Thurbs

I put together a spreadsheet of all the gear I have with serial numbers for insurance purposes. I was shocked to find out I take £5k's worth of stuff to a gig and have over £7k at home. I thought it was only about £2-£3k. I have since vastly decreased my "gig kit", logged the lot list with the insurance company and have already moved some kit on.

[quote name='tauzero' post='1067005' date='Dec 22 2010, 06:28 PM']When my current band was invited by my old band (who had dumped me for a mate of the guitarist's) to support them, this was the one. I managed to conceal being unbearably smug quite well, I think.[/quote]I have had a similar experience! It is a shamefully nice feeling.

Public liability insurance and PRS & PPL if playing covers.

Hope you don't mind, here is the video to the aforementioned gig... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fgKyJ7OUGE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fgKyJ7OUGE[/url] I have always wanted to add You Oughta Know to our set if not for the great bass line. Was your guitarist having a bad night? Some of your clips the guitar sounded off... Anyway, back to the singer, she seems much more lively on the stage, but no real movement still. I think she has a better voice overall and only a few times was she a bit flat. I think you could benefit from a larger area to play in so you can all move about a bit more. Movement is something I have been looking at personally and the band as a whole. A good front man/lady will really engage with the audience through the vocals and movement and I try my best to support them. The only one with a good excuse is the drummer, but then our drummer bounces all over the place and it's great!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1256332' date='Jun 4 2011, 11:36 AM']If you have a POD and you dig the sound, get that Peavy IPR that umph is selling, and a Barefaced cab to suit your needs. Light weight endgame rig. Sorted.[/quote] My rig exactly! (well almost, slightly different pre-amp)

[quote name='JTUK' post='1253998' date='Jun 2 2011, 02:10 PM']This ^ gets my vote. Must admit, the OP sounds an odd way of going about things.... Having done the rounds with reasonable tops, we then bought something that really puts the vocals on another level sound-wise and hey presto, the first gig with them, the vocals came across beautifully and went down a storm. Playing-wise it was as rough as we had been for along time..but wont go into that..and we think the main difference was in the PA. So, there is a reason why Mackie is a decent benchmark..nowhere near the best, IMV, but perfectly ok...so I would use the stuff that was built for the job. I agree the sub is less important and just adds depth for the most part but crystal clear tops are an absolute must.[/quote]I think I should probably expand on my thoughts here. I believe a speaker is a speaker and ideally should represent the input as best it can as the output. That way you can control the colouration of any "tone" by changing the signal at the guitar/pedal/pre-amp stage. I have especially noticed this going from an full Ashdown ABM rig to a pre-amp, PA amp & Midget-T. The ashdown cabs seem to be voiced to add loads of weight to the 80-100Hz frequencies, which give them sound warm, smooth and fat tone (which I loved btw). Fiddling around with a decent EQ I have got the same tone through the PA type set-up, but can also get clean, topsy and any other type of sound I want. So, if there was a speaker which had a flat response through out the frequency range which was also man enough to double as a bass rig then to me that is a more valuable proposition as I can combine budgets and get a higher quality rig. I looked at PA tops but none seem to go low enough. I looked at PA subs but they weigh more than the moon. I am surprised know one else has done it TBH. Thanks for everyone's input.

I have a massive and heavy Peavey PA with 2x15" heads and 2x15" subs. It is a great sound and works well, however a but overkill for a pub and a pain in the arse as I have to borrow a van. I already have a Midget-T and use it mostly for full monitoring, not just bass. So, I could buy another Midget-T, screw in some [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/black-plastic-35-mm-external-top-hat-506490"]Top Hats[/url] and hey presto, some PA hats! Obviously I would need additional monitoring, but we have other options for that. Finally, could a compact be used as a sub woofer making the ultimate in flexible lightweight bass and PA rig? Anyone else done it?

If you wanted a pop song, how about Rio from Duran Duran. It is the bass which really bounces the song along. There is also plenty of space in the verses for your own grove, although the chorus you need to sit back in the mix obviously!

Too far for my band for a free one I'm afraid.

There was a thread not so long ago along the lines of "what's the most over rated something...?" I was going to answer tone but bottled it! Most of the gigs I play I just plug straight in to the PA. Of course with the DB, then the Fishman Platinum Pro is also used...

To me there are 2 things at play here, originals and covers. For covers you are clearly selling a product and should expect to be paid market rates for your performance. Obviously the higher quality the product and the more demand there is, the more you are going to get paid. For originals then it is much different. When you gig you are simply promoting your self / band / album / EP / whatever to try and gain a loyal fan base. If your product becomes of value to promoters & labels, then you will be able to sell and get paid. I don't accept that because you play music you should expect to get paid, only when it is of value can you reap the rewards. As for lining the pockets of promoters, I bet if you looked at their books you would be surprised at how much they are throwing down the drain. One promoter I know near me has sunk £300k in to his venture. Crazy.

[quote name='fatboyslimfast' post='1243025' date='May 24 2011, 03:14 PM']Apparantly it was the MPAA threatening Bassmasta's owner with a lawsuit that forced his hand - as Songsterr already have a commercial agreement in place, this wasn't an issue for them. Edit: might explain why they encourage people to use the paid version though...[/quote] How a txt tabb bares any relation to a song in reality is beyond me. Songsterr is great, however I moved away from tabb and now learn most things from dots and my own lead sheets.

[quote name='phatbass787' post='1236361' date='May 18 2011, 09:47 PM']+1 Ive been gigging the LB30 quite a bit in the blues band im in and it sounds great and as long as you dont want to be crystal clean easily loud enough, you should test drive one for sure[/quote]I would caution anyone buying a LB for volume. One of my bands is a 6 piece rock band and am up against two 4x12 30w Blackstar rigs. It doesn't really keep up to be honest. I don't mind as I let the FOH do all the work in a gig situation. So, the LB is no power amp and if you are in a loud band with too many guitarists or have to fill a large venue with backline, then it is not for you. Stage monitor + DI to decent PA - perfect Low volume acoustic/jazz etc - perfect Recording - perfect Lots of lovely overdrive - perfect Loud rock/indi/metal band with loud guitar rigs - barely adequate