P-T-P

Lots of good suggestions here and the variety suggests that "big sound" means different things to different people. I'm going to guess that what you're looking for is a way to fill out the sound now that there's more space as you're down to a three piece. I'm more inclined to think of this as being a technique/playing issue more than a gear one. Definitely you and the drummer need to get in the zone. If you can come up with licks that will compliment his fills and if he can learn to accentuate your lines, that's a big part of the battle won. Don't be afraid to play fewer notes, but make sure you let each of those notes enjoy their full potential - don't choke those quarter notes off until they've rung for a full quarter of the bar, for example - as this will thicken up the sound considerably. A little less attack in your right hand will help too, try to allow the notes to bloom rather than explode and fade. A nice set and forget compressor will be your friend here. You don't need to have squillions of controls, just level and ratio will do fine to smooth out the peaks and troughs in your volume. Set your amp level higher than you need and practice playing with greater control and nuance in your right hand (assuming you're right handed lol), if you need more volume, get it from the amp, not from playing harder as this can lead to a loss of control and subtlety. Think about playing the same line in a (left hand) position further up the neck as this can add a little depth to your tone.

[quote name='JTUK' post='822840' date='Apr 29 2010, 11:00 AM']Pay to play......????? we'd be expecting free beer..and with or two of the bands I might go there with..that could be pretty expensive.. I agree....hang fire and see how the land lies with other bands. Generally, I don't think that reflects well on the bands themselves if you have to consider paying. I always thought the band should be the draw. In the cases of charity and good causes, I think bands should consider the spirit of the thing and buy stuff or food etc etc... but we recently had an enquiry from an interesting festival down in East Sussex. We put it to the band about the freebie and there was the possibility of petrol ex's. The Drummer dismissed this straight away. He said will all the other concessions there, bar staff, stall holders etc etc being doing it for free...? He answered his own question with "No, so neither will I" ....Drummers, huh..? [/quote] +1 agreeing with the drummer. It all boils down to agents/promoters playing (preying) on band's enthusiasm and desire to play. If there's money changing hands the bands should be seeing some of it and I wish more bands would have the courage to stand up for their own worth. In my experience, it's never hurt to say no to a gig. The gig we have this Sunday was offered to us at a fee about 20% below our usual minimum - with agent's cut and VAT to come out of that as well - I just turned it down, didn't even negotiate with them. 30 minutes later, the head honcho at the agency calls me with a revised offer involving the agent taking a hit on commission which meant we'd come out with a net fee within a pound or two of normal. At the end of the day, promoters and agents will try anything, but they are nothing without the acts, if only all the acts would have confidence in that absolute fact. I know that's not as easy for an original band looking for the exposure a festival might offer, but it's the "might" that bothers me and so you should look for a minimum payment in some way or other - beer, food, fuel money, tickets, passes etc. - it's the least the promoter can do.

[quote name='andy67' post='813716' date='Apr 21 2010, 01:09 PM']pm'd ta andy[/quote] and replied

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+1 to everyone who suggested picking some wll rehearsed songs to open up with and sticking with them. Though if your singer is chopsy enough and you're playing to a pub/club type audience, doesn't hurt for him to say a few words after the first number to give everyone a chance to quckly check tuning/twidldle volume etc. I'd also add that, if you're getting better as the night goes on, possibly part of the problem is attitude. You have to get yourselves to the point where you go on stage ready to impress, not needing to feel your way into things. Hit the ground running in both cohesion as a band in your playing, but also in the way you perform the songs - smile, eye contact with audience, movement, communicate with each other with daft grins, farts, - make sure that you all look like you mean business and are there to give the audience a good time. Look like you're enjoying it and the audience will enjoy it more and sooner. With that , everything else will flow for you. We also make a point, generally speaking, of laughing out loud at each other's little cock-ups. It's all to easy to start glowering at each other and from there the tension creeps in.

Bit late to the party, but really loved the Danelectro Cool Cat 18v chorus I had, thought the design of the pedal means it is a bit on the heavy side.

Sol my Lakland 55-01 to Matt and he was great to deal with. I made a cock-up with exchange rates (courtesy of dodgy info from my bank) that left me about £50 out of pocket and Matt, without prompting, made up the difference which he didn't have to do as the mistake was totally mine, not his. I really appreciated that and would not hesitate to deal with him again.