peteb

I’m not sure that I really understand what you (and apparently Leszek) are getting at here. I don’t see how having controls for mids is a tonal sacrifice! The main selling point about the Handbox is its core sound (as well as it being a powerful amp in a compact package), whereas its drawback is a rather limited EQ section. I am getting to grips with it more, but am finding myself boosting the bass and cutting the treble more than I am used, which is not a problem in itself but something I don’t find intuitive after using a 5 band semi parametric EQ. I am aware that there are bound to be compromises in such a compact amp and I am getting used to the EQ section and starting to get better results. Perhaps it should be noted the guys in the guitar based rock covers band love it, but less so with those in the tribute band complete with loads of keys – they seem to prefer the Mesa

That's interesting. I'm sure you're right, after all we can use other amp we've ever played through as a reference.

I'm generally using an active Xotic jazz. When I'm using my own cabs, it's going through either a Berg 410 or two Berg 112s (all ceramic speakers). As you guessed, I've not got the bright (or drive) engaged and I've started with the amp flat. Actually, I think the HB is naturally quite mid focused, so the trick is to find a sweet spot where I can balance the mids without losing them all together. At the moment, I'm trying the bass at 2 o'clock and the treble & contour at 10 o'clock. That sounds ok at low volume through a 112 in my front room, so I shall see how it works when we start rehearsing up the new lineup of the covers band next week.

Still, not a bad idea for a nice little sidegig (depending how other events work out next year)!

I suppose I'm trying to boost low mids and cut the hi mids. Last time I used it on a gig ,the other bass player on the bill thought I had quite a toppy sound, which isn't what I was going for. Part of the problem is that I haven't been doing loads of gigs recently so I haven't had a lot of chance to play around with it. Also I'm used to a Mpulse with a semi para EQ, which is obviously a much different approach to eq'ing an amp. I hope that I can find a way to get to grips with the EQ as I do like the amp. It's got a good core sound, plenty of attack, it's loud enough and it's a pretty convenient package (I don't need a featherweight Class D amp and the HB is a lot more convenient than lugging a rackcase to pub gigs). I'm sure there is a suitable sound in there, I just need to find it! Any suggestions/ tips welcome...

I must admit, the EQ is something I have struggled with my R400

Jim Rodford John Paul Jones isn't a particularly tall chap either...

In interest of balance I should mention that I paid a lot of money for a Mpulse when they first came out (I got it for trade but still expensive at the time). I still use it and it has seen off every other amp I have ever owned since, easily my favourite amp!

That's cool. The rock and roll generation are now getting old. Doesn't mean that they are going to turn into a M&S wearing Darby and Joan types. We are all going to be in that situation sooner or later...

The thing is that the vast majority of musicians I've played with are great (there are exceptions), most punters are very friendly and while venue owners / promoters are a bit more of a mixed bag, most them are also OK. Sometimes you have to look at yourself and ask why you are having such difficulties dealing with people...!

Yes, I'm sure that it would generate money in the short term. My point is that there will be a very sharp rate of diminishing returns as the official tribute band has to compete directly with the many other very good tributes out there. The drummer in one of my bands is a big Kiss fan and paid a fortune for two tickets for the farewell tour. I'm sure that he would be interested in an official tribute tour, but there's no way he would pay anything like the same amount and he would expect a similar show. There's also the point of the legacy of a band like Kiss, which I'm sure will be a big thing for Simmons and Stanley. Like them or not, Kiss have a big place in American rock & roll history. I don't think that they would want to undermine that. Look at the impact that Led Zep had when they announced a one off reunion gig. That comes from them never having done anything to tarnish their legacy.

You mean does lack of talent run in the family??

I believe that Gene Simmons used to talk about KISS operating as a franchise with others assuming their characters when he & Stanley finally retired. But really, with the growth of tribute bands, what would be the point?? At best it would be like the current versions of TRex or Dr Feelgood. It wouldn't take long before fans stopped caring and they were reduced to slogging around the cabaret circuit. .

DI box Couple of spare tee shirts (nothing worse than driving home in a sweaty shirt you've just gigged in) Can of deodorant (see above) A couple of yogurt bars or similar (for gigs where you have a long drive at the end of the night and you might not be able to get anything to eat)

And the thing is that it's even harder these days

When I started getting back into playing Fender style basses again, I was looking for a ‘super jazz’. I did really fancy a Sadowsky, especially after hearing an interview with Roger where it seemed that he was very much building basses for players like me. However, the cost was somewhat of an issue. I went through a couple of decent active jazz basses then one day I went to Bass Direct to pick some accessories up and picked up an Xotic, which I decided was the best jazz bass I had ever played. I managed to quickly find a secondhand one on here, which has been my go-to gigging bass ever since. This has somewhat cured me of my Sadowsky GAS and to be honest I don’t think that I could justify the price tag, especially with how much the pound is worth these days. Mind you, I do sometimes look at how much a Satin series would cost and think that maybe a nice secondhand one might come up. I still can’t see it replacing the Xotic though…

That may well be true, but it still takes a lot of effort and commitment to establish yourself to get those very sought after gigs. The vast majority of pro musicians have to struggle to make a reasonable, yet very precarious, living. Most would have been far better off financially if they had put that effort and commitment into building a more mainstream career. I once went for a lesson with a guy who has an occasional very big paying gig with a very famous British rock band. He said that the uncertain income sometimes gets to him; some years he may be extremely well off but he has to bank most of that as the next year he could be struggling to pay the mortgage...!

To be honest, building a career as a musician is not the easiest thing to do and is not generally particularly lucrative. Anyone would have a much easier life developing other employment skills rather than committing to being a professional musician, unless they really loved doing it. I have a friend who has been a pro drummer all his life. He went and got his first (part time) office job in his fifties to give him a steady income alongside his drum teaching. He did this, not because he hated gigging, but so he could afford to take lower paying gigs with his mates playing music he liked, rather than his regular function band gig where he said that the highlight was always “picking up the money at the end of the night”!

I’ve just been working stagecrew at the Colne Blues Festival and on the Sunday had a few beers with a drummer from Ipswich, who set off at 5.00am to drive up to Lancashire to do a couple of gigs, all to get paid a couple of hundred quid and a night in a Holiday Inn. This guy was in his mid-sixties and says that he still keeps busy and will do every decent gig he gets offered (as well as teaching drums, running a local jam session, a bit of PA hire and doing a show on a local radio station). I think that we were all up to about three in the morning, with all the crew and musos from the bands playing at the festival who were staying over commandeering the bar of the local Holiday Inn. The point is that no one is forcing you to do this. This guy is in his sixties and still playing every week with no intention of dialling it back. There are certain sacrifices you have to make to be a musician, both in terms of learning to play and the lifestyle involved in gigging regularly. If you have issues dealing with other people, don’t like crowds, the camaraderie you get playing with other musicians, or you are not prepared (or able) to organise your life to allow you to take gigs (the killer for lots of decent players) then you just shouldn’t do it...

The thing is that I am currently playing higher profile gigs in bigger venues (size of crowd is somewhat variable), but not making money. This is great fun and has got me noticed to the point where I have been offered a potentially bigger gig. However, whilst the money is not such a big thing for me at the moment, I am still trying to get a side project going playing pubs to get some extra cash coming in...

You should definitely have a look at the EQ section on the mpulse to get the best out of it. It is one of the main things that distinguishes it from other really good amps. Probably best to start by trying out the factory sample settings in the manual, which you can download off the Mesa site if you haven't already got one (link: https://www.mesaboogie.com/support/user-manuals.html?page=2 / https://mesa-boogie.imgix.net/media/User Manuals/M-Pulse.pdf) I pretty much use the 'Driving Rock' setting with a few minor tweaks, mainly changing the frequency centre on the low mids to suit the room to ensure that there is no 'boominess'. Whatever you do, keep the mpulse...!

The Handbox has a great core sound and is very responsive. The only issue is the EQ is quite rudimentary if you are used to the semi-parametric on the mpulse. Of course the disadvantage of the Mesa is that if you don't know how to use the EQ then you can find some really horrible sounds in there if you try hard enough! The mids control on the HB is a hi-mid cut. In theory this should work for me but I have yet to really consistently find the sweet spot. If you leave it flat it is very mids focused, which of course is what players like MoT want. It's a bit of a work in progress for me, especially as I am not gigging as much at the moment. I'm not knocking the HB at all and would have no hesitation in recommending one to anyone wanting a new amp. It cost me about £650 in total (£590 for the amp, £30 postage and £30 in bank charges). I think that's good value for a great, handmade amp. Of course the price may go up significantly for some reason after 31 October, so if you fancy giving one a go it might be an idea to put an order in pretty soon...!

I have had a mpulse for many years and until recently, also had a Subway D800 as a lightweight option. I thought that the D800 was the nicest sounding Class D amp I had ever heard, but unfortunately I have had to move it on. Whilst it sounded great with a R&B band I was depping with last year and worked fine with a one guitar hard rock band, it just couldn't cope with a rock band with loads of keys on larger stages. Of course YMMV, but it seemed to lack power for an amp rated @ 800w. It does sound nice at lower volumes though. It has been replaced by a Handbox hybrid 400w amp, which has the power and cuts through a mix better even if I am still trying to come to terms with it's EQ options. The Handbox is obviously heavier, but still an easy one hand lift whereas the D800 was so light that it used to keep bouncing off the top of the cab until I got one of those car dashboard non-slip maps!