colleya

I kept getting drawn back to drool over Derek's Stingray 5 stealth on the for sale boards so last weekend (after a couple of beers) I sent him a PM. Now it's mine! It's heavier than my other fiver (a Maruszcyzk with a chambered body) and the neck is significantly chunkier but it's subjectively 'tighter' in all areas, to play, in tone and particularly on the low B. Given that I'm in an 80s covers band I ordered a set of DR neons and, well, look at it! Happy boy. Not sure if the Maruszcyzk is going to go as it does a very different thing, but the ray instantly fit the band sound at rehearsal this week.

I bought Derek's Stingray stealth from him tonight. He was fantastic with communication, made a great brew and was incredibly understanding whilst the world's longest bank transfer went through! Cheers!

Up until a couple of weeks ago I'd have said a mono 'betty'. Still the most comfy strap I've used. However, after the stitching came apart mid gig and I had to bodge repairs I'm back to a good old Levy's wide leather strap.

I bought some RHA over ears from Amazon a few years ago. They have a 3.5mm cable socket so I can swap from long to short cable depending on what I'm using them for. Didn't know OBBM did headphone cable but seeing that he does it's a no brainer!

Hi Tony, I bought six individual LED PAR lights from Amazon for about £25 each. Not the super cheapest on there. Then got two O clamps that screw into the ceiling mount holes on our page tops. Two 1m speaker poles into the O clamps and I can hang two lights off each speaker. The other two lights go on the floor to uplight drums and pull up banners etc.

Just back from the brilliantly named Polished Knob in Todmorden. They've built a stage with a drum riser! Really good gig, including a song where we wore masks of the groom's face for a hen do that came in.

And me, I'd personally like a satin black finish with no grain though. Can't see any 5 string options on the website so I also think it must be a custom order. Would like to know pricing though.

Think we've got very similar if not the same ones Les. They're ok for a colour wash but I wouldn't use them on their own. I've got a couple of more expensive brighter ones that I use for main lighting. You're welcome to pop by to check them out if we're in your neck of the woods - we're at the bowling green in Dec. I use an O clamp with some speaker pole mounted to the ceiling mount screw holes on the top of our PA tops. Then I can just hang the par cans off them.

We've got a pair of the Alto TS312 tops and they're great. Can't compare to the RCFs as I haven't used them but they're about 1/3 of the price each. For our monthly outings at the Dog & Doris they do the job admirably. We had a digital mixer (soundcraft ui12) but went back to an analogue desk. Without a dedicated sound person we find it easier to make minor on the fly adjustments to physical sliders than the on screen interface. Yes it's bigger and we can't save settings but a desk that did both was out of our budget.

Nice. Hope he's recessed the butterfly clips enough so that it stands on edge now. The number of diving saves I've had to make after absent mindedly putting mine down like that......

"You're better than this." We weren't.

Strengths: Reliable, punctual, backing vox, book most gigs but don't get arsey if folk are unavailable (we're a one gig a month band), learn the songs, take feedback about bass parts even if it means altering something I've spent ages getting right, transport/set up PA/lights and do sound, do social media/promo stuff, decent stage presence. Weaknesses: Can be pretty single.minded about song choice, sometimes 'drift' during songs and balls up for no good reason, get carried away and make crap jokes between songs, always trying to spend more cash on perceived better gear for me or on the PA, book gigs as close to my house as possible!

Keep trying to snag a gig there, spoken to Ben many times but just can't get us in the door. Last time I played there was as a 16 year old in the upstairs function room, pretty sure it kicked off then too.... Our favourites are the Bowling Green in Horwich, Steamhouse in Sale (a 1 minute drive home always helps) and the brilliantly named Polished Knob in Todmorden. All 3 are favourites for the same reason - the folk there love a live band and aren't shy to sing & dance along from the start. Makes it so much easier to get into the gig when there's a bit of feedback from the punters.