Staggering on

34 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Agreed. The rechargeable batteries apparently have an active 'life' of five hours, which should be more than enough to see me through a gig. When I have a gig. If I ever have another gig.

I'll be interested to see exactly how you recharge the units. The photo of the presentation box shows a cable of some sort, so it may well be possible to have the Receiver on charge while you're playing, and then top up the Transmitter in the breaks between sets.

I'll be sure to let you know. 

One of the reasons I went for the Boss is that it is simple to charge. You plug the transmitter into the receiver(both are very small) and use a USB cord to charge both of them...easy, short cord and no extra pieces other than the small cord to haul around. You can use in breaks if you need to as suggested above. 

I use a Boss WL-20 on my DB and EUB(Yamaha SLB 200) and have had no problems. Batteries are built in and not replaceable but it is quick and easy to recharge and will last a long time, I have played four hour gigs with lots of power left. A nice feature is a warning light which tells you when you have about 30 minutes left.

I use it to go into my preamp which is mounted on my mic stand and then use a cable to the amp or directly into the PA. I move around a lot when I play and it is nice not to have a cable attached to the DB.

3 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

Apparently, Canada is 120v (sometimes marked as 110v; it matters not...). No, that amp won't work there, unless you invest in a 'step-up' transformer. That would need to be able to handle the power draw (over 500w, to have some margin...), so would be rather cumbersome. I'd suggest selling the amp and buying another once settled over there. Hope this helps. 

Yup, Canada is definitely 120V.

There is a good review and short video using this mute on an EUB on the Gollihur Music site where the listed price is $50.00 USD. The mute is available in different colours and foam densities, looks interesting and might be good on my Yamaha SLB 200. If I get one I'll post my impressions.

Great gig, I played in a big band and loved it, lucky you.

Pretty much agree with most of the advice given in other posts, it is a common problem in bands like this. I would suggest that you might get a better result if the amp is raised up off the floor on a stand or even a chair or something else to get the sound coming out at the same height as other players in the band, it made a difference for me. 

It also depends on what sort of sound the band leader wants to hear, some want a dull thud and others want to actually hear the note so playing with your EQ as others have suggested is a good idea. Are you using flats on your bass, that's what I was using and getting EQ just right is important.

Good luck, sounds like fun!

I have been retired for a year and a half now and have combination of pensions(private and government) and savings that allow me to live a comfortable but careful life without any debts. I am 74 and have been gigging since I was 16 and am currently in two bands and have played 15 to 30 gigs a year so it is not a big source of money. Like others on here, it costs me money to play in bands due to distance to gigs and weekly rehearsals but I love it.

Right now I am not missing the money but the good times and social interaction with band members and audiences. I am filling the Covid time practicing almost every day and doing a bit of recording just for fun. Since I play DB, guitar, EB and EUB I can vary what I do each day but it is getting very frustrating with gigs being cancelled and no rehearsals although my playing skills are improving. 

It may be a long time before we get anywhere back to normal and at my age, even though I am in reasonable health, I know the clock is ticking.

In many ways I am quite lucky and feel sorry for the full time musicians who are really struggling and are wondering just what will happen in the music world and how long it will be before things get back to anything near "normal". It will be quite a while I'm afraid.

I use D'Addario minis on EUB, DB, Guitar, Banjo and EB. They are small and simple and have long battery life. 

As of the 17th over here most of the province except the big cities in the south are allowed 50 indoor and 100 outdoor for concerts/shows. No dancing and appropriate social distancing must be maintained.

Wind instrument players and vocalists MUST be behind protective plexiglass shields and band members are to keep a reasonable distance away from each other. Both bands I'm in have horn players so it will be interesting to see how rehearsals and possible gigs work out, not sure if outdoor events require the plexiglass, the rules are a bit unclear on that but it may not be necessary.

1 hour ago, razze06 said:

Stagg makes a EUB hard case. My current Aria Eub came with one, and it works just fine. A quick search for Stagg EDB case will bring up soem options

I ordered one of those when I owned a Stagg EUB and was very disappointed with it, poorly made and not very robust. It was better than the soft case but I had to be almost as careful with it as I was with the soft case. I don't think the NS would fit in it. 

I just checked the Gollihur Music site and they sell a hard case as well as a replacement soft case and also a flight case for NS instruments. They are in the USA but ship world wide and provide excellent service, I have bought several items from them and had no problems with shipping across the border to me in Canada. They will answer emails promptly and figure out costs for shipping. I have no connection with them other than as a customer and as such recommend them. 

I saw him in Toronto in the very early  '70's and even though I was into folk music at the time I always had a soft spot for the big band/orchestra sound. I think I went to the concert alone because none of my cool friends would go to see him. Of course all his stuff sounds pretty much the same but that was the magic of it, and like it or not the arrangements he wrote were consistently very good  and played by excellent musicians.

Gift certificate for Long and McQuade (music store chain in Canada) from my son. My handy little metronome died a few weeks ago so the timing is perfect...oops, sorry about that, I typed it before I realized where that was going.😊

1 hour ago, Maude said:

Tell him we'll organise a Basschat festival, a weekend of basschatters bands. 

We'll call it 'Chatfest'. 😁

Now that would be a great idea.👍

Very nice! Amazing progress in such a short time, after more than 30 years I still couldn't work up a performance like that.👍

...and you're having FUN!😊

Still playing the 1967 Gibson J50A guitar I bought brand new in 1967 in Toronto. I used it on a gig last year and it has been played a lot over the years. I used it on a return trip to Australia by ship right after I bought it in '67 and countless indoor and outdoor gigs and it has never let me down and still sounds and plays great. One professional set up about 15 years ago.

I always wash my hands before rehearsals and gigs to get them clean after load in and set up. My hands sweat a lot so I wipe down the neck and strings from end to end carefully every time I play, even if only for a few minutes at home. Same routine for EB, EUB, DB, guitar and banjo.

We have a gig booked in August but I can't see that happening. We had a gig booked for last night at a brewery and another one tonight at a banquet, both cancelled of course. In "normal" times I would be loading my gear and getting dressed to go to tonight's gig at this very hour....frustrating. 

1967 Gibson J 50 Adj that I bought new. Played at many gigs and jams over the years and still a joy to play, I can't believe I've had it for 53 years...I'm getting pretty old I guess.😕

I always thought "Hello in there" (released in 1971) was a fine song but over the years my feelings about the song have changed. I was a young guitar player folk music guy when I first heard it and as the song and I get older it touches me in different ways. I'll be 74 in May, and somehow that young guitar player has disappeared and now there is an old guy who might very well be the subject of the song. I still think it is a wonderful song though...

21 minutes ago, neilp said:

That bib is a work of art! Don't let Meghan (my bass) see that.....

Thank you, I'll pass that comment on to the seamstress, she took on the job as an interesting challenge complete with making a pattern and a fabric prototype before actually sewing up the final version. 😊

On 30/03/2020 at 07:47, Reggaebass said:

Back in the day I never had anything to do with abba , but listening now they have some really good well produced tunes 

I downloaded some ABBA bass transcriptions just before this thread started and dug out my electric bass(I usually play DB these days) and have had a ball playing the lines with the CD blasting away. Some interesting and tricky licks and many of them are in keys that challenge my reading skills. Lots of fun and good energy for these difficult times.😊 

I'm up for another trip to England, I guess we have to wait for a while though...😟

Would your 150 year old bass be the one I saw and photographed at the Double Bass Bash near Bicester in April 2018? That day sealed my fate as a bass player and within two months I bought the upright you see in the photo to go along with the Yamaha SLB 200 that I had been using and that is rarely played now that I have a "real" bass. 

1 hour ago, Blartfactor10 said:

Nice, and it will help soak up all that dribbling, Engle?

Yup, it's an Engle and it works for me.😊

I noticed that I was getting a few marks on Marilyn (my blonde beauty) from belts, jean rivets and other bits of clothing so I asked a friend who is a very creative seamstress if she could make a bib for the bass. After some searching on the net we decided that the bib that Christian McBride sometimes uses would be a good one to copy. Mine is made of two layers of black velveteen and was custom made to fit my bass snugly, the two ties hold it securely in place. So far I have been using it daily for a week or so and it hasn't moved or wrinkled at all and it does its job perfectly. I use it at home and band rehearsals  and may use it when we ever get back to playing gigs.☹️

Now if only I could find something that makes my playing sound like Christian McBride...😉

I have had a Fusion case for close to ten years and it is holding up well and is light and easy to carry and pack in a vehicle.