MartyBRebelMC

All seems rather good really...

I noticed a few comments about music stands with crib sheets etc. Cant see the problem myself - we use them in our band but our singer can still strut her stuff and interact with the audience no problem - I think it's sometimes unreasonable to expect the singer to know the words to 40 or 50 songs from memory, I remember a friend of mine having to give up singing in a band because it was deemed unprofessional to have crib sheets on stage and yes it is if you are professionals but if like most of the covers bands out there it's a hobby and you have very demanding day jobs/families it isn't always possible and doesn't have to impair the performance.

If he just had two more strings and tuned it up an octave he wouldn't have to play round the 12th fret all the time.....oh hang that's a guitar isn't it!

Sorry couldn't resist - it is very impressive stuff.

pics posted

Previously this was up for trade with just the combo - now looking to sell the complete rig:

[quote name='bassbluestew' post='1193687' date='Apr 9 2011, 12:13 PM']I did of course mean the Little Mark Tube 800, when you bring in the valve mix it just completely changed the whole characteristic of the the sound. I thought it sounded ok, then I found the valve mix knob and oh my goodness. Very nice.
S[/quote]

Definitely one I think I'll be looking at if there's one in stock when go to try some amps.

Just listening to the songs here at work on Friday afternoon....chillin' nicely

Thanks for posting them, really enjoyed the performance.

Martin

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1193049' date='Apr 8 2011, 04:31 PM']Just looked 3.0, 6.0 and 9.0 Shuttles are exactly the same so even the 3.0 can go to 38Hz, Lets stop the myth [/quote]

Thanks for the info -

I just remembered where I heard it - it was an Ed Friedland review of all things....that'll teach me to watch YouTube reviews!

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1192659' date='Apr 8 2011, 10:21 AM']I've used the TC & Compact for a number of gigs, and it sounded nice. But...

The Compact is a tight, punchy cab, and as you know has no tweeter. The TC is designed to emulate a sealed cab, with a low-pass filter and (IME) a very middy inherent tone.

The Streamliner has a lot more going on in the lows and highs, and I think it would be a better match for the Compact.[/quote]


Thanks very useful -

Also I heard somewhere that the low pass filter on the Genz shuttle 9 is set to allow lower frequencies than the 3 or 6 variants - which (cab permitting) can give a weightier sound.. not sure how much effect that would have in the real world... I wonder if this is the case whether the Streamliners are similarly tweaked.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1192532' date='Apr 8 2011, 07:22 AM']I have a feeling the Streamliner (or Shuttle) would be a better match for the Compact than an RH450.[/quote]

Interesting...what makes you say that?

[quote name='voxpop' post='1192134' date='Apr 7 2011, 07:07 PM']I am very happy to recommend the SWR headlite. 400watts of tight , slightly mid scooped sound with a valve pre.

I like it very much........ Nice.[/quote]


SWR wasn't even on my radar 'till now - thanks for that and I see Bassdirect stock them as well.

Absolutely - The plan is to make an appointment with Mark at BassDirect when the cab comes and try a few things out.

My natural inclination is towards Markbass as I have been so pleased with the faultless performance of the LM11 in the combo so a LM800 would be a logical choice. The Genz shuttle 9 was suggested by Alex at Barefaced so that has to be a contentder... not thought about TC Electronic but i like the look of them.

I've been using a Markbass 121p with 121NY cab to form a 500w mini rig which has served me very well but i'm going to try a bit of a change. I have ordered a Barefaced compact and am hoping to achieve a one cab solution - yes I'm down-sizing from an already small rig!

I could do with some opinions on amps capable of around 400-500w into 8ohms to drive the compact. It will need to be small - no doubt a class D amp - any suggestions or experience (good or bad) with suitable amps?

Martin

I use Markbass 121p with 121NY cab - plenty loud enough for pubs, medium sized venues. We are a loud covers band (with sound issues we have now hopefully solved - guitarist eh? gotta love 'em) but the Bass sound was never an issue. The markbass stuff kicks out a shed load of mid range so theres never an issue with being heard - not sure how effective it is at making the earth shake compared to a larger rig but it's very light and has a small footprint. Also the vertical stacking arrangement of 2 12" is a plus for hearing yourself.

Martin

Just a quick update and thanks for all the coments.

Having now done a gig and a get together in a rehearsal studio we have, i think, cracked it!

By going through the sound check process sequentially it immediately revealed the culprit as too much mid dialled in on the Marshall - this and a change to 2X12 from 4X12 has vastly improved matters and we have a happy guitarist as well who can now hear himself in the mix.

I think the problem is often just not having time to sort these things out as well as not always knowing there's a problem until it is pointed out - as the sound on stage often bares no relation to that out front.

Thanks again for all the useful advice.

Martin

Damn! - just what i'll be looking for in about a months time...if it's still here (which I very much doubt) I'll be in touch.

Martin

[quote name='PURPOLARIS' post='1183234' date='Mar 31 2011, 12:45 PM']Do you have a price in mind, I might be interested.[/quote]


For a straight sale they seem to go for around £550 -

Previously this was up for trade with just the combo - now looking to sell the complete rig:

I have decided to go down the separate Amp head/cab route rather than use a combo and cab and I fancy a bit of a change with an incoming Barefaced Compact on order - hence putting this up for sale.

It's a MarkBass 121P (V1) combo - great little amp you can carry with one hand (comes with padded Silverstone cover with side pocket). I have always used it with a matching MarkBass NY121 cab so it's never been pushed very hard as this gave it massive headroom even playing larger venues.

+ Markbass NY121 Cab 1x12 cab exactly matching the combo - this in conjunction with the combo forms a 500W mini rig.

I'm looking for £750 for both (must be bought as a pair) - must be collected i'm afraid (or I can deliver within reason for fuel money).

Cheers

Martin

[attachment=78009:P1020238.jpg]
[attachment=78008:P1020236.jpg]
[attachment=78007:P1020234.jpg]

I this still available.....i need to have a chat with the wife if it is.

[quote name='Tengu' post='1171147' date='Mar 21 2011, 07:26 PM']Whereabouts in Hampshire are you, Marty?

If you are close enough to me I would be happy to come along to a gig and take a listen for you. I have always run the sound in the bands I have been in and get compliments about the quality from all and sundry.[/quote]


I'm near Basingstoke but the band are based in Reading and we tend to play around the Reading area which would be a bit of a trek, but many thanks for the offer and if we get any gigs your way I'll give you a shout if I may.

I'm going to try a few of the tips and methods mentioned in the posts and will report back after the next gig - a week Saturday.

Cheers

Martin

[quote name='51m0n' post='1170832' date='Mar 21 2011, 04:22 PM']Guitarists generally and genuinely believe that guitar sounds best when everything is dimed.

Whilst a noble thought it is utter tosh.

Fletcher Munsen curves dicatate that as the volume gets greater the sound that was super in the doudouir is way too bassy and trebly at the gig.

A half stack is total overkill for a pub gig, even a 212 is a lot more than really required, and will suffer from beaming and phase cancellation.

First thing is to see if you cant tune the drums better. Really, if you tune them really well they will be immensely loud in a small space, but thats fine, I've never heard a band in a pub with unmiced drums that really were too loud. Honestly. The rest of the band do need to work as a team to not degenerate into a volume war though.

You will be causing the same issues with your eq too.

Flatten your eq completely.

Get the drums going and turn up the bass to war volume to match. Check you can actually hear the kick drum against you out in the room - now go and turn down until you can. Thats right, you were almost certainly too loud for the kick.

Now tweak the eq (tweak is the operative word) to go in the direction of 'your' sound.

Bring up the rhythm guitar rig (flat eq!), dont let them touch their eq, you do it, you want lower mids not treble and bass, a hint of treble presence will do, and some low mid (for guitar) for body. Remember you need a whole for the lead guitar, carve it out of the rhythm guitar. It need not sound like anything but awful on its own, it isnt going to be heard on its own after all.

Bring up the lead guitar, this needs to be treated carefully to slot into the space you cut out of the rhythm guitar, and again not get into your area, a bit more treble, and a bit of bass can be a good thing, but not enough bass to hurt your sound. The lead gutarist also needs to understand that if they are working as a second rhythm guitar under the vocals they need to lose some presence AND some volume.

Check you can really hear the snare, the rhythm and the lead and the bass as seperate entities, if the guitars both chug a rhythm on an E chord you should clearly hear the snare and the kick, if you join in then you should still hear the kick and snare. People always bang on about how loud they need to be because of the drummer, but in my experience, even a loud rock drummer doesnt compete with a modern bass rig without being mic'ed too. They never really competed with a half stack at all. In other words you arent competing with him, you are probably drowning him out. This isn't obvious at all in a small rehearsal room, but put the kit in a bigger pub venue and its easy to completely swamp the kick with bass or guitar.

Now properly eq'ed a vocal should slide right over the top of all of this, and with a decent graphic on a feed t oa decent monitor you should be able to avoid any feedback.[/quote]


Many thanks for this - as always basschat comes up trumps when you need some help!!

This is very useful stuff, many thanks for all the comments.

I'm going to print this off and make some notes for the next gig. Hopefully I can get us sounding better - it's such a shame when good musicianship (myself excepted) is ruined by poor sound so i will persevere with this!

Just to mention about my own sound - I use the amp with a flat EQ and use the bass's preamp to shape the sound after that. I use a wireless system so i can go out front and hear what's going on. I find I generally only tweak the settings a bit according to the venue (usually pushing the mids)

thanks for the advice guys,

Firstly - yes we are too loud mainly due to the drums

The vocals and drums are usually the only things that are defined, I feel the bass and guitars are the real problem, but not sure how to resolve this, I agree logic suggests an ascending hierarchy of frequency from bass to lead and will push to try this out at the next gig. I should mention our rhythm guitarist uses a Marshall half stack (when I rule the world all Marshall 4X12s will be burnt!!!!) so controlling the amount of bass from that is difficult, but will again try hard to get him to roll off the bass.

Does anyone have a good idea of how to get a good balance of sound in a pub?

we have 2 guitars, female vocals, drums and bass.

It's the old problem everything sounds fine on its own but when it comes together it's a cluttered noise. My guess is the guitars are kicking out too much mid low and clagging up the sound but before i annoy the guitarists by telling them how to eq their amps does anyone have any tips for getting a good mix?

Martin

This is exactly what i use and would say it makes a superb mini rig with a very small footprint, making it ideal for tight spaces i.e. most of the pubs i end up playing!

To anyone out there with a 121P - I would certainly recommend the NY121 cab as it gives you a 500w rig with enough headroom to deal with pretty well any gig where you're just using back-line amplification.


Martin

we do 9 - 12 with a 20 min break, never really thought about it before just seemed to work out that way