moonbass

Although less common on the Soundcraft devices, I find these sort of problems crop up fairly frequently on the stage box digital mixers. Definitely turn off and on again, but I have had to do a reboot on my Behringer XR18 after a particularly buggy soundcheck. Sounds like software is the likeliest culprit here with the checks you made.

If you're keeping it simple but still want a foot controller, then (and I don't think anyone's mentioned these yet) the pre-made 'party bar' option might give you better value and simplicity. They range from the ridiculous...: https://www.djkit.com/chauvet/chauvet-gig-bar-20.html To the cheap and cheerful: https://www.djkit.com/chauvet/chauvet-4bar-lt-usb.html Not as many options as with 'proper' DMX, but none of the headache (and remember if you buy separates you'll need to buy DMX cables, stands and carry cases which soon rack up the cost.)

Oh, and you're right about DMX addressing; usually the first channels are RGB and then white (but can be amber or uv etc). You have to set each fixture to the number of channels you want (typically even led pars can have a lot more than 3-4 channels: fade, strobe etc). DMX is universally compatible, but controllers are dumb, i.e. they can't tell what fixtures they're plugged in to (which I find ridiculous in this century!) they just send out info on each channel, and you have to set the fixtures correctly for this to be interpreted right. Using computers as controllers helps, as they often have all the different manufacturers settings pre programmed. If you use a basic hardware controller you have to get the numbers right yourself (this is a pain in the...)

You could also look at the ADJ Airstream DMX interface - think of it like a wifi router so that you can control DMX from your phone or iPad. The ADJ app is a bit rubbish to be honest, but apparently a new update makes it compatible with an app called Light Writer which will do automated programmes and sound to light. I've not had a chance to try it yet, but on paper it looks great. For what it's worth the COB Pars I've got are amazing, but only ever get to use them at less than 10% in pubs as they're so bright. Whatever you choose lights work a lot better with a little fog, but not alll venues allow it. I've often wondered about getting a couple of friends to 'vape' furiously during a set though

I'd start with subdividing the beats: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and... this helps with quaver rests. Try playing a single quaver on each possible subdivision of the bar to learn what it 'feels' like - in the end it will be in muscle memory rather than 'counting'. Then subdivide down to seniquavers and do the same. I think I end up counting as 1 uh and uh 2 uh and uh 3 uh etc... (if that makes sense?!)

Are you putting kick drum through them? Might need a sub?

Just thought this was interesting: I put up a YouTube of my band playing a cover (September) and soon after get a message saying that the copyright holders have noticed, and don't want me to take it down, but may in the future monetise it for themselves by putting adverts on it. Not sure if I feel bad for publishing a cover (not monetised though) or used by the copyright holder?! Will they be coming to gigs next with Coke banners?

I use Final Cut Pro which is great if you can afford it. iMovie is fine on Mac if you want something free, or you can get a free trial of Adobe Premier Pro CC for a month if you just have one video to edit.

In the interests of sound comparison here is the direct unprocessed feed from my Rode Stereo Video Mic Pro. I should have fiddled with it in Logic, but was wanting to get it up quickly at the time (and was grumpy because I had tried to mic and multitrack everything and it didn't work!) http://youtu.be/OLo40Nw6mBU

I've posted this on the forum before, but here's a gig I recorded last year with the XR18: https://youtu.be/dN2JFWjn5FU I've never had problems with the USB recording; think I've done up to 14 channels into Logic on a MacBook Pro and can record for hours without issues. As long as the gains are right everything's sweet. I really like the preamp sound; way better than the price would suggest. Would recommend an external hard drive though (I use a Lacie Rugged which works great) I had increasing dropouts with the built in wifi in busy gigs (as far as I can tell due to more mobile phones than anything else) but have started using an external router and no problems since. Once you get used to it, the app is truly remarkable; so many features! There's really nothing I've wanted to do with it that I can't. Even multiband compression on the output mix, which sounds great. There have been a couple of bugs, and I once had to do a hard reset before a gig that was a real pain in the arse, and currently have lost the main output meter display, but not bothering me immensely. I've been close to upgrading to the X32 rack several times, but really not found an excuse to yet!

Any gigs coming up?

Dang! Where are you guys based?

One of the best kick sound I ever heard was with an sm57 on a tipped over floor tom; there are lots of ways to skin this cat! The D112 always seems a bit big to get through a kick port to me, and the unprocessed sound is a bit more flat than the d6 or the shure beta 52a, but it's massively popular; people just get used to using what they use.

(I should caveat the following with the fact I am no expert!) I think it is fairly simple to set a vocal/keys/acoustic guitar mix up that will do for a whole set, and so can be done while also playing an instrument (usually bass as we all know... why do singers never seem to want to do the PA..?) But, adding bass and kick to this adds massively to the complexity. The levels of these vary considerably depending on the material, and throughout a song, so any set level will be a compromise. That being said getting a sound guy is not always possible for most bands, so my thoughts would be: 1) don't underestimate how extreme kick drum eq needs to be. Even with a specific kick mic you're likely going to need to cut a fair amount at around 200-400hz to get rid of boxiness, and boost a lot of high end if you want to hear any click (sometimes best to look at the damping and beater head on the kick drum first) 2) use compression on kick with an attack time that lets the initial transient come through, and if you have a gate with a quick attack that will help too (I don't think the Soundcraft does (?) but the Behringer XR18 is pretty good for this) 3) in most smaller venues where you can hear the bass amp on its own the PA might just be adding some low end around 50-80Hz, with a bit of high end (depending on material). I generally find getting the bass quieter on stage ends up with a better result out front. 4) when everything is set on the channels use the mix bus to shape things overall. A little compression and eq here can make a massive change to the overall punchiness of the mix. Remember to check again when punters are in as the sound will have changed from soundcheck. At this point the Bar Manager usually comes over and tells me to turn it down, so not sure what happens after this

If protecting your fretboard is your only reason for doing it then I wouldn't bother; roundwounds don't cause too much damage, and it's easily repaired after a few years with some light sanding. Epoxy does change the sound giving a brighter attack, but that's not something you necessarily want a lot of on fretless. And I found it very hard to keep the board level with multiple coats.

That sounds about the right ratio to me. I find that in smaller venues a tiny bit of sub goes a long way. As an experiment try setting the tops up with an MP3 playing before eq, and then bring the sub in until you get the sound you're after. The 905 is pretty powerful so you won't need much. Do a gig outside though and it will be a whole different story. The 712 is full range and goes down to 50 Hz, so you might not need subs for most venues; save you back and car space! If you want more punch you might be better off sending the sub on an aux channel that you can eq as you want it, and then set a high pass filter at 80 or 120 on the tops. Then send only bass, keys and kick to the sub. More fiddly but more likely to get the sound you're after.