Thurbs

[quote name='Mikey R' timestamp='1352116916' post='1858825']Unfortunately, we're all grown ups so music happens only when a house isnt being built / someone isnt working out of town / looking after kids / on holiday - which means its already taken a couple of years to even get gig ready.
[/quote]Wow, you have more patience than me! 3 months tops is my limit from joining to gig. This has been learnt the hard way unfortunately.

Go midget, dial up some lows and rejoice in it's size, weight and loudness.

Well done, sounds like you did the right thing to me.

There are two types of people in life, those that make things happen and those who don't. It sounds to me like you fall in to a different category than your band...

I would blow the lot on this: http://www.dv247.com/guitars/ashdown-lb-30-drophead-15h-valve-bass-amp-combo--82375

Or if you are not too fussed about the drop headness then this would (and nearly is) what I would get:

http://www.dv247.com/guitars/ashdown-lb-30h-valve-bass-amplifier-head--73653

With

http://www.thomann.de/gb/ashdown_vs212200.htm

and or

http://www.thomann.de/gb/ashdown_vs115200.htm

I am on the lookout for a LB212, same cab just lighter speakers.

I thought it was very entertaining, done with enthusiasm and verve. I thought it was all fab!

Been posted a few times. As you would expect some like it and some dont!

As an aside, they have just signed to a label so are probably working on a album now...

Gift horse and all that... do it!

If lightness is the key, get a Midget plus a class d head. Then the heaviest thing in your rig will be the guitar... the midget really is that good and light.

Regarding the open not being a very good player... just get yourself 3 lessons from a good teacher and learn some basic theory. With that base knowledge song like this take about 5 minutes to learn. Then you realise how most rock/pop/blues all take about 5 minutes to learn! Saves loads and loads of time if you put some effort in up front.

The midget is quite ridiculously good full stop. Then you add in the size and weight it is a no brainer. You have to dial in some more lows than you normal would, but a tweak of EQ is hardly a heavy price to pay.

I have gigged a midget for 2 years now and never needed anything else other than a outdoors (DI in to the PA).

How much?

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1346937028' post='1795025']
I regularly perform songs I don't know without any rehearsal and no charts; just 'one, two, three, four... it's in G'. Its amazing how much you can pick up in real time if you keep your ears open; including stops, arrangement etc. I guess it depends on whether you need the performances to be accurate to the nth degree or whether 'good enough' is good enough. Watching the guitar players hands (unless he is playing a cavaquino which is not tuned like a guitar and confuses the ass off me) often prevents any major trainwrecks. I find most songs are 'of a type' and you kind of get a feel for things over the years.
[/quote]agreed. The more theory I know the easier this stuff is. I couldn't, imagine learning a set now,

[quote name='Papalampraina' timestamp='1346675949' post='1791768'] I never liked that whole "image" thing. I'm a musician. It's like asking for a model to know Chinese medieval history. Why? [/quote]

As others have previously said, it depends on the type of music. If you want commercial (read teenage girls, they are the ones that buy most records) then you need to look like One Direction / JLS etc.

I blame The Beetles

I got myself a Zoom B9.1ut for 4 main reasons:

1. Stereo DI
2. Stereo output for IEM (no backline needed).
3. Stereo output for backline > pa power amp > Midget T > Drummer
4. All the patches a bassist could want.

With this I can assign buttons to change chorus, reverb, distortion, anything mid song + create a different patch for each song.

What I actually end up with is about 6 or 7 patches which mimic most of the bass styles and then switch it to the right one on the right song. The only mid song changes I do are for chorus and distortion.

For rehearsals I don't bother usually.

Some questions I would be asking in the same situation...

- were we too loud?
- was the set right?
- did we engage enough with the people who were there?
- was the gig promoted by the band? The promoter?

Ever thought it could be the amp you bought rather than the amps power stage type?

Looks great, minor comment, like the background but fade it out a bit or don't change it.

I always check tuning before each session, even if it has just sat on a stand for a day, why wouldn't you?

The simple answer is price.

- Heat syncs cost more.
- Quiet fans cost more.
- Designing in temperature controlled fans costs more.
- Components which have a larger temperature range cost more.
- and so on...

If quietness is your goal then go valve. Oh, but then you want it small and light?

Compromise is the name of the game.

I like it loads...

[quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1344262914' post='1761883']
I should have made that a stronger point.
With the last guitarist, I did what I felt was right.
The new chap gives me a 'WTF' look if I deviate from either the actual line or a root 5th groove.
It has knocked my confidence of playing in the band situation.
[/quote]This sounds like the issue... If you are confident of your place in the band then challenge them and see what comes of it.

On a related point, I find people who "play it exactly like the cover" are often put off massively by any deviation.... vocals, rhythm or anything which deviates from the script in their head. I just put it down to poor musicianship and move on.

I find the more bored I am with playing the song, the more I experiment. Our version of Mustang Sally (when we bother to rehearse it) is over played to death as we are all so bored playing it. Same with Sweet Home.

Are you comfortable with the song?
Are you comfortable with you place within the band?
Are you comfortable that if you cock up when cocking about that it wont matter?

Like you, unless the bass line is essential to the song I improvise around the chords just keeping the same feel but play much more than root, 5th.

Very strange answers...

Cables? All over the place, sometimes 3 deep and I think of them as a carpet. I couldn't care less who treads on them.

Well done...

I have had a few of those gigs when you turn up expecting one thing and get given a completely different set with different keys... as it happens also when I was new to the DB. I also had a superb keys player who saved the day.

Either get a 5 string or play the octave higher. If you play with brass & Woodwind then expect lots of songs to be in Eb and Bb.