okusman

Hi folks... Couldn't see where else to post this.... My band The Bridge www.4thebridge.com are playing at a pub in Cheltenham on Friday 10th June. Our support has let us down and we'd like another one! So...Are you a covers band in the Cheltenham Area who would like a gig. Play for an hour? Use our PA & backline with our sound engineer, (he's a real one!) There is no money in it for us...so I'm afraid there would be no pennies available.. Anybody fancy it.... Mark

The answer... Eden 210XST...frequency response from 30Hz, 500W and excellent quality A sound engineer working on a gig for me called mine EVIL because of its capability... Food for thought.

I do hope it's nice...My band is playing in Espoo in July! Looking for gear to hire if you know anywhere good? Mark

Have a decent website, that is updated and relevant. Think about what you can do differently as a band from every other function band out there. There are hundreds and hundreds of bands playing a very similar body of music in a very similar way. My band has decent musicians, but realise that most clients remember the fact we were smiling and dancing and putting on a great visual performance. They won't remember the set list; but they do remember the interaction that they had with you. The whole band BOTHER when they met the client. Everyone is gushing and polite and nothing is too much hassle. You might not mean it, but it means recommendations. Great kit is important. We didn't take a penny for years, because we've spent a fortune on having a great quality PA etc. We always have a professional Sound Engineer mxing the band. How the hell can the bass player be expected to mix a sound whilst playing. We spend money promoting ourselves on Gig-Guide and it pays us back 1000-fold! Spend money on proper cards/promo material. Play for nothing now and again... We played at the local pub, promoted it via friends and the internet and got two weddings out of it.... We turn down far more than we play. 11 years together, and each year is better and better....We are flying to Finland to play in July! Oh...and the main thing. Enjoy the music, the friendship, each others company or it will die very quickly. Best wishes

I was optomistic....Nice village location in the Cotswolds. 200 guests for the evening 'do'..... HOWEVER.... Forced to get there VERY early to have background music while they ate....and the groom forgot his Ipod! "Don't worry...we've got an Ipod with appropriate music on..." Groom then realised the "First Dance" was on his Ipod! "Don't worry...we'll download it from ITunes and sort it out for you" Set up gig and retired to the pub across the road....Hmmmm....very scary locals who wanted to fight the band....errr...couple of pints and get the hell out... Back to gig, and concerned by the number of tatooed/bleached haired female guests assembled... First set great...went down a storm...retire outside with a plate of food... Joined by Trace & San from the Fat Sl*gs cartoon strip who proceed to eat MY food and belch and hiccup.....I wanna go home. Payment received..redouble efforts for the second set. Going well...but everyone is blind drunk.... Bride and groom leaving now....The whole audience disappear....we're playing to the bar staff.... Knock it on the head and get the hell out of it! Packed up and on the M5 in less than an hour. Who'd play in a band ehh! My highlight of the evening was the drummer inserting Sherbet Lemons up his nose...and them getting stuck...FACEBOOK seemed the obvious place for the picture. What about you lot?

Wedding Reception in the Cotswolds

First Bass Owned: Columbus Precision 'Go To' Bass: JoBo5 'Your' Bass: JoBo5

I know it's in the fingers etc...blah blah blah.....but what's his set up?

A 'still hunting for a friendly Finn' type bump... There must be a Helsinki low-ender on here somewhere...(I tried the one listed earlier, but to no avail!) Okusman

OOOOOPS [attachment=78130:lakland_008.jpg] [attachment=78129:lakland_002.jpg]

I tried both when I finally bought my JO5. It was down to styling for me too ......and I've gone mad with an Audere Preamp and Bartolinis since then. It's a great 5...I think I am the only man in Cheltenham that's got one!

A nice Finnish-finding bump....

I know it's a slightly left-field topic, but I really need to make contact with a Helsinki based bass player... Any suggestions gratefully accepted. Mark

The answer is to spend £100+ and employ an experienced professional sound engineer to come along to your next gig. Let him listen to your soundcheck, let him listen to the gig and then let him tell you what to do. It might be a mix issue, it might be a PA issue, it might be the best you're gonna achieve with the gear you've got. My band ALWAYS play with a professional engineer, (not a mate who once mixed a couple of gigs). Yes you're gonna pay money for the privelege, but you'll sound far far better and get better gigs as a result.

The band I play in, plays about 30 gigs a year. We very rarely rehearse at volume with all the right kit, which means we have to work very hard when we play. The biggest reason why we sound good is because we LISTEN to each other. You've gotta switch on to your own playing, and I assume that we are not playing gigs with 100s of bum notes, but more importantly does your contribution marry up with the rest of the band. The best gigs are, more often than not, after we've not played together for a few weeks, because we aren't complacent. I've played in the same band for 11 years and I know EXACTLY what the rest of the boys do, are likely do, and what their tricks are. Result..I don't get caught out.. LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN. Only bass players are listening out for what your doing...everyone else in the audience has come to listen to the band.

My band, [i][b]The Bridge[/b][/i] are playing a couple of gigs in Newcastle on the following dates: Friday 4th February @ Flynn's Bar, Quayside, Newcastle. 9pm til late. Saturday 5th February @ Lineker's, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle. 9pm til very late. A packet of pork scratchings to any BassChat members who siddles up to me and says..."We're my Porkies mate!" Cheers Mark

Aluminium Hartke Cabs to my ears have a very bright sound. Too bright? Also think they have a 80s mid scoop built into their sound. Not 15s because I think that modern 12s are capable of shifting the air and creating the depth that a traditional 15 did...oh and they're gonna be bigger..

Gentleman: Scenario: 4/5 string player in covers/function band, using Fender Jazz and Lakland basses. Currently using Eden Metro Combo and 2x10XST. Great amp & cab, but is there a lighter amp & speaker combination that will give me... A completely flat tone, no scoops, bumps, colouration or accents. At least 500 watts. Really 500 watts...and yes I know that both the speakers and the amp must be up to scratch. Quality XLR DI Don't need/want booming bottom end.... 2x10s or 2 12s..don't mind No need for significant eq functions. 0% need for any grind/grit...although a warming tube is not a problem! Robust to be used on the road. I really like my Eden gear. It's very very well made. It's a pro piece of kit, but I'm not convinced that after 3 years of service it's doing my style of "mids-heavy overplaying" any favours. I think... SWR would give me much the same. EBS is too gritty Hartke is too brittle TC is aimed at a rockier sound Gallien & Genz equally And I don't want MarkBass...because I'm called Mark! £1750 is the max budget, and I'm happy to consider 2nd hand.