gjones

36 minutes ago, Grimalkin said:

Having the right presence for what they are playing, I've depped with a couple of drummers in the past that were too light. Very uninspiring. Not driving when they should have been.

I asked a previous, lazy drummer with my band, who was tickling his drums, to play with reeds instead of sticks (I persuaded him that it would encourage our guitarist to play quieter).

Although the volume was more or less the same, the intensity was much greater, as he had to put a lot more effort into playing his kit to keep up with the level of the band.

We ended the gig with him drenched in sweat and the audience shouting for more.

It was very rock n roll.

The ability to take advice without getting huffy.

The technical ability to act on the advice given.

Doesn't forget his flipping cymbals, and gets us sacked from a really cool venue, like the last guy did!

I am playing at a venue, which has a terrible boomy stage, next month.

Weirdly, the boom could only be heard onstage. But was so bad it was drowning the guitar out.

Last time I played there the solution was to turn all bass frequencies to zero on my amp and for the sound guy to then DI my bass through the PA, where he added the bass frequencies back again.

Hopefully I can do the same again.

I've left two bands over the last 2 years. One, which I felt was a hobby band for the other members (I do like to gig rather than continuously rehearse) and the other was a rock band that was taking too much time and intensive work to get things right (although it did get me playing with a pick, which I still do if the song needs it).

I still play with two other bands that I feel are more rewarding, both musically and financially. I think two gigging bands are the maximum I can deal with and give 100%. 

I do like the MIJ 57 reissue type Precisions. I've owned two and they have a really nice shallow neck and the pickups sound great. 

I bought an Olympic white one a few years ago from Basschat and it really is lovely.

I prefer it to my USA Fender Elite Precision, for just P bass sounds, and the neck is more comfortable. 

1 hour ago, Cat Burrito said:

I've just got back from the second leg of a UK tour. This time we took in Manchester, Blackpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh. I massively preferred this run, perhaps because it was shorter.

 

 

 

I did laugh at Edinburgh; the Orange rig has a bit of tape over the traditional Orange symbols explaining "Highs - Mids - Lows". Surely us Bass players are cleverer than that, right?

 

 

 

Ummm.....no? I can never figure out what knob does what, when I have to use them in a dark venue.

By the way, I saw that picture of you on my Facebook newsfeed at the weekend. I'm a Facebook friend of the Photographer. I said 'I know that guy........' 😃

4 hours ago, Tim2291 said:

 

 

Saturday night was awful, it had been booked for a long time and I have been promoting it non stop. When we arrived, the pub had a sign outside still advertising the band from 2 weeks ago... the area set aside for the band had 2 people playing pool still, we then had to move the pool table before playing! The place was empty other than a group of 18-19 year olds snorting cocaine in the toilets, each time I went to the toilet they were in there... in between their communal toilet visits, they would be either in the garden, or at the massively overpriced cocktail bar next door who are hotter on drug use. Unfortunately we found out after starting that the place has a reputation for drug use, so it is actually avoided by many in the area! Looking at the positive though, we got paid for a practice!

I remember those days fondly. Having to move the pool table, set up the venues own PA because they couldn't be bothered and ending up having to set my gear up right in front of the toilet door and then playing to nobody for 3 hours.

Happy days 😁

9 minutes ago, Randall jamison said:

I have stock pickups now. When playing the higher stuff it sounds great. I would like to keep that. With that being said when I am ride on the low E it just doesn't have the beef behind it like some of my guitars in the past.

If you want a beefier sound, I recommend raising the neck pickup and lowering the bridge pickup and see if that makes a difference.

Forth gig since lockdown, on Saturday night. Had fun playing this song. I even got a solo - blink and you'll miss it.

Go and get a Precision, you know you want to.

Why didn't the seller experiment with something cheap and nasty rather than a rather expensive American Vintage Precision. Even if it sounds and plays great they won't get anything near to the selling price they're asking.

I notice the seller has fiddled with a perfectly nice US Jazz as well. They have a very expensive hobby.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225156150354?hash=item346c5a3452:g:NJgAAOSwy3JcQebw

37 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

But to answer the question that’s when I need the power. Ashdown checked it out for me when I bought it and it peaks at about 3 maybe 4 o’clock

That's interesting. I played through an Ashdown Routemaster head, in my local rehearsal rooms and it didn't get any louder after 12 O'Clock. It all seems a bit Nigel Tufnel.

7 hours ago, Rich said:

Just shows what a mic luddite I am... I'd always thought it was 'stand behind an SM58 and away you go'  it's obviously a much deeper science than I ever gave it credit for. Although I suppose it's no different to playing a P instead of a J, for example.

 

I play in a newly formed band. The singer is good but not experienced in singing live. She used her own SM58 at our first gig and the sound engineer struggled to get a decent volume from the monitor due to feedback. For the second set he swapped the mic to one of the house mics and it reduced the feedback and allowed him to get  her monitor louder.

She instantly bought the same model of mic. I know nothing about mics but I do know that some are better for live work than others.

I do like DR Hi Beams. I used to fit them to all my basses but was seduced by Elixirs for a while. Recently fitted a set to my Jazz and they sound really great.

I was once told that my bass was causing feedback through the PA (which I wasn't going through).  The guy on the desk was an amateur (he was actually an orthopedic surgeon not a sound engineer who had bought a very expensive PA and desk he had no idea how to operate) ) and his wife was the singer, I told him he was wrong but he insisted he was right. So to avoid making him look like an idiot in front of everyone, I didn't argue, I just turned my bass down to zero volume. He didn't even notice that there was no bass in the on stage mix at all.

I mimed through the whole gig and made a decision that he would never be let near a desk again, while I was in the band.

9 hours ago, nilorius said:

If they really changed elite to ultra it's damned bad. I had only one chance to try out an elite jazz bass at a local shop, it sounded really good, but the price was very high. After 2 years they put a 25% money low and someone bought it.

I have a Fender Deluxe Jazz (which is pretty similar to the Elite and Ultra) and that is a lovely bass. I bought it for £800 which over £1000 less than a new Elite or Ultra.

I think that the only difference between the Elites and the Ultras is that the Elites have a wheel at the bottom of the neck which allows you to tweak the truss rod (like a Stingray). It comes in very handy and is very easy to use.

Personally, although I own an Elite Precision, I thought the name was a bit sh*t. It makes me think that the type of people who would want to buy an Elite Fender, were all hedge fund managers and Blues lawyers. which might have been the reason they changed the name to Ultra.

I owned an Ashdown MiBass which had the same kind of EQ system. When I owned it I had no idea it had a parametric EQ (as I got it secondhand and I didn't get any manual). It sounded fine with everything centered, so I didn't fiddle about with the EQ much. Supposedly it didn't catch on, as the controls were a bit too complicated for our simple, bassist, brains. https://ashdownmusic.com/products/mibass-550

I've seen a thinline MIJ Precision before, with a split pickup (which was very tasty) but not this one with a mudbucker.

Very odd that you're having problems hearing yourself with a loud amp and 6 speakers.

I would remove the tuner and compressor and see if that helps. If it doesn't, then you have a very quiet bass.

All Right Now by Free. Which looking back was pretty adventurous for a kid who had trouble tuning his bass.

17 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

 

It must have been!

Sound guy was a bit overwhelmed but he managed ok although he took a very long time setting up, he wasn't expecting a 7 piece band with horns and multiple vocals. Stressful night for him! 

 

But there was no heated discussion that I could see. They were 5, we are 7, but when I arrived (9.15) it was just them and 3 of us and a lot of equipment, and it was all pretty friendly: it was all out of our hands and we let the venue take care of it. Did it look ugly before I arrived? There was no sign of bad feelings when I arrived.

Not bad tempered discussion just intense. Usually the band is raring to get on stage as we are packing up but there was no sign of any bands after we finished. It was only as I was leaving that I saw all the gear, and what I assume was the Hendrix Band, in a band huddle. They were probably wondering if they should accept the 'half a set' deal, or just take the cash and go home.

Sounds like everything got resolved in a cool and reasonable manner and everybody went home happy.

1 hour ago, mcnach said:

Not the best, but not the worst.

 

Local gig. We arrive to find there's two bands assigned to the same slot of 2x 45' sets. It's a music venue in town where the kit and backline are provided, so it's easy to set up. Manager says how about we play one set each, full pay. Ok, we went first, soon after 10pm. I was home at 11.30. Not what I had in mind but no complaints.

 

 

Ahhh.....so you were one of the double booked bands after us. Glad you got paid your full fee.

See my post above.

I played at a local music bar in Edinburgh. There was a Spanish guy, I'd never met before, on the desk and he got a great sound onstage (I had to ask him to turn the bass down through my monitor - yes THAT good). Sound on stage was great, hope it was great out front too.

As I was leaving I saw what I thought was a huge band bringing all their gear in - there must have been ten of them - and they were in a heated discussion. What I only learned later, was that they were two bands not one, as there had been a double booking for the slot after us. The bands were not happy and after some discussion they got to play half a set each, which must have been a real pain in the butt.

The moral of this story is, if you're playing at a venue, check the Facebook site on the day of the gig so that you don't get a nasty surprise when you turn up.

I went to see The Waterboys, at Barrowlands Glasgow, in October last year.

Mike Scott and Steve Wickham, the only surviving members of the original band, aren't exactly coffin dodgers (at 63 and 62) but they looked like they'd come to the end of the road, they'd  had enough and wanted to go home.

After that tour Steve Wickham actually did leave The Waterboys, he definitely was giving out the signals the enthusiasm wasn't there any more and neither of them had the energy.