WalMan

@AndyTravis pretty sure it was one of these https://www.k-m.de/en/products/stands-and-accessories-for-instruments/fretted-instruments/14761-guitar-performer-stand-black?c=156

I can’t quite remember now, had it a while but I’ll try and find the details. It’s a solid stand and a better solution than the one I used before that fixed to the top of a mic stand and just strapped to guitar to it. Cost about £150 IIRC

Proggy rehearsal tonight. Better than a couple of weeks back when I was too tired and had been working all the hours so also under rehearsed 🙁 Spent some time last night brushing up on parts and tonight it was sounding good where I was stood rehearsing for the first gig in a long while (getting everyone together is like herding cats) Keyboard players gear is unfortunately very old so the hope for a slick set and quick changes is out of the window as certain changes require much stabbing at buttons and scrolling of menus to setup patches. No laptop and preprogrammed setlist and scenes for us unfortunately. Took everything tonight, bass, bass pedals and acoustic on a stand. I rather think for the gig I shall forego the bass pedals as one thing too many to worry about. Shame but I can get by without. Tonight’s studio madness, left to right as you look at it: - iPad running Moog Mariana bass soft synth driven by McMillen 12Step pedals - volume pedal for the acoustic on a stand - Status S2 into Boss CE20, SkarBassOne, MicroThumpinator, TwoNotes Bass Revolt and into the FX return on the studio’s Laney - Faith acoustic on stand I like the 12Step but my big feet and the wrong shoes didn’t help hitting the right notes 🤦‍♂️

Ours pointed out that very thing last night (that it's normally him being whacked in the back of the head. Also had from the same audience member mid song: 1) a mime that looked like 'can my chum play your bass?' Eeeer No, even though I know him and he depped for me a few years back tis neither the time nor place; and 2) can I sing in your mic? Again no, and definitely not without me killing it in my IEM's 🤣 To be fair he was looking v apologetic and running a blocking play for me at the time 🙂 We have a slot at a largish local festival later in the year. Not quite sure what we'll do with all the space!!?

I suppose I got goosed a couple of times and at least one was a young lady(?) ... well they're all young to me nowadays 🤣

All you lucky people doing gigs with acres of space and without the route to the bogs through the middle of the band! The green eyed monster is here 🤣

Another fun night, though very tight on space so I used the my old beaten up FPPR Status as we had people wandering through us to the loos all night Good crowd singing along all night and a happy landlord, but unbelievably as the last time we played there, he leaves next week 🤦‍♂️ Had a guy come up to us afterwards and say “I came in and saw you setting up and thought oh **** this’ll be cr@p, but then you started and it was awesome 🤩 “ … which was nice 😁

+1 When I was looking for a case for my Roland PK5 bass pedals they made a custom bag for me that came out really well

Have a look in the Events section for examples of what Bass Bashes are about. Had another good one for last year’s SEBB 😁

Apparently our drummer was talking to workmates about being in a a band and they were taking the mick saying “I bet you’re the old man in the band”. His answer “I’m actually 20 years younger than the next oldest” 🤣 I regularly see videos on social media and hear of people with degenerative issues (Alzheimer’s and the like) that show the sufferer coming out of their shell with music. For me as an acknowledged music whooer I just love learning and playing different stuff for gigs and deps.

Not a hope 🤣 my year was blown on 25/1 with more incoming 🤦‍♂️

Great night at a gig that has recently been saved from its boarded up state and threat of conversion to flats, and used to be a regular gig for us in various guises 30-40 years ago. Set up as the rugby finished and the football team looked like a potential but they were great and a slightly older music audience arrived before we started. Crowd up for it and singing along from the start. A guitarist down for a while as he’s on holiday(s) for a few weeks but Max and I have played together as a guitar/bass/drums combo often enough for it not to be an issue. Thought we might have volume issues but the landlord was asking our soundguy to turn it up so 🤷🏼‍♂️ Rig sounded huge tonight. Clear, solid, nice low end and just a soupçon of gnarl 😁🥰 More dates to come from a cracking night so all’s good 😊

I’ll probably give it a blast at the prog rehearsal tomorrow night but it sounded great on a little fire up today. Revolt Bass pedal in its box fits in a pocket of one of my Studiospares leads cases and the amp has its own case, but would also fit in the leads bag with a little re jigging of the pockets. I did discuss with Alex the point of the power amp over running the Revolt into the FX return and he didn’t think there’d be much gained going this route, but I had a sodit moment and got the amp from @BassBros (to whom kudos, I ordered one evening and it was delivered within 36 hours!) It is a really compact rig, I really like the Revolt Bass and this does look to be a good match - that said the SkarBass into Darkglass Microtubes and on to the BB2 at yesterday’s gig sounded awesome as well 😁

Now my January nightmare is over I fired up my new alternative baby rig (might use it tonight or probably safer leave to tomorrow or Monday’s rehearsals. It sounds rather nice 😁 that said it was a small room and would possibly need the second BigBaby to get the full 600w and survive on its own in a big room without PA support, but generally very nice 👌 Three channel emulations - Green/left = Ampeg, Yellow/middle = Marshall Superbass and Blue/right = Modern/filth. I tend towards the first two, but messing around today was getting sounds I liked from the filthy channel as well. Nice solid sound that’ll fit everything I do gig/dep wise from classic rock to disco and indie

Night two depping went well. One of wifey’s mates decided she’d like to go to the gig so wifey came out of recluse mode and I played taxi driver, so there were two dancers all night but the crowd were good. Got chatting to another bass player in the break and compliments on the bass sound which was nice 🙂 Managed to get the IEM’s working tonight and ran one in and one there or thereabouts which helped as space was tight so I was right on top of the amp but had one plug giving me a good solid bass feed plus some keys and vocals. Good fun night playing different stuff to usual

First of two nights depping with a band I did a holiday camp dep for last summer. Couldn’t seem to connect to their XAir so didn’t use my IEM’s and went commando for the first time in a while. Everything from Beyoncé through Kool and the Gang to the Pretenders, Bon Jovi and Van Halen (Jump). One run through on Wednesday, a couple of run through to a Spotify and set up the sets as a playlist in iReal but didn’t really need it. Couple of flubs but of course the punters weren’t aware of my ‘jazz’ moments and were dancing all night so all good, and onwards to tomorrow night (well tonight now).

A loooooong time ago when we had a song that lasted less than a minute called 'Thunderbirds Are Go' we walked on to The Joe 90 theme (NO OF COURSE NOT!!) The Thunderbirds theme. IIRC the walk-on music lasted longer than the song that followed it In a later incarnation of the band we had a walk-on to a mix of Ennio Morricone themes. I suspect there were others that my addled brain has forgotten!

The Spotify playlist for next week’s dep 🫣need to get learning!

I run either XAirMonitor Mix or MixingStation on either my iPad or iPhone. Either is fine for setting tweaking the monitor levels as the Aux page is essentially a slider / channel. I use XAirMonitorMix app with the XR16 for my main band which works well and is quick and easy to select my Aux feed. I also have Mixing Station that I use for a band I sometimes dep for that use a Soundcraft Ui. That also works just fine and is free as the basic app but you then have to pay for selected mixers that you use. IIRC it's around a fiver for each so doesn't break the bank