Muzz

Yeah, I've had years when more than one band was necessary to get in as many gigs as I wanted...right now, with a boy just started Uni and draining the coffers as fast as he can (something about wanting to eat every day), I'm taking everything I can...

Last minute fill-in gig at a regular venue just popped up for tonight...we've nothing in till the 29th after that, tho the BL is a real gig-ferret, so there may be more. We've 25 or so gigs in for 2024 (inc NYE) so far, there'll be more.. We were going to use Jan to refresh the set list and maybe even have a rehearsal, we'll see how much time there is...

I don't use an amp much these days, and my 'base sound' comes from a Stomp, which would be a nightmare to tweak on the fly. I never liked tweaking my amp EQ live, either, so I've always liked East preamps - the sweepable mids are absolutely essential for me, and I've got one in most of my basses. To the OP, tho, I'd say given your signal chain, tweak the sound elsewhere (tho if you want to to change it onstage you'll be tweaking either on the floor or at the amp - as mentioned above, I don't want to do that) and see how it goes. The only other issue is are you using more than one bass? You don't want to be tweaking pedals/amps for different basses live...

Some of the places I play we'd need someone to defend the tip jar if there was more than ten quid in it...

...and people think Glam just happens... 🙂

I'm in a couple of bands, and one (sadly the quieter one) is a trio where we've all made efforts to simplify the setup (whilst keeping the quality - and even improving it - with new tech), so we can be loaded in, set up, soundchecked and good to go in half an hour, tops, but the other's much more of an 'event', which, to be fair is a selling point in itself (a 4-piece with congas/bongos/percussion, lots of lights, even smoke, and a geetard/singist who also plays the sax - the punters love it), but requires much more gear, and a longer setup/breakdown. Given the choice, I know which I'd rather be in, but a gig's a gig...

I always take a spare - if it's a prestige/well paid gig I'll take two nice basses (I've got quite a few nice basses, might as well give them a run out now and again...tho one will usually stay in the case), if it's the Dog & Duck I'll take my (passive) BB414 (which is fast becoming my bass of choice anyway) and chuck the Westone headless in the other side of the gig bag...if the venue/band area turns out to be the size of a postage stamp I might use the headless anyway.

Well, after the previous misgivings about the NYE gig (agency gig, 5 x 30 min sets with 30 mins between each, plus DJ-ing; total band entertainment time 8pm - 1am*) it went...OK. Venue were a bit twitchy at first, but relaxed when they saw we had it covered, and no objections to the iPad/Playlist DJ parts. Turned out it was £25 to get in the pub (inc one free drink and some circulating nibbles), it was maybe 2/3rds full of locals, but certainly no passing trade at that sort of money. The 5 x sets with half an hour in between was complained about (to us) by quite a few people, it really did kill the vibe, we just directed them to the bar manager, perhaps they'll rethink it. Oh, and nowhere to sit between sets was a pain in most of the lower extremities, we were literally on our feet from half six till half one. No disasters, the musical bits of the gig were fine, and it went off (politely, this is Cheshire with a £25 cover charge we're talking about here) at midnight, plus the load in/out was right next to the door, so it was logistically easy; we were mostly loaded (all bar the mixer, one PA speaker and the iPad) before the last DJ set finished at 1am. Not a gig I'd choose to do again, but hey, we got paid. * Sorry if I sound a bit wet here, @Bluewine, but that's a chunky shift for the UK...

Sadly, I'm not the BL, we'll just have to see how it rolls...

Just an addendum to this upcoming oddly-spaced NYE gig: the landlord won't pay for a DJ, he wants the band to do the whole thing, starting at 8pm for the first 30 min set, then 30 mins playing every half hour, alternating with DJ sets, finishing at 1am. He also extended the hours after we'd accepted the gig...and the money wasn't great to start with; apparently the original band booked had pulled out, and I'm beginning to see why...he's getting five(!) Spotify DJ sets in between our sets, and he can like it or lump it...I may be (and hope to be) proved wrong, but in true Star Wars styleee, I've got a bad feeling about this...

While we're talking festive gigs, we've been asked for our (pub) NYE gig to play 5 x 30 min sets, starting at 8pm, and with half an hour in between each...never encountered this before, and I'm inclined to think it'll make the evening very staccato between live music and DJ'd tunes...apparently the landlord's idea... Anyone done this setup before?

That'd be the Helix Stomp, then...there's a lot of good stuff in a big thread hereabouts about the Stomp, but the short version is I use mine every gig, more often than not without any backline at all. I've got some great tones out of it. The new update has an Orange AD200 amp model in it, and it's very, very good...

Played there a few years ago, spent most of my time looking up at the wings and rivets and stuff...probably my favourite venue of all...

He wasn't up in Padiham last Friday night, was he? 😐 Hope he's on the mend quickly...

Rio. With a pick. 🙁

Have a look at the Babicz three-pointer while you're considering bridges: I took the Old Skool Gibbo one off a Thunderbird when I was fettling it, and put a Supertone like yours on, but was never completely happy with the look; it was a bit too modern. The Babicz is, too, but seems to look less like a big cast thing...and it's a great bridge. Edit: IIRC, some of the Rippers had a BBOT on them (tho yours obviously has the posts for the 3-pointer), that could be a consideration, tho it might involve drilling...

Yeah, it's a truncheon of a thing, takes a bit of sorting out with where to latch it best, but it's definitely the best value for money IEM wireless solution out there; never had an issue with mine (BL/output tweaker notwithstanding) in a couple of dozen gigs now...

In a lairy environment I put the Stomp near/under the kit meccano, not out in the open - I don't have to, erm, stomp on it much during songs (only a couple), so access doesn't have to be all that free all the time. Talking of lairy environments, last Satdy's gig was in a new (to us) venue Burnley way; big pub, been successfully re-launched by a newish landlord - it was rammed when we got there, because the football was on (tho what interest Arsenal and Villa have up that way was debatable), luckily it wasn't a late kick-off, so by the time we were setting up most of the footy types had buggered off and, like last week, been replaced with a more regular pub-going crowd. It all went well, we have several dates for next year, including NYE at a grand for a trio gig, but the landlord was extraordinary: he was all over the place, the life and soul (it's no surprise the place is doing well, he really put a shift in), and he even mucked in carrying the PA and gear out to the cars - I can't recall that ever happening in all the pub gigs I've done... Best part tho, was when he was apologising for the quietness of the place (as I said, I thought it was busy) and then followed up with: 'You should have been here last night, it were proper bouncing...mind you, there was a bit of trouble...see this?' - he pointed to a long mark just above his eyebrows - 'Two proper vicious lesbians kicked off...got a pool cue broken across me head...' I burst out laughing, and he looked a little hurt, so I had to backtrack quickly... So, in conclusion, if you're gigging in Padiham, keep an eye out for those proper vicious lesbians...

I have exactly the same setup and experienced exactly the same thing (and did the same thing with the XLR subbing): turned out the BL/mixer owner had farted around with the aux channels. Output down on the mixer, volume up on the P2. Sorted.

Jazz basses (and copies thereof), rosewood boards (unless so dark it's basically ebony), thicker-than-Jazz necks. Anything with pickups in the wrong place (i.e. without at least one in the P-spot, or very close to it).

It applies to both, but the pic of the short scale emphasises it: I wouldn't want to pay £23k for something otherwise beautifully made that had such OCD-tweakingly random control placement...c'mon, guys: would it have hurt to space them regularly? Were they just dropped onto the bass and drilled where they fell?

Firstly, I'd just like to say StingRayBoy42 wins the weekend with 'Depping on Sousaphone'... 🙂 Lively gig in a rammed pub (new venue for us, we'll be back) Satdy, despite not much room and a 10pm start once the footy had finished; luckily the crowds of blokes trooping out dejectedly were replaced by a lot of ladies in spangly tops sashaying in, so it was a good gig all round. Nice to see some pubs still thriving... On the timings, we generally play a 45 minute 1st set, break for ten or fifteen, and then play through an hour or so (usually a bit longer, depending on the audience) plus encores...seems to work OK...

For a given value of 'decent'...I just need a live covers band approximation with the kit I've got...

Thanks for the suggestions, I started with Ian A, I guess I just lost confidence in my own judgement of the sounds I was getting (see 'two hours of indecisive hell' above), I was hoping someone might say 'I've got a decent Moog sound which works live'...back to the Stomp...