paulbass

Why dont you all meet up as a band in a pub and have a chat before booking a rehearsal. Then you'll know what to do first and what direction you want to go in. Everyone gets involved then from the begining and they will know if its for them. Bonding time if you like.

Hi Twincam, I love starting up bands its like a fresh piece of paper ready for a piece of art to be created . Running bands can be very hard work and i completely agree with the comments on here about sharing costs etc...this shows resolve and a level of commitment within the band. Whether its splitting the cost of a rehearsal room or buying a pa you all need to chip in. This also goes with chipping in with ideas and song choices and getting gigs,everyone should do their bit. If your just starting out i would suggest agreeing on a track to cover just so you have something all in common to have a go at. This way you will get a measure of each musician and a feel of what everyone can do. You can always drop the track once your up and running with your own material. I would advise trying not to do everything and to get everyone involved and use each others experience to make it work. It can be very easy to fall out with people in bands so negotiation is key to a lot of it. Its a lot of give and take. For me i found chemistry between the players is really important whether in personalities and musical abilities/tastes. You all need to be going in the same direction. Most of all have fun and enjoy the journey and let us know how you get on Good Luck!

I've used Hartke and was impressed. Great value for money and a good workhorse. It was used with an old laney 4x10 and it was plenty powerful and had quite a good range on the tone. I've never gone through a BH500.

I've always fancied getting a fretless as the main influence that got me started playing bass was Pino....Damn you GAS!

I had this problem a few years ago and i realised that the guitarist wasnt very confident and was also intimidated by some of the musicians in the band for their ability and experience.In time the guitarist started to believe in himself and he started to enjoy how his own sound was enhancing the songs we did. Although that band disbanded we still remain very good friends. Geek99 has made a very valid point suggesting playing acoustic and see what happens...at least you've given him a fair chance.

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1416425468' post='2610128'] Having been through the jointly owned PA minefield, I'd strongly advise that each band member buys/owns the constituent parts individually - one owns the mixer, one the tops and so on. That way if someone leaves, they take their item with them and no arguments about buying them out, value etc. At worse, if you split up and sell a complete PA to share out the proceeds, you can lose a lot of money. Been there, done that. Am fortunate in owning my own complete rig these days - decided to buy to avoid another loss. Gets me gigs, too. I'm a crap player, but people hire me for my kit [/quote] If only i had this advice when i first started! I'd have a complete pa by now it does make sense to buy your own when you consider all the money you spend on them over the years with other bands.

[quote name='bassfunk' timestamp='1416232088' post='2608103'] We use a pair of Mackie SRM450 tops and a Mackie Sub. We have 3 wharfedale monitors, I'm on wired IEM and the Keys is on wireless IEM. The Mackies are sometimes a little harsh sounding as said above but they do the job and ensure the vocals can be heard in the mix. They're not overly heavy and the earlier ones are supposed to be more reliable. It saves having to buy power amps and crossovers etc. One vocalist I know has some RCF active tops. They're a bit 'smoother' sounding than our Mackies and would probably go for them if I had a choice. As JTUK has said QSC are nice but if you're only doing pubs can you really justify the extra expense? 2nd hand Active speakers that haven't been battered are the way to go IMHO for the kind of gigs you're doing. If you get more/bigger gigs and want to upgrade you can turn your current tops into monitors. [/quote] Thanks bass funk, we would only need them for pub gigs and your right, we couldnt justify the extra expense. Thats my thinking exactly.The bigger gigs we play tend to have their own engineer with a pa so thats not a problem.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1416260791' post='2608510'] For vox only... you basically just need to EQ the voice reasonably but it helps if the singer knows what makes his voice sound good. The trick to a good band sound, IMO, is to start with good core sounds per man, and that way you are just sorting levels ..which is way easier and QUICKER than trying to EQ the thing. The bigger problem, IME, is who do you get to learn from as a man with a P.A for hire may not be the best reference. Out of all the P.A's we might hire during a year, we get a result from about 50% of them or less, and the reason I feel able to say that is that I record all our gigs and the best recordings are ALL with our own self monitored P.A. [/quote] This makes sense and i completely agree

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1416253698' post='2608382'] All good advice, but are any of you any good with sound? I'm not trying to piss on your parade but you are on the first step of a very long road here, and you can't just buy a good sound. [/quote] Your right about not being able to just buy a good sound. Playing in bands for nearly 30 years has taught me that but it has been a long time since i got involved with buying pa's and today there is so much choice to suit every budget its mind boggling!. Theres been some very good advice and tips on this thread which i'm grateful for. In previous bands that i've been in i was the one that did the sound checks and although i've been with this band for 3 years its the first one i've been in that uses a sound engineer.As you will know every venue sounds different so i always go out the front to ensure i'm happy with the sound of the bass and it sits right in the mix for peace of mind. The engineer does tend to consult me about the final mix as im usually out the front. Of course if we play at festivals you got to trust the engineers working at that event...shame you cant hear yourself from the front at those events!

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1416211602' post='2607867'] You might find this useful if you want a little light background reading [url="http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1591207"]http://www.ultimate-...d.php?t=1591207[/url] Basically you'll need to decide whether to go for an active mixer with passive speakers or a pair of active speakers with a passive mixer. I'd also go for active monitors as this cuts down on lugging amplifiers around and also cuts down the lead jungle. Don't forget you'll need mics and stands and this all eats into the budget, as do speaker stands and leads. Like everyone else I'd say start out by looking at 12" tops. QSC, Mackie, EV, JBL, Yamaha and Wharfedale have all been mentioned and are good. Steer clear of Peavey, the black widow drivers are excellent and the subs are good as a result but the horn driver they use in their PA cabs is truly awful for vocals, your main use. They have reportedly replaced it in their latest kit but I've not heard them yet. Unless you have a mic you should budget in the £100 range for one. I'd steer you away from the Shure SM58, it's a 50 year old design and showing it a bit. It's tough and undemanding of vocal technique but other mic's have better sound and reject feedback better, go for the beta58 if you must have a Shure, if not look at AKG D5, Sennheiser E835 and up, EV nd767a and Audix OM5, OM7. Everyone is currently upgrading their PA's to active and lightweight at the moment, this means the secondhand market is really good for bargains if you go for passive tops. There were a couple of Yamaha S112's went for £113 a week ago on fleabay. I've had good experiences with Behringer mixers if you need to keep the price down but upgraded to a Yamaha mixer which does sound better. [/quote] Thanks for the link and advice Phil. This could prove very useful

Thanks for the advice everyone. Theres plenty food for thought here. The Mackies seem to be what a lot of people are going for and you can get some good bargains off the net for a pair of these. I'll have a chat with the other members of the band and see how they feel. Thanks again for all your advice

Thanks JTUK, I do find them a lot of hassle and a right pain in the arse! But you got to have one! I have in the past been the one who had to transport the pa to and from gigs and they dont load and unload themselves and they always seem to get heavier when it comes to packing them away . The engineer we use takes a 30% cut and now wants a 50% cut which really is too much as far as we are concerned. Considering we help to unload and load it up. Our guitarist has a big van and has offered to transport it and we would only need tops as it'll be used purely for vocals. Our singer is in a low paid job and is only a youngster and he simply cant afford to buy them himself so the rest of us will buy it and recoup the cost from the gigs until its paid for. I detest the things!

I got the job of organising the lighting in our band which if your not careful it can become additive! Being a rock band we didnt want too many flashing type lights so after a bit of trail and error we now use a bank of adj mega par cans which we set up at the back of us and 2 adj bar lights at the front. I do use a couple of lx5 chauvet lights(cheap and cheerful) either side of the drums just to add a bit of interest and they look good with a haze machine. I operate the lights using a footswitch and it only takes about 15/20 minutes to set them all up. They are all LED and run off one socket which is helpful. I will be getting a couple of white spot lights to shine back at us as it helps us see what we are playing and can look effective amongst the colour wash. I'm sold on LED lighting as they are bright and dont get hot and last few thousands of hours and the price of them are coming down all the time.

Hi everyone, the band i'm in at the moment use a sound engineer with his own pa but he has decided to put his fee up which we find unacceptable. We have decided to all chip in and get our own pa as we play in pubs and bike rallies mainly and the festivals we do the pa is provided. I'm clueless on this side of things as i find its a bit of a minefield . Every band i've been in we've chipped in to buy a pa and it can prove expensive if you get it wrong. Its not just a pa, its the monitors, stands and mixers etc that bump up the overall cost. Then theres passive or active...which add to the confusion of it all! Any advice on this would be appreciated. It needs to be quite powerful,reliable and 'cheap' as possible. Any recommendations i would be grateful for. Thanks in advance

The joys of gigging as you get a bit more established and gain a following maybe you can put your fee up a bit. A lot of these pubs are finding it hard at the moment and i feel its getting worse...at least you got a gig and at the end of the day half a loaf is better than none at all

I would guess he is using mostly the neck pick up and the tube/valve tone on the amp with some compression. I think he may be well using an envelope filter also in parts of this song. Good band and i've never heard of these before...very good bassist.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1414941798' post='2594877'] Exactly lojo, it`s clear you need a third [/quote]^^^This!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1415051749' post='2596220'] I have found since hanging them up they all get some use at some point, Rays get rotated or taken to the right gig, the Haloween gig was in an art deco 20s themed venue all black and white so the black and white Ray5 did that gig along with the Double bass, practice sessions are a lucky dip, function gigs get the Jazz and a lucky dip Stingray unless it is a shithole then the ClassicRay5 stays on the hanger, I will use it and play it with a pick and plenty of beans but it is a bit pricey for a pub where it stands a chance of going home with someone else, funny thing is most thick heads would take the Fender thinking it is worth more [url="http://s997.photobucket.com/user/stingraypete/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-11/20141102_103604_zpseb6n54ip.jpg.html"][/url] Never under the bed, I have a spare hanger too for a later date [/quote] I would love to have a room where i could hang my basses from, that would be heaven!.....dunno what the missus would say about it though nice collection you have there

Wow!.. Its amazing to hear of all the different types of basses out there just lying dormant for one reason or another. There seems to be some quality basses out there hiding away

Hi everyone i've just been noodling on my 1997 Warwick BO Thumb bass which i havent played for a few months now and its a great sounding bass. Once i pick it up i can never put it down! I gig with a Fender MIJ special 1986 jazz Bass which is the one i gig with mostly and i guess its my main bass at the moment....again a very nice sounding bass with a lot of varied tones and very verstile. But lurking deep underneath my bed i have a Hohner b bass with a built in de-tuner which i havent played for around 15 years. I'd never get rid of as its not worth much but it holds so many great memories for me and its done loads of gigs.Its in mint condition although it needs a good service now.It was my main bass for about 10 years and its never let me down.Its not as nice to play as my other two but it was my first 'proper' bass. One day i will get round to servicing it and maybe even taking it out on a gig...if i remember! This got me wondering how many of you have a bass that never gets played anymore? The bass that you will perhaps one day will get around to customising or playing or even selling? The bass thats been forgotten! Or am i the only one with such a bass!

I used a Hartke for 15 years and it was a fantastic amp. Very reliable and powerful. It was the HA2000 model and i brought it new in 1992ish. Excellent value for money and a great workhorse.

[quote name='BassManGraham' timestamp='1413648613' post='2580556'] Yeah I really liked the look of the TC Electronic Rebel heads. I use a little BG250/208 for lessons & practice a great little amp and Tone Print is unbelievable fun and I don't generally do not like putting effects on bass. Only problem with my BG250/208 is that the DI out hums quite loudly I am awaiting a replacement to see if that is any better! I heard an RB450 last week when buying a bass from a guy and it sounded good, but maybe a little too compressed and slighty synthetic to my ears? Maybe it was just not set-up that well, and I probably didn't give enough attention to tweaking the controls to get a tone to my taste? [/quote] When i first got this amp about 2 years ago i did find the sound heavily compressed and as with all amps it took me a little while to get the hang of the settings. The range of the compession is huge on this thing and you really dont need much. I use very little compression when playing live and i like to increase it a little when in a studio. It does have a very wide range of tones and the beauty of it is once you find a tone to your liking you can store it which is handy. I use the RS210 cab with it however i'm finding i get more from a trace elliot 2x10 cab and i've been using the TE cab quite a lot lately as i much prefer to sound it gives me.The RS210 has a sweet mellow sound but the Trace cab has more attack and thump. When playing larger venues i add a 1x15 Trace Elliot cab to give me the full volume and depth. If i had to fault the amp i would say that the buttons on it has developed cracks for some reason.This is a common fault on some of them but it doesnt effect the amp or controls in any way but its not what you'd expect from a top of the range amp. I've had quite a few amps and this has got the best DI by far and its bloody loud when you want it to be!

I use a Rebel head 450 which has an excellent DI. I always get compliments from the sound engineers when i DI out with this amp whether i'm in a studio or playing live at a gig. A small amp that does everything and easy to use IMHO.....and being a micro its easy on the old back!

I would call it MANTIS as they are green in colour and pretty bandass creatures! I would also consider EVOLUTION as its a new project and maybe the start of something big

I've done a few open mike nights a few years ago and it was fun. I prefer it when you just jam something in a certain key and see where it takes you. I feel your on an even keel that way rather trying to play something the others know and you dont. You can meet some great people and i found that you can connect with certain musicians when you least expect it! Ive even been in bands with some of them and become good friends.