Andyalfa

I know this doesn't help the current situation, but to avoid any further disasters, you should consider one of these... I've got one and it's pretty sturdy and folds up quite small. It's a Foldable SV-EDB stand, made by Stagg specifically for the Stagg EUB. They are around £45 or so, which is cheaper than buying a new instrument.

Thanks for the links. Looks like xpressduplication could be just what we need. Cheers, Andy

We spent the weekend recording a new 4 track demo which sounds fantastic, thanks to Ross at The Paddocks ([url="http://www.thepaddocks.net/"]http://www.thepaddocks.net/[/url]). The next step is to get loads of copies run off so we can hand them out to venues and prospective clients to try and gen up some work. We did the last one manually on a home PC and designed & printed the inserts/labels using Pressit stationary. It was fine for a dozen or so, but is time consuming, fiddly and messy for anything more. My question is, where do you guys go to get copies of your recordings done? I’m thinking maybe up to 250, with labels and covers etc.

Adams, sometime in the Summer of '69?

I've read about people using WD40 to clean their strings, but I was wondering, would Servisol contact cleaner do the same? Anyone tried it?

I had a problem with mine when I connected it to the PC. It fired up and was recognised by the PC, but before I could do anything, it was powered off and the connection lost. Then it came back on and went off again every few seconds. I kept getting beeping noises from the PC every time it made then lost a connection which was driving me mad. When I read the documentation, it seems that there can be problems connecting via a USB hub. After I plugged it directly into the computer, it worked fine. Nothing to do with this thread, but I felt the need to share.

I like 'em. Similar to ones we had done, but with the cards and chips. I think they really break up the whiteness well, and are part of the Las Vegas theme. Ours are just plain white, which I kind of regret a little, but all in all we are pleased with the results. We are aiming for weddings/functions though, hence the black shirt shots... [attachment=21870:John_050.jpg][attachment=21871:John_070.jpg] [attachment=21873:John_132.jpg]

[quote name='Martin E' post='431635' date='Mar 11 2009, 04:34 PM']I want to switch instruments during a performance – in my case I want to start using my Stagg EUB for some numbers. Short of obviously pulling one plug out of the amp and inserting the other how would a professional do this? Some footswitch arrangement maybe? The EQ settings on the amp I could get away with for both bass and upright but the volume for each instrument would have been carefully set at the sound check. How does everyone else do it? Any tips appreciated – I like to keep things as simple and foolproof as possible. Thanks[/quote] I had the exact same problem first time out with my Stagg. Our guitard (bless him) started on the next number before I'd even got the Stagg in it's stand! Now I have a Leem AB10 foot switch which reduces the time to seconds. It cost around £12 and I can post the link if you're interested. All I needed was a couple of cables made up by OBBM, a Basschat member and I was away.

+1 for ER20's. No ringing in the ears after practise. I stand between the PA and the drummer, so this is a first. I got mine from here, which at £7.39 was the cheapest place I found. [url="http://www.hearforlife.co.uk/product_detail.php?ppid=1&catId=1&cname=ER20%20hi-fidelity%20musicians%20earplugs"]Hearforlife.co.uk[/url]

We’re in the studio this weekend for a demo CD, but I think we could do with some live footage of us on our website as well. We have a friend with a decent camera, but my worries are to do with the sound. Using the built in mic on the camera means the sound is horribly distorted, out of balance and generally awful, quality wise. What’s the best way of improving this? Should we try for a pair of standalone external mics, or try and take the sound off the PA desk? The trouble with the latter is that normally, in a live situation, only the keys and vox go through the desk.

My satisfaction rate just improved a point or two following the purchase of a Tascam bass trainer on eBay for £60. I'm getting there!

Well, I was pleased with my sound, then I watched an episode of Moses Jones last night, where the band from Uganda were playing. Couldn’t quite see what the bass was, but from the fleeting glimpses I saw, it looked like a sunburst jazz with a tort pickguard and a rosewood neck. Anyway, the sound was rich, deep, velvety bass with virtually no treble at all. Totally unsuited to anything we play really, but I loved it. Next thing you know, I was having a listen to Little Axe’s Hard Grind album and it was the same kind of thing. The whole album is dripping with very low bass. Not played too hard, not over stated, just THERE, filling the space. Fantastic. Track 1 & 2 were the best , with Skip MacDonald on bass, but even track 3 with Doug Wimbish sounded awesome. I tried playing along, but there’s no way that sound came from a 4 string. Then I remembered there’s a 5 sting Wimbish signature Ibanez around... Can see the band liking it much, but for my own pleasure to jam along to some reggae and Wobble, sheer joy.

Perfectly happy with my gig set up. The Precision looks and sounds beautiful and never lets me down. The Stagg is simply awesome and the only thing that can improve it is my learning how to play it properly. As for the Ashdown, they may have their detractors, but I am more than happy with the sound I get from it. So, am I 100% happy? Yes! Well almost... You see I have this battered old Hohner jazz lying around upstairs, gathering dust and I was thinking maybe a bassass bridge, EMG-J pickups, change the tuners and the straplocks from chrome to black so it all matches, just as a project, you understand. Shouldn't cost more than £260, surely. Oh yeah, then there's the Tascam MPBT1 MP3 Bass Trainer and I always fancied an Ashdown Freebass wireless setup and the 'Ray and $$ I tried at the bass bash were awesome...

Saw him recently backing the Blind Boys of Alabama on a Later... compilation as part of the Folk America series on BBC4. His all too brief solo was mesmerising. I have kept it to use as inspiration should I ever feel like not practising.

This one is of me with a Jazz having my knob twiddled...oo err missus

Hi guys, what a great afternoon. Really enjoyed playing some delicious basses. Loved the Ricky, but for me it's either the $$ or the Stingray. Both played beautifully and sounded fantastic. Loved the 7 string to look at, but I find 4 hard enough to cope with. Glad I went though. Looking forward to the next one. Maybe without the stairs and the vicious doors, eh? Good pictures. No flash makes for better images, especially when it means you don’t realise they’re being taken.

Car loaded and raring to go. It's 41 miles to Nottingham, I've got a full tank of gas, it's dark(ish) and I'm wearing sunglasses. HIT IT!

Nice to know we aren't the only ones having trouble. I guess it's always the same when you are relatively new on the scene. And I too find phoning venues or tapping up landlords hard work. As I say, our Guitarist is in sales so he does most of the leg work. I work on the stuff I know, like keeping the website up, designing logos, researching possible venues for him to call, that sort of thing. Thanks for the advice guys, it's all been taken on board. One last question, is it worth signing up for an agency to get weddings/functions?

The tone I want depends on what I'm playing, but it's usually between that growly sound of Flea on One Hot Minute and Doug Wimbish on Little Axe's House that Wolf Built. Then again, if I could get to sound like Jah Wobble or Norman Watt-Roy I'd be happy. At the end of the day, like everyone else on here, I just wanna be heard. With our drummer, that is always a challenge.

Excellent. I just read in a review of the place, that there is an upstairs function room. Is that were we're meeting?

OK, count me in. I'm bringing the P-Bass, the Stagg and the Ashdown. Hope there's a car park close by. I don't fancy lugging the combo far.

Plenty of good points, well made. Thanks. We have flyers/business cards in the pipeline already. The interim designs have been passed back with comments, but hopefully we'll have them printed off ASAP. We already have a couple of tracks up on our MySpace page (the proper web page isn't finished yet), which were recorded in 2007. We did 6 in all, but 4 featured our since departed male singer, so don't really represent how we sound now. Gigs will come, I'm sure, it's just that we are all feeling a little low at the moment, because things are moving so slowly. As you say, the encouraging thing is the positive comments we get from the audience after a gig. A few will be finding their way onto the website by way of customer endorsements, which always help. At the end of the day I'm not really a "people" person (I work in IT), but the guitard is in sales and will, hopefully, prove to be a useful asset when it comes to tapping up landlords. Patience seems to be the key, we’re just running low at the moment. I just wanted to check we weren't missing a trick, that's all. By the way, the pub we played at on Jan 2nd wanted us back, but was issued with a temprary closure order after an incident involvling firearms....oops! Rock 'n' roll, eh?

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='419912' date='Feb 26 2009, 10:26 AM']I don't like graphic eqs either. Can never get those right. All those bloody sliders. It's like those clowns who say to the sound man at a sh*tty music pub in South London "can you boost me at 37Hz?". All you need is 2 knobs.[/quote] [quote name='Absolute-beginner' post='419927' date='Feb 26 2009, 10:45 AM']A guitarist and a drummer?[/quote] Excellent, that deserves to be in the Favourite Quotes thread.

We are a five piece covers band based in the Midlands, and I reckon we are pretty good at what we do. We generally get repeat bookings wherever we play and post gig feedback is positive, on the whole. So the question is, why is our gig diary is looking so very empty at the moment? I think we are all feeling a bit de-motivated right now. We practise regularly and are always adding new material to the set in an attempt to keep fresh, but what we all want to do is play live. Pubs, clubs, weddings, functions...we really don’t mind. The year started off really well. We played two gigs in January, but we’ve only got one possible and two definite so far for the rest of 2009, and one of those is my 50th bash in October. We’ve got a new website under construction and are recording a second demo CD mid March, but is that going to be enough? I doubt it somehow. This leads me to wonder what do you guys do to get work?

Doug Wimbish was at Music Live at the NEC a couple of years ago and I stood for ages in eager anticipation waiting for someone who sounded like he did on the Little Axe cd’s. Instead, all I got was a pretentious tw@t who played bass like a lead guitar prima donna, complete with more effects pedals than I’ve seen in my life. I left half way though, it was utter cr@p. A complete contrast was seeing Norman Watt-Roy on the Blockheads anniversary tour. He was so tight and in the groove, it was hard not to get up and boogie. He prowled and strutted around the stage, just having fun without a hint of arrogance or pretention. A real bass players bass player, if you know what I mean.