dmccombe7

Just think of every gig as an adventure where the unexpected can happen at any time. Sometimes the challenges you overcome can make the night a better experience when you know you've won over adversity. Once i start playing i generally enjoy it no matter what i've had to put up with to get on stage. I would have to say that the other singer being a TW*T would be a punch in the head response from me. I wont accept that from another musician who should know better. PS I'm not a violent disposition, i just have respect for others. I guess i just like playing in bands so its worth it for me. Obviously its not your fav part of being in a band. That's fine we all have different views on being in bands and we all share our experiences and thoughts on it. There's no right or wrong attitude to it. Hope it picks up for you and better more organised gigs appear that you can turn up, plug in and just enjoy. Its why i enjoy the punk band so much, its just so simple compared to the Glam band with costumes and full PA's etc. Punk band turns up with a vocal PA and backline with a few lights. Job done and paid at the end too. Dave

A return gig at The Riverside in Dumfries for the Punk band last night. Always a great audience in this venue. They just get really into their punk music. Lots of very positive comments at the end. One guy said he couldn't understand how i played punk fingerstyle. He also said he loved my composure on stage and likened me to Jimmy Page but i think he may have meant JPJ instead. Said i made it look easy. The blisters on my plucking fingers tell me otherwise . Another guy that just happened to be passing and heard the band came in and after 2-3 songs called his mates to come down, "you got to hear these guys, f****g amazing". He told the guitarist's wife at the interval about it. His 3 mates arrived before the 2nd set and loved it. I think we had a captive audience thrown in as everyone was wearing summer wear with girls in summer dresses and it came down in torrents of rain half way thru 2nd set. They had nowhere to go Lots of vids but all direct to FB and difficult to copy over i'm afraid. An hours drive home and a bit of coffee and toast before bed. All in all a great wee night

I was trying to calm his and every other bands fears. Dave

Ouch !!! that aint good plus you might have managed another gig on that night. Bad news all round no matter how you look at it. Perhaps the singer should cover everyone's costs . I jest of course......................or do i On the plus side the singer wont make that mistake again. Dave

I've been watching that and its a great price for a complete Mesa lightweight bass rig that will cover everything you'll ever need. GLWTS Dave

Apologies for the laugh emoji but the fact you were writing it during the break just made me laugh a bit. Many of us have been in that position. I certainly have but the 6 people there all bought the band tape (it was a long time ago) Dave

Late 70's were just a magical time IMO. So many great local bands / talent about. Almost every pub had live music of some kind and you could go between venues in Glasgow listening to all the different bands. Great times. Dave

You might get them 2nd hand but Mesa not delivering outside US until maybe 2023 depending on several factors including parts supplies, shipping costs etc. They are having a hard time same as so many of the big suppliers. No-ones fault its just the way things after the pandemic. I am running a Mesa 210/115 rig with my Mpulse600 and its so sweet. I regularly get comments made about the bass tone. Sound guys love my tone and tend to run their desk flat on my channel. Even when no PA support its so nice. Best rig i've ever had. Also built like the proferbial tanks you expect from Mesa. I just love their gear. BUT ....... cant get new kit so i'm moving amps to Handbox hopefully in next few weeks all going well. Good luck with the search. Dave

The EQ comment i made was only my own opinions on why they might have made the change from B, T and Contour to B, M, T. For me its a bit different from the Stingray thing where its basically B, T or B, M, T with no contour control involved. Is the contour not a Mid control in effect as it cuts the mid frequencies and in some cases boosts Bass and treble a touch. ? Not sure on that to be honest and its all just me firing out my own thoughts. Dave

Is the TT and MarloweDK bodies the same. I could compare my Marlowe against my Geddy Jazz but for me they feel much the same size and weight when playing them. Dave

HB lost a few electronics engineers thru Covid. I'm not sure if that was down to them finding other jobs or worse case not making it thru. It could well be they had to find a new electronics supplier if it was out-sourced. I dont know the full set up how they work. Having a pre-amo with a more traditional EQ set up ie B, M, T makes it easier for most people to understand. Perhaps the changes were down to available electronics parts. Natural progression ? I'm just throwing in suggestions and have no real idea why the changes have been made. Dave

Yep i'm hoping my name is on the first builds for the WB-100. Obviously a lot of things going on with HB at moment and a little patience i'm happy to accept. So looking forward to getting my hands on one. Dave

You are more than welcome. Its what we do on BC. Good luck with the new project and remember and share some pics of the build. Dave

On the E string From mid of 12th fret :- to centre of pole on P pick up is 315mm to centre of pole on MM is 365mm and 389mm Remember the VM4 P is a reversed precision. with the E & A nearer the bridge. Hope that helps. Dave

My Mesa cabs are circa 20Kg each. The Handbox WB-100 all tube amp i'm waiting on is around 15Kg so all reasonably lightweight compared to the behemoth monsters of 70's. My Mesa Mpulse in its rack is 24Kg but the Handbox comes in its own case at 15Kg. They also do tube pe-amp / Solid state power section hybrid versions at a very reasonable weight a lot less than their all tube WB-100. The Mesa Subway series are pretty impressive too. Some of the lightweight hybrid GK amps look good. Did look at a 2nd hand Fusion 550 that fascinated me being one set of controls but twin channel. When you select the other channel the controls move to their preset values. All quite reliable gear too. Dave

I'm finding this too. Now that i'm retired the additional income is coming in very handy especially with rising inflation and fuel cost over here. Now circa £2 / litre of fuel. That's £9 / gallon. We are going to increase our fee from start of 2023. Cant change already confirmed gigs. Dave

Nice one mate. Loving those trousers. Very Alice Cooper from their hey days of course. Dave

I'd have to say NO to that venues request to store gear in their premises at my risk. Too much money in our gear to leave lying around. I dont even leave the car unattended when loading or unloading. My wife stays with the car at all times. If she's not with me the band members take turns staying with the vehicles while others load / unload etc. Dave

With age comes repetition i'm afraid. Big difference for me is the cabs are a lot lighter. Dave

That was nice Rob. Dave

Ouch !, at least you got paid in full for half a gig. It takes a lot to keep you motivated and "into the gig" when the audience is a handful. I tend to lose a bit of drive when that happens until i get halfway thru the first set and think " ach just enjoy it, a free rehearsal" mode kicks in. Dave

In 2 different bands. One earns good money but up till now haven't gigged a lot due to a combination of things including Covid. Main one being guitarist works as a carer every 2nd weekend so fitting in rehearsals was difficult to even get onto gigging. We started 4 yrs ago but he worked a standard 9-5 job in the beginning. I found that a bit frustrating as i was retired i had plenty of free time but fully understood his circumstances. He has recently decided its time to quit and let the band move on. New guitarists are geared up for auditions this week coming. The other band is a punk band that gigs a lot in comparison 2-4 times a month. No hassles with them, all easy going and no ego involved. Its just a nice band to play in but we would need to play 3-4 gigs to earn same money as one gig with the 70's Glam covers band. I've never played as much in a band before in 40yrs of playing. Altho i dont specifically need the money i am finding that i dont want to play gigs these days where i just "break even". I guess that's more money driven than anything else which is a slight change for me. The more i play the more profit i want to see. Maybe its because i'm working more. Thoroughly enjoying it all at the moment. Think the unloading and loading at gigs is my pet hate especially with the Glam band as they are usually bigger venues and require full PA with van hire required for most. I'm the designated driver and have the added pain of picking up and returning the van. That really can be a pain the day after a late night when it has to be returned for 9am the following morning. DA

Excellent stuff. Just looking at Dean Town by Vulfpeck and its pretty accurate to me. Nice work indeed. Dave