Happy Jack

All I can say to you is Sodor.

I don't think Mendes is planning to deal with Ringo's time playing with Johnny Storm & The Hurricanes or with Ringo's Allstarrs ... the films will be about The Beatles in their hey-day, as seen (in turn) by each of them.

Live, the multitrack levels are noticeably higher which inclines me to think that the Level sliders are involved somewhere along the line but - curiously - the stereo recording system remains at very low levels regardless. You can record using both systems simultaneously with no drama at all. There's clearly some basic stuff that I'm missing (or misunderstanding) but since none of it is life-or-death I've not yet invested a lot of time in exploring. At a typical gig I still use the same system I've used for years ... take a feed from the Headphones Out on the desk into my Zoom H4 and place the H4 where the mic capsules can pick up the drums clearly. If I haven't got the H4 with me for some reason then I take a stereo recording on the Ui-24 and marry it to room sounds from the various Q2 devices being used by @Silvia Bluejay for video recording - that yields a very similar result. We always have a DrumCam so there's always a decent soundfile available that's dominated by the drumkit. If I have reason to believe that I will need to either re-mix the sound or make up for an under-recorded source, then I use the multitrack recorder and process the whole thing in post. Gosh, doesn't it feel grown-up to be doing things "in post"? 🤣

That on its own makes this one of the most interesting adverts I've ever seen on Basschat. I had no idea combos such as yours existed. Sadly I am nowhere near Chepstow, but good luck with getting the right person.

Jaco only needed four ... 😉

We've struggled to get a handle on that so far. My research suggests that the recording level is set purely by the Gain on each strip, but that doesn't seem to be borne out in practice. It's easy enough to add make-up gain in the DAW (and of course you can't get rid of clipping if you've recorded at too high a level in the first place) but I'd prefer to have a stronger signal from the start. We've only been working with this sytem for six months so we're still learning.

Spent yesterday afternoon doing exactly that ... running some test recordings to check the new soop-dooper pickup against my existing Schaller 411 and using the Nadine condenser as a benchmark. Setting up "the recording session" took nearly five minutes from a standing start (i.e. with the closed mixer rack case on a shelf in the studio). With 24 channels available (two of them Hi-Z) it's a doddle to do this stuff and you end up with lowish-level but completely raw stems that can then be processed in a DAW in whatever fashion you choose.

The Soundcraft Ui-24 is probably overkill for your needs, but if the smaller versions of the same have the same multitrack recording features (you'll have to look that up) then from my point of view it's a complete no-brainer. As a stage PA it's way, way, WAY easier to operate than the Behringer XR18, and you can do multi-track recording in any environment in a matter of seconds so long as you have a suitably formatted memory stick. If you can get to Harrow (unlikely) then come and have a play.

Not a PITA, more a case of things moving on and changing in such a way that there seemed little point in adding the Tone Dexter to my signal chain. I'm in the middle of a major overhaul of my DB thinking right now. Last year I replaced my Zeller 3/4 (which returned to @Clarky) with a Zeller 4/4 (having been egged on by @Beedster), before Xmas I sold my EA Doubler head (ex @Beedster) to @pete.young, and last month I bought another KK BabyBass (from @PTB) while my go-to bass for most gigs remains the Kolstein Busetto (ex both @Clarky and @bassace). Basschat has a lot to answer for. The Kolstein is, essentially, fragile. It plays just beautifully but at every single gig it looks as if it's about to collapse. 😂 Part of my thinking with buying another BabyBass is that it would offer an instant short-term replacement for the Kolstein should disaster strike. In that scenario, I would revive the Tone Dexter to improve the tone of the BabyBass. Meanwhile, the BabyBass is just ideal for taking along to jam nights when I feel like playing a bit of country. If you fancy borrowing the Tone Dexter for a fiddle abaht, fiddle abaht, let me know.

Completely forgotten the first. Never heard of the second. 😂

Mozart - done once AFAIK and that was nearly 40 years ago. Beethoven - not sure there's been one in my lifetime. Bowie - probably two, maybe three, but one of those was a contemporary documentary anyway. The Beatles - more than I care to count, on every possible aspect of the band, their music, their history, their influence on contemporary culture, their money, their recording techniques, their choice of footwear, you name it. If you can't see the issue Douglas, I suspect you're not looking very closely.

As a massive, lifelong Beatles fan I cannot tell you quite how much I dread yet more necrophiliac equine flagellation. They were great. Their music is still great. I still listen to it. Now can we please move on?

I have no problem with paying a graphic designer to design the perfect logo, but had I done that with all the bands I have been involved with over the last 20 years I'd have shelled out a fortune (most of the musos I've played with were either stony-broke or incredibly tight-fisted 😂) and ended up owning a couple of dozen beautiful logos for bands that never got to play a gig. By the time a band is sufficiently well-established that you can see that it's worth having a decent logo designed and paid for, chances are that the temporary logo you used for the first dozen gigs has already become equally well-established. Just follow the line of least resistance.

Trawl through images on't'Net until you find something that works for you. If you can find an 'owner' then ask for permission to use the image. The Junkyard Dogs have used the 'Cuddles' image for nearly 20 years after Rick found it online and suggested it as a joke. We've never found anyone who claimed to own it. Damo & The Dynamites have used the 'Rockabilly Skeletons' image since the band was founded five years ago after then-drummer Marcel found it online. I traced the image to a famous Japanese graphic designer & artist based in Tokyo and LA; I emailed him a couple of times asking for permission to use his image but he never bothered to reply.

Yup, took the DB to Bill at Thwaites and - of course - he spotted something we'd both missed, which was that the fingerboard was just starting to separate from the neck, further exaggerating the ski-jump. His opinion was that he should detach the fingerboard, get both neck and underside of the fingerboard properly straight and mated, and then do a "shoot / chute?" (as he called it) - i.e. shave the fingerboard. He reckoned that would get us almost there, and fine tuning could be achieved (if necessary) by converting my fixed bridge to adjustable. He tried playing the bass for a minute or so, and then ... ahem ... expressed his surprise that I'd played a 3-set gig with it on Saturday night. 🙄🤣 Watch this space.

Posted by The Rutles Fan Club on FB: "After being lost for 51 years, Dirk McQuickley’s missing guitar string has reportedly been found. This guitar string was special as it played only certain hit-making notes, and many believe its loss was the reason for the Rutles break-up. The current owner (possible thief) of the guitar string has made the following statement: “I’m keeping it. If Dirk wants the string back, he can come engage in fisticuffs with me.” More on this exciting story as it develops …"

I tend to think of myself as being quite good at lateral thinking but in truth that never even occurred to me! 🤣

So about the Guest List ...

Looks like I'll be taking the bass into Thwaites just as soon as the new pickup arrives. I think Steve is posting it to me today, so that should hopefully be a trip to Bushey on Wednesday. Incidentally, this is the bass in question. This video is from near the end of Set #2 (of 3) on Saturday night, by which time I'd worked out how to get a decent sound out of it with the current setup. I'm bloody glad I'd taped my fingers ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/JOYO-Wireless-Rechargeable-Transmitter-Instruments/dp/B08R8FSFRB/ref=asc_df_B08R8FSFRB/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=658902607403&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15851069143679720583&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046085&hvtargid=pla-1471871753430&psc=1&mcid=56b5aaec1df93bed828258193a5d7380

https://www.andertons.co.uk/xvive-wireless-guitar-system-in-black?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8sauBhB3EiwAruTRJl6GeYhuNCMN0NI72ckQfdnf_oqbRBhg7fFaFTq7IeFCTi5WQQ800hoCaHkQAvD_BwE

If you find the X-Vive pricing a bit off-putting (though they're actually quite cheap) then take a look at the equivalent Joyo unit - remarkably good value and just as effective. Yes, I have one of those too. 😂

I use the X-Vive Wireless Bug system with DB at pretty much every gig and it usually works just fine. My DBs have either mag or piezo pickups and the wireless bugs seem to have no trouble with either. I say "usually" because occasionally I get intermittent drop-out issues, caused (presumably) by all the signals in certain rooms. When that happens, I don't fight it - just shift back to a cable. DBs generate more physical vibration than solid-body electric basses, so you also need to pay a bit of attention to the mounting point for the 1/4" jack socket. Adding the weight of a wireless bug to a freely-vibrating socket can also cause occasional cutting-out. It's usually very easily fixed once you realise where the problems lie. My experience of wireless systems with base receivers and belt-packs and such has been uniformly poor; the quality and reliability of the signal doesn't seem to be significantly enhanced but you get to carry and plug in a shed-load of extra gear. Given that almost all my DB gigs are doubling gigs, with frequent swops to electric bass, I find that it's way WAY easier to just have two sets of X-Vive bugs and a 2-channel preamp.