JTUK

I'm always fascinated about what people trhink should be in a set..so I only looked at about 6 of his numbers before giving up. I think repetoire is important up to a point but it is what you play and how you play that counts for the most. If playing isn't a strong point, then you might need a populist set, but if the band is good and can do something with a song, then people will listen. You might have to look further than the dog and duck tho'

Too much work and I wouldn't be interested, tbh. Depends on the music style,of course. I recently did a duo gig and thought at the time that the money split was good, but I did the gig really to find out what the singer was like.. I'd not rush back to do another duo....but I would do a band with them

Did loads of self promo style ..as you do when you're young.... It is just a question of knowing the overheads are If you have called in these favours, then at least you shouldn't get a bill at the end...and if the bands are supportive of each other then if each band can get 40 people..easier said than done... then you should have a good crowd. Good luck.... you just have to think these things thru..and know what you are in for..

I'd want to see what the split on costs was.......... and will you start to get yours back if you make more than evens??? If you do front money, I'd cap it, and that and no more.. I'd also want 'proof' or evidence that they've hit the numbers before

Depends what you want to earn. I work backwards, decide how much I'd want and then see if the gig will stand it. That makes a pub gig around £1000-1250 which is not feasible unless a special event. And for that sort of money, I think there are other gigs throughout the year anyway.... so NYE is no longer THE gig from a money point of view. December parties are as good paywise so NYE is just another date now

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1449079976' post='2920644'] What will you be using the monitors for? Just vocals, or will you put a mix through there? If just vocals, how many in the band sing? If a mix, will different people want different mixes? [/quote] If vox only, I'd consider the Mackie mini monitors...very directional if you can position them well enough. The Wharfedale 12/15"'s...aren't all that, tbh. My vote would be for a pr of RCF 310's depending on who sings and needs a monitor.

The one thing I thought jumped out in our demo way back was that the s112's had an indefineable presense in the mid range. And I agree, it is not at all honky, but it is definition of sound. The cabs do full bass without it being overbearing..or baltting everyone else...which is completely different from too much bass. When you get players that play with a lot of people comment on your sound...because they can hear it rather than feel it, then you know are getting there. I've only gigged mine 3 times... and I'm getting there....and I'll refine it even more..IMO. I knew what point I wanted to start from and I'm not seduced by bassey cabs over chacracter and tone.

I know of plenty of people who try and make a living from pubs... not sure how successful they are in terms of income generated but the bulk of their work is from the pubs. They may have a touring gig but doubt that generates much as they are sidemen and the main draw, probably takes/makes more. The guys with the best chance, mix it up a bit... MD'ing a few tours means they network very well, get called a lot but still have down dates. They may have a function gig which they dep a lot...but that is a good payer and back stops a lot of what they do. Pub band gigs is getting you £200-300 Tops per week, so I assume they cut their cloth to live on that... £20k p.a upwards is a tough old slog. Easy to get on target per week, but you have to be doing £400 per week with no down time in the year.. No, I don't think Blue is trolling. My gigs are more jobs for the boys rather than boys night out.

Good luck..... personally not at ALL keen about people getti ng back into it...and especially drums. Being gig fit is quite a big thing...

Just read the OP, and will catch up with the rest of the comments but there aren't enough good gigs about to do 2 or more a week. I've recently put an 'all stars' type unit and I can't flog them for those sort of gigs. They'll work for $120 per man in a bar but they also MD acts into the U.K. so I wouldn't take the mick.. I book them on down nights or have to pay a much higher going rate. If a prestigious gig comes in..I know my gig is history. So, in one sense... it is a boys night out, but we aren't mates... but we are musical network buddies and we know how the game works. The gig that gets them is in for a rare treat.,...but whether that is tangible as far as the LL or audience goes.. we'll see as we go on. Come the summer, I expect to have some really good gigs for them..as far as I'm concerned... but I also know they can pull more career interesting gigs out of the bag and I'll have to let them go. That is the deal...

I've used the S112's with a DB750, TH500, Demeter 800 and Ampeg PF500. I only ever pair them but a single can just about take on a band ... not that I'd want to do this by choice as it is working everything too hard ...including the bass player and the gig is a bust.. but if finesse or headroom isn't critical, it will get you out of jail. What I really like about the cabs is they are tone monsters. They seem sympathetic to the amp..or the ones I've tried but retain character. I still think my Aguliar DB rig shades it thru sheer heft, but it doesn't leave the TKS rig far behind... I think we tried the 1126 briefly and the sound was too bloomy... I don't mean booming at all, but just too big a sound ... Very nice but the extra money achieved nothing from my point of view so we concentrated on the S112's which had a special character and voice... which adapted to the amp we paired it with. Probably a limited comparision and unfair 'observation' but we really went to hear the S112's anyway. If you put nothing in... then you get less out. It isn't a BASSEY cab but it has the balls you'd (IMO) want.

All my advanced amp modules...which are pretty good in context, don't survive in a band situation. And there is always a compressor in there. Never have a problem with an engr using it... but I don't at source.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1448804450' post='2918241'] Same for my amps. The TH500 works perfectly with my Bergantino cabs but doesn't sound so good with the Barefaced cabs. The Thunderfunk works really well with any cab I've owned. [b]If the Subway can outperform either of those amps with both sets of cabs then it's on the Wanted List.[/b] [/quote] I'm getting the impression that it will not offer much more than the rest of the stuff at that pricepoint... or not enough to change. The TF550-B is a very good amp...and better made than the rest of the stuff, likely mentioned here, so if you like that amp...and I did... then I'm thinking Emporers new clothes..? The only amp I'd offer you look at would be the Demeter.but accept how good the Mesa is is conjecture at this stage.

I keep taking mine out...and then unplug it and do the gig natural.

Core skill is fast otcoves with two fingers. Listen to Chic and Edwards for a master class..and do that for a few montts. You'll never have problems again . Rest thumb on the neck pick-up ...if you have a Jazz... and move it to the rear when you get it down. The thumb on the pickup is a launch you'll need when trying to crack this ..to kind of throw your RH plucking fingers 'up' the strings...which is actually a down motion with the wrist. Once you can do quavers/8's..then incoroprate a triplet... with 1 root and 2 octave..and then reverse it, 2 root and 1 octave. Classic finger style. You can pinch it with a thumb on the bottom and one or two fingers on the octave, but I'd only do this for a different sound.. it wont 'cop' the classic style, IMO. Cool to do both...but string skipping is a fundemental skill to be nailed, IMO.

The reason that 810's got their foothold is because they could go loud on stages where monitoring wasn't always so great so the cab was a sound source for the bass and also the band. The fact that you didn't have to EQ it and it wasn't offensive sounding in terms of the wrong frequencies made it friendly to soundmen as well. It is still the benchmark today. even tho it only needs to be a bass monitor. It will not be mic'd though, 99% of the time

I recall a PV combo with a BW speaker..the speaker was brilliant but the amp was awful. Anything over 60% on the dial sounded truly bad.... totally unuable. Ashdown 115 combo was a different league ( 15 yrs later) and 'worked' in a marqee with a band with horns. I say 'worked' but wouldn't like to gig it now. But at the time, it was ok. It's all relative.

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1448526351' post='2916067'] Now there's an idea for another topic. What's the best band you saw but cannot remember? I think I saw Hawkwind and Joe Walsh (not together), but don't remember much. And no unusual substances involved, just don't remember. No reflection on either, I'm sure they were excellent. [/quote] If I can't remember them, I'd hardly call them the best band you saw. i've seen Genesis with Gabriel, and EWF and Parliament. I think I fell asleep during EWF. Can't recall a thing about Zappa either...??????????

I'd put the bass down if it had more than a couple of mm action...personally.

Jeff Porcaro...

It isn't a zingey amp, for sure, but it is well thought out for what it is trying to do. I always say that Aguilar have well and truly stolen Ampegs clothes so a vintagey vibe is where it sits, IMO..........but I have a very lively sound and whilst not glassey te TH sounds great to me I don't use the drive either and would have the Treble on around 2-3... On my Demeter, which I'm using instead now, the treble is around 12 and the presense nearly 3 just to get a reference

[quote name='Jakester' timestamp='1448377220' post='2914881'] I've done a fair bit of recording for a weekend warrior. All of mine has been as drummer though, but I think the point is as valid for any instrument or ensemble - it's all about the sound. I've had two good experiences and the rest vary from mediocre to downright awful. The bad ones were because the engineer wasn't prepared to listen to us (and me in particular) about the type of sound we were looking for. I have pro gear, well maintained and tuned that sounds like drums. I wasn't prepared to cover it with tissue, tape etc just because the studio was more familiar with Pinstripe heads. At the places it went well, the tech was prepared to listen to me and accept that I was right about how my drums sounded. One in particular said it had been a learning experience for him too. It's galling to be paying money and then be told you don't know what you want. So for me it's a willingness to work with the band and not simply stick to what you think is right. [/quote] I think it depends where you are coming from... You can be an ok player... working in a studio with an ok engr. I don't assume just because someone sets themselves up as a studio engr they are going to be any good at it. If that was the level of the studio, I'd rather put my time...and maybe money, if a home studio where time was what the guy could give. So with direction and help they'd get their eventually, rather than having to hit the clock or overrun in cost. UNless the budget was reasonable, I'd also opt for live... and then keep an eye out for the overdubs which rack up the cost. I'm expected to get my parts done in a day and half, along with the drums and keys, whereas a gtr will get 3-4 days.. Don't get me started on the singer..

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1448301673' post='2914288'] Not wanting to be a dum-dum here but if using alcohol based soaks what do you do - just soak the strings for a couple of days in a container (sealed or unsealed?) and then wipe them down? [/quote] I don't wipe them dowm...I just soak them in a sealed container, dry them off naturally and put them on a cleaned bass. I don't play with dirty hands and don't sweat much but the only things that touch my strings is me... They go off soon enough.

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1448283502' post='2914100'] Meths can contain water, up to a few percent. Is this adding to the rust problem with a 48 hour soak? I've no idea. I've read that boiled strings can rust. I have put strings in an ultrasonic cleaner, the muck flies off and I'd guess the cleaning time would be much less. I don't think it is a good idea to put alcohol in an ultrasonic cleaner, but in water they'd be exposes to rust risk for a lot less, time, provided you could dry them rapidly. ( quick soak in meths which displaces the water?) You would still have the silk problem. Although I've tried an ultrasonic cleaner, I should add I've noted the muck coming off but don't do it as I use gunky flats, so I'm not sure if there is any advantage. The ultrasonic cleaner was fairly cheap from Maplin (bought to de-gunk spectacles) Incidentally, if you add detergent, don't use domestic stuff ("Fairy"), it contains salt. I think you can get ultrasonic detergent, which might be better or may be just a way of selling you stuff you don't really need. [/quote] Maybe, I put the little stains down to residue when re-using the meths....or the metal being a tad off..?? I use 48 hrs just to be sure they have a good soak. I find I get about 3-5 cleans this way before I throw the string out. I don't get much more technical that this really. Coil them, put them in a clean container and make sure the whole strings are covered in the clean solution. I never straighten out the strings and never allow kinks to make a weak point. I'm careful with the way they come off and I put them back on the same way.

If you give an Engr a lot ot mix, he'll take it and the bill will ramp right up. If the studio was costing £150 per day/per 8 hrs, then I would go for a quick fire job and mix and be reasonabale with the expectations and limitations that that will get you... As a player I'd want £150 a day or 2 x 4hrs so it is hardly reasonable to expect fab results on a shoestring. If you get it, bonus... but that sort of rate is knock it out cheap and a loss leader price, IMO. Not knocking it, but don't expect the world.