zbd1960

I play in several orchestras and groups (typically between 30 and 70 players). It never ceases to amaze me how 'unrealistic' people are who book you for a concert/gig. I've learnt that if I'm involved with the organisation of the event to have a thorough 'reality check' discussion with the organisers

My worst back incident ws when 22 - adjusting the tuning of the car radio... I could hardly move and was laid up for a month

I have an Asus laptop and I sometimes play stuff on it through the main hi-fi (usually for sound files which have been sent through Messenger or similar, or for the odd recording of a concert I've made). Something which makes a definite improvement is to connect the laptop to the pre-amp via an offboard DAC such as the ones sold in Maplin for about £30.

Being new to all things bass... I have already seen that here is a huge choice of effects available with prices from not too bad to ouch. I'm a fan of Zoom anyway as I have an H2N recorder (which I've used to record at a couple of concerts I was playing in). The B3 keeps popping up when I go trawling round the web. This is looking like a good way of acquiring adecent amount of capability without going mad... I am definitely twitching...

The past is indeed another country... The clichés abound, "one man's meat is another man's poison" and so forth. I was born in 1960. A bit of a heretic to some since during my teens I loathed the fashions/clothes/music of the 70s... Not everything was bad and not everything was good either, just the same as now in that regard. Bad things included people smoking everywhere (I'm allergic to it). Things like cars were very unreliable and fell apart after about 5 years. Less technology meant that people actually talked to each other... Technology has moved on tremendously, for better and worse. Some things have gone backwards though, such as social responsibility of both people and businesses

An osteopath I knew used to say that the root of back problems generally is that the human muscuko-skeletal system is not really designed for walking upright - it's evolved from being quadrupeds and it's still not the finished product. Whilst weight, muscle tone etc can be factors, they guarantee nothing. Fundamentally we do things (e.g. sit in chairs, use computers, play basses) which we were not specifically 'designed' to do. Most of us have bad posture habits and other behaviours which are less than ideal when it comes to protecting our backs. My back first went out at the age of 22. At that time, I was fairly fit and weighed 10st. Unlike then, I am now careful about what and how I lift things and some things I will not even attempt. I have had far fewer problems in the last 10 years or so (I'm now mid 50s). A work colleague in his mid 30s had always 'laughed' at others' back problems. He's a fit guy, running half marathons etc. Suddenly 2 months ago his back 'went'. He said afterwards that he never understood why people went on about backs and he thought people were making it up and just 'slacking'. Cue excruciating pain and being unable to move for several days: he now has a different perspective. If you've never suffered, be grateful, and sympathetic to those that do suffer.

Backs are tricky things. Some people are fortunate and seem completely immune, no matter how daft the things they do are, and never have so much as a twinge, let alone full-blown muscle spasm and lock-up. Other people only need to glannce sideways to have things go completely to pot. What happens to many people is that some minor act puts a couple fo vertebrae in the lower back very slightly out of alignment. This causes pressure on a nerve, which sends stabbing searing pain through your body. To protect itself, the muscles around the affected vertebrae lock-up to immobilise the affected area, This results in you becoming anywhere between 'stiff' and utterly incapable of moving without a great deal of pain. The medical profession is generally not very good with backs. If you're lucky it will ease off itself, you may need some heat, manipulation, massage etc to help relax things and to get them back where they belong. I put up with regular seizures during my 20s and into my 30s and eventually got fed-up with pain killers and 'bed rest' and so I paid to see an osteopath: best decision I ever made. It now rarely goes out badly and if it does cause trouble, a couple fo treatments usually sorts it out. Of course, none of this may work for you. So long way of saying: carrying and moving anything which is awkward - does not need ot be heavy - is a risk with backs and you can't say just because it's not a major part of what you do that it is not a risk, it is.

As someone relatively new to a lot of this, I have noticed when I've heard pub bands that the concept that the singer and the band should be in tune with each other seems ot have missed some of them completely...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1463303641' post='3050236'] Not our finest moment, but at least we didn't think it was a good idea to appear in public with our trousers down around our arses. Ha! Ha! [/quote] True

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1463301011' post='3050199'] Almost everthing. Kipper ties, huge collars, and flares just didn`t quite make it. [/quote] I was a teen in the 70s and I loathed the so-called fashion of the day. I agree with the realtive wealth comment - I left school with A levels and got a reasonable job, which then led to better opportunities. I think there is some truth in the aging aspect - more of us who are older are invovled in stuff than was probably the case 40 years ago

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1463296288' post='3050162'] Is that because it is what is expected and looks right? [/quote] I suspect so...

Several reasons. A very significant number of people do suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lives. Youngsters tend to think they're indestructible. I smiled when a 28 yer-old colleague said "But I'm too young to have back problems" - mine went out for the first time when I was 22. Second audio technology has moved a long way in 40 years: magnet technology using rare earth magents in particular. Computer aided speaker cabinet design, new stiff, realtively light materials for cabs, microchip and digital technology... all means less mass EDIT: remove silly typos...

Shudder - I haven't watched it since I was about 14 back in the 70s and I have no plan to resume anytime soon

*cough* I was involved with the Sheridan Smith 'Cilla' in a minor way and I was impressed with her singing

With musical instruments it's generally a good idea to buy the best you can afford (and it doesn't matter if it's a piano or a bassoon). The action, set-up and playability of a better instrument are worth having as you are much more likely to stay with it if basic ergonomics and mechanicals of the instrument are not an issue. Bassists are relatively fortunate in that 'pro' level instruments are relatively inexpensive compared to others (e.g. even a 'student' level bassoon is about £8,000)

Had a trial lesson with a guy over in Wrexham - that's only about 14 miles from here, so pretty local really. The guy has a full-blown recording studio as well... Lots and lots of toys... this could be very bad for my wallet. He like smy bass which is good news...

One but I've only been at it a short time - I can feel the twitching...

Sounds to me like there is lack of clarity in the Ts&Cs... Can't tell from here what the scenario is: was set-up/take down fully included? Or, is the fee set at a level with an expectation of some set-up/take down support? From my limited experience, decent sound guys are not two a penny. If you think you are being taken advantage of (i.e. the implicit assumption is he's making more money by not having to pay a helper) then your only solution is to obtain quotes from other providers and be very clear about what you expect. Alternatively, he is reasonably priced with an expectation of some support in setting-up/taking down. A sound engineer is having to either buy or hire equipment, have transport, carry insurance etc so a decent job will not be cut-price.

People can be triggered differently - itis improtant to take notice as it can get worse. Some people are tirggeredby volume, for some people it's to down to the frequency, fo rtohers it is to do with 'attack', e.g. high frequency transients. If you can't isolate the trigger, your best optin is probaly ear plugs reagrdless... TBH your best bet is to seek a consultation with an audiologist and get checked out. I've recently bought some musicians ear plugs due to sitting in front of drum kit and trombones. I measured 95 dBA at my music stand a couple of weeks ago. Bear in mind that bar staff are not meant to be exposed to more than 85 dB. If you want to check how 'loud' you are get an app for your phone and measure it.

I went to the Birmingham outlet. They were helpful.

I'm a fan of Herculaes stands, I have a number of different ones for different applications. Generally they are very well engineered, e.g. their orchestra[url="http://www.herculesstands.co.uk/p/quik-n-ez-grip-orchestra-stand-with-foldable-desk?pp=24"] music stand[/url] is well engineered, albeit on the heavy side - but that's why I got it. I do think though that the bass stand is not as well thought out as some of the other stands I've used.

It's a common issue with people learning any instrument (or singing) to not 'play out' (or sing out). It was interesting to hear my teacher say when having lessons on another instrument that he liked that I wasn't afraid to make some noise. He was saying that a common problem he experiences is people just not playing out and making a decent full sound. He thought it was related to people not wanting to be heard making mistakes. The poiint about style is valid too

Being new to anything to do with anything guitar shaped, yesterday was a good day and I'd recommend similar events to anyone thinking about going to one. It's good to meet real people and chat to them, to be made to feel utterly inadequate by the makers I'm seriously impressed by the stuff you guys make and it has resurrected thoughts about what I could do when I retire in a year or two's time... It's also a good chance to see various bits of kit... I really liked that rig in the corner with the two TC 1x12 (I'm guessing RS112?) plus the Markbass head (? I think)... Now all I need to do is find some events a bit nearer to home such as Shrewsbury/Chester/Liverpool or Birmingham...

Some pics https://www.dropbox.com/s/kh5nkmpforu6dsp/Mid%20bash%202.JPG?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/zmw56k8rxoflnv5/Mid%20bash%204.JPG?dl=0

It certainly was an interesting sight