Huge Hands

I had this with a blues band years ago - I had a rosewood coloured Cort C5 at the time, and they tried to get me to change to a Fender. I took the "f**k them" attitude and stuck with the Cort, but after a short while I got kicked out. I guess if it's not your band, you need to be happy with this being a possible outcome. I was gutted at the time.

Paul McCartney probably got me into bass, but once I realised it was one guy playing most of the Motown hits I was loving, I became a massive fan of James Jamerson.

He was a fantastic drummer, as were many more of JB's stick men. I can remember trying (miserably) to play along to old James Brown grooves when I was learning to play drums as a teenager. Fantastic stuff! RIP Clyde.

The A&H ML5000 was one of the last desks I bought as an in-house tech manager around 14 years ago before I left and moved away from live sound. I bought it as an upgrade to the previous GL series we had. At the time, I felt the functionality you got for the price was second to none. I thought it was a great desk, and loved the VCA control on them instead of using subgroups. I never used one for studio, just live, so having no overlaid return channels was not a problem. To answer the modular question, if I know Allen and Heath, I would have thought that all access would be through the panel underneath. The channels are probably all individual boards, but the faders will be on disconnectable cables and attached to a plate 8 wide. I do remember ours being taken apart as it had an issue on delivery, but it was so long ago, I can't remember for sure how it was set up.

A bit late to this, but perhaps you could have tried Roland direct? I have the same hi-hat and upgraded to the moving stand based one thanks to an ex-demo offer they sent me via email. They were dead helpful when I had an issue it being badly packed causing damage - they sent me spare parts.

Maybe you should show her you're a keeper by not going for the most expensive thing you can find

I have two of the first Squier P5s which had Jazz pups. I got a friend to rout the body on one to give me an open cavity under the scratchplate to play with placement of a split coil pup replacement (I would need to replace the scratchplate anyway). I bought a set of EMG P6s from a Shuker bass which one of the regulars from this parish had taken out. I messed around for years and couldn't get the B String right - no matter where I put the pickup, the B string would have no attack as though it was coming out of the field when plucked upwards. Only last month, I decided to take a gamble and bought a new set of P6s. Lo and behold, the B string is great now. I noted that only the ADG coil is labelled on the set, so wondered if perhaps Jon had mixed and matched when making his bass to put a P4 or P5 unit for the B and E strings. According to the manual, all are the same casing size, but internally have blade pickups of different lengths depending on the model. EDIT: Either that, or the pickup was knackered! My only issue now is the G string is a little quiet on the new set, so probably need to move the ADG coil out a bit. I do like the sound though - but I'm not keen on them being active only, and I imagine placement would have been much easier with visible pole pieces. I am gigging with it a bit now though! [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]ANOTHER EDIT: I thought I'd better mention that as mine was not a take out/drop in job, it might be worth checking casing sizes before you buy - I'm not sure the EMGs are the same footprint/scratchplate hole size as others[/size][/font][/color]

I have a Jamhub in the house for my electric kit, bass noodling and playing music, or if mates visit for a jam. It is really useful, but as other have said, was expensive. I got a deal on mine from Thomann when the exchange rates were a lot better. My only annoyance was having to fork out even more to buy mono to stereo adaptors for the inputs as all jack ins are non-switchable stereo. Once this was done - sorted!

We, as a 1950's/60's blues group, whilst recently playing in a blues branded bar, got asked "do you do any ELO?" I thought that was hilarious! Seriously though, I like it when bands totally flip tracks around and do them in a totally different style. I would have loved to hear an indie/punk interpretation of a Luther Vandross track!

I used to live just along from there when I was a student, roughly 20 years ago! Good luck with the open mic. I wish I'd got out and about more and got involved in more live music back in those days.... I feel a dream sequence coming on.....

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1485135507' post='3221494'] Ok, cool. Someone tell me a little about Heinz. Blue [/quote] I'm no expert, but there is a lot of mention of him and his relationship with legendary producer Joe Meek in the documentary "Telstar". I assume I'm thinking about the right bloke - a bit before my time. I wasn't there of course, so can't possibly know what I'm talking about ;-)

Ashdown have pretty good tech service, and IIRC they are often active on here too. Might be worth checking with them into what they can do before you open the lid and potentially void any service warranties?

Oh dear. If they do this in a 5, I will be in trouble as the GAS will brew again! NJE - my V7 J works in passive mode as well as active (hence the switch) and I use it in that mode most of the time. You forget about the hundreds of knobs after a while!

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1484682472' post='3217500'] As both a sound man and a musician, I'll tell you. A band will normally do one or two slots/sets at a charity do. There may well be several bands at such an event. The sound man will have to get there before everyone else to set up, sort out sound for the bands, the speeches, the raffle, play background music, etc, etc, etc. He will pack up/leave last when everyone else has finished. He may well have to pay a gopher to help load in and out. It's a very long day and he will do several times the amount of work of any individual performer or band. Reason enough for you? [/quote] Totally agree. As a former sound man and now manager of audio visual at a corporate firm, it gets me when an internal department of the firm will try and run a charity event in the building then put loads of "but its for charity" pressure on my team and our hire suppliers to give them the earth for nothing and stay behind all night making it all work for free whilst they get p****d. What they don't usually realise is that they're usually the fourth charity event we've dealt with in just that one week, so the answer these days is usually "no". It also works the other way though, I've seen them put on huge charity gala dinners in hired venues with lots of wow and splendour, not to mention free drink and food. It makes you wonder if the charity will ever see any money....

Just interested - what is the penalty if you don't sell 50 tickets? Or were you asked to buy 50 tickets up front? Sounds like the charity wants a band with guaranteed audience to help boost attendance. I just wondered if it was a "we hope you'd bring in at least 50" or "don't bring 50 and we charge you a load of penalties"?

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1484130683' post='3212844'] .... but more respect is needed for different ideas, approaches and opinions. [/quote] ...but that was what I thought was [i]his[/i] (Janek's) problem. Sure, he may have been finding new and innovative ways to play the bass, but, as I remember it, he would flare up at the slightest question of his own views, opinions and claims. I don't think that getting angry and stroppy at people because they won't accept you're right is any better than goading. Like I said I thought he brought "most" of it on himself, but do acknowledge that a part of the forum also pushed his buttons to wind him up. I was saying there was blame on both sides, in my opinion. I was too late for the Guy Pratt saga, and could never find it in any searches, so can't comment on that.

[quote name='Crawford13' timestamp='1484073001' post='3212474'] ...I just wanted to bring one of my favourite musicians and a dude that I thought a lot of this community would like over to the UK for a solo gig! [/quote] I don't think you've done anything wrong and I'm sure a lot of the forum members would/will probably support you on it. I just personally thought that Chris' "knuckle draggers" comment and the inferences to "this is the problem with this forum" were a bit one-sided and unfair from my recollection of what went on in that period. I'd happily vote to see Sean (BBC) back on here any day, even if a lot of his posts made me wince. Most ended up making me spit my tea all over the screen laughing! (P.S. Mods - no need to explain, I understand why you wouldn't be able to allow him back).

I remember it different. I joined BC not long before he left - My memory of it is him reacting and taking offence to the slightest question of his viewpoint or opinion. Admittedly, I think some BC members spotted this and wound him up further, but I remember thinking he had brought a lot of it on himself. Maybe it was because I didn't really know who he was at the time, but then again I'm not one for speaking any different to the "stars" than the person next to me. (EDIT: Unless it is Gwen Dickey, who I will admit made me go all weak at the knees when I met her due to a youthful crush - I wasn't proud of myself afterwards).

I have a 14 year old Mk2 Honda C-RV which is perfect - I can get my entire rig, trolley and guitar in the boot without having to have the parcel shelf up or the seats down and thanks to lighter bass gear the suspension never looks overly loaded when parked either, so you can't really tell there is much in it. It is thirsty for petrol though - automatic 2.0 L. I commute via train during the week though, so the petrol costs aren't too bad when only used at weekends.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1483701881' post='3209343'] Not sure about this bit, though: [b]Fans are also accusing her of lip-syncing. From watching the video, it looked like part of the performance was meant to be lip-synced and part of it wasn’t?[/b] [i]No. It’s not lip-syncing. Lip-syncing is when people don’t sing at all. This is what people should understand. Every artist sings to a track, especially in circumstances like that when it’s really loud and impossible to have a great musical performance. You’re not singing at the Philharmonic. Every artist who goes out there sings to tracks.[/i] O RLY? [/quote] Not wanting to argue semantics with you WoT, but there are a lot of instances I've come across where there is no vocal on the verse, but the chorus is tracked, either to give them a double tracked feel if singing, or give them a rest from the verse performance. I can fully understand why she has tracked the tricky bits if she's worried about still being able to hit the high notes, but you're probably right, it is a bit of a con and she should probably just give it up and sing in lower keys/octaves! I think the response above is the best salesman's way of explaining something that is not fully lip syncing, but is in places. Funnily enough, the best one I ever saw was a YT clip of the legendary (and personal hero of mine) BB King playing along to a track on a TV show in the 70's, and you can hear his guitar on the track! He just drowns it out and plays over the top!

[quote name='Wiggybass' timestamp='1483653237' post='3209102'] I've been watching the pro audio forums since this fiasco first broke. As in most situations there is probably a grain of truth in everyone's story but I can say this for certain: * The sound company was Maryland Sound, one of the most respected providers in the US and the company who have done the Times Square NYE event for 20 years, in addition to dozens of other national-profile events including the Presidential Inauguration. * Their team would have been on site many hours before La Carey and part of their routine would have been to conduct an RF scan to secure frequencies suitable for use that evening. They would undoubtedly have had backup systems in place for [i]everything[/i] and there was definitely a row of wedges on stage which were on and working. Frankly I'd bet my house that every single piece of audio gear on that stage was not only working perfectly (as stated by Maryland's MD Bob Goldstein in an email to the New York Times) but was also being operated by hugely experienced professionals at the top of their game. * In pro-audio it is not what happens to you - it's how you react to it. Real audio professionals get to be that by dealing with the unexpected every day and I assure you, this situation was nothing that they hadn't handled before, many times. Those guys would have done absolutely everything humanly possible to bring that show in, that's what they do. * There are numerous references to the backing tracks being different to what Ms Carey was expecting, not different songs but different mixes (i.e. with varying amounts of her vocal on - allegedly she prefers to avoid the high notes now). Personally I think it's probable that the sound company played the tracks they'd been given in good faith but they were, for some reason, not what she was expecting. * It's also apparent that she didn't show up for the pre-show run-through, getting a stand-in to do that for her. How effective that might be I'll leave to the reader's own judgement. And yes, I do work in professional audio and no, I am not impressed by 'talent' who can't even sing their own bloody songs, even if they have got a great arse. Rant over. [/quote] I don't get it. Even the most prepared technical crews can get it wrong, or have failures that happen out of their control. You must know this if, like me you have worked in pro audio. How do you know the wedges were working, to a point where they were useable? I too would always defend my fellow professionals when I can, but to say they are blameless, I think is wrong. I'll sum it up like this (like EBS_Freak has been doing). From the clips I've seen, she walks on stage and moans that her in-ears aren't working. She pulls them out to see if she can hear the track from out front or wedges but either she can't or it is too confusing with echo/acoustics etc. She walks to the front of the stage and tries to listen to the monitors, but doesn't seem to like that either. This doesn't smack to me as someone who has always had it perfect and has never dealt with tech issues before. She was trying. Whatever your opinions on the professionality of how she dealt with it, something obviously wasn't right. I have done shows for local cabaret acts who have had bigger diva strops than that, but it was usually because something wasn't working, or heaven forbid after an exhausting 11 hour day I'd missed a mute button somewhere in the chain. Not something I'd be proud of, but I'd resolve it and then hold my hands up and apologise afterwards. On the clip I saw, she did suffer it for a while (more than one song) before she walked off. If that was my crew, I'd have had someone on stage with a spare beltpack or with their ear to the wedges in minutes - I saw no evidence of that. I'd also say that if her version of events is true, then if she repeatedly said "they're not working" backstage, and her crew or whoever told her "they'll be fine when you get on stage" - then that person/persons needs a good kicking, IMHO.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1483561547' post='3208320'] Well the Beatles managed when they couldnt even hear there instruments, and had no monitors, but there again, they had talent. [/quote] I remember watching a documentary with Paul McCartney and Ringo saying that they gave up the road after Shea stadium because they couldn't hear themselves over the crowd and it was turning them (and I quote) into "sh*tty musicians". If you don't believe me I think it was a South Bank special on Sergeant Pepper around the time Macca was 50. It also showed the clip of John horsing around on the keyboard at Shea, playing it with his elbow and shrugging, the inference being that no one could hear him anyway. Even the greats struggled, apparently.....

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1483574796' post='3208480'] For sure - miming is nothing new - that's kinda expected by any pop act nowadays, right or wrong. Madonna, Beyonce, Britney or <insert name>, they've all been caught doing it. Most of the time they get away with it. Even when they don't it's yesterday's news. What you have to remember, is that outside of the studio, these guys are primarily entertainers as opposed to singers... so it's as much about the clothes, the dancing, the stage, the lights... the singing is almost last on the list! (until it goes wrong that is!) [/quote] I agree again. In my experience of doing sound for new pop "showcases" - mics are often live for them to go "Whoop whoop, how ya doin!", but the vocals are often fully tracked on disc, especially when they are doing crazy dance routines that wreck the mics and knacker them out. The skill of the engineer is to be able to ride it and anticipate them going off script when they suddenly want to shout something! I must admit I would prefer Mariah did it all live and admit that it is a bit of a con, but I can fully see why they do it in that awful outdoor environment with no soundcheck (reportedly) and a load of press (and forum experts) just waiting for her to slip up so they can call her a "has been". Oh, and EBS-Freak - I thought I read Mr Packer had sent her packing (badum-tish) so she might not be so comforted after all.....

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1483550220' post='3208160'] Damn right too. The monitoring engineer should be in a whole world of pain. Taking out her IEMs sealed her fate. With the amount of reflection going on from the surrounding buildings, she stood no chance of hearing anything to sing against without IEMs. It's reported that there was nothing going into her IEMs... which certainly appears to be the case. On a big stage, with minimal reflection, you can't hear whats going on the other side of the stage to where you are. Put that stage in a place where FOH reflections (yes, building reflect sound like nothing else) are going to be omnipresent and you're...well... fked. There doesn't appear to be any floor wedges to help... but they wouldn't have helped much either... because the foh reflection would still be very much present. With regard to lip syncing, it wasn't the whole of the vocal... yes... the tricky high vocals... but that's the one bit you know that everybody expects her to get right and one bit that everybody is going to criticise if she doesn't get right... so she can't win either way. You've got to remember she's a couple of decades older than when her voice was in her prime. She's paid to be an entertainer and that what she did... maybe just in a different manner to what everybody expected. [/quote] ^^This just about sums it up for me. How any of the armchair critics can know what/how little she would have heard on a giant stage in the middle of a noisy square if her monitors were off/not working is beyond me, especially when you have the weight of expectation that she always has in terms of performance. I'm sure the papers will have loved the "diva" meltdown as they saw it, but I only saw someone struggling with really bad sound. I am not particularly a fanboi of Mariah either, but I can think of how worked up I get when I try to pitch backing harmonies in our band and I can't hear a thing.