jonny-lad

The clip light on my Peavey TNT seems to come on quite early, but IIRC, it says in the manual that it's only a problem when it's constantly on, rather than just coming on for peaks in your playing. It also seems to come on less when the speaker protection is switched off, but I always keep this on anyway as I've never noticed it affecting the tone or volume. Either way, it's never been a problem for me.

I went down - had a nice pint, but no-one seemed to know what was going on so I went home after that and watched the boxing! It was interesting to see how the place has changedsince I last played there though - seems more blues-bar like, with the dedicated stage area now.

[quote name='endorka' post='647232' date='Nov 6 2009, 01:43 PM']There's always the option of getting work in commercially oriented function bands/musical theatre/sessions (or similar) to pay the bills, then depping out these gigs when you are working with the originals band. Some advantages are; 1) Your "day job" is playing music, and your musicianship will improve as a consequence. 2) You'll make contacts in the industry. 3) You may become more aware about commerical realities of the music business. 4) Taking time out to play in your originals band will be ok - depping out gigs to other musicians is an accepted practice. But it would be a good idea to finish your degree... as someone once said "You should always have a Plan B". Jennifer[/quote] +1 Playing gigs that pay to fund originals bands seems to get overlooked IME, but looks like the ideal solution!

I've played it a few times in the past and always found that it was a good gig. Never seen it quiet either! Might be able to make it down to see you aswell, as my plans have fallen through for friday - my friend's big band were gigging, but it's been cancelled so I've been looking for something interesting to do so I don't waste a friday when I've got no gigs to play or worry about all weekend!

+1 for the stool. I know people who play sitting down for similar reasons - maybe a higher stool, like bar stool height would make you feel a bit better about playing sat down, as your head and shoulders would be at a similar height to what they'd be at if you were standing. IME, people are often quite understanding about things like this - it's not like you'd be sitting down out of laziness!

I have a P-44 guitar and it's a great instrument...I'd love to try one of the basses, but they're a bit too pricey for me at the moment. Contrary to quite a few people, I think the basses look quite good!

[quote name='Doctor J' post='634139' date='Oct 23 2009, 08:36 AM']Can you really trust a bass player who "forgets" his bass?[/quote] No! A bassist who forgets to take his bass to a gig?...Are they the same type of people who walk out of the house in a morning, only to look down and realise they forgot to put their clothes on?!

You'd still pay your tax through the navy via PAYE, and then you'd fill in a tax return just for your earnings as a musician. IME, the inland revenue are really helpful if you get in touch about it, they'll really help with what expenses you can write off against your income as a musician and if you're not taking much of a fee, you'll probably end up not paying much at all. For such a small business, tax returns aren't as difficult as people may think - you'll probably get a full one in the first year (which is a bit long-winded), but after that you'll get a short tax return, which is simple to fill in if you keep records properly. Not sure about paying less tax on your navy wage, but the inland revenue will be able to advise on this.

[quote name='Hamster' post='633316' date='Oct 22 2009, 11:49 AM']At least get a quote to get it repaired and show it to him so he can see the real cost of the damage - perhaps he'll feel guilty and cough up some more?[/quote] +1 Could also be useful if you take it to small claims court.

I use a Korg Pitchblack. It has a nice clear display, it's simple and easy to use, it picks up the low B-string of my 5-string bass easily, I can use it as a mute switch as it's a pedal tuner, it doesn't add any noise to the signal, it's compact, and at around £55, it's good value too IMO.

It always seems like a bit of a cop out when people send e-mails instead of saying something to your face or over the phone...but then that's what some people are like - they don't want the responsibility of dealing with their own situation in a mature and professional manner. However, I do think that 2 months is enough notice, but if he's agreed to honour the gigs he's booked for, a rehearsal before might be wise. If he doesn't want to rehearse at all, then if I were you, I'd take that as a sign of how little effort he wants to put in to the gigs and use it as an opportunity to find and rehearse someone new instead. It's always easier to attract new band members if you have gigs booked, so if you use that as a selling point, you could find a replacement and have them ready to cover the gigs instead of your old guitarist...Sounds like he wouldn't be too bothered if he lost the gigs you have booked anyway.

[quote name='jim_bass' post='624958' date='Oct 13 2009, 01:49 PM']Korg pitchblack - worth every penny. Tracks the lows like a dream. Used to have a rack tuner, but too much to carry - this one fits in my bass case. Also useful mute switch.[/quote] +1 I was after something good quality, compact and reliable that could track a low-B easily and the Pitchblack really is good IMO. Really easy to read and cheaper than the boss aswell AFAIK. Pedals are also useful as you can use them as a mute switch either whilst tuning or not playing.

I wouldn't worry about it at all...IME, people tend to single out one band member as a scapegoat because they don't have the guts to say the real reason for what they decide. Sounds to me like she's the one with things to worry about, rather than you. [quote name='Golchen' post='623878' date='Oct 12 2009, 12:24 PM']I actually think that a slapped arse can look pretty good on the right girl ....[/quote]

[quote name='kennyrodg' post='619088' date='Oct 6 2009, 10:18 PM']Cheers for that bud. I think the 411 has a horn although I may stand corrected on that one hehe. [/quote] Yeah - the 411 does have a HF horn, which is adjustable from a knob on the back of the cab...I didn't realise the 410 didn't have one! The 411 also has different speakers giving it a power handling of 600W compared to the 410's 300W, so I'm not sure how similar they are, but my overall impressions of quality and so forth is good!

[quote name='crez5150' post='618751' date='Oct 6 2009, 04:45 PM']I knew I would end up repeating myself at some point during this thread....... Guys.... if you do get into the whole wedding thing seriously..... please please please do not undersell yourself.... Don't think of it as a pub gig..... Don't think of yourself as a band..... you are a service provider.....[/quote] +1 In terms of wedding fayres, I've done one in the past which was fairly small and probably not worth it. It was for a fairly casual gig though and I'm not involved at all in running the band so I didn't lose out, but I don't think we got any bookings from it. Based on my one experience, if I was looking at wedding fayres for a band I'm running in future, I'd spend a lot of time researching them first and probably go to a few to see which get the most people in and where you're most likely to be successful. IMO, it's far better to take more time getting things right, well planned and maybe spending a bit more if need be so it pays off in the long run. I don't think the one I played at was the best, but having said that, the only aim of the band was to find one that we could play at...it turned out to be a gay wedding fayre so it wasn't likely to be the biggest one around!

[quote name='kennyrodg' post='619065' date='Oct 6 2009, 09:53 PM']Cheers Rasta. My band does a quite a bit of Motown and similar so I guess it should fit the bill then.I'm just a bit worried i'll some some of the growl from my jazzer on some of the funkier ones we do.[/quote] I use the Warwick 411 Pro (which is the more expensive 4x10 Warwick cabinet) with a Little Mark II and get plenty of growl with my spector...not sure how the 410 Pro compares to the 411, but I've always been pleased with the range of tones I can get with the 411.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='617604' date='Oct 5 2009, 04:14 PM'][quote name='jonny-lad' post='617584' date='Oct 5 2009, 04:03 PM'] Having said that, I've heard plenty of rear ported cabinets that I like the sound of, like the Bag End 1x15 that is really compact and seems to just have a circular hole cut in the back right behind the speaker with no tubing.[/quote] Great cab, bizarre porting! If you place a port directly behind a driver you end up with midrange energy escaping through the port, which when reflected by a back wall will recombine with the direct output from the driver out of phase causing ragged response. The Bag End 15" exhibits a big change in sound depending on where it is placed vs walls. I'm actually looking to place the port in a hi-fi cab on the top... Alex [/quote] I knew there was a reason that putting a port directly behind the speaker wasn't the best idea...As the times I've heard the Bag End have been when I've been playing guitar in theatres, there has always been lots of space and curtains behind the cab - it'd be interesting to see how well it performs in smaller venues. Having said that, I've never heard the owner say a bad thing about it...and he always has great tone IMO! I'll look forward to seeing some of your new designs! Cheers!

Isn't one of the main benefits of a rear port that the port doesn't take up any space on the front of the cabinet?...although this doesn't take into account how well designed the cabinet is. Having said that, I've heard plenty of rear ported cabinets that I like the sound of, like the Bag End 1x15 that is really compact and seems to just have a circular hole cut in the back right behind the speaker with no tubing.

There's been a few good moments. Playing at Michael Flatley's wedding was a good one. The Chieftains were also there so after our set I stayed in to see their set - I was stood in the middle of a room crammed with Irish people who kept appearing with flutes and fiddles and the odd Banjo until half of the people there were playing along...The rest of the band I was with were stood in the next room at the bar, but I wouldn't join them because I didn't want to miss out on the music! Another good one was leaving school after my A-levels (instead of going to study music at uni) and recording on a top ten album, which is how I got the decent gigs. It wasn't paid, and it was just a couple of little extra guitar tracks, but it got my foot in the door so it paid off in the long run! The most recent one for me was playing in Dubai twice! The first time was a small agency do, but well paid and a great experience, and the second time was a gig at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi...it was well fancy!...we even found a bloke raking the beach to keep it smooth looking!...so we walked across it!

Little Mark IIs can be used without a cabinet, as are a lot of Mark Bass amps AFAIK. There are lighter Mark Bass amps than the Little Mark IIs aswell. I've run my Little Mark II DI'd to the PA without a cabinet, as it said it was fine to this in the FAQ section of the Mark Bass website...I normally use a cab, but it makes it nice and versatile knowing that I don't need to if space is really tight on a gig. It depends on your budget as to what you could get, but you might be able to find a Little Mark II or similar second hand for a good price if you keep your eyes peeled.

If you brought your own backline just in case, and the band who owned the backline you used helped you set it up to use it, I don't think you did anything wrong. You had the possibility of needing you own gear covered and there appears to have been adequate opportunity for the other band to suggest (or even insist) that you use your own, which would be quite understandable IMO. What is a bit difficult to understand is why they chose to suggest it in a myspace message the day after rather than just saying it to your face before you soundchecked. Lack of communication skills if you ask me. If I were you, I'd explain that you had your own backline with you and were willing to use it if that's what they wanted...you just needed to know before you started playing.

You've always had great tone when I've seen you play on the few occasions our paths crossed when I was playing on the blues/rock circuit. I think people sometimes get carried away with stories of things going wrong and forget about all the people who've used a particular brand for years with no trouble. Good customer service counts for a lot too, IMO, even if it's just a little replacement bulb!

I've always had good experiences with Peavey gear - my first bass was a peavey dynabass, which was one of the cheaper models, although I think it's now discontinued. I still keep it as a backup though and I've found this and every other peavey I've played to be nice an easy to play and extremely well balanced both sat down and stood up, which is great for posture and comfort when playing.

[quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' post='613371' date='Sep 30 2009, 10:26 PM']hopefully they'll be delayed into never coming out =P God i hate Peavey equipment![/quote] Peavey seem to lack the cool factor with some people...having siad that, so does playing bass! So there's really not a lot of point in these types of posts - maybe a review of the gear you've tried would be more useful? IME, peavey gear has been very reliable, versatile, great value, and far better than some more expensive equivalents. Only problem with amps like the TNT is the weight, so I'd be really interested to see how well the new TNT addresses that.