Al Krow

Question for everyone: Is a bass only "properly played " at a gig? If you choose to make music on a bass at home is that not "playing" it? Why would that be true for a bass but not a piano? Doesn't that kinda assume that a bass player can only ever play his instrument as part of a live band? What if you're not in a band?

For me, there's a false hierarchy to say that playing an instrument in one setting (e.g. a gig) is more righteous than playing it another (e.g. at home). I think it's possible to get enormous pleasure from an instrument wherever it's played. I've got a particular bass that seems to be my goto for gigging these days - it's a decently high-end bass (Elrick) which I bought a while back from @Sibob of this parish and am very much still loving it. It now has a few knocks to testify to the very many gigs it's faithfully done for me. I do have one bass that I would hesitate to take out to a pub gig specifically, as that was a 'treat' bass and I suspect I'd be quite upset if it got damaged. Part of the joy of that bass, for me, is the craftsmanship that went into making it and I think it's possible to appreciate the design and craftsmanship in an instrument, as well as other objects in life, that can make it be worth something more than being just 'a tool', albeit an excellent one, to get a job done. The rest of my basses yes, absolutely, would be happy to gig them at pubs as well as function venues.

Great question! Maybe turn that one around - what would make you want to join a band and really commit to it and to work hard at keeping your place in it? It's going to vary for everyone, but I suspect it will include some or all of the following? Regular decently paid gigs (covers band) Love the music that the band is playing / get a say in song choices Talented musicians to work with Fun crew who you enjoy hanging out with Good band atmosphere and minimal drama Feeling valued An opportunity to be creative (maybe more for original bands?) An opportunity to grow and develop as a musician

Yup! Use the multifx for everything it does really well or well at least well enough e.g. modulation - all types (chorus, flanger, phaser, delay etc.), dirt, compression (if you're a fan), tuner and then buy a dedicated pedal or two to fill any gaps. In my case, that's now down to multifx + synth for my little gigging board. Nice and compact and as @Jack has spotted, actually not too bruising on the wallet, particularly if you buy used.

That sounds like a best of both worlds scenario, thanks! So to summarise: By switching to pre-fade setting for aux out: (i) singers will get consistent IEM volumes irrespective of what's going on with FoH volumes / adjustments; (ii) singers will still get fx (reverb) in their IEMs, but based on FoH volumes, as fx is applied to the post-fade signal. Is that a fair summary?

Not sure this "made the original" by Stevie W, but great cover right?

Hi David, Thanks for this. I didn't quite follow your final para - grateful if you could clarify for me: If the singers are getting the pre fade signal in their IEMs (which as we have said will help give them a constant IEM level independent of any adjustments we make to FoH levels), but the fx/reverb is only being applied at the post fade stage, then won't the reverb be present in just the FoH and not in the IEMs at all if we set it to pre fade? If I have this wrong and the reverb will still be heard in the IEMs, albeit at post levels, when the IEMs are set to pre fade, this should actually be a decent compromise!

Great advice gents. Pre fade definitely the way forward! Like you Phil, I have wireless on my bass and will wander into the audience on a couple of songs to listen to the FoH mix (and I do that anyway for a few numbers as we find the audience really enjoys the interaction!) Our singers do like a bit of reverb in their in ears - I guess I should investigate whether a post fx / pre fade set up is possible on our A&H CQs as that would seem ideal for the singers... Post script: Apparently fx is post fader on the CQs, so looks like the singers will need the post fader option if they want reverb in their IEMs.

What do most of you guys do in terms of sending the various inputs on the desk to your personal aux output mixes in terms of being "pre fader" or "post fader"?

Great bass line, although arguably a derivative of Chic Good Times?!

And I know it's way too soon to be thinking about Xmas! But if you want a change from the usual fare, the bass line on this one is arguably the best of any Xmas song?

Gotta be one of the more iconic bass lines! (Apologies to @itu who I've just seen already gave this a mention!) But definitely a fun one to play and these guys do a decent cover.

30 years to the month since her iconic album came out! Great song and tbf not defined by the bass line, but what a great bass line by Flea!!

Managed to source a second very good condition used RCF 932A to add to the B-stock one I bought a little while back. Looking forward to hearing the improvement in vox and guitar sound from the 3" voice coil / larger 1.4" compression driver on the 932A vs the 1.75" voice coil / 1" compression driver of the 912A at our forthcoming gigs! I'll probably hold onto my existing 912As for a while, to provide a back-up PA and also enable us to be at two places at once, which does occasionally happen!

@Raj_Shredder That is quite the vinyl record collection you have!