Leaderboard

Great mixers the MG Series and I find very easy to use, but I have one so am biased. Probably Aux bus weirdness as Cheddatom says. Pete's rough guide to MX series mixers:. This doesn't include the digital effects, if you have any. Start with: All channels switched off. All channel faders down. Group bus faders ( dark grey) down. Stereo (Master) fader (helpfully coloured Red) down. All EQ's to 12 O clock. Pan r/l to 12 O clock. Compression to zero. All 'pfl' buttons up. All 1-2 and 3-4' buttons up (if you have these). All 'ST' buttons up. All the aux channel sends to zero (the ones with blue tops). All Aux master volumes to zero. Connect everything up. Power on mixer, amps, powered monitors in that order. For each channel: Turn on the channel and press down the pfl button for that channel. Get someone to speak or play and adjust the 'gain' control until the output in the VU metres is occasionally reaching 0, in green. Put the pfl button back in the 'up' position and turn the channel off. Lather, rinse, repeat, for all the channels you're using. Set the monitor/phones switch to 'Stereo' (up) and turn on 'On' and 'ST' for the channels you're using. Bring up the faders on individual channels and get a rough balance on the headphones. When you're ready, bring up the Stereo fader gently until you get FOH. Optionally, increase compression but don't overdo it. If you want to adjust EQ, try and cut rather than boost. (ie cut mid and bass to boost treble) If you're using separate monitors, connect them to one of the 'Aux' inputs on the back of the desk (not the 'Monitor' sockets on the top of the desk next to the headphone jack). Usually you want Aux1. If there is a pre/post switch set it to pre. Turn up the Aux Send master for the Aux you're using to somewhere between 12.00 and 3.00 and then turn up the individual channels Aux Send to get a monitor mix. Hope this helps, good luck and have a great gig. If all else fails, read this! https://partydj.be/PDF-files/Handleidingen/Sound/Yamaha/yamaha-mg166cx-manual.pdf

finally arrived Wow its amazing very easy to dial in a range of sounds and sounds superb

or right trigger "this broom as 6 new handles and 8 new shafts"

In comparison to my US Fenders, my Mexican one is a good bass, but the tuners aren`t as good, there aren`t the graphite rods, the bridge isn`t as stable, and the pickups aren`t quite as full-sounding. So the US are better for those points, imo. Whether or not they`re nearly a grands worth of money better, well not sure.

I was mad into Talking Heads..... still am now......... the movie of Stop Making Sense was the first production which made me cry with joy. I didn't know what was going on........!! It still gets me on my feet now. I know it's not a seminal bass album but It changed my life. Corny but true.

Guitarists (or any other musician), no matter how talented, who can't see the value of volume control on stage are lacking the professionalism required for a serious working band. The band leader needs to do his / her job and deal with it. Sadly it's occasionally the band leader that's the main offender which makes it difficult to address. If i was in your situation I'd be thinking about how much better and more saleable the band would be if they could grow up and control their volume.

Just want to chip in hear to tell you about my acoustic bass, a custom Brook bass, handmade in Devon by three guys, using all traditional methods. It is called a Lowman. All Brook guitars are named after rivers, so I was delighted to discover there was a river Loman to name my custom bass after. It is based on the body shape and size of a Gibson J200. It has a Engelmann bear claw spruce top, bubinga back and sides, and walnut neck. This is what she sounds like, having just recorded this bass trio today. The tune is a Gordon Duncan bagpipe tune (I am who folk musician who also plays guitar and mandolin. I have arranged several celtic tunes for solo bass) Sorry, don’t know how to embed this in the post Acoustic basses are great fun, and my reasons for owning one are many. I like the way they look, especially with other acoustic instrument, they sound more ‘alive’ than electric basses, and their acoustic nature lets you ‘feel’ the music more, if you know what I mean. Robbie

Haha! Proper old school, well other than the techie platform. Quite curious about that for sure.

That’s a really logical, sensible, answer. However I’m secretly disappointed that it’s not just bass player excess!

Darkglass VMT does a great Ampeg impression.

What, this one? Yes, it is amazingly good.

I'm using the new Caron K1 combo. Did think about selling it as I would prefer the same rig as separates (Ninja head and TRV123 cab), but damn it's just too good to let go!

Those are different: the JB2 is passive, the MJ4 is active

I had a change of heart and thought I’d give it a go!?! It’s a bit different!?! Just got to get a new bone nut and drill out for the controls then string it up

This - get ready, it is just the beginning...

gotta have fun in this game!

I have read all of this with some interest, and some amazement. I know it's nearly Christmas, and it's the time of goodwill and all that, but this seems to me to be a bit like putting the cart before the horse. Whilst for a lot of bands, mic'ing everything up including the drums, cymbals, guitar cabs, DI'ing the bass and running everything through a top class PA with in ear monitoring for everyone and maybe even a dedicated sound guy to play in a pub where the band has a small area to pack themselves in floats a lot of peoples boat it doesn't float mine. We run with backline only in a four piece blues band, vocal PA only and it works just fine for us. We regularly get told we sound great, but I accept that we are not a "loud" band. We set up in 25 mins including the drums. There is no clutter - the PA is passive so it's only speaker cables plus power for the mixer. I have no effects: bass, tuner pedal, LM3 and Barefaced Compact. That's it. Guitarist (who sings) has pedal board, one power cable for that, one for his amp and two guitar leads. One mic, one lead, one stand. Harp player similar to Guitarist . Drummer has things he hits. From reading the OP's original post, and looking at his PA mixer, it seems to me (and do correct me if I'm wrong) that thy are similar in set up to us. If they want to change, and go down the all singing and all dancing solution as a band that's great, not my way, but hey it's your hobby/small business /whatever so you do as you please. It takes all sorts. However......if it were my band, in my situation, and I decided I wanted a new car, I'd want to know I could fit my gear in it and maybe the PA on occasions. I wouldn't be looking for something I could fit the drums in as well as my gear, but I wouldn't be looking for something I could only fit a bass and a DI pedal in either. A Caterham 7 is out.( cue people who get a wardrobe and a chest of drawers in theirs). If I turned up to rehearsal and told my bandmates that I had bought a new car so I couldn't fit my gear in any more and suggested we spend lot's of money on a new PA so we could all go through that, that we should mic up everything and all buy in ears otherwise I wouldn't be able to gig with them, what do you really, really, think the answer would be? I think it might involve an advert. My answer is simple - I have an elderly bulletproof Nissan Almera worth £500 that refuses to die. It's what I use for gigs as I can park it anywhere and not worry about it. I can justify the expense of it because I also use it to and from work. Perhaps that's the OP's solution: stay as you are as it works for you, and buy a cheap reliable hack for gigging. Oh, and is a Super Compact much bigger than a decent wedge monitor capable of giving you a good bass mix? and if not, and neither will fit in your new car, who's taking your monitor for you?

Nothing wrong with the affectionately known BBOT - bent bit of tin - but the hi-mass one has indented grooves/runners for the saddle screws. I suppose hard-hitters, of which I include myself, probably find that these help the saddles from sliding side to side. In all honesty I`ve never noticed sideways slippage on my Mex Fenders over the years, but this feature to me is a good idea. Also the end of the strings fits snugly in the hi-mass bridge, so should avoid movement, not that I can see that happening but it`s a feature that would prevent it.

Aja and The Royal Scam- Steely Dan (or pretty much anything with Chuck Rainey on it).

I thought we weren't allowed to mention it?

I'm all for upgrades and customisation. But for a starter bass I just want something to pick and up enjoy playing without thinking "it could do with new pickups/better tuners". I think the VM squiers kind of fall in to that bracket, as does the bitsa you have for sale at the moment

I'm nowhere near Glasgow and can't help with the routing - but could certainly do you a wiring loom you can fit in ten minutes - no soldering

Both...

Donny Hathaway live with Willie weeks on bass. Great tunes, groves and tone...whole band are great.

Well the right one was done 8 weeks ago and is going well, if that left one can stay the way it is then all should be good, time will tell.. my symptoms were mostly at night, 02:00 in the morning id wake up in quite a lot of pain, during the day I would have very little, occasionally I may get some numbness when driving but it was mostly at night.

For the extra money, you would expect the wood in an American Fender bass guitar to be lighter and prettier than on the nearest equivalent Mexican or SE Asian lookalike. The other critical thing that your money pays for is the time and attention of an experienced finishing person. Here, I am thinking about tumbling of fingerboard edges and fettling of fret ends. Non-essential touches that make an instrument waaaaaay more enjoyable to use. Another significant difference is the technology that goes into full-on professional instruments. The "better" woods ought to make the neck less prone to bowing or twisting. I love the vintage appearance and feel of a Fender AVRI bass but there is no denying that the modern truss rod and graphite reinforcement construction of the American Elite, Professional and discontinued American Standard holds up better to the rigours of transportation and climatic variations.

I wish I had a limber body

My symptoms are numbness of the thumb, index and middle fingers as well as pins and needles. Mines triggered by bending my hand back the way, which can be an issue on my bike depending on how I position my hands and the angle of my wrist. It can be triggered by closing the hand down on the wrist in other people, it varies from person to person. My right hand I worse then my left. I'd imagine if it's triggered by closing the wrist it will have a bigger impact when playing bass, more so on the fretting hand. I keep my plucking wrist pretty straight so I don't tend to get bothered by it. The worst bit about it for me is the pins and needles can wake me during the night. I have a wrist strap but don't often remember to put it on a bed time. My own fault.

Stoking up some Warwick GAS this one! Even been to check out The Gallery website, but not been updated yet...

" Is there something I've missed? " What you need my friend.... is a Mk1 4-string wal custom fretless :¬)

Right: In the spirit of teamwork (!?) I’ve just come off the phone to an old band mate of mine. Guy Fletcher OBE FRSA is the outgoing chairman of PRS and he has emphatically confirmed that the is no copyright on chord sequences. Not sure whether this is good enough but if Ped would like his phone number I could find it for him. Probably after Christmas though. And on that subject, Happy Christmas to all you too. Don’t go outside.

i reckon it should come with a greed case in this instance

Showing my age here but for me the album that really got me listening to the bass was Level 42's debut and self titled album from 1981... still love it after all these years... followed closely by New Gold Dream by Simple Minds in 1982, great tone and playing by Derek Forbes and more importantly most of the lines were simple enough to play along with for a young newbie at the time... I could go on all day but finally I think I need to mention Tin Drum by Japan from 1981... Mick Karn weaving and diving on the Wal fretless... enough said!!

Anything with Mick Karn on it. Totally unique player.

Any Bob Marley album with "Family Man" Barrett.

I think Janek Gwizdala summed it up nicely when he pointed out that what he's 'famous' for is what he spends about 5% of the set doing. Nobody makes a video of you paying straight eights. This is true for pretty much every great player.

That's the problem with these things. Personally I think Flea and the Chilli Peppers peaked with 'Mother's Milk' After that they became a lot 'safer' and less unique.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magic. For me that's Flea (and the band) at their peak.

I'm sure Doug will be sure to take the OP's advice, after all, It's clearly held back his career.

My current er... pedal.. Not tried it yet as I'm still waiting for new bass to arrive... I dread to think what will happen when I plug this thing in...

I love the lyrics to Sympathy for the Devil by the Stones... pretty much a history lesson in a single song (and a typically wonky-but-works-perfectly bassline by Mr Wyman). Probably my favourite song of all time is That's Entertainment by the Jam. Perfect slice of English working class life, mundane and dreaming about better things. I remember Weller writing about it, after someone had said it was his finest work to date, and he explained that he wrote it in about 10 minutes after coming back from the pub, full of beer! Special mentions to Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran and These Foolish Things, the Bryan Ferry version. Both great lyrics, and Eddie Cochran was only 20 when he (co-)wrote it. Oh, and Girl Afraid by the Smiths summed up me at 17, dying to ask out a girl I knew but never having the courage to do it. Nothing ever happened, and years later she told me she'd felt exactly the same at the time...

When lost my father there were two George Harrison songs that made it bearable for me. The Sunrise doesn't last all morning, The cloudburst doesn't last all day. All things must pass. All things must pass away. Life goes on within you... And without you. So true.

I've also always liked this opening to 'Teardrop' by Massive Attack; a clever little couple of lines: "Love, love is a verb Love is a doing word"

The shrieking of nothing is killing, justPictures of Jap girls in synthesis and IAin't got no money and I ain't got no hairBut I'm hoping to kick but the planet it's glowing

Pretty much anything/everything off Aladdin Sane. It helped that the lyrics (with the exception of the Stones cover) were printed on the inner sleeve but as a kid really starting to eat, sleep and drink music it was an incredible experience listening to the album with the lyrics to hand. The most mesmerising of the lot were the lyrics to Drive In Saturday that still have an effect to this day.