BigRedX

For me that would be the worst reason to take it to a gig. What happens if you can't get a tone out of it that works for your band?

Now that it's 2023 and probably 10 years have passed since I first asked the question, is anyone doing a digital wireless system with a digital output at the receiver end for those of us whose next item in the the signal chain is a digital device with digital inputs?

I do a lot of "lead bass" with Hurtsfall. I find that alternating the tune with the root note works well where I play two strings either as chords or alternate plucking, with the lower string doing the root note of the chords and the higher string doing the "melody"

The reasons are all to do with acoustics and spatial awareness of sound due to the fact that we had two ears and our brains are very good at using this information to tell us how far away the sound source is. The problem with IEM is that the sound source is only millimetres away and therefore as far as our brain is concerned it sound be instantaneous.

Start listening the Joy Division and all those other post-punk bands where the bass guitar carries the main instrumental tune. I've found the easiest way to come up with a good tune is to sing it first, and then work out how to play it.

Except when they don't. In one of my bands I use an Eastwood Hooky 6-string bass. Current list price just under £1500. None of the other Bass VIs have a suitably wide neck. The only alternatives for me would either be a original Shergold of which there were less than 100 made and all appear to be in the hands of collectors; or something custom built. Both would cost a lot most than the Eastwood.

And additional to my previous point, my various bands have done loads of gigs over the last 10+ years in the area the OP is talking about, but I haven't heard of most of the promotors mentioned in this thread, most likely because they don't put on the sorts of bands that I play in. Conversely my contacts will be of no use to the OP unless their band falls into the goth, post-punk, horror punk or psychobilly genres.

Maybe because I've mostly played in genre bands, it has been my experience that most promotors tend to stick to particular genres that they understand and can book an appropriate bands to complete the bill. Otherwise you end up with those terrible London gigs where 4 random bands with nothing in common get flung into a venue and play only to the their own fans. Case in point for one the venues that has already been mentioned in this thread - The Lending Room in Leeds. Yes, they put on loads of different bands, but nothing is done by the venue itself and each night is handled by it's own promotor and you have to approach the right one for your band in order to get a gig there. It's the same with promotors that do a couple of different genres, that they will have different names for each one and you need to have done your homework to make sure that you go for the correct one. Of course if the OP just wants a gig, then they can go for one of those random four bands at a venue, but IME it does no-one any favours. One well-targeted gig is worth any number of these.

Have I missed something? How are you able to make recommendations of venues and promotors without knowing what genre the OP's band are in?

It all depends on how good your own internal clock is. If you're not noticing any latency with this set up that's great for you because it allows you to take advantage of these low-cost devices. However for others the lag will be noticeable and they will need to look elsewhere.

Latency effects everyone differently and what may be perfect acceptable for one might be completely off-putting for another. The proper way to do this test would be to hook the system up between the output and input of your DAW. Use a drum track with plenty of easily identifiable transients and record the results as processed by the system. It will then be simple to calculate the offset between the original track and the new one which will give you the total latency of all the devices involved. It is also my experience from working in advertising and marketing that "less than 12ms" = 11ms.

What sort of music is it? Do you have a link to something we can listen to? It's difficult to give specific advice if the actual music is unknown. IME there are plenty of gigs available so long as: 1. You are extremely proactive about going after them 2. You are entertaining to watch as well as listen to. If you're not having any luck with promotors and venues go straight to the bands you'd like to support, when you know they have a gig in your area. I'd also suggest that if you haven't already you make a "promo video" to go with your best song.

No hats for me on stage. They get in the way of the hairstyle.

For me nitro is a put off. I don't want the finish on my instruments to wear away.

I've been a multi-effects user since the late 80s, but even then extra devices have always crept into the signal path. My current multi-effects unit is the Line6 Helix. Earlier this year I was considering adding my Linn Adrenalinn for live use, but after a lot of experimentation I have found a way of creating the same effect within the Helix itself, and so my current philosophy is that (certainly for live use) if I can't do it with the Helix then it doesn't need to be done.

If you are a pick player, depending on your technique, having the octave strings below the main ones can been that you don't always strike both strings in the course which will lead to inconsistencies in the sound. For the same reason if you only play finger style then it makes sense to have them the other way around.

Except the most recent versions don't have much in common with that one apart from the body shape.

Just done something similar three days in a row for 2 weekends, see above ↑ Up at 7.00 am so I can get some work in and not be too far behind with everything after the weekend, I'm self-employed graphic designer and some of my clients can be quite demanding (but they pay me well for the fact that most of the time I can be straight on whatever they need). Have lunch at 12.00 and make a pack-up for the evening because I know from previous experience that I may not have time to go out for food once we're at the venue, and even if I do, I don't want to be eating fast-food crap three evenings in a row. Down at the rehearsal room for some time between 1.30 and 2.30 (descending on how far we need to drive and when the venue load-in is) to load up and then set off. We're based in Nottingham and this week were playing London, York and Bracknell (Thursday , Friday and Saturday respectively) so it's 2-4 hours plus any stops along the way. Arrive at the venue just as it opens. The tour is basically In Isolation (us) plus Gothzilla with Feather Trade (from Athens Georgia) and X-Superstar (Andy Cousin - previously of All About Eve and The Mission - new band) on selected dates and local supports on the others. All four bands have different PA and monitoring requirements so it's a bit of a nightmare for the sound engineer (especially when they don't appear to have received the technical rider for any of the bands). Feather Trade are using my bass rig and Gothzilla one of our guitar amps and it generally falls upon me to be around just in case there are technical problems during the soundcheck. Getting all the bands sound-checked before the doors open isn't always possible and at the London gig things were running so late that Feather Trade had to sacrifice song from their set in order to have 5-minute break between sound checking and playing. Now comes the bit that makes everything worthwhile - 3 hours of great music including 40-50 minutes when I'm on stage, followed by 15 minutes of audience members telling us how much they enjoyed our set. Sell some merch and pack the gear away before loading up and setting off. Get home sometime around 3 in the morning grab some sleep and back up at 7 the following day to do it all again. My legs ache from all the standing up and bouncing around on stage, and my Fitbit tells me that I did nearly 20,000 steps each day. Luckily this weekend's gig is local (but it is up two flights of steep stairs with nowhere close-by to park for the load in). Do I love it? Of course I do!

You'll probably have to settle for something second-hand. I've just looked at the FretKing website and the current range are all basically copies of Fender and Gibson models. If you want a Telecaster or Stratocaster shaped guitar with a slightly different pickup configuration then you are in luck. Unfortunately all the original designs including the Esprit have gone.

Wilkinson parts have a pretty good reputation. However at the time he got involved with the FretKing company the perception was that the overall design strategy was getting more mainstream which was a pity as when they started FretKing were one of the few guitar companies that were offering something noticeably different to the run of the mill copies. If you are interested in a FretKing Esprit bass, you'll need to try one and see if it suits you. The one I tried which was the first production prototype was horribly clunky and very heavy. However the electronics were a lot more interesting - IIRC it had two Thunderbird type pickups in the standard Thunderbird locations but also a mudbucker at the neck, so lots of tonal possibilities. However it was very big and cumbersome compared with my 36" scale Overwater Original which was of a similar appearance but with a lot more finesse.

Can you still get EH valves, and if so are they still the same? IIRC they used to be rebadged Russian-made ones which of course are no longer available.

The nitro finish will wear off - that's what it does. Hopefully as it wears away the poly coat below will polish up at the same time so it won't be massively noticeable. AFAICS overall it's just a marketing ploy. Although it's never stopped Fender in the past. Even in the days when both the colour and clear coats were all nitro, the grain fillers and primer were poly-based.

The stage is a massive improvement from when I was playing there with the Terrortones about 10 years ago. However it is still quite shallow' and there's a lot of house equipment lining the back that can't always be relocated elsewhere, so if your drummer isn't keen on being close to the back wall you may be short on room in front of the kit. We always have to persuade ours to set up as close to the wall has he can. As you can see they do put the wedges in front rather than on the stage which definitely helps!

Unfortunately there's lots of different FretKings and navigating your way through all the variations can be difficult. I've got an original "by Eggle" Esprit V Guitar, from the days when they were being made in a workshop behind Musical Exchanges in Birmingham. This is just before Trevor Wilkinson got involved with the company. It's a wonderful instrument, and even though I asked them to do something slightly different to their standard built it has turned out to be everything I wanted. At the time I was after a Firebird, but the current Gibson versions were all horrible and an original one was beyond my means; this was easily a suitable alternative. When I had by big musical instrument clear-out all my guitars were sold apart from this and my Gus G1. However I did also try the prototype version of the bass with the same body shape and it was an unmanageable lump - imagine all the worst aspects of a Thunderbird ramped up to 10. Gratuitous photo of the guitar:

Interesting that the seller didn't feel confident enough to post a photo that showed all of the bass.