Dad3353

Here's a clue ... None the wiser..? No, It's not a P-Bass. Here's another clue : the cutting list ... No..? Still stumped..? Read on; I'll explain in the next couple of posts ...

It's a question of context, with the whole band being heard. Our Eldest plays through a Triaxis and G-Force in his rack, Nico, our second guitar has a Vox multi and others, his keys cover the whole sonic gamut of whatever we're playing. We find that a clean bass sits far better in the already crowded 'dirt' spectrum without adding extra 'mush'. I know that it's possible to retain the core bass sound and add all sorts of whatever, but does it actually sound better as a result..? Not for us. Similarly, I keep the same snare for all the set when playing the acoustic kit, but even with the e-kit I much prefer the same 'core' drum sound, whatever the number, and simply dial in a side-stick or splash cymbal if it's really needed. I play differently, which changes the overall effect through dynamics, as does Our Youngest on bass, and that suffices, for us. When we listen back to recordings, either rehearsal or 'live', we're not shaking our heads at all the Fx that are not there. It sounds fine. Sometimes we even recognise what the song was supposed to be..!

Indeed, and more. Heresy, I know, but, if it sounds good, it is good ...

That's the thing, you see. Different with e-drums, nowadays, but how many Drummers will swap out their snare to get 'that' sound that's on the original being covered..? Any of 'em have timpani on hand, or the gong that sounds in the intro..? Are the drums even tuned appropriately for the various songs to be played..? In my experience, drummers tend to play on one kit for the whole evening, whatever the tune 'needs'. For bass it's very similar; one size fits all, if one decides to just get on with it and play, instead of tap-dancing like a guitarist. Yes, we all different, and some are more 'precious' than others, but it makes very little, if any, difference to the evening, in many bands that I've played drums, or bass, in. 'Old school'..? Indeed.

+1 ^^ (...although I'm far from the 'shed-building' class of drummers...). I've not really played my acoustic kit for... well even longer than that... since buying my (inexpensive...) e-kit, which I've fitted out with some extra pads, a laptop and Superior Drummer 3. Total cost..? Less than a set of decent cymbals. I've even bought a second 'kit' (Alesis CompactKit7...) for ad hoc simple jamming at buddy's places or 'garden gigs'. I'd still record with the acoustic set, but doubt I'll be leaving the house with it all, if I can use the e-kit. It makes so much sense, and sounds darned good (through a decent PA, naturally...).

Ha, indeed..! With that mic'ed-up backline I can see the problem..!

If there isn't, maybe there ought to be..!

Nice shirt.

All that would work, but there may be simplifications. I would assume that the drummer has monitors for himself..? Or does he only ever play with headphones..? Sound levels are not an issue for me, so I never play my e-drums with headphones; it's so much better, and more comfortable with a pair of monitors. If he does the same, then I'd ditch the headphones altogether, for jamming, and just play through your amp and his monitors. No need to go stupidly loud; you both have control over the volume in the studio. A feed into the DAW works, of course, so recording is no problem, and playing back through a headphone mixer is fine, too (although he could route the mixed playback through his monitors, too, and listen in comfort...). If there are no monitors, I'd recommend taking the headphone feed from the mini-mixer (no latency, and just simpler...). Again, DAW playback could also be routed into the mixer, and thus into the 'phones. Your diagram would work; I'd do it slightly differently, but the idea is valid.

Good evening, Ross, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Ah, I think I understand the confusion. You mean that the turnover for 2015 was 10m less than that of 2020, yet profit was the same. I read the dates as opposite (it's ambiguous...). OK, thanks; I agree.

Just curious, but why would this not be sustainable..?

Good afternoon, Norman, and welcome back... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

I realise that we're atypical; we use an OBBM signal cable straight into the amp, nothing more. It helps that the amp is a Hiwatt 200w valve head; it does all we want (clean headroom to the sky...). No 'dirt' here, thank you very much.

That lot draws more than 2500w..? Something needs checking, I'd say. In our practise room, with one ring of sockets from standard (in France...) 16A circuit, we have a Hiwatt 200w valve amp, Laney 50w valve combo, Mesa Simul-class A 2x90 valve amp (and Fx rack...), a Crown 3000w PA head (plus mixer...) and my e-drums (with laptop, mixer, powered monitors etc...). Oh, yes, and a few keys/synths and their laptop and Fx etc. No surprise; it's never shown any sign of tripping, and nor it should. It may get loud, on occasion, too. Yes, we could switch it all on at once, but I don't see why we would. We have to wait for the bottles to warm up, anyway.

It's not in its saddle groove.

Fixed.

Would that have been the 'documentary' film from Jean-Luc Godard, called 'Sympathy For the Devil', or 'One+One'..? Quite an eye-opener, I found; I don't heartily recommend it, as it's rotten, and wouldn't sit through it again, but it does serve to shed some dim light on the shenanigans of the time. Be warned, however : it's Jean-Luc Godard, not Stephen Spielberg. There's very little (that's to say no...) action. Have a pillow on hand.

Good afternoon, Martin, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

He would be, if six were nine.

No worries reading that, as it's a closely-guarded Telegraph secret that they'll share with me only for a small contribution or inscription on a mail-shot list. No, I'll just have to remain ignorant, I'm afraid. At least I'm not worried by it; should I be..?

To be fair, it should perhaps be stated that an adequate PA is needed for these to do the job, most notably a monitor mixer with enough channels for all EIM uses to choose what they hear. That's not always in the budget of 'Dog'n'Duck' players. Not to say EIM is not a Good Idea, but it's not simply a matter of buying a set and selling one's rig.

Time for an anecdote..? I've posted this before, but this seems as pertinent a spot as any for a repeat. Sitting comfortably..? OK, then... I moved to France in '75, and was taken on by a touring variety band, playing drums (obviously; I'm a drummer...). As the name implies, a variety band has a varied repertoire, with several sequences for, at the time, the local village fête/dance, in the village hall or a big marquee. A lot of French 'musette' (waltzes, pasodobles, javas, tangos and more...), some French 'Top 10' hits, and the necessary 'rock' segues for the young'uns. In there was a Stones sequence, with the ever-popular 'Satisfaction'. My first rehearsals with the full band were 'interesting', as I had little experience of the more typically French stuff (and some of it is not as evident as one might think...), but I thought I'd be OK with the Brit-Pop stuff. Off we go, then, rehearing 'Satisfaction'. We didn't get far before the band leader (BL...) stopped us all and asked what I was playing (in rather more 'fruity' terms than that...). 'Satisfaction..!' I replied. 'That's not what the Stones play' he barked (but in French, obviously...) 'Play what's on the disk..!' Hmm... We go on to other numbers; I decide I need to listen again to this, as I had never really studied it. It was just a tune on the radio from 'back then', to me. No interwebs, back then, so I bought the single from the record shop (you remember record shops..?) and listened to it, especially the drumming. Try it yourselves, if you want to understand the rest of the tale. Next rehearsal, then, and time for the Rock'n'roll segue, with Satisfaction. Count in, start drumming. We didn't get far before the BL stopped us all and asked what I was playing... 'Satisfaction..!' I replied, 'as on the disk..!' Incredulous, the BL had to listen to the disk himself. Once finished, we carried on with the segue, but the BL wanted me to play my version, rather than the 'hands'n'feet' 'chunk chunk chunk' that Mr Watts plays from start to finish. It swings like a cement mixer (the 'light relief' from the 'cha cha cha' on occasion is the tambourine offered by the singer...); the drums continue relentlessly with all the subtlety of a guillotine execution. Fine, maybe, on the popular hit song of the day, but absolutely useless for inciting kids to dance rock'n'roll..! I was henceforth free to 'embellish' similar numbers, 'Jumping Jack Flash' and others, with suitable 'pêches' on the cymbals, or accented beats. Moral of the story..? Mr Watts is, indeed a fine drummer, but a lot of the early stuff was, and is, below simplistic, and wouldn't pass muster these days, played by anyone, except for the Stones mystic. I doubt he would claim that particular song to be his finest , and would hope he'd do something quite different if it was to be done again. OK, you may stretch your legs now, and put the kettle on. Thanks for listening.