uk_lefty

I used to take my kit when watching my older brothers play (mens) hockey, just in case. I was about 9 when I started doing that. Then started getting games aged 11. Never thought about that from a musical point of view but might start taking my bass with me to gigs.

No unwanted noise on my ABM via DI but I will now blame it for bum notes saying it's a known issue.

Everyone needs to know at least something about running the PA... we have a new digital one and I feel bad leaving it to the drummer and guitarist, I'm ok with the old sliders but not perfect, I'd like to learn more. I'm the lights guy which is a far easier task!

I went ampless for my last gig. Space was small and I wanted to check out my "new" EBS Microbass ii pedal. Long story short, I'd prefer my ABM behind me any day of the week, given sufficient space and set up time. You just can't beat the depth of sound and yes, the "heft", an actual amp gives you. Just because you can do something with newer tech doesn't mean it's always better.

Nope, did manual search and didn't see it. Thanks.

Thanks Mick. I'm pretty much covered with a good preamp pedal and my Ashdown rig but I bought a nice SWR to scratch the gas itch and it makes a bit of a hiss noise and needs some re-covering done.

Used the EBS Microbass ii for the first time last night... Some valuable lessons learned! I had my amp in the car as a backup but we didn't have much space so I used the sub from the PA placed behind me. The drum kit is electronic so the sub really helps. During soundcheck I found that one side of the room got no bass, the other got tons. The bass was far too quiet too, a punter who I know plays guitar in a band also told me this after the first song. The EBS has an effects loop with all my other pedals in. I couldn't remember putting my tuner onto bypass mode rather than mute... because I hadn't! The EBS was mixed with loads of FX loop in so it was quiet because I was muting about 75% of the total output! I switched off the tuner and I nearly blew the windows out. Lesson learned for next time. Tone wise it just wasn't the same as using my Ashdown ABM rig. I need to get to know the EBS better and I was happy enough with the tone but wouldn't have just settled for that if I had my ABM there. Load in and out was far easier and stage space far better. Even if I had my amp I'd have been stood so close I wouldn't have heard it anyways. Next three gigs all have in house PA and soundman so the EBS experiments will continue!

To me, open mic means "anything goes". Just sounds like he was the end of a bell. An open mic I went to years back was awesome. Some bloke would tootle along with most acts on an alto sax. He didn't even ask permission, he just played, and he was good... Sounded a bit odd on our Eagles song though! Then there was a girl who plugged in a laptop for a backing track and sang Opera. Then the lad who made improvised electronic music using an old Nintendo Gameboy he'd reconfigured. That was more fun than two hours of soppy acoustic stuff.

Thanks Mick. I've had some unforeseen expenses recently so I'm not in a rush out of necessity....

Oh my!!!

I get the point, don't want to look like a "try hard" but I think things have moved on and now it's "cool" to be good at something/ try hard.... But only if the outcome is good. So in this case as long as the t-shirt doesn't look cr@p (again, a matter of personal taste) then I don't think it's as much of an issue as it would have been 20-25 yes ago when anyone trying or doing well was derided.

James Hetfield got interviewed about this. The other members and some fans got at him for it but whatever shirt he wore on stage got huge sales so it served his purpose.

I don't see what's uncool about it. If you're in a cheesy function band (and I'm not knocking cheesy function bands here!!) All wearing the same band t shirt is probably the way to go, nobody would think you're cool trend setters anyway. I don't have one, but if I did I'd wear a t shirt with my bands logo on it for gigs. We have a great logo. I am not cool anyway, not even in a so-not-cool-its-actually-cool way. I drive a Volvo estate. I have a mirror pickguard on my bass with the band logo on. Does this make me uncool?

Can anyone recommend someone who can do amp repairs in the Hertfordshire area, ideally not a big travel from St Albans? Thanks!

I've sold quite a bit on Reverb and never used Packlink, haven't had an issue with payment at all. I always put the tracking number (usually Royal Mail) in as a matter of habit and record keeping though so I don't know if this is the payment trigger or not. I'd guess whoever you send with will give you some kind of tracking.

At a respectable price too. This on the other hand... Hofner 500/1 Selmer Bass, Left Handed 1963 - Sunburst https://reverb.com/item/72591935?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=72591935 It doesn't actually say it was Sir Paul's...

One of the songs I grew up on, my Mum absolutely loved this (still does). I bought her a Dylan cassette one birthday as I was starting to get into music myself only to be told that she hates everything about him, but likes other people singing his songs!! I don't necessarily agree but I see where she's coming from. Anyhow, this is the first thing I think of for Bob Dylan covers. https://youtu.be/qcwP2ulxDdY

More use them than you probably know, some are just better at hiding their notes! In the old band where the set barely changed in five years I'd write out the chords for tricky parts in the odd song or two on the set list so I could follow that. Having the iPad on my mic stand isn't great for stage presence. It's good for prompting me but on photos we are often looking at the iPads, probably a lot more than we realise. We are all conscious of it and trying to rest but it's not easy. We try to make sure we have new songs every time we go back to a venue, and we keep things fresh just for ourselves. My old brain struggles with it!

For me when joining a band a few years back I made loads of notes of the chords for the song (after checking which off the list were original key) and got my chords off ultimate guitar or something similar. One A4 sheet per song. For my band there's two song types, riff based ones where I learn a riff by muscle memory and use some chord notes as prompts in case I get lost and need to get back on track, and "chord songs" where I need to just follow the chord changes and keep the rhythm. It really helps with song structure too. Over time I've learned most and the notes become a distraction on stage, something you look at just because it's there (I have an iPad on my mic stand). But with a set list of nearly 100 songs and changing it up regularly it's impossible to remember it all perfectly including song structure. In my previous band only the singer had notes on stage and the drummer and guitarist used to say that was unprofessional. Needless to say it took us a lot longer to get songs gig ready with everyone having to learn their parts and we had more mishaps at gigs with song structures being a bit trickier to get everyone going in the same direction.

Used to have a five string ash body, maple board V7 1st gen and it was fantastic. Being left handed Sire really provide for us lefties, it was a great bass and the preamp is so easy to use. The passive tone was great too. I only sold it because I felt guilty after spending big on a US Stingray. I then got a V9 five string with Ebony board and flame maple top. I called it "the wedding bass" because I mainly used it for functions. It was a bit heavy but sounded excellent. Again, got rid because I had other instruments coming in (a Fender US Jazz). It's odd how I've not stuck with one for more than a year because I really, really rate them. I'm tempted by a P5 because I want a P bass and I know I'd be getting a lot for the money....

I don't think you'll get a MusicMan tone I'm afraid. If you want a MusicMan perhaps restore the bass as best you can and sell it to fund a MusicMan? Fender Japanese basses fetch good money so if you replace the loom and get it firing nicely with the stock pickups you should get a good price for it.

I suppose it depends on how you present the songs. What I mean by that is are you trying to play them close to the original style? If so then if the band has a more "cabaret" / family friendly / Butlins vibe (none of that is meant disrespectfully) then you can carry it off. If you all wear denim and leather and take yourselves too seriously then it could look like out of touch blokes trying to play a few songs to be "down with the kids" before going back to their own era. It could all work. The Butlins comment is not meant as a criticism, one of my favourite local bands does that sort of thing brilliantly and they top the bill for festivals and get loads of work out of it.

She's a stunner! Bet you can shake some bums out of pews with that! Lovely finish on it. I really like the styling on these with the big pickup magnets and chunky bridges, they look non Fender enough without looking wrong.

Nice!!!!!

I recently got a Microbass II. I really like the sound and all the options I have with the pedal. There are some drawbacks but they're outweighed by how easy it is to get a fantastic sound from the pedal. My query though is this... I like the sound on channel A. If I want to kick in A+B to get a thicker sound with some tube drive the volume boost is huge. Is there a way to manage the volume between the two channels? I've fiddled around and not cracked it. This is one of the few drawbacks of this pedal, that the tube drive is a small button rather than a foot switch, I think that would have helped.