mike257

I'm a freelance sound engineer, and occasionally work at Parr Hall, although I wasn't involved with that show. I can tell you with no hesitation that no member of the technical crew there would intentionally mix a support band to sound "worse" than a headliner. I've never, in the many tech riders I've received, seen any stipulation about providing a lesser quality mix for a support band, and I don't know any engineer who would willingly provide a "bad" mix at any gig. On many professional tours at club gig/academy level, the headliner will be mixed by their own touring engineer, who will usually have a show file for the digital desk, and will often be touring with some or all of their own mics and have almost certainly had production rehearsals ahead of the tour. The result of this is that they've got a much more consistent sound from venue to venue, tweaking to suit the room and the system. Support acts on these tours, particularly those lower on the bill, will often be mixed by the venue crew with the in house mics etc, where they will be starting from scratch at every show with a limited time for soundcheck. Instantly, you've got a massive difference in the standard of the end result you will achieve, even with a great crew.

In function/corporate world you need this stuff. Any self employed tradesperson in any line of work would need it. Some venues I've dealt with are very specific about getting it up front, but just because a venue doesn't ask, doesn't change the fact that you will be held liable for any loss, damage or injury caused by your equipment or actions. If a punter takes a tumble over your cables and injures themselves or a piece of electrical kit goes up in flames, no venue is going to turn around and say "It's alright lads, they can claim off our insurance."

A DP150 1x15 combo was my first "proper" bass amp, bought it off a keyboard player I was at college with. I think they've got a bit of a marketing push at the moment - a guy I loosely know is playing with an artist that getting some Radio 1 play at the moment and he's just picked up an endorsement and a rather nice looking rig from them, and I've seen a few others popping up too. Trying to raise their profile as a higher end brand maybe?

[quote name='Chewie' timestamp='1480967956' post='3188553'] Come one then, wtf are Bots and JTUK'S..............???? Was a newbie a fortnight ago......!!!!!!!! [/quote] Bots are automated spam accounts and JTUK is a rarely spotted bass legend with an all-star band and an extensive rider of specific technical requirements for his gigs.

Monitoring was OK - we had three wedge mixes across the front and drummer on ears. I've done it before when I've been supplying PA but first time I've chanced it with somebody else looking after us. I'll definitely be doing it more often!

Had to get in and out of a gig super fast yesterday because of tech problems on another show I was dealing with somewhere else, decided to see what I could get away with leaving in the van. Told the sound guy I was going to DI and walked into the venue with nothing but a bass, a lead and a clip-on tuner. Still sounded ace (despite my ham fisted playing!) and I was on the road within seconds of finishing the set, think I'm a convert. Anyone want to buy a couple of bass amps?

Of course, we've yet to solve the trickiest question on this subject... Exactly what does one do with oneself during verses of Alright Now?

There's plenty of pedals around that will switch between inputs - the Boss LS-2 is oft-spotted, Lehle make various clever switchy things, Bright Onion almost certainly build them and could do a custom spec pretty cheaply, and there's plenty more out there.

I've had hideous issues with the on board WiFi, ranging from intermittently dropped connection to a full on refusal to connect to any device we present it with until I power cycled it. Mid gig. Great feature set for the price, but absolutely 100% grab an external router.

Neutrik are a company that make a massive variety of connectors so "a Neutrik socket" is a broad and sweeping statement! They do manufacture combo XLR/jack sockets for line level signals, and combo Speakon/jack sockets for amps/cabs, but both are the exception rather than the rule when it comes to what kit manufacturers choose to fit on their products, as the combo versions are more costly.

Ah, brilliant! If memory serves me right, we had the Finalizer card in the studio one back in the day. Got lucky there! I'm thinking of cascading my 01V pair for a gig this weekend, although there's a fair chance I can just nick an X32 from work so might not bother!

Only if they're d&b.

I know a fair few people who have had various TV placements etc through Sentric and have generally been positive about working with them. They're a legitimate operation, just got to decide if its right for you. Ultimately, if your recorded material isn't slick, professional sounding, broadcast quality stuff, you aren't going to get a great deal of sync placements etc so probably not worth it. If it does tick those boxes, you've got no upfront cost to get involved with Sentric (other publishers are available) so not got much to lose from it.

Plenty of keys/brass in amongst all that, I'd very much expect that the backing tracks are intended to cover those bits.

[quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1477524860' post='3162833'] Sadly it doesn't seem interested in coming back to life.. I've put it on eBay and I'll keep my out for a functional Unity when one appears. There's one on now in the US but he wants silly money for it.. Boo. Good news on your side though Mike - £100 for any 24 channel desk is a bargain let alone a digi with flying faders! Nice one fella. Have you seen the price of LS9s of late? I've seen more than a couple of 32 channel variants plus case for less than £1500.. I'm not ready to trade my 02Rs yet but certainly gives food for thought.. [/quote] Ah, that's a shame. One is bound to pop up sooner or later though. I'd honestly buy an X32 before I'd take an LS9, much more pleasant to work on. Endless poking of direction buttons and spinning of jog wheel is no fun on a desk with that much going on. The X32 does everything an LS9 can and more, and has a lot more physical controls to grab, along with a better screen and wider support for remote control options, 32x32 USB interface on board, all sorts of things that the LS9 won't give you.

The girl who sings in my soul band runs one in Manchester, I'll get the details and pop them in here. Some chaps from a band I occasionally engineer are the house band for a fairly new one over in Burnley if that's not too far out the way too. I'm off to bed now because it's 5:15 and I've just got in, but I'll get some info over the weekend!

Brilliant - I've not had much chance to use the dB stuff, but on occasions that I have it's always been solid. Lightweight kit is definitely worth the investment!! Hope the gig goes well with them mate

Thomann do a lot of great stuff and I've used their higher-end own brand audio kit on various gigs and installs with great results. Unfortunately, the beating that sterling is taking with all this Brexit nonsense has buggered the price advantage they had. A power amp I was looking at picking up for my monitor rig is now £100 dearer than when I initially priced it. Their Achat Pro range is generally great though, as are the t-amp power amps. Have fitted them on nightclub installs where they've taken a beating for hours at a time all week long and never had any issues with performance or reliability.

Eeek, how did it go? Hope all is working ok now. In related Yamaha bargain news, I got another 01V for £100! They're a steal at the usual second hand prices, but that just seemed ridiculous.

It depends on context and what you're doing with it. In the whole rig, having a great amp makes more difference than a great bass, but most of my gigs are with PA support with bass DId and the bass amp essentially acting as a personal monitor for me, so the bass itself has more impact on the sonics out front.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1477481256' post='3162478'] Generally I would be thinking I'd advise the client on the best course which is to do it our way. So altho budget is a BIG consideration, playing what the punters wants to hear is not. The reason we'd be having the conversation with the client is because they want what we do so they don't get to call the set. If they want that, get someone else. If the band wanted to money that badly, they may need to consider throwing in a few numbers but mostly they don't. Yes, this does cost gigs. [/quote] The client has usually booked the Motown band because they want to hear reasonably faithful renditions of classic pop songs that they know and love. We have some really great singers we use who have brilliant energy and stage presence and know how to whip the crowd up. If the client can't afford for us to bring the keys player, horn section and extra singers, we can still do the gig with guitar, bass, drums and two singers. We all prefer to at least have live keys and sax, and the gigs with three singers and three piece horn section are the most fun. We aren't setting their budget though. If we couldn't scale the gig to cater to it, we'd have a lot less work in the book. When I say "playing what the punters want to hear", I certain don't mean they pick and choose the set list, but every function band is providing a service and doing a job. You are there to fill the dancefloor and entertain the guests, not to serve yourself. The OP was talking about a working function band and in my experience the use of tracks to fill out additional keys, horns, electronics etc is not at all uncommon. Your situation is different JT - you aren't depending on this, so you are free to insist on your particularly specific criteria to play a gig, but for working pros it's a different game. I'd suggest that in this case, whilst it might be a new experience for the OP, I'd go in to it with an open mind and give it a go. If done properly it can result in a massive, slick and professional sound.

The Motown band I play with use tracks - it means we can go out as anything from a five piece to a ten piece and still play the same set - I'd prefer to always have at least six or seven of us, but if the client doesn't have the budget for that, would you rather stick by your "artistic integrity" of your working covers band (a concept I struggle to understand - you're playing what punters want to hear and are there to do a job, its not your magnum opus you're creating) but not be able to afford to fill your fridge that week? I'd rather stick the horns on playback for the night and pay the bills, if that's quite alright with you lot?

An excellent bass player friend of mine (who I believe is a member on here) does a lot of their gigs these days, think he's one of two guys that they use regularly, so he'll be well versed in knocking this stuff out!

Does that mean I can have the ADAT card for 75p to go in my 01V?

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1474967385' post='3141819'] I've played gigs where fights have broken out, people have been accused of stealing the charity box, drunk 50+ women have gone topless, etc. [/quote] I must be doing something wrong, I've never even had one woman go topless at a gig, never mind that many!