Pirate Studios -- a warning

[kwmlondon]

10 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Yes I get that. In Bristol most of the rehearsal rooms have similar systems.

 

The convenience of Pirate is great, but we’ve stopped using the place as it’s just pretty horrid. Equipment is junk and it’s just a poor experience.

 

I did a jazz session in a rehearsal room Saturday and it was about £5 more expensive but light years better in terms of quality.

I have had a few really frustrating experiences with pirate, I can’t deny. But the last 4 or 5 have been fine so I’ll keep with them for the time being. If they get go downhill I’ll look elsewhere. 
 

Also, me and my band mates almost always use public transport to get to practicing which has a big impact in location. Pirate has chosen really convenient locations in London, fair play. 

Edited 10 hours ago by kwmlondon

[MichaelDean]

11 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Yes I get that. In Bristol most of the rehearsal rooms have similar systems.

 

The convenience of Pirate is great, but we’ve stopped using the place as it’s just pretty horrid. Equipment is junk and it’s just a poor experience.

 

I did a jazz session in a rehearsal room Saturday and it was about £5 more expensive but light years better in terms of quality.

Yeah, I feel like the Bristol one has really gone downhill. The rooms all used to have decent enough gear. A rootmaster head and a 210/410 cab, a 412 and head plus a 212 combo for the guitarists. Now you're lucky to get a 100w Orange combo and one Boss Katana combo. But wait, "we have two guitarists" I hear you say? Tough sh!t.

 

I really don't quite understand how everything gets so broken unless people are intentionally breaking it. Like, a 412? Are people intentionally trashing that? Or was the quality insufficient for the amount of use it gets and the budget not allocated for good replacements? Or perhaps they can just get away with cheap gear so they do. 

 

We use the live room of a studio most of the time and it's so much better. No noise from other bands because there aren't any within in the building. I get an 810, both guitarists have 412s and the drum kit is decent.

[12stringbassist]

Reporting them to the Fire Service sounds like a plan.
Best avoided.

[Mediocre Polymath]

1 hour ago, MichaelDean said:

I really don't quite understand how everything gets so broken unless people are intentionally breaking it. Like, a 412? Are people intentionally trashing that? Or was the quality insufficient for the amount of use it gets and the budget not allocated for good replacements? Or perhaps they can just get away with cheap gear so they do. 

 

 

I used to rehearse with a band in one of Pirate's locations in London. The room we used had a Rumble 800 into a 4-ohm 6x10 cab. Quite often we'd get there and every knob on the bass amp was turned up to the max, as well as most of the knobs on the guitar amps. Bear in mind this was a room about the size of the living room in a typical victorian terrace. 

 

We assumed someone was doing it as a joke, but then one day I ended up there about 20 minutes early, and heard the metal band that rehearsed in the room in the slot before ours. They really were running everything flat out all the time. 

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

In my experience, it’s worth spending a few more quid for somewhere decent.

 

Or even a bit less for somewhere decent!

[Stub Mandrel]

Used to use Pirate in Nottingham without major problems, had to ring once or twice for dodgy access codes.

 

Got used to expecting the Ashdown combo to have really weird settings.

 

Used Cardiff a few times... a bit scruffy and it closed after a few months.

 

Other studios are a mixed bag. Not much difference in price, but the better ones tend to be booked up well in advance. I usually use my own gear and we just use the pa and drumkit less breakables.

 

 

[BassFace1991]

33 minutes ago, Mediocre Polymath said:

 

I used to rehearse with a band in one of Pirate's locations in London. The room we used had a Rumble 800 into a 4-ohm 6x10 cab. Quite often we'd get there and every knob on the bass amp was turned up to the max, as well as most of the knobs on the guitar amps. Bear in mind this was a room about the size of the living room in a typical victorian terrace. 

 

We assumed someone was doing it as a joke, but then one day I ended up there about 20 minutes early, and heard the metal band that rehearsed in the room in the slot before ours. They really were running everything flat out all the time. 

 

Good greif!

[Silky999]

We used to use the one in Reading but they decided to increase the number of DJ rooms and with that came the smell of cannabis, phone numbers of drug dealers on the toilet walls and groups of yoofs who would club together to rent a room for the day. They would order drugs, pizza and alcohol and basically have a parties to the soundtrack of overpowering drum and bass echoing down the corridors. It all got quite intimidating so we stopped using the studios. Added to this was the shocking state of the drum hardware which was always broken and the general state of the rooms themselves.

Edited 8 hours ago by Silky999

[JazzyJ]

As it appears that the incident has been reported the local fire authority, they will be there soon enough to carry out a fire risk assessment.

As an ex firefighter with 10 yrs service, I've experienced the aftermath of some terrible incidents.

The smell of burnt flesh never really does leave you. For the sake of a few quid, it's just not worth the risk.

[kwmlondon]

8 hours ago, Mediocre Polymath said:

 

I used to rehearse with a band in one of Pirate's locations in London. The room we used had a Rumble 800 into a 4-ohm 6x10 cab. Quite often we'd get there and every knob on the bass amp was turned up to the max, as well as most of the knobs on the guitar amps. Bear in mind this was a room about the size of the living room in a typical victorian terrace. 

 

We assumed someone was doing it as a joke, but then one day I ended up there about 20 minutes early, and heard the metal band that rehearsed in the room in the slot before ours. They really were running everything flat out all the time. 

I used a 6x10 and route master in a pirate. Was fabulous! I get why they’ve gone to 500w rumbles though if that’s what bands are doing. I guess they aren’t using hearing protection either… that’s a recipe for serious hearing loss. Sad.