mrtcat

Grumble grumble grumble. I bought a Hartke Kilo back in may last year. Since then it developed a fault with a hum which I discussed on here. The hum got progressively worse then started making popping sounds and then amp just stopped working altogether. I contacted seller (big online store) who agreed to take it back under warranty and send it to Korg (UK distributor) for repair. I sent it via DHL and it was signed for at retailers end on Jan 25th. I've since emailed for an update and had no reply. I've called and was told someone would call me back.........nothing. I've called again and had to leave voicemail asking for call back........nothing. I haven't even managed to get them to confirm they've received it. All I have is couriers details of it being signed for on Jan 25th. Any ideas what I should do next. My plan was just to call over and over but it's pretty poor show that I have to keep pushing just for an update.

Someone who can banter well with a crowd is a really valuable member of a band. If you can't be funny just try to balance humble with confident and be nice. If the whole band is funny and bounce well off each other then you're on a winner.Steel Panther are my favorites right now for this.

I have a busy work life and often work from my workshop at home on a weekend too. I gig 1-2 times a week but every penny I earn from it (after travel expenses) goes into our holiday fund pot and has therefore paid for some really great trips away with the wife including Maldives, USA, new Zealand and tons of snowboarding trips so she's really happy for me to gig. In fact if I have a gig free weekend she starts mentioning the next holiday planned to remind me I need to get out and earn for it lol.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1392048184' post='2364007'] Sounds like his amp set-up isn't really suitable for the type of material you're playing for starters. [/quote] +1 For function stuff a nice 60w or less combo will give him ample volume. Decent pedals can also be a big step to level control. Our guitard uses a tc electronic g system and can do everything from funk and soul to metal on it and all without major volume fluctuations. As many have said record it and play it back.

thanks for your help guys it's much appreciated. Having now had time to think about it and having spoken to Andertons (retailer it came from) I think I'm going to send it back for repair under warranty. In the meantime I have a spare PA amp and will try to pick up a cheap di pedal like the one behringer do which is a poor mans sansamp. Should see me through and mean I have a backup plan for future if amp ever dies again. I'm gutted though as I have now lost my confidence in the Hartke head and I love the sounds it makes. Andertons BTW were very helpful.

Hi all, my hartke kilo has lost output power. Turned it on at rehearsal and nothing. There's input signal as the compressor light comes on if I play my bass firmly. It's less than a yr old and under warranty but I have a wedding gig on Saturday and so haven't time to send it off. Does anyone know a good amp tech in my area? I live just outside Towcester in Northants.

I'll play anything as long as the drummer is decent. Simple root parts tied in with a drummer that grooves will keep me happy all day long. The same parts with a crap drummer will drive me insane.

Did a bit of work a few weeks back with our singer who was complaining he couldn't hear himself well enough in his monitors. We have had to push his foh level quite hard to get him heard out front too in the past. After just a few minutes of explaining how mic's work it was clear that he had never been shown about mic technique. He would regularly sing into the mic from the side and too far from the mic itself. Long story short we now have lots more vol out front and he can hear himself better in monitors even tho we actually have turned his level down a touch. May not be relevant to you but its a good idea to check technique every now and then as it could save spending any more cash.

Only ever had good experiences with bass direct. It's got stuff that'll blow your mind and budget but I think it's definitely worth taking a look.

I'm currently using a Toshiba laptop which has an express card slot. I use a decent firewire adaptor that supports music streaming so it works well. Biggest issue is currently finding either a pc laptop with the express card slot or anything with a firewire port. If I went for a mac mini it would have the firewire but I'd need to build a clever flight case to make it usable at a gig.

Mac mini looks like really good value. Is 4gb memory enough? i5 or i7?

Current laptop is coming to the end of its life and so I'm looking for recommendations for a replacement. Budget is about £800 but I need to be able to hook it up to a Mackie Onyx 1640i mixer to allow live recording on 16 channels. Previously I've run ableton but I no longer DJ so will probably want to run one of the logic incarnations. The mixer really needs firewire and I need enough power and memory to handle a two hour set using 16 channels. Am I high or is this possible? Recommendations please :-)

Agree also that set list is essential. As mentioned by most it's fine to wander a bit from it but it's there to keep structure to proceedings and keep things slick. I call any changes in our band and everyone goes with it. Sometimes we do most of the whole 1st set as a big medley to keep people up. Guitarists who insist on regular axe changes boil my piss and if he/she insisted on doing it I'd tell them to go start their own ego trip project and stop spoiling mine.

Used yamaha trb 5. Need a 5 string again and love these.

When I was a teenager a friend gave me a bootleg live album recorded at a show in minneapolis in 1993/4 it was absolutely brilliant but I've never been able to find it since. Prince is a total genius.

Put an ad on gumtree in 2008 saying I wanted to join up with some players who wanted to start a casual covers band to get me back into playing after 4yr break. Got one reply from a guy who sang but had never been in a band before who wanted to put a covers band together. He had a drummer and guitarist interested. We've been going almost 6 yrs done 300 gigs and are now doing weddings and corporate gigs for decent money. Worked well for me.

My experience of charity events is that the cause itself is most important. If it's a big well known charity it will naturally draw more people than something a bit more niche. You should consider putting the aims and ethos of the charity at the centre of everything. For example if you are going to approach local media you need to be prepared to put across how important the cause is, how they will use the funds raised and why they are as worthy of the support or even more so than many of the other charities out there. You're going to need volunteers to help at all stages and as previously stated just booking a band because they're free is not ideal. Most bands will donate their fee if they buy into the cause so look for bands that will draw a crowd and have your passionate plea ready. Venue wise be wary of places with ulterior motives. Many will look at the profit side first. We raise for Help For Heroes every year and use pubs - particularly ones where the regulars are the type that read The Sun, hang George's cross flags off their houses. Sounds awful but these people really buy into H4H so the venue gets kudos with its customers. In return we asked the venue to pay the bands (which all bands then donate). The venue charges on the door or sells tickets in advance or both. This gets donated. The venue makes plenty over the bar with a crowd that have paid to be there so won't have one pint and leave. Finally we always get local businesses to donate prizes (golf club donates round of golf for four, hair salon donates haircut, butcher a big roasting joint etc) which we raffle. One of the best raffles is for someone to sing a song with the band. People always love that. Bottom line is to get people passionate about the cause. Really good luck with this.

Gonna be a dad in June so 2014 is going to be exciting, petrifying and tiring but I'm pretty darn happy about it. Baby is going to learn drums as I want a drummer in the future that I can control to some extent lol.

As said before by others, you should hedge your bets. Stick with what you have whilst starting something new. It'll involve extra work as you'll need remain committed to your current band in order to be fair but it'll be worth it if it prevents you having to risk having nothing. It'll also allow you to be patient whilst seeking other members for your new project. Best of luck.

Tiring but fun. Busy town centre pub full to capacity with new years revellers. Finished playing at 2am so knackered today.

Thanks for the replies everyone. It turned out good in the end. Landlord says his phone had broken after being dropped down the loo and that there was a fault on the landline. I think if I ran a pub I'd be keen to at least have one way of letting people contact me. Was a good gig although by the end of set two everyone was so drunk we could have played pretty much anything and they'd not have cared. Happy new year everyone!

Hmm bit concerned. We are booked to play a really good live music pub tonight but we cannot get hold of them on any number to confirm set up times etc. Last contact was about 3 weeks back and all was fine but since then they've not replied to messages, voicemails, fb messages (even though they're showing as having been read), phonecalls and when we phone the landline it just rings and rings. We're advertised on their fb page and we know they're open and haven't changed hands. Problem us they're over an hour away so I'm having to hike over this afternoon. Pretty sure it's just typical pub organisation / communication issue but it's pretty disconcerting. They really wanted us after we played there in may and offered really good money. Fingers crossed. Any advice?