NHM

A band meeting over a beer, away from the rehearsal room is called for. Sounds like you need to clear the air and get everyone's' expectations and commitments out in the open so you can move on to the next level (or not), setting some goals for the next twelve months. Then you'll be able to decide whether you have a future with them. Beware throwing the baby out with the bathwater: a couple of years ago I was in a really promising band that struggled for a year to find a lead singer once our original one left - lured by the West End - and in the end a great project just petered out, although we are all still good mates.

12 hours ago, Mickeyboro said:

Unfortunately he seems to feel he has the sole right to approve and/or veto what we do. 

I think this is fair enough. He's got to sing the material (and thus front the band), so should have the final say in what's in and what's out (as long as the material falls within the agreed genre for the band). The band is most likely to be a success if the front person owns the material and performs it with style and gusto. Covers bands that choose the set by committee are more hobbyists IMO.

8 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

At rehearsals last night I found that having a far brighter tone ( pick playing ) really made the notes stand out in the mix which was good as I like to be heard !! 

 

I've been having the 'pick or fingers' dilemma for a long time when searching for a great playing tone. I prefer to play (most songs) using my fingers (more subtlety, ghost notes, softer attack, faster across the fretboard etc.), but the band (guitar/bass/drums/vox blues-rock) prefer it when I play with a pick. I convince myself that fingers create a better sound until I hear a live recording... It's frustrating as I don't enjoy playing with a pick as much as with fingers, and at a recent gig I dropped my pick mid-song and got into a bit of a paddy, further confirming in my mind that fingers are best.

On 10/11/2022 at 18:57, NHM said:

we're playing a new venue (for us)  tomorrow evening, a very stylish restaurant. We sent the organiser some visuals a couple of weeks ago, but they didn't post the gig on facebook until two days ago and put up a poster outside the venue yesterday. And they have a chalk board inside that gives the time that is wrong by one hour.

If not many show up, it will be so disheartening. OK, we'll get paid but all the effort that goes into it is only worth it if we have a good crowd and a fulfilling experience. It really isn't that difficult nowadays for a venue to get the word out to its regular clients.

as suspected, if you discount our friends and families it was a really poor turn out... let's hope they don't blame us for not drawing a bigger crowd by not booking us again.

Do you mean 'Harmony Singer', cos there's several that are blue...

thanks, I'm not familiar with these sort of pedals but this looks just the job

Can anyone recommend a vocal effects pedal for our singer that can be used live?

We need something that is easy to set up, that can foot-switch between a (programmable) delay setting for songs to a basic clean/touch of reverb setting for talking to the audience between numbers. Ideally something that takes a mic input so it can go between the mic and the PA (we don't carry a mixer as the band only has one mic and our powered PA gives us a mic input with eq (but no built in effects or loop )). 

Looking at what's available in the big shops I can't see an immediate solution without buying one of the multi-effects units like Zoom or Boss etc. make. Can anyone suggest a solution?

+1 for the Vong. A really useful pedal.

we're playing a new venue (for us)  tomorrow evening, a very stylish restaurant. We sent the organiser some visuals a couple of weeks ago, but they didn't post the gig on facebook until two days ago and put up a poster outside the venue yesterday. And they have a chalk board inside that gives the time that is wrong by one hour.

If not many show up, it will be so disheartening. OK, we'll get paid but all the effort that goes into it is only worth it if we have a good crowd and a fulfiling experience. It really isn't that difficult nowadays for a venue to get the word out to its regular clients.

15 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 
Canterbury is about to get a whole lot better….

 

 

I wait with bated breath. Or are you privy to inside information?

isn't it easier to use, er, normal amps and cabs and not switch them on?

All Kent is great, Canterbury excepted.

fascinating but I think I'll stick to 12 bars on a saturday night

OK, then why are people spending £100+ up to big bucks on Furmans for their rack?

Can someone who uses one make the case for power conditioners?

29 minutes ago, itu said:

Can you please lead us to that piece of knowledge that we all really want to dive into?

 

 

I thought it was a bit odd too....

But here's the link: 

https://smarthomeprotector.com/best-audiophile-power-strip/

And if you scroll to the last entry for the WAudio AC Noise Power Filter it says 'Can sometimes limit the bass of the sound system.'

I'm thinking of getting a power conditioner for (hopefully☺️) some additional piece of mind and perhaps an even a better sounding amp/pedal board.

I don't use a rack, so I'd rather not get a rack mount one which most of the ones aimed at band gear seem to be. I'd rather have a unit more like the ones aimed at the hifi market so I can cable out from it using IEC extensions to the amp & pedal board.

Some reviews I've read say the bass response might be compromised, so that's a worry🤔.

Has anyone any recommendations?

Two four-lamp 'Birdie' Par 16 bars for sale.

The Birdies are fitted with LED lamps and are equivalent to 200W tungsten per bar. Each Birdie is fitted with an IEC plug and come with IEC splitters and extensions so one of the bars reduces to a single 13A plug and the other to 2x13A plugs (a couple more y cords would take it to a single 13A).

Each bar about 2' long and fitted with top hats to go on top of speaker stands (the stands are NOT included in the sale).

Also a small pack of mixed gels.

All in good nick, ideal for a small stage or rehearsal room, these create a nice cool pool of light.

£120 NOW £80 + £10 postage

she only comes out now for special occasion gigs, being an older lady, although that happened yesterday and there's another opportunity tomorrow (unless it rains).

No firewood jokes please.

I'm a bit late to this party, but here's mine for what it's worth:

tuner - limiter - unichorus - l/hpf with a Harley Benton power supply and a homemade base.

I've owned this cab from new. In very good condition, barely a mark on it, it's done a couple of gigs but never pushed. All works as it should. It comes with a Fender cover (I don't think Fender made a cover for this cab, the one I have was bought for a Rumble combo 500 which is the same size, and adapted with hand holds to the side).

If you want a new one they are around the £330 mark if you can find one, most major shops are a three month wait.

Collection only, Faversham.

good story and amazing right hand technique

The Musicmaster is a great bass to play and it sounds as good as anything I've heard (a bit subjective, I know). I've made a couple of essential (and reversable) upgrades - the pickup is a Curtis Novak, and locking compensated saddles - otherwise pure Californian '71.

Here's my #1 Fender rig: Bassman 500, Rumble 2x10, Rumble 1x15, Musicmaster, tuner and HPF out of shot:

two gigs a month is ideal for me. I'm more interested in the difficulty of travel / parking / get in as I find most pubs (where we do pretty much all our work) are much of a muchness. That said, our gig last Sunday was at one of the loveliest pubs in Kent with the worst travel & parking I've encountered.

That's bad news. Hope you get it all back undamaged and the scumbags who did it are caught. I will keep an eye open down this neck of the woods.