teej

Years ago I tested a whole load of mics to find the one I liked best (in my price range), and settled for a Sennheiser e609. I used it now and again for rough and ready recordings but hardly ever live. Engineers have often been impressed with it. Then last year I got myself one of these: http://exploraudio.com/categories/bass-mount-standard-/11/ - it's based on a luthiers clamp (or cramp?), but with an adjustable boom attachment to hold whatever mic you chose and position it wherever you like relative to bridge, f-holes etc. I have used this setup live regularly for several months and like it a lot, but for now have gone back to my Underwood/Plat Pro combination because of the control I get from the preamp, which doesn't have an xlr in for the mic (yes, I know I could get an xlr to jack cable...). My intended solution is a 2-channel Headway preamp so I can use both pick up and mic and blend the two. Might be worth mentioning that I mainly slap, material from the '40s & '50s.

Not much to add really, beyond a big fat vote for Silver Slaps - love 'em!

Another vote here for Underwood and Pro-Plat - the Pro-Plat preamp is the single best bit of kit I've ever bought. I've been using one for about 7 years now, I think, and it just transformed my whole work experience overnight.

Hey Janine and welcome! My sideline band is 'The Ukes of Hazzard' ( [url="http://www.myspace.com/theukesofhazzard"]http://www.myspace.com/theukesofhazzard[/url] ), 3 ukes and me on upright. I've got a Kala U-Bass fretless, which I haven't used at a gig yet, but it is serious fun at home, so I shan't be selling it I'm afraid...

On the whole I agree with Doddy, I frequently enjoy functions more than pub gigs: we get well paid, well treated, and have a great laugh. And we don't play any material we don't like. We only do a handful of pub gigs, and they're more for the fans than for us. I think it's important to remember that there's more than one way to skin a cat, and we're probably not what people think of when the term 'function band' is used. All our work comes to us, from people who see us performing a mix of material from the '30s-'50s - up-tempo blues, rhythm&blues and rockabilly - in some busy town centre on a Saturday (and buy a cd/pick up a business card). That's what they get when they book us. And they book us because that's what they want. The very fact that they've approached us shows that they're not looking for the soul revue/disco or pop/rock covers outfit that most likely forms the general impression of what a function band is. I suspect that may well be one reason why we don't get the kind of nightmare clients that get written about in threads like these. We're busy too, often playing 2 weddings on the same day. All three of us are professionals paying mortgages and supporting families through music, and so far we're busier year on year, so this is an approach that works, at least for us. It's a subject for another thread really, but there are a whole wealth of benefits from the discipline of successful street performance.

Ummm. Esperanza Spalding. Of course...

There's Country & there's Country - a couple of my favourite upright players work in the rootsy end of country: Western Swing/Jukejoint Jive - and rockabilly's just round the corner. A couple of posters in this thread have already said it's got to swing, and that's just it in a nutshell. The guys I'm thinking about particularly are Jake Erwin from The Hot Club of Cowtown, and Rik Ramirez, who works with all sorts of people, notably Wayne Hancock (who, I believe coined the phrase 'Jukejoint Jive' to describe what he does). I can't imagine having a much more fun gig than those two. But I guess this may not be what people think of when they talk about Country... ...and probably not much help to the OP. How about this instead, Wayne Hancock, not sure who the bass-player is...

[quote name='bassace' post='1205511' date='Apr 20 2011, 09:02 AM']Dave First of all, the Stentor should be OK as it is an 'unremarkable' bass. By that I don't mean to diss the bass but to point out that it has a neutral, not too bright acoustic. Sorry to spoil your party but the Realist is not a particularly good pickup if you want to crank the volume up. I have no experience of mags but an Underwood or Bassmax should do the job. Then a preamp will help a lot; a Fishman Platinum Pro or just a Fishman Pro which is the one I've used for ten years. The preamp will do a better job of matching the pickup impedance to the amplifier, has a good four-way eq and a phase reversal switch which, on a good day, will go a long way to killing the feeback. Sometimes simply cutting the treble does it. I haven't tried the foam plugs but they seem like a good idea. Good luck, in time you'll get the right gear and experience and will be a DB guru.[/quote] Absolutely, what the man said. I use exactly this, an Underwood through a Platinum Pro, and have not experienced feedback problems since taking that step. They've just disappeared completely to the extent that I'd really forgotten that they were ever an issue.

That looks very much like my B&H Excelsior.

What about this Golden Strad? A bargain, in all likelihood... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=125183&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=125183&hl=[/url]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1133183' date='Feb 19 2011, 11:00 AM']Maybe once a year...........maybe.[/quote] Excellent! I was beginning to think it was just me! Yes, we've had maybe 6 rehearsals in as many years. We do this for a living - no one pays us to rehearse! New material gets worked on in the street, if it makes money it stays, if it doesn't it's ditched. All of our arrangements are organic/improvised, so lots of eye contact during gigs.

Here's Red Jackson in Guildford recently: Gene Vincent's 'Race With the Devil'...

I hardly ever use an amp, and just travel with a Fishman Pro preamp. And a big upright, so not exactly light! Usually that's going into a Yamaha Stagepas500, unless we're doing a gig with provided pa/crew. I'm perfectly happy with that arrangement, in fact I pretty much prefer it to the sound from my amp - a Polytone minibrute.

Thanks Robin, great reply. I think I'll get one and try it with my Sennheiser e609 live and a Rode NT1A for recording, see how I get on. I like the idea of using a kick drum mic, and I could do with one in my equipment, and likewise the 57/58s. Are you in Southampton? I'm just up the road in Winchester.

[quote name='matski' post='1111177' date='Feb 1 2011, 04:00 PM']Anyways, back on topic: So it boils down to this: if you're a pro, you should never say no. If you play music for fun, you can do what you like.[/quote] I think one of the first things you need to learn as a professional is that you can turn down gigs. I mean, if they can't/won't pay what you want, you don't do the gig. If you just play anywhere, anytime for any fee, then you have no bargaining power.

I am a professional bass player and there are people I won't work with - not because of politics exactly - but because I've learned that they can't be trusted. If you work with people even though you know, or even suspect that they are less than stand up guys then you're asking to be screwed, surely? Being professional doesn't mean a lowering of standards, now does it?

My colleague has just acquired a Mike Messer Resonator, and we're looking at doing some real old stuff - a little hard delta, but mostly hokum/ragtime. The resonator will be mic'ed, and I'd like to mic the upright too, so I've been looking at options, gooseneck clip-ons etc. Then I happened upon this H-Clamp, which would allow me to try various mics, and might have an application for recording too. [url="http://www.canford.co.uk/Products/53-5742_EXPLORAUDIO-LIVEBASS-H-CLAMP-LIGHT-Black"]LiveBass H-Clamp[/url] I'd be slapping, and I move around a bit. Anyone had any experience of these? What mics did you use? Cheers...

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1110374' date='Jan 31 2011, 11:07 PM']You should have bought Owen's UBass ... but I got there first! [/quote] Had one for about a year already - fretless - loads of fun, but never gigged... yet

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1109928' date='Jan 31 2011, 07:40 PM']Excellent! I bet your fingers bloody hurt after playing like that in near-freezing temperatures ...[/quote] After 20 plus years? Not at all. Rarely have any problems with my fingers. But my right wrist was starting to feel the strain by the end of the day. And sometimes my left shoulder - I'm starting to wonder if I need a special bass for short-arses - I'm 5'2"

[quote name='TimR' post='1109119' date='Jan 31 2011, 10:06 AM']This was my thought when looking into earthing etc. I bet you don't drive a spike though the pavement and get an electrician to test it.[/quote] Actually, from a street theatre point of view, that could be a really good idea, done in a slapstick manner - would draw a crowd!

A passerby sent us this clip of us he shot yesterday in Guildford...

Pub gigs are always 2x 45s for us. For other gigs I always say that that's our standard show, but we're happy to do whatever. Then give them a higher quote if they want more.

Some food for thought here. I'll read back over it all again, but for now, I'll say I use a generator once a week on average all year round and have done for something like 12 years. I also know plenty of other acts who do this regularly. I guess one major difference is that we're using them in the street with less kit than most bands. Ours is a small Honda, the kind you can pick up with one hand and walk down the road with, powering a Yamaha Stagepas500 (with vocal and double bass into it), and a '70s Roland Cube for the guitar. In fact we don't add any more kit for gigs, but, being street performers we're starting out from a stripped down approach anyway.

[quote name='iMuse' post='911943' date='Aug 1 2010, 03:07 PM']Hey, I have a problem with my bass, I need to buy a wheel for it, and I need to buy it by tonight so that it comes in time for when I go to an string camp. I have found the one I'm going to buy, but the problem is, the spike won't come out. I've got a Stentor, and it's new (I've had it for a few months, I outgrew my old one). The spike -I think- is attached (meant to be attached) to something inside the bass. I really need to get it out, otherwise I won't order the wheel, because it's expensive, and I want to know that the spike will come out. Also, when fiddling around with it, I couldn't afterwards put the key back in place so that it hold the spike in position, so the spike doesn't lock. Please help me, Cheers, Rosy x[/quote] Hi - I had exactly the same problem and posted on here - I'll link the thread if I can figure out how - and I got some great advice from, err, Subaudio, I think. There's a bulbous, or in my case, flattened, end to the spike which prevents it from coming out. You need to extend it as far as you can and then saw it off. Push the part of the spike remaining in the plug back inside the bass body. And then fish it out of the f-hole with a magnet on a piece of string or, better, one of those telescopic magnets that look like a cross between a pen and a radio aerial (any half decent hardware shop or market stall has these pretty cheap). Not sure about your second problem though... OK... here's my earlier thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=29287"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=29287[/url]