casapete

Whilst small cars are great, do bear in mind that the police don’t take kindly to obviously overloaded vehicles, and also the dangers of having a stuff with all that gear stacked up behind you. Also in the event of a crash, your insurance company may try to wriggle out of paying up if the vehicle is badly overloaded or not being used for the purpose it states on the policy. Be careful out there. 😊

Another +1 for a small / medium estate. I can never understand why musicians buy a hatch instead of an estate. Estates are so much easier to load, with no boot lid lip to lift gear over, and as long as they have a built in load cover are no less safe for leaving stuff in for short periods. They are rarely much longer than their hatchback counterparts, and (mostly) have the added advantage of a flat load area when the rear seats are down, making a much more useable way of carrying lots of stuff. I got a double wardrobe in my Astra estate on Monday! Only downside is that your mates will be asking you to move their stuff more often. 🤨

I was working in a record shop in 76, and someone was always playing the Frampton album. A double too IIRC, I got so fed up of hearing it all the time. Although when ‘Rumours’ came out and the same scenario happened, I realised it wasn’t actually that bad.....😆

Rolling Stones - Get yer ya-ya’s out BB King - Live at the Regal Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes - Live at the Bottom Line Stevie Wonder - Natural Wonder Bruce Springsteen &The E Street Band - Live 1975-1985 The Band - The Last Waltz Lou Reed - Rock n Roll Animal Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band - Last Date Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul - Soulfire Live

I've always liked my Washburn AB20 single cut, not for everyone though.

Surely not this beauty? Triple whammy too - single cut / sunburst / tort!!

Am amazed - usually by this time in topics like these somebody will have posted a picture of a Danelectro Longhorn, and I’ll be trying to convince them what things of beauty they really are....😄

Whilst the Helix route looks good, aren’t we overlooking the fact that he’s a guitarist and with all those further options available to him it will only make things worse? 😆

Absolutely. Top player and a fine fella too. I was lucky enough to meet him a few years back now when my band was playing in Richmond - he and some other guys from Jeff Lynne’s ELO came to see us. Fortunately I didn’t know they were in until they stayed for a chat afterwards or else I’d have been extremely nervous. (Got a pic somewhere, will add if I can find it).

Maybe ask him if the famous bands he's seen do that?

Nothing much to add to this that hasn't already been said. I think some guitarists have overly complicated set ups with way too many knobs to faff with in the belief that 'their tone' is in there somewhere. A simple multi effects could well be the answer, but as mentioned above just get him to have access to 2 or 3 core sounds that are easily accessible and try only using them. Also try to get him to use the volume and tone controls on the guitar more - a lot of younger guitards seem to think that they should all be untouched, set to max and then operate everything from their pedals and amp. Young kids today etc etc....

Me too, although just lately I’m getting a bit fed up with Radio 2’s nightime output.

Two midweek (instead of weekend) gigs this week which makes a change. First Reading and then Folkestone, both great gigs and well worth the trek from Yorkshire. Again, good to see audiences prepared to come and and support bands, certainly makes me optimistic for the future.

Yeh, me too! Had aching calves as well, especially on sloping stages. Amazing how soon your body gets used to doing less than usual, especially as you get older.

Our acoustic gig at my village local went well - people doing the conga on the village green! Prosecco is a wonderful thing. We did the first of two nights at The Core Theatre in Solihull last night, virtually capacity audience who were well up for it. Overnight hotel stay over, so my first night not sleeping in my own bed for nearly 18 months, bit strange! Looking forward to tonight’s gig, with the bonus of not having to set all the gear up too! It’s now starting to feel more normal for me to do these gigs now after an initial uncertainty. Also great to see audiences are getting more confident in coming to see live music again, with theatres doing their utmost to make things as safe as possible.

I didn’t play much during lockdown(s) and worried about starting up again so rehearsed gradually more and more before my first gigs back. What I did overlook was my vocals, and subsequently suffered a little during the first few gigs. but this settled down again to my usual average warbling! Would advise anyone who sings to do some practice at stage volume to build your voice back.

With older Trace stuff being fairly bomb proof, I’d say you’ve been unlucky. My old TE AH500 would have survived a nuclear attack. Same as the older Ashdown stuff, reliable as anything. I’ve always looked after stuff - never left in a car or damp space, serviced annually to pre-empt any possible problems and never abused onstage by being overdriven or hooked up to dodgy cabs. Maybe your Trace had a hard life before you got it? Can’t comment on the Orange though...😉

My acoustic duo played our monthly residency last night at a local pub. Lots of people in which was good to see, and all remaining seated. We make it mainly requests so a good mix of stuff, from Sinatra to Ezra! After 3x40 min sets I was quite knackered though, and my voice today is a bit affected. Still, great night - it’s my favourite gig and always look forward to it. Doing my local village pub (100 yds away) tomorrow night, so am hoping that goes well - landlord hasn’t seen us before so would be nice to get some more gigs there as I could walk to the gig!

Our 4th outing since lockdown, requiring a mammoth journey to Essex and back from East Yorkshire. Total journey around 550 miles, got in at 3.30am. Still, a worthwhile trip with around 700 punters in the theatre. Staff at the gig were excellent - we had to show proof of negative lateral flow tests and wear masks backstage etc, all with no problems and I felt quite safe onstage. We played well (apart from one mishap in the 2nd set which we recovered from quickly!) and it felt like things just may be starting to return to some sort of normality at last. (Icing on the cake was a great pizza joint having just opened 20 yds from the stage door!)

I was in a band once with someone who insisted that his Marshall 100 head needed to be at a certain level to get ‘his sound’. Actually he was right - master volumes on Marshall heads have never (IMHO) been that successful in achieving this, as you really need to get the power amp valves working. Just winding up the preamp(s) is not enough for getting ‘that’ sound, which is why the very sensible move to smaller valve amps/combos has enabled this to happen but at more sensible levels. 100 watts of full on Marshall is too much for many gigs let alone a rehearsal room. I have an original Marshall 1974 model 18 watt combo which is perfect for rock and blues stuff - when fully opened up it is one of the best guitars sounds I’ve encountered, as well as loud enough to be used unmiked.

I’ve watched the first episode too, and thought it was brilliant. Going to do some more over the BH weekend.

Anyone who uses a 100 watt Marshall guitar valve head turned up loud for rehearsals is never going to ‘get it’, so think you’ve made the right call. You would always be fighting them for sonic space and your hearing would possibly be at risk too. With all the great number of small valve combos available these days, there’s just no excuse.

I’d go chrome - look better but most importantly easier to use. Strat style knobs only look right on Strats. Remember those Squier Precision’s that had them fitted as standard? I rest my case.😄