Ed_S

Just done 3 evenings on the bounce, which is quite different for me. Yesterday with my usual melodic metal band, Monday with the slightly more symphonic metal band I've been depping for the last year - but have very recently joined as a permanent member following the eventual departure of their existing bassist, and Sunday with a pub lesser-spotted-covers outfit involving the drummer from the former-dep band. The term 'my band' needs some clarification going forward as there are now three of them, but I'll go with it for now. My band hasn't had a full meet since mid-September due to various work and family bits, so it was nice to get back in the room for the last blast of the year. We have the local Metal 2 The Masses competition in early January (we enter every year; I can't see us ever winning it, but it's a bit of fun) so it was good to find that we could all still remember the songs. To quote our drummer, it's like riding a bike; you never lose the ability to fall off. Warwick RB Streamer LX 5 (passive) -> Joyo 5GHz bugs -> [Boss TU-2 -> EBS MultiComp] -> Mesa D-800 -> Barefaced One10 (x2) Also pulled my modded Harley Benton PJ-5 out of storage and played it for a few songs. It's far too good to just sit in storage so I brought it back home. My new band is a bit more organised and busy, so we had a run-through of the set for a headline gig next Friday. I need to do something about upping my ear protection as the rehearsal room is decidedly medium but with a large PA at play, and my ears are singing. I think part of the problem is that my usual vented Doc's weren't quite cutting it so I bought some new unvented ones in the same size.. but the material has changed and they feel just a little smaller so I'm not sure they're sealing properly. I'll have to buy the next size up before Monday, and also take my Flare Isolates just in case. Warwick RB Streamer LX 5 (passive) -> Joyo 5GHz bugs -> [Boss TU-3w -> MXR M87 -> Sansamp BDDI v2] -> TC BAM200 -> Hartke VX215 The covers outfit is very much just getting going and we're still working around some mismatches in musical taste. I'm travelling hopefully, but at the same time I've told them very openly that I'm not in music for money and won't give up my evenings to play stuff I don't like just because I'm getting fifty quid for it. We've got an initial twenty or so songs that are sounding decent after only a few weeks, but bands like that need a fair bit of material so we'll see how hard the next twenty are to find and take it from there. They're good lads, so fingers crossed. Fazley Piranha 5 (heavily modded) -> TC BAM200 -> Hartke VX215

How about a Nano 2? Convenient size and weight, solid build, decent amount of power, reasonable price-tag for a third amp, and I would have thought easy enough to justify carrying as insurance even when you're predominantly on IEMs. The earlier Nano 300 and the Nano 2 have been my main gigging amps since 2018ish, and as a past user of LM2, F1, LM800, LM3 and various combos, I'd say they have 'the sound'. They don't have the VLE/VPF filters, but MB are willing to ship a gigging amp without them and I always turn them to 'off' anyway, so neither of us appear to believe they're integral to the aforementioned signature sound.

I did the 'Boss pedals on a Boss board' thing a while back and it was... alright. I like the BC-1X compressor and still have it on my main board (and the TU-3 is in the cupboard) but I sold the rest of the pedals as either I was bad at using them, or they weren't inspiring me to try. I didn't like the plastic board either.

It's far too easy to do, but worth working on. The other day I caught myself being brusquely pejorative about another local band's output as lazy shorthand for the truth; "I've tried multiple times but I just don't get it. I'm going out to get some chips while it happens.", so I corrected myself there and then. I find that stopping and openly saying "nah, wait, that's balls - I don't actually mean that" isn't all that hard, and if the guys in the band subsequently had it reported to them verbatim that I'd said I didn't get their music and I'd chosen their set to nip out for food, I don't think it'd stop us from having a beer and watching the headliner together later. Loads of other people are either very into what they do, or don't like chips as much as I do.

They are quite nice looking pedals in an understated way, aren't they! All credit to their respective designers - though I wish the lettering on the blackout compressor was just a tiny bit easier to read. The only reason I have the TU-3w was that my girlfriend asked me what I'd like for my birthday a few years ago, and specified that it had to be something that I wanted but couldn't justify buying myself as it was kinda stupid. The TU-3w had just been released; I absolutely wanted one and couldn't think of anything much more unjustifiably daft than a tuner that costs twice as much as it should.. just because it's painted black. Anyway, sticky dots now applied and re-photographed against the contrasting side of the cow blanket. Hopefully the next time I need this photo isn't for the insurance when some light-fingered type at a gig likewise finds it attractive!

I have pouches (think they’re neotech) on my straps which were originally intended to hold the packs from my Line6 G30 - and they still do - but now also work for ‘bug’ style systems by just extending the transmitter with a patch. I’ve got some that I made with inline sockets and also just some inline jack-to-jack connectors which are arguably just as good if not better. All you see is the patch coming out of the pouch on the strap - can be any system you like in there.

Decided to join in with the pedal riser idea and build a little essentials board. With a bit of judicious wiggling I've managed to get it all flush on three sides, but the DC plugs overhang just slightly at the top. Could be worse. The feet have been harvested from my old Markbass F1 which sadly expired recently. It can be powered from both a standard adapter and also a USB powerbank thanks to an ENGL PowerTap Portable which is the little block under the back edge. As long as the polarity is correct it'll take anything from 5-18v input and send 9v output. For the full wireless whatsit I was considering getting a pair of cheap UHF bugs from the Black Friday sales to go between board and amp. They claim less than 3ms latency, which added to my Fender Telepath on the input claiming 4ms, should still be perfectly acceptable. The yellow sticker is just 'if lost please call' info, but I'm old-school about putting my mobile number all over the Internet so blanked it, in case you were wondering what/why.

Couple of gigs.. Last Saturday was an all day festival with 7 bands playing various different styles of metal - mostly the more tuneful variety. I've been depping for the last year with the band that organises the day but wasn't expecting to play this one, so it was a surprise when they informed me that they'd eventually parted company with their bassist and asked me to cover. It was a long day from turning up at 10am to get everything ready for doors at 2pm, then generally meandering round smiling at people and drinking a lot of alcohol-free Guinness until our 8pm co-headline slot. An hour on stage went pretty fast, and the four new songs (two originals and two covers) were well enough planted in my head. No screw-ups, a pleased band, and home before midnight... though predictably knackered. Warwick RB Streamer LX 5 -> L6 G30 wireless -> [SFX m-Thumpinator -> Boss XS-1 -> Boss BC1-X -> T21 VT Bass v2 -> T21 Sansamp BDDI v2] -> Markbass Nano 2 -> Blackstar house cab (?) Last night was back to the same venue but a different room for a tribute to Ozzy that another local band had put on as a charity event. We'd tentatively agreed to be support, but the tentative bit didn't quite make it across so the posters were printed before we knew our singer would be out of the country at a conference. We're all for keeping our implied/inferred word, though, so we borrowed the two singers (and the keyboardist for one song) from the depping band, and they took a couple of songs each solo then a couple of songs together. The rule was that there were no repeats throughout the evening, which is totally reasonable, but once the headline and main support had taken their pick, we had to be a bit creative to come up with a set that wouldn't leave people scratching their heads. In the end, though, I think we got it right and played a half hour set which seemed genuinely well received as far as I could tell. No screw-ups, and because I was able to get my gear disco-loaded-out and driven away, I got to stay and enjoy the headline set with a few beers as well. Warwick RB Streamer LX 5 -> Fender Telepath wireless -> T21 Bass Fly Rig v2 -> Markbass Nano 2 -> Blackstar house cab (?) Sadly no photos have emerged of either gig just yet, but there were enough cameras out and about at both so I'm sure there'll be some eventually to prove it all happened. No time to let that spark an existential crisis, though, as it's off to a first open-mic with a side project tomorrow, and then last gig of the year with the dep band mid-December. I realise it's nothing compared to the schedules of some round these parts, but I've not played out so much since the enforced break of covid, and I'm enjoying it; my gear is all condensed down to the smallest, lightest and most efficient versions I can manage, the DI sound keeps getting general thumbs-ups from sound techs, and my main gigging pair of Streamer LX 5s are feeling comfortable.

Had a couple of rehearsals last week that involved a fair few of the same people in different configurations. There's my main band of 20+ years, and there's the band I've been depping with for a year or so - but one of the guitarists from the main band has been a full member of for a few years. After a patchy year (hence my involvement) they parted ways with their bassist just ahead of a co-headline slot at an all-dayer, and we'd agreed to play a set at a charity tribute gig before finding out that our singer would be out of the country at a conference. So they pinched me, and in return we pinched both their singers. The all-dayer was on Saturday and the charity gig is this Friday, so I'll see how that plays out and post a wash-up of both in the gigs thread at the weekend. The rehearsal with the main band had potential to be a bit weird as it was held at the other band's room and had the possibility of making our drummer and rhythm guitarist feel like visitors at their own show, but to be fair it was the only full rehearsal we'll be able to fit in so it had to happen irrespective, and a mixed bunch of people from two originals bands playing a set of covers with very little together-time beforehand was never gonna feel 'normal'. The first run-through had a few iffy bits, most of which were ironed out by the second time through. Third time was pretty decent to be fair. If that had been the show then I think people would have enjoyed it and we could have gone for a beer, so whilst we've all got our homework for this week there's now at least a hint of that comfy feeling that it can, and hopefully will, be alright on the night.

Heh, if you’d rather that some love your bass and others loathe it than everyone simply ignore it, I admit the Vampyre is certainly a strong choice. I’ve had/got both generations of RockBass Vamp 5, though, so I know what I’d be signing up for 🙂

I don't do xmas, but if I did... 1. A Peavey Super Festival 1200 reissue head 2. A Masterbuilt Warwick Vampyre 5 3. A Peavey Firebass head - the red and black one which I always loved the look of in Sound Control, but was never daft enough to actually buy due to the weight. 4. A gigbag where the side handle is placed such that, when it's loaded with stuff and you pick it up, it hangs level with the floor rather than being angled upwards. 5. A gigbag like #4 but mirrored so that when you have a pair of them, you can attach them together back-to-back and pick them up comfortably with both their handles.

All I'd say against the BTB as I remember it is that whilst not outright uncomfortable, and certainly not for the reason which forms the basis of this thread, I personally didn't find it an ergonomically optimal experience overall. The body is not insubstantial, the scale length is longer than average, the string spacing and neck dimensions aren't compact; I'm 6'4 and was a well covered early-twentysomething at the time I owned mine, and even with build and youth on my side I found them a bit of a lump to wield. I wonder whether the more mixed reactions are potentially explained by how people of different builds end up holding something which they aren't all finding similarly forgiving. I've owned a fair few SRs and can't imagine them presenting the same disparity of experience.

I had a couple of BTBs back in the day - a black 405QM was my main bass for a long time and I also had a blue 406QM. I never considered them to be uncomfortable in that way, and I've had various guitars over the years which I certainly did (an absolutely lovely-sounding PRS CE was the very worst offender and had to go back) so it's not that I just don't notice it as 'a thing'. It's possible that they've changed the shape of the BTB since I owned mine, but the photos of newer ones look very familiar.

Mine would be my pair of Rockbass Streamer LX 5s. The black one is a pre-2024-revamp model, came as very cheap and scuffed b-stock with a dead preamp, neck like a banana and frets hanging off the edges, but quite a light example at 3.8kg so well worth saving. Fixed it up and it's now a passive workhorse. The white one seems to be a 2024 with the new frets etc. but still came as cheap b-stock (maybe a demo unit for the new spec?) and whilst it needed setting up, it seems to be perfect. Average weight at 4.2kg, but looks smooth under stage lights. One of us needs to, and it'll never be me. The Ibanez SR Premiums have gone and the Warwick RBs are my main gigging pair. Have to also give a shout to my travel-light front-of-gigbag rig, which all arrived this year: Fender Telepath wireless -> Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig v2 -> TC BAM200 The BAM obviously has its limits, but it's so much more useful to me than the Elf I had; it's loud, it takes the Fly Rig well and its EQ actually does something. Worst... nothing's really coming to mind. I've not bought all that much, and I think it's all been alright.

Sonata Arctica on Sunday, and Battle Beast last night - both in Manchester. Sonata were still very good but I ended up drinking my way through their support bands. Last night was, however, exceptional. If you like cheerful metal and get the opportunity, definitely go and see Majestica, Dominum and Battle Beast.