Franticsmurf

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. 😂

In the late 80s I started out as a geetard in an originals band playing what we thought was a cross between Hawkwind, Gong and a little later Pink Floyd. The early gigs were described as 'punk' by a few of the venue owners. We 'progressed' towards a more Yes/Genesis/Floyd style, still originals, and picked up a few more gigs. But we were finding that to get the gigs we had to bring in more and more covers to please the venues. I think that at the time we all thought there was a chance of 'making it' but we all probably had different ideas about what 'making it' actually meant. To me, it was partly practical - to make enough money that I didn't have to keep my job in the civil service - and partly idealistic. The real measure of success, to me , was having someone learn one of my songs to play as a cover, just as I had done. We had interest from a local manager/agent who turned out to be just a chancer full of wild promises ("Do you want to make a million pounds, lads?") and young and naive as we were, we saw through that one straight away. It took about 3 years of writing, rehearsing, recording and gigging to get the band to where we all really loved what we were doing, only for the gigs to dry up as there weren't enough people sharing the love. We sold a few self released albums at gigs and through a local record shop, the line-ups changed as various members realised it wasn't going to happen until it was just me and the drummer - the founders of the original band. One of the problems was that I wasn't a great geetard and at the same time we had problems with keeping a decent bassist. If I'd taken up the bass duties and we'd got a decent 6 stringer, things might have been different. But probably not. 😃 I got into bass playing with another band doing all covers and with no pretensions about success. 'Making it' was getting the next booking. I readjusted my expectations and decided that the criteria for success was covering all my musical expenses, GAS, etc with the earnings from gigs, and enjoying the process. In this respect, I made it in the early 2000s. Now it's very much about enjoying what I do. I play in a band that only does charity gigs (all the fees for performances go into a large pot from which we donate to local charities nominated by the band members). I'm currently in the middle of getting a band together to play the stuff I enjoy playing. It's taking longer than I would like, but if it comes off I will consider that I have 'made it' once again.

It's a toss up between struggling to keep it business-like when a band member has done something/not done something (an OTT guitar solo at an important gig or not learnt a song properly after several rehearsals) and maintaining enthusiasm with a band/band members who are not as outwardly keen as me. The former can be read on my face during the transgression (there's a cringeworthy video of me trying to attract the attention of the guitard who is into his 5th minute of solo at the end of Purple Rain - TBF the video also shows the singer and drummer trying to make eye contact with him). The latter tends to come across in my own loss of enthusiasm. I am aware and can control the latter just by stopping to think and re-assess.

It's taken me a while to find one I like and surprisingly (perhaps?) it's the Behringer Phase Shifter. I have it set quite subtly which could be described as weak, but I find it just thickens the sound a little and gives me a bit of movement. I love a fuller phase sound on guitar and as @stewblack said above, a light distortion does wonders.

I generally prefer the live album versions of most music by my favourite bands. My first 'proper' album was 'Yesshows' - and I only found their studio albums a little later, by which time I'd been spoilt by the energy and excitement of the live performances. While I appreciate studio albums more now, I still turn to the live recordings more often. They are generally grittier, more energetic, more atmospheric, they have interesting interpretations of the originals (particularly where the band line-up has changed) and they're usually a good compilation of songs from the back catalogue. When suggesting songs to the band I tend to offer the live versions as the starting point.

I'm in a more phasey place, personally. But more importantly, I'm on a forum where both these statements are accepted and understood. 😃

I have a Warwick 1x10 plus horn, which I use in rehearsals coupled to a TCE BAM200. I like the sound and that I can adjust the volume of the horn. It's small and light. It doesn't have the punch of the TE 1x10 cab (I have two) which I use for gigs but it has plenty of volume and I never have to use the BAM200 anywhere near full volume. Be aware that the Speakon sockets and the horn volume control are on top of the cab in a recess, which makes stacking them problematical and may get in the way of larger amp heads. It's not a problem with the little TCE. Edit: It's the 1x10 8ohm version that I have.

I'd forgotten how nice the neck was.

This. I have several small bits of matchstick in my gig bag just in case.

I make up different boards for different bands. For a recent three piece gig I had to add a few pedals to thicken the sound, and a McMillen 12 Step keyboard controller so I could play some synth for a couple of songs. We're exploring adding two more people to the line up for some gigs, so the board is as fluid as the suggestions for songs to add to the set list! But the established band (The Hulla) has a small board with just a tuner, Bass Clone and Laney Digbeth and that hasn't chsnged for about 12 months. Some would say it's due for a review. 😃

New bass day, courtesy of @KingPrawn of this parish. Thank you, sir, for this beautiful Hohner 'The Jack'. Back in the day, when I was just starting out in the bass playing game, my first 'proper' bass guitar (i.e. not borrowed and not without a recognised logo) was a Hohner 'The Jack' headless bass. At the time I was under the impression that 'normal' basses looked too big on me, having seen a diminutive bassist with a local band wielding a Jazz bass that made him look like a child. Headless seemed ideal and I bought it from a mate who was playing bass in one of my favourite local bands at the time. A decade or so later I was taking a sabbatical and sold most of my bass gear, including the 'Jack'. By the time I returned to the bass game (sooner that I thought) I realised I'd let go of a really nice bass and looked in vain for another example. I ended up with a Spirit headless and later, having overcome my self image dilemma, a Precision and a Sterling MM. But always in the back of my mind was 'The Jack'. I kept an eye out but there were few sightings, and many of those were in Japan. There have been a few in the for sale thread here, but they have coincided with a drought in the bank account. Until a couple of weeks ago. As you might be able to see in the band photo (taken in the late 90s), my 'Jack' was a sandy coloured guitar and had been de-activated (or the active electronics weren't working). I think my new one looks better with the darker natural finish.

Just received a Hohner 'The Jack' from Sean. Exactly as described (in fact, nicer looking than the photos). A very simple and straightforward process, despite me making a c*ck-up of the first payment attempt. Plenty of timely communication from Sean and when the first attempt to pay didn't go through there was no drama. The guitar was posted as soon as payment was received and arrived very well packed a few minutes ago. Another excellent transaction to add to Sean's great feedback on here. 😃

Good luck, or break a leg, or 'raaaawwwk 'n' rolllllllllll'. Whichever works for you. 😃

This happened to me years ago with a cheap rechargeable (I forget the brand). I had tested it pre-gig and it was fine but it gave up the ghost towards the end of set 1. Every since I've used alkaline batteries and I've never had a problem.

Now you mention it, wasn't Enya's 'Orinico Flow' the start up tune for Radio 4 in the mornings? I sued to wake up to that, too. Never thought I was dead though. 🤣

Yes, I've read that too. There's a particular smell - a mix of rubber and a slightly metallic aroma - that immediately takes me back to when I was 10 and on the dentist having 6 teeth removed. It was the smell of the anaesthetic and the mask used to administer it. I still shudder as it was quite a traumatic experience.

I've never left a band on bad terms and only once did we have to ask someone to leave a band I was in. In such a tight community it should be obvious to all concerned that things aren't working and so the act of leaving/being asked to leave shouldn't really be a surprise. As has been said above, issues caught early enough can be addressed and as long as that is done in an adult manner, things should work out without the handbag moments, even if someone has to go. The only time we had a problem was with a bassist (I was the guitarist in the band) who couldn't see how his attitude of challenging everything and being late to rehearsals and gigs was a problem. The icing on the cake was when he refused to go back on to play an extended encore at a club gig and sat in the dressing room while we played another 30 minutes to a great crowd. He was asked to leave the following day and there was a hissy fit over returning my bass guitar to me (he didn't have his own) which was sorted with a visit to his house by the band. I hated every minute of it. The only positive from that episode was that having played bass for the encore, I played bass more often with that band and ended up being the full time bassist. And ultimately that led me here. 😃

I'm thinking perhaps get some long scale strings and create princess Leia Stereobuns?

They have been trimmed since the photo. But it could be useful to leave the string ends (or plait them) to discourage punters from getting too close to me during pub gigs. Or attach little LED fairy lights to them for that space rock/hippy/freak out effect. 😃

It turned up yesterday in this box. Nothing else in side and no packing paper. You may need to enlarge the photos to see it in the top left corner. After taking the original string holder off I couldn't figure out how to place it in such a way that it stayed on as described above and just started to think that you scamps on BassChat were having me on when I realised its an adapter, and that it fits over the existing string holder. If this isn't the correct way to fit it, it's the only way I can find that works. 😄

...anymore. 🤣

Me too. 😄

Yes, we used to be the 'on call' back-up band for a local pub (I knew the landlord from school). We were just starting out playing mostly originals so we were desperate for any gigs. We got a few through cancellations and we always treated it as a no pressure gig as we were there as a favour to the venue. As a new band, the venue policy was 'no weekend gigs until you have a following', but as the back-up band it was almost always a Friday or Saturday night gig. Good luck with your gig. No pressure! 😄

It's ordered now,so you can all laugh and say 'late April fool' or the equivalent. 😄

Oh no. Another purchase of something I didn't know I couldn't live without. 😂😂