JTUK

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1330191722' post='1553998'] Thanks very much! I stand behind our backing singers who tend to get a lot more attention than I do! [/quote] Understandable, ....

Played at a charity ball in a marquee in this nice country house. Very good effort by the organisers and a lot of money raised. TOP TOP totty in ballgowns (can't recall a gig with so many really attractive women at the same time ) but I can't say we were that great after more than a few weeks off. No time to sound check as we got there at the required time but they let the guests in too early and after the burlesque show, it was all too much of a rush. I think it was a very good effort all round though....

I quite like the ML112...if the price of $650 transferred over reasonably, it would be in the mix, IMO

[quote name='R Baer' timestamp='1326400046' post='1496844'] I've have been talking with Mark over at Bass Direct about carrying our gear, so hopefully we will have that set up sometime soon. If you contact them and let them know you are interested in trying the gear out, it would help let them know there is interest in the UK for our products. Roger [/quote] Sounds good.

agree... altho it is funny we struggle more..relatively ..at pubs than ticketed affiars.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1330177747' post='1553748'] Unfortunately for you unless the band's playing ability is so poor that it affects their performance to the point where even non-musician members of the audience notice, the fact that a band "can't play well" is pretty much irrelevant when it comes to getting gigs. Venues want bands that will stop their existing audience from leaving and bring in some new people through the door. Bands tend to do this by either having lots of friends who can be persuaded to turn up or by being entertaining to watch and listen to, which lets them build up a reputation for being worth going to see. The audience wants to be entertained. They want something interesting to look at and some catchy songs songs to sing along to and maybe even get up and dance to. If you haven't got those then it doesn't matter how well you play as a band or individual musicians - you are unlikely to be attractive to the audience. [/quote] and I forgot...one or two of these bands, can't play for toffee, and I mean T.O.F.F.E.E, but one of them broke the attendance record of the year for one local pub. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but I know their set and performance made my eyes water... ...

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1330177747' post='1553748'] Unfortunately for you unless the band's playing ability is so poor that it affects their performance to the point where even non-musician members of the audience notice, the fact that a band "can't play well" is pretty much irrelevant when it comes to getting gigs. Venues want bands that will stop their existing audience from leaving and bring in some new people through the door. Bands tend to do this by either having lots of friends who can be persuaded to turn up or by being entertaining to watch and listen to, which lets them build up a reputation for being worth going to see. The audience wants to be entertained. They want something interesting to look at and some catchy songs songs to sing along to and maybe even get up and dance to. If you haven't got those then it doesn't matter how well you play as a band or individual musicians - you are unlikely to be attractive to the audience. [/quote] Don't disagree, altho I find it amusing, or rather, I just don't get it..but sure, if you don't pull people in, you aren't much use to a venue round here. Most, it not nearly all, expect the band to do their bit. Bands can, of course, talk up their game, no end, but it doesn't matter a hill of beans if you play to empty.

I would tell them what I was looking at within their shop and also mention what others you have shortlisted. If they didn't take you seriously then, then they don't deserve your custom. You may not be blessed with other shops ..but any shop worth anything at all should realise this is a potential sale and give you due respect. As the the second question..yes, it is fair game. If you want, you can tell that you WANT to try all 4 for whatever reason you want to tell..but just being pretty interested should be enough to get them to fire them up... If they are that disdainful of potential customers...then I can't see how they have stayed in business... it is tough out there and I can't imagine any shop I know carrying on like that..

Your guys need a bit of education about layering sound. They can't just turn up and play what to them is a great sound and be oblivious to what space everyone else needs...plus there are two of them...!! You all need to dial in your preferred sounds and then compromise that to suit the band sound. Most bands run a wall of sound and then wonder why something isn't coming through.. it becomes a fight as to who has the most powerful sound/frequency forced through the wall. The drums need to be tuned ... to sound good, and to sit in their defined layer. The bass will likely sit just below this..but when running both bass and drums, you should easily have it running nice and simply and sounding good. Now..hand it over the the gtrs and 'challenge' them to play and not destroy the mix. If they can alter their outputs and styles and it all sounds good, you have educated them, if they can't, then you'll need to book time with a studio and teach them layered dynamics. Of course, you also need them to stick to these lessons and that will be just as hard a job. Most gtrs run waaaay too much bass end which just swamps everyone else and it becomes a volume fight rather than a mix. Plan C ..is not to play with such f***wits ..as they don't understand the concept of a band..only their part in it and you'll never sound good, let alone great, IMO.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1330106262' post='1552940'] When you say "not very good" in what sense do you mean? [/quote] Can't play well

My example applies to two pubs.. They are most sort after gigs and can even pay below standard rates as they are over-subsribed with bands trying to get in. We are going to have to pull out from one of these gigs though as it clashes with a Brewery sponsored show we would rather do. We would have done both but the pub complained to their brewery/masters than we were taking trade away from them... even though the gigs can't clash as they aren't even on the same nights of the week... Not sure why we seem to be the only ones affected either, but there you go. I think there are way too many bands per venue so a decent selection policy can work, but it needs to be upheld and it needs to keep the upper hand in doing so. People do turn out on their band night because they know any band that gigs there are going to be decent. This is opposed to many a venue who must chase the best drawing acts even though some aren't very good. I don't mind those pubs who need to fill their bar and a lot of it is shamless self promotion..which we can all be guilty of... but how some bands get gigs I do not know, on the basis that they aren't very good at all.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1330009441' post='1551349'] I've seen the pics of your PJ Chris and its a beauty. Like I said, quality and style are fantastic, tone is obviously subjective, but little things like the back compartment do catch my eye when its a bass over £1600. Silly I know! [/quote] agree. I don't expect to see that cheap solution to a £2000 bass. And I'll see it every time I'd play it.

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1330019070' post='1551596'] LOL I've literally been commenting on an almost identical situation on a local music forum. A band played at a local pub venue recently and at the end of the evening the bar manager approached the band and renegotiated their fee down... because THEY hadn't brought any extra punters with them! Now this was never prior agreed nor was it implied and we are talking about knocking down the fee at the 'end' of the night when the band have played two full sets inc' 3 encores. Needless to say the band are aggrieved but didn't make an issue of it on the night (more fool them, some might say). The manager's defence was that the crowd that were in were locals and also members of the local darts team who were at the venue regardless and no extra punters were brought in by the band. My argument would be that the manager hired the band for their services to entertain the crowd NOT to bring 10 - 20+ people along with them. There has been debate on the matter with other bar managers saying 'fair does' and bands saying 'get stuffed'; now bands need venues and music venues need bands so it should be symbiotic BUT to think that it is acceptable to dock monies at the end of the evening is a joke. [/quote] That is shocking.... not sure how the pub got away with that... The way it works with us is that we review every date and decide whether we want to go back. If the crowd is low then your hand is weakened anway, so it is always a good thing to work at getting people along. We are crap at it though or nobby no-mates. For this reason we are a slow-burn and many a newer band will pull more as they get their mates to turn out at every gig.. maybe we are just old farts. Just put the rates up as well.. ha ha !! I think we have got this all wrong...

The best pub gigs round here have a very good selection policy..in that they police their line-up carefully. That way, you find many turn up every week and they know the criteria and standard is good enough. In that sense, the venue has the audience already..the bands bring along theirs..and you get a rammed pub. It works.

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1330005288' post='1551246'] If the Reidmar which is only 250 watts has this amount of output, it makes me wonder if other EBS amps are as equally as powerful. The Classic 450 puts out 400 watts at 4 ohms which does not really sound much compared to a lot of other amps but maybe it is super loud when running through something like the Classic 410 or Classic 212. Likewise, I wonder if the TH660 which is pumping out 400 / 460 watts at 4 ohhms is as equally loud The reason I mention this is in the future, I may require a loud rig, something that kicks outs say 600 - 800 watts. I was looking at a single 410 or 212 also if possible. I would like to stick with EBS but on paper with a single cab, cant offer this apart from the Fafner II. However, perhaps they can if their figures are more accurate and believeable over other manufactuers especially if the Reidmar is anything to go by. [/quote] I've had to do this for my bass monitor on large stages. I have 550w into 4 ohms and 2x210 cabs. Going 2x210 is an expensive way to replicate a 410 type rig but works great for me. I also use 2x112 but this isn't my preferred number one rig. I would go to 610..but the number of times I would run it..and could carry it, makes it not a practical proposal atm,..unless I change my car.

I have to say that I like hand wired amps...and am happy to pay the premium for that. Both my amps are superb internally and I have had one problem in 20 years..and that was a accident not a faulty component. It cost £35 to fix and the tech..a retired designer, really rated the internals if not the acutual design stage of the pre. The designer in him said he would have done it differently. Was happy with that comment as that is design semantics as far as I am concerned..??? This reliability greatly pleases me..as does the sheer quality of the sound. I accept the modern amp should not be shoddy sound-wise even if it is a pig for a tech to work on but I can see where that extra money in components might benefit.as the amp sounds even better really pushed. Most amps run out of puff, I find, and certainly one or two of the class D types I've borrowed. It is like cars that do 150mph.....getting there is not the problem... eventually...but the key is how you get there. Same with amps, IMO. they will push up 3-4-500watts but how does the sound manage that when running hard. I am also a player who needs that headroom as I am a very light player. I don't think 250w will work for me..plus I have 2 great amps anyway, but I am watching this thread with interest and maybe some months down the line will want to see how this has all panned out. I think EBS augur well, as they have been known for using quality parts in previous amps... so..???? plus I want to get another couple of 12" cabs. Not concerned whether Neo or not if the cab maxes out at 40 odd lbs

I'll jump straight in here and admit I've merly skimmed a few posts so far. Round here, a venue/pub will know they have to painstakenly build up a venue..and that takes time. Some people have these guts, others don't. Quite a few pubs have cut down to one a month..which defeats the previous point, but that is their decision. Every bar wants a band to bring in more people than it will get itself on its own terms..otherwise why would a bar/pub pay £200 plus for a bar with no 'benefits' The simple economics as explained to me is..that a known venue will want the band to bring 20 people along.. as that will be a decent enough night for the bar to keep the gigs going. Same bar also said that gig nights were keeping the pub going in these times. Beer is £3.30 per pint, typically, which is above average round here. Shep pubs prices are less that £3.00 typically and they 'sponsor' an awful lot of music nights/pubs in Kent. I don't mind paying those prices for the beer..but I also drive so no real money is made out of me. There will be a couple of us, at least so the others make up for it. If you don't pull people in, then don't expect any gigs round here. It isn't enough to be a very good band, you have to play the numbers game. As I said before, there are bands that are frankly awful, filling pubs and they will get gigs. Even indie bands can get gigs if they put on a show with 3 bands... fill the place and the landlord shells out .. this is done on a trust thing, so you need to have a straight landlord or have the deal sorted. Other bars want a max fee of £100.00 and you can have 10% of the takings that night. No takers there, certainly from us, and the pub is still doing music...so either people have agreed to this or they have not stuck to that policy. At the moment..and this is a bone of contention for me..we don't do many pubs...even as a loss-leader and have moved onto private parties. I don't say functions as I have no intention of playing a function set and basically we play a pub set for 2x1 hr sets. This has doubled our money we get from pubs...at least. We charge £400-£1000 for this this year. I still think we need to keep pubs dates in the book... as this perpetuates the other bookings and gets us around and more known. But if we also do ticketed ghigs..you can't really water this attendance down by being a regular pub band. Whether our audience from the pubs sticks with this and pays £8 a ticket, we will have to see. For our part, I think we need 3 sets. A pub set to hone our stuff A party/venue set with a stage show..and therefore a cut above the pub set and a function set...as you just know someone will throw a good sum at you and you can't ignore it. FWIW... I want the band to be popular doing what we do... and that is a hard thing to juggle if you don't want to pander too much and do the numbers every other band does. Most popular round here in pubs in the 70-80-90's gtr set...but then I'd argue that is what the punter has pretty much rammed down their throat. I guess time will tell

well, if you can't handle it, you can't handle it...but there are plenty of things you should be doing to help yourself rather than just not picking up/carrying weights. That in itself is next to useless , IME.

ha ha .. Gareth reviewed a DJ for me... and pulled it to pieces. I bought a Sei instead.

but look on the bright side... those people who are pleased easier are the ones that might want to applaud. I would be picking holes in me and my band if I was in the audience... but then I do it anyway...even though I am in the band

you could also play through hearing the changes. If you can hear intervals and know the song in your head... you just go with them ..you don't need to have your hands on the frets previously.. This is a classic busking/dep trick. You know the song and where it goes... someone will give you the key and since you can hear the intervals you can play it in any key.... Some people..notably gtrs..just play it by shape...but that is mostly because they don't know what the notes are anyway If you need to throw away the crutch tho..throw it away.

yes..considering his great eye for design/looks...you'd think he would put in a wooden cover. but then he isn't alone in that either.

I'd suggest you need a valve stage... even a decent hybrid with valve pre just to push the gain a bit. My problem with the LM11 is that it is clean ..which is great for me...but then doesn't/can't hold those tones when pushed ..and since I play so lightly, I have to push amps a LOT. Not a fan of putting a pre amp box in front of an amp tho...

FWIW, the RH750 sounded VERY pokey to my ears. I have others misgivings about class D in general but wouldn't complain about the demo I had. Not in the market for another amp, but if I had been, the 750 would be on my list unless a TF750-A and DB750 was on the horizon. No..scrub that..would go for the TF or Ag..no question