Franticsmurf

Like a few others here, my usual thumb resting spot is the neck pick up, but for variation of tone I'll go back to the bridge pick up or rest on the edge of the neck as the song requires.

Yes. This. On Saturday I did it with a cup of tea on my hand, courtesy of the hotel we were playing at. Tea and gig - can't beat it. 😃

We played our Xmas gig last Saturday. Merry Xmas Everyone (Shaky) was received with moderate appreciation, Fairytale went down a storm, Merry Xmas Everybody (Slade) had everyone up and singing. We did a tongue in cheek version of Blue Christmas - speeding up after every repeat. Song that got the best reception (based on volume of singing) - Sweet Caroline. Most dancers on (and off) the dance floor - 500 Miles. Bah humbug! 😃

Great photo - I bet it brings back memories? And is the feeling of playing well and/or winning comparable to a good gig?

I'm using the Minimax 600 as my main gigging amp. I love the sounds I can get from it. The mid shift button alters the frequency at which the mid tone knob is centred - 250hz or 600hz. I find the bass 'punch' good for adding a little bass at low volume and I like the effect of the 'Kosmos' button (the manual says it adds harmonics to tighten the bass without adding watt-sapping bass frequencies). Built in tuner which mutes the amp when engaged. As has been mentioned above, the fan is noisy. But for me at gigging and rehearsal volumes, it's not a problem. I've used the DI a couple of times and have had no problems. The last gig I used it at I was competing with three guitarists, a keyboard player and drums and going through a pair of TE 1x10 cabs. Gain was about 9-10 o'clock and volume about midday - no problems. I wish they'd put in some footswitch options for the tuner and boost channel though.

Played the local Crown Court Xmas bash last night with the Hulla Band - the singer works there. Medium sized room with a good crowd. We started early, while the football was still on, and played beneath the big screen. It being a Welsh audience, there was not too much disappointment at the outcome but we did pause for both England penalties. Lots of dancing and singing along and the right mix of Xmas songs and our standard set list. As you can see from the photo, I went in my pyjama top. 😃 (I had a waistcoat ready but with the 'on-off' start as we debated whether to start before the football finished, I suddenly found myself playing the opening riffs with nothing to tame the shirt!)

The bass set up for yesterday's gig with the Hulla Band. Medium sized room, circa 100 people, full PA support so this was for the listening pleasure of me and the drummer. I was using IEM too, as I'm in the process of moving over to it full time in this band. The drums weren't going through the PA so I had one ear 'free'. The board was my standard for this band - tuner>comp>EHX Soul Food (grit)>MS60b (chorus and fretless patches)>BAM200 with DI to the desk. A glass of orange squash completes the line up. 😃

Now I think about it, I can see that pattern, to a certain extent, with me. At the beginning of the year I left a long term band with the intention of starting a new one. In the first three months or so after leaving, I bought 4 new basses and sold two, bought two amp heads, three new cabs and several pedals. I know that's not a lot for some but it is for me. Since joining a couple of new bands, the purchases have ceased apart from a couple of pedals for specific songs within the set lists. I suspect in the hiatus between bands I was thinking about doing new things and needing different instruments for the right sound. There was an element of upgrading involved and experimentation with a fretless. But now I'm playing regularly, I'm more interested in getting consistently the right sound for the bands. I now have an amp/cab combination and a 'go to' bass for each band. I haven't quite sorted the pedals out yet but the ones I have do the job. My GAS is satisfied, to some extent, by bring an old bass out of its case for a gig or two or re-arranging the pedal board. 😃

This is part of the reason that I have bought and sold instruments and gear. The other is a preference for 'new' things (new to me, that is, rather than brand new). I've always been one to tire quickly of things - in work I was great at starting and developing projects but one they became 'business as usual' I'd lose interest. In my hobbies (photography and music) I realised it was the same - a new camera or lens would motivate me to get out and snap away and then it would become the norm and I'd look for something else. It was expensive and while I had the money (part exchange and buying second hand helped) I realised it wasn't making me a better photographer and the enjoyment was the kit rather than the photography. Similarly with a new piece of musical gear. The excited anticipation of the box appearing on my doorstep etc etc. The solution that works for me is to keep rather than trade some of the old gear and put it to one side. Now I find that I can move from the current favourite bass (or camera/lens)to one I haven't used for a few months and get a similar buzz. I have 8 basses on rotation (currently favouring the latest addition - my American P bass) along with a couple of pedals that have recently rejoined the board. A few weeks ago I got the headless out to play at a gig on a whim. It was great. 😃

That sums it up for me too - I've never been part of a sports team but I guess the feeling must be the same.

My first gig was 1989, I was 25 and it was a couple of months after my dad had died. He bought me my first guitar and helped start it all off, so it was a poignant moment for me. I was a nervous wreck going on stage, not helped by the compare who clattered into the neck of the guitar seconds before the first song, throwing several strings out of tune! 😃 We weren't brilliant, we finished early as the adrenaline kicked in and we played too fast and as I recall we got around £30 (we took the door money). But the buzz was addictive, and still is. Had I been younger when I started, I may not have become so cynical about the whole scene (I have a newspaper cutting of an interview where I go on about the apathy and lack of opportunities in the area - not the best way to promote the band 😬). Most of the band were working full time, too. Had we not been, I think there would have been more energy put into making it work, as we were playing mostly our own stuff. But I also wonder if, had I started earlier, I would have got it out of my system and given up once I got a proper job?

As I posted my reply, I realised the same. 😃

I learnt that one for last year - it took me ages but it is a great bassline and I enjoyed working on it. Then the band decided not to do it. 😬

I agree that the great moments are when the band is working as a unit, everyone is having fun on stage and off, and the songs are flowing. The first time I really got that feeling was about a year or two into my 'career', playing a benefit for a local biker who had lost a leg in a crash. The place was packed and we started playing Comfortably Numb (a favourite of mine) in which I sang the chorus. When I went into the first chorus, the audience joined in. It was a 'hairs on the back of my neck' moment that I have never forgotten. Another great memory was closing a multi-band line up event with an hour long medley of up tempo rock. We played non-stop and kept the dance floor full the whole time. The band had been playing regularly and often for a couple of years and we hadn't planned the song order or to keep playing but the singer just called the tunes and we went into them. We tried to build it into the set as a regular feature, but it never worked as well again.

To answer the original question, do audiences want Xmas songs? I don't think they want Christmas songs specifically but they probably expect to hear a festive tune or two. And they probably want songs they can dance/sing/fall over/smooch to. Slade and Wham would cover those expectations. At the gig I mentioned above, the audience will have been wine tasting since at least midday, and so when we go on at about 8 and as long as there are sleighbells and festive hats, we'll get away with anything. "It does sound a bit like 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', but its actually Floyd's 1979 Christmas hit." 😀

I can confirm, two 1x10 cabs combined is indeed amazingly beefy! 😃

We're playing a Christmas party on Saturday. Into the set has gone Fairytale, Blue Christmas, Merry Christmas Baby, Merry Christmas Everyone and Merry Christmas Everybody I get the latter two titles mixed up so the set list is annotated Shaky and Slade respectively. This is a regular Christmas party gig for us (the singer's work colleagues) so we know what they want (and don't want). For a general Christmas gig, we have the above songs plus a couple more to call on and would probably include a couple of festive tunes as a matter of course and to test the waters.

Hi Brian.

Welcome Jslack.

Welcome to the site.

I have the BDI 21 too and mine sounds ok. Sounds like the signal going in to it is too high. Have you tried removing the DI's and checking to see if the clipping is still present?

Depending on the weight of your cab, this. https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15987592/hi-gear-sloan-stool-15987592 I'm using one that came with a removeable table top as well to support 2x TE1x10 cabs and a Peavey Minimax 600 - about 20kg in total. Mine will take a total of 90kg in stool form.

We're doing both. Slade is much better for getting the crowd involved. We're also doing Elvis' Blue Christmas. Not my choice. It'll be a close run thing between the depressed drunks and the bouncing drunks. 🤣

Hi Gary.

Hi Bdplaid. I saw L42 a couple of times in the early 90s. Met Mark King outside one of the venues as he and the band were leaving the bus. He stopped and chatted and was generally a real nice, down to earth guy.