paul_c2

In my band (big band) everybody reads music (except the guitarist) and basically I'd be sunk without the ability. The guitarist still has chord charts, but needs to spend a considerable amount of time familiarising themselves with the music, where everyone else can get "up to speed" fairly quickly by being able to sight read it then build/improve it as rehearsals progress. "Sight reading" - its worth clarifying exactly what this is, and how it differs to "normal" reading music. Strictly, its being able to accurately play a piece of music first time through and without having seen (or know of, etc) that piece before. But strictly, its also really only done the first time a piece is run-through - subsequent runs through and 2nd, 3rd etc rehearsal aren't really sight reading. Its difficult - but possible if the music is marked properly with phrasing, dynamics, etc - to also convey a lot of the "feel" or musicality of the piece as intended too - I'd say you could get about 99% of the way there. The final 1%, you'd need to have played and listened (to the others, basically) a number of times to really polish it off. Personally I'd not expect anyone to sight read at a gig - its a recipe for mistakes etc partly because whilst you can be world's best musician, you don't know if there's a mistake in the part and you can't expect someone to mindread or predict the future, if they didn't know what the piece is like, or the tempo is missing, or if it were done in a fast 4 time instead of a slow cut time and someone forgot to annotate the part given to the new guy....etc etc But good musicians could do it in one rehearsal. I've done sight reading in a gig situation, its possible but its basically a bit of a worry and fraught with traps - its very reassuring to get at least 1 run-thru. If its simple enough, then 1 is enough normally (if you're awake and alert etc...) I don't think (happy to be corrected though) even the best musicians, for example those who play for Hollywood filmscores, or full-time-employed band musicians of decades ago etc, would actually "sight read" - in filmscore stuff, you'd have 1 run through then the 2nd time it would be recorded and then maybe little bits here and there patched in. And in a full time band situation, over time you'd develop your repertoire and be playing jazz standards so you'd kinda know 95% of the stuff anyway.

AFAIK shipping is liable for VAT. I can only assume that its tax-exempt in the country of origin when something is sent internationally, so it would make sense to be taxed at the destination country.

Its becoming "the new normal" for me. This one was slightly different, I had actually bought a more powerful amp and just sold the previous one, its arrived with the buyer but its buzzing - I suspect this time, its not my fault and its been damaged in transit. I took out insurance, so barring their finding a ridiculous exemption in the policy, I should be okay. And if not, it will need to be sent back to me, then I return it to the shop (its ~4 months old). So apologies for the slightly sensationalist post but I thought it was useful to illustrate that equipment, basically can't be relied upon and its always sensible to have a plan B because anything/everything could go faulty, get damaged, stolen, etc etc and "the show must go on"!!!

I thought I would update this since I've now had a chance to properly try out the Boss GT-1B. In summary, I've just done the last rehearsal and am playing at a gig in a few days - and I won't be using the GT-1B. There's 2 issues which means its not made it onto the gig: 1) I can't quite put my finger on it but it seems to chop/limit the signal in a way. Maybe its something to do with master volume, or the way it interacts with my bass or amp, but if I program a "patch" which has no effects in it, I'm not quite getting the punchiness and dynamic range of the bass plugged in direct to the amp (or though my existing other pedals). 2) The chorus is a little bit weak, and takes some bass away. A few months ago I bought a Boss Bass Chorus pedal but I tried both it and the regular chorus. The regular was almost as good but did the taking-the-bass-away thing while the bass chorus is a bit more subtle and usable over a wider range of settings - so offers a further variety. And it seems the GT-1B's chorus is like a regular Boss chorus pedal, not the bass one. I don't really use effects that much anyway - I had in mind its use on some interesting pieces but TBH I think these need a proper bass synth rather than an effect of some kind - I might be able to do something with the phaser; or octave plus overdrive but its not quite "right" in sound - but its hard to explain what I'm exactly seeking too. So for now, I just need a bit of chorus on a couple of songs and a (treble) boost pedal for a solo (I do the famous line in James Bond theme tune....) and I can do this with my existing pedals. I also need to swap basses, so a third pedal (a tuner, which mutes on switching...) will be used too, so unfortunately I need to live with a bit more mess of wires near my feet, at least for now. I think I'll keep the GT-1B anyway, its bound to be useful if I need to set up 2 or more different tone/graphic EQ settings; or use octave effect (its not too bad); or use something where the effect's parameter is put onto the expression pedal - I'm convinced an amount more experimenting and settings here can be a usefully deployed.

Just blown up #6

It seems it has been upgraded with at least 1 new pickup (or maybe just the cover - that would be cruel though!) A Squier with a few sensible upgrades kinda makes sense and seems quite a common thing to do. Normally upgrades would add nothing to the price (since it reduces the originality) but given the base value, I think in this case it would add a bit. I can't say how much of an improvement they are though. (Aren't the original pickups OEM manufactured by Seymour Duncan anyway, down to a price?)

PS there's nothing drastically wrong with the Affinity series; but obviously they're built down to a price, rather than built up to a standard. So expect something like a 3 piece body of indeterminate wood, cheap tuners, bridge, pickups, screws etc. Obviously they fetch less money secondhand, and if you're looking to possibly sell on then obviously you don't want to pay VM price for an Affinity then lose a lot upon selling.

What's the label just below the G string tuner? Could it be the "Affinity" logo/wording?

If the piece stops, to start off again just shout out "okay let's take it from the modulation to the subdominant". You'll probably get silence for maybe 45 secs-1 minute, perhaps more. Then some tumbleweed will blow past. Then the band will start normally, from the start.

Its one of those things that needs setting up properly, however I can kinda understand it could be difficult in practice to do this at home practice volumes, sometimes the tweaks would need to be done - and you need to be able to find time to do this at a rehearsal - at more/less full volume.

By sheer chance I have a Squier Jazz bass (with upgraded Seymour Duncan pickups) and a Japanese Fender Jazz bass. However its slightly difficult to compare because the Squier is fretless, so it feels markedly different from the neck perspective; and because it has flatwounds, the tone is also much different. It had roundwounds on (for less than a day!) but they chewed my fingers up too much, so I fitted the flats. I can't really fault the Squier but there's an intangible something which makes the Fender that bit more comfortable to play. I think the Squier is ever so slightly lighter though. The only negative so far is that the Squier's knobs are the metal type without a line, whereas the Fender ones are plastic with a line (so I can see where stuff is set, etc). Sorry its a bit vague, but basically there's nothing wrong with the Squier and its playable but there's something about the Fender which feels better. Whether the Fender is more durable (I travel a lot with the bass, its in and out of cars etc all the time) or whether its higher value just makes it a liability, I can't tell.

Great, thanks for the responses so far. Would this be any use, or am I way off here?: https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/SubZero-SZM-B100-Boundary-PZM-Microphone/2BNA?origin=product-ads&campaign=PLA+Shop+-+GENERIC&adgroup=GENERIC&medium=vertical_search&network=google&merchant_id=1279443&product_id=108406d1&product_country=GB&product_partition_id=95700241279&gclid=CjwKCAiAl7PgBRBWEiwAzFhmmhpiopbR9Gckb3kcQEU2FMGpmJsJchLnRGFuPCguZHO2CBD4hcbO-BoCDSQQAvD_BwE

I'm keen to get involved in this, sounds a lot of fun. Am I interpreting it right, because we can cover an existing song, its more an arrange/playing/recording challenge?

I know its a more general point, but it seems like you need a hierarchy of some kind in the band; someone who can make the (a) decision of yes/no, without challenges or people throwing their toys out the pram. I know you can kind of tread water over time, when everything's going okay, but then in a situation like this someone needs to be able to effectively lead.

I don't think it needs to be an either/or question, things can have a multiple purpose - some people can use the classifieds without chatting and vice-versa, with no issues arising.

Yeah, I'd make sure there is at least one rehearsal. If you're in doubt that it would work out, then plan for 2 rehearsals before, so that if its clearly pants at the first one, then you can change things as appropriate, get another rehearsal in then do the gig. Could you hire a drumkit? Or borrow the regular drummers? Or if funds are short.....buy one online shortly beforehand, use it for the rehearsal + gig, then return it within 14 days for a refund (distance selling regs)?

Any tips on mic'ing a grand piano for live situation (not studio recording)? I read an online article on it which was very detailed and more relevant for studio recording. Its a big band situation and a not-too-big venue, obviously the piano will produce some volume of its own but might need a little help. The article mentioned omni mic(s) - and a ton of variations but the obvious 1st thought of sticking a mic into the area about the middle, above the strings under the raised lid seems reasonable enough. We only have very minimal kit already (and not much budget!!) so we don't actually have a spare mic of our own for this, just an SM58 for the vocals and I think possibly can borrow some additional SM58 - which I understand would be far from ideal here. Obviously want to avoid feedback, or £££

I'm very much a couple of steps behind you but I'd be keen to know a workable solution too. My observations so far are that, with the possible exception of the ~£500 Future Impact, bass synth pedals are all a bit of a gimmick (tried two so far....). And that tracking a bass to trigger MIDI, or to trigger anything else really (which is what all synth pedals need to do) is fighting something of a losing battle against the laws of physics. Two non-ideal solutions I tried were to play everything an octave up; or to play basslines on a normal 6 string electric guitar. But hardly ideal in either case. The other aspect is that the "thing" that the bass guitar brings, in addition to the familiarity of physically playing it, is the nuances such as slides, ghost notes, dynamics etc and these don't translate well into synth bass lines - you need to play really 'cleanly' to do the synth stuff justice. Combine this with the fact that even the most basic keyboard synth FAR outclasses even the best pedals for control of the tone and range of usable sounds, it just makes sense to play the keyboard rather than trigger it through a bass (or even guitar).

I have bought ~£500 of new gear recently. A slight frustration with BC classified (I suppose it can happen everywhere though) is that there are a proportion of sellers who will overvalue their equipment, possibly because they are not actually that desperate to sell (so might hang onto it for longer, in the hope of realising a higher value or its value will go up in due course). However eBay soon relieves that frustration! eBay is such a big marketplace that, despite its negatives, its still the place to go to for the exposure and if its properly priced (or a low starting auction), it WILL sell. I regularly check Reverb.com too, this is good for musical gear.

Part of the appeal of a magazine is it should be well produced and focused on its area of concern. An easy-to-read thing. Online, it is a bit more "wild west" than that and also it is interactive, in that you would need to put an amount of effort into the research of a particular topic you were interested in (easy enough with Google though) and also you'd get a quantity of information, warts and all - so you'd need to filter out the noise to find the genuinely useful information. There are "magazine format" websites for stuff (I don't really look at them much though) but the true info is in amongst the various forums, where you can talk to peers who are in a good position to give an honest appraisal of eg equipment. Also, of course, there's YouTube channels. There's tons out there but personally two contrasting ones which are worth mentioning: Spectre Sound Studios and Andertons (I appreciate they only indirectly cover bass stuff). Glenn (Spectre) is passionate about honest gear reviews, takes his role very seriously and has rightly earned respect because of this - but is still very funny on occasions. Contrast with the Anderton's channel where its really a glorified advertorial for the shop; and often I feel they're either constrained by the commercial link (obviously) or don't really produce the clarity of summarising a product properly. Yes they are entertaining but its a bit, well, cheesy/shallow.

What, like Autotune?

The way I look at it, everything in your signal chain is (ultimately) a compressor/limiter. If you're near maxed out on amp, speaker, whatever then you could easily slip inadvertently into compression, and markedly change the sound. At least with a compressor/limiter in the signal chain, you have control. Of course, it needs to be set up properly. Having said that...........I'm in the fortunate situation of now owning a slightly overspecified amp, so I have lots of headroom, and also I use dynamics lots so I don't actually use a compressor if the setlist doesn't have a tune which calls for slap bass. I have the occasional slap/snap but in that case I WANT the 5x or whatever increase in volume for them notes. (I have a Boss CS3, does the job).

At least its in bass clef! I've just done a gig where I had Eb treble clef parts - fortunately the music was simple so its just a case of doing what treble-clef-reading tuba players do when they see bass clef (but backwards) - pretend its bass clef, add 3 flats and a sharp accidental becomes a natural accidental - for example if you see (treble clef) G#, you play the bass clef (concert pitch ) B natural.

If you're starting out (and an adult - ie not too small hands) I'd strongly recommend starting with a proper weighted, full size keyboard and economising in other areas. £100 isn't a lot for new, but could probably pick something up secondhand. If you can deal with the logistical issues, an actual piano - as in, acoustic - would make sense, there are always some going cheap/free on eBay, gumtree, freecycle etc since they are sizeable and people's circumstances change, etc. Obviously it would be collection only but I guess a "man with a van" or hiring a taillift would be options.

Good luck flopping that kind of thing over your nut.