WalMan

As a postscript to this, I REALLY must take things easier for recuperation!!! I may be out of the plaster cast and into an Aircast, so I can stand easier, but I very much overdid it on Friday night and was crippled all day yesterday 🤒 They're only gigs and whilst they may keep me sane, standing for too long will not aid full recuperation! Next week I must go full Val Doonican and have (and use) a stool at the gig - I also have to run sound for use, but the others will have to set everything up first!

Anyway, last night’s gig. Small pub gig that usually has a good crowd that are up for any sort of music. Sadly tonight it was quite quiet. We are still a guitarist down but not and issue. Squeezed int a smaller space than usual which worked ok. Guitarist had issues with his radio at the start of the second set and went to a lead. I had forgotten to charge the xVive IEM’s so ran hard wired with the Behringer P1 - fine with limited space. Second night with the new Allen&Heath desk / stage box which is is a great improvement on the XR16 I’m out of the plaster cast now and into an air cast boot which makes life easier to get around but I’m still not very mobile and probably shouldn’t have been stood all night. Generally we played well and the sound was good, though I was told in the the break my sound needed more top - it sounded fine in my IEM’s but I re eq’d slightly. Having had a few gigs recently I felt happier with my BV’s and range had opened up. Crowd singing and dancing most of the night, just would’ve been nice if there had been more.

Been through them all, but remember the old Bedford van we used on occasion. Driver and one in the front, one on the engine cover, and on the way home from a Christmas gig with the club band. Three of us in late teems and the bandleader driving who was in his 30’s. Stopped by the law driving round in a car park trying to find the exit and with the drummer in the back divvying up the spoils rescued from the buffet. Copper opens the sliding side door to the van: “Blimey there’s more of them!” Drummer: “Sausage roll officer?” 🤣

Dream Theater last night at the O2. Went with #2 son who got me tickets for my birthday before I had booked the operation on my ankle. We were due to be in the nosebleeds seats right at the very top and up 33 steps that were virtually vertical and which I would never have made with the walking crutch I am using to get around at the moment. Spoke to staff at the venue who were really good and managed to move us down to seats on a balcony at level one. Because walking was going to be a pain I booked valet parking, which I can heartily recommend as although slightly more expensive it is straight to the door of the venue, leave the keys without the faff of finding a parking space and straight back out again to a car waiting at the door so between a few people in a car well worth it. 😁 Other than gigs at the Brighton Centre, it’s the first one that I have been to in such a large venue. The sound was generally good and it was a great show. John Myung’s bass sound was epic 🥰 I was going to sell ‘the appliance’ but maybe I’ll start hiring it out with a false plaster cast to others heading to arena gigs 😉🤣

Been trying to get in there for yonks 🙁

I had been trying to think of a way to get a stereo mix in the IEM's and spread things out, but the new stagebox/desk last night considerably reduced my search for a solution as everything was very much clearer..

A couple of things after the most recent gig 1) I need to replace the xVive system with something better! It was cutting in and out in the second set and siting the transmitter so that it doesn’t swamp either the desk router or my iPad so one or other doesn’t work. 2) our sound guy has a new (last years model) Allen & Heath CQ stagebox/mixer, and the difference between that and the old Behringer XR is just night and day. The mix I was getting from the A&H was so much more open that the XR which I was never entirely happy with the mix I was achieving.

A bit of a quiet night - except for the bloke that bellowed FREEEEEEEEEEEEBBBBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRD at regular intervals. Not a busy pub but those that were there seemed to enjoy it. Had some issues with the Xvive IEM’s cutting in and out in the second set, and finding somewhere to put the transmitter that doesn’t wipe out either the router in the desk of my iPad for my mix is becoming a right royal PITA. I rather think I need to search for a better solution. Our sound guy had a new Allen & Heath CQ desk and WOW 😮 the difference between it and the old Behringer xAir was night and day. Everything in my IEM’s was clear and separated and but for the my system cutting in and out I was very happy on that front. Still need to get levels properly set for my mix but it bodes well.

A pretty good night last night. Drummer back from hols but one guitarist down however the other guitarist and I have worked for years as me him, drummer and a vocalist so really not a problem. Using a different sound guy, who works with our usual guy, and the usual PA but despite him having checked all the connections during the week nothing he did would connect his iPad to the mixer, I had forgotten my iPad, but the connection from my phone was intermittent so in the end he brought his XAir in and re plugged everything from the usual one and we managed a quick last minute soundcheck but without my IEM connected, so I had to tweak that on the fly in the set. Still non weight bearing on my ankle and using the iWalk to stand - let’s gloss over the fact that earlier in the day walking through the village I got overconfident, stubbed the ‘toe’ and with nothing to grab onto and unable to do the ‘skip, yes I meant to do that’ thing when you catch your foot, and went down in a heap (I’ve not admitted that to wifey as I’d never hear the end of it). It’s fine for gigging, though does mean I can’t really move about and the opposite foot has gone to sleep by the end of each set. First set went pretty well. A few flubs from everyone, particularly the drummer who dropped a couple of beats but we caught it and I doubt anyone in the audience noticed. Crowd were ok and singing along so that was good. Second set everything gelled much better, the sound felt better and the punters got into it and were singing and dancing so it ended as a stormer. Landlady well pleased and stuck a load in the diary for next year.

If you don’t need all the Kemper bells and whistles the TwoNotes Bass Revolt is worth a look. I’ve used mine for a few silent stage deps and it sounded great. 🙂

Interesting one last night. Tiny pub, a dep drummer, and I was strapped into ‘the appliance’ I have depped with the drummer before in other bands and knew he would be fine. The others were a little unsure beforehand going in with no rehearsal but all was fine. He lays into his kit a lot more than our normal drummer but knows what he’s doing and has feel so he and I had a talk through funnies for stops, tops & tails in the set and with that and me talking through cues during the set (while playing bass, singing bv’s and trying to stay upright much to the huge amusement of the WAGs) we made it through ok. It is a tiny pub and originally we were going to be one guitarist down, but he made it in the end. It would have been very difficult with our usual drummer’s rack system but the dep has a more compact kit so we squeezed in just about. I am three weeks into six weeks non weight bearing on my left ankle after an operation. It has been a bit of a trial, not painful just a PITA. Been living at my late mother’s house as there’s a Stannah and a wet room there which makes life easier. Been getting around the house on a Strideon kneeler scooter hired for the six weeks suggested by the physio at hospital before I was discharged. About a week to ten days ago I found an advert for an iWalk 3.0 and ordered one which is great. Took very little time to get walking on it once it was put together and adjusted for height and I can heartily recommend it for anyone that may be in the same boat - in November it’ll be largely surplus to requirements and up for sale 😁 So with the new appliance strapped on I was able to do most of the gig standing. Only issue was towards the end of each set when my right leg started to go to sleep 😴 aeb46226-2d87-4db8-b804-6b24d34e0d16.mp4

After seeing Moon Safari last Friday at Trading Boundaries (great band and venue) I came home to an expensive ordering session for: Raul Midón - 15 Nov Tiger Moth Tales - 16 Nov; and Lifesigns - 24 Nov …all at Trading Boundaries. I was also reminded by #2 son that he got tickets for me and him for Dream Theater on 20 Oct at the O2. This one will be interesting to get to and move about as it’s the day before my leg cast is removed and I am still non weight bearing so shall be in ‘the appliance’

Moon Safari @ Trading Boundaries on Friday night. There are a couple more there in November I may go for as well

Interesting to see all the comments re thin rather than thick picks. I always find thin picks on bass to be too thin sounding. I am finding I am using a pick less and less nowadays but there are songs that just need it. I have gone heavier over the years and when using them my gotos are all Dunlop 3mm, either Big Stubby (475-300), Primetone (510-300), Flow Jumbo (547-300), or Primetone Classic Sharp (should be 477-300 but I can only see 500 which is too much even for me!! 🤣

Good news for me as attendance would be difficult if not impossible for me over the next 2 to 3 months.

Gutted. I’ve had to accept the inevitable that it’s too soon after the op last Tuesday and I’m really not mobile enough (also wifey didn’t want to drive the first leg to a mate who was going to do the main drive) so I have passed them on to my partner in crime in The Volunteer Club project.

Hopefully Big Big Train at Thorndell Hall on Monday, but that rather depends on how recuperation from the operation last Tuesday comes along

Nice message in from the dep last week "Hi Al, thanks again for depping. Listening back you put a spark back in to the band. My playing was a bit shonky at times but the fun was back and it was relaxed. Here's a link to the recording. I hope you bass sounds a bit better on this one Chris" The final sentence was a reference to my bemoaning my playing on a previous dep a month or so back. The recording was stems straight off the Soundcraft stage box. I can still hear the odd flub, but they'd have been gone in the moment so I doubt anyone in the club picked up on them and I notice only because I am listening back. Bass sounds good though possibly needed a bit more bottom but it sits well - Status S2 -> Boss TU3 -> Boss CE20 -> Trondheim Audio SkarBassOne -> sfx Microthumpinator -> TwoNotes Bass Revolt (green channel)

Definitely run a separate router. Our sound guy runs an XR16. He wasn’t available last night so we took the rig from him and ran it ourselves mixing from stage on iPad. Otherwise it works well. We have in the past had issues getting connected but not recently - the issue I had last night was only for me as the guitarist was able to connect with no problem. Got mine sorted in the end but it seemed to be something between my iPad and iPhone and the former trying to connect to the latters hotspot instead of the router on the XR16. Looks like the XR12 only has two aux outs so might be an issue getting individual monitor mixes if you were using IEM depending how many of you there are. I sometimes wish we had the 18 and option to use Ultranet. I have used the XR16 and also Soundcraft units on two different deps. Either seems fine.

Hard work to a small crowd of punters and a load of technicals for me last night. Took forever to get to the venue for me, then a rushed set up (the others were already there and set up). Issues with vocalists mic, then I couldn’t get my IEM’s running and never did all night so sound was odd for me. It seemed to be a combination of a dodgy lead for him and positioning of the router for me. My iPad wouldn’t connect to run xair until I moved my IEM transmitter further away on the end of a lead and I still got nothing even after the move. Turned out despite checking the transmitter and receiver had got onto different channels 🤦🏼‍♂️ Despite all that the sound out front was really good apparently and the landlord was pleased and put three in the diary for next year so 🤷🏼‍♂️

Another week, a different dep. This time at a holiday park with a funky band. Ampless again just my pedalboard into the TwoNotes Bass Revolt into the stage box and an aux feed to a Behringer P2 for my IEM’s. The band had their speakers but as it was a big club with different areas in the bar their Soundcraft was fed straight to the house system. Seemed to go ok though the crowd didn’t wake up until midway through the second set. Bizarre moment of the evening. After we had finished and the stage was pretty much clear, just a keyboard stand with one left on it. Punter walks up to one of the girls and says “Are you done?” … “Sorry?” … “Have you finished, are you taking song requests?” … we look around the empty stage “eeeeeeeeeer” 🤷‍♂️🤣

I use either XAirMonitorMix or Mixing Station for my IEM’s. A few £’s for individual templates for the latter is no issue

Yup. No excuse, no one needs to see my knees and lily white pins 🤣