Dan Dare

Badly attended gigs are just part of life. No point in worrying about it. There could be a thousand reasons why few turn up, ranging from something good on telly to a major international incident. Just play the best you can for those who are there and move on. I've had people ask for our card at poorly attended gigs, leading to another booking, so it's not all doom and gloom. The thing to bear in mind at functions is that the band is not the main attraction. People have come to see the couple get married, to celebrate Fred's 50th, etc, etc. The band is just another part of the picture, along with the catering, flowers, photgrapher and so on. Tomorrow's another day.

Pleasure. Stick and sub systems can be very good, but as is always the case, the ones that deliver the goods aren't cheap. The NXL24s go down to 65 hz (on paper, at least), so shouldn't need a lot of low end reinforcement. If you do go for them, I's start with one sub. The RCF 905 is guaranteed to work with them and you can always add another in the future if you need to. However, I'd be surprised if you do. Modern subs are so much better - more efficient, cleaner and louder - than the old boom boxes. You don't need stereo subs. Very low frequencies are omni-directional and a single sub can be placed optimally more easily than two.

Absolutely. The worst-sounding venue I ever played in was an art deco style ballroom, which was shaped like half a cylinder (think Nissen hut). Hard plaster walls/ceiling, no absorbent materials or curtains and a hollow stage structure. The resonances and echoes were appalling and no amount of eq or tweaks helped. Despite our using high quality gear, the sound was dreadful.

Not really. It's mostly down to room acoustics, I'm afraid. Things like hollow stages act like giant resonators and will turn anything to boomy mush. I've heard Barefaced and similar quality cabs (including my PJBs, which are not noted for heavy low end) sound terrible in the wrong environment.

Thanks Phil. I didn't suggest any stick plus sub systems because the OP said he was old school and also because they can get pretty spendy, but you're right. FBT, HK, RCF and others offer excellent options. I'd add that one capable sub will always beat two less able ones. I find I need only one for probably 80% of the gigs I do (I sometimes wonder whether it was worth my buying two when one sits at home for much of the time). The RCF 8003 is very good, although it's a bit of a lump to carry around. The 905 is a little easier on the back. A pair on NXL24s plus a single 905 would be a pretty tasty rig and would come in under the OP's budget.

It's important to be aware of how the sound you create sits in the mix. If you're running through the PA, you can pretty well set your on stage sound however you like it, but not if you're depending on backline - wholly or partially - to feed the room. That sumptuous bass sound you hear close up to your rig can be woolly/boomy and indistinct at distance. I often find I have to cut lows and boost low mids to get a sound that works in context, even to the extent that the bass sounds a bit honky to me on stage. That's probably one of the many reasons P basses are so popular...

Sound on Sound has reviewed a lot of active PA cabs over the years. If you look up the equipment reviews on their website, there's a lot of useful info. In your position, I'd keep the XR 18. It's a decent unit (especially for the money) and Improving on it significantly is going to eat a fair chunk of your £5k. Unless you need more channels, I'd stick with it. I agree with you that subs are essential if you want a solid kick sound from the PA. The weight saved on passive cabs isn't great, when you factor in carrying power amps and the additional speaker cabling. The average class D module adds a kilo or so of weight to a PA cab, which isn't a lot, so I'd look at active cabs. It's possible to get great sound with compact kit, but you won't do it cheaply (the formula is light, powerful/high quality, cheap - pick two). The best combination of sound and portability I've heard came from a pair of Nexo 10 top boxes plus one of their bandpass subs. It was amazing for its size and super clean and powerful. However, Nexo don't make active cabs so you'd need quality power amps, which would put their stuff well over your budget. The same applies to many of the compact but powerful and high quality rigs from companies such as DB, Fohhn (which I use), etc. RCF have a lot of fans - deservedly - on here for capable, but not crazy expensive PA gear. Ditto Yamaha (which bought out Nexo a few years back, acquired its tech' and incorporated it into their own products). Their DXR PA cabs and DXS subs are very good. QSC, which cost about the same as Yamaha, are also worth a look. A pair of DXR12 or DXR10 top boxes and DXS15 subs would come in at around £3.5k. If you're running subs, it's a waste putting anything larger than 12s on poles above them, when low frequencies are being dealt with by the subs. Quality 10s will be fine in all but the largest venues, which will save a bit of weight and bulk. Spend some of the change from your £5k on some quality mic's. If you're using SM58s or similar, you can do a lot better. It can be difficult to audition/try PA gear, but it's worth doing so if at all possible.

Good advice to ask what the friend himself thinks. We've all been in situations which weren't ideal, but felt, for various reasons, that we should try to make the best of them. It can be difficult to find a band, any band, to play with. Witness the number of posts on here from people struggling to do so. It's not surprising some decide to stick with what they have, even if it's far from perfect. The OP's pal could well be in that position. No matter how good a singer you are, it's difficult to give of your best when surrounded by duffers. He may be looking for an outside perspective, as I suggested. I don't agree with Hellzero (I rarely do). It's all very well patting yourself on the back for your "brutal honesty", but it frequently achieves little.

You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you meet a handsome price. Or even an ugly one. The only answer is perseverance.

This. The response "that’s cool, but we need this sorted and out in the open before I go away, because this isn’t going to hang over my holiday" doesn't exactly come over as understanding or supportive.

Saying nothing in response to his question is an answer in itself. If he insists on a more fulsome reply, I'd look for something positive to start with. It could be that he has doubts himself and is looking for an outside perspective if the band was as bad as you say. You said he can sing really well, so I'd go with something along the lines of "You're not getting the support/back-up from the band that your abilities merit". Then you can go into detail if he asks for it.

Have a few beers beforehand to steady your nerves 😀

Bit of a Spinal Tap Stonehenge moment there, from the look of it. On the original point, speaking to an audience is an art. Not everyone can do it. In my band, we leave it to the singer, who has good presence and can do it. The worst thing in the world is when everyone chimes in (especially with in-jokes, as mentioned above). So the rest of us keep quiet. Keep it simple, short and amusing and move on to the next number is a good rule to follow.

"My sound" is what's appropriate for the song/genre. I play in a function band and we cover a few styles. So the sound (and instrument) I use will vary over the course of a typical gig.

Massive Tool? Great band.

I'd suggest trying the foam under the strings close to the bridge wheeze. It works well for me

Not just bass, sadly. Pushing upper mid frequencies on voices "to make them cut through the mix" and making them sound plastic and harsh, boosting highs on acoustic instruments and drum overheads to the extent that the sound could strip paint, etc, etc. The list is endless.

It isn't as extreme, but point taken. Virtue signalling (the desire to demonstrate to the world that one has the "right" views and mindset) is everywhere.

Good call and provided you can stack them vertically without the risk of them falling on someone, you'll have a driver at or close to ear level, which will enable you to hear what you're doing more easily.

Bill's advice is spot on, as always. I'd suggest using the HPF at 60-80hz on everything in the PA, not just the bass. You won't block all frequencies below that figure, because the roll-off will most likely be at 6, 12 or perhaps 18db per octave. It will make the overall sound a lot cleaner. People tend to over-use PA subs and put too much low frequency energy into a room, which results in mud and boom city and can excite all sorts of nasty resonances in a room that isn't acoustically treated (which applies to most gig venues).

Not possible to say. It will vary from instrument to instrument (even the same make/model). No two are exactly alike. You'll just have to experiment to see what works for your instrument and gear. I would say there is unlikely to be a specific frequency, but a spread of them. The way they interact is important.

She's extremely good, but there are plenty of red hot young players around.

That's probably why they've lasted. In virtually any workplace, people wouldn't expect to be best buddies (or sworn enemies). As long as you can get along with colleagues/co-workers, that's fine. You make the odd friend through work, but it's not the norm in my experience. Yet music seems to be different for many. Is it because we are trying to recapture the lost halogen days of our yoof, when our first band was a band of brothers, us against the world, etc? And as for relationships within bands, just don't go there. Guaranteed to be a disaster.

Roqsolid aren't the cheapest, but they do make everything in the UK. They don't sell stuff made by people earning a bag of gravel a week in third world factories.

What we call "culture" - any culture - is a snapshot in time. It didn't start out the way it is now and it will continue to evolve and develop in the future. All art and music borrows/steals from and builds on what went before. That borrowing/building process crosses all boundaries - national, geographical, racial and so on. Once a style of music or art is out in the world, nobody can claim to "own" it (I appreciate there is such a thing as copyright, but that's to do with the melody, structure, etc of a piece, not its origins). So as long as you play a piece of music sincerely (you don't take the p out of it, obvs) and to the best of your ability, I don't see an issue.