Apex

OK. One Compact well and truly gigged. With all the caveats from my post above, I can honestly say it made a big difference to our sound and our working ability on stage. After the first set drummer and lead guitar both commented on how much easier it was to hear the bass, and our sound man was equally enthusiastic. A general recording made from the back of the hall picks up the bass nicely - not dominating the band, but solidly underpinning the music. Changes in tone to match the genre were also audible. Better treble than my existing set up but if there is any tonal weakness I'd say it was towards the top end of the g-string. Of course, that could be the amp, pups or player instead of the cab. Be interested to read what others think. My lead guitarist son (who, with the deafness of youth still hasn't understood how I came by the cab in the first place) met me off stage with 'Dad, you gotta keep that cab!" Gunsfreddy from Cheltenham is next on the list, but is away this week. If it's ok with Alex, if anyone else from the Bristol area wants to try this for a few days before he gets back I'm happy to keep it moving.

Getting a good, balanced FOH sound using just on-stage amps is difficult and seems to require considerable experience and discipline from the whole band. We have neither! On top of that the ability to hear one another across the stage can be difficult to achieve without monitors, and that requires some PA routing (or possibly a very comprehensive back line?!). You say you don't have a PA yet. Venue kit will be very varied and you may have to use it from time to time, but a note of caution of you are getting your own (which I would recommend if you can). We bought a second-hand Behringer desk off fleabay. Comprehensive, but with everything but the drums going through it we had a serious problem with stability. everything set up and balanced nicely, next thing a mic or the keyboard has dropped out. We didn't know whether this was a fault in the desk or some other problem, and everyone would tell us different things - PA for mics only - don't use it for the bass - use it for everything... In the end we sought advice from Behringer (who were very helpful) and in consequence bought an extra power amp. Problem solved, sound balance good, monitoring good, happy band and happy sound man!

I'll be there - it's already in the social diary! Even if I'm not in the Bristol Convoy! Not sure if I have anything worth bringing though! I'm gonna be in receive mode more than transmit!

[quote name='phsycoandy' post='601769' date='Sep 17 2009, 10:05 PM']Thats a great report when is it any where near Suffolk?[/quote] On a galactic scale its right handy. On the other hand, without the warp factor E Bristol is nearly as far as you can get due west of Suffolk without getting wet feet.

I guess before I pass any comment on the Compact I'd better declare my inexperience - which is considerable! I've been playing bass in an 'occasional' 6pc covers band for about two years. I fairly recently upgraded to an Ashdown Mag 300 with an Ashdown 115 'Deep'. I play a 5er and was taken in the shop with the bottom string response hence choosing the 115 over a 210. I could get a nice tone in the front room, but it seemed to keep getting lost against the drums and keyboard in a gig. The 115 is also too heavy for my aging back! So some kind, irritating and totally unthinking person offered me the Compact. You b****! So, my thoughts so far for what they are worth... after a practice session last night. Stunningly light. I know they are supposed to be but our lead gutarist (ex-bass player) nearly went over backwards when he picked it up! Finnish / appearance? Neat but uninspiring. Quite 'stealth'. The textured finish doesn't impress, but doesn't detract either, and it is practical. Tone? In the front room I was disappointed. Sounded rather harsh compared to the Ashdown when run flat. Usefulness? Cut through the band like a knife, and at half the volume setting I used previously!!!!!!!! Strolled in, set up and blew them away before I turned it down! Gigging on Saturday. Will post a further comment after that. I can hardly wait! Alex I am seriously grateful for the opportunity!

Surely.. .....a Depth of bassists!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='594762' date='Sep 10 2009, 02:24 PM']So where are the two and how much noise are they making at the moment? Alex[/quote] Alex, sk8 dropped off the 'southern' Compact this evening. I was instantly impressed just by the way he lifted it out of the boot of his car! I have a rehearsal on Wednesday and a gig on Saturday, so I'm really hoping to give it some testing use this week. I know it won't be driven as hard as it could/should be (only running a Mag300) but even so it should be an interesting comparison! (As silence descends in the room next door...) at last! Daughter's piano practice is done. Now it's my turn... :brow: It should be making quite a lot of noise this post + 30 seconds.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='594231' date='Sep 9 2009, 07:44 PM']I've got small hands & prefer 5ers. It took me a while to realise I needed a **narrower** fretboard, not a shorter scale. Try a bass with a proper 'J' sized neck. I have a Hohner B bass 5 which has a narrow neck for a 5 & also a Peavey Cirrus BXP which, while not as narrow as the B is still pretty good for me. G.[/quote] +1 on the 5-string. With short fingers I started on a standard cheap 4-string and realised that playing across the strings was a great deal easier for me than up and down the neck. When I got the chance to upgrade I had the funds for a reasonably nice 5er, then settled for a less expensive Peavey Millennium 5 - a cheaper version of the Cirrus - simply because the neck felt right. There's no substitute for trying the out! Switching to a 5 was no problem and has given me a lot more versatility. Still got short fingers though!

I arrived at the bass rather late in my musical lifetime. I played guitar (electric and folk accoustic (fingerpicking, of course!) through my teens and twenties. I also sang bass in all sorts of choirs and musicals. Then someone wanted to form a scratch band for a works do, which a few of us did, but realised we had several poor lead singers and 3 guitars!. Managed that first gig with bass from the keyboard! We were pretty rubbish but it was fun and we decided to carry on - providing we could get a workable line-up. I had a cheap Stagg bass at home which the kids 'played' so working on the basis that I played guitar and sang bass I volunteered to learn. How difficult can it be, I thought... Now I know! And I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Really like to try one of these when it comes to Bristol. As I'm Bath side I could easily meet up with Gunsfreddy2003 from Cheltenham somewhere and avoid another courier! Got a suitable gig Sept 19th... (oooh that [u]would[/u] be fun!) Route 2: bassbod bristol mr foxen bristol sk8 bristol Apex bristol gunsfreddy2003 cheltenham phil the bassist newbury barelyl4 salisbury voxpop reading sibob high wycombe alien milton keynes bananaman leamington spa giblett123 birmingham adee corby redroque norwich physcoandy ipswich pete young ipswich crez5150 wickford dannybuoy london/surrey bythesea shoreham

At a recent gig

Being fairly new to this I'm a) not sure what a bass bash is but keen to support it anyway!! Looks like a coach from Bristol then!

I've seen far, far worse but the lighting does give the photoshopping away even without some of the quality issues that have been mentioned. BUT - and its quite a big But - posed shots like these have a place in any band's portfolio because it identifies you as individuals. No good on their own, but as part of a publicity layout along with some good live shots of you performing and they would earn their keep.

This probably amounts to a shameless plug , but my son also does a fair bit of band photography. He's currently touring in France with the Bristol band The Hats. A link to his website is below. I'm not really suggesting he is the man you need for this but I'd be interested in your views of his work.

Thanks for the advice guys. I notice no one seems to think that an ME is a good idea live! Chris-b you ask a fair question. In my head I don't [u]think[/u] I'm trying to be Pino (as if ) or any one of a dozen professional players who will always be way beyond my standard, but I [u]do[/u] think that I'm trying to put the song across to the audience with an overall sound that they will recognise. Even that's probably a stupid sort of nirvana - we certainly ain't a trubute band! - but it's something to aim for! So you're probably also right in that the pedals are for me. Thanks for that particular insight - it really does make things easier lemmywinks - I hadn't really looked at the Sansamp, but it looks like a good halfway house and robust and simple to use once on stage. Might pursue that (for my benefit, of course!).

Playing in a covers band I have generally tried to reproduce the sound of the original track rather than develop anything of my own. I started with cheap chorus and OD pedals, which I don't use much but consider essential for the tracks I do use them on. Now I find that I want different OD settings for songs in the same set, and fiddling around with knobs between tracks in a live performance doesn't appeal! Looking on here for advice I was surprised to find several postings suggesting that if you were in a covers band you didn't need any effects - to me it seems to be the other way round, unless you're representing the song wholly in your own (new) way. Experience of live guitar work led me to go for singles rather than a multi because there were always too many buttons and knobs to remember to tweak to change settings (even if stored in a patch list!). So please can anyone recommend an ME processor that is live-play friendly? or should I just bin the idea of effects altogether?

Sounds like a really good line to take. Spending a fair bit of time in the biking forums, I have seen good sites destroyed by a few disruptive individuals but also one particular case of too small an 'in crowd' taking offence at some critical comment and ending up censoring everything. A group of Global Mods should prevent either extreme.

Some real good lines here, but I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the classic Son of a Preacher Man (or SOAPM, as it turns up in our setlists!), where the bass has loads of space and makes the song, or Greenday's Holiday.

Thanks for the input everyone. Glad that it's not just me finding it a waste of a good knob! As I'm due to get an absolutely factory fresh one shortly (as fresh as anything that's come from China without being deep frozen, that is!) I'll be able to see for myself if s-harmonic uselessness is a design trait! I'm depressingly sure you're all right. Glad it wasn't the one feature that sold the amp to me!!!

[quote name='josh3184' post='396415' date='Jan 31 2009, 08:37 PM']yeah, tbh if you want that sort of effect, get a pedal for it, its a gimic at best imo, I know that I found it tough to think of a useable situation for it. Saying that, I had a Mag300 for a while and its a pretty decent amp, so good buy methinks[/quote] You're right, and it wasn't the reason I went for it. I liked the tone and the flexibility of both being able to drop the eq out quickly and also the couple of Bright and Deep eq settings. which give me a reasonable set of quick changes of tone when doing covers. A footswitch would be even better but the budget didn't get me into the ABM range new, and - with the comments on here about Ashdown reliability I wasn't too keen on 2ndhand.

Finally taken the plunge and bought a new Mag 300 head. Picked it up from Reverb in Bristol this morning. (They were prepared to match the best web price, but I was presented with a non-packaged amp with used power lead and no documentation. Although they denied it was an ex-display item they have ordered me a new one which I can pick up (again!) [i]next [/i]week. I have the use of the original one until it comes.) Back on topic - I don't have much experience of the sub-h generator, but is it normal for it 'kick in' quite audibly about half a second after the note sounds? I did try it out on the demo in the shop last week and don't recall hearing this, but then a shop environment with some guy 20feet away shredding the guts out of a guitar doesn't really help in the subtlety department! Do I need to point out to Reverb that its faulty, or is this how it is supposed to work? Perhaps I haven't got it set up correctly.

Started off on the (right-handed) drummer's right for absolutely no good reason at all. After a while I read something on a website somewhere and made myself thoroughly unpopular by moving to the hi-hat side and disrupting the entire band other than the drummer. We were instantly tighter! Never moved since.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='389281' date='Jan 23 2009, 09:08 AM']A separate head and cab is definitely the way to go if you have back trouble. Note that the difference in output between a 50W combo and a 100W one is likely to be little more than 3dB which isn't much. If you can get up to 200W+ into a more sensitive cab you'll be looking at 6dB+, maybe as much as 10dB or more if the cab is efficient. 10dB equates to a doubling of perceived loudness and in the lower frequencies it sounds like an even larger increase. Lightweight cabs are a specialty of mine but if you're on a tighter budget than the Hartke TPs are worth a look. If you can pick up a low powered amp dead cheap then one of my cabs will go as loud as a similar Hartke would when pushed by a more powerful (and thus expensive head) yet it would leave the option of upgrading to a more powerful head in the future and getting yet more output (whilst the TP cabs will max out at a much lower SPL). On the heads front the Harke LH500 is proving a popular choice (see 500W with valve preamp thread). Alex[/quote] Alex, Many thanks for the advice. I have already read about your cabs elsewhere on the site, and from what people are saying you seem to have hit on the holy grail of cabs! Beyond by present budget, but should that amp come my way then you may be the first to know!