Phaedrus

RATM & general rock fans go ape for it. As soon as the big opening power strum sounds out (I strum my bass - obviously E is dropped to D - I damp my B and fret 5th on A & 7th on G, so all four strummed strings are ringing D - it's powerful) there's always a big roar. Regular Joe punters usually look like the don't know WTF is going on, but by the end, everybody is leaping around roaring at their wife/boss/parents/police/whoever, "F*!K YOU - I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!" It just seems to work so well. We were dubious about doing it, but after seeing a big covers band (Blue Moose) playing it in a Dublin pup, and how well it went down, we just had to do it. Incidentally, at that gig, the manager/owner pulled the power in the middle of "f*!k you I won't do what you tell me!" cos things were getting quite hairy - like real pros, the band all kept roaring it and the punters picked it up and the whole pub was roaring that line for ages - honestly, it was a hairs-standing-up moment. It was such a middle-finger to "the man". I do keep my eye on the bar manager/owner during all of the heavier songs - if things start to get a bit messy, we just don't play any more of the really heavy songs - these are just pubs, after all, and sometimes the language in KITN isn't appropriate. The funniest time we played it was the first time. The singer's mam & dad come to some of our gigs (his dad was in a band when they were courting), and the singer could just barely bring himself to sing the "f*!k you I won't do what you tell me!" bit, but when the time came for "MOTHERF*"KER!", he turned round to me and shook his head - "I can't do it". Me & guitarist want to throw in Bullet In The Head too. Mark

Tinman - looks like we could nearly dep for each other at a moment's notice! This is the set-list for our last gig. We don't really take a break except for the house DJ to announce what the drinks specials are and that the night club is opening soon or stuff like that. Note: The capitals doesn't mean I'm shouting - I just copy/pasted from our set-list. 1. I DON'T WANNA BE - GAVIN DEGRAW 2. HEY JOE - JIMI HENDRIX 3. BEFORE I FALL TO PIECES - RAZORLIGHT 4. WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG - THE KILLERS 5. SOMEBODY TOLD ME - THE KILLERS 6. LONGVIEW - GREEN DAY 7. ALIVE - PEARL JAM 8. I PREDICT A RIOT - KAISER CHIEFS 9. RUBY - KAISER CHIEFS 10. INSIDE - STILTSKIN 11. FANTASY - THE BLIZZARDS 12. YOU ARE ALL THAT I HAVE - SNOW PATROL 13. DAKOTA - STEREOPHONICS 14. HUSH - KULA SHAKER / DEEP PURPLE 15. DRAMA QUEEN - SWITCHES 16. BOHEMIAN LIKE YOU - DANDY WARHOLS 17. SUBURBAN KNIGHTS – HARD FI 18. SAVE TONIGHT - EAGLE EYE CHERRY 19. SNOW - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS 20. DANNI CALIFORNIA - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS 21. YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG - AC/DC 22. NO-ONE KNOWS - QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE 23. SOLITARY MAN - HIM 24. ALL THE SMALL THINGS - BLINK 182 25. VERTIGO - U2 26. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2 - LIMP BIZKIT 27. KILLING IN THE NAME - RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE 28. BY THE WAY - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS 29. MY WAY - LIMP BIZKIT 30. WHAT I'VE DONE - LINKIN PARK 31. MR BROWNSTONE - GUNS 'N' ROSES 32. SONG 2 - BLUR 33. THE SAINTS ARE COMING - U2 & GREEN DAY 34. MINORITY - GREEN DAY 35. HOLIDAY - GREEN DAY We also used to do these songs and sometimes pull a few of them out of the hat if the gig requires it, but we dropped them mainly cos either no-one knew them or we couldn't make them work. Sure, you get guys coming up saying "Slither was f*!king amazing, man!" and "I LOVED Times Like These!" But just 4 or 5 guys liking a song, no matter how much, isn't enough reason to keep a song in the set. 34. ROADHOUSE BLUES - THE DOORS 35. SLITHER - VELVET REVOLVER 36. TIMES LIKE THESE - FOO FOGHTERS 37. TELL ME BABY - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS 38. LAST NIGHT - THE STROKES 39. STEADY AS SHE GOES - THE RACCONTEURS 40. HARD TO HANDLE - BLACK CROWES 41. TAKE ME OUT - FRANZ FERDINAND 42. BASKET CASE - GREEN DAY 43. STACEY'S MOM - FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE 44. BLACK NIGHT - DEEP PURPLE 45. WHEN A BLIND MAN CRIES - DEEP PURPLE 46. GIRLS & BOYS - GOOD CHARLOTTE 47. WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS - GREEN DAY 48. FLC/JUMP AROUND - FLC/STEREO MCs 49. WHITE WEDDING - BILLY IDOL 50. SHE SELLS SANCTUARY - THE CULT We're currently working on Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis, Pretty Fly by Offspring, Fat Lip by Blink 182, Lithium by Nirvana, Butterfly by Crazy Town, Back In Black by AC/DC, Land Of Confusion (Disturbed's version) and I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor by Arctic Bastards (I hate them). Me & the drummer are also learning 11 of my mate's original songs to record in January. Mark

[quote name='dood' post='18210' date='Jun 15 2007, 12:32 PM']Larry says hart-kee on his voicemail ;o)[/quote] Then that's what I'm going to say. To whom, I'm not sure. Two-ten, four-ten, one-fifteen. Peh-dulla Skyold Eye-ben-ez Beh-rin-jer Eh-piff-ani A-lem-bik Ag-wee-lar (maybe ag-yoo-lar?)

Bottomfeed, it is (aparrently) possible to use EQ to avoid bass & kick drum battling for space in the sonic spectrum. I read somewhere else on ProSoundWeb.com (can't find the specific thread) that if you cut the bass guitar signal to the PA below 200Hz - 300Hz, it allows the bass to be hotter in the PA (your onstage sound may be thin, but careful tweaking of the bass channel EQ can restore that for FOH) and can help prevent the kick drum & bass guitar competing for the same soundspace. If you have time to go through them, there's some really good stuff in these threads from ProSoundWeb: [url="http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/mv/msg/3333/8685/#msg_24397"]http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/...8685/#msg_24397[/url] [url="http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/mv/msg/24074/0/0/8685/"]http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/...24074/0/0/8685/[/url] [url="http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/mv/msg/9265/0/0/8685/"]http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/.../9265/0/0/8685/[/url] I don't know what monitors you use, but be [i]very[/i] careful if you're going to put [i]any[/i] kick drum into a monitor - there aren't many semi-pro monitors that could handle much level of kick drum. I would say don't put any kick at all in his monitor - if he can't hear his own acoustic kick drum, there's something wrong. BOD used two 450s & (I think) two SWA1501s in his last band - he might be able to comment on whether one sub is ample for your application. What's your sub? 250Hz is indeed a boomy frequency for most kick drums. Regarding gating kick drums - it can be a very effective method of stopping any boominess making it's way into the PA - gate threshold is lower than the boom level (but obviously higher than the beater slap & main body of the drum's sound), so the boomy signal gets cut. Mark

[quote name='bottomfeed' post='66600' date='Sep 27 2007, 08:16 PM'] aww come on, it was an expression my grandmother used to use.... whats the problem? 'a schoolboys wallet'?!.... hardly a substitute.... 'tight as a ducks arse' perhaps.... ....but no offence intended[/quote] I wasn't offended Bottomfeed, and I'm pretty sure everyone else (and I) knows you didn't mean to offend. I just thought it was inappropriate - we live in different times to those of your grandmother's. IMO, duck's arse would indeed have been better. Or tighter than a fish's arse? Or tighter than a gnat's chuff? Or tighter than a Kerry OAP with his confirmation money? I don't think less of you nor do I judge you - I just thought it was inappropriate. Peace. Anyway, back OT - I struggled to play some of the simpler songs in our set-list at rehearsal last night - go figure. Mark

[quote name='bottomfeed' post='66305' date='Sep 27 2007, 10:16 AM']tightness like a schoolboys ****!!... [/quote] Call me a prude (I'm not), but IMO that's inappropriate - smilies or no smilies. Mark

Just one? The ones I [i]can[/i] play are in my band's set-list . . . Can't but would dearly love to? YYZ - Geddy Teen Town - Jaco Havona - Jaco I Need More Love - Robert Randolph Band Lucretia McEvil - Blood, Sweat & Tears Mr Pink by Level 42 So many more... Mark

I was too shy to ask, but I learned it's Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Similar to the student scenario, a family scenario will curb overspending on hobbies. But lack of funds doesn't [i]really[/i] cure GAS - it frustrates the sufferer. There's so much I want, materialistically, but there are moments when I realise that the gear I own or use don't really matter as much as the fun I'm having when I use them. If the vibe of what I'm doing is good, I have no GAS; if the vibe is bad, I have GAS. Like lifting my two heavy separate combos has me permanently GASing for a new single lightweight amp. Basswise, I don't play well enough to really apreciate the difference between a high-end bass and my €300 BB605. In fact, I've come to realise that I like that more than pretty much every other bass I've tried in the last few years. So no bass GAS for me, just amp GAS. In my humble, ultimately there is really only one cure for GAS: Buy what you're GASing for - scratch the itch. If you don't, the itch may not go away. Other itches and other "stuff" will push the itch further out of your consciousness, but if it's a [i]real[/i] itch, unless it's scratched it'll always be there. Mark

You can listen to sound clips here. [url="http://www.amazon.com/Trio-Doom-Live/dp/B000QEIM7S"]http://www.amazon.com/Trio-Doom-Live/dp/B000QEIM7S[/url] Personally, from these clips, IMO this is the type of music my office-sharer describes as "a group of lads cleaning their instrunemts together". And 4 songs is indeed cheeky. But live & let live, I always say. Well not always. In fact I probably say "macaroni cheese & toast, please" more often. Mark

I've used Schaller, Dunlop & Warwick. TBH, I've never had a problem with any of them. But for value, I'm currently using Warwicks. As good as the rest IMO, but cheaper. I have had to give the top horn straplock a drop of WD40 once, cos a little metal dust was interfering with the sprung balls seating in the groove inside the button. Fine since. Black: [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/warwick_security_straplocks_bk.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/warwick_security_straplocks_bk.htm[/url] Chrome: [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/warwick_security_straplocks_chrome.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/warwick_security_...ocks_chrome.htm[/url] Gold: [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/warwick_security_straplocks_gd.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/warwick_security_straplocks_gd.htm[/url] Mark

[quote name='Pbassred' post='58872' date='Sep 11 2007, 06:26 PM']....but this got me sacked once.[/quote] ... as it should. We wear long shorts, t-shirts & skater-type trainers. Drummer has long hair, and sometimes wears a vest instead of a t-shirt. He's quite trim, so he gets away with it. The rest have short spiked-up hair. But I used to wear this outfit: Mark

Some of my favourites are: [b]From A Farewell To Kings:[/b] Xanadu Cinderella man Cygnus X-1 [b]From Hemispheres:[/b] All of it [b]From Permanent Waves:[/b] Freewill Jacob's Ladder Natural Science [b]From Moving Pictures:[/b] Tom Sawyer YYZ [b]From Signals:[/b] Digital Man [b]From Power Windows:[/b] The Big Money [b]From Presto:[/b] Show Don't Tell [b]From Counterparts:[/b] Leave That Thing Alone! Some hotshot covering Circumstances on bass: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd_3XslPB_0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd_3XslPB_0[/url] Same hotshot covering Digital Man on bass: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRTXlMJaL-M"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRTXlMJaL-M[/url] Same hotshot covering YYZ: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHPhyRyGAfc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHPhyRyGAfc[/url] Same hotshot covering the solo fro Show Don't Tell: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cikmJqSm9EE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cikmJqSm9EE[/url] Rush are great. Every album has something for the bassist. Mark

And it gets better! I headed out on Saturday morning in my wife's car with pockets bulging with cash (that I don't have) to get a new tyre and a new jack. First I went into a local-ish car breakers to see if he had a 13" wheel (the same size as my normal wheels) cos my spare is a 14" - bigger and thus unsuitable. I came away with an effectively new tyre (off a crashed '06 car), fitted to my wheel, and an unused jack - all for €30! HAH! And he'll have a replacement 13" for my spare, WITH a tyre for €20 on Tuesday or Wednesday!. HAH again! I hope this lucky streak extends to me finding a new CMD102P for €700 soon. Mark

Peavey TNT150BW? 150w on its own, gain & volume controls, 9-band graphic, low & high controls, punch & brite switches, built-in footswitchable chorus (depth & rate controls), amp out, speaker out, variable crossover, Black Widow 15" speaker. Rock solid. F*!king heavy. What do you mean you already have one? If you have a MarkBass CMD102P or an Eden Nemesis NC210 or RS210 for a straight swap, I could be interested . . . FWIW, I have bi-amped my two-combo rig (see pic for connectivity), but I found I was able to get better tone if I went into the TE and out of the TE into the TNT, so that's what I do now. Mark

Hire the lights unless you're thinking of buying them anyway. DO learn some songs that suit weddings - plent advised already. Don't go in with the attitude, "well they know what we play, so that's what we'll play". We did that at a golf club gig recently. Spinal Tap event. One woman in her 60's told me that we were playing for ourselves. If we'd got even 5 or 6 "wedding" songs down, they'd have loved us. Learn fron my mistakes. I wish I could. Mark

[quote name='gypsymoth' post='56024' date='Sep 5 2007, 04:04 PM']btw, a spare tire is generally considered more convenient than a spare car, and those borrowing cars because they don't have a spare shouldn't be complaining about the smokey smell of daddy's rescue vehicle. that WAS condescending [/quote] I guess I have to take that on the chin. What's really bad is that I don't even have a jack either. Flat spare and no jack. What a flake, eh? Wasn't I lucky I got the flat just 1km from work? Mark

[quote name='alexclaber' post='55496' date='Sep 4 2007, 07:43 PM']Good explanation. One thing to correct: For a cab rated at 400W I'd recommend an amp of between 200W and 800W into that impedance. Less than 200W won't cause any problems, you just won't be able to play quite as loud before your amp runs out of power. More than 800W and your cab is unlikely to go any louder due to power compression and you run the risk of damage if you push it too hard.[/quote] Yep. I had intended my comments about our subs and amps to be a "but in the case of..." caviat, but Alex is on the money more or less in accordance with what JBL say. But if I interpret [url="http://www.prosoundweb.com/studyhall/jbl/lowpower.php"]this article[/url] correctly, underpowering a speaker can cause as much damage as overpowering it. [quote name='gypsymoth' post='55636' date='Sep 4 2007, 11:11 PM']let's try this again. your cab & speakers don't "put out" watts, they put out volume.[/quote] Gypsymoth, I just read back quickly over all the posts - I didn't see anyone say that speakers or cabs put out watts. Maybe I'm being sensitive cos it's early and my car had a flat tyre yesterday and I had to borrow my dad's car today while my tyre is being repaired, and his car stinks of smoke, but I take "let's try this again" to be a little condescending and dismissive of everything posted prior to your post. Though I'm sure that wasn't your intent... Was it? I use the term "put out" to describe what an amp does cos everyone else I know also does. And most people on any music forum also seem to understand it. Sorry if it confused you. Bad or incorrect information on watts & impedence could easily lead to an expensive mistake, but AFAIK, no-one posted any dangerous advice or comment. Mark EDIT: BTW, MoJ - What cab did you try the Tour 450 with. I had been talking with my local shop about getting in a Tour 450 and a TVX410 4 ohm cab for me to try. Shame he said that if he got it in for me, I'd have to buy it. I'm more interested in a 2x10 combo now (playing my part in cutting down weight & van space and trying to lower on-stage volume), but the Tour 450 + TVX410 still niggles at me as a potentially good, versatile, robust rig.

800w? Any watt rating given in respect of a cab is related to its power capacity, not its output. Two pieces of data are important here, both for an amp's output and a cab's capacity: 1. Power, usually listed as "watts" or "W" (whether listed as RMS, program, continuous, peak, average or anything else). 2. Impedence (or resistance), listed as "ohms". This is a number that relates the speaker's resistance to the power being offered to it by the amp. Amps will be listed as (for example) 400w output @ 8 ohms or maybe 280w @ 4 ohms. If you are trying to mate a new amp with a cab you already have, you need to know the impedence rating of that cab. If it's 4 ohm cab with a capacity of 400w, then any amp you consider shouldn't really put out more than that power at that rating. This is all very dependant on how the power output of any amp you're considering was rated. Our 4 ohm JBL PA subs are rated at 400w continuous, 800w program and 1600w peak. We power them with Yamaha P5000S amps which put out 700w at 4 ohms. JBL's recommended amp for these subs should put out about the same power as the speaker's "program" rating. Try this: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=135"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=135[/url] And search for "ohms", "watts", "power" - any of these should yield threads that will help. Others on here know more than me and will doubtless be on to help. Mark

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='54777' date='Sep 3 2007, 03:27 PM']...but I wouldn't say it feels like 500w - even with a 4-ohm cab...[/quote] You see, these are the kind of things I like to see written/hear said when I'm looking for info on something. The 3.2 had been on my radar for a while (but not since I decided I want a 2x10 combo), possibly to be paired with a 4 ohm 4x10 or 2x1 (if one could be found), but if the 5.2 doesn't feel like 500w, it's possible that the 3.2 doesn't feel like 300w? Thanks Stingrayfan! Mark

A quick browse through Thomann: [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/markbass_traveler_102p_4ohm.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/markbass_traveler_102p_4ohm.htm[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/swr_goliath_junior_4ohm_bassbox.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/swr_goliath_junior_4ohm_bassbox.htm[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/swr_goliath_junior_4_ohm_b_stock.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/swr_goliath_junio...ohm_b_stock.htm[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/glockenklang_duo_4_ohm.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/glockenklang_duo_4_ohm.htm[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/glockenklang_duo_wedge_4_ohm.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/glockenklang_duo_wedge_4_ohm.htm[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/peavey_210tx.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/peavey_210tx.htm[/url] (€240! That's including shipping) [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/harley_benton_b210h.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/harley_benton_b210h.htm[/url] Mark

We own the PA ourselves. I'm getting all excited about a CMD102P now. The overall goal is indeed to keep stage volume as low as possible, but as loud as necessary. Drummer has always be an out-and-out hard hitter, but he's listened to me and has read everything I've printed out from the web about the pros of low (or "appropriate") stage volume vs the cons of excessive stage volume, and he's fully on-board with the thoery & concept, so he's adopting what's known as "dynamics" into his playing. He's trying lighter sticks, damping the kick skin and using a DDrums trigger on his kick instead of micing it, playing lighter, using smaller crash cymbals (noticeably quiter), swapping his three snares around to see which is quiter - all good stuff. Guitarist is coming round too, so I'm thinking 2x10 combo is what I'm opting for. But who knows? I plan to sell my Tune TWB53FM and my Dad's TNT150BW to fund the new amp. I've been offered an RBX375 for nothing (cousin has deserted bass for widdly-widdly 6-strings). I'll give him €100 for it - clearer conscience. That'll be my back-up bass to my BB605, itself a cheap bass, but SOOO much more than an entry level bass. Modest lotto win? TRB1005 as main bass, BB605 as back-up. Of course we have to find a replacement for our singer who confirmed yesterday he can't continue with the band cos of work commitments. PM'd you back, Machinehead. Mark

Yaaaay! Rehearsed 4 or 5 times with a BA115. Couldn't get any sound either I or the band liked, even when the singer, who also plays bass and owned the rehearsal rooms and all the gear, tried to help. I've been thinking that I might just go for a 2x10 combo and later on if that's not enough, add another 2x10 cab or a 1x15 cab. But I suppose then I'm back to two lifts, though a 2x10 combo + extra cab will take up pretty much the same room as a 4x10 combo, which is still less than my current two combos. I just realised today that the MarkBass CMD102P can be had for under €1200. 50% over budget, €500 dearer than the NC210, €450 dearer than the RS210, €350 dearer than the NC410 and €200 dearer than the RS410. I had been under the impression that it'd be more than double the price of even the Nemesis 4x10 combos. I guess an NC410 or RS410 would give me more simplicity, headroom & versatility for more varied situations and still be comparitively light. Could all be moot anyway. Our singer has landed a contract fitting discreet security cameras in shopping malls and will be working all over the country every night till christmas. So even if he could get back to Dublin for gigs on Fridays or Saturdays, we won't be able to rehearse midweek anymore. He'd be nuts not to try to maintain that kind of work if it's there, so I'd actually expect him to say "sorry lads, but..." in the near future. EDIT: No - not decided against 12s. Mark

Can anyone else even pretend to be interested?

My guitarist loves RHCP, specially Frusciante. He went to see them on Thursday (he lives in Dublin) and has moaned about the gig since he got back: same as OP said - no crowd interaction, Kiedis had his back to the crowd for most of the show, played obscure songs, jammed for ages. Dissapointed. But he made up for it by buying himself a new Schecter Synyster Custom. I have to ask myself sometimes - what's a millionaire (actual) doing dicking around in my half-arsed covers band? His gear value is higher than the band's whole PA system. Mark

IMO, there are so many originals bands out at this time who have made it to the "big time", but their songs are [i]pure and utter tripe[/i]. Mentioning the names of these bands would doubtless spark a big heated debate about opinions, subjectivity and the thoery of relativity, so I won't. But I bet it's safe to say everyone on here (and beyond, of course) can think of songs that they've heard on the radio and have wondered how the f*!k the band ever got their songs out of their bedrooms. But to contrast that, we'd never discover new stuff that we love if there were no originals bands, so I guess I'll just have to keep switching stations in the car every time another whiney-tripe-song comes on... Decent covers bands let punters hear their favourite songs played live on a night out at the pub. They usually provide great entertainment for weddings & functions. They offer fans of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Stone Roses, Jeff Buckley and so many others, the chance to see a full live show "by" their favourite bands, when the real bands are either never going to tour again or rarely ever if at all play in their home towns. Mark