Minininjarob

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.

We used to have Fri night practice but it went on a long time and by the time Sunday came along the leader often had felt a change or two was needed (after praying about it) so practice was still needed p on the Sunday. So to avoid the long practice on the Fri it was decided to meet earlier on the Sunday to do the practice. Everyone has to be well prepared but it works well as everything is fresh when the service starts and people are thankful to get another evening free. We have 4 bands that play in rotation and members so get together socially and for extra experience playing with each other (not just to practice for the Sunday). That really has helped make the sound much better as people know each other better and discuss how to fit into the music in their own space better. Before we had the 4 bands you could be playing with diff people every time so even though we had the Friday practice it was a struggle to get the overall sound good. It’s great now and the musicians are clearly worshipping with their instruments and you can see they are more relaxed and joyful. Worked for us, you just gotta try different things sometimes. Hopefully one day I’ll be asked to join them, just gotta put the practice in!! Currently i am on the video production side so I’ve seen the positive changes made.

As a complete beginner last year I found the Fender ranges to be pretty obvious but the Stingray range to still be confusing although with the help on here I think I get it. Maybe your username suggests you have a long history with them which might help! Which one would you recommend out of the single pickup range? Not sure which type of pickup would be best for me. I would go and try them in a shop if anyone within an hours drive had any in stock. 😞

Ahh I see good to know.

I’m clearer in some respects and more confused in others. 😂😂

Mike Dirnt plays a Grabber in quite a few Greenday tunes and I love the sound of them. I can see why you’d like one.

As far as I can tell the first is passive, the next two have 2 and 3 way EQ, is that right? Also what’s the benefit of having the double pickup HH variant? Just more options or do they sound different like jazz/precision different? I’d be interested in the HH if it was a more powerful output.

Ok so maybe one day I will want to buy a Stingray but despite a lot of googling I can’t get my head around the offerings. I understand Fender PB ranges - Squire/Player/USA made etc and their price ranges but I can’t seem to figure out the Musicman range. I would be after a 4 string for sure.

An online store has minuscule running costs compared to a retail store. In every single way, building/staff/energy/rates/equipment/security a retail store has multiple times the costs. I used to be a retail operations manager and the costs are astronomical.

I’d really love that head but it’s too much money for me to be honest.