JTUK

After trying to get clarification about plan B in event of the weather, we were initially told that the village hall up the road was booked. We said a few days ago that it should be moved inside.. but got an e-mail back saying everything is now arranged and we can't move to the Village hall as the beer is in place. This is not what was agreed and we said as much. We got an e-mail back this morning saying 'don't bother, we have another band happy to play'. That is it for me..they will get our bill for 'cancelling' us..although they haven't said as much..just what I quoted above. The gig money is decent and we have turned down other enquiries for this but I can't be arsed to work for such jokers. If this is how he runs an event..then god knows what lash-up on the day we might encounter. Happy to walk well away from this train-wreck.

hmmm just had a gig tonight cancelled. It is a beer festival/Jubiliee thing as far as I can tell..I wasn't involved in the booking but it has been in the diary for a year almost. They originally told us that they would move to the village hall in the event of bad weather.. and now they will not do that...and insist we play in a marquee where all the beer is. We said, that wasn't what was agreed and they have now said, 'don't bother, we have another band happy to play'. Does this amount to a formal cancellation when we hit them with a cancel fee..?? How all this can come about from an e-mail received at 0800 this morning for tonight's gig tells me all I need to know about the organisers.. so I say walk away. The only trouble is that we have turned done good gigs for this..and the money was decent, so that makes it harder to just write this off..even though it has all the hallmarks of a train wreck.

We finished in time last night so the rain did not affect us. Today's gig..in Kent..the weather is overcast and it will not be warm outside but at least it isn't raining. Tomorrow..we are outside but can move inside.. Most sensible people have invested in plan B.

He used 301's... but never needed much high end gliss... that just wasn't in the game at that time. And Steve Rabe brought out a very respected bass monitor system which blew everything else out of the water at the time..pretty much.

I call 20lbs lightweight fo an amp. I guess it depends if you want a valve or valve simulation. I can do without both, tbh..which would put Markbass in the mix but then I am not convinced about them at volume. Getting a good sound out at low volume is the easy part for most amps..getting them to create that when pushing it is the hard part and sorts out the men from the boys, IMO and is not the cheap option. I would include Ampeg lll's, and GK...both of which aren't my cup of tea at all, but can get grindey. I have been impressed with TC RH750 at loud demo's volume..-in a shop--.. but I feel/suspect they are pretty reliant on their cabs due to the clever internal mapping.. I guess I am saying I would look at trad amps and include EBS and Eden...but not modern SWR..even though I have a great amp of 20 yrs.. the new ones aren't the same thing ..at all..!! All we can do is point out a few opinions of what we have come across.. but these are only typical observations... there is no way round how it all relates to your playing. Also, I think I am getting round to saying, I am not convinced by micros If it were me looking for a new amp. and needing it not to weigh in at all-valve weights My list would be EBS Epifani. Eden Thunderfunk and I'd break the weight rule for a DB750.

LIked them both... interesting and funky and they stood out amongst the crowd...IMO. Shame they haven't been that prolific. or maybe that is a good thing.

We use a click live...mostly it sets the tempo of the track as absolute and pre-determined... and the drummer keeps to that. We don't currently use sequences so we would have license to move things but the drummer's discipline and time is very good. Strict tempo is very important to us as we do quite a few slow numbers

I guess it all depends on budget and the organisation. We make a point of not doing festivals for free as you tend to be there to make up the numbers. Lower down the scale, this applies to beer festivals as well... If you want 4 plus bands on then you need to budget for that and cost the event accordingly.INC band fees. If you ( the event ) charge, then that money needs to be spent properly. There is a local row going on here about a big name festival ( for these parts ) getting local acts to apply, then getting FB likes to justify their inclusion or some crap like that. It isn't hard for some student bands to rack up 300-400 likes, but that doesn't garauntee any sort of standard in itself... or get those unqualified 'likes' to actually attend the gig, but there you go. Most local bands boycott it..even tho the gig itself sounds worth doing. All you can say is that you have tried it...didn't rate it as worth doing again, and so now you know. I have to say, I am generally very cynical about 'free' events ...free for who..?? and we tend to say thanks, but no thanks.

Not sure. It wouldn't be the way I'd go as I'd have two cabs for a punchy band gig. I always think you are asking a lot tonally out of one speaker anyway. To get more top out of a bass..the bass has to give it and the cab has to be able to produce it at the volumes you need... Some cabs are better than others and I am not convinced 12's do this that well. Sure, they can relate to the frequencies but can they get them across and through the mix..? A horn would help to a degree as would getting the amp/cab up at ear level but that is a fudge in itself...as all that does is serve you ..which might be the main point.. but I work from the premise that if the sound is fug to you from the floor position, it isn't going to suddenly 'fix' itself out front...so if you play parts that need top end to be heard..you need everyone to hear it. This is why I always have the cabs on the ground and I use it as a monitor to hear/mix and also to know what the crowd out front hear as I am the only one 'monitorin/mixing' it. It you have FOH, then presumably you have an engr or otherwise the point is..??? ...and it is not so much your issue, that is his job. From your standpoint.... I would concentrate on clean signal as far up the chain as poss..and then it gets a tad easier to help that through your set-up.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1337811668' post='1666011'] My guess is they started out small, making small amounts and selling mainly in germany. [/quote] yep... which is why you wont find many old old ones.. They do like to distress them, so who would know anyway.. As for collectivity... I don't think so. They aren't sought after enough at this time and aren't stand-out either. Fender basses were the only ones that lasted 25 years in a playable condition when they started to be sought after..nowadays, there is too much competition... As with Warwicks..my feeling is that earlier models are considered more desirable, but not really desirable.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1338585534' post='1676984'] Are the two necessarily mutually exclusive? Back O/T, Errr Fender Jazz? I have "superior" basses, but the Jazz just feels (better than) "right" to me. I guess the ergonomics suit me well as everything is in exactly the correct place. That ought to make me a prime candidate for a "Super-Jazz" (Sei, Sadowsky etc.etc) but somehow they're just not the same. [/quote] No, not at all... but then I am not the one asking.. I am not sure the OP knows what he wants and is therefore flooding the forum with all sorts of questions about all sorts of kit. Not that that is a particuarly bad thing in itself, but the OP will soon get to know what HE likes as opposed to what everyone else likes... which, on here, can be VERY diverse. As it happens I do have a couple of very ****** basses which are very good and uber cool anyway. What other people make of them defines them ...

For a backup, get a power amp and a pre amp like a THammer. That way, you have to power amp to serve a P.A failure as well, unless you run actives. and a DI for the bass ...

Nice wood... I tend to think no to the J pickup on those grounds, but then again if it doesn't/can't trash the value, I can't see why you wouldn't want a J pickup on it anyway

All good then... . and you can move on. The best thing this site ever teaches you...above ALL else, is to step back and consider and don't go steaming in too quickly.

I'd have far more confidence in the 102....but only you would know how hard you would have to push..It didn't work for my band but we are loud and punchy, IMO. I have never heard a good sound from anyone using a 112 or 115 Markbass which may be odd, but thats my experience. I've never liked me through a 112 MB combo either.. the sound is too soft and thuddy out front and I'd suggest it lacks focus off stage. Just my 2p.. I don't have masses of time on Markbass...and I like the amp to a degree,

A Thunderfunk. Best amp I've come across in a loooong time. ..and you'll need something on the same sort of level as the DB, IMo.

Both my pre amps are Bass, 15 db boost only, so I run one bass @ zero bass and the other no more than notched/half Too much bass destroys your tone. The treble is +- 15 bd so I run treble not more than central on either I do the most of the work of the mid sweep..but try not to get away from the inherrent passive sound so the active becomes merely a kicker to that passive sound. If you run to anything like extreme EQ settings on some pre amps they are unusable and.you totally screw the sound and. MM pre amps are a case in point. IMO.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1338465271' post='1674948'] I thought that was just the norm with amps Every other one I've used either lost all the low end, or had to be turned down to get more headroom... or just turned into a muddy mess! Then again other than Markbass I've only used Laney, Trace Elliot, Marshall, Ashdown, Ampeg, and Behringer! What are you using now? [/quote] Thunderfunk 550-B. I find this very well engineered and well specced. A more modern take on the old SWR SM amps which also were very well specced with top quality components according to the amp tech who had to work on it.. The only blip was when someone knocked it to the floor....

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1338416951' post='1674449'] Actually I've found that my Markbass rig sounds a lot different at higher volumes. You really get the full benefit of those earth shaking lows when you crank it, but you don't lose any of that clarity! The settings I normally have tend to sound a bit thin at low levels.. [/quote] My point exactly... I like the sound at low volume but found it too brittle and too different at high violumes with a hint of it struggling. Whereas the amp that I have doesn't behave like that at all. Not saying Markbass are bad..I think the amps are made well...but I don't expect such a difference at higher volume. It means you have to EQ for every gig and that low level EQ experimention is pretty worthless, IME. Not the worse thing ever about amps, admittedly.. but not something my fave amp does or indeed my old SWR does so much.

[quote name='Doctor J' timestamp='1338415817' post='1674431'] Indeed. My principal interest here is because I have a pain in my hole lugging stuff around for gigs. If I can get something which sounds decent and fits in a gig bag pocket then I'm a truly happy camper. It doesn't have to be the best sounding amp in the history of the world ever, though obviously it's got to sound good. I will be somewhat forgiving tonally if the size and weight is right. The Streamliner looks about right but there seem to be lots of people out there changing the eq valve to make it something a bit more useable, which is a concern. [/quote] If this is your criteria, I can't see you having any problems getting something to suit. The problem may be if you weren't willing to entertain any compromise at all.

hmmm..... OP not been back lately..???

I can't see much right and wrong in all this as this is how things work...for good or bad. There could have bee more diplomacy and the OP did put himself out, to quite some degree, but I am surprised that people are surprised this stuff happens. Music is notoriously self serving..and even more so when money gets involved...and maybe it needs to be to get these unworkable things off the ground.. You just have to knock it up as experience. and see if you want to repair the damage.... or if indeed he does. As for the bass parts... he called them as not appropriate on HIS project... they didn't work, weren't good enough or any number of other reasons. Use the knock back as a positive once you get over the denting of pride to get used to someone directing your parts..if you want to be called often. The up side to being able to do this..is that you get known for being a quick study...and you get finished quicker..and everyone loves people who save money of recording costs. You treated it as a labour of love..got no thanks for it...instead of a job.

[quote name='bassickman' timestamp='1338396608' post='1673944'] The £5k budget is for amp and bass. I'm thinking maybe Fender jazz deluxe 5 with mark bass little mark tube 500 and a mark bass 4 x 10. Or maybe a genz benz shuttle and a vanderkley 4 x 10 or......... a genz benz with a bergantino 4 x10. Thoughts? I've been to bass Direct all day today and I have only warmed to this gear. However, obviously I didn't try every bass in there. Maybe a bass modelled on a j-bass with better components would be an option. [/quote] Ok..good work. You now have decent reference to stuff you liked the sound of. Forget this talk of 34-35 inch scale, IMO, for 5 strings. The defining thing about a 5st bass is indeed the B string. It is either good or it isn't and for that..you need to hear it. There are not many..IME... 5 strings basses, I would buy blind in view of the B working being great. If the bass sounds good, then it is good, for you. But a poor B string can only be cleaned up a little by new strings and you certrainly don't want to assume that that can be done. IMO, Fenders are as prone to poor QC to some degree as anything else... a flick through a few past posts can bear that out. Again..you can circumvent this by playing the bass and reviewing it 1st hand. A good Fender is a good Fender, tho...... nothing wrong in that if it ticks ALL your boxes. If you like the sound of the MarkB stuff you tried, it is decent kit. Ditto GB. Vanderlacky and Berg cabs are quality so if you like their sound, you would have an enviable rig using anything in your last post. If you see Aguilar amps and cabs on your travels, then check them out as well. Super jazzes ..ie, a spin on the fabled Jazz design is a good option. Overwater and Sadowsky do well there. Maybe check out the Xotic, Sandberg, Lull. They tend to come with hot pre amps so a bit more control and oomph to the sound, IMO. Good fun..we can all spend that money for you on our wish-lists.

Which is exactly how it should be... Nobody bar the band will know that you can't do the song justice as you pulled the plug before anyone else could hear it and come to that conclusion. The bigger failing would be that the band didn't realise that they were making a pigs ear of the tracks. FWIW..I've vetoed songs ..but if someone is insistant we try it, we will take it to rehearsal and find out.

£5K... nice budget if just on an amp and cab..if you include a bass in that, then you need to be sensible. What has your research thrown up so far..IIRC, you spend the day at BassD..? what did you like the sound/look of..? I think you need a few of these visits to the same sort of shops to see what is about. What about transporting the stuff..?? no point in going for the big FO rig and you can't move it.