peteb

Top of my head – And You and I, Heart of the Sunrise, Yours Is No Disgrace, Roundabout, Starship Trooper, Soon oh Soon, Long Distance Runaround and quite a few more (as you may notice, all of these are from the earlier versions of the band which shows when my prog phase took place).

Lady GaGa is a musician and an artist: she should play whatever her muse leads her to. It's up to the listener to then judge the authenticity of what she does and whether it's any good or not. As far as I'm concerned, she was great singing with Metallica and great singing with Tony Bennett. There's not many singers out there who would be able to pull both of those off...!

We’ve just had our last two gigs for this year cancelled; one in the north-east as they were struggling to make live gigs viable with the reduced capacity and another (that we thought probably would have gone ahead) when the 10pm closing time was announced. More worryingly, another in February has almost certainly gone as the venue (an established circuit gig with a capacity of 700) is on the point of going bust. All the places that cancelled gigs this year were pushing to rearrange for next year, but now they seem to be holding off to see how things develop. It’s going to be weird for gigs next year, with many venues going bust and others trying to rearrange all the bands they have had to cancel this year.

I have a couple of iGig bags (one single, one double), which are the business. I know that Mono make great bags as well. If you're not going to gig, then there are plenty of cheaper bags that do a good job. I used to have a cheaper fusion bag that was fine.

I don't really know Chris, although we have a few mutual friends (I remember seeing his Dad playing in bands 35 years or so ago). I have to say that the Leeds avant-garde improv scene is not one I am massively familiar with, obviously a fault on my part that I must put right as soon as we're allowed out again...! 🙂 Like you, a lot of my gigs seem to be all over the country, although I'm guessing that your theatres & function gigs pay more than obscure rock tribute bands and the blues circuit (at least I hope so)! I do try and keep a local gigging band going, so you may have bumped into me at some point if you have ever ventured out to local pub gigs. I did live in the top end of Great Horton for a while in the 90s, although I'm the other side of town now...

That's a strange way of looking at it. Scotland's response to the pandemic is generally perceived to be far better than Westminster's and certainly hasn't done the SNP / case for devolution any harm at all.

It seems that we have a few things in common - I'm originally from Essex and have lived in Bradford for most of my life. I've also known Chantel since she was a teenager. I'm sure that we must have a few mutual acquaintances (musical or otherwise). Out of interest, in which part of our fair city (!!) do you reside??

The SWR SM900 on sale here is about the same weight as a lightish 5 string bass and half the weight of a Barefaced Big Twin. A SM500 or an Eden amp will be a bit lighter than that. I assume that if you have an amp then you use a cab with it?

I can sort of understand that attitude regarding cabs and even big all tube amps, but is a 2u SWR amp (for example) really that heavy?? As long as it is something you can easily lift with one hand then why would you gig with something even lighter if it's not as good? I've tried a number of Class D amps (even paid a lot of money for one) but I have always been disappointed with them. I ended up buying a Handbox R400, which is a convenient size and not too heavy without compromising on sound. Perhaps more people should frequent a gym, or at least keep themselves in some sort of shape. It would improve their lives in many ways, not least allowing them to use a better amp!

I agree. Modern cabs are generally better and certainly much lighter than some of the horrors we used to lug around 30 years ago. but I can't understand the need for amps that you can pick up with one finger. There is always a compromise with something that light and Class D amps just don't sound as good as the great hybrid amps of a few years ago that you can pick up for peanuts these days. If you put them in a lightweight rack it is still an easy one hand lift, so why the obsession with making everything unnecessarily light?

The SVT4 is pretty much the industry standard when touring bands are hiring in backline! They sound fine to me. The real bargains for the great old SWR and Eden amps. There are a fair few in the Amps For Sale section on here going for an absolute song. I really don't need another amp, but every now and then I get tempted...

A musician smoking dope...! Who woulda thought 🙂

That's cool - what a great guy

The point that I was making is that if you should know the difference if you are standing in front of the amp while playing through it. There's no reason why the audience should know or care, they're only interested in if the band as a whole sounds good or not. The bass is only a component of that overall sound, but you would hope that the bass player would be able to tell the difference...

I am always a bit surprised when I hear people make statements like this. Can you really not tell the difference when you are stood in front of an all valve / hybrid / Class D amp? I am not saying that there isn't some confirmation bias, especially for things like an effect pedal housed in a plastic casing rather than metal, but there is a basic difference in sound for amps with different types of power sections. You might not be bothered about that difference, or even prefer the Class D amp, but the difference is there. As far as wireless units go, you really do get what you pay for. Over the years I have bought and then sold a number of mid-price wireless units, all of which were poor. Eventually I splashed out a lot of dosh for a modern top quality wireless systems and the difference is night and day.

I think that virtually every drummer I play with these days has got one of those.

TBH, I thought that most bass players were using rounds by the 70s! Perhaps you could use rounds and go up a gauge? You might not need to dig in so much to get the oomph you're after. You definitely need to play with a lighter touch if you're hurting your fingers like that. I'm using roundwound nickel 45-105s, either DRs or D'addarios through the same amp as you. Always sounds great and would work well with your set, depending on how far you feel you need to go for an authentic tone. The DRs are expensive but do last a bit longer.

If I remember correctly, you are using similar gear to me, playing in a similar type of band (I’m not playing glam rock but similar lineup, sound and playing a few of the same songs in my rock covers pub band) and I would imagine that you would be looking for a similar sound, especially if you are looking for more ‘bite, growl or edge’. The difference is that I am using higher tension (hex core), heavier gauge, roundwound strings. For what you are playing, I would have thought that roundwound strings would be the obvious choice?

Of course the sound engineer is happy to help DT get his sound - that's his job! He wouldn't be there if he didn't know how to work with Trucks' gear and how to get the best sound out of it. A mate of mine owns a big PA hire company and has worked with a lot of big names and done a lot of big events (he's also a very good guitar player). He can be quite contemptuous of a lot of sound engineers around. His idea is that it is his company's job for the artist to be comfortable with the sound onstage, and if they can be reasonable abut that then he can get a great sound out front.

I nearly put 'hearing' instead of 'seeing', but the point is that the audience is there to see Derek Trucks and hear him express himself (one of the most renowned living guitar players around) using his unique sound and playing at his best. It is up to the sound engineer to facilitate him to do this, not the other way round...!

The audience are coming to see Derek Trucks, not the sound guy...

I recently went for an audition / socially distanced playthrough / chat (just the two of us) with a guy who is a sideman in a well-known pop band who is putting together a band for his side project who would be playing decent club gigs and the odd festival across Europe. He was asking about the amp I brought along and what amp / cab I would be using live when playing clubs, as well talking about the backline he used live – no mention of in-ears or helix setups or anything of that nature. There is a place for all different types of rigs depending on what the gig requires. If you are playing a tour of club gigs with a need to fly or to travel light, then a helix rig may be the only way to realistically go. You may prefer that, or see it as a compromise that you are forced to make – but it may be the best, or even only, way to do the gig. Obviously, some big productions pretty much require everyone to use in-ears. Personally, I hate seeing gigs without amps in small venues or places without a proper stage. To me it sounds cr*p, like a karaoke set-up. But I am aware that other people here think differently. My main gig at the moment is a tribute band, generally playing decent size clubs. The band leader has used all in-ear systems before and I thought I might have to bite the bullet and get some in-ears for myself. However, after the first rehearsal it became apparent that everybody else preferred to use amps on stage and the BL was happy to go along with that (although he uses his in-ears for his own personal monitoring). Sounds great…

Indeed. If only it contained some incredibly bad advice to a novice bass player that would put his / her development back several years, it would be the perfect Basschat thread.

Can I ask why exactly are you looking for a new cab?? You already have an Ampeg 410, which is a more than decent old school cab that would work fine for most gigs. Personally, I would be looking at getting a better s/h amp first, unless there is some reason that you need to get rid of the Ampeg cab?