mrtcat

I never played on cruise ships but I worked as a lighting and sound engineer for a Thomson Gold hotel in Greece. It was very similar (I'm told by the players that had done both) to cruise work but obviously you are not confined so much during down time. I played a few shows on bass to cover sickness but I wasn't sharp enough to consider doing it full time and my reading is poor. It's another option if the cruise thing isnt right for you. I enjoyed my role hugely and the musicians all seemed happy.

I could have written the OP's post. I'm in exactly the same boat as him. All the members in our band have had a busy two yrs (I became a dad, guitarist toured heavily with Tony Hadley, keys player and I did Bugsy Malone in theatre etc etc) so the bookings were less than usual. This last two months we have decided to revamp, relaunch and go all out for a busy year in 2016. We've been recording some new demos and added a heap of new songs, mostly disco / funk and we just had confirmation that this lady www.bonitadelaney.com/ is going to join us and make us a male & female fronted act. Its obviously opened up loads of musical possibilities and as a result my playing has been totally energised. I playing slap loads more, nailing songs I used to be afraid to try and generally its all on the up.

Firstly let me state that this is a very "early days" review. I only received this wireless system yesterday and took it out to a gig last night which was in a huge barn with a marquee built inside. I ordered it direct from SmoothHound Innovations at about 4pm on Monday afternoon. It cost £149.00 + £10.00 for delivery. Within 15 minutes of placing my order I had received an email to say the unit had already been dispatched via Royal Mail using a guaranteed before 1pm next day delivery. Sure enough it arrived at 9.10am the following morning (yesterday). It comes in a pretty small but robust box and contained 1 transmitter, 1 receiver, 1 9v power supply (with attachments to allow use with uk, euro or US power outlets), 1 adapter cable (allows you to use a centre negative 9v psu on a pedal board if you wish), 2 AAA batteries and instruction manual. I was being a bit dim and wasn't 100% sure that the adapter was ok to use with pedal power supply so I emailed SmoothHound. The reply hit my inbox exactly 32 seconds after I sent my email and came from Chris Fryer (the company owner) confirming that that was what the adapter was for. The transmitter: [attachment=200816:Hound 2.JPG] Its a really nice robust piece with a case which is half metal and half plastic. It feels nice and solid and weighs a reassuring amount. The on off switch is the little shark shaped button on the front which is pretty cool. My only issue is that it only just fits my Yamaha TRB and has to be put in at a funny angle. This is purely because the jack socket on the TRB is recessed and at a funny angle and the joint on the transmitter was a little to big to fit without having to turn it a little. On my Jazz it was absolutely no issue as that socket is surface mounted on the front of the bass and on my Stingray the socket is on the side of the body but at a normal angle so again no problem there. In order to mount the transmitter on my strap in future I have ordered a neutrik adapter and a couple of connectors from CPC Farnell so I can make up a short lead and mount the transmitter on my strap. £6 all in so not earth shattering but I would suggest being aware if you have a bass with an unusual jack socket. If you have a standard socket but it's mounted on the edge of the body then the SmoothHound comes with a natty piece of microsuction tape that will hold the transmitter in place. This uses thousands of tiny suction cups instead of an adhesive to stick to the guitar so it can be removed and re-stuck as many times as you want and it doesn't leave a residue. If it gets dirty and loses its stick you can remove the battery cover of the transmitter and wash the tape in warm soapy water and it comes out like new again. The receiver: [attachment=200817:Hound 1.JPG] [attachment=200820:Hound 3.JPG] It's compact, solid and simple. The aerials fold down nicely and with the adapter it runs from the power supply to my pedal board (I'm using a pedal snake so all plugs are 30ft away at the other end of the snake cable and as its running from that power supply there's no extra plugs to worry about when setting up. When you first use the system you have to bond the transmitter and receiver which is really easy to do and takes about 10 seconds. The manual is simple and clear. There are three little LED bars on the receiver which show 1)Signal Strength 2)Interference 3)Charge level of the batteries in the transmitter. There are various other functions available (accessed using a button on the receiver called the "pro" button) which are largely for either changing the receiver ID if theres another device with a similar code nearby or for fine tuning (making it sound more like a real cable, adjusting latency and power management). I got set up, plugged in, switched on and played. I noticed no interference, no change or deterioration in sound quality and no cable wrapped around my legs. I walked out of the barn into the car park and it continued working just fine. I didn't go too far as weather was bad but I think it would have gone well beyond 200ft although I'll have to wait until we play outdoors to test that. Throughout the night I had absolutely no issues at all. The charge level on the batteries was still showing 100% at the end of the night. So far I'm really really happy with it. It looks great on the board, feels solid, does exactly what I want it to do and its British. As the owner of a small British company I'm all for supporting our own industry and I feel my choice was instantly justified by Chris's super swift response to my question. It's also a good competitive price for what feels like a quality piece of equipment. I will return and update this thread in a few months once I've got a lot more mileage out of it and let you know. If anyone has any questions PM me as I'm likely to forget to check this as often as I should! Cheers for reading. *Edit* I now have a short cable and the rean/neutrik adapter which allowed me to mount the transmitter on my strap and it has completely negated issue with the funny jack socket on my TRB see pics below [attachment=200879:IMG_7121.JPG] [attachment=200880:IMG_7122.JPG] [attachment=200881:IMG_7123.JPG]

Pretty sure its illegal to be in posession of a dead badger in the UK. Reckon the judge would let you off though as he'll not want to set a precedence which means he'll not be allowed one himself.

Guitarist and I both use pedal snakes now which tidies things up considerably. One cable runs from amp to pedal board and as it carries the power in 9v and 12v form it means there's never more than 12v at my feet if someone kicks a beer over. Just added a wireless receiver to the board too which of course means one less lead on stage.

Good service indeed. It makes the whole ownership of an instrument feel so much better knowing it came from a company that cares about the user even if that person wasn't the first owner of it. Hats off to Spector and duly noted that they are a brand I'd happily buy from in future. I just had a really, really good buying experience from SmoothHound today too. Delivered just 14hrs after buying online and a lightning quick email response to to a question (32seconds to be precise) from the company owner Chris this afternoon.

I'm a bit of a cable nazi in our band. Every mic lead has to have one of those little velcro fasteners so that any excess is coiled up and secured. I also insist that cables run in straight lines (horizontal or vertical) and then once all are down I tape them in place. We also carry a few lengths of the rubber cable covers (http://www.theworkplacedepot.co.uk/snap-fit-coloured-internal-cable-protector) to put down if we ever have to resort to running cable in areas where public can access.

Yeah it's OK and has some similarities but I still found it a little bland musically. Just my opinion tho and I can understand why people would like it. Like has been said, mj would most likely have had real human beings playing real instruments if it was his song.

If cable is too short you can pick up an extension cable for a couple quid on amazon etc.

I like senheiser hd202s. They're about £30 and are reasonably solid soundwise. I have used them for audio production too.

Yes. It's basic good manners and to not reply is nothing other than rude. I only get emails if someone starts a new conversation with me but I regularly check for messages if using my phone.

I'm not aware of any reports of latency issues to be honest.

[quote name='Passinwind' timestamp='1442161928' post='2864787'] The Presonus boards are by far the most widely used around here. Sound OK and seem pretty reliable. My friend has a few Mackies in his sound hire company too, but I have yet to give one a go. I don't know of a single band or provider who have bought a new analog board in the last two or three years out here. [/quote] That's partly why I'm asking. We need a new mixer and I don't see why I'd buy an analogue one these days if the new digital ones are as good as they look.

[quote name='chevy-stu' timestamp='1442162465' post='2864789'] I've got a Soundcraft Si Expression, which has proper faders, knobs etc, as I don't personally like mixing mixing from stage on a touchpad screen, which I have tried on a few occasions with Mackie DL1608 and A&H iLive, and I find it's very hard to adjust anything quick and accurately enough. I bought for recalling different settings at different venues, and future proofing for monitor mixes for others via their iPhone etc.. If you have a separate soundguy out front, or never change anything it makes sense, but i don't find trying to play and do sound at the same time on an iPad a pleasant experience. [/quote] This is a really interesting slant I hadn't considered. That said we do have a competent eph with us for most gigs who can do on the fly adjustments from foh. I have wrestled with doitsound and playing before and it isn't fun at all.

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1442161418' post='2864780'] I've been using the exact mixer you've been on about for the last few gigs. I'm by no means an expert, but have got a decent handle on things. With regards to reliability I don't feel I can comment after only using it for 5 gigs, but it's been great for those 5. Make of that what you will really. When you set it up originally i recommend putting a key on your mixer (password), so that it's not an open wifi service that anyone can sign onto. If you do that you won't have any problems with randoms logging onto your wifi and knocking you off. It's an easy fix if they do, you just reset the router, but putting the password on negates these problem anyway. This is the only negative I have found really. Well, that and It has been a steep learning curve, but it's brilliant. About a hundred different effects to choose from is a massive plus point. Saves a lot of rack space! Visual EQ is handy. Also handy should a frequency feedback. You can literally See which frequency band is the culprit straight away. Once you get the hang of it, it's a huge time saver, and money saver. All the channels can be preset to how each specific person likes their sound. Hugely customisable. I was originally hesitant to go digital, but now I'm glad we have made the jump. Being able to mix from all points in the room is certainly very handy. What happens if the tablet dies? Nothing. There is still the same sound you had before it dies, but you won't be able to alter the sound anymore. Bring a charger with you at all times though, and your golden. Anything else you'd like to know? [/quote] That's really helpful thank you. Can I ask which tablet you use? I like the behringer one particularly as it is so discreet it could just sit on the floor behind the drummer or keyboard player.

Some really helpful info here, thanks everyone so far. At the moment I don't have a tablet but will be hopefully picking one up this week. I'm totally open to suggestions as which is most suitable. I'll use it for work too but mostly for accessing my customer database whilst out on site so it doesn't have to be something with amazing graphics etc. It'll also be used to play music from a playlist between sets. I like the look of the Mackie and the soundcraft mixers but am also really interested in the behringer x air 18 that has its own integral WiFi router and doesn't have a tablet dock built in.

Woah, that sounds like my band's set list. There's not a ginger guy singing, a hot lady doing BV's and a guy that looks like brains from thunderbirds on keys is there?

I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on it. It looks like crazy value for money if it can deliver what it looks like it can.

Considering swapping the big mixing desk for something like a behringer x-air 18 controlled by tablet for the function band. Does anyone work with a similar set up? What are the pros and cons? My biggest concern I guess is reliability. What do you do if the tablet dies unexpectedly?

Brickhouse if the drummer has the groove and the Grange Hill theme.