How was your gig last night?

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, wateroftyne said:

 

Ah, that's great to hear. Everyone was very welcoming.

 

Up early the next morning for a rainy 7-hour drive to the Laundry Theatre in Bowness the following night. Another lovely venue.

 

 

...and then back to 'proper' work for 8am Monday morning.

 

Even so, I'd do it again tomorrow.

 

 

That's an unusual layout Michael. How did it go soundwise ?

Dave

[wateroftyne]

13 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

That's an unusual layout Michael. How did it go soundwise ?

Dave

Absolutely fine - we just kept the volume down and let the PA do the work. Matt, our lovely sound chap, is a genius.

[tauzero]

13 hours ago, asingardenof said:

Shoes were a pair of very wet brown Clarks ones that need a bit of attention now. We've a couple of months off now until our next gig in November, so plenty of time for string changes and learning new songs.

 

And drying your shoes out.

[Bluewine]

We're doing an outside 12:00-2:30 full Maple Road gig this Saturday at The Harley Motor. We'll be leaving at 9:00. That's very early for me.

 

This one will be a little  different Usually we do our acoustic offering inside 5:00-7:30.

 

I'm hoping there's some type of special event to ensure a decent crowd.  I hope we can keep our streak going.  We've had 3 really good gigs in a row.

 

Daryl

Edited Friday at 01:59 by Bluewine

[dmccombe7]

17 hours ago, Bluewine said:

We're doing an outside 12:00-2:30 full Maple Road gig this Saturday at The Harley Motor. We'll be leaving at 9:00. That's very early for me.

 

This one will be a little  different Usually we do our acoustic offering inside 5:00-7:30.

 

I'm hoping there's some type of special event to ensure a decent crowd.  I hope we can keep our streak going.  We've had 3 really good gigs in a row.

 

Daryl

Have a good one Daryl.

First gig in 5 wks tomorrow night with the Glam band. Leaving the house 3pm for an 8:30pm start and 11pm finish. Two 1hr sets so should be a fun night. Our new PA company is doing the PA so that saves me humphing those blooming large QSC cabs in and out of my car especially at the end of the night. Should be back home for approx 2am. An 11hr day for me but i do miss it when we have these long gaps between gigs plus my wee plucking fingers get soft and will be painful by the end of the gig unless i really take it easy and concentrate on playing lightly.

That'll last for approx 3-4 songs then i just get carried away and into the zone. 😂

Dave

[Stub Mandrel]

Small venue tonight so I went DI with one of the 'baby' devices.

 

Struggled all first set until nearly done when I realised the PA on my side had the top turned down.

 

Used it to Bluetooth music to the pa in the interval... then struggled for two songs until I realised it had reset and was on a preset, then I got my sound back.

 

All this combined with gigging flats gor the first time,  I couldn't relax and felt awkward.

 

Ironically a bass player in the audisaid I had a really good sound... I  just wish I could have heard it better.

 

Conclusion... if I go ampless again, I will need IEMs. But it took me decades to find earplugs I like so...

 

 

Took me a few minutes to pack away, then 50 minutes helping the others...

[Bluewine]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Small venue tonight so I went DI with one of the 'baby' devices.

 

Struggled all first set until nearly done when I realised the PA on my side had the top turned down.

 

Used it to Bluetooth music to the pa in the interval... then struggled for two songs until I realised it had reset and was on a preset, then I got my sound back.

 

All this combined with gigging flats gor the first time,  I couldn't relax and felt awkward.

 

Ironically a bass player in the audisaid I had a really good sound... I  just wish I could have heard it better.

 

Conclusion... if I go ampless again, I will need IEMs. But it took me decades to find earplugs I like so...

 

 

Took me a few minutes to pack away, then 50 minutes helping the others...

 

I think DI is the way to go for small venues. I use a pretty basic DI. I wonder if I should shop some of the high end bass DI/ pre-amps with all the bells and whistles. 

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

7 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Have a good one Daryl.

First gig in 5 wks tomorrow night with the Glam band. Leaving the house 3pm for an 8:30pm start and 11pm finish. Two 1hr sets so should be a fun night. Our new PA company is doing the PA so that saves me humphing those blooming large QSC cabs in and out of my car especially at the end of the night. Should be back home for approx 2am. An 11hr day for me but i do miss it when we have these long gaps between gigs plus my wee plucking fingers get soft and will be painful by the end of the gig unless i really take it easy and concentrate on playing lightly.

That'll last for approx 3-4 songs then i just get carried away and into the zone. 😂

Dave

 

Thanks Dave,

 

I hope you guys have a good one too.

 

Yeah, August was slow for me. September has been busy.

 

Daryl

Edited yesterday at 02:49 by Bluewine

[Rayman]

 

 

The Blossoms, Stockport. Great little venue. Leaf is the promoter, not the new name of the band. Our smallest setup due to the size of the place, so just the ABM500 combo, but it sounded pretty good, although I could’ve done with raising it up a bit. The P bass was great, a bit zingy with new strings, but very happy with it. Cool little gig. 

[Franticsmurf]

6 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Small venue tonight so I went DI with one of the 'baby' devices.

 

Struggled all first set until nearly done when I realised the PA on my side had the top turned down.

 

Used it to Bluetooth music to the pa in the interval... then struggled for two songs until I realised it had reset and was on a preset, then I got my sound back.

 

All this combined with gigging flats gor the first time,  I couldn't relax and felt awkward.

 

Ironically a bass player in the audisaid I had a really good sound... I  just wish I could have heard it better.

 

Conclusion... if I go ampless again, I will need IEMs. But it took me decades to find earplugs I like so...

 

 

Took me a few minutes to pack away, then 50 minutes helping the others...

When I went DI it took a few sessions to get used to not having the sound behind me, and not having instant access to change that sound. It took a while longer to tune the pre-amp I was using to work through the PA speakers. At about the same time I went to a rudimentary IEM system using a Behringer P1 wired to the desk and £10 Sony earbuds (I wanted to get a feel before investing in wireless). Although it was the cheap end of the market, I could see the potential and I liked the control over the volume in my ears - if nothing else the earbuds gave me some protection from the onstage volume. The big difference came when I was singing BVs - even with the cheap set up I could hear my voice much clearer than when using floor monitors and it gave me more confidence to harmonise. With IEM it took a while to get used to the isolation, and since our singer often talks to the band off mic between songs, I usually have one earpiece more loosely fitted so I can hear him. 

Edited yesterday at 07:35 by Franticsmurf

[martthebass]

Did a fund raiser for the local tennis club last night, it was interesting….id originally volunteered to play bass in a 70s covers set but ended up playing in a Lizzy tribute, Dr Feelgood tribute, and a 70s glam thing as well. But of a work out but thoroughly enjoyable. It was a pleasure to meet Alan Jones, Shadows bass player who played on a Shadows tribute - really nice guy and awesome talent. He used my MarkBass set up and he had loads of stories from his time in the industry. A more normal night out in Sheffield with Glam Viva! tonight.

Edited yesterday at 08:28 by martthebass

[dmccombe7]

6 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

Thanks Dave,

 

I hope you guys have a good one too.

 

Yeah, August was slow for me. September has been busy.

 

Daryl

Just the one gig in Sept and same for Oct. 

Now looking at a 2nd band again to fill in the long gaps between Glam gigs.

Dave

[Woodinblack]

A bit too up close and personal.

A local place in the next village that we hadn't played before so didn't really know much about it. Seemed to be a lot of space when we started but there was a pinch point between the door and the bar and my microphone stand! 

So in the first half, the first hour there wasn't that much interaction, a few dancers, mostly of people we knew who came out because we were there, and applause from them, and a few other intersted crowd that just watched.

The last 15 minutes of the first half we tailed off the rock stuff and the crowd got more interested and interactive, as is generally the way. The second half was pretty well flat out the whole time and we had to retreat back a bit closer towards the wall as space became trickier. The guitarist put some small stools in front of his pedalboard to stop people from jumping on it! There was a security woman who thankfully kept pushing them back a bit when they were bashing into my microphone - the joys of pubs huh?

Still they all seemed to enjoy it and the barstaff seemed happy at the end of the day so its nice to open up new venues.

 

Usual problems, took a while to work out why no sound when I started, transmitter and receiver the wrong way round! Drummers drum lights burned out half way through, forgot to charge my page turner. On the plus side, sax player got a new wireless (nux sax thing instead of shure) and no longer got clicks and pops from it - a bit of feedback but probably at the moment it is still set for the shure so needs some adjustments. It is a lot easier to setup.

 

 

 

[basexperience]

@Woodinblack I feel your pain. I depped a full-tilt rock band a few years back, and the pub use a pair of old church pews to separate the crown from the floor-level window alcove the band set up in. We had to play with one food on the pew (facing inwards to us) to keep them in place, which works well when you're in full rock mode (hello Harris and his Monitor Foot Stance)

 

I'm gigging tonight in Reading with Jagged Little Alanis (http://jaggedlittlealanis.co.uk) at the Facebar (just off Reading's internal ring road, easy access and chatham street car park very close by). Should be a good one!

Edited yesterday at 14:15 by basexperience

[Obrienp]

Played a gig at the Glaven Bistro at Glandford near Holt yesterday evening with Bandwidth (covers and originals). This is our third gig there. Unfortunately our keyboard player had a lurgie and couldn’t make it. TBH I don’t know how we managed to fit all 5 of us into the available space before. It felt cramped last night. Essentially we get the space against the wall half way down a very long converted barn. Hard walls and floor, straight up to the roof. Acoustics are tricky and I wasn’t happy with my sound all evening but apparently the overall band sound was good out front.
 

It is very intimate, with the dinners literally a couple of feet away and I always wonder if we are an appropriate act. Smooth jazz or lounge music might be more appropriate but we always get a great reception. I guess we are people of a certain age, playing music for people of a certain age 😏. We got lots of praise from the punters and another invitation to return early next year, plus the possibility of playing for a Christmas party to celebrate their 2 year anniversary. Lovely people who looked after us as always. Free coffees to start and bowls of chips during our break. Home by 10pm (result)!

 

Sorry no pics yet. Gear: Guild Starfire 1 and Sire U5 fretless, Bass Flyrig 2 into Harley-Benton GPA-100 power amp (and the PA), LFSys Monza sitting on Auralex isolator. Black suede desert boots. 

[Bluewine]

On 25/09/2025 at 20:56, Bluewine said:

We're doing an outside 12:00-2:30 full Maple Road gig this Saturday at The Harley Motor. We'll be leaving at 9:00. That's very early for me.

 

This one will be a little  different Usually we do our acoustic offering inside 5:00-7:30.

 

I'm hoping there's some type of special event to ensure a decent crowd.  I hope we can keep our streak going.  We've had 3 really good gigs in a row.

 

Daryl

 

Ok, here goes.

 

Probably one of the worse gigs I've had in years.

 

The Harley Motor, we left at 9:00 and it was already 80°. I had to drive because we used our heavy production gear ,so no room in the van for me.

 

The Harley Motor is having a rough time of it so they tried something new. A full band at noon instead of our 3 piece acoustic set inside 5:00-8:30.

 

The heat would not let up.90° and no shade. We basically played to nobody. Just a poorly planed idea that didn't work.

 

I did get some bike pics for Dave.

 

Daryl

[bassbiscuits]

Just back from playing 50th wedding anniversary gig at a local social club. 
 

First gig in a little while with this band and we were all a bit knackered and out of practice despite rehearsing. 
 

But it went down well and sounded very decent. Excellent buffet too, which is a bit of a winner. 
 

I was trying out my bitsa P with its new Tonerider Classic P pickups which in dropped in last night. Sounded really nice and full, plenty of attack (the old pickups sounded like they were wrapped in a blanket). 
 

Rest of bass rig was the usual Markbass set up and my Bcb-60 full of goodies. 
 

Ready for a cuppa and bed now. 

[Gank Bass]

The gig itself was a bit shit - private event in a posh garden, lovely surroundings but it was cold and rainy so we played most of it to an empty garden occasionally punctuated by their kids doing cartwheels 

 

However I did get to use my newly contoured and painted custom bass which felt much nicer 

[dmccombe7]

9 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

Ok, here goes.

 

Probably one of the worse gigs I've had in years.

 

The Harley Motor, we left at 9:00 and it was already 80°. I had to drive because we used our heavy production gear ,so no room in the van for me.

 

The Harley Motor is having a rough time of it so they tried something new. A full band at noon instead of our 3 piece acoustic set inside 5:00-8:30.

 

The heat would not let up.90° and no shade. We basically played to nobody. Just a poorly planed idea that didn't work.

 

I did get some bike pics for Dave.

 

Daryl

That's an odd one Daryl, over here that would've been very well attended like all HD events even in the sun and heat of the afternoon. The only downside is that most people would be more interested in looking at the bikes than the band.

Normally when we have HD events at dealerships its supported by the local HD Chapter so their members always turn up and make it busy. 

Would love to have been at that. Warm sunny day, Harley Davidsons and a great band. What's not to like about that. That's an ideal day for me.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

Last night was at Bridgeness Bowling Club in Boness with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band. Played it last year and the organiser booked us that night but last night wasn't so busy. Apparently there was an all day beer festival on in the town but still busy enough to have a decent audience.

We had scattered dancers up from early on but the floor fillers didn't happen until the drink kicked in. We even had a group of "young ladies" celebrating a 21st birthday party so that helped the party move along. 

First gig in 5wks and i expected us to be a bit rusty but all went really well.

My usual gear :-

Sandberg VM4

MarloweDK (back up bass)

Shure wireless

Keeley Comp.

Handbox WB-100 

BF 212 cab

Jamman for sound effects samples thru a GK MB200 as a pre-amp direct to PA

Last night i was mainly wearing the blue outfit for first set and purple for 2nd set with my trusty old platform boots. 

Using our new PA guy last night again as we hope to use him every gig next year to save us a lot of work.

Next gig end of Oct. These long breaks are a nuisance as my plucking fingers are a tad aching this morning.

Dave

[Marvin]

We played at a village hall last night. It was a ticketed beer and cider festival. 

 

We had great fun. Everything went well. We set up quickly, got the sound right, played really tight and we performed really well. It was a good confidence booster as we've had a couple of wobbles lately, but we were on it last night.

 

I'm absolutely done in though 🤣

Edited 6 hours ago by Marvin

[Stub Mandrel]

After Friday's gig, I was hoping for a better one at my local club. 

 

I went with my usual Bass Terror/AT212 rig and decided to use my effects and my Fender Performer, which hasn't done a full two-set gig since the early 90s.

 

Minor glitch... the power socket on my hpf had failed.

 

Got a glorious tone, and exploited the capabilities of the Tbx more than in the past.

 

We started messing round with killing floor (I had to look up the bass riff) and used it to soundcheck. 

 

Attendance was a bit low at first, but perked up for the second half. Apparently a big birthday do in town took away a chunk of the club regulars. But we got a good reception. 

 

We played well, I enjoyed the world of difference between flats and last night's skinny Roto 66 40-95s. Inspired me to some creative fills. 

 

Encored with Walking by Myself then Al launched into an unanmounced extended version of Killing Floor which turns out to be quite a workout with that burst of sixteenths in nearly every bar when played at breakneck pace.

 

The Precision got the night off.

 

 

My rig, again...

 

 

Afterwards my partner said 'that was the first gig I've really listened to your bass all through the gig', and had a couple of compliments, which was nice 😁 so back on track.

Edited 2 hours ago by Stub Mandrel

[Bluewine]

7 hours ago, Gank Bass said:

The gig itself was a bit shit - private event in a posh garden, lovely surroundings but it was cold and rainy so we played most of it to an empty garden occasionally punctuated by their kids doing cartwheels 

 

However I did get to use my newly contoured and painted custom bass which felt much nicer 

 

Join the club. We had a not so great gig yesterday.  A real " downer " after 3 hot gigs in a row.

 

Great pic though!

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

6 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Last night was at Bridgeness Bowling Club in Boness with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band. Played it last year and the organiser booked us that night but last night wasn't so busy. Apparently there was an all day beer festival on in the town but still busy enough to have a decent audience.

We had scattered dancers up from early on but the floor fillers didn't happen until the drink kicked in. We even had a group of "young ladies" celebrating a 21st birthday party so that helped the party move along. 

First gig in 5wks and i expected us to be a bit rusty but all went really well.

My usual gear :-

Sandberg VM4

MarloweDK (back up bass)

Shure wireless

Keeley Comp.

Handbox WB-100 

BF 212 cab

Jamman for sound effects samples thru a GK MB200 as a pre-amp direct to PA

Last night i was mainly wearing the blue outfit for first set and purple for 2nd set with my trusty old platform boots. 

Using our new PA guy last night again as we hope to use him every gig next year to save us a lot of work.

Next gig end of Oct. These long breaks are a nuisance as my plucking fingers are a tad aching this morning.

Dave

 

Dave,

 

Your Gig sounds good to me. We had a major disaster of a gig at Harley yesterday. 

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

6 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

That's an odd one Daryl, over here that would've been very well attended like all HD events even in the sun and heat of the afternoon. The only downside is that most people would be more interested in looking at the bikes than the band.

Normally when we have HD events at dealerships its supported by the local HD Chapter so their members always turn up and make it busy. 

Would love to have been at that. Warm sunny day, Harley Davidsons and a great band. What's not to like about that. That's an ideal day for me.

Dave

 

Thanks Dave,

 

There was no special event to support the gig. Just us, no advertising and we can't pull a crowd on our own in Milwaukee. 

 

Dave, it was bad.

 

Daryl