dmccombe7

Shops don't have a great selection of gear up here. I was looking to trial the new Mesa Subway range but no-one had the full rigs unless i paid a hefty deposit to get them in. Shops in Glasgow are very limited in amp depts. I tend to listen to many YT vids or reviews and also write up reviews and ask people what they think. I've had a lot of advice and help from fellow BCers. Its a bit more difficult with a bass as they are more a personal thing than an amp. For me i very rarely get to try gear before buying. Dave

Only issue with backing tracks is i've found that the track is sometimes far too loud and drowns out the bass itself. Pretty sure you will master that no probs tho. Altho the bass playing isn't really important on an amp or even a bass review i quite like the clips where the intro is the bass player showing some nice moves on the bass and then goes into the review. I find that gives me an idea of the guys ability and provides me with the confidence that he knows his way around gear and hopefully knows what he's talking about. Sometimes its good to ask your audience what they like. Looks like you got some very positive feedback and i certainly appreciate what you do for us. Hope all is well soon and you get to enjoy Xmas without worry. All the best Dave

I quite enjoy this guys clips. Not sure i could play it all but i could manage most of it with a little practice Dave

Would think a good quality looper would be fine. Many pros use them on their demos. Guys like Fredrico Malaman use them to give a backing track to solo over. No idea what type he uses. Michael Manring too. When you hear the original riff against the looped riff it sounds pretty much same to me with headphones on. Dave

Yep i could see me going to that gig whoever the band might have been

I'd go with approx 10-15 mins. Should be long enough to get the demo across. Short bass run done as fingerstyle, pick, chords and slap with the main features of the amp being shown. For me personally i would be happy just to hear fingerstyle and pick as those styles are what majority of us use most of the time. Chords and slap are usually styles that we add to embelish the song and show off a little but most of us have a basic style of finger or pick There will always be the exception to the rule. Dave

Yep that's a good idea. Liking that altho it could prove to be a little boring but it would mean the review could be shorter and straight to the main item. Yep i'd like to see that even just out of curiosity. Dave

Yep i do that plus i add in things i want to get other people so i don't forget.

Like the idea of the white cans at stage front and colours from sides. Makes a lot of sense. Dave

Our band mentioned earlier called The Monday Club folded so all clear there. 👍 Dave

The number of times i had to spread the load across different sockets to get the max load from the 35A fuse obviously leaving room for anything else on the same circuit. Typically 4 spots each side stage front and some others that could only be used when minimum spots were in use. Oh those heady days were such fun. Dave

Band i was in last year was called The Monday Club. Reason :- we didn't have a name picked out yet and guitarist wanted us to play his birthday. When he booked the venue they needed a band name and all he could think off was The Monday Club because we rehearsed on a Monday night. Dave

I have a full LED DMX system that i put together in 2012. The desk is small and compact i think its a Showtec and not too expensive either. The fades are pretty good as far as i can remember. From full power down to a very faint light almost OFF. You can have them fade change between colours at anything from fast to very very slow. They were cheap cans to buy at the time mostly 2nd hand but in great condition. Biggest issue with them is programming the desk and trying to get your head round that DMX thing. The other downside is that the older LED lamps weren't the brightest cans and i think i might invest in some modern cans which are far brighter. Some rectangular flood boards would be worthwhile too. I also have the lazer, projectors and DMX smoke machines that can be controlled either from the desk or by a seperate remote control unit. One is front pushing and the other behind the drummer pushes straight up to ceiling and fills stage and then falls downwards onto stage. Because the LED lamps are lightweight the stands don't require a large footprint and i can usually stand them behind or rear corner of any PA we use. I have the goalposts at the back where rear lights face down and forward mainly on to the drums. The lazer and 2off projectors are hung from this too. Another 2 projectors at side of drums on floor facing forward and upwards give nice beams thru the fog. Total maximum power used with everything on is 7A and that includes the smoke machines when heaters are on. Means i can operate the full thing from one socket. LED's have some advantages too. I have used the old fashioned systems in 80's of PAR56 type cans and Halogen backlighting with small pencil spots shining thru smoke from smoke machines. Heavy to carry about and hang and very warm to play under plus always the power issue and limiting depending on the gig. A lot of gigs didn't have a 440V supply either. Only the bigger venues and they had their own lighting rigs. Dave

My Mesa rig is only putting out max 300W because i'm using the 8 ohm cab but its still never more than 10 o'clock on master volume. It gives me a great tone even at lower volumes however if i do crank it up i get an even better sound from the cab which i think is 600W. I do wear ear protection if rehearsals or gigs get beyond a talkng level on stage. We're not really a loud band on stage. Its just that the bigger cab or should i say deeper cab (physically) seems to give me a fuller sound than the smaller cabs i've used and i feel better and in my mind i play better because i'm confident of my overall sound. It does go thru FOH at the end of the day but i like to hear a good on stage sound too. I've not always worn ear protection and i think i have a little tinitus but not enough to bother me. Not sure if that's with playing in bands in last few yrs, motorbikes (now wear ear protection on bike too) or if it was something that's happened from my work as an engineer in gas plants. No matter what, it was caused by me not wearing protection when i should have been so everyone out there should really be wearing ear protection. Dave

Mate just emailed this clip. I was fair impressed and entertained all the way thru. What do you think ?

NBD is compulsary. Nice one. I might actually buy myself another Ric bass. Last one i had was in 80's. Probably a nice blue one. Enjoy and please share your thoughts and delights. Dave

New stage gear for Glam Rock band i'm in. Made by same guy who made Glitter Bands gear. 🎅 And we got a great price on our gear cause the drummer knew him from his days in Glitter Band in 90's. I'm chuffed. Dave

In late 70's / early 80's i used to get a mag called International Musician if i remember correctly with the hope of an interesting bass section. Then moved on to BGM but stopped buying it as i thought it was becoming a bit boring. I'd still buy if looking to buy new gear as the reviews could be quite helpful. Looking forward to the revised version.

It would help if using a Jazz style bass with twin volumes as depending on settings it changes the tone from the bass quite a bit. I think it would be quite a good thing. Also different GAIN settings on an amp would affect the amp tone. Dave

That would be in an ideal world but its never practical. Not many shops will lend you amps to try at gigs unless you're famous. I'm not, so there's a lot of trial and error for me. Dave

Think there's a shop does good revues. 2 guys usually one playing while the other adjusts the amp settings. Might be Andertons ?

Also use a standard bass to demo an amp. Something that most of us can relate to and will know the tone. And tell us what the bass settings are too. If a Jazz bass where are the pick up controls set and where is the tone set. Likewise a P bass or probably just need to know the tone setting on a P bass. Dave

Yep something that's more about the amp than the technical ability of the bass player. As you said with fingerstyle, pick, slap with some chord work thrown in. Each control should be demonstrated fully. Takes a bit of digging to find the good ones tho. Sometimes just a repetative bass line being played thru the demo is the way to go. Dave

Spinal Tap for me Bluewine. Another great band movie was Still Crazy with Jimmy Nail, Billy Connolly, Bill Nighy and Timothy Spall. Dave