Minininjarob

That’s the point. I come from the very brand orientated world of cycling - MTB mostly - where the lore on where (and who) the products were made was very well ingrained. People rubbished Far Eastern made frames in particular. But after a while we found out that the manufacturers in the far East made exactly what you wanted to whatever quality you needed, as long as you were willing to pay for the quality. So really it’s the backup from the manufacturer that makes the difference, and value of the product in the first place. I don’t know how well Mesa look after their customers (and don’t just say “well no one ever gets and issue” - it’s happens with any product) but the value doesn’t seem great and the manufacturer is way over the ocean. Where are the authorised dealers and repair places that you can go and get these amps fixed under warranty? Maybe the extra cost is worth it, I don’t know, but I know for sure here in the UK a large chuck of the price goes to import taxes and VAT/transatlantic shipping costs which don’t have any bearing on the quality of the product. I think if I had that sort of money I’d take a short 3 mile drive to Matamp and see how they could fulfill my needs. But that’s just me.

I am bewildered as to why someone would pay extra for something made in the USA. It’s hardly a guarantee of quality.

Oooooooh that’s lovely.

One of our church members is a pro sound engineer and he does a course on how to use all the tech we have, he does a section on how to recognise when something is mixed well, and that album is one he uses as an example. Most people on the musicians team are novices and really appreciate his help. I tried to how to do the FOH desk but it’s way beyond me.

So you used their service, agreed to pay the fees, then when a problem occurred you couldn’t be bothered finding out how to sort it out and ran away from the problem and somehow it’s eBay’s fault? The exact same issue has happended to me 4 or 5 times and each time the fees have been waived instantly when I contacted them. But then I follow their rules, strange that.

It’s not about the kit though it’s the spirit behind it all. I went to a “church” (basically someone’s front room) where there was only 6 of us singing along to a CD and that was a great time of worship, I’ll always remember it.

FYI a little factoid from a church friend who helped set it all up (he works for the installation company) - the first song to be played through our PA was Rage Against the Machine - Bombtrack. Probably hasn’t been played since!! Great for testing I suppose.

Yeah I understand it’s nice stuff, we try to look after it well. We’ve done a lot of music stuff over the years (couple of CDs) so when the new building was built for us we went for a decent system. The auditorium does get hired out for big concerts so it’s probably paid for itself in some respects over the years. I remember we held the Big Church night in with Wickham/Rend Collective which was pretty cool. Just makes it more daunting for me!! But everyone has been super helpful and supportive. Been practising those 3 songs like crazy despite having flu so hopefully it’ll go ok.

Just found out what we have as far as IEMs go, it’s about 13 years old but still works great apparently. I think they are looking to get wireless IEMs for the whole stage as the wires are a bit crazy and look messy but that’ll be costly so we looking to fundraise for them. Don’t ask me about any more details as I don’t know what below means anyway!! “Digidesign profile mixrack controls monitors - full IEM is used on stage with Shure PSM600 hardwired packs and six channels of Sennheiser wireless IEM.”

We have to buy our own earpieces, we have been recommended KZ ones off Amazon which are pretty cheap, decent set for £20. The person who recommends them to me is a pro sound engineer who comes to our church and he said they stack up well to his £800 custom moulded ones he uses in his job. I don’t think it’s much to buy your own IEMS, they are the price of a set of strings. It was considered buying sets for the musicians but we have I think at least 50 people who would need them and no one wants to share a set - hygenie issues etc. Also people take them home by mistake etc, lose the tips. I think we have 4 or 5 room mics to feed back audience noise, that can be included in your personal mix as much as you want. We do have a digital monitor desk which is manned so it’s easy to get a good mix. Everyone is on IEM so there isn’t any competition between musicians. The only person who has an amp is the guitarist if they want one and that’s mic’ed up in a back room. I can get pics on Friday of what we use if anyone is interested.

Have to agree in some ways. Make it too complex and it just gets lost. We have a guy who has played in funk and soul bands for decades and he is a genius in the bass but a lot of what her plays doesn’t come out cos we have piano and brass and the mix is fairly subtle and not loud. But someone else just laying down a solid bass line then really digging in just a little faster when needed stands out really well. I am hoping this simplistic approach will suit me well. And having a P bass played with a pick might help too. 😂

I’ve not played live in front of people ever! After writing the songs out I’ve realised they are quite simple - especially compared to the music I normally play - but I will still try and keep it simple to start off with. Keep the timing right, get the right notes. I’ve been going to the church for 20 years so I know the feel of the songs but I also recently have been thinking about how I would play them and how I would fit around the musicians who will be playing with me. Not trying to show off (I don’t have the capability to do that!) just want to demonstrate “hey I imagine it like this”. I don’t know who I will be playing with and can’t guess as we have 4 seperate workshop bands so anyone could be there! But I know all their styles so hopefully I can look around and maybe have a quick idea on what to do. Going to be weird using IEMs for the first time with zero on stage monitoring but I am at least next to the drummer and able to see everyone else so hopefully that works out ok I will let you know how I do!!

I’m very nervous as I’m going for a rhythm section practice on Friday night for the very first time - never played in the church I go to, only been playing a year!! Been given the three songs we are going through, thankfully I think I can manage them ok. Salvation is here (one of our own church songs). Revelation Song Might to Save So I’ve never played in front of people (but I do have a band who are planning to one day) and I’ve never used IEMs before - our whole setup is IEMS, no monitors at all on stage. I am bricking it!! Going to do a lot of practice and try and think of my own way to play each song rather than just the basic root notes.

Wow that looks amazing. So cool. (not joking!)

I didn’t say which one I preferred. From the descriptions people have given and what I have tried so far I think I I’m going to stay away from the amps described as hifi. Sounds a bit lifeless to me.

Well from the (very helpful honestly) descriptions you have provided I think I’m gonna steer clear of the hifi sound and I know what I’m looking for now, thanks.

I have been looking at 400rb’s, my favourite bassist used one!

It’s not often a SVT rig looks a bit puny!!! The Marshall looks like it’s stealing the Ampegs lunch money.

Exactly. My first ever band has a promise of 2 places we can play. Neither of them have PA beyond a vocal mic (and we aren’t sure about that tbh) so we are going to be taking our amps to use!! IEMs no use when you have no PA and more importantly you can’t afford them. 😂

Which one of the older GK amps would you recommend? I see a lot of RB400s around similar. Love the GK sound in my MB112 combo and don’t mind an older heavier head.

Ok I see this description a lot and and as a relative beginner I’m a little confused. I used to be into hifi so I don’t understand why I don’t understand!! 😂 I suppose I need to know what to avoid really - here are the amps I have tried and whether I liked them and can you educate me on whether i like hifi sound or not? I play a P-bass with a pick BTW if it makes any difference. My Amp - GK MB112 combo - love the sound esp when turned up. I have tried: GK 2001rb into a GK 4x10. Wow. Just WOW. TC electronics 800w head into a TC 4x10 - ok and versatile but left me cold. Ampeg SVT (all valve) into an Ampeg 8x10 (new models) - was hoping I’d like this and the music I like tends to favour these but it didn’t excite me as it should but I couldn’t turn it up much or have much time with it. Older Trace Elliot combo - not a fan. Kinda boomy and boring flat sound. In rehearsal rooms: Older Hartke TA head into a 8x10 - quite liked it but not as much as Gk Trace Elliot head (older one I think) into a 4x10. Awful, just awful. I don’t know why. Too harsh? Just weird. So what do I like and what brands should I be looking for? GK obviously I know!!

Oh my word my dream rig. Absolutely gorgeous. Probably way out of my price range unfortunately. 😫

If you are anywhere near Huddersfield I have an Orange VT1000 valve tester you can pop the valves in. Sometimes if they test ok with a multimeter they still don’t work in situ.

I can’t see the problem. All I can see is a well used and loved bass which looks a damn sight better than all the fake relic’d stuff you can buy.

We did the same during the pandemic and recorded each service BUT nowadays although it’s recorded it’s only available to selected people who cannot come to church for valid reason eg leaders away on church business, terminally ill, long term sick people who can’t get out of the house. We didn’t want people to just watch it at home rather than coming to church. I do the live video mixing and recording so it can be sent out Monday AM with little editing. I’ve heard feedback that it’s really appreciated by the people who watch it so it’s nice to make an extra effort for them. BTW we have 3x BlackMagic 4k pro G2 cameras with long zoom lenses as we video from the back of the auditorium. It all goes through a black magic ATEM 4 M/E Constellation 4K live production switcher, all controlled with a Mac Mini running the BM software. We have the advantage of having a pro video and lighting engineer in our congregation so we got a good deal on it all and we didn’t have to pay to have it installed.