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Showing content with the highest reputation on 27/06/22 in all areas
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Interesting weekend, tale of two halves. Saturday night, local club at the bottom of town where we never play. Its a very.. local.. club, but one of the people we know hired us for their party. Big stage, disco and karaoke before us, that was an experience, always makes me worried hearing people doing karaoke, I assume they think they can sing? Anyway, did the first hour but was so hot the guitarist insisted on having a break there to get some air, very funny vibe. Then they went back to disco and karaoke for the break then we did a second hour and a bit. The guy whos party it was was completely out of it and had a 5 minute rant half way through about.. who knows. Went back on for the second half, then 2 songs before the end, he insisted on doing a karaoke of hazel oconner with us, then the last two songs and out of there. Then the disco - I think they would have been much happier with the disco without us interrupting, and I think so would we. Sunday afternoon, local pub on top of a hill with views over most of somerset, havent played there since before covid and looking forward to it, never a bad day, but this one I had put a facebook post up and it had taken off. They had done it up a bit since were were there. Set it up, even miked the drumkit so I thought I would record it too. By the time we started playing it was already over packed and they had got some more tables in and then it was dancing, singing and full audience interaction from the word go, sounded great, everything worked well, played my TMB35, no irritations at all. Great day. At half time a woman in the crowd did say that she thought the singers vocals needed work as it wasn't as clear as when she saw queen with freddie mercury, but I suspect they had a separate sound guy And the owner overpaid us. Not unheard of in a venue, but unheard of for that venue!12 points
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After a week of waiting, my new bass arrived this morning - a Squier Vista Series Musicmaster, in shell pink. I've been after one of these for a while but haven't seen many turn up, and the ones I have seen have been overpriced, knackered, or both. This one was definitely overpriced when I found it on eBay, but I managed to negotiate the seller down to a more reasonable figure, though slightly north of what I'd hoped to pay. It's in good condition overall, with only one tiny chip on the rear of the body, and a couple of small dents. The seller said it had been "well loved", and though it definitely hasn't been abused, it hadn't been looked after. I had to take the whole thing apart and clean a fair bit of gunk off it. The frets in particular were in some state and despite my graft still need a bit more polishing to get the shite off them. I scored some very cheap D'Addario medium scale Chromes on eBay last week so it's been restrung with those, and just needs a set-up, which I'll do this evening. I've never had a short-scale before, unless you count a Bass VI, and it's great fun to play. It sounds very good through my Peavey Century. It'll be shielded and get a new Switchcraft jack later this week, and possibly a new pickguard as well. Pics:10 points
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Evening all, I have for sale an EBMM USA Sterling in Blue Pearl with the traditional unfinished roasted maple neck/board and inlaid neck plate purchased from . The EBMM site dates it to June 15th 1998 but also states that it should have a rosewood board and while I'm no expert, I would say that the neck currently on the bass is the original, it feels so integral. That point aside, the bass is entirely original and is in excellent working order with plenty of fret life and no crackle from the controls. I put it through its paces last night and bearing in mind that I hadn't played it in over a year and it had been sat in its case, only the G was slightly out of tune, which I thought was pretty impressive. Being a 24 year old bass, there is one ding which I have attempted to capture in the pictures below, just below the volume knob. For those that aren't familiar with it, the USA Sterling is a very versatile bass with a ceramic (rather than alnico) pick-up with 3-way switching between series, parallel and single coil. There is also a phantom coil which prevents hum when switched to single coil, I believe some guitar P-90s have this, it's a very useful feature. There is a 3-band EQ giving bass boost/cut, mid boost/cut and treble boost/cut, so it is possible to dial in a lot of different tones. Also, this is a powerful bass that can cut it with any guitar in the mix, it won't get lost that's for sure. And that brings me to the reason for sale, I just don't need something with this much grunt any more, so I would rather it went to a good home and saw some action, gutted as I will be to see it leave. In terms of playability, this is one of the nicest basses I have had the pleasure to play, the profile of the neck is very Jazz (as opposed to the Stingray's more Precision feel) and the lack of finish gives it a fast smooth feel. The intonation is excellent all the way to the sculpted heel which gives great accessibility to the high notes, if you like that kind of thing! 😊 Set up on the Sterling is easy due to the dial wheel truss rod and the bridge is the later model (post Flea bridge with no mute posts) but very solid and keeps the strings well locked in. This one is strung with a set of DR Hi Beams (100-45s) which were put on in late 2019 when the bass was last set up and neck re-oiled but due to Covid they are hardly played and have plenty of life left. All in all, a great bit of kit which I will be sad to see go, it comes complete with an old school, sturdy EBMM hard case (curiously like an old Fender model) which is also in very good order with no rips or tears. The Sterling also has Schaller strap-locks fitted which I will leave on and throw in a Nu-buck strap with the matching lock clips. I have priced this at £1100 couriered in mainland Britain, which looking at Reverb, Bass Gallery and other sites, seems a fair price point. I will use a reliable courier and the bass will be delivered (insured) in it's case which in turn will be wrapped.7 points
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7 points
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My father spent the late 5os / early 60s playing around Southampton / Portsmouth / Gosport area and after 34yrs of playing, I finally got to play in Southampton. The drummer from my first ever band turned 50 and invited my duo to play his birthday. We were joined by our old drummer for a few songs, marking only the second time we have played together since 1990. I also depped for his sister on bass as she did a couple of Creedence Clearwater Revival covers and I spent 6yrs in a CCR tribute.7 points
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We once gave a wedding DJ our set list, and came back to the gig to find him playing it - he thought it was suggestions for him to play. F*ckwit.6 points
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Yesterday I did a village fete gig with the music trust I play with. The "band leader" person had been asked for all manner of details for weeks and didn't have a clue other than "there was a stage with power" and that other acts would be on throughout the day. Available for this we had 14 brass and wind players, bass and drums. The blowers are aged 10-18. They were understandably nervous. In light of the stinky poo information from Dear Leader me and drummer took everything with us. Full kit, amps, cabs, spares etc etc. After carrying 3 tons of gear down some narrow country footpaths for half a mile we discovered a pro stage with full PA a full time sound man and enough channels to mic or di everything and his mum. There was a covers band set up and they offered us the use of their drums and bass gear that was already dialed in and mixed. I only ended up using my bass and my pedal board and none of the amps and cabs I bought. And the covers band didn't even want our drummer to swap the snare over. So with all that sorted out we played for 35-40 mins or so, had a blast and then carried all the crap back to the cars again! Cannot blame the fete organisers at all - their arrangements were excellent. But I will be having words with our leader about getting proper information! Anyway - so far there's only 25 seconds of video. The drummer for this tune is only about 10 years old. He played for 2 tunes and it was his first ever show. His timing drifted a bit but I think he did a great job for a first time. https://fb.watch/dVuQqTTi1u/6 points
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Played a pub that my band (I joined late 2021) had played four years ago and remembered it being a good night. I didn't know what to expect, I've really gone off playing pubs now since I've mostly been doing rock clubs with this band, but we pitched up and set up in a purpose built stage area outside with a half marquee type arrangement covering a good sized area for punters. Ten minutes before we started there was a handful of people there and we had a warning about noise levels and curfew. Once we got going the place filled up, fantastic crowd of people singing along to every song. I was trying out a new amp (Ashdown ABM600 which is phenomenal) so I may have been a bit on the edge of the noise warning but we got the place rocking. Really pleased with it considering I had very low expectations.6 points
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He should spend less time moaning and more time turning some screws. Why does he still have it? If it takes a rank amateur like me 30 mins or so of fettling to set up a bass then a "luthier" should be able to do it in less, I would think. If he can't dial in a playable setup then maybe the bass is genuinely faulty. It can happen. In that case then obviously it's back to the retailer with it. My answer to your question is to pay nothing and learn to set up your own basses. I find it quite theraputic, as well as empowering and keeps more money in my wallet so it's a no-brainer for me.5 points
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From experience at these size venues having a bass rig on stage for anything other than show is a complete waste of time. By all means set one up if your band image warrants having lots of impressive looking backline, but in that case you'd be better off with empty cabs that weigh less and look just as good. All these venues have excellent in-house PA systems with first-class monitors that will fill the stage with full-frequency sound. The moment you step away from being directly in front of your rig, you'll be able to hear more of yourself from the foldback for your other band members. And if you are so loud as to be able to fill the whole stage with clearly audible bass guitar from your rig, you'll be getting less than subtle requests from the FoH engineer to turn down because you are messing up the sound for the audience (and after all they are the people you are trying to impress). And you don't even have to go up to O2 Academy sized venues for this to be the case. Places like Camden Underworld, and Notthingham Rescue Rooms have good enough FoH and monitors to render your bass rig redundant. I'd even think twice about taking my personal FRFR monitor to somewhere as small as The Bodega, because I just won't need it. These days big bass rigs are for pub bands with vocal only PA systems, and for show. Nothing else.5 points
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The whole cover band, two sets a night thing is new to me - first gig last night. Very strange experience, The stage was more of a mezzanine - we were about 10 feet above the pub floor so most people couldn't see the drummer (who also sings lead on half the songs, so not ideal!) On the other hand, there was giant screen showing us to the groundlings as we played, Glastonbury style. It was right in my eyeline and I had to remember not to look at it as it had about a half second delay and would really throw me off! The crowd didn't seem that interested, and the venue could have easily got away with the piped music that played between our sets for the entire night - and with that in mind, I'm very grateful and impressed that they go out of their way and spend money to put bands on.5 points
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I'm selling my G&L JB USA bass, bought as new old stock a couple of months ago (built in 2017), as it's just not getting the playing time it deserves. It's three tone sunburst with a rosewood fingerboard, the signature G&L chunky but comfy 'medium C' neck profile, and a super vintagey tone. I've replaced the original pickups with Fender Original Jazz Single Coils and I'll include the original G&L bridge pickup too (neck pickup was dead on arrival). Even though this bass has only been gigged once, it does have a slight mark/scratch by the neck screws (pictured), but otherwise it's in excellent condition. The bass has also been shielded and cleaned and set up. I'll include the USA G&L case and will ship for £40. UK sales only please! Thank you for looking! G&L JB Bass RW 3-Tone Sunburst Features: PICKUPS: Two G&L vintage Alnico jazz pickups (now replaced with Fender - see decription) BODY WOOD: Alder on Standard and all solid finishes, Swamp Ash on Premier Finishes NECK PROFILE: G&L 1 1/2" Medium C with 9 1/2" radius - w/ PLEK fret dress NUT WIDTH: 1.5 inches FRETS: Medium Jumbo, Jescar 57110 18% nickel silver TUNING KEYS: Custom G&L "Ultra-Lite" with aluminum tapered string posts BRIDGE: G&L Saddle Lock with chrome-plated brass saddles ELECTRONICS: Dual volume controls, one tone control WEIGHT: 9lb 5 ounces (according to bathroom scales)4 points
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Something a little different here. its a 1991 4003 in midnight blue with black hardware. Think they did a limited run of these in red, and in white as well as the blue. Over the years, the colour of this one has changed to a more petrol blue due a mixture of age, sweat, sunlight and I suspect tobacco. It has numerous chips on body, neck and headstock, the finish on the rear of the neck is partly worn away. It’s a genuinely roadworn Ric it looks great, it plays great and the neck is lovely it had a full set up last year and new strings (markbass if I recall). Asking price is £1500 and I’ve tried to balance out the limited edition aspect of the bass against the roadworn condition. Not an easy one to price. im based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire and I’d rather do collection or meet up if possible. PS - I’ve got the original case which is even more roadworn than the bass but I’ve got new latches for it which just need fitting by any decent cobbler with the rivet tool. Just need to locate those new latches following a recent housemove.4 points
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I’m afraid you don’t have all your facts correct. Yes, I do use a vibrating platform, and I do use in ear monitors, but not all the time and not on every gig, and not on every song. I ALWAYS use my Bergantino rig and I can still hear it even when using IEM’s. Also, and this is a key point, not everyone in the band uses IEM’s including Jools himself and all of the singers and so my Bergantino rig is always on and never turned to zero. You should make sure you get your facts right before posting comments which are clearly just assumptions, and incorrect.4 points
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4 points
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Weddings, usually...especially when you give the DJ your setlist and ask him not to overlap...and then the last three songs he plays before you go on are in your first set...pfffffttt...4 points
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4 points
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I’ll second that - I’ve been out providing bass in a jam session tonight and had my pedals with me - not intending to use them on the likes of Eagles songs etc etc but someone wanted to play Word Up - and later a medley of Superstition and Play That Funky Music - so I thought what the heck and set up my octaver and EBS Bass IQ (the latter set to quack at will)!! Great fun and the EBS pedal was orgasmic!! Coupled with the EH octaver was delicious!! I’ve found the key to getting the Flea sound with envelope filter (as per his instructional DVD) is to play quite hard giving a very pronounced quack!! Im going through a use every bass you own phase currently so am pulling out some less likely basses - I took this Stingray H (3 band) - I have barely used it for three or four years and only once at a gig - tweaked the action, tuned it and cleaned it before going out - played through my Markbass LM3 and Traveller 2 x 10 (with the tweeter on full) on around 1/4 to 1/3 input and output volume. Amp set largely flat, bass set with the mid range almost fully cut, bass and treble boosted a tad (largely aping a 2 band sound). Brilliant sound all night - and able to boost the mid range to get more presence in the upper register at will if required at times. The bass worked for every genre played - including some quite loud rock and bog standard country and western. No call for a P bass here, folks 😉😀😀4 points
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So a good few weeks ago, I asked on basschat if anyone local to Blackburn fancied a gig. @Dankologyand @mr zed got in touch, so we had our lineup! We managed to run it ourselves - Andy/Waking Day brought their lovely PA Yousef/Dead Tenant brought lights and monitors/cameras (very posh) we brought drums/bass rig. All ran impressively smoothly - sound was great. Weather was a bit overcast, but I’d say 100-130 people passed through in a big tent. Absolutely loved both bands - Great use of Bass VI/Jazz by Yousef - some gorgeous chords and lovely songs. Andy and Waking day are just a slick unit - all played so well - Sadowsky Will Lee sounding mega. A great day was had by all!3 points
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Wonderful, high-end arch-top electric bass cum EUB. Features the Cooltube preamp and piezo pickup, which together make it sound very DB-ish. Can be played horizontal, with strap, or fully upright on a supplied brass pin. Curved ebony board - a la DB - so can even be bowed. Previous owner @Happy Jack had his luthier inset big side dots on the side of the board to aid in intonation (a godsend, AFAIAC). Comes with amazing looking but heavy-as-heck faux snakeskin hard case and a much more gig-friendly Tm and Will padded cello case. Asking £1500 collected or meet up in or close to SW13 area (south of Hammersmith Bridge). No delivery I am afraid given the bulk of the bass plus two cases/bags. Here's an example of me playing it upright on the pin (always draws lots of comments): https://www.facebook.com/wilybo/videos/velvet-windows-the-wily-bo-walker-acoustic-band/2424423044506352/ Specs: https://www.takamine.com/TB103 points
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3 points
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Just poppin in to say hey! I spend more time over on TB but would like to get aquainted over here.3 points
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3 points
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A bit of an update following a conversation with Mark at Bass Direct last week. The rumours are true, Vigier will wind up production at the end of 2023. Patrice is 68 and wants to retire, however the distribution side of the business High Tech Distribution will continue with Patrice’s daughter heading up that side of the business. Bass Direct have one more Passion 5 on order but that’s all folks! Thinking of Pedulla etc, it really brings home the fact that some of the major high end manufacturers are not getting any younger.3 points
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3 points
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Have you ever been to a big festival? The last thing you want on a sunny Sunday afternoon when your energy levels have kinda dipped, that hangover-burger hasn't settled right and the khazis all look like the Somme is to be shouted at by some edgy fecker under flashing lights...possibly later on, once it's gone dark and you've come round a bit...3 points
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I watched a bit of The Pet Shop Boys set. Jo Whiley said they always put on a superb show. My erse! A bang average singer standing still singing along to a machine. What could be more boring?3 points
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3 points
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3 points
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3 points
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I`m not keen on bass (or drums as it happens) in the monitors anyway, I like to keep them for vocals & guitars. I don`t my amp majorly loud on stage, just same volume as unamplified drums, as such for a venue such as O2 Academy I`d want something big enough to not struggle/be pushed. Most of us have watched some of Glastonbury over the weekend, I wonder why all those pro bassists seemed to be happy with big rigs on those big stages, they could learn a lot from logging on here.3 points
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Everything that has to do with setup I don't even consider a flaw, I would expect to have to do a setup anyway on all new guitars and basses, regardless of price. It's not a matter of a flaw on the actual physical bass, it's exclusively a matter of adjusting stuff that is fully intended to be fully and easily adjustable, without any modifications needed whatsoever, for a reason. You might as well complain about the stock strings not being your preferred type, brand and gauge. It's kind of like complaining about the lit of the ashtray not being closed, or perhaps an even more fitting analogy, the adjustable air condition blades, meant to adjust the direction of the air flow, not being adjusted exactly according to your height and personal preferences, in a brand new car, or something very similar, and adding that as a negative point in your review of it, while really having absolutely nothing to do with the actual car. I never got why people complain about stock strings or anything that is entirely a matter of a proper setup in reviews, it is not useful knowledge, and it tells absolutely nothing about the actual quality of an instrument, in fact rather such a review might distort the impression you get of a bass unrealistically. As for nut slots, they were cut dead on perfect, exactly as low as they could go without becoming an issue, and not one nano mm more or less, on the Harley Benton GuitarBass (Bass VI concept) that I bought recently, my very first Harley Benton instrument, though I realize that was exclusively a matter of pure luck. On topic: Congratulations on the bass Stewblack, it looks amazing.3 points
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3 points
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Not my sort of music at all but thanks for taking the trouble and time. These sort of videos have helped me out loads. I'm just learning and at times you feel you are getting nowhere but if you can learn how to play a song you love it gives you a new sense of achievement and you begin believing again that you can actually learn to play.3 points
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For sale (no trades) is my rare 1980 Ibanez RS800BK Roadster, this is the original RoadstEr (not to be confused with the later RoadstAr, or cheaper mid 80’s RoadstAr II Series). The original Roadster Series were made between 1979-81 at the legendary Fujigen Gakki factory in Japan during the golden period of Japanese guitar and bass production. The original Roadster Series alongside the Musician Series were the top of the range Ibanez basses, made by hand, sharing the same hardware and Super 4 pickups. Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy toured playing the Ibanez RS900 Roadster - essentially same bass but with 2-band active electronics. The RS800 has passive electronics. Made January 1980, all original, has a gloss black mahogany body and lacquered rock maple neck. The neck features some neat Ibanez tech called “TR Tuned Response” which basically eliminates dead spots. Sweetheart nickel tuners. Accu-Cast B High Mass bridge, and the Ibanez Super 4 high output single coil pickup. The electrics work clean, no noise or static turning pots. The bass does have marks, scratches and dings commensurate with age, mostly to the back and sides, in very good condition for a bass 42 years old. The neck has a 41mm nut, super comfy to play like all Ibanez necks from this period. The positioning of the Super 4 pickup produces a P-Bass / Stingray / Rick type sound dependant on strings. The pickup has a heavy mid bias with thumping low-end and crisp highs. Now Sold3 points
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After a couple more emails back and forth with the Novation technical specialist, it was suggested that the problem might be down to the fact that the Launchkey wasn't getting enough power from the USB port on my Mac and maybe a powered USB hub would be worth trying. Therefore I gave it one more go plugged into the USB port on the back of one of my Apple Cinema Displays which in theory is a powered hub, although with other devices I often get a warning that there is insufficient power for them to work... and it works! The Control Surface Setup window popped up when I launched Logic, and all the functions I want to use so far work. I've just used it to add a simply synth lead part to the song I am currently working on. Panic over...3 points
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A hot and sweaty one last night at The Rusty Nail in Aberdeen with my covers band Nine Lives. Good turnout with plenty folk getting up and having a dance/general move around to the music. Got saved by the singer from being completely wiped out by a drunk lady overestimating her powers of balance and toppling towards me fast. Singer grabbed her outstreched hand as she and gravity conspired to make me part of the table behind me. The perils of performing at floor level! She managed to stand on my tuner pedal as she bumped into me, briefly knocking me out of the game physically and sonically but we kept going. Still, she continued to be rather annoying througout the gig until some of the rest of the giggoers "suggested" to her that she leave. There's always one, right? Played really well and got a lot of good comments afterwards. Played the Jack Casady through the 2x1x10" frankenrig.3 points
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I'm not bringing any. If I'm playing venues the size of the O2, that's the roadies job.3 points
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2 points
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2 points
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I just realised that today marks the first anniversary of my debut appearance in my church’s Worship Team 😃 (and I’ve only threatened to quit a handful of times) 😂.2 points
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2 points
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You know, I watched some of the Diana Ross set, and considering mostly that she just shouts the words to music, I don't think that if you had been there, it would have been that bad at all. I mean I have some gigs that I thorougly enjoyed, and then listened to them on the Telly or youtube and they didn't sound that great, but there, they were fine. Plus, frankly if you have a totally clear head at a 4 day festival to analyse the quality of singers on a saturday night, what the hell are you doing at a festival?2 points
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I think you’re right, I’ve read that they used Alder on their painted bodies because it took the paint better , especially on sunburst , ie ,it was less work2 points
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I play powerful music too. I also used to have a very big and impressive looking bass rig (not to mention expensive), that was sold when I realised that for almost all the gigs I was playing, it was offering zero sonic benefit to either myself or the audience. On big stages I couldn't hear anything from it if I wasn't standing directly in front of it, and on small stages I was being asked to turn down so much, so as not to ruin the FoH sound that I could hear more of me from the guitarist's wedge on the opposite side of the stage, than I could from my own rig behind me. Going directly into the PA, I've never had a problem with monitoring that hadn't been sorted out by the end of the first song, and on multi-band gigs with quick turn-around times the stage crew love me, because my setup is simple to deal with. The rest of one of my bands can be quite picky about the on-stage sound, but we've always been able to sort it out quickly in the setup time available. Personally I'm happy if I can hear enough of me to be able to tell that I am in time and in tune with the rest of the band, and anything beyond this is a bonus. I've also always been of the opinion that if it has to be loud to feel/sound good, then the songs I've written aren't good enough and I need to go an write some better ones.2 points
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It's the symmetry and the smaller body size, to my eyes at least. The standard J is quite a big beast.2 points
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On that 'experience' thing, I watched the Elbow set and have come to the conclusion that, like them or not, they're the perfect sunny Glasto late afternoon act...2 points
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2 points
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A return gig at The Riverside in Dumfries for the Punk band last night. Always a great audience in this venue. They just get really into their punk music. Lots of very positive comments at the end. One guy said he couldn't understand how i played punk fingerstyle. He also said he loved my composure on stage and likened me to Jimmy Page but i think he may have meant JPJ instead. Said i made it look easy. The blisters on my plucking fingers tell me otherwise . Another guy that just happened to be passing and heard the band came in and after 2-3 songs called his mates to come down, "you got to hear these guys, f****g amazing". He told the guitarist's wife at the interval about it. His 3 mates arrived before the 2nd set and loved it. I think we had a captive audience thrown in as everyone was wearing summer wear with girls in summer dresses and it came down in torrents of rain half way thru 2nd set. They had nowhere to go Lots of vids but all direct to FB and difficult to copy over i'm afraid. An hours drive home and a bit of coffee and toast before bed. All in all a great wee night2 points
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2 points