goblin

It's a cracking festival that one! I depped in for a band on Tuesday just gone for the same, 18:30 at the pub then 22:30 down at the club. Had a great day and lots of great music. Just a shame the sound engineer at the Cavern Pub was embarrassingly bad!

I took delivery of a pair of ACS Pro 17s this week, tried them at rehearsal and thought they were great. I've just come back from a fairly loud gig with them and they've blown me away. I get the occasional bit of leakage coming through, but that doesn't bother me and actually shows how well they're working when sealed! Still nice and clear, I can hear everything with ease and if anything it helped with my (poor attempts at) backing vocals as I could hear myself better!

Fair enough they're readily available so something to consider for the future. The plugs are more vital to me (especially after a dickhead sound engineer actually made our keys players ears bleed!). Cheers for the advice

Oooh they look nice. It's my turn to jump in with a question now, which I can't seem to find a definitive answer to. I'm looking for IEMs on a budget, on the basis that A. I don't have much money to spend, and B. I won't use them often, but I've got more dep gigs coming in where they're required (cabless bands, etc) I'm a bit torn between ACS T15s and Shure 215s. I've used the Shures live before, and they seemed very good, but the 'moulded' fit wasn't all that moulded as it's obviously a universal fit, and they did become a tad uncomfortable, but I did like the sound of them. And they're quite cheap second hand. Now I've got a pair of ACS Pro17s on order which should be with me within the coming week, so the obvious choice would be the T15s as I know they fit in the moulds. What I'm wondering, is will any other driver such as the 215 / 315s be insertable into the plugs?

They're not my favourite band, but they're one of the bands I want to see an entire concert of before they die, I saw half of their set at Download a couple of years ago, so seeing them at Glasto this year doesn't bother me, I'll watch half of their set and then I'm sorted

It also means if set lists get edited at the last minute, you don't have to scribble all over them and they still look neat. Another benefit I've found to iRealPro is when the singer turns round just before the start of a song saying "Oh can we do it in *insert key* "

I have mine on stage for Spotify (background music between sets, playlists preset to offline mode), and then I'll flip between Pages with a nice, clear set list on it (sometimes I'll use Setlist Maker), and then iRealPro for chord charts / structures when required.

Last night's gig was a good'un. It was thrown together when the landlord of one of the pubs I play at texted me last week to see if I could muster anything up (I'm between bands at the moment and doing mostly dep work!) - A few phone calls later, I had a band! A singer / guitarist who I've worked with previously and known for years, and then the guitarist and drummer from my previous band, Electric Lounge (who're both really damn good!). Spent the night blagging it, but no issues at all, pub was packed and everyone were on their feet dancing, I had a couple of iffy moments when the singer told me on the spot he wanted to sing something in a different key Anyway, after the gig a guy came up to me, turns out he's an American bassist and his band are over here doing a UK tour, and he had a night off so came along to the gig, and he really liked my playing which was nice. He then went on to say that me, the drummer and guitarist are really tight in together and should get into a full time band together! Well... a bit awkward considering I chose to leave that band! I loved working with them and last night reminded me how much I miss them, but some band politics (not really to do with either of them) led to me choosing to leave before sh*t got nasty with a member

I occasionally DI at uni depending how shagged the bass amp in a rehearsal room is. Works alright with the G&L, but with other passive basses there's a limit of flexibility. I'd suggest the best way to go would be good IEMS, and a Lehle RMI Basswitch DI - I've used one live with Shure in ears, and it sounded great. I just don't like the isolation from the rest of the gig. I'd much prefer a rig every day of the week.

That one's going into my collection of comebacks

I think he's just called it time and wants to go on to pursue other musical ventures. Fair enough to him, his replacement is Keith Carlock, so a very good replacement at least!

Sadly I reckon the jam session is dying. They're all very much becoming open mic, so anyone can perform but it's only really rehearsed stuff nowadays. There's still some jamming happening where you're busking it out with each other and hoping for the best, but that's as far as it goes.

Well, it was released onto iTunes (currently downloading as I type), and listening to it on Spotify. All I can say is, wow! I guess it's just a shame that Simon Phillips and Nathan East will be leaving them

It was a fun gig though

I was on one of many dep jobs last night... and I sang backing vocals. First time I've sang live since 2004... needless to say, I was terrified!

I like having my own rig, but I gigged recently using an RMI Basswitch DI. Straight out into the desk, and then a return for my in ears... It made me wonder, that's for sure!

I'm on my third iPad and they're brilliant. Get a full sized one though, that's why I'm on my third. Went for a mini after my iPad 2 to discover it's too small. I've got a clamp for mine which lets it go on a music stand, and it's great for my charts and such. The only gripe I've had is turning pages every now and again, sometimes it's not as co-operative as I'd like. Set it up with AirTurn and it'll be fantastic though. There are plenty of apps around too such as iRealPro, Songbook, MusicNotes Viewer.

Not going to lie, I've owned 34 and 35 inch scale basses, and I've never had issues going between them, or even really noticed to be honest. The only real difference on the 35 is that the B was tighter and more focused. I wouldn't let the scale bother you too much, and I've got relatively small hands too!

Nope, I know someone who got an early OLP Stingray for £40 today That, and my dad picked up the Wal for £400...

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You can get a lot of bang for your buck at £300 with the right deals. If you want something Jap, check my signature

I really like Peterson combos, not so easy to get hold of nowadays but they sound great. I use my dads a lot, and it sounds great. Punchy, easy to use and I've not yet had a sound I don't like out of it.

You willing to split by any chance? could be tempted by a 5 set.