Franticsmurf

I have an EHB1000s and there's no neck dive, as you correctly suspected. I used to play an Epiphone EB0 and that had bad neck dive. I got used to it when playing but between songs it would slip if I wasn't hanging on and that was annoying enough to eventually let it go.

I'll often have background music on if I'm working on the computer or around the house. If I'm learning a song I'll have a recording of it to listen to and play along to. But I can't remember the last time I actually sat down to listen to a track or album. The closest I come to that is when I'm out on the hills (I'm training for a trek in the Himalaya) and I'll listen to compilations on the MP3 player. I'm not sure if this is a result of being a musician. I'm currently learning or brushing up on two sets so that might have something to do with it.

I was a student living just down the road in Woodgreen. Watched most of it on a tiny black and white TV in my bedsit. I don't remember The Led Zep set and knowing my attitude to current pop, I would probably only have taken notice of the likes of Bowie and Status Quo. I did like Queen, so they would have been on the radar too.

I've felt like that, albeit only for a few days at a time. It definitely helps to have a purpose - band, recording, teaching. The last couple of years have been the first where I've been in more than one band and apart from increasing the opportunities to rehearse and gig, it means a wider range of musical styles and techniques. I find the challenge motivating.

Yes, twice. Both times were for different reasons. The first time was when the long term band I was in got stuck in a rut and I was standing on stage in a club playing the same set list as I had several years before in the same club. I saw the gig out but shortly after I sold almost all of my bass gear as I couldn't see myself playing live again (I kept my headless Spirit XQ2). I was tempted back after a couple of years to the same band (the setlist had changed a bit) but the break had cleared my head of the negative stuff. Of course I had to 'tool up' - I had a bass (as I'd kept up playing because I was recording my own songs for fun) but I needed an amp, cabs etc. The second time was to look after an ailing parent. Although it was an enforced break, I think it was also a necessary one as I'd become complacent with my playing. The B/L didn't like rehearsing and I found myself just going through the motions on stage (literally in some duo gigs I played as a geetard as if I didn't know the song I'd turn the geetar down and mime to the backing tracks - which I'd played on). Once again most of my kit went although I held on to a bass amp as well as my Spirit headless. This was a three year break and when I was lured back into the gigging world again it was to something much better. I joined an Eagles 'tribute' band (more 'songs of The Eagles' than look-alikes) which meant I had to learn specific parts and I really enjoyed the challenge. That was in 2018 and although that band has long gone, I haven't looked back. I think being in a band (The Hulla) that is constantly working on new songs, gigging them, and which has a song list large enough to cycle through several times in a gigging 'season' helps as it keeps things fresh. I'm also in a second band which is getting to the point of gigging and the challenge of that is fun too. My advice from my personal experience is take a complete break if you feel it would do you some good but think carefully about selling all your kit, just in case. Whatever you decide to do - good luck. 😃

Good point. My first band (we were in black and white, it was that long ago) weren't particularly good and played mostly originals. But we got loads of gigs because we were available, we told everyone we could do short notice gigs to fill in for cancellations and most importantly, we turned up.

Many years ago I was in a great trio - we were tight, the set list was good and we were playing two or maybe three times a week. Some of the work was through an agent but perhaps half was in local pubs and clubs with no middle man. We had residencies in two places (gigs every 4-6 weeks booked in advance for the year). Then it all started to dwindle. We didn't get advanced bookings for our regulars, places we'd played where I know we'd gone down well were no longer in the diary. I wasn't the main booker (that was our singer/guitarist) and when we asked him, he had stories about venues stopping live music or having no money to pay bands. My suspicions, and those of the drummer, were aroused when after a charity gig in a local club where we'd been received really well, the singer said they didn't like us and would never book us again, The drummer happened to know the people who organised it and they confirmed my interpretation of the night having been a total success. It turned out that for whatever reason, the singer was upsetting the venue owners with his pre and post gig attitude. I saw this first hand when we were asked to play a high profile venue launch with several local celebrities. The drummer and I turned up looking our usual smart selves (I decided to treat it as a club gig and although there'd been no discussion about dress code, so did the drummer). The singer turned up looking scruffy and proceeded to have a stand up argument with the guy who had organised the gig about his appearance and because we were late. It turned out the organiser had given the singer an earlier arrival time than the one he told us and had asked for a smart casual dress code, which the singer had also failed to mention. Although both the drummer and I witnessed the argument, the singer claimed he knew nothing about it and made up some story about being double booked. We played about 45 minutes and they paid us off as the singer just wasn't trying. One by one he managed to p*** off all our regular venues, and/or the word got about and we were left with out-of-town agent gigs - the kind that no one else would touch. If I hadn't seen the argument, and the drummer hadn't known the charity show organisers we would have been none-the-wiser.

Decent rehearsal with the Hulla band last night. We worked through three completely new numbers (Love Grows, Love Really Hurts and 25 Miles) and shook the dust and cobwebs off a few that hadn't seen the light of day for many a month. The Hulla is a large (13 piece) band with mixed skill levels but when everyone is working together it's a great thing to be a part of. Gig looming on 4 November to raise money for a local homeless charity.

Personally, it's about having the smallest/simplest set up for each application. I play in two bands and occasionally dep in a third. Each band has a different style and while one (The Hulla) is a 13 piece with many different instruments, the other (The Rip) is a trio and the dep band varies in number according to the whim of the BL/singer but usually includes backing tracks and a female singer. For 'The Hulla' I need a simple, 'traditional' sound for an established setlist of mainly 60s and 70's easy listening covers, with a few rockers thrown in and some more modern tunes as requests. I use a simple board with tuner, chorus and pre-amp and go straight into FOH, using in ears to monitor. For 'The Rip', which is currently finalising the set list of 70s and 80s rock with a few from the 90s, I need a bigger sound to fill the space when the geetard goes off on one, so the board includes flange and phase as well as chorus, octave and a couple of drive pedals and is intended to go through a backline amp. I also have a floor mounted midi pedal for triggering a synth. The depping band tends to play a mix of more modern songs and for this I tend to look to the simple board, adding a filter and compressor. The pedals also change according to the songs - for example The Hulla has just introduced a couple where I want to try using a delay and volume pedal for a swell/held bass drone. If it works, the board may expand a little. I often swap individual pedals to experiment with different makes of the same effect. I've always done it this way so for me the 'board for xxx band' is the norm. I have considered a 'one size fits all' set up, but it would be large and complicated and would definitely not meet the smallest/simplest criteria.

First rehearsal for a while for the three piece (The Rip) and once the flakes of rust had fallen off it wasn't too bad. We're about ready to gig now, all that is needed is the edges to be polished and a few rough starts and finishes to be sorted. You always know when the serious rehearsing is over when the conversation switches from the arrangements to which guitars/basses are going to be used. 😃 I've played in trios for years but this is the first time I've been singing as much as I am (still mostly backing) and it's the first time I've taken more of a band leader role (personally I prefer a guided consensus approach but the other two are always looking to me for the lead on decisions).

I found this in another thread on Basschat: The BAM 200 doesn't have an HPF.

I tried the Sine at rehearsals tonight. It was last in line going in to a TCE BAM200 into a bass cab, the details of which I am not sure but a 15" speaker. The Sine was set to cut 30hz (the lowest setting). There was definitely a difference with it engaged. Very subtle but it tightened the sound up. The recording of the session has a more defined bass guitar sound (all other factors - mic position, recording levels etc - being equal). The master volume on the amp was slightly lower than usual. A non-scientific review, I know, but enough for me to be placing this as a permanent 'always on' pedal on the board.

There's always one. S/he knows better, has done it before, could do much better than the singer/guitarist/bassist/keyboardist/triangle player, used to play in a much better band and was around when music was real music and not the rubbish of today. We even had one guy going through every bit of kit we had onstage telling us why it was rubbish. It can spoil the night at the time, but the reality is that everyone else enjoyed - and they confirmed that your critic wasn't worth listening to.

Unfortunately I have no gig or rehearsal booked for about a week. But I'll report back when I can. The neighbours are away, so I may crank up at home tomorrow. 😀 It's a lovely looking unit, well built and solid, the pot is smooth and silent.

After posting here, I went in search of the Sine and ordered one. It arrived this morning. I'm impressed with the delivery. It's hard to judge the effect it has without going quite loud, but there does seem to be a subtle tightness when it's set to about 35hz. Sweeping the frequency higher creates a more pronounced effect, as you would expect. There is a mild pop when the foot switch is engaged. I'm not too worried about that as it will be an always on effect on my board.

Index and middle fingers are the usual culprits for me but I can 'gallop' using index, middle and ring fingers (we're currently arranging Abba's 'Does Your Mother Know' which requires the gallop). I also have a pluck technique that uses the very tip of the index finger which is supported by the thumb (think pinching a plectrum, but without the plectrum and with the index finger slightly forward to catch the string) that gives a sound midway between finger style and plectrum.

I've been considering an HPF after chatting with the sound engineer with the band I'm in. With this lot I go straight into the desk and through the PA with in ear monitors and I like the sound he's got. He showed me the EQ on my channel and it includes a quite drastic HPF set at about 35hz. As I'm working on another band project that won't be using FOH only sound, an HPF seems sensible. Up until about 10 minutes ago, I was searching for a Thumpinator. Now I'm going to give the Sine a go.

Most of my circle of friends are in or around the music scene/business but of those who are not, music forms a small part of the range of conversation topics and playing music an even smaller part. My non-musical friends (male and female) are interested in my gigs/rehearsal anecdotes in the same way as I'm interested in their work or holiday anecdotes - it forms part of a wider, general conversation. Generally with these friends I am not the one to start an in depth conversation about music but I'll join in if one develops.

It was a great sound - fitted in nicely between two distorted guitars - punchy and lovely low end without being overpowering. I can't believe the settings on your amp. 😀

I have a lot of photos from travel and trekking and during a reflective moment I was thinking along the same lines. But I understand that the British Library are occasionally interested in collections of diaries and journals from us normal folk and I have plans to contact them to see if this is indeed the case. After all, the quote above can also be taken as a call to preserve some of those possessions, memories and histories.

I did this too. I had so many bits of paper and printed photos floating around that I decided to digitise them in 2019 - the 30th anniversary of my first gig. I do a lot of trekking and keep diaries, turning them and the photos into journals that I get into photobooks. So I decided to do this with the band memorabilia too. I used 'Blurb' as I like their design options and the quality is good. During lockdown it became a project to write a narrative to link all the photos and posters etc and I ended up with this: I'm actually part way through the updated version now.

I've tried a few (Behringer Ultrachorus, Rowin, Sonicake, Eden I90 and a couple from the Zoom MS60b) but I keep coming back to the EHX Bass Clone. Now I have the Plethora X3, I've found a close match with one of the Corona Chorus Artists patches ('Gold') and convenience means I use it. But the Bass Clone is the one for me.

I've got quite a bit from the first few years and I've digitised most of the photos and posters. I have some press cuttings from the local rag that are cringeworthy now, early set lists with the takings from the gig (my first gig in 1989 took £29.50 on the door at 50p per punter) and some plans for stage sets and song running orders for a project we were going to do in conjunction with a local dance troupe (it never came to anything). I have several live recordings which, when I listened to them again for the first time in many years, reminded me why we never made it. Enthusiastic we were, gifted we were not. 😃 I have most of the recordings we did in the local college studio (we had access as the keyboard player was a student there). I do enjoy looking at them now and again, just to relive some good memories (we may have been rubbish but we enjoyed being rubbish) and to remember my best mate, our drummer, who is no longer with us.

Is that Uplands in Swansea? I'll try and be there.

I've been going through an experimental stage with my boards recently. The Hulla band has been on it's summer break and I've been working to put together another band for more rock orientated gigs. As a three piece we supported the Hulla at a festival in June and to fill out the sound I added a floor keyboard controller triggering a Korg 05R/W module. I also played acoustic guitar for a couple of numbers, hence the acoustic pre-amp in this 'board'. The clock is there as we only had 45 minutes on stage and time was quite tight. For the subsequent trio rehearsals I put a bigger board together and the 12 Step sat in front of it. This was while we were working on arrangements and I wanted to try out options. Other pedals came and went, swapped places, sat off the board, sulked in the corner etc. My Zoom MS60b played a part, as did various drives and filters not shown here. The trio has now morphed into a quartet and quintet - the intention is to be able to expand to fit the needs of the gig with a keyboard player and vocalist, both of whom have other bands and are happy with the part time arrangement. The board changed once again to allow for the fuller sound (the singer plays acoustic guitar on some songs). There is an annoying (some would say exciting) gap to be filled and it will probably go to the MS60b acting as a pre-amp/filter/synth option. As trio, I will add the 12 Step and I'm currently contemplating a custom board with it attached. And this is the board I will be taking to the Hulla rehearsals which start again tonight. Being a 13 piece with plenty going on, I need a simpler sound and this line up is just right. Please note that this post only remains accurate for about 10 minutes after which more changes may have been made. 😂