Greg Edwards69

15 hours ago, yorks5stringer said:

Be better with 4 handles....

There's nearly a joke there.

8 hours ago, PsyBean said:

The 110 is 16.8kg, the 210 is 21.8kg. I know weight and watts don't mean everything (and the Katana guitar amps seem pretty loud) but on paper that doesn't look great against a Markbass CMD 121P at only 12kg, which can chuck out some decent volume especially with an extension cab.  Still, be interesting to see how they perform in the real world and love the Katana trickery.

And just a top handle too, it would seem. That's quite a lot of weight to carry in one hand.

With this and the new Postive Grid Spark Mini there's certainly some great practice amp options to be had. 

If the Katana has a pitch shifter, I'll be very, very interested. It'll save me having to set my helix up just practice a couple of tunes with dropped tuning.

If it has a completely flat "FRFR" mode, then even better.

Thank the audience and venue, and ask people to visit your social media channels or website.  It feels a bit tacky to do so, but many venues are booking bands based on their following. Plus a bit of free video footage is always nice.

Carry business cards, and maybe get a popup banner made with links to your website.

Set up a shared band calendar and make sure everyone uses it to mark their availability. It's a lot easier to respond to booking requests.

Oh, and don't eat pie and chips, or a curry before the gig.

Lately it’s wearing a back support belt when I’m setting up and packing up.

First gig coming out of lockdown after months of working from home, not gigging and sedentary lifestyle majorly messed my back up for a few week after, more-so as it was one of those ones up a large flight of fire escape stairs and we were a couple of people down (inc soundman) which meant more gear humping. 

look after your health folks. 

On 07/03/2022 at 12:45, Daz39 said:

The same thing as goes through their mind when they see a 'firm at £400 price" - they ask: 'What's your best price?' (coz obviously I deserve a better deal)

"What's your best price" is also a pet peeve, regardless of whether I've said "offers accepted" or not.  It's as if haggling is a dying art form.  The best price is the one I advertised it at.  If you want to make an offer, then make one. Don't expect me to make an offer against myself for you.

My common one tend to be.

"Will you take £xxx (low ball offer) because I need to get the train from London to collect it?"

No, becuase I am not compensating for your travel expenses.

"Will you take £xxx (low ball offer) if I collect it today?"

No, you're not doing me a favour by paying me less when I'm in no rush to sell.

2 hours ago, rushbo said:

My preference would always be for a bolt on, and that's not just because I'm a Precision bass fanboy. I enjoy tinkering with basses and having the ability to swap bits around is a real boon. And unlike everyone else on here, I have bust a neck beyond repair. After a lot of swearing and a browse through the pages of eBay I was able to give the bass a new lease of life with a new neck fairly easily.

I've done the same thing as well.  I was over zealous with a trussrod that was seemingly made out of butter.  Ruined the neck.  I was able to track down a replacement and was as good as new.  A neck through or even set neck would have been far more expensive to fix.

On 05/03/2022 at 19:49, Reggaebass said:

My jazz elite has the cutaway fo easier access to the upper frets, it’s not much use to me as I don’t venture up the dusty end  😁

Yamaha came up with variation on this for the Attitude basses. Mr Sheehan certainly doesn't seem to have issues reaching the high notes.

That said, personally, I don't find heel construction to be the main hinderance to upper fret access. It's the low cutout that usually determines how high I can play comfortably.

Looks great and a nice form factor.  Take off the expression pedal and this is what the stomp XL should have been.

I note no XLR output though. Having independent XLR and 1/4" outputs is one of things stopping me from going to anything smaller than my Helix LT.

Bass x2 (sometimes just one if the gig is close to home - I know, it doesn't make any sense).

Helix LT

Headrush FRFR-112

Line 6 G10s wireless - sometimes

TC Helicon Critical Mass vocal processor (crowd vocal simulator / octave up and down)

Mic

ipad or Kindle Fire tablet with bandhelper and mic stand holder.

Leads inc spare

extension power leads

IEM pack and earbuds

Mini guitar stand

Plectrums

Earplugs

Baby powder (essential on hot gigs)

large sweat band (so my forearm doesn't stick to bass body)

Water bottle (we all use a sport top bottle for water - saves any dangerous spillages)

Business cards

Change of clothing (depending on gig)

Cash, just in case.

Phone (useful torch feature)

Keys so I can get in when I get home

Regarding backups. I used to bring two amp heads before going frfr.  I had a disaster one evening when my old Markbass LMII suffered a small drop in its case that caused microfractures and it went into protect mode after 20mins.  My trust in class D being roadworthy went down since that day.  Me and both my guitarists all use a helix and an frfr speaker each.  One of them also bring a stomp as a backup with a couple of basic presets saved for any of us to use. This way, we have a backup if one of the helix devices craps out and each frfr speaker has a spare input so there's redundancy if one of them fails.  We also go direct to FOH as well, so it's not a huge deal.  We need to upgrade our IEM system because it's crap, but when we do, that will make the on stage frfrs even more redundant.

Have you looked at GR Bass? There’s at AT110, 1x10, only 5kg and 99db sensitivity. Bass direct sell them for £550. It’s £50 over your intended budget, but at that weight it could be £50 spent. 
 

If GR bass made a 1x10 combo I’d be all over that, personally. 
 

Otherwise, at the budget end, Warwick make some Gnome cabs to complement your head.  No idea what the sensitivity is though.  

20 minutes ago, stewblack said:

Having done my research I'm going to wait for the NUX MG30 to be back in stock. Looks like the best value, best set up of all these.

I love the description on their website "8 Decent Guitar Cabinets". 😆 

On 16/02/2022 at 13:37, WinterMute said:

You can employ similar approaches to guitars and keys, especially heavily distorted guitars that have a ton of LF in them, try HPF set to 75-150hz to let the bass sit underneath the guitars. HPF on keys is really useful, allowing space for all instruments to work in their natural ranges means you don't have to try so hard to get stuff to "cut".

Since the two guitarists and me went all Helix and frfr, this has improved things substantially. I, and one of the guitarists (who doubles on keys) are very conscious of where we sit in the mix and what it sounds like in the room. The other guitarist is very much in the "Set it can forget it" camp (he used to be a nightmare with his old 100w valve combo pointed at his knees and he never touched the eq, not to mention his stompbox and channel levels would be all over the place).  Great lplayer but not the best critical listener.

We've turned on the hpf on his frfr (and told him not to touch it) and I set up is global eq so that has an additional low cut. We also had a couple of "technical rehearsals" to help him dial in and balance his presets so there's no sudden volume spikes. We also go direct form the Helixes to FOH, so it as long as his on stage frfr is at a sensible volume, our soundman has control of his overall volume.

It sounds so much better now.

I don't want to cut through the mix. I want to punch the mix in the balls.

Seriously though where the bass sits in the mix is dependent on so many factors.  The material, the other instruments, the sound of the bass drum, even what's appropriate for the venue.  For me, "cutting through" means note definition. Actually, it means sitting properly in the mix so that it's felt and identifiable.  It doesn't have to be all subby low end. You can have note clarity whilst still feeling the low end thump that getting peoples legs gyrating on the dancefloor. It's not one or the other. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a big fan of Duff McKagan's tone on Appetite for Destruction. The bass tone has a metric tonne of chest thumping wallop in the low end, but it has a glassy top end clarity that let's you identify every single note.

PS, I've run the gauntlet of bass tones in the mix over the years.  I used to think it was all about cranking the bass knob. Then I discovered upper mids, then I discovered Billy Sheehan and used a dual channel signal path for some time in an effort to get huge subsonic low end and cutting mid-range. Then I discovered hpfs and frequency slotting.  I think I've got it just right nowadays - somewhere in-between them all.

On 16/02/2022 at 12:15, Lozz196 said:

Yep seems to me that bass amplification in general now has lows so low that they seem to bypass that punch in the chest feeling. Duffs sound is a great example, it doesn’t sound really bassy but I bet it packs a wallop up close.

Yep. Discovering hpfs and first, second, third etc order harmonics was the lightbulb moment for me.  I had really struggled with amp eq in the past, and odd frequency choices (I really couldn't get on with my old markbass' 40hz bass and 360hz low mid).

Realising that I didn't need to reproduce the lowest note fundamentals and that removing the lowest frequencies could improve my overall tone was game changing. I've been known to push it up as far as 80-90hz in some rooms without losing the low end "punch" to cut through the mix.  It certainly makes for a nicer sounding room too!

IMO, hpf should come as standard on every bass amp head.

19 hours ago, 40hz said:

Unlike other words used to describe tonal aspects, I actually think punch is a fairly easy one to identify, myself. 🤷‍♂️

 

It's the actual 'thump' and strong sensation of air/volume moved with each note. A noticeable attack to each plucked (or slapped) note. That hit in the back you get, standing in front of a cab.

I'm not sure it is that easy to identify, myself.  The "thump" you mention and noticeable "attack" potentially occupy different parts of the frequency spectrum, and different parts of the note envelope. It could also be a psycho-acoustic phenomenon.

Your studio bass compressor has an attack control, it would be worth experimenting with that to dial in where the initial bite of the note is before the compressor clamps down on it. Although I understand it has a limited range of control. It might be worth considering a different type of compressor.

http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/punchy.shtml

http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/vicegrip.shtml

EQ wise, I think an hpf would be really beneficial. It will allow you to juice up the lows and low mid without getting woolly, mushy and muddy, and tighten everything up. It might also allow you push the cab a bit harder without getting flabby.

Also, have you considered a device lie the BackBeat to simulate the feeling of moving air to get that hit in the back you desire?  This could be the psycho-acoustic trick needed to fill out the feeling of punch you may feel is missing from your cabs. 

FWIW I always think of Duff's tone on Appetite for Destruction as a great example of punchy bass.  Low end wallop and cutting top end bite and glassy sizzle. Maybe try an hpf to tighten up your low end and get it punchier combined with a low mid boost, slight and narrow mid cut and high mid and treble boost to bring out the attack even more.

20 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

I used a Dymo labeller to re-title the controls on my amp to be 

 

PUNCH

HEFT

ZING

Sweepable FZZZZT

 

I had a Warwick combo a number of years ago. The low mid and high mid controls were labelled "punch" and "attack"

A couple of bass players friends and I once joked about building a fake rack unit with lights, knobs and buttons marked with labels such as ""nice", "oooh", "more" and "that sound"

I'm surprised 'shell pink' hasn't been declared 'Pantone Colour of the Year' yet.  I get that some people genuinely love the colour, but it has become a bit of a fad/trend lately.

That, and tort pickguards.

21 hours ago, Kev said:

I don't understand reliced basses really.  But now, they seem totally rational.

 

I mean, what do they do to it?  NOS means its finish is as-new, so given the bass is new, the finish is naturally as new.  And presuming they've used a period correct finish for the bass, itll be a replica.  What makes it NOS???

Maybe they found a tin of pink paint in Leo's old garden shed.

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Well, yes, when the stomp XL came out I was expecting like an LT in half the box, which would be perfect - I did love what the LT could do, but with the need to have the synth pedals too, it made it too big.

Seems that after getting a big jump on the competition with the helix, they are slipping back a bit.

If the StompXL was the device I hoped it would have been, I would have likely sold my LT and bought one. As it is, Line 6 don't offer a device smaller than the LT that lets you A) disable the master volume to FOH over XLR whilst retaining master volume over 1/4" to on stage amp/frfr, and B) similarly set global eq to only affect output to onstage amp/frfr and not affect XLR to FOH.

TBH, I was quite shocked the Stomp XL didn't have discrete XLR outputs at all.

If I went completely ampless I would likely be able to work around these deficiencies in the stomp models

51 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

You've got Global eq which is 3 band with LPF and HPF and presumably the same in a parametric eq block? If I needed 6 point parametric I would use two eq blocks next to one another. 

Although reading Henrythe8 comment again, I'm not sure if this is possible on the PodGo.  It's certainly the way I go about it on the helix.  Some of my patches have 3 or 4 eq blocks for different purposes.

4 minutes ago, Henrythe8 said:

So I brought back the podXT live back, plugged it in the PC, printed some of my favourite patches, and then reapplied (when possible) the same to the PodGO. 

I have to say it's better than what I had been working on earlier. but not quite as good. 

I blame the EQ. The PodXt had some great parametric EQ going where you could choose any six frequencies and range. That's what I miss the most. I used the 10band EQ but some frequencies are not the same. 

I have to dig a bit as I think I saw a general low/HiPass that would be quite useful. 

Is there a BassChat page where the patches can be shared ? 

 

I never used the PodXT Live, but looking at the manual it's only got a 4 band eq.  The helix is a lot more versatile IMHO. There's a lot of eq options.  The parametric may only be 3 band, but it also has low and high cuts, effectively making 5 adjustable frequencies. Not to mention the other eq blocks such as graphic, shelving and tilt etc. And you can use as many as you like within reason - you could fill up a preset with just multiple eq blocks.  And don't forget the global eq - this was one of the reasons I bough the helix - it's made compensating for room acoustics so much easier.

32 minutes ago, stewblack said:

I confess I don't know why it doesn't distort.

However any board I build has octave, chorus, phaser, flanger and compression. The Plethora provides these in a tidy, compact, virtually cable free fashion, so it suits me. 

The death of the HXFX is a salutary warning applicable to all multi effects. Lose one, lose them all.

That baffles me too, especially when I've seen it advertised as having "all your favourite toneprint pedals".

The danger of multifx dying and effectively killing all of your effects is a real risk. But it's also a warning to bring a backup device.  I keep an inexpensive Valeton Dapper bass in the gigbag to get me out of trouble. I'm considering use my IK HD2 with Bias FX on my iPad as an alternative backup solution as well, but it's a bit noisy. Heck, even my new Nux Mighty Plug could possibly get me out of trouble at a push.

33 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I had a Helix LT, but that was too big for me - although if I was, as is my dream, gigging with the chapman stick, it would be ideal.

The features of the LT are just about the perfect device for me, but I do wish it was smaller. When the competitors are building near full featured version of their flagship models in smaller form factors, it baffles me why the LT is so big, and the stomp XL so underpowered.  I'd quite happily lose the expression pedal and a couple of footswitches to save size and weight.

Perhaps it's time for a Helix Core.