Dan Dare

On ‎29‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 12:21, la bam said:

Personally i always had a policy when i had the cash and wanted a new amp of sell the backup not the main, then promote the new amp to main and the existing main to backup. That way you always improve your kit without too much outlay.

Either way you are covered as you already have a good backup.

I do this, too. Re. the original question, I'd stick with what you have if it's working. As far as comments about variations in local power supplies are concerned, most good quality kit has universal power supplies these days (my AG700 does), which will adapt to most, if not all, circumstances.

I think Ringo's got his gong for being an all round good geezer, not for being a a drummer, singer or whatever. I'm fine with that. He certainly deserves it a hell of a lot more than Clegg, Brady and all those political a r s e kissers.

Interesting video above. I do feel it confirms what I found. If I couldn't see that he was playing a J bass, I'd be hard pressed to tell that was the case from the sound alone (I appreciate it's a Squier, rather than a full fat one).

12 hours ago, AlexDelores said:

Thanks a lot, appreciate the help. 

I’m assuming if I have 2 speaker cabs + a sub I would need to daisy chain one of the speakers off another due to the available XLR connections on the mixer... which leads me to the question, would it be possible to use an active speaker connected to a passive mixer and then daisy chain my ashdown ABM 2x10 passive cab and go direct into the PA with my bass? As the cab would be getting power from the speaker? I know this wouldn’t be as ideal for handling the low end as a powered sub but would it be possible as a short term answer to having everything through the in ears?

Unfortunately as with everything budget comes into play here.

I don't think that would work at all well. You would be feeding a full range signal to the Ashdown. Ideally, you need a crossover to remove the higher frequency content from the signal to the sub/bass cab and the low bass from the tops. Most important, you need to power a sub with its own amp. Even if they have an aux speaker output, those powered PA cabs you refer to will not drive it adequately (and you'd have to daisy chain it from one of them - you couldn't use both).

I see from your later post that you have a PA already and agree with Dad that what you are proposing to replace it with would be a sideways move, not an improvement. If you are looking to reduce the amount of kit you carry, dispense with backline and put the bass through the PA, I'd agree that you should keep your existing PA and suggest you add a  powered sub (but see my previous comments about getting a decent one). Dad's right that what you have would probably be adequate for bar gigs, but it won't cope at the weddings you refer to.

A Bass V in a shop in Middlesbrough about 30 years back. Expensive but affordable. High C rather than low B. Stupidly rare now.

Dig his feedback. 1 positive (from a seller - probably the bloke he bought the thing from). 

Whereabouts are you?

I had an East J-Retro in my Jazz and went back to passive after a while. The East is excellent, but I felt the active preamp robbed the instrument of that essential Jazz Bass character and made it sound a bit more generic, if that makes sense. I was initially impressed (and the East is very well made and clean sounding), but grew tired of it, so replaced it with new pots, cap and wiring and sold it on.

Honours? Yeah, right. This is a bloody disgrace - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/new-years-honours-list-grenfell-tower-fire-heroes-manchester-terror-attack-london-a8133811.html

Just now, taunton-hobbit said:

I smell the word 'Barefaced' lurking around here somewhere.....

(yes I'm biased, I own two Dubsters)

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo. Other cabs are available...

5 minutes ago, fleabag said:

Sounds about right TH

Agreed. Re. the original question, a pair of those cabs plus a good quality powered sub might be just about OK, but avoid the subs that are aimed at the cheaper end of the disco market and that claim ridiculous power outputs, etc. They may make a fair amount of noise, but it's all boom and no notes and the sound falls apart when you push them (they often achieve volume via over-zealous porting to give a false impression of power). As with our bass rigs, clean, plentiful low end costs money.

They are all budget PA speakers. Not bad for vocals, but if you are intending to dispense with an onstage bass amp and run through the PA, I don't think budget PA cabs with 10" or 12" bass drivers will cut it in anything other than low volume situations. OK for the bars, but less so for weddings, etc.

20 hours ago, Kevin Dean said:

I'm not looking for a powered mixer ,I'm not clear if the Allen Heath pa12 is or not .

 

There are powered and unpowered versions. I have the unpowered one, which I picked up mint for £150 on the Bay. See http://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/pa12/. The PA12 CP is the powered one.

You're more likely to damage a speaker by driving it with an amplifier that is not powerful enough and is constantly clipping. Remember that your head will only be delivering its maximum rated power for a few milliseconds and that most decent drive units will happily tolerate short peaks of around twice their continuous rating. Also, amp manufacturers tend to inflate maximum power outputs for more showroom appeal. So I reckon you'll be fine.

PS. Could we have a moratorium on telling everyone who asks a question about cabs to buy a Barefaced, please? Other speaker cabs are available...

On ‎27‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 20:19, Tubster said:

It seems that 9v is used by some acoustic guitar pre-amps

You can also power some active basses via 9v phantom, but do check whether yours will accept this before switching it in. EBS heads have a similar option.

17 hours ago, CameronJ said:

Ooh. It would surely be possible to get LEDs with a colour changing remote and just switch it depending on your mood, no?

You could even use a sound to light converter - the type DJs use - and have the colours change and pulse with the music. How cool would that be?

I played one of these some years ago at The Gallery in Camden. Didn't like the neck or sound. The similarly priced Lakland Skyline 5 I tried was much nicer. I do think it's genuine, though.

Lovely amp. I'm only a weekend guitar player so couldn't justify buying it, but it will make someone very happy. GLWTS.

3 minutes ago, SteveK said:

OK, I'll make an allowance for those in bands that play 2 day sets. Don't think that applies to Elton John, ELO and The Stones though

If they have been around for a while (as all those you quote have), they will have dozens, perhaps hundreds, of numbers, some of which they may not have played for years. They may well be using add-on/session players (brass, etc), too. And of course, memory deteriorates with age...

3 minutes ago, dand666 said:

 

This.

As a full-time dep, like someone said on here, I just ask what the dress code is. Turn up, get the set on the night and read. So having a micstand/ipad holder for me is essential. 

Exactly. I dep in a function band. Even the regular players read on gigs. They have to. The chart book is several inches thick. There's a world of difference between that and a band of weekend warriors playing 30 or 40 simple pop songs with 3 or 4 changes.

1 minute ago, SteveK said:

The only time a music stand on stage is acceptable is if you're part of an orchestra or called to dep at the last minute. There really is no excuse for the likes of The Stones, ELO, Elton John etc. - Just LEARN THE F*****' SONG!!

It's one thing to learn 40 or so relatively straightforward songs and quite another to have 500 - with complex arrangements - ready for instant recall.

Just now, PaulWarning said:

true, or even Lambretta's, forgot about how many hours I spent cleaning the spark plug in the mistaken belief it would make it run better 

Ah, the delights of two strokes, which oil up the plug after 50 miles or so...

They're expensive, but you can get rack adaptors for MB heads so you can mount them in a standard 19" rack.

May be worth looking at a "kickback" design - sloped bottom on the cab so it can face up at you, which will make it easier to hear. There are a few around. Alternatively and if you are not short of readies, you could get a Fearless F112 built - http://www.bassplayer.com/gear/1164/greenboy-audio-fearless-f112-cabinet-reviewed/48331 - and use it with a lightweight head. Would be easy enough to carry around.

Re. the original question, if you're playing in, say, a function band with hundreds of numbers in the repertoire and you have to be able to play requests at the drop of a hat, you need charts or the dots, especially if you are working with more complex arrangements. It's a completely different ball game from playing a set that varies little from night to night.