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Everything posted by mrtcat
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I can't work out whether you want to leave or just want to not have to listen to the negativity. Both are perfectly understandable but require differing approaches. If you actually want to leave then that's one thing. You sound like a very reasonable and considerate chap so I'm sure the chaps in your band (who clearly know you well) will accept if you honestly tell them that you want out. If you honour all bookings and still give 100% they can't ask for more. If however the only reason you're thinking of leaving is the competitive one then you need to address that problem. I'm sure your band mates would hate to see you go and would be really upset if they thought you left because of an issue you didn't even talk about. In this case I would go for the gentle chat (away from the practice room / gig environment) with either the whole band or the one member you are closest to. I can't see it being a big enough issue to spoil friendships. Just do it positively. Explain that you hold the local scene close to your heart and really want to support people that you have gotten to know over the years rather than hear them being criticised. Good luck with this. Either way I hope it works out well for you.
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I have two immaculately built (if I do say so myself) and unused Bill Fitzmaurice DR200 PA Tops for sale. I am an authorised BFM builder and I built these as part of a four cab build in July this year. The first pair sold but these have been sat under a dust sheet in my workshop since. These are loaded with Eminence Delta Pro 8A Drivers (8ohm) and the flat tweeter array. They have all internal crossovers and filters as recommended in the plans. Performance wise they are stunning. They're designed to be used with subs but project beautifully with crystal clear highs and a very wide dispersion of sound. I'm asking for £800 for the pair which is well below the recommended price and massively below the price of the equivalent commercially available cabs. I use a similar pair with my band and they always draw attention to themselves as they're not only amazing sound wise but they look cool too. It's the top two cabs in the stack. [attachment=92782:013.JPG] [attachment=92782:013.JPG] Bill Fitzmaurice web site ([url="http://www.billfitzmaurice.com"]www.billfitzmaurice.com[/url]) says: [b]DR200[/b] [b]The DR200 is a small PA speaker that doesn't sound small. Measuring less than 20 inches cubed, and weighing in at less than 30 pounds, you can carry two of these babies in the back seat of the average compact car. [/b] [b] [/b] [b]Like all DRs they are more efficient than commercial speakers, so they don't need huge amps to drive them. But more important, the vertically aligned melded tweeter array delivers horizontal dispersion nearly twice as wide as that of store-bought PAs, so more of your audience gets to hear clearly what you're playing. Check out this response chart and see: [/b] [b] [/b] [b]The DR200 delivers uniform coverage over all the audience, so there's never a bad seat in the house. Here's what builder Art Coates has to say about his: [/b] [b][i]"These sound so much better than the average direct radiating PA speaker - with none of the "boxiness" or "honkiness" the lower priced ones tend to have. Their unbelievably high sensitivity is just icing." [/i] [/b] [b]Average sensitivity is 104dB per watt, at least 6dB higher than the typical $600-$1200 PA speaker. What’s that mean to you? A DR200 with 100 watts input is as loud as the average PA speaker with 400 watts input. In fact, the horn loaded design is so efficient that it can get more out of its single 8 inch driver than typical PAs get with a twelve. Plus, unlike any commercial PA cab, the DR200's bass response is easily adjustable, for maximum sensitivity and extension whether used with or without subs. [/b]
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[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1320682011' post='1429895'] Thanks I wouldn't say i have comletely avoided it for 25 years - just that its never been anywhere near as powerful and obvious as it was the other night. I chatted to the guitartist last night and he mentioned that there was a great big solid wooden table behind my cab about 12-15 inches away from the rear port on the cab. The table had been turned on its side and was therefore acting like a wall i guess. [/quote] That may well have had a big influence. A table tob is probably pretty smooth too so would reflect quite efficiently. I dread getting the BOOM as when it's really bad its very disconcerting.
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Gig wise not too bad. Covers band has done 32 so far including 2 corporate gigs and our first wedding. We're going to push the corporate / wedding thing as the pub scene is struggling a little. I totally understand the pub situation as landlords are being squeezed hard by recession and supermarket drink prices. We just feel we need to spread our net far and wide (and sell our souls) to get mass appeal. Luckily we all play cos we love it and love entertaining and this is really helping keep us busy. Personal life has been very mixed. Got married in April (that's a +ve btw) then returned from honeymoon to find I was being made redundant. Worked self employed (cabinet maker) building kitchens etc and also as a BFM builder. The BFM thing was a nightmare. I spent hours and hours replying to emails every night but very little came in work wise until I started posting on DJ forums. Ended up building tons of subs but little else. Then last week got offered a job with a competitor of my old company which was also a big step up money / responsibility wise. I start next week. So I now have a beautiful wife, a better job and being unemployed has really helped me see how lucky I am.
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Raising your cab will only help if the issue is being caused by a coupling between cab and a resonant floor. Raised stages often have this problem. In which case something like the Auralex Gramma Pad will help no end. It does however sound more like a standing wave issue. Moving your cab or playing the problem note softer are the only answers. Sometimes only a small move is needed but on occasions a more radical change helps. Hardest part is getting band mates to understand. Must say that you've done well to avoid this for 25 yrs. I get this issue regularly - particularly in smaller venues. If F# is around 47HZ do people out there have rough frequencies for other notes? I personally would find it very helpful to know them.
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More likely the in house pa system has masses of subs and the engineer was boosting the 40-80hz range giving the huge lows. this is pretty common in venues with big systems. anyone see tm stevens at the bass show earlier thiz year?
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Cool, seems like we have some good options. Many thanks to all for the help. Warwick Hunt the link you sent was v helpful. WOT are you playing in South Shields? That's not a million miles to go is it? Really looking forward to getting back up north.
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This is great stuff guys. I primarily prefer rock over indie but am really open to blues, soul, rnb (the proper stuff not the crap on the radio), funk etc. Staying in the Hilton so walking distance of town and access to metro. Any of you Newcastle dwellers got a gig. Would be nice to support a bcer.
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I've got a weekend off from gigging next week and am taking my good wife back to her home town for a romantic weekend. Clearly by Saturday evening I'll be all "romanced" out so am aiming to treat my good lady to a night in a pub watching a band. As I know nowt about where to go in The Toon can anyone suggest where I might find a good live music pub?
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He looks like Jack Osbourne.
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Totally agree with Chris B. There's heaps of brilliant 3pce bands out there and they don't rely on "filling out". If you and the guitarist have reasonable kit then you'll sound fine. Just accept that you're a 3pce and don't try to sound like a 4pce because the only way to pull that off is to get another guitarist.
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[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1316530180' post='1379256'] I think it's a very easy choice........You'll get far more out of spending the money on lessons with a good teacher than you will spending the money on a new instrument. If you want a new bass,great,but if you would rather improve as a player (which it sounds like you do) you're better off studying. [/quote] +1000 Best money you'll ever spend. It'll mean working hard but it sounds to me like you care enough to put the hours in.
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Even earlier evidence of Flea with Stingray....
mrtcat replied to stingrayPete1977's topic in General Discussion
Not sure I understand this thread? Surely it's a non issue. Flea has used a variety of basses and at some point that was a stingray at another it wal at another alembic. All are really nice and nobody is questioning that are they? The production process on any album pretty much negates what bass was used as the plug ins used on any instrument are numerous and the recorded sound rarely sounds anything like the post production sound. Fleas playing is fantastic and has certainly inspired me. I don't care what bass he used I just love his bass lines. -
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Thanks for all the input guys. Got rehearsals Thurs and it's usually me and the drummer left at the end so will have a chat. I'll ask if he wants us to look into a temporary dep who could pitch in and take the pressure off a bit if he's pressed for time. If we have a willing dep they can also help at gigs current drummer doesnt want. We totally appreciate that it's going to be tough when his second nipper arrives but at the same time we want to keep gigging. We set up as a band that wanted to gig weekly. Singer has two kids and I have one and we all carried on when they arrived but that's probably more of a testament to our wives.
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[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1372007' date='Sep 13 2011, 03:53 PM'][attachment=89313:dr670.jpg][/quote] Haha the "non moaning non complaining alternative"..
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We formed three years ago with another drummer. He moved to Sweden before our first gig and the current chap stepped in. None of us knew each other previously but we all get on well (current drummer included). He already has one little boy and his wife is really cool. He's just a bit of a drama queen and loves to moan. He also has a habit of cncelling gigs at short notice. Family will always come first for him which I totally understand but it just seems he enjoys being awkward with the band. A second drummer would at least take a bit of the power away from him and could make his life easier while his new baby is young. None of us want an ugly fall out as we have had some really good times together so I think talking to him is the best approach and offering a possible way to take pressure off him.
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[quote name='EBS_freak' post='1371969' date='Sep 13 2011, 03:29 PM']Get another drummer and share the drum seat between two or more drummers.[/quote] That's a pretty sensible suggestion. With his wife being up the duff we can easily pitch it to him as a way of helping him out. If we also take on a second drummer and be totally upfront about the situation it will give current drummer chance to choose his availability. Our guitarist is in an originals band and his drummer has offered to dep before. May be worth a chat with current guy first then approaching him.
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[quote name='Len_derby' post='1371956' date='Sep 13 2011, 03:19 PM']How do the rest of the band feel about this?[/quote] Previously they've all been pretty laid back and accepted it as a trade off for his good skills but now it's really starting to reduce how much we can play. Nobody else is worried about the cash tho.
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Hi all, After some advice rom other band players. We have a decent drummer in our band. Playing wise he's great, really solid and puts a lot of energy into our sound. The problem is that when we're not playing he's a total headache. Firstly he's got an obsession with money. We are a pub rock band playing classic rock covers. We always get our £250 asking price and I believe that's more than many of our rival bands get. Drummer however is now insisting we charge £300 - £400 a night. If we play O'Neills we can get that much but most of our gigs are regular pubs. I don't think we'll get that much and end up pricing ourselves out of gigs. Next issue is that he goes on to our online calendar and blanks off masses of dates well in advance. This means we already only have a maximum of 30 gigs a year for 2012. We will fill them but he's blanking off dates that he has no plans for just to control how much we play. He has just announced his wife is pregnant and due in march and has said as a result he'll be unavailable in march April and may. Finally he complains about where we play. He only wants to practice one a week tops but can't see why we're not playing the O2 every week. What would you do? He's a bloody good drummer and there's a shortage of them round here.
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I have an audition tomorrow evening......
mrtcat replied to SlackAlice's topic in General Discussion
Just do as much practice as you can so you don't need to think too much about the songs. I know it's short notice but if you get the chance to try some of their other proposed songs that'll really impress them too. Beyond that just enjoy it and be yourself. I always found the prospect of auditions a little nerve racking but if they're anything other than really nice to you then they're not worth worrying about. When we last auditioned people we had to impress them as well so they'll be under a little extra pressure too. Best of luck I'm sure you'll knock em dead. -
I practice hard to compensate for my lack of natural ability. I buy flash gear to compensate for my small penis.
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Oh yeah - last gig's set. Was at The King Billy in Northampton which is a biker joint hence the lack of pop rock. You'll also find stuff like Sex On Fire, Summer Of 69, All The Small Things, Fight For Your Right To Party, Buck Rogers, Song 2 etc etc in a more "town centre saturday night" gig. Set 1 1. White Wedding 2. Fool For Your Loving 3. Sharp Dressed Man 4. La Grange 5. Rosalie 6. Can’t Get Enough 7. Paint It Black 8. Gimme Some Loving 9. Are You Gonna Go My Way 10. Purple Haze 11. Wishing Well 12. American Woman 13. Fire 14. Addicted To Love 15. Honky Tonk Women 16. Bartender And The Thief 17. Whole Lotta Rosie Set 2 1. Tie Your Mother Down 2. Long Way To The Top 3. Everything About You 4. Walk This Way 5. Hard To Handle 6. No One Knows 7. Sweet Home Alabama 8. Bad Moon Rising 9. Rocking All Over The World 10. Down Down 11. Roadhouse Blues 12. Black Night 13. All My Life 14. Born To Be Wild 15. Paranoid 16. Freebird Screw the kids (not litterally) book a rock band and you get rock.
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[quote name='JoshL' post='1279004' date='Jun 22 2011, 08:30 PM']Just about to start something called level 3 rock award at college[/quote] I want to go back to college!!!!!!