JTUK

I would be pissed off not getting the best slot if it was because of us that the whole thing worked as well as it did..i,e provide all the gear. I understand it is very hard to predict when that best slot will be on any given bill, but doubley galling that the other bands could not be bothered to support you the way you supported them. This is a common and ugly trait from a lot of muso's, I find. However, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, by the sound of it... but use this as a lesson not to get involved on those terms again. The first thing is to see what the rest of your band thought and then devise some sort of strategy about what YOU get out of it next time.. if you agree to a next time..!!! 1st rule..if you are a KEY part of the gig..then you get a KEY role/choice...

[quote name='fumps' timestamp='1413531676' post='2579126'] Thats a horrible story. I really hope she is ok. It sounds like an amazing thing that she has done to see her favorite band &it all went wrong for her. No matter what some of you have said (Some of you are real miserable gits) she made a simple mistake & some of you have showed no understanding or compassion towards a true fan of music. I wonder how many of you have even bothered to click on the recording section of this site to help & comment on other musicians work let alone travel thousands of miles to go an support a band who you love. My thoughts are with her, she deserves better than be judged for just being young & human. none of us are perfect & some of you have shown that with your over inflated self righteous comments. [/quote] Laughable... you know as much as we know, which is next to nothing apart from what is writen here. There are two scenarios... genuine but unable to convince the authorities as such..so therefore the outcome seems harsh. A scam... and therefore the officers were correct. THEIR call..not ours, was that the person was not genuine on the facts that THEY have or the story that they have been given... all on an undercurrent of people trying to get past the system every day of their working lives, possibly. Everyone has a sob story and people go to great lenghts and even risk their lives to get into certain countries. I don't know which version was right so I am not judging the people that were better placed than we are.. so it is not me who has jumped to conclusions about the rights and wrongs of this case...

What amp ..?? I thought a TH500 with 2xAE112's was quite a match. Will confirm over the next few dates

The Brazilians were most annoyed that the Poles were cheaper London hotel workers, even tho the Poles had E.U working status and the Brazilians were on student visas. I think it is/was a known problem and if the girl had the correct paperwork but wasn't able to convict the Officers that her reasons were legitimate, then I guess that is what they are paid to do. They are well up on all sorts of scams and tricks to get into the country and the scandal is that access seems to be the key as once here they aren't easily caught. If the girl was genuine then it seems harsh but there was obviously something about the whole thing they didn't like...? People come here on holiday visas all the time of course, so we don't know all the detail..??

I'd say that Alexis Sklarevski's The Slap Bass Program was great at the time but you'll really want to move on from that as it is now very dated in every sense. YMMV tho...

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1413484825' post='2578828'] Im not clear , did she have the correct papers or not ? [/quote] No one seems to know... and the FB page of the ex L42 guy doesn't appear to say. Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone..?? So, apart from the sentimetal element, which does seems a shame, we only know that Immigration didn't let her in. A bit of a non story on those details..IMO. As someone said above..something is not quite right here.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1413469958' post='2578568'] This... I very much doubt they would have detained her if she had all the correct papers. [b]Also, how young was she? can't see that a young teenage girl on her own wandering round the country is a very good idea anyway[/b].... [/quote] It is a known trafficking trick altho the children are much younger. They get smuggled on boats and then when they are picked up... as intended, the choice is either to send the child back or send for the parents who just happen to be waiting in Calais etc .. But, altho it doesn't sound at all likely that this is the case in the OP... the onus is on the traveller to proove they need/have a right to be in the country and then whether the Control point believes them. On the face of it...it does sound harsh, but then we don't know if there is any other side to the story. and the immigration process is there to stop that

[quote name='blunderthumbs' timestamp='1413471378' post='2578588'] Who said she didn't have the right papers? [/quote] Ok, why didn't they allow her in then..? They would have to have and give a reason. My friend has a Brazilian wife and she is fine getting in, her family is not.

If she didn't have the right papers, then surely that is the job that immigration officers are supposed to do, isn't it?

[quote name='goblin' timestamp='1413420557' post='2578176'] My ToneHammer 500 (slightly bigger than the 350) fits in the front pocket of my Mono bag, weighs nothing and sounds absolutely amazing. Highly recommended [/quote] Indeed, small enough and pokey enough. Goes in my bass gig bag but sure, not 110% ideal long term. Also works well will NEO cabs IMO....or at least the ones I have.

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1413326645' post='2577293'] An even higher priority than proper and high quality mechanical and electrical engineering and acoustics? You know though, part of me agrees with you because it's quite likely that most players buy with their eyes. There's nothing at all wrong with subjective good looks but I suspect that for years now, most (note: not ALL) cab manufacturers have been selling their products based on looks, image and profit margins, usually at the expense of good engineering. Which would be acceptable if the products were also cheap and we all know that isn't always the case. ............. [/quote] I think you are assuming it has all those things ... but it isn't apparent from what you can see in the engineering of the build. So..my point would be that I would have taken that away from the equation and had a good cab maker in as soon as I started trading Ideally, you'd have a talent for doing it yourself, but if not, it would have to be a cost. I agree the units are rated but they are brought in components...which anyone could get. If you get bespoke at some later date, in what sense are they bespoke..? They might just have custom labels on them. I wouldn't put it past some in the industry ( and elsewhere ) to try and muddy the waters here and make the users beholden to return business to the maker and THEIR costs. Car servicing is a case in point here of how THAT works. And finally, what makes anyone an expert in a field..? 20 years learning the craft elsewhere..? A high level course AND penchant to the field. Or, an innate talent that you have discovered. All may or may not achieve that. Finally, I think a lot of bass cabs are over specc'd in that they don't really need a top end driver, they just need a whole balance. Do I think Aguilar and Berg use the best components out there, no, but their all round package, to my eyes and ears, is the best on the mainstream market, IMO. Having said that, I do want to see and hear TKS as I like what I see and I want to know more about Ceramics and light boxes. I am looking to trade my Berg Ae cabs for the small S112's. The Bergs match up very well to my class D amp so that will be a tough act to beat but since we now have a TKS presense in the U.K then a road trip will confirm if that is the way to go.

IMO, slap has evolved over 35 years or so... so there is a whole host of different takes on it. Quite a few exponents are rather stuck in their groove and that may not be where the style is now so you need quite a big reference. These are the people you should be aware of..as they probably lead the way thru being number 1/most popular in their day. Larry Graham ..who is supposed to have started it all, has quite a basic thumb/pull octave thing going on but his natural funkiness comes thru.. Louis Johnson. Mark King Marcus Miller Flea. Victor Wooten. These may not be the best exponents but you should be aware of thier stuff. Others to check out at some point..and who are pretty upto date stylewise are people like Freddie Washington, Anthony Wellington, Mervyn Davis etc etc Odd balls styles, IMO.. but no less valid maybe Abe Laboriel, Richard Bona, Alain Caron.. and so on. The trick is to make it funky, rather than machine gun like so it depends on your likes and where you want to take it.. Most instructional videos will tell you how to thumb and pull it tho..

ah.... the promoter is a 'she'... Yep...your band leader is trying to get into her knickers ...

I await the update after the gig.... but the thing that worries me is, none of the bands can supply anything..?? what sort of bands are you going on with... they sound like they'll chase people away ..? And in your dealings with the 'promoter'..do you get the feeling he us doing it FOR the charity or is that a smokescreen for 'himself'..??

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1413323060' post='2577246'] In the UK, in my experience, the hat or jar or bucket, if used at all, is either passed around or taken round. I've never seen it left at the side of stage. [/quote] If it were to be left at the side..it would be totally ignored. The problem is also, who takes it round whilst the band is playing... Over here, that is a thankless task..and would be even if for a charity but at least the protocol would be 'established' and less stigma ( wrong word but..?? ) associated with it. The culture is the U.K is not akin to tipping in general..and there is demarkation about who can and who can't. Strange, I agree, but that is the way it is, IMO. Acceptable models, IMO Cabs, Haircut. Restuarants. People working at your house..?? Not Acceptable Bar staff or general service So, for me, the line seems to be that if someone is working for YOU, then maybe a tip. If someone is selling something, then no... Ballpark...

That is sad, Pete, but health and stuff comes first. 17 years is fab going and I take my hat off to any band that can go that long and stay fresh and viable. I hope it works out for you and you get the best result all round.

In practice, with those monitors, it is a bad idea. They aren't good enough anyway so vox only which should be their primary purpose and this is what the vocalist should be hedging against. They will want the best vocal monitor they can get...so as not to strain the vocals and to put keys and anything else thru them degrades this, potentially, especially as they aren't great monitors in the first place. Two issues, as far as I can see... stage sound/EQ not sorted so you want to start there rather than messing up a voc mix as well..??? You want to see how good a P.A is ... check out the monitors. I doubt you'd use those monitors as out front cabs...so I wouldn't be using them as monitors myself. But..since they are what you have..help yourself by keeping them as clean as you can, for the vocals..IMO

Let me know when they are in... and will look to pop up.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1413296017' post='2576818'] It may sound fickle, but the reality is that it doesn't matter how good a cab sounds - if it looks cheaper than the alternatives then it's always going to attract criticism. [/quote] Getting in a decent cabinet maker should have been priority number 1 years ago, IMO.

If just an amp, then I'd look out for a TE and you might be lucky at around £150. If you need a a combo for that money, then.... good luck. I think you need something like 150 old skool watts ...so again TE or Ashdown, as long as it hasn't had too hard a life. Will mostly be heavy tho...that is why they will be cheap. I'd agree with borrowing the amp for a while longer whilst getting more money together. Talk to a few music shops as a lot can only do commision sales, as they don't have a license to do second hand sales. Not entirely sure what that is all about ..but a mates shops needed one.

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1413212385' post='2575866'] Now, once we were on a very rare support slot at a venue we had to get our faces in. A huge mistake by the dimwhit in charge told us ALL backline is provided do not bring amps or drum kit. When we got there, the opposite was in effect, no backline, just PA. The rest of the main band who had had the correct E-mail sent jumped up and said no trouble use our amps and kit with drummer using his own breakables. The ***** on the bass says no, so I have to drive ten miles back home and back to the gig and just get back in time. My better judgement said just go home, but the rest of the band having had the use of gear disagreed, like they do. Anyway, get back wire up and we play. Main band come one and you guessed it, the bass players Trace elliot does what trace elliots do best. Converts its self in to a smoke machine. Over I walk, here mate, use my rig. Really he says, why would you do that. Because I said, Thats who I am and I refuse to let anyone change me, why should I, I like been me !. He was rather Humbled to say the least. [/quote] Good story, but I think I would have been less keen... ha ha .. Still, if it taught him a lesson, then maybe it REALLY taught him a lesson

Yep, I like topics like this as I think the gig dynamic fascinating. i,e what makes a band popular/good/ignored etc etc. in the eyes of the punter. I mean, I'd back myself to know what I mean, but am often 'perplexed' at punters version... Anyway, back OT. Parties, ..? no one puts out a jar or hat at these dates, but someone may be grateful enough to put in a £50 or the organiser will throw in another £100. Generally tho, it's when the band has played to its alotted time, and they want to extend the evening.. In clubs, because there is not really a tip culture, punters wouldn't like a hat/jar go round after paying to get in AND OTT drinks prices, Basically, the only place a jar/hat would really work, IMO, is if the audience felt the band wasn't getting paid properly..hence jazz gigs because no one thinks they pay well... But IME, they don't pay any less that other gigs tbh.

I have a GT10-B and from not being into effects at all..that is quite a jump. I've tried a ME50 quite a bit and that had one or two useable sounds but was a bit agricultural so I ended up using it like a stomp box... My current board is waaay too much for what I need and I can't be bothered to carry it for just one or two sounds.. The best case I can make for it is to claim my space on stage