lowhand_mike

i see what they are saying i just ment actually having 2 VU meters than just the one. one on the gain/input one on the output/volume. silly idea i know

had our second gig of the year on saturday night at the CIU club in crayford, first half didnt go too badly, not too many mistakes and we covered the ones there were quite well. we also had a lad doing a solo set in our break for about 15minutes of acoustic songs, he was really good, great voice and playing especially considering it was his first time doing it live. our second set however was a complete shambles, singer kept missing verses, lines changes etc even though he had the lyrics in front of him, the rest of us made some mistakes too, in the end i had to tell them to cut our set short it was getting that bad, though on the plus side i did finally nail the solo in My Generation, guess it was the anger in me at the way we were playing that got it done. basically alot of things need looking at though it didnt help having only one practice the week before the gig as we had a 6 week break due to holidays prior to that, great planning. much work to be done me thinks

[quote name='charic' post='283754' date='Sep 14 2008, 04:48 PM']Ofcourse we could also organise a mass gig as an afterthought. This is an attempt to get really going as a band as my bands lazyness at times is p*ssing me off and I want to gig more but dont have enough songs to fill a full set. If anyone is willing to come to cambridge/peterborough/huntingdon i could try to sort something as I used to organise gigs round here.[/quote] hmm sounds interesting Band: Misguided genre: rock/classic rock Myspace: no, not yet Area: south east london, but have travelled to lincolnshire to do gigs probably support but we have only done 2 hour gigs on our own so far. (though we are having a crisis of vocals at the mo)

[quote name='escholl' post='282218' date='Sep 11 2008, 10:32 PM']the meter on my ashdown is actually on the [i]output[/i]. and lot more useful, i find.[/quote] possible marketing ploy could be to have a VU on both the input and output to balance your signal, wether it worked efficiantly enough would have to be seen but a possibilty none the less.

[quote name='david_l_perry' post='278148' date='Sep 5 2008, 07:31 PM']Cheers alex. I am still confused but no change here. I owned an SWR grand pre and SWR SM900 for many years, certainly cutting back the pre amp input level was needed to obtain an optimal signal level when I used it... And without the adjustability of a gain level control I dont see how you can do otherwise.... edit, just looked at my manual for the SWR. This is straight from the SWR manual and is what I am talking about:- So unless you have an adjustable input gain how can you obtain maximum signal-to-noise ratio ?[/quote] your other option would be the good old volume knob on your bass, although this would limit you to finding a sweet spot and having the ability mid gig to bump up your signal whilst playing, though i'm sure with a bit of playing you could find an output level that would give you a certain amount of felxability in that department. but like alex has said in this situation there SHOULD be enough headroom already to deal with the lack of input gain variability.

actually when i was in the market i tried the 15 laney 300 watt combo (might be the RB4) before settling on the ashdown. the laney does ahve a slighlty bright cleaner sound, the ashdown was a bit more punchy but then that may be down to the 2x10 that i have compared to the 1x15 laney i tried. like i said A/B them as you may prefer the Laney. but try to try just the heads into the same cab if you can that will give you the best comparison

guess i should do my obligatory ashdown big up yeah the mag 300 is very loud for the money even into just 8ohm's, looks cool (subjective). i used to have a laney combo practice amp and the sound was quite clean compared to the ashdown slightly warmer sound but the mag aint muddy can have alot of bite. best suggestion if you can A/B the pair through the same cab.

[quote name='yorick' post='281948' date='Sep 11 2008, 04:11 PM']Have a drink or three, lose my sense of balance and fall off the side of the stage [/quote] thats normally my gimmick, so by now not so much of a gimmick but this saturday i am going to have to drive home so the gimmick will be staying sober

5, ye general rock band setup really, though we have discussed getting a keyboard player but so far its not happened.

[quote name='johnnylager' post='277051' date='Sep 4 2008, 02:38 PM']My ABM 500 EVOII 2x10 combo with free 2x10 deep cab. 500 nicker to you son. Just what you need. One talentless owner.[/quote] if i had the money i'd have it. and for half your budget you'll have something spare which is always nice and the 500w is more than enough for most gig situations cracking bargin

[quote name='artisan' post='281171' date='Sep 10 2008, 03:34 PM']but that helped me build up loads of strenght & stamina in my fingers which incidently my missus seems to rather like. [/quote] haha, i believe there is a t-shirt you can get to that effect as well.

mine was a bit flaky till i spilt a load of fog mineral oil in the back of my combo head, now it works really well (i am however NOT saying pour mineral oil into your amp ok) looks cool to me and its very useful when on stage and you get a bit carried away with digging in, quick look at the VU and oooh i better back off a touch, mine tends to flutter around the verticle position. also bare in mind that certain notes will make it move more than others so dont just play one note to check your level on the meter.

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='280454' date='Sep 9 2008, 04:13 PM']Again, I can see what you’re saying but I think you’re taking it slightly out of context Mike.[/quote] er that was kind of the point but kind of valid in that it gives an example (albeit an extreme one) of a reason fo not doing something and the natural human assumption of things. [quote name='artisan' post='280533' date='Sep 9 2008, 05:03 PM']do you know, this thread has been a damn good read & has got me thinking (1st time for everything ) more about my playing, especially after playing countless 12 bar tunes at my local jam session last night. i decided that my musical arsenal (no not arsehole) was actually more limited than i realised it was. i.e. i was more or less playing multiple variations of essentially the same thing-does that make sense ?. o.k. it was all very fluid & fitted in well with the songs but i was struggling to come up with anything that sounded much different,which made me think about this 'ere thread. so you buggers have got me thinking about learning a bit-just a bit mind-of music theory,my good friend & jazz bass playing hero has offered to -"gulp"- give me some jazz lessons now look at what you've done............. i'm hoping this will open up my mind to a lot more playing options & maybee revitalise my overall playing skills.[/quote] good on ya. see thats the thing, there is NO point in doing it if you feel you are not getting anything from it. if it helps then its done its job. certainly some recent threads on here have got me looking and actively (though not very much) learning some theory but without a structure to learn it i'm finding it hard to take in. as for playing multiple version s of the same thing alot of the scales are indeed similar in their structure so similarities can arise, its how you apply the scale that counts and thats where i'm seeing problems in my own playing.

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='280265' date='Sep 9 2008, 12:18 PM']I respectfully totally disagree. I think you’re way off the mark with this one. How can you have practical knowledge of something you have no experience or understanding of? You could end up living a very small and narrow minded life if you go around believing that you understand everything despite having no experience of it – no offence meant (and I’m in no way saying you “live a very small and narrow minded life, because from your other posts on the forum I know that’s just not true ), I’m just trying to make a point.[/quote] erm not strictly true, you won't get a knife and stab yourself with it to see if it hurts would you way back when i had trumpet lessons, can't remember how long for and certainly can't remember a single bit of theory from it. i use to play keyboard again a long time ago and similar memory. i started playing bass by getting a couple of simple books, rapidly got bored and then started learning song from cd's. that got me by for many years. i learnt the most when i joined a band(10 or so years down the line), still with no training apart from the real basic quarter note etc stuff from those early books. i get by, i play in a band, i have fun. and until recently had absolutely no interest in theory. i like to try and learn the songs as they were written and do it by ear. i can hear if it sounds right or wrong and if it sounds wrong you can usually tel if it is way out or sharp or flat. i then had a look at some sites and recognised a hell of a lot of scale shapes from the stuff that i play, major minor mixolydian and some others that i cant remember the names of cos they are overly awkward so i half know them, i roughly know the position of the notes on the fret board. when i get the time i will learn more but for now it wouldn't make a hell of alot of difference. and my kids deserve the time more. timing and feel i learnt from playing in a band and you can't get that from a book or a metronome. at the end of the day enjoy what you do however you do it, if someone does it differently to you then fine. if what they do helps then fine. if it doesn't then fine. if everyone was the same it would be a very boring place.

[quote name='NJE' post='272426' date='Aug 29 2008, 12:08 PM']Really interesting to hear how people feel about "the one" and GAS in general. I suppose its a bit like finding your perfect partner (im talking people now) you find the one you love and want to spend the rest of your days with, but occasionally you have a cheeky second glance going down the highstreet (or is that just me too )[/quote] window shopping is allowed, its just if you go inside and make a deposit you can get in trouble

tbw honest you should be doing ok with the combo as it is (mine is a 300w, so about 200 as is) as has been said start by backing off the low bass and mid bass a tad as this sucks loads of power and pushes the driver hard. also mids will cut through better in a gig situation. that said though IF you can get another cab then all the better, i guess you are quite a loud band so it would help. hope it goes well though and then let the gas commence.

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='272409' date='Aug 29 2008, 11:48 AM']Well we've been working towards this for so long.. and you know what the say.. the first one's always the worst..[/quote] wouldn't say that, in fact our first one was one our best. i've found when you feel like you have become really comfortable with your set you can become blasé about it and thats where mistakes creep in. you'll love it

its that 'grass i greener' thing. theres loads of stuff i want. fortunately (or not) the funds arent there for me to take action on it. so for the time being GAS is set on simmer.

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='272252' date='Aug 29 2008, 09:05 AM']I think what's more worrying is that I know full well it'll hit my like a tonnes of bricks at some point... probably riiiiiiiiiiight before going onstage... lol![/quote] just use that adrenalin for on stage. i find i still get nervous at gigs (thats about 2 years now) but it soon goes. mistakes like everyone has said generally go unnoticed. but if you do royally f*** up (which i did at our last gig in my favourite song which i NEVER get wrong) make a really big thing of it, laugh and the audience will generally laugh with you. no big deal. the calm before the storm

[quote name='The Burpster' post='271960' date='Aug 28 2008, 06:59 PM']there you go your wish is my command (ish) merged them....![/quote] which kinda makes my link a bit weird

[quote name='bnt' post='271793' date='Aug 28 2008, 02:31 PM']The article dismisses Oasis entirely, which is (I think) mostly right on the money.[/quote] totally agree there, the most overated band of all time (IMO of course) yeah blur has some real nice bass lines in there, not bothered about how alex comes across but how the lines come across.

i remember the post, sounded a bargain. to good to be true it turns out heres the link to the original post [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25868"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25868[/url] tbh its still a nice bass for the money

[quote name='lukeward2004' post='271338' date='Aug 27 2008, 09:27 PM']Since switching to Elixir Nanowebs about 2 years ago, once a year seems about right. I do find that they only start to sound good after about a month or two of regular playing wear though. As with anything in music - go with your ears![/quote] yep same here, and even when the coating starts to come off you have a good couple of months in them, like normal strings really. certainly worth the extra moola

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='270903' date='Aug 27 2008, 12:18 PM']Are those sideburns or is it part of your haircut? lol[/quote] its all part of the hair, that was my early metal indie days, the long hair also gave me a place to hide