algmusic

[quote name='MB1' post='1258896' date='Jun 6 2011, 08:37 PM']MB1. ...TIM? [/quote] Translation.. no need for capital letters

I've stopped caring.. I think it's because, I know that I'm not the best musician but I am good enough to be able to play well and at a good level, but there are so many out there that are miles better.. and really it doesn't matter either way. I enjoy what I do I generally try to zone out, then if the band grabs me I'll have a listen. As a drummer and bassist, I guess I notice them more. If they are shockingly bad, will I discreetly move to the next room or leave. That said I'd rather a band that is a bit rough round the edges but play with heart than a pretentious band that thinks' that are god's gift to music. I feel that way when I play with other also.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='1260833' date='Jun 8 2011, 10:08 AM']Short answer: No. Long answer: Read what Simon's written. For now I'd focus on actively practising your dynamics. Play a riff with your normal plucking loudness - define that as mf. Then play that same riff as loud as you can whilst still sounding good - define that as ff. Then as quietly as you can - define that as pp. Then find the in between loudnesses, p and f. Now practice playing that riff going from pp to p to mf to f to ff. Then the reverse. Then swap between p and f. Then swap from mf to ff back to mf then to pp and repeat. Then swap between pp and ff. Once you have a feel for that work through your entire set consciously switching between each of your five loudnesses depending on what the song needs at that moment. Learn to play the dynamics! Don't forget about accents as well.[/quote] +1 Couldn't have said it better.. and this rule is for ALL genres!!!

[quote name='dc2009' post='1260427' date='Jun 7 2011, 10:31 PM']Gotta disagree for the point of view of live playing. You very often don't hear what the audience hears (you are typically behind the PA speakers, with yourself turned way up in the monitor), if you want to play with any feel I think you need to get 'excited' to really dig in on the louder and more forceful parts of the songs, but how much you start playing harder or faster or whatever is down to you, and yet it won't sound the same to the audience anyway. If you play uniformly all the way through just listening to your monitor I think the bass would sound stiff and get lost in the big parts.[/quote] I could not disagree more, as you are really contradicting yourself. To simply disregard good technique for a pedal is nonsense. I agree that a band should play with dyamnics, but to simply overwrite this with compression is pointless. It's how you get the pop dribble we hear today. As someone who is constantly complemented for playing with feeling, you still have to have control, you still need good technique and if some plays with their monitor turned up with disregard to what they are playing it is still fundamentally bad technique to listen and to play. I would sometimes agree with using some effects, but not on a consistent level. It's like a drummer only playing an electric kit. they loose all sense of dynamics and feel.

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1260218' date='Jun 7 2011, 08:30 PM']A few years ago I thought I wanted a compressor & was almost set on getting a Black Finger I tried a few different ones & decided all it did was take away the dynamics from my playing & raised the noise floor (so if there was a small feint buzz before, it would be annoying with the compressor). I do have a fairly consistent level whenever I play something & don't really suffer much from peaks & troughs & got disappointed that I wasn't going to need a compressor. I'd go with spending the money on some good lessons.[/quote] +1 Finally the first person to actually agree that a compressor usually doesn't solve the actual problem

I personally, think you could spend that money on maybe 3 bass lessons with a good teacher to give you some pointers on keeping a consistent groove. I bought a compressor and have ended up not using it.. good technique is the key. It's about learning to relax.. and keeping the notes consistent the more you rely on them the worse you playing can get IMHO The MXR Dyno Comp is a good compressor, but Like I said.. used mine last year..

[quote name='Bankai' post='1259303' date='Jun 7 2011, 08:37 AM']You'd have a deal but I need to find a second hand barefaced to move on to before we can do the trade! Sadly Alex doesn't do a student discount ---------> The Door[/quote] I'm selling a MB 1x15 if that could tie you over and we could trade.. there's lots of bottomend on that.. it was too much with the terror for me.. PM if you're interested

[quote name='Bankai' post='1259224' date='Jun 7 2011, 01:50 AM']Definitely not happy with the Orange SP210. It looks awesome, emphasis on the awesome, but it just doesn't have volume nor does it have an amazing tone, especially when cranked. I don't know if it's me just being picky seeing as Iswapped to this small setup from a full-size stack but I feel disappointed. I'm just not sure whether the midget or the compact will be the one to buy.[/quote] Well if you want to sell your sp210, let me know. I might use this till I can afford a midget

QUOTE (mcgraham @ Jun 3 2011, 12:01 PM) Indeed. It's a very particular skill set that people pick up really quickly. What I would say is that once people get to that standard of just being able to plug'n'play everything plateaus very quickly, and suddenly improvement is rare. Also, what people think is 'good musicianship' for a worship team is sub-par compared to true masters of their instruments. I would love to see more christian bass players (see? keeping it on topic ) spend more time working on their instruments outside of sunday mornings or band practice. Because it's all improvised to some extent, the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The best bit of advice I was given from a fellow worship musician (albeit by someone who was just repeating something that had been told to them) was 'learn jazz theory - if you can play jazz, you can play anything'. I did and continue to do so, and it has definitely allowed me to plug into any genre that I might want to experiment with. This really is the argument that learning theory helps you improvise an thus helping you to be more free in your playing..

[quote name='Bottle' post='1255053' date='Jun 3 2011, 09:06 AM']I actually agree with a lot of what you're saying! Being in a church environment certainly challenges me to be a better player, particularly my improv skills. I also agree with the comment about the lack of preparation time - I'm often playing songs off of a chord sheet I may have been given that morning when I turn up to the meeting. I think 30mins soundcheck and a quick run-through is more than enough prep time I find myself being the most inexperienced player in the band so for me, the musicians are generally better prepared and have a higher level of ability than me. It is a demanding and challenging environment, but I thrive in that place and some of my best playing has occured in worship time.[/quote] I constantly remember having a rehearsal for a concert or service, then the lead singer who was very good would usually do something also completely different, it was like playing for James brown, definitely a good training ground for any musician... I played drums, bass and guitar on different occasions. A few years later when I was MD we did try and work out a little 'structure' in the madness.. I'm sure I got some grey hairs even at 21 doing that gig

[quote name='owen' post='1254742' date='Jun 2 2011, 10:36 PM']Adrian is very cool. You knows it.[/quote] Ha ha! thanks

Owen bought my electric drumkit, paid by bank transfer and organised for a courier to collect it. No hassle, no problem, excellent comms.. Top bloke I'm not sure how well he is doing at 'Trying to cut down on shopping'

It's funny, I don't like the 'valve' sound the TC trys to emulate or the clean, it's too digital for my liking. I've never got on with them and have tried many times I'd rather either Markbass (clean) or The orange (warm without the back problems), which I have. The TC to me is too fiddley.. also I've changed the Tubes on the terror to less firey ones.. and it's still great.. I do think if you have a good bass and a good amp. After doing lots and lots of gigs/sessions, i've come to realise ... You only need one dial... [size=6]volume[/size]

[quote name='ben604' post='1251587' date='May 31 2011, 02:55 PM']We got a pair of [url="http://www.mackie.com/products/sa1521/"]Mackie SA1521[/url]'s for £550. To be fair, they're heavy beasts, but they're damn loud and handle the whole band, including me exclusively, I run straight in with my Sansamp. I had a compliment on Sunday night for my sound, he was shocked to hear I didn't run through a dedicated amp. If you've got the room and strength (or just two people for carrying) to transport them, I highly recommend them.[/quote] To be honest, I'll only use them for vocals and acoustic guitars, and just use my cab for bass.. I might send a bass with a cut low freq through them, then later in the year get a sub for the bigger stuff.. also the small cab is better for my healing shoulder and easier for smaller gigs

I'm almost set on the Mackies, as they just seem the standard, but I guess, I'd like to know what else there is.. maybe they are fender P's of PA's ;-)

[quote name='JTUK' post='1251109' date='May 31 2011, 09:33 AM']Going to have the same problem ourselves..but I think there might be more value and less weight in passives. EV do a nice line of small passive subs with 12"..and I am thinking we could rather carry these and bi-amp them from a controller than get a single that is much bigger and heavier. LD do a series which we might look at..and we have put our money into quality tops ..the sub is less so important. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LD-Systems-DAVE-SUB12-12-300-Watt-Active-Subwoofer-/140537742170?pt=UK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL&hash=item20b8b3c35a"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LD-Systems-DAVE-SUB1...=item20b8b3c35a[/url] HK 18 [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HK-AUDIO-PRO18SA-ACTIVE-BASS-BIN-SUB-PA-DJ-SUBWOOFER-/150365408158"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HK-AUDIO-PRO18SA-ACT...R-/150365408158[/url] L2 Audio [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15-800W-MAX-Active-Powered-PA-Subwoofer-Speaker-Sub-DJ-/270659155294?_trksid=p4340.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D15%26pmod%3D150365408158%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D311532143445033538"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15-800W-MAX-Active-P...532143445033538[/url] We would like an ICS500...but they aren't many around and it might be a little heavy. Depends on what you can carry I favour the EV 120 type series... or Ramsa but both are passive, IIRC.[/quote] The LD's actives look interesting.. if a speaker has a higher spl db rating and both speakers are the same watts.. would the higher spl db, mean it would be louder or better..

I'm starting my own function band, mainly duo or trio work. I've played in countless function bands for years, but I'm looking at active speakers, as they work better and is less to carry. I already have the ole marshall acoustic amp, which I've used in the past. I was just wondering .. is there an alternative to the standard the mackie srm 350's or the RCF's??