Lozz196

What do you use for polishing the frets, Skank? Something I`ve never done, and have to admit not really needed to yet, but like to be prepared.

You`d have loved one guy that was doing the sound at one of the gigs we did then Ian. For the main band, whenever they asked if he could turn something up/put something in the monitors the response was a dead-pan: No. Have to admit they sounded great out front, but how one of them didn`t take their guitar to the top of his head I don`t know.

All good comments so far, for me using a DI/preamp pedal means that if I need to make any onstage adjustments - which if using an unfamiliar rig is possible and invariably means lowering the volume - I can without affecting the sound out front. Most sound men seem to like working with a Sansamp as well, which helps. Some sound men we’ve worked with have wanted a really low onstage volume yet having heard the sound of the other bands it’s been clear they know exactly what they’re doing. At this point being well rehearsed comes into its own, to me bands that aren’t well rehearsed can suffer but if you know what you’re doing this is easy to overcome.

Used to do Muscle Museum in a previous band. Great song and great fun to play bass line.

Whenever I change strings I tighten all screws/nuts on bridge, tuners, neck, strap buttons. I also clean the fretboard making sure there’s no gunk left on it.

Nice guitar, in the classic 335 colour, congrats.

Or Marshall DSL5 - I`ve been very impressed by it, even with the power-shift down to 0.5watts it`s plenty loud enough for home use, to the point where I`m not able to have it on full volume. Not bad for half a watt!

Whilst I like Markbass gear, if you want to buy new there are more economical options around. Ashdown RM and Fender Rumble would be my choice, both lightweight enough to not be an issue, both plenty powerful enough and both have a great sound. Have to say though if you`re set on Markbass, as per the post above, landing a CMD121 for £400 would be a result and is possible.

Now that looks like a wicked bass.

I`d be willing to bet that the other guys eq was less low-end heavy. It`s much easier to hear a bass with a lot of mids going on, and from a distance that always seems to translate to a really full sound anyway. So I reckon he was just in the frequencies that are easier to hear hence him seeming to win the battle.

In my old band, which had two bassists, if we were playing small venues that had FOH, as there were eight of us in total I used to DI straight to FOH from my Zoom B3 and just request some bass in the monitors. Given that that`s really not my preference as I`m old-school I have to say I was surprised with how well it actually went. Of course you`re at the mercy of the sound-man so a small combo for stage monitoring as a way of making sure you can hear yourself is a great idea.

Get him to buy Fender Champ or something similar from Marshall, really crank it and it will sing at probably a decent (as in not overbearing) volume. Then mic that up and you’ll sound immense. Re the bass, well the B3n has lots of amps/sims so all you need is a straightforward DI box (or maybe a second hand B3 maybe).

I did an online quote with New Moon yesterday and they came out £40 cheaper than my existing policy, and that’s without the 10% Basschat discount. Rather chuffed with that.

For the North West try The Star & Garter in Manchester. Excellent venue, and have great gigs, plus those gigs are very well run & organised.

Very good point Steve, our band is a registered business so it would be difficult to try and say we weren’t earning in any way at all. Hence why I have specific musical equipment insurance.

Well the only reason I’m sure about that is the number of gigs we did when starting out - our gig-getter is somewhat enthusiastic so I’m sure there would have been more requests than acceptances. I do understand what you mean, we’ve been on 8 band bills in a venue with only one room to store gear, but if a nightmare to say the least . As a regular gigging band we won’t let bands use amp heads or drum breakables but it’s usually possible to arrange gear shares if the promoter is up to scratch - and luckily many that we deal with are. But not all!

I’m sure the promoters who agreed to it wouldn’t have if the logistics of the venues couldn’t accommodate an extra band. As I’m equally sure that for every gig which we asked this and got on the bill there were probably 10 where we didn’t due to it not being logistically possible. As a band that now headlines (not every gig though ) we’re more than happy to give opportunities to bands just starting out and to not forget we all had to start somewhere.

When we started out - punk/Oi band - we realised that as unknowns we’d have to work at it, take first on the bill gigs for no money just to get the name out there. We literally contacted the venues/promoters who already had say 3 bands on and said we’d do a 30min set as first band on and for no money. Then turned up early, played and were professional, set up/broke down gear quickly, hung around for the whole event. You might have to do 6 months to a year of this but be patient. The other thing is go to gigs of the type of music, speak to the sound man, promoters, owners etc. Sometimes the personal touch works as face to face they can tell that they’re dealing with someone who they feel they can work with.

Quite, it’s really a different world the way we get treated overseas, proper meals, drinks all night be they alcohol, soft drinks or tea/coffee, plus thank yous at the end of the night for playing. And many promoters also book accommodation for the bands as well.

If you have an interest in WW2 Colditz Castle isn’t far from Leipzig. We went there a few years back when we played in Halle and I was so chuffed that my hobby enabled me to visit I place I’d read about for years.

I have five!

For gigs where there are a few bands gear all in a tiny space, or for packed cars with a lot of gear it has to be a Hiscox case. In those situations it`s inevitable that the case will be knocked over or will have something fall on it/slide onto it. Be prepared and go Hiscox, not particularly heavy, nor particularly bulky but incredibly strong and offer great protection.

I’ve had the old Duff sig, and the Aerodyne without the fret markers. I found the Duff neck to be quite deep whereas the Aerodyne more like a regular Jazz. Sound-wise I found the J bridge pickup on the Aerodyne quite weak so installed a Hot Stack - the same J pickup as in the Duff, made a lot of difference. The Duff with the TBX had slightly more options tonally. The Aerodyne was a lot lighter so that’s a consideration. My only real reserve towards the Aerodyne are no fret markers on the fret board itself, not good on dimly or overly lit stages. Both good basses, would like to check the new Duff sig out.