WalMan

Some spoilsport pulled the one with the best set of Q&A's

[quote name='tauzero' post='91480' date='Nov 20 2007, 02:04 PM']Getting your vocalist not to go on and on between numbers so everybody sits back down - priceless.[/quote] There comes a point where we just start

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='90666' date='Nov 19 2007, 09:09 AM']+1. I've been in bands where the conversation goes like this: 1. "I hate playing that song, can't we drop it?" 2. "But it's our most popular song, people love it." 1. "I don't, it's boring." 2. "But we're a covers band. Aren't we paid to play stuff people like? Why's it boring?" 1. "Cos I don't play very much on it." Saying that, bet most bass players look forward more to the song with lots of nice bits to play rather than chugging 8ths. But chugging 8ths might be part of your most popular song, so you play it because people like it, and the pleasure comes from watching loads of people enjoying themselves.[/quote] How many times have I heard that one!!! Drives me crazy! How many songs that are just an eighths chug do I put up with dammit! And what REALLY annoys me is that I will put up with those, but number of songs that get worked up then dropped because one or two don't really want to play the song and have a half hearted go at it. Sorry cr@p end of man flu wound me up at the weekend - rant over :wacko: Billy Idol - White Wedding & Rebel Yell Cameo - Word Up Wild Cherry - Funky Music Thunder - Dirty Love - used to work well but got some of the above after we had played it for a looooong time & it had possibly got a bit loose Queen - I Want It All & Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes - can generally be relied on to get some audience participation going, as can the Billy Idol songs (& Tubes WPOD in selected gigs - mind you one of those they sing pretty much every song anyway )

Welcome from [i]nearly [/i]Surrey

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='89209' date='Nov 16 2007, 12:59 AM']I've had precisely no issues at all whatsoever with it.[/quote] Except almost losing an eye at the South East Bash It was a strange experience to divebomb a bass!!

[quote name='Aussiephoenix' post='89091' date='Nov 15 2007, 07:23 PM']I wonder if the single 12" is enough for all that power...[/quote] Trust me. It is.

[quote name='Aussiephoenix' post='89097' date='Nov 15 2007, 07:33 PM']Seriously, just how loud is this amp? by what I checked out in the manual, it blows my mind that something that small and with only a 12" can disperse 400w of raw power... how does it handle at high volumes and with basses with strong outputs like a stingray for example? does it lose definition?[/quote] [size=7][i][b]LOUD!!![/b][/i][/size] The speaker on its own is rated 400w. The amp on its own is 350w rising to 500w with an extension cab. It has no problems with the Wal, which probably has a stronger out than the MM SUB. And is also happy with the MM SUB5 down to the low B. Generally it pumps out a good sound all evening without apparently breaking into a sweat. And that is with the controls (other than gain & master) left pretty much flat (for tone) or off (for the filters), possibly a slight boost to bass & treble with the mids flat, but it is the very slightest boost. Last Monday at rehearsal it was up against a Rogers kit, Marshall TSL60 combo and the foldback for vocals in a largish, boomy village hall. I kept having to turn it down. The master started at around 10 o'clock and ended up down below 9 o'clock, and it was still a tad too loud even then. [attachment=3570:FrontPanel_a.jpg] This is in a band doing rock covers - Whitesnake, Kiss, Aerosmith etc - (see the [url="http://www.myspace.com/the_alibi"]band MySpace[/url] though the tracks there are just the Pod from the stagebox to the ADAT multitracker) It is one of these new D class power amps (I think that's what they call them). Most of the weight loss in the head is the transformer I believe. As mentioned before when gigging I run a Bass Pod xt Pro to the PA & the combo is mainly to shift a bit of air on "stage". I have to say though that I think it would quite happily handle small to medium pub gigs with no problem at all. If you are thinking of something like the GK MB112's as a comparison, don't. I had one of those years ago and the CMD121H is [u][b]nothing[/b][/u] like that in power terms - though the latter is of course somewhat bigger in all dimensions and power rating. Otherwise, no change to the marks given previously so far

My thoughts at this distance, since I did a season with a band who filled in for the main bands night off mid week, are that it was hard work mainly because for us it involved a long travel, load in, play, late finish, load out & travel home in the early hours & having to get up a cople of hours later to go to the day job. Otherwise, for what we were doing it was just another very regular gig with the audience changing every couple of weeks. I do remember hanging around watching the stupid games played about halfway through the evening by the punters. This regularly involved one where two couples had to pretend the dance floor was an alligator filled swamp and the only way across was to build a bridge with their clothes. It was particularly memorable the evening a very nicely proportioned female redcoat who was leaving joined in to help out a chap who couldn't get a partner to join in with him. Instead of the usual half hearted attempt that generally managed to get about half way across with a t shirt, a couple of pairs of socks and perhaps a pair of jeans before it ground to a halt we were treated that night to the sight of the two of them getting across the dance floor in seconds flat pretty much ripping clothes off each other & standing proud & starkers Happy days for a bunch of younger (in those days) old pervs

I should, but I never really have. The benefit of scales is it gets you used to the positions for runs and can teach you the fretboard as well

I acquired a load of their albums a loooooong time ago having found out about them whilst stayng in Switzerland with my Godmother. Started with "Ashes are Burning" unfortunately on vinyl & I have no deck at the mo. If you use eMusic you can find at least one album there, listed as by The Renaissance, but beware as searching for that also brings up a different band completely with the same name. If you don't do eMusic you can get 25 free downloads in the first month after you join up so you could register download the Renaissance album & some other bits & de-register within a month and it costs you nothing. If you want to try it out PM me your email and I shall recommend it to you from my account - 'cos when you register through me I get extra free downloads Sorry thats off this topic a bit, but you have to try don't you

[quote name='Hiperi0n' post='88232' date='Nov 14 2007, 08:10 AM']i personally know the guy...traded with him several times and bought from him ...be sure it's one of the best dealer....great guy!! so that auction is safe at 100%[/quote] Fair enough. I must admit it was the [quote]The account has no completed listings in the last 12 months, but a rating of 146 based on feedback from years ago.[/quote] that had me thinking. That said it is not like the Aberdeen scams we have seen recently where they run from no reserve. Sadly £4k is [i][b][u]substantially[/u][/b][/i] more than I can afford or justify to become a WalNut (ie 2 or more)

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wal-Mach-II-5-string-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ270187079717QQihZ017QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]HERE[/url] and my initial thought is OUCH!!!! Followed by [i]"International payment will be made by Western Union or Bank wire transfer"[/i] - hmmmmmmm?

If you are talking of cheap in ear monitors then a long while back before we got the proper bits my vocalist tried using a cheapish FM transmitter he got from the US in conjunction with a walkman sized FM radio & earphones. It wasn't the greatest, but I suppose one might try something similar with the little FM transmitter packs you can get nowadays to feed an iPod into your car stereo if you do not have a dedicated link in the car? Mind you I don't suppose that would work much better, but you never know.

[quote name='theosd' post='87964' date='Nov 13 2007, 05:24 PM']+1 Any of the markbass CMD range will be right up your street =][/quote] + another 1. I was feeling in a rut a few months back and a bit bored with pussy footing around other members of my band (probably pretty much all down to a mild relapse on the arthritis front) to the extent that for the first time in 30 years of gigging I honestly felt as if I had had enough and if it all caved in I wouldn't really care either way. Then the drugs started working again, I sold the Trace combo, bought a SUB 5 (which was [i]REALLY [/i]out of left field and not part of the plan at all), and got the Markbass CMD 121H and jumped right back in the saddle again. The 121H is a cracking amp, weighs nothing but sounds great. Only problem for you would be keeping it quiet at home. We had a rehearsal last night and even with the master down around 9 o'clock it was a bit on the loud side

Is a SUB much lighter than a 'Ray? Compared to my Wal the SUB 5 weighs nothing at all!? +1 for the Comfort Strap and if it gets really bad you could try a [url="http://www.slider-straps.com/"]Slider strap[/url] (which goes over both shoulder & crosses at the back), or even a [url="http://www.darestrap.com/guitar.html"]Dare strap[/url] which looks like it does much the same thing. I have only used a Slider strap, needing something to spread the weight before I had my left shoulder replaced. The Dare looks like it would put the guitar in a better playing position. I found the Slider pulled the bass round a bit so that it was a slighty awkward (make that different to what I was used to) position, BUT it meant I could carry on gigging!!

BUGGER. I saw this today

[quote name='grosa' post='85113' date='Nov 7 2007, 08:14 PM']im coming up with a cunning plan as we speak[/quote] I've run dry on those after a couple of GAS attacks in recent months. Did have one for a 5 string Wal recently but then realised it wasn't that cunning & would lead to a severe ear bashing from Mrs W

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='84859' date='Nov 7 2007, 12:13 PM']I didn't realise anyone actually placed their highest until the last seconds! As has been pointed out it gives people time to go away and think about bidding more.[/quote] I don't. I let a sniper do it for me and warn me if what I had set as a max bid is beaten sooner. So I have the chance to[list] [*]withdraw the snipe before the end if I change my mind [*]increase the max if my highest bid gets beaten - the sniper sends an email to warn the max bid you set has been exceeded [*]not get drawn into / carried away in a bidding war - unless I particularly want to [*]don't show my hand too soon, and [*]as a result probably not get bid up by going on early [/list] I have sat and watched a couple of auctions for my stuff do nothing for 7/10 days only for all hell to break loose in the final 5 minutes. And that often seems to be the way in a lot of auctions, nothing for days then a large amount of activity right at the death.

[quote name='grosa' post='84594' date='Nov 6 2007, 08:12 PM']stupid xmas having to buy other stuff[/quote] How about "don't worry about a present for me, I've bought it" No, thought not, I wouldn't get away with that either

[quote name='eubassix' post='85086' date='Nov 7 2007, 07:25 PM']Quite bizarre ... presumably it was first sold with the accompanying accessories :- [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Westone-5-string-Snakeskin-bass_W0QQitemZ180177773001QQihZ008QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"][url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Westone-5-string-Snake...1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.com/Westone-5-string-Snake...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/url] ... also puts Jens Ritter's 'Lounge-Lizard' finish in perspective !...[/quote] Interesting, actually looks quite nice in the photos - not nice enough for a bid though

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='84750' date='Nov 7 2007, 08:19 AM']OK reading into this, the M-Audio PCI card looks ideal...remember this is just for very basic recording. I can achieve an awful lot in Audition, which I know backwards. P[/quote] Turnkey have the M-Audio Audiophile 192 in their [url="http://www.turnkey.co.uk/web/productAction.do?dispatch=showProduct&SKU=MMAN-AUDIO192&context=CLEARANCE"]Clearout[/url] section although bizarrly that appears to be more expensive than their normal price. For a few quid more they do an EMU bundle that has the same ins & outs plus a load of extra sounds in the bundle if you want to add more, and effects patching included - though when I have tried to utilise this through Tracktion my machine (3 mhz & max 2 gb ram) could not handle it. If it is the same as the one I bought a few months back you need 2 PCI slots as there is a main card & daughter board. Both of them have connections on the card rather than breakout boxes, which can be a bit of a pain unless you leave everything permanently wired

Oh good grief Al, as they say on all good exam courses "read the feckin question!!!" You've got the Pods & the software - DOH!!! So as before push it through the Pods & USB. If you want to noodle along to stuff GearBox should let you do that, and hear the track / Drum Machine all through the headphones on the POD. Using the POD ASIO & USB should also allow you to record stuff while listening to tracks on playback with low latency & looking at Audition you can track plenty of stuff. Probably once you are in Audition & with a Pod plugged into the USB with up to date Line6 drivers installed (download & install the Line6 Monkey - free - then start it up with the Pod attached to find what updates are available) you will be able to set Audition to record & playback through (Bass) Pod ASIO somewhere in preferences. Use the Pod set to the DI setting (ie no models) to get vocals in and Bod for the bass. Changing from Pod to Bod will almost certainly require you to dive into Auditions preferences to change these to Bass Pod ASIO. And if you want to mix on speakers rather than headphones then change the setting to the internal soundcard. So really you are down to possibly throwing some money at a better soundcard some time down the line with a better selection of ins & outs rather than a couple of 1/8 inch stereo jacks

[quote name='Musky' post='84393' date='Nov 6 2007, 12:58 PM']Of course none of this actually stops anyone from shill bidding and driving up the price, though it does stop them from retracting a bid. If the person shilling is the highest bidder, no matter when you put your bid in you'll still end up paying more than you should have done.[/quote] Except that they have to assume that snipes will come in at the very end and get a bid in early enough to account for that and drive it to nearer the price they want without having to set a reserve or start price - at least that's the way I look at it. It's a shame one has to take that view, and use things like snipers to try to get around it but there you go, that's life (as Esther used to say)

[quote name='andy67' post='83891' date='Nov 5 2007, 11:12 AM']its the concience thing that would always get me..... I have started looking at items and bidding within the last few seconds, if I feel that the auction is valid, allowing me to observe the bidding trend.[/quote] I see what you are saying in the earlier example, but often bids steaming in right at the death will be things like AuctionSniper diving on as instructed. It does cost a bit for a winning bidders fee, but saves the aggro of sitting watching all hell break loose at the end just as your internet connection decides to have a go slow. You set your max bid in advance and it does the rest for you. So effectively what you are doing, but a machine places the bid for you in the last few seconds (good if it ends in the middle of the night and you do not want to sit up for it, and should avoid the worst of being bid up by going on early).

You might try Audacity from [url="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/"]HERE[/url] or generally find it on computer magazine cover disks. It is free and you can build up multitracks within it, but actually mixing them would probably be a trial as there is no form of automation. I have used Mackie Traction 2 for a while now, upgrading to v3 recently. V2 you can pick up now for about £30 [url="http://www.dv247.com/invt/27495/"]HERE[/url] I find Tracktion really easy to use and logical in the way it works across the screen from inputs on the left to outputs on the right, and it includes automation for mixing. Perhaps consider getting (asking for Christmas) for one of the baby Pocket Pods that came out recently. They seem to be about £70 universally and will give you both modelling and a USB connection to the PC, so no need to worry about getting signal in through an 1/8 inch jack socket on your sound card (or motherboard if it is on board sound). You ought to be able to select a DI only setting to get the bass in by the same means