SumOne

There are some new EHB colours (new to me anyway) https://www.ibanez.com/usa/products/model/ehb/

What you get with the P2 though is touchscreen access to change presets, more effect blocks, and a tuner (that doesn't work on my open E), so to me that seemed to make it a better potential candidate for band practise sessions and possibly gigs - not having to change things via phone.....but yeah, now I'm not convinced it's worth the extra ££, especially as it is lacking the Bass specific stuff (which I assume, or hope, will come in an update). I think I might head back to a trusty Zoom B1- Four for home and band practise, and stick with individual pedals for gigs (until a shiny new multi-fx catches my eye!).

Sort of reluctantly, I'm going to return the P2 to Thomann while I can still get a full refund. It is a good bit of kit, but is quite expensive at £209 and isn't really better than the Nux Mighty Plug (that I already have) for home practise, and although I only have a simple pedal setup for live use it can't replace pedals like the LS-2 for switching between two basses, or a stompable tuner/mute (unless getting the bluetooth footswich - in which case cost and size starts to creep up and then it seems why not get a cheap multi fx with footswitches), so it would be an addition to my pedalboard rather than replacing it. It would be good as a pocket sized all-in-one pedalboard to take to band practise, but something like the Zoom B1 Four can do similar and save about £130 (allbeit a bit bigger, needing batteries/power supply, and no bluetooth to stream music). If I had a lot of spare ££ I'd keep it, but for me it just isn't adding enough to what I already have to justify keeping it. Hopefully updates give it some Bass Amp/Cabs (although I find Amp sims are basically EQ points and a tone/gain levels of drive - so can be done with EQ and Drive effects blocks, and Cabs can be added as IRs), better tuner reading of a open E, some access to the drum loops/metronome directly on the device, and a low battery warning.

A bit different to that though as I'd use IEMs to monitor, I'd either use the FRFR to beef up the PA (which is currently a bit weedy to also do Bass duties), or in place of a traditional backline Cab.

The Specials doing: long shot, liquidator, moonstomp.

Yes, I think that would be good, the current PA doesn't have a sub so that's probably best option for the band. Although potentially I'd like to personally get something like a RCF 932 that I could also use like a Bass cab when I dep for other bands (and I play keys, so it could work for that). As far as I can tell, I think it could possibly work well to cover Bass duities for the band (possibly not as good as a dedicated PA sub, or Bass Amp/Cab, but it'd probably do well enough for our usual pub/small hall type gigs), I'll have to look into the band mixer and outputs but I'm assuming we could keep the rest of the PA as it is, I get rid of my Amp/cab and go direct to the mixer but the Bass output (or a certain cutoff frequency) mostly goes to something like an RCF 932 that acts like a Bass Cab (but out front as part of the PA), then everyone has IEMs from the mixer so no need for any stage monitors. .........I'm not sure though, that sems quite complicated and I do quite like standing in front of a Cab with it flapping my trousers!

Yeah, that is potentially a bit of an issue. Hopefully it'd be fine as the rest of the band hear me and the drums okay without us going throught their IEMs, my fairly loud 212 Cab tends to be behind me and I'm lurking behind them with the drummer at the back. If I had IEMs with the same mix as them it would block out some of what I hear from the Cab, but I'm stood right in front of it so I suppose I'd still hear it well enough. Or I guess like you say - perhaps I could send a DI from my Amp to the mixer to add some Bass just for the IEMs (I'm not sure about the mixer and IEM system, but I think that's possible without the Bass signal also going out through the PA). It all gets a bit technical being a 7 piece and getting the sound right for us and the crowd.

Thanks @warwickhunt and @Greg Edwards69. One slight issue is that the current PA is a bit weedy/overworked to also have the Bass going through it (it's dealing with 3x horns, guitar, vocals, and doesn't have a great Bass response) so that would need some sort of upgrade if I ran the Bass through it and just used IEMs/monitor wedge. I hadn't considered the feedback issue, and I think it would be an issue as we have a lot of mics for vocals and horns so already need to be careful where people are in relation to the PA (partly why they all use IEMs instead of monitor wedges). I think perhaps the simplest and cheapest solution for the time being will be to stick with my Amp/Cab and get some IEMs running from the mixer like most of the rest of the band do. ( I have kind of been looking for an excuse to get a FRFR though!).

Are any of you using a FRFR as your Bass Cab and a mix of the rest of the band's output as a monitor? I'm in a band that mostly uses in-ears and a mixer to PA, apart from me (and the drummer), I use a Amp/Cab and no IEM or monitor speaker. Often I'm stood behind the PA speakers, next to the drummer and in front of my cab - so I can hear Drums and Bass but not everyone else. I'm looking at getting IEMs, or a monitor wedge, but would changing my Amp/Cab for a FRFR work - can they easily be fed a mix of mostly Bass but also some of the rest of the band for a bit of monitoring?

The mistakes I made could've been avoided if I knew all the exact timings of all the songs off by heart (e.g. play from start to finish with a metronome and finish at exactly the same time every time) I always practice at home playing along to the full track on Spotify, or band practice where I can hear everyone though - so I think I've got overly reliant on hearing the song and playing along with it rather than really knowing it/leading regardless of what I can hear from the rest of the band. I'm going to make an effort to practice just to backing drums/metronome but I do think some decent monitoring would've also helped so I'm eyeing up things like the Xvive XU4. Also, it's not very rock n roll but I think I'll take a tablet with some notes for each song (notes as in 'Dm bridge for 12 bars then silent for 4' rather than sheet music), just as a quick memory jogger before the song starts or if I get lost. I gave up on that with paper as it couldn't be read on dark stages and the setlist changes a lot, and notes change, so it was often a confusing, scruffy, unreadable, out of order pile of paper.

A lesson learned: I didn't have a monitor and could only really hear the drums and my Bass (the rest of the band have in ears and PA but I use a cab), it caught me out on a few songs: not hearing vocals and guitar meant I missed the structure for things like when to go into the chorus. I immediately blamed the equipment ('I must get in ears, or a wedge for monitoring'), but really, I should be able to play all the songs to a metronome (let alone drums) so am going to up my practice regime.

My previous band was from start up so we tried to learn 3 new songs a week with a weekly practice session to go through them and most of the rest of the setlist, so it was only a couple of run-throughs of each song before it went on the setlist. That was alright but felt quite high pressure - but got us from zero to a full set of 30 songs in about 3 months. The current band learns one new song a week with a weekly practice to go through that and most of the rest the set. That's much more relaxed but we do already have a full set and gig every couple of weeks. In the deep end though - I've been asked to dep for a gig in a month with about 30 songs on the setlist and only one band practice session a few days before, so I'll soon find out if I can learn about one song a day (on top of stuff from the other band)... It seems a bit much to memorise so I think I'll be relying on written notes at the gig and probably a fair bit of just playing in the right key at the right time rather than note for note perfection.

I would say though, with EQ and multiple fx blocks you can probably make something sound like what they'd otherwise call a Bass amp, the difference feels quite arbitrary on a lot of multi fx. I mean, it isn't actually driving a real cab so it's mostly just a different view of EQ and gain controls. Likewise with cab sims - they usually just feel like EQ and perhaps a bit of reverb.

No synth. Quite a lot of effects though (19 distortion, 14 modulation, 9 delays, 6 reverb,etc.). One of the filters is quite good. It has a looper. Generally I'd say the Zoom effects are probably better, there's not a huge difference though. I might be wrong, but I don't think there are Bass specific amps and Cabs:

I've got a chain with 11 effects in it and that seems the limit, they don't have to be in set positions or set effect types as with some multi-fx. You can use effect types multiple times before I guess it reaches processing limits e.g. Mucking about I've got a chain with 5x delays, 2x Amps, 3x overdrive and a comp - it won't allow me to change the comp to one of the other types.

I've noticed a high pitch noise from the Nux, but haven't noticed any noise from the P2. The octaver on the P2 is rubbish!

New toy: It seems decent, quite futuristic compared to individual analogue pedals. All the software and connections are intuitive (no need for a manual) and I've got some good sounds from it. Slight issues being: The tuner doesn't work well with the open E (it's fine on 12th fret instead though), no dedicated Bass effects or Amp/cabs. You can change presets, volume, and access the Tuner on the pedal, anything more involved needs phone/app though which is a bit of a shame. I suppose the thing is: Is it better than the NUX Mighty Plug for headphone practice, Zoom B1 four for band practice/backup, or a pedalboard of individual pedals for gigs? I think the answer is it's kind of the middle ground. It's bigger than the Nux but has a built-in tuner, more effects and longer effects chains, more presets, and more hardware controls. It is smaller than the Zoom and has Bluetooth and rechargeable battery and longer effects chains, not as editable without a phone though and I think I generally prefer the effects on the Zoom (they tend to have more parameters to adjust). A tradition pedalboard wins for being tough and more foolproof and easily adjusted/footswitch stompable for gigs. P2 will be a good pocket sized backup though, or good for having access to effects you don't have. I think for me it'll mostly be used for band practice rather than carrying about a full pedalboard. Perhaps I'll use it more than the mighty plug for home headphone practice - especially as it has a tuner. I don't think I'll use it at gigs, good as a backup though.

That's ridiculously blinkered. There's plently of miserable and happy music from the past and present. If anything, I'd say pop music overly happy/party orientated nowadays, it's rare to get more moody/angry/introspective songs doing really well. The UK top 10 right now is almost all upbeat party tunes. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/uk-top-40-singles-chart/ I mean, I'm not a fan, but these 5 are all in the top 10 and I think 'happy party music' would describe them: ...... That's all bubblegum pop for 13 year olds though. This is just released this week and would be massively happy/euphoric in a good club:

Yeah, songs like: Happy, Get Lucky. Uptown Funk, Can't stop the feeling, shake it off, are all real downers compared to stuff by Joy Division and Nick Drake.

The equivilant to the 'standards' for Jazz and Blues are the classis 'Riddims' in Reggae (not quite the same as what musicians would usually call a rhythm, they're drums and bass and often include guitar and horns etc.) They're often used on many different reggae songs but with different vocalists. Here's a playlist of the most used ones:

I'm not sure about the 'play stuff from the last 10 years to keep the younger audience happy', they want/expect a wedding band to play classic wedding band stuff, trying to play the latest stuff in the charts risks looking a bit lame if it doesn't fit for the band. Saying that though, there are quite a few songs from roughly the last decade that can be reworked and played by a band and recognised and enjoyed by a wide audience: Moves Like Jagger Get Lucky Happy Diamonds Shotgun, Green Green Grass, Budapest, Hold my girl Bad Guy Uptown Funk I will wait Royals About Damn Time, 2 be loved Blinding Lights Can't stop the feeling Remind me Heat Waves Watermelon Sugar Remind me Cruel Summer, Shake it off This is the life

It seems you need some patience when ordering from Thomann compared to UK companies like GAK who do next day delivery. I ordered a Mooer Prime P2 from Thomann 6 days ago, it was processed and dispatched the same day but now seems to still be waiting to get through customs so could still take a while (which is annoying as I wanted it for a band practice tonight ahead of a gig on Saturday). It's not Thomann's fault but it is something to consider as a lot of the time their prices aren't that different to UK shops (for the P2 it did seem worth the wait though as it is £50 cheaper from Thomann than UK shops). Returns too I guess are more cost/time/faff so unless there is a decent saving by using Thonamm I'll use UK shops. Update: It arrived today all well (and no customs fees), 8 days after ordering, but most of that time was waiting at customs, Thomann sent it the day it was ordered and DHL delivered to me the day after clearing customs.

Compressor: FEA Opti-FET Octaver: Aguilar Octamizer EQ: Tech 21 Q-Strip Overdrive: DHA VT1 Distortion: Idiotbox Landphil (Blowerbox with more eq) Fuzz: MXR Brown Acid (I actually prefer the sound from the Latent Lemon Brassmaster but it looses points for being unnecessarily large) Envelope Filter: MXR M82 Synth: C4 (annoyingly limited interface though) Modulation: Source Audio Gemini/Lunar/Mercury (all basically the same). Delays: I like multi-fx for delays as it allows lots of editing and parameter control and stacking effects (e.g. adding reverb to the delay) which I find useful for delays, I especially liked the Boss GX 100 because of easy access to tap tempo and assignable expression pedal to sweep through a few effect parameters changing at the same time and touch screen for easy editing. I've got my eye on getting a Boss RE-202 though. I think Multi-fx are nearly as good as individual pedals for most things (it's especially difficult to hear much difference when playing through an amp/cab and with a band), what I'm really waiting for is something a bit like the Boss GX 100 or Pod Go form factor but with a good envelope filter and synth so it is all I need in one unit. At the moment it seems all multi-fx fail there which is a hassle as it means I still also need seperate pedals/power supply pedalboard etc. and that then leads me back to having a board of individual pedals, it must be possible - Source Audio do it really well with individual digital pedals (a Source Audio multi FX would be great: Atlas, EQ2, Aftershock, Gemini, C4, Colider, Zio: all bunched together with a few footswitches and a big display/touchscreen).