solo4652

We used Google calendar in my previous band. Or rather, we didn't - it was all set up properly so that everybody could see, access and edit it online, but only one person regularly updated it. In the end, we resorted to a wall planner that was pinned up at rehearsal, complete with re-usable coloured sticky things. At least it was reasonably accurate one time in a week. Curious, isn't it. Plenty of musicians are happy to use all manner of sophisticated software for recording, editing and online collaboration, but not to be organised. As Discreet says, it's probably not the technology that puts people off - it's the prospect of having to be structured.

That's a truly awful animation. Is it really necessary?

What's the situation for exchanging (as opposed to buying) a bass from the USA? I want to do a straight swap with a shop in the States; their used bass for mine, no money changing hands. I'd pay shipping costs to get theirs to me, and they'd pay to get mine to them. I'm trying to work out how much, if any, Custom, Import and VAT duties I'd need to pay, bearing in mind that sales invoice may well show £0. I've trawled through HMRC website and tried to ring them, but neither is easy at all. Can anybody advise, please?

Agreed. That's one of the reasons we don't particularly want something that needs constantly updating. Just need a simple "shop window" that demonstrates what we look and sound like without all the ongoing liking, unliking, sharing, reposting, messaging, remessaging, following etc that you seem to get with TwitFace.

Latest in series of studies regarding players' choices between Stradivarius and modern violins: [url="http://thestrad.com/latest/news/blind-tested-soloists-unable-to-tell-stradivarius-violins-from-modern-instruments"]http://thestrad.com/...ern-instruments[/url]

Thanks folks. Reverbnation and Pen.io look good.

My new band's been caught on the hop. We've only been together 2 months and the gigs have started coming in. We need to put together something quickly to show photos, videos and audio files to prospective venues and gigs - something like a cross between Facebook and a website. We have thrown together a Soundcloud page but that doesn't really carry images. Shopping list; Quick and easy to set up with by somebody with no experience whatsoever of coding, Twitter, Facebook, web design. PLEASE don't get technical with me - I'm still using a steam-powered slide rule here. Free Will show band photos, videos, audio files Easy to update content Can send a link to prospective venues and gigs for them to see and hear the band Don't need or want others to be able to "like/unlike", "follow", repost or comment All suggestions gratefully received.

Quite by accident, I seem to have opened up a debate here about the pros and cons of playing for expenses only. This was not my intention. I completely understand that there is a range of views about this and these are currently being aired and discussed in this BC thread: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/233860-musicians-expected-to-play-for-nothing-by-generous-venues/ Thank you to those who have helped me to put together an expenses request for our gig. That's all I was asking for, really. Steve

@Spacey, post number 16. I accept your apology.

Not sure whether this post will appear as a direct reply to Spacey's first reply (post no. 10). The "quote" button doesn't seem to work for me. ...mugs playing for nothing ...if you value yourself as nothing, it might be an idea to look for another band ...they are mugging you off, have more pride in yourself I consider these comments to be rude and I object to being called a "mug", to the suggestion that I value myself as nothing and that I should have more pride in myself.

Event website: http://foodiesfestival.com/event/tatton-park-chesire/ Closing time each day is 6 p.m. We've asked for: 3 o'clock and 5 o'clock (headline slot) on the Saturday, and 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock on the Sunday. Not sure whether the drummer's expected to make his kit available for any other acts. I suspect not and I think he'd refuse anyway. Free food and drinks probably not a problem given that it's a Foodie festival. How does this look; Mileage for everybody calculated at 45 ppm, or £100 in total, whichever is lower. 1 (2?) free event passes and car-park passes for each band member for each day Free food and drink. Seem reasonable?

Folks, I've managed to secure some slots for my new band at the July Foodie festival at Tatton Park. Large, managed stage, thousands of people in the audience, press coverage etc. Big opportunity for us. No gig fee, but we have been offered "expenses". I've no idea what to ask for. Some more info; We're a 5-piece covers band We all live within 30 mins drive of the venue We'll be doing 2 X 40 minutes slots on the Saturday and 2 X 40 mins slots on the Sunday No need to take any backline with us, but drummer has to take his kit What would you regard as reasonable expenses to ask for, please?

I've been considering a Mibass 2.0 for a backup head. This is the best buy I could find: http://www.soundsliveshop.com/p/Ashdown_MIBass_2.0s_Bass_Amplifier_Head/ASH-MIBASS-2.0S I also came across this offer on a Mibass 550: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ASHDOWN-MiBass-550-Head-Bassamp-inkl-Tasche-/371024738355?pt=Amps&hash=item5662cc3833

I have one of Rastas 2 x 10 cabs - started off as a GK BLX cab but now has two Eminence Delta 10 350W 8 Ohm 10" drivers = 700W at 4ohms. Oooof! What a cab - clear, smooth, rich lows with plenty of sparkly top end. Bit heavy, but some castors have really helped with portability. I'm considering buying a Portaflex PF800 (£488 from Soundslive - bargain) to pair with it for some upcoming outdoor summer foodie festival gigs. Also useful to have a second/backup amp in case my GK MB500 fails. What do we think, folks? Overkill? Just stick with the MB500 and buy something cheap 'n' cheerful as a backup?

I just knew I'd end up with egg on my face with this. I'd misunderstood what the BDI in particular, and DI boxes in general are for. It will come as no surprise to anybody (apart from me, obviously) that the BDI won't drive a speaker without going through some sort of power amp. I've just tried it at home. Back to my original concern for disaster recovery options. I'll get a back up head. That way, if my cab goes pop, I can DI from the head into the desk (maybe via the BDI), and if my head goes pop I can switch to the spare head with my existing cab. Don't shout at me please - my eyes glaze over quickly when I read up about balanced/unbalanced signals, pre-amps, power amps, gain etc.

Oh gawd, I'm getting so confused now. This is an interesting thread on Talkbass: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f36/di-recommendations-behringer-ultra-di-di100-606401/ " You don't want a DI, because 90% of the time they do not boost! That's not what a DI is for." Can I check my BDI-21 at home without a desk to see if it's working? If I plug my bass into the BDI "IN" and then run an XLR from the BDI into my Compact, should I expect to get some giggable volume? I'll go and try it now while my missus is at the stables and report back...

@Monkyman Well, no, that's not what happened. We were at rehearsal and the guitarists combo died. I had the BDDI with me so I decided to try out my disaster-recovery plan while guitarist used my head/cab rig. Try as we might, we couldn't get any useful volume for my bass by using the BDDI without an amp. This made me think about what I'd do if my head went down at a gig. That was last week. This week, we rehearsed in a different room with a different PA. The crappy speakers immediately started to distort when I used the BDDI as a preamp. I've sort of given up with the BDDI now. Instead, I'll buy a back-up head, I think.

[url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-amp-heads/pid32029/cid685/fender-rumble-200-head-v3-bass-amp.asp"]http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-amp-heads/pid32029/cid685/fender-rumble-200-head-v3-bass-amp.asp[/url] Couple of numbers caught my eye; price = £228, weight = 15kgs

Thanks everybody. Sounds like it may well have been operator error that caused the cock-up. I did all the plugging-in my end and then handed the XLR to the guitarist who plugged it into the desk. He has much more experience of using mixers than I do. Next rehearsal is Monday - I'll get in early and try things out for myself, especially the gain setting on the mixer channel. I might still invest in a back-up amp and stay away from the desk.

I used an external PSU.

@Happy Jack, This is going to get embarrassing, I can tell. I have a Behringer BD1-21. It's entirely possible I don't know how to use it. I plugged my bass jack lead into the IN socket and then ran an XLR lead from the BAL OUT socket into an available XLR socket on the desk. I have no idea whether it was a mic socket.

In my ignorance, I thought I'd be able to use an active DI box to plug the bass straight into the desk. I bought a Behringer DDI box specifically for that purpose. I tried it out at rehearsal and it didn't amplify the signal enough to enable me to go into the desk. I now realise that my disaster-recovery plan is flawed. So, what can you do if your amp head goes phut? Obviously, I could buy a cheap 'n' cheerful back up head and do a quick swap. Are there any other alternatives to get you through to the end of a gig? I don't use effects or pedals at all and, for all I know, there may be something I could use as an emergency amp.

Only a dummy would play that. Sorry about that. On a more serious note, in the first photo the G string looks to be quite a bit closer to the edge of the fingerboard than the E string does. Perhaps the bass is tilting down a little.