JapanAxe

Yes, had it a week and only just got round to posting, but I have reasons... I first tried a Monique 9 years ago when I was buying my Demeter head from Bass Gear (I miss that place, even if my wallet doesn't). Barrie (@molan) had one there (might have been Dave Swift's), a birdcage-style preamp with a separate 700W Class D power amp. I never really fancied that form factor but to my ears it was the one amp that sounded even better than the Demeter. The Sensitivity knob is basically a more/better control - the higher you turn it, the richer the harmonic content. They didn't have one in stock, and it would have cost a fair chunk more than I was paying for the Demeter, but always hoped I might be able to get one some time. That time was last week after a used example of the rack version came up on here. I've spent some time with it, trying it through my BF One 10, BF Super Twin, and using the preamp for recording. My conclusion is that it's bloody lovely, and just as good as I remembered. I came home today after a rather disappointing day out, plugged my NG2 into the rig you see below, and played along to a Bowie compilation - instant happy place. You'll see that there are two power switches. The first (with big blue jewel light) is for the valve preamp. This runs two 6SL7 valves (like an old Ampeg B15) and a 12A_7 (lettering had worn off). The valve on the left is an EZ81 rectifier. The second switch (with small blue LED) is for the Hypex 700W Class D module. So for recording, just switch on the preamp - perfect. The head came housed in a wooden sleeve with two handles on the top. That wasn't going to work for me so I removed them and installed one on the left 'cheek' of the sleeve and fitted four rubber feet on the right to allow it to be stood on its end. The previous owner is a pro player and has had plenty of use out of the amp so there were a few scuffs to the Tolex, which I have disguised with a black paint pen. It now looks jolly smart, and I'm finding I can live with the tiny overhang above the Super Twin! Sadly I have all lead guitar gigs for the rest of the year, so unless I get some dep jobs in I'll have to wait till mid January to use this in anger. I've now got 'too many' bass heads again (recently bough a Fender TB600) but screw it, I'm keeping them all!

Mainly passive. I set the amp to sound ‘good’ to me, with as much top end as I’ll need when the bass’s tone control is at maximum, and tweak it on my bass from song to song (if needed). I’ve become accustomed to the way a passive bass responds to tone control adjustments. 1 of my 4 basses is active and I do enjoy what that brings, but I can bypass the preamp with a switch if there’s ever a problem.

TLDR: Didn't happen. The venue (theatre in Berkshire) has its own PA and generally uses the same tech to run the system. He wasn't available and wih 3 weeks to go the venue had done nothing to arrange a suitable tech, so BL gave them details of a guy we've used before who is excellent (toured with big name bands and now has his own PA business) and they contracted him to run the PA. We arrived at the agreed time but the venue hadn't even built the stage, so we had to wait for them to do this before we could start setting up kit and running mics. After much swapping of mics and cables it became apparent that the some channels of the digital stage box did not work at all, and some were transposed. A second desk was dug out but that didn't fix the problem. By 7pm we still didn't have enough working channels, let alone any monitors set up, and the venue made the decision to cancel. The problem seems to have been some weird configuration issue that wasn't accessible from the mixer's menus. This was not the only problem we have had with the venue. They are generally poor at responding to emails and at publicising their events. Afterwards we were talking to another musician whose band plays there, and they said they brought their own PA rather than use the venue's kit. At least they paid us, as well as refunding all those who had bought tickets. The manager reminds me of Clive, the campsite manager from Hi-De-Hi - well-spoken but ineffectual. BL told him exactly what he thought. I don't expect we'll be going back there.

Glam Vision are seeking a bass player or lead/rhythm guitarist to complete their lineup. Material will be drawn from the classic Glam hits of the 70s and you will be expected to recreate them with some accuracy. The band’s sound will be augmented with some instrumental tracks, so the successful applicant will need to use in-ear monitors and own, or be willing to obtain, a suitable setup. Whether you wish to use a conventional amp and cab or a modeller would be up to you. Auditions and rehearsals will be held in Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire or thereabouts, and the band will be looking to perform nationally, so having reliable transport is essential. If it would help you to have sheet music to learn from, transcriptions of all the numbers are available. Some vocal ability would be an advantage, but not essential. If you are put off by the idea of flares and silly wigs, rest assured that is not the way we are going! However, we want you to be able to engage with the audience and bring some of your own personality to the show. I will be playing lead/rhythm guitar in the band (or bass, depending on who we get!) and will be looking after musical direction and technical matters. Drop me a PM to get the ball rolling.

This Saturday I'm out on second guitar with Rebel Heroes (Bowie Tribute) at the Old Court in Windsor - tickets here. It's pretty much standing room only now so that's just £16 a head, not £20 as per the poster.

By the time you’ve learned, say, a chorus and verse from each song, you may as well have learned them all in full and have 3 to 5 new numbers to play rather than one slightly longer one. They take more work to get right as the structure and transitions have to be agreed, learned and remembered. That said, a medley can be worth doing if its impact is greater than that of the original songs. The Grease medley springs to mind, and that has the advantage of having been issued as a single already.

Ready for action last Saturday. I apologise on behalf of my bandmates for their music stands. Obviously I don't use one...

Another gig with this amp last night. The stage was a decent size but very enclosed, causing a bit of bottom-end bloat - a small tweak of the Room EQ control instantly sorted it. The passive controls are quite subtle but the Room EQ is very effective. Also enjoying playing with a bit of dirt in the sound - not obviously distorted, just colourful.

I’ve successfully used my 801 at a big band rehearsal!

Par for the course with big bands - it’s rare that all 20 members will be available on a given night. I’ve sometimes been paid expenses if the rehearsal room isn’t local to me. I’ve also volunteered to stand in at other (non-big-band) rehearsals as a way of getting in as a dep and/or broadening my experience. To the OP, entirely your decision whether it’s how you want to spend your time.

No, only the guitarist has a wedge monitor - drummer has IEMs.

Thought an update might be in order: Party band startup: Hideously difficult to get us all together for rehearsal, never mind gigs. Big gaps between rehearsals and a fair amount of chopping and changing of numbers. Some progress in that a nice venue has been booked for a promo gig in front of an invited audience, where audio and video will be recorded for a showreel to tout around agents. Glam band startup: Original bass player baled. Tried out with bassist and singer from an existing band with a view to a merger - wasn’t going to work. Then lined up guitarist and singer already working in another band, and I switched to bass. Singer is still on board (until she decides she’s not, I suspect), we’re currently auditioning guitarists. Early on I volunteered to take on the job of making tracks work for this band, so bought a digital mixer which we have successfully used for ‘silent’ rehearsal and recording (drummer has an electronic kit). I have also edited the backing tracks and added vocal cues to the click. Turns out about 50% of players are vehemently against clicks and/or IEMs… In the meantime the guitarist in a band I have previously depped with had a stroke so I am covering their gigs at least until the end of 2025.

Formal: the concepts of modal interchange and borrowed chords. Informal: in an unfamiliar musical situation, watch the singer, listen to the drummer. That principle has served me well.

Last night was third time out with my recently acquired Fender TB600 head, via my BF Super Twin. Bass was my AVRI 63 Precision strung with Chromes. Venue was a gopping estate pub outside Bristol but the staff and punters were friendly enough, despite medically inadvisable levels of inebriation among some of the latter. Suffice to say that I enjoyed the gig, thanks to (1) the sound coming out of my rig, (2) the playing of the lead guitarist.

There’s a row of stuff like that at the back of A. Remus Sound in Gloucester.

Yes, going wired (via Behringer P2) is the worst case scenario where wireless simply doesn’t work - never had to do this since I got the XSW.

That's what I use, under similar conditions, and yes I get that too sometimes. Then again so do other people in the same band on completely different frequency ranges. I haven't found a solution other than going wired!