BigRedX

The other two members of my band are almost a foot taller than me. Even glam rock platform boots wouldn't get me up to a comparable height. The only band photo we have where our heads are all level is one where I am standing on a step and the other two have crouched down slightly...

Could be re-titled 20 reasons not to play in a pub covers band. Playing in originals bands I've only encountered two of them. The late payment with numerous ignored requests for the money, that was eventually honoured about a year after the gig. The promotor in question had a reputation for being bad at paying and we are unlikely to do another gig for them. Also the load-in/out in the rain or, in the case of the UK, snow. Doubly awful if you are a band with any kind of image that involves hairspray. All the others make me glad that I don't play in those kinds of bands to that kind of an audience.

The Terrortones used deps on numerous occasions when we were going through our seemingly endless cycle of replacement guitarists and drummers, so that we didn't have to cancel important and/or lucrative gigs. Deps for originals bands come with their own set of problems. Our main one was getting the replacements to dress appropriately. While we didn't expect them to get leathered up (although it would have been great if they had) even a simple instruction like "wear black, no obvious band or brand logos and no trainers for guitarists" appeared to be difficult to follow. The other problem was that we would have to change the set so that we had decent recordings of all the songs for the dep to learn which often meant dredging up back catalogue that we hadn't played live for ages and consequently we only knew the songs slightly better than the dep. On the whole while the deps were mostly competent, only one of them had the right vibe musically and we eventually offered him a permanent place in the band. The rest made us glad to get the proper band member back playing drums or guitar. One drummer in particular managed to mess up playing our single, which was our best-known and most popular song. Therefore when we got an unexpected encore we decided to play it again to make up for getting wrong in the set. Then he managed to mess it up a second time in a different way! I was even dep'd for one very important gig that was doubled booked with the covers band I was also in at the time. I had to lend my replacement a 5-string bass so that he could play all the songs and he had several rehearsals with the rest of the band. I've seen video of a couple of songs from the gig and it seems that he spent most of the set with his back to the audience. I vowed that wouldn't happen again and was one of the many reasons why I quit playing in the covers band.

Wall Warts are fine for pedals so long as they can be mounted on a pedal board and never touched again. The problem that I have with is that the low voltage plug is non-locking and the cable easily damaged compared with an IEC connecter cable.

I wouldn't make the case a snug fit. If you look at the equivalent ABS rack cases there is built-in air space all around the actual space for the rack units. The last time I built a wooden rack case I used 2" PAR batons for the bracing. This was mainly because the case was 14U high, but it had the added advantage is giving an extra air space all around the equipment for the air to circulate. For your two units you probably don't need this much, but since it looks like a permanent installation rather than a carry case, I'd add as much extra width as you have room for and try and get at least a 5mm air gap top and bottom.

We donated a load of art (paintings and limited edition prints) which didn't fit the decor any more and which we didn't have room to store, to a local charity shop. The following week a couple of them turned up on the site of the local auction house and subsequently sold for a few hundred pounds each. I sometimes feel a bit guilty about some of the stuff we off-load on the charity shops, so I'm glad they were able to make some decent money this time.

As someone who is considering buying a mini as a general purpose back-up computer what happened?

Most of my synth parts are created using the Retro synth plug-in. If I need more control over the sound than I can get with that, then ES2 or Alchemy will definitely do what I want. All of these come as part of the Logic Pro install. No need for any 3rd party synths at all.

The "adaptor" shown in the OP is to allow the use of an external PSU fitted with a Euro plug. Unless it offers some way of locking the PSU in place by more than just the plug pins it is technically against trading standards for it to have been supplied for use in the UK. IMO external PSUs are the bane of the audio equipment world and ones that require adaptors doubly so.

This.

We have two Manchester gigs coming up later this year. Last time I played in Manchester after we'd finished our set we went to another pub just around the corner to see the band who we'd supported in Nottingham a few days earlier play.

That might be it. We mostly play Nottingham and venues further North and as I said there is no shortage of gigs for us.

When I moved to Nottingham in 1980 there were essentially 5 places for local originals bands to play: The Ad-Lib Club The Boat Club The Hearty Goodfellow The Newshouse (if you played blues-rock) The Buttery Bar at Nottingham University (technically you had to be at the university, but local bands could get a gig there if they knew the right people). Right now the list looks like this: The Boat Club The Bodega Bunkers Hill The Chapel at The Angel Microbrewery The Grove Jam Café JT Soar Liquid Light Metronome The Mist Rolling Inn The Old Cold Store The Old Salutation Inn The Rescue Rooms Rough Trade Saltbox As you can see that's 3 times as many and I'm sure I've missed a couple. The thing is, on the originals circuit, venues come and go, but here in Nottingham over the last 45 years they have been slowly increasing in number. We've lost couple recently, but the Maze has re-appeared at The Old Cold Store and The Chameleon in the basement of The Mist Rolling Inn. Getting a gig at any of these venues (with the exception of a couple which are very genre-specific), should be within reach of any well-organised and entertaining originals band - I've played most of the venues listed above within the last few years. Maybe Nottingham is special when it comes to venues for original bands? All I know is what I see, and there appear to be plenty of opportunities for my band to play all over the country. We'd be gigging every other weekend if the logistics were right. As it is we have 7 definite well-paid gigs in the next 4 months and several more that are just awaiting final confirmation.

This shrinking number of venues must be a pub covers band problem because I'm not seeing it at all.

That's not the behaviour I have experienced on my iPads. If the latest version of an app requires a more up to date version of iOS than you have it just won't get installed. The old version carries on working as before. Again if the app does everything you needed/wanted when you originally installed it then there is no reason to update. For any piece of technology that is mission critical, and I would included anything I use to gig with, automatic updates are turned off and updates are only applied if they definitely add extra functionality that I will use and they don't conflict with anything else on the device.

I think it very much depends on what you use your DAW for. Mine is used for programming and then running the drum and sequencer backing tracks for my band to use when we gig and for recording my bass for the songs were are going to release to the public. I have Helix Native which allows me a bit more flexibility for my bass sounds without having to re-record the parts and a Simmons drum plug-in that replaces my somewhat incomplete set of samples I made when I used to own the real thing which I was accessing through Logic's EX24/Sampler plug-in. For everything else the virtual instruments and effects plug-ins that come with Logic are more than adequate, and I still haven't anywhere near exhausted the possibilities of those to even think about buying any more 3rd party plug-ins. Plus everything is far superior to the hardware I use to have in terms of sound and user-friendliness. The way I look at it is that my setup will never become obsolete and I won't suddenly find myself with plug-ins that I can no longer use because I have upgraded my computer and either I can't afford to upgrade the plug-ins or that they are no longer being supported by the developer. Both of which have happened to me in the past.

We've done mid-week gigs, but it's always at decent venues that have a reputation for putting bands on other than at the weekend, and it's always supporting someone much more popular than us.

The thing with all technology is that if it does everything you need it for today it will continue to do everything you need it for until the actual hardware fails. Besides you can get a 2025 model iPad for under £400, so hardly the "best part of the grand". If needed an iPad for on-stage use I'd buy something cheap (reconditioned or second hand) that did the job I needed it for and only use it for that job. Then if it gets broken/stolen/lost at a gig I haven't also lost my tablet for home use.

I've solved the problem by only using two plug-ins that weren't part of the Logic Installation, and while both these third party plug-ins make life a bit easier when composing or recording neither are essential.

I had the Rockbag to fit the Warwick StarBass which I expect would fit most other semi-acoustic basses. Wasn't particularly impressed with the quality and it had to be binned after a 18 months of use twice a week due to zip and bottom of the case wearing out. Also I has never impressed with the strap system. Like a lot of gig bags it would have fine if all I wanted was something that offered a bit of protection for the bass while in a car and from carrying from the car into the venue. For actually using the carry a bass on my back for any distance, very poor.

Whether or not to use the FX loop depends on 2 things: 1. Do you use the pre-amp of your amp to produce "drive" sounds via valves or some other circuitry? If so some effects like delay (definitely) and chorus/flanger/phaser (maybe depending on the sound you are after) will benefit from being on the effects loop. 2. Do you have effects that are expecting line-level rather than instrument level input signals? These always perform better in the effects loop.

In the UK, unless you are already well-known, gigs for originals bands are mostly weekends with the occasional Thursday and/or Sunday for venues that have a reputation for putting on quality acts on those nights. As a result "tours" by relatively unknown bands tend to be a string of Friday and Saturday night gigs strung out over several weeks. Bands from the US that have a decent following here and expect to be gigging every night, will plan for the weekend dates to be in big cities where they can play a decent sized venue to a bigger audience, and for the rest to be small gigs where they hope sales of merch will go towards off-setting losses through reduced fees. The best way to try and get some gigs is for support slots with bands in the same genre and IME the way to score these is to start following them on social media and get in touch explaining that you are looking for a gig or two. One of the first things they'll probably do is look you up on-line. And here's a problem. For a band that has been going over 30 years you don't have a particularly large following and your Spotify plays are mostly in the 2-3k region which again isn't brilliant. I'm sorry if that's harsh, but that's what I see from 10 minutes with Google and therefore that's what bands you are hoping to support will see too. If you do manage to sort out some additional gigs, the only real way you are going to off-set the costs of coming to the UK and staying here is to sell some merch. That means bringing CDs and vinyl with you and unless you can get them printed here in the UK T-shirts too. QR codes for on-line stores are not going to cut it, and you'll be lucky to sell anything. All of that is going to eat into your luggage allowance, and also brings me to the next potential issue. Are you getting proper work visas? If not, you might be OK just playing someone's private party, but if you all show up together at UK border control with your instruments (and merch) and tourist visas expect problems. My band had a gig lined up with a reasonably well-known band from Switzerland, but their drummer (who had a US passport) was denied entry into the UK because he didn't have the correct visa. It only takes one of the band to be refused entry and everything is scuppered. Sorry if that's all a bit negative, but that's is all based on experience.

I've been playing in bands for almost 50 years. In that time I've been in 17 bands that played at least one gig or had recordings available for the public to buy. I do it because IMO there is still nothing more exciting than performing something that I have written to an audience. Like others who have commented I can be socially awkward, but stick me on a stage with a musical instrument and I'm an entirely different person. And TBH since 2009 I've had more fun and more success with my music than I did in any of the years before that. I still enjoy gigging and even all the stuff that goes with it. If it became impossible for me to play live any more, I'd still be releasing weird instrumental music that I had written on Bandcamp.

Late again, but two gigs over the weekend and then life got in the way. First was the opening slot for the Re:Vamped Weekend gig at the 1 in 12 Club in Bradford. We were on at 5.15 which was a bit too early really - there were still people coming in as we were packing up after playing. However those that had made it to see us were enthusiastic and we had a good proportion of them up and dancing and singing along and we played well. Sold a couple of T-shirts afterwards, and would have sold some CDs too but someone (me) forgot to pack them. Here's a photo from early on in the gig: We stayed for a couple of numbers from the next band but then had to leave as we had our second gig of the weekend the following day and had been asked to load in at midday. So Sunday saw us back in Nottingham playing the "I'm Not From London" stage at The Chapel as part of the Nottingham day of the Dot-To-Dot festival. Another early start this time we were on at 3.00 but there were 4 bands on before us so there was a decent crowd. Weird sound problems on stage with some bass notes causing the drum monitor (which didn't need to be on for us) to fart out, and it was one of those things that once you'd noticed it you couldn't stop listening out for it again. Didn't play quite as well as the previous day, but the audience seemed to enjoy it, although only having 30 minutes meant that we had to keep the inter-song crowd interaction to a minimum which always impacts on the performance. Sold T-shirts and CDs afterwards and had to sign some CDs too - which that always surprises me as it's not something that I would ask for as a punter. Still it is gratifying to know that people are interested enough to ask for us to sign stuff. One of our fans took this short video of the last verse of "Lost Souls (Driving At Night)": AQNSbRIdNxxoFSFNULxeMhr8TOT0MZ2RdKNtVmn-y-KELkj4aSQ4k26wN9AVp3ia1SG8CVGX2k0coV7_dIQdt0jt.mp4 We have a month off until our next gig so we'll be working on a couple of new songs and recording for the album.

As others have said the holds of all modern planes are pressed and temperature controlled. Animals are regularly transported this way. Your cab will be fine, although it would be best cased or otherwise properly packaged as though you were going to send it by carrier service. About 10 years ago someone on the SOS forum did a test with a max/mim thermometer in their hold luggage. I can't find the thread right now otherwise I would have posted a link, but the outcome was that the hold temperature pretty much corresponded to the cabin temperature for the flight. The only time in the last 25 years I have flown in a plane where the hold probably wasn't pressurised and temperature controlled, all the important luggage was transported in unused seats in the cabin under scrim netting. Also the whole flight was at an altitude low enough for me to easily make out vehicles on the roads we passed over so there wouldn't have been much pressure difference in unpressurised hold compartments.