kwmlondon

I guess that’s why some have security on the door now.

Look forward to seeing whatever you go with!

There's a very exciting Netflix drama in this!!!!

Something about hitting a bum note...

I used a 6x10 and route master in a pirate. Was fabulous! I get why they’ve gone to 500w rumbles though if that’s what bands are doing. I guess they aren’t using hearing protection either… that’s a recipe for serious hearing loss. Sad.

I have had a few really frustrating experiences with pirate, I can’t deny. But the last 4 or 5 have been fine so I’ll keep with them for the time being. If they get go downhill I’ll look elsewhere. Also, me and my band mates almost always use public transport to get to practicing which has a big impact in location. Pirate has chosen really convenient locations in London, fair play.

It’s not just the price it’s the booking system. Being able to see availability for different locations and times is critical when I’m coordinating a practise. I don’t have time to phone around different rehearsal spaces, then check with band members, then phone around again, then message on Whasapp… pirate has invested in a really good booking system and with a large range of locations and rooms it’s meant I can live a life, work a full time job AND organise band rehearsals.

I can only speak for the ones in London and they work out to be a lot cheaper than other options and their booking system is really easy.

To be fair to Pirate, they are always quick to refund. If the room's not up to standard e.g. one of the channels on the mixer isn't working they'll give you 20% off and if something happens that means that you can't use the room - no power for example - and they can't shift you to another one you get a refund right away. What's frustrating is that it can take a lot of effort to organise a rehearsal and a few of you have traipsed to the venue so the money isn't the issue. But then, that's why they are cheaper than places that have someone on reception and a tech setting up the rooms and charge extra for backline. As much as I love DMC in Deptford they're often booked out and they are pricier than Pirate.

I'm always polite to AI because I'm worried that one day they'll be in charge and may remember who said "thank you Alexa" and "please Siri can you set an alarm. etc" Seriosly though it's really not great for Pirate to do this and they need to work on the balance between keeping the business lean and using as few paid staff as possible, and ensuring that the users and staff are safe at all times. I use a few of their studios around London and I've had mixed experiences, though on the whole they've been good. If there's a problem e.g. kit not working or air con not functional then it can be really hard to resolve. On the other hand they've been quick to sort things like dodgy xlr cables or broken drum stool by giving me the code to the storeroom. It can be infuriating trying to sort a problem by whasapp text though. The updside is that they've got a lot of locations with different levels of practise space and it's really easy to book and unbook and... it's cheap. I've also had some piss-poor experiencs in other rehearsal spaces - recently the guy who ran one didn't make eye contact with our drummer or speak to her, he'd only talk to me and the other guy there. She found that creepy as f*cK and I agree.

I see a lot of high-end German motors rocking the primer grey look these days. I can't work out how that marketing worked. May as well bring back British Leyland's mustard yellow and rust brown shades...

Yeah, I like that aesthetic - either low-key and show off the wood or go full on Glam!

Oooh how about that rose pink gold metallic shade. Yummy!!

MusicMan have sine some really fun sparkly metallic finishes. I’m very much a natural finish fan for my own instrument but I am a sucker for metallic paint jobs!

Had a good rehearsal last night. Pirate Studios are pretty good and the air con and back line all worked fine. The Rumble 500 was really sounding great- cheap feeling controls but really serves up the sonic goods! The guitarist and main songwriter tried out a couple of new numbers and one if them defo has potential. I’m not sure about the other, too similar to some of his other ones but good to work on. The Dingwall is just absolutely bloody epic. I’m growing to love it more and more each time I play it. For the first time I’m really starting to explore creative potential of tone shaping on a bass. This Neve unit is so musical- boosting the low end a couple of notches when using the Bridge pickup on its own makes the thing really usable and even whacking the Bass up full is still musical! Bonkers but the other guys LOVED 100% bass! It was hard telling them I’m stepping away when my evening classes start in late September but hopefully we’ll get a couple of gigs in by then. Getting home was a total nightmare. I was planning to get the overground back from Camden but signaling problem s meant I ended up walking all the way home from London Bridge which took an hour. Got in at 1am and had to do a 10k race this morning!!!! very tired now

I honestly put my head in my hands there and told myself off for yet another stupid typo. It's entirely in character for me...

For me, the worst overplayer I went on stage with was a flute player when I was in college and we had an asignment to rehearse and play a gig. We practised all term, had a handful of nice numbers (Watermelon Man and a few other lively jazz tunes). The flue player didn't turn up to the practise sessions, but turned up to the gig and played ALL OVER EVERY PART OF EVERY SONG TWITTERING AWAY LIKE A PARROT ON METH. I could have twatted him with a mic stand.

I am not an Adam Clayton fan. I don't like his basslines. He's a multimillion selling artist in one of the worlds biggest bands and I play the occasional pub gig, but still, I don't think slapp bass would be an improvement.

Sounding GOOOOOD!!!

Thanks! I've done some stuff on theory and had a good go at Mark Smith's TalkingBass scales course and am kind of familiar with chord tones and scales but I'll never refuse an offer of help!

Thanks, I've just signed up! I'm a bit nervous about this - it's way outside my comfort zone but I'm determined to get my head around the more theoretical side of music and hopefully it'll take my reading skills to the next level.

I've been working on my sight-reading for a couple of years now and have been doing daily practice; however, I want to start applying it more and explore music theory further. I've found this course that looks really interesting: https://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/pentatonics-and-beyond-improvising-in-popular-music I'm going to push the button but wondered if anyone had any experience of this kind of thing?