitarist owns the PA. Once he has set up all his guitars and pedals etc, he then moves to setting up the PA.

Sounds like a disaster waiting happen!!! I've always found that the best approach was start at the back and move forwards - kit and any upstage lighting, backline, PA/front lighting, pedal boards then wedges and vocal mics.  You may decide to put the PA in place if you're waiting for something else but we always leave downstage stuff until the backline, kit and upstage lights are placed.  It just avoids accidents.  Reverse the process to strike the stage and always, always, ALWAYS leave guitars in cases until they're absolutely needed.

12 minutes ago, TimR said:

Same with white extension leads. Just looks amateurish, like someone just grabbed a lead from their home office or off a shelf at B&Q.

I always go with black extensions and 13amp power cables - white extension cables/sockets do my fruit in!  With audio leads I'm in two minds...part of me says keep it discreet and hidden - the other parts says that everyone know's you have cables so don't worry about it.  

Definitely  good call re different colour for inputs and outputs - I think I'll get 100m of a different colour for monitor/speaker feeds 👍🏻

23 hours ago, Les said:

Spare mixer seems like overkill people 

A few years ago we did have a powered mixer die on us - fortunately the guitarist had a similar mixer very close by so since then I've always carried a spare and gone down the active cab route.  If we lose a sub then so be it, but if we lost a top then a powered wedge could be pressed into service, and on a spare iPad (in case of the failure of the one running the desk) I have a copy of Positive Grid's Bias FX guitar amp sim so could even push that into use as a guitar amp if needs be.  I'm a big fan of redundancy when it comes to fault tolerance!  Sods law will rear its head if you don't have a spare of something...better to carry a micro head, small format mixer etc and not need it than have one fail and the spare be at home.

Similarly I'll always take 2 basses to a gig - it takes 5 secs to swap a bass out if a string breaks or worse happens rather than stop the gig, retrieve case from wherever it is, find strings, string up, stretch/tune up etc.  Maybe it's coming from a guitar background with Floyd Rose locking vibratos!

9 hours ago, Les said:

Spare mixer seems like overkill people 

Not given the size of the modern digital mixers.  We take an X32 rack with an XR18 as a backup,

1 minute ago, NancyJohnson said:

This is a new phenomenon to me...we all have our own kit, we all bring our own kit, we all look after our own kit.

Everyone's kit/backline is their own responsibility but I take care of the lighting/PA for the band and the associated transport, upkeep and sadly outlay of said PA!

Does anyone else carry a spare mixer?

8 minutes ago, WAYNESWORLD said:

Well that just says where us bass players have been going wrong all these years. We need a band made up of multi instrumental bass players. The world would be a happy place of musicians that know there place only to willing to stand back and let others shine in the eyes of the audience.Also supplying there parts as needed but not trying to outshine each other.Staying in time with each other as the drummer would never stray due to there bass playing routes .plus always being on time and fully prepared for the gig playing on a stage where equipment is laid out with precision and detailed attention to hiding cables from the audience’s site. More over at the end of the night all used equipment is still in full working order but safe in the knowledge that we all carried back cables fuses soldering iron screw divers and other members within the bands own gear spares just in case. If I had only realised this 40 yrs ago all the ads put in the local paper for musicians and drummers would have been worded completely different.😂

It would be complete and utter perfection!

4 minutes ago, WAYNESWORLD said:

...attention to hiding cables from the audience’s sight...

With all potentially visible extension cables and power leads being black to avoid being obvious should the odd cable or extension creep into the line of sight of said punters!

2 minutes ago, JapanAxe said:

I carry loads of spares of all types of cables. Each has a label on it stating its approximate length in metres, as well as a velcro cable tie. Yes I lend them to other band members, but I quickly retrieve them at the end of the gig because they are easy to identify.

 

#controlfreak

All of my cables are marked with a different colour tie-wrap indicating the length in meters and are velco tied, and are bright yellow because that way I can see where they've been abandoned!

4 minutes ago, WAYNESWORLD said:

Could you swap instruments and join my band.

I also play guitar and sing, and I'm currently learning to play the drums...where are you based?  

10 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

...How you keep all that going I don't know...

Thanks @uk_lefty  I do it because I basically don't trust anyone else to do it and get it right!!!!!

3 hours ago, musicbassman said:

Bass players, eh ?

 

Sort out the leads

Sort out the diary

Set up the PA

Drive the van

Know where they're going

 

.....lets face it, we're bl**dy brilliant  !   😁👍

1. Own the entire PA - every single component from each lowly but essential 13amp power lead and mic cable to the subs except for one SM58 mic that belongs to one of the guitarists for b/vs.
2. Own the small but functional and very portable lighting setup.
3. Operate 1 & 2  the above.
4. Carry 1 & 2 above in a van bought solely for that purposes.
5. Load and unload 1 & 2 above in and out of 4 above on my own, despite one of the guitarists living approx 400m from me!!!
6. Go through the cable and power trunks the day after a gig putting everything back as it should be!
7. Sort out the shared diary, including reminding everyone to fill it in after someone says they're busy on a night that is plainly free in the diary.
8. Sort out rehearsals inc locating and visiting new rooms due to band member changes.
9. Select material and set lists. 
10. Sort out the gigs, including visiting venues in person to look for new gigs, posters etc
11. Record, mix and produce multi tracks from gigs and rehearsal for appraisals and use in social media.
12. Keep social media up to date, including advertising gigs on regional and venue pages.

Brilliant?  I'm f**king amazing!!!!

On 03/10/2021 at 07:09, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

I'm the same. I've been wireless for about three years now. I hate being trussed up with cables. 

About three?  I think I can add a zero on the end of that one!  I rehearse with a wireless setup too - I'm just not happy being 'tethered' to anything!!!

A couple of years ago I bit the bullet and funded the entire PA inc a van to carry it all.  I figured that a) it would save arguments b) I could get what I liked c) if they didn't like it they could lump it d) I could earn a few pennines wet hiring for small venues.  Luckily by making sure I bought a desk capable of handling as many channels as we could ever need (X32 Rack plus an SD8 and SD16 digital stage boxes) along with plenty of wedges everyone has a monitor mix they like.  One guitarist regularly asks me to turn his monitor down! 😉

3 minutes ago, DaytonaRik said:

 

 

 

55 minutes ago, casapete said:

I’d agree, although the cost of getting one ( especially for a larger band) may prove to be cost prohibitive? Also would mean the lead singist being let loose on the controls...🤣

Midas MR18 is £499, the slightly cheaper Behringer option (XR18) is £477 - there really is no reason why these small form factor digital desks are not the staple for most pub/small club gigging bands given that you not only get 6 aux outs for multiple dedicated monitor feeds but you also get 2  FX channels,  31 band graphic EQ on each output, 4 band parametric, dynamics, a noise gate and insert points on each input channel.  And I never let the lead singer loose with the iPad! 

28 minutes ago, Japhet said:

 

Maybe, somewhere in a parallel universe, this is a viable option.

Give them proper monitoring either though their own wedge or IEMs and it happens.  Believe me!  You can crank a wedge so loud they turn their backline down!!!!!

14 hours ago, moley6knipe said:

Those Helicon monitors are mint. Proper Swiss Army knife- loads of options for connecting, xlr through (that actually passes signal through unlike some mons I’ve used in the past!), local control of your mic and overall mix etc. And they clip on stands or are small enough to stand on a shelf. Great solution. 

An even better solution is to get a desk with enough individual monitor sends for everyone!

2 hours ago, gjones said:

Our guitarist had almost forgotten how to plug his guitar into his amp, as he hadn't touched the thing in months.

One of our guitarists bought a TC-Electronics G-System at the start of lockdown - still hasn't set it up!  He also had a Victory Countess mkII amp in the cupboard for 12 months PRIOR to lockdown before swapping it out untouched for a PRS MT15 amp 🙄

Well the muscle memory has kicked in and it has taken about a week to remember the whole set, and the fatigue is going fast!   I always practiced diligently prior to lockdown and although I still played during that period it was for an unplugged rock trio with completely different material that was much more chilled and laid back.

Getting sidetracked learning to pay drums didn't help much either as given a choice between the two over the enforced layoff I'd much prefer to pick up the sticks!!!

It turns out that it really is like riding a bike after all