Franticsmurf

I've posted on a different thread about the B6 - we have a permanent sound guy and he is full of praise for the sound of the B6 going directing into the desk.

I haven't used mine at a gig yet but I have used it twice at rehearsals and every day at home. So far no glitches or software issues. It's the usual wall wart power supply with a recessed socket on the unit itself, (which is more secure than any pedal I've used). Two switchable inputs with adjustable impedance (but not, as far as I can see, adjustable volumes). 4x DI modelling options plus 'straight' with separately adjustable volumes for jack and DI out. I'm happy with the filter patches but haven't really explored the synth sounds other than to note that they play with no glitches. (Commenting on quality of sounds is subjective - they work for me and sound better than my B1-4 or MS60B). As has also been mentioned by @stewblack above, the tuner is the best one for live use I've come across - visible and responsive. If you do a search, the B6 manual is available to give you more technical details. I would have no hesitation in using this unit live and it is replacing a board of pedals for ease of use and compact size/weight.

I'm not tech minded and while the B6 looked daunting at first, once I'd started playing around with it I found it was quite straight forward to use. There is a lot of functionality in the unit, so there are a lot of options in the menus but I found I wasn't using most of them to start with hence my comment about finding it easy to set up. If you want to set it up for one patch per song, you can do that and select them sequentially using the Bank/Patch function, cycling through each patch in order using footswitch 4. In that mode, banks are only relevant for keeping a record of where each patch is for editing purposes. As you can see from my previous posts I use it differently so for me a bank is where I store a band's worth of patches and I switch effects on and off within those patches.

Last night's rehearsal was dominated by Storm Isha. The Hulla band is based in a little coastal village about 30 minutes drive from where I live and the drive through the lanes was an obstacle course of fallen branches and around one corner, a hedge in the middle of the road. Then we spent some time clearing out our gear from the storage room in the community hall to swap for another room. In the process I managed to acquire a Line 6 Spider 2 practice amp, which was going free and we discovered a powered bass bin and a powered PA speaker that no one knew was there! And all the while the wind and rain were battering against the windows. The actual rehearsal was another relaxed session clearing the cobwebs from our collective minds as we went through about 15 songs, interspersed with cups of tea and (for the village locals who weren't driving) wine. I like the relaxed atmosphere of most of the rehearsals (as we near a gig, it tends to get a bit more focused, which is how it should be). The drive home was less windy, but there was a lot more debris on the roads and the added challenge of flooding. The area has only one main road and that can be flooded to a point where it becomes blocked, so we were lucky to avoid that.

I was looking for 9v extension cables and there are loads available associated with CCTV/security cameras. This is a link to a coupler on Amazon. I can't comment on the actual item but I think this is what you're looking for. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08M6B8XMN/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B08M6B8XMN&pd_rd_w=P0PMT&content-id=amzn1.sym.84ea1bf1-65a8-4363-b8f5-f0df58cbb686&pf_rd_p=84ea1bf1-65a8-4363-b8f5-f0df58cbb686&pf_rd_r=AF4KKK501ZD2RSB3GHFK&pd_rd_wg=MrE1w&pd_rd_r=b4cd91a3-4453-42ba-bc66-80e7af1d5384&s=diy&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw

Brilliant story.

Sometimes. I try to play for at least 30 minutes per day but I struggle to play bass or guitar for its own sake. I usually play because I'm learning a new song, practising for a rehearsal of gig or writing new songs. I was recently offered a rhythm guitar slot with a mate's band which has resulted in me practising the guitar and re-learning some technique as well as learning the chords to songs I've been playing for years on bass (so many notes 😂). If I'm away from my gear, it's rare that I'm thinking about playing or gigs unless they are imminent. But I do enjoy that moment after a break in playing when I pick up the bass and start again.

Unless the postage is £1500 (or whatever the gear is worth). 🤣

I was prepared to watch YouTube tutorials and plug in to my PC to edit, but by the time I'd finished the initial 'new toy' tinkering to see what it could do, I'd created a bank of four patches that, with minimal tweaking, were the patches I used on Sunday. As mentioned above, I treat each patch as a mini board, a bit like the Plethora, with individual pedals I can switch on or off as required. That worked well on Sunday too.

I've never done a tuner shoot-out (😀) but I have to agree that for clarity and speed, it is the best I've used.

Two weeks in and I haven't even been tempted by anything, despite a healthy daily visit to this site and it's wicked marketplace, and a bookmark to Thomann prominent on the toolbar. 😀 This year's strategy is to bag up and store out of sight a coupe of basses with the intention of 'unboxing' later in the year and swapping over. I have found that part of the lure of gear acquisition for me is the idea of having something new (or new to me) and I have found that I can go some way to satisfying that by this method. I'll do the same with some effects pedals as I've just started using my Zoom B6.

I unleashed mine on the unsuspecting band for the first time at last night's rehearsal. A universal thumbs up, with some nice compliments from the guy who does our sound. He was a fan of my old pedal set up (Digbeth pre-amp, EHX Bass Clone chorus, Zoom MS60B for various spot effects (swapped out for a Plethora X3 for some gigs) and TC Hyper Gravity compressor). From my perspective it was nice to hear it through the PA (I DI for this band) and it sounded pretty much as I had hoped it would, having only really used headphones and amp/cab at low volumes.

This is the way I worked with a band I put together to play a one off gig last year. We were all capable musicians and we needed to get 15-20 songs together over about 6 weeks. We agreed to work on 6-8 new songs per week in rehearsals that lasted about 2 hours. The format was that everyone worked out their parts in advance and the rehearsals were for taking the rough edges off, sorting the arrangements and working on vocals. We kept it loose and usually managed to do what we needed to do on as many of the songs each week. Sometimes we got 8, other times we only managed 3 or 4. Weeks 2, 3 & 4 started with playing through the previous week's songs and by week 5 we had the makings of a set. A couple of songs were dropped and new songs added along the way. We had an extra 'dress rehearsal' in week 6, by which time we'd sorted the set order. The gig went well. My only regret was that we didn't have more time to get to know each other so that we could include some improvisation along the way.

Great thread. The trio that springs to mind is from the 'Yesshows' live album. Technically the three tracks are Parallels into Time and Word into Going for the One. But Yes frequently came on stage to the final part of Stravinski's 'Firebird Suite' and I love the way on the album, the band start to play over the final few bars of Firebird, and Rick Wakeman takes the key change from the last chord up to the start of Parallels. As a kid, this album influenced me in so many ways and it's still one of my all time favourites. So my three are: Opening (Firebird Suite) Parallels Time and a Word.

It was the first rehearsal of 2024 for the Hulla band last night and the first time we'd played since 10 December. A medium sized pile of rust accumulated at my feet as we dusted off a few oldies, of few regulars and some I'd never played before. The first hour was largely catching up (they all live in a village the the drummer and I are 'outsiders'), so between songs there were great gaps as we settled in. But overall it was a good night with few glaring errors and nothing that won't be put right by the next rehearsal. I was using a new pair of earphones for my IEM; when I first started using it I tried the 'phones that came with the kit (a cheap Gear4Music set) and they didn't work for me - too tinny and low volume. I took to using a pair of Sony noise cancelling earpieces, which were fine. But over the break I tried the originals again and found that I hadn't been fitting them correctly and once I'd made the effort (in other words, pushed them in properly), they were much better. Last night was the first time I'd tried them with the full band and what a difference! Clarity, volume, more isolation and more comfortable to wear. In fact, so much more isolation that I'm going to have to set up a mic to pick up the drums to feed into them.

That's walking distance from me. 😀 I'll try and get to them - if you're at the Vivian Arms at all, that's crawling distance! 🤣

Where were you? If I'd known I'd have come along. 😀

I've just had the Hulla's gig list for this year - there are four in the calendar so far. We usually aim to play 6-8 per year (it's a community based band that just plays for charity), with a self organised festival in the village in the summer so 4 between now and June is pretty good. We usually pick up a wedding or two, the local food festival and spots at various other events. So far we have a wedding, a fundraiser for a local rugby club, a 'Full Moon party' ('Don't go on to the moors' 🤣) and the summer festival. I love playing with the Hulla - the rehearsals are very much social occasions (the band started as a bit of fun for the village) and the gigs are great but there aren't enough of them to satisfy that gigging itch. Before Christmas I was 'between bands' following the demise of the trio I'd attempted to bring to life. There were a couple of possibles hovering around but with no firm offers I was wondering what to do. This week I've been invited for an informal audition (it's only me and I've been recommended by a friend in the band) to play with a folky/bluesy outfit (I don't even know their name) who have been gigging without a bassist. My friend, their violinist, is arguing that they need a bass player and the audition is to see how it fits with the current arrangements. And I have two gigs, with the possibility of more, as a rhythm guitarist in a mate's rock band. The way he runs his band, it's very likely that I'll be playing bass for a few gigs over the next year as he takes gigs without checking to see who is available, creating the line up on the night.

They stopped after about 2 weeks.

Just before Christmas I had four or five of text messages (roughly one every other day), each with a Facebook recovery code. I guess someone was trying to hack my account as I hadn't triggered them directly, nor had I experienced any of the things in the posts above that might have triggered them.

I was 57 when I joined the Hulla band (covers), the 2nd youngest in the band. I'm in my mid 30's now. 🤣. I've just had this conversation with the drummer of the Hullas - 75 and working as the 1st call drummer for two big bands/dance bands and one jazz band as well as the Hullas. He's gigging or rehearsing at least three nights a week, regularly deps for bands around the area and was the drummer in my trio project playing rock covers until it folded last year. I hope I'm as active (and wanted) as he is when I get to that age.

Jazz improv, maaan. 😄

I had one of these when I was a geetard back in one of the days. As i recall it was 65w but very, very loud. NIce. 😃

That happened to me once. The band was playing downstairs (the dedicated venue for bands) in a pub and for the first half, there was no one. During the second half a young couple appeared and politely clapped after every song. When we finished, the landlord appeared and advised us to stay where we were as there was a massive fight going on upstairs and the police were trying to stop it. The couple had retreated to the cellar to avoid the action.

Count me in - my second attempt after a fail several months in to last year.