JTUK

ok... thanks. My card is the standard 2gb.... and the video switched off around 1.78 gb... which was around 29mins. That was useable and the audio was pretty impressive. Can live with that. I figure I could get 2x45min on the card and the batteries, but brand new ones out of the box which said they were fully charged didn't last. It just seems that it needs more attention when setting up.....

I knew a past member of that period and would be VERY interested in what he has to say...if, indeed he is actually in the book.

If you want it to be good, then you need empathy with the style of the band. If you can't get that, or don't want to, then it isn't going to work anyway. The ante of all this gets ramped up the more successful the band is... so you don't pick a rock bass player for a funk gig for when it really matters... I think you know where this is heading... it all depends on the timing and is also, maybe, worth a chat about direction. If they made this decision on their own, then they seem to consider you as a sideman... and an expendable one at that. People and bands talk about committment and atitude etc etc ... but what they mean and want, sometimes, is a hired hand.... but not being willing or able to pay for it. Have the chat to confirm what you are already thinking..???

I too, think there are much better gigs out there, which is why we can 'afford' to cut down our pub work to about 4 pubs a year ( special pub dates notwithstanding ) The better ones we go back to maybe 3 times in that period but only work them on a friday during the summer. This way, it is also easier to keep the rates consistant and weed out the ones that have their set pay scale.

I was able to get 29mins from HD720/30 by mistake as I set it to audio and it defaulted to Video.. but since I didn't position it for video, the frame was useless. However the audio was fine and 29mins of video sounds quite a decent last for the batteries. These were normal Duracels. For such a simple device, supposedly, I am going to have a play at home with the rechargeables and USB settings. Something I should have done before, maybe.

hmmm second attempt to just set the thing off and leave it. Video takes up too much space and audio quality is good enough so I set the device up to record on two fresh rechargeable batteries... I got 10 mins of audio record time. Will have to try the USB option which rather negates/limits the point of the Zoom as far as I am concerned but the device seems to have battery power save mode it switches into rather too quickly...? I have had 20-30 mins out of it of video but was meaning to be in Audio mode and the setting didn't hold.. Maybe these are teething problems so far but battery life and disk space are an issue at the moment. Bigger SD card required as well

Sure would bother the hell out of me, tho... I don't have any time or patience for half ar$*d efforts anymore... I don't think I would have enjoyed it when I was young enough, but I approach gigs now on the basis of how well are they going to look after us. I want to look forward to gigs, not dread them...

Was having the same discussion last night. If I had to lug in the gear, set it all up, wait round for 3 hours, break it down and carry it out for some one else, I wouldn't be doing it for £50..that is for sure.

That is true so that is why I say you need to be more discerning with the gigs you do. I wont play a pub that I wouldn't normally drink in or be happy to... If the pub has a reputaion of being a bit rough...I am not going to try and sell it to people either, so no point actually playing it either. Playing area and viewing area too small..?? forget it. Crap load-in..? Bad parking... I accept that pubs are only using bands to turn-over money but there needs to be a two-way benefit and you don't appear to be feeling you are getting it. I doubt you can fix this in the short term by getting paid more for the hassle, so a break is what you should do... but the goal should be that the pubs need your band more that you need them..for starters, when you come back.

Yep... you can complicate the chain so I think one has to be the master. And the other needs to be the backup. So onboard pre's are ok...for that on hand quick adjustment, and the back end should be set at the start of the show and that is it. As for all-singing, all-dancing little boxes, then that is a huge no for me. Too much fighting of the natural tone you have is asking for trouble and generally will sound like it. If you consider how much effort can be spent on getting a sound in the first place -and these pages are full of that...and then you want to introduce so many more variables? It's funny, so many people say they play flat..and then you look at their signal chain..???

Some amps are designed to run hot and as long as the components are spec'd to do that, then it will be fine. But those units will not be cheap so as long as the companies legislate for that it should be a problem. But cheap and hot aren't very good bed-fellows to my mind...

Funnily enough, had lots of excessive bass on our last gig and it certainly wasn't me. We had a new gtr and keys had new cabs plus the playing area had low beams and ceilings and we kept getting a bass trap. If it was down to the room, then ok, but I will be mightily p*** *d if it continues. There is no reason for boom if you EQ the right rig, IMO. So, dependng on who the source is...they need to address that. I even had to slap lines to play soundthing that didn't add to the bass coming from everywhere else. I also recorded the gig and the sound on tape was perfect and everyone else said the sound out front was great... More time spent on the sound check at real gig levels and more so if you have changed anything... These things can happen once and be written off, possibly, but you need a consertive collective brain-storm.

I took a break from all playing a while back as I got very jaded ... It wasn't all pub work but a combination of a lot of things made me re-evaluate, and work was in as a factor as well. After 18 months, I picked up the bass again, and probably another 6 months working hard playing at home and I felt I would gig. I am now very careful about the gigs I/we do. I wont do any gig just for the sake of it... so who is on the gig, where it is, what it is, how much etc are all thngs that help me decide. Pubs are now too much work for the money so they need to be places I want to play and they need to have a crowd. Of course, the band itself needs to take responsibility here but the idea is to make the gig as pleasureable as possible as the gig itself is not enough anymore and I don't want to burn myself out again Of course the pub scene is not the same and there are more demands on pub goers than ever. Cheap alcohol at home means people don't need to go out for a drink..and more pubs throwing music nights together means the music loving clientele is spread pretty thin. Pubs and venues need to be imaginative to get their punters in and bands have to work that aspect as well. To balance that, there are towns round here with about 6-7-8 pub/venues on certain nights and some of those towns have a very healthy scene...and especially in the summer. Take stock for a few months and don't force the urge to come back..if it isn't there it isn't there so patience is all you have during this time, IMV. The big downside is that if you become unavailable, people stop calling and it is so hard to make your way back from that.... but there is nothing you can do about that..it is what it is. The best healer is to get together a really pleasing musical situation... and maybe up the ante. We made a decision to stay away from the pub scene and only do the pubs that we like...plus we put the money up and do mostly parties. So, what with better gigs and more money, plus not wanting to be out every week, I just about stay ahead..and keep my enthusiam. In short,...it all comes down to better gig experiences for me... I've been doing it too long to put up with any crap.

Bad-ass sounding..?? Only 2 things can do this..IMO... you really luck out and get a special one...which for mass produced instruments isn't as easy as you'd like, or you have a natural sound yourself so you can make any bass sound good. I am from the camp that needs a bit of help from the bass, Depends who you regard as boutique, but quite a few mass produced basses count as degrees of 'lumps of wood' and certainly if your Alembic is mosty hand made.

Pretty pleased with the audio through decent headphones. Didn't bother with finding a place for the Video as card space an issue... plus the audio defaulted to video record anyway... so the visual is a static pic of nothing. Settings I used were 192kbs for audio and 360 mic surround. Had to turn the mic level right down..as you'd expect.

Saw Vinegar Joe with Elkie B and Robert Palmer a few times as they were part of rosta that played the halls and I don't recall them standing out in any way at the time. Their contempories at that time would have been Thin Lizzy with Eric Bell ( still their best gtr, IMO ) Curved Air, Steve Harley, the College circuit bands etc etc ... and Lizzy were probably the best, altho that might have just been because they had the hit..???

If it doesn't work on all sides... it doesn't work. Move on.

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1397573842' post='2425269'] I had a lovely steak the other day, it was in the worst named restaurant in Weston-super-Mare, 'The Super Mare'. It's a hungry horse.. But it was lovely, nice and rare for £9.99 [/quote] Interesting.... I really like steak but I think it poor value when eating out so normally pick anything but.

Will give mine a go tonight.... probably audio only as only have a 2gb card and I think a 5min Video/song would be about 250mb in size and I want to do the whole set for a few deps... plus we have nothing recent anyway. Audio 5mins = 10 mb, typically ( not the highest audio quality ) Will also have to use rechargeables as I have gone through the batts already.

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It isn't a technique you'd teach and it isn't a technique that would fit in a lot of places. Strudio engrs would be tearing their hair out. Just as well Keith Moon and John Entwhitsle found each other in that vehicle as the mess really works sometimes in the context of the Who.

Ask the shop to price match and expect to be fair and pay a bit over the top for the test facilities. But remember, it is only ballpark fair if the online shop has the kit in stock.

LIke him. Always like to check out what he is doing. Thanx.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1397665457' post='2426259'] Interesting figures, thanks. I didn't realise that 20-ish people could make such a difference to a landlord (assuming they all buy 5 pints . . . which would be a very serious session for me!). [/quote] A good LL friend of ours says that that is what he expects bands to do for him. He has spent the last 3 years building up his thur/fri/sat nights. Thursday is a throwaway night, tbh..so I don't know what the deal there is, but fridays are doing very well with maybe 80 plus ppl in the bar for a good band. He can't quite trust to pay the better money as he has quieter gigs, I'd say, but he'd be happy with 40-50 ppl in the bar most of the time the band is playing. I agree, I'll have 2 beers but plenty do waaay more than that. He is doing ok for an out of town pub. Town pubs with evening passing trade pay much better... but then they have bouncer costs as well. As for smaller pubs.. We will only do a pub with decent space and a decemt viewing area so that rules quite a few out..