thepurpleblob

There's a lot of nonsense talked about cables. If you can actually *hear* a difference then one of the cables is broken. The main thing for me is that the cable doesn't fail. There's nothing worse than all this "is it the cable?" nonsense when things go wrong. Cables with good quality cable and connectors last forever. I can solder and I usually make my own.

[quote name='Gottastopbuyinggear' timestamp='1510060108' post='3403599'] It takes "me" about 5 minutes to set up - one speaker on top of the other, amp on top, pedal board (battery powered) on the floor, plug everything in... It then takes me anything up to an hour to set the PA up, because most of the rest of the band "don't understand that technical stuff", so I've volunteered to do it. The PA is spread among the band for storage, so we usually have a mixture of band members arriving late with their designated bits of kit, and one or more of "I've forgotten my mic stand", "Have you got a spare mic cable?", "Have you got a spare mic?", "Has anyone got a mains extension"... To be fair things have got a bit more slick of late, but (bearing in mind that I don't sing) there was a time when I was routinely taking 2 mics and mic stands to every gig just in case! Even though the agreement is that people bring their own mic and instrument cables I still bring enough to cover everyone, and I quite often end up using mine as I get fed up waiting for people to get the knots out of theirs, which they've hastily stuffed into their bags at the end of the last gig rather than coiling up in a nice neat OCD fashion as I would. Which brings me on to the time spent to pack up, which usually extends to the following morning for me, when I get up and re-coil all the cables that my band mates have packed up for me! Ooh, that ended up a bit cathartic! And don't get me started on the lights - I move on to setting them up when the PA's done... [/quote] I've done the PA - for similar reasons to you - in several bands but not any more. It used to stress me out so much that it sucked all the fun out of playing. The singer was close to being taken outside and beaten on several occasions Even though I know more about it than than the guy doing it in our current band I just keep my mouth shut. So to answer the OP's question... stroll in and set up in about 5 mins. Bliss!!!

Lizzie and the Banshees... great tribute band all the way from Bathgate in Scotland. Next week I think (better check!)

Haven't done weddings for years but from what I've seen the wedding thing has become ridiculously "professional". You'll need to be slicker than a slick thing to get wedding bookings. At least if it's anything like around these parts.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1509667791' post='3400811'] He also though that Teenage Kicks was the best song ever recorded!! [/quote] I can't stand that song. Possibly jaded from playing the damn thing in covers bands for years

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1509578192' post='3400122'] Couldn't agree more. YouTube is full of channels where you can follow interval training workouts. Everything from gentle beginner workouts up to intense fat burners. Most can be done in minimal space (front room, spare bedroom, office etc) and require no equipment. A 15 - 25 minute workout is all you need. I do approx 20 mins after work daily and just eat less carbs through the day. After the workout I just eat a normal meal (spaghetti bolognese this evening, a roast dinner on Sunday etc etc). I'm fitter and leaner now than I was at 18. Pretty much niggle / injury free now too. [/quote] Some links? I do a lot of walking (several dogs plus enjoy it anyway) but I am right at the "need to do something" stage as (in my early 50s) I'm hitting the flabby and creaky stage. Plus I have some kidney problems that have come with the "sorry mate, just try to live healthily", so perhaps I'd better. Still smiling though

Any number of instances of.... "Yeh, great band! Oh, you play in the band?" I've taken to standing at the front and singing some backing vocals - badly. Same. I'm over it now.

Best purchase: Lakland USA 55 DJ - epic in almost every respect. Price wise represents a lesson in diminishing returns but you can see (and hear) what that extra gets you. After years of active basses with a sea of knobs this passive is a plug-and-play revelation. Runner up: SansAmp RBI - a little bit of a faff to set up and expensive for what it does but makes a surprising difference to the PA sound. Worst purchase: I can't think that I bought anything else. I've been reasonably restrained!

I had steroid injections for rotator cuff tendonitis (knackered shoulder) and despite shitting myself because of all the scare stories I'd heard, I didn't feel a thing and it worked. So it's not always bad! At the risk of stating the terribly obvious - if your playing hurts then you need to stop doing whatever you are doing. Lighter bass, wider strap, sit down even (the world won't end).

I assume this is different to the banjo-toting "Michael Martin Band"?

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1509308470' post='3397990'] I always start my own bands and thus far have avoided the sack [/quote] Well.... the previous band I was in was started by me and the drummer. Time passes... We recruited a new singer and inside 6 months he had 'resigned' along with the two guitarists and pinched all our gigs. So you can start a band and still be sacked I'm afraid.

[quote name='rushbo' timestamp='1509300514' post='3397897'] A few years ago, I heard a fascinating radio documentary about the history of Jethro Tull, presented by Ian Anderson. In the early-mid seventies, members of other bands routinely asked the guys in JT if they wanted to "jam". Every time, the Tullsters would refuse. Not because they thought they were above the other musicians, or were too cool, or just couldn't be bothered - the real reason was they literally couldn't "jam". The only material they knew was the Jethro Tull set and nothing else. Does that alter the quality of those classic era Tull albums, or those live shows? No. When Boz Burrell joined King Crimson, Robert Fripp had to teach him how to play the bass. He did OK, I'm sure you'll agree. [/quote] Ha! I'm glad it's not just me then. "Jamming?". Get thee behind me satan

On the whole playing in bands and playing stuff I didn't think I liked has really opened up some new horizons for me musically. So I tend to give things a go now. I have developed a few red lines though. It's a lot harder to play songs thinking "what the hell is this all about?". I have a list... I won't bore you

Oh, and most people who belittle [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The Cult, AC/DC, Status Quo and so on's efforts have never tried to cover their work, properly. All playing is simple if you don't have to do it ;-)[/font][/color]

I don't look like Brad Pitt yet, bizarrely perhaps, I am not a virgin Playing bass is not a race or a contest. All this "who's better" and "who's best" talk is irrelevant. You only have to be good enough. All the rest is other stuff.

It's the same as interviewing people for the day job. My mantra is "never employ assholes". A decent, motivated person will learn the job. An asshole is an asshole - regardless of competencies and all that rubbish.

Wattage is a measure of power not volume. That's decibels. Asking if (say) 300 watts is loud enough doesn't make any sense. The volume you hear is a complex interaction of the power the amplifier produces and the efficiency of the cabinet. That is a lower wattage amp could quite easily be "louder" than a higher wattage amp with a less efficient speaker design. It's exactly the same as asking if a 50W bulb is bright enough - what sort of 50W bulb? It's also why guitarists can get away with a much smaller amp and still make your ears bleed. The volume maths also depends on frequency. Bass notes need much more power to produce the same volume as higher frequencies. BTW... if not obvious the wattage of the speakers means nothing. A 200W speaker is not louder than a 100W speaker.

Some years ago I bought a used Yamaha TRB4P from a shop in the USA. Turned up (very well packed) at Prestwick Airport. Went down, paid the bills and all perfectly happy. PITA if you need to send it back for any reason. I think it's a bit like used cars - you've bought it, it's your problem now.

Note that wiring speakers in series as separate cabs requires weird cables and is not common. You should generally avoid having lots of different speakers as it can create odd interference patterns - especially at low frequencies.

I'm keep trying to chuck it but there's apparently no escape...

[quote name='lou24d53' timestamp='1509097860' post='3396559'] I believe we very very briefly crossed paths at an audition, perhaps even the one you refer to...because yes, that drummer was a knob and although I was 'lucky' to be given the part advertised, the band less than spectacularly imploded in less than six months having never played a note outside of the rehearsal room, which was largely due to drummers aforementioned knobness!! [/quote] It wasn't, it was the next audition that I didn't get. The drummer, would you believe, was even knobier! They were very nice about you as well I like to think I can spot the bands that are never going to make it out of the rehearsal room now. Although I seem to recall those guys talking a very good game.

I once turned up to an audition the evening after spending the whole wrestling the gearbox and transfer-box out of a BMW 4x4. I'd done so much damage to myself that I couldn't play a note. People do sometimes have off days. No, I didn't get the gig. I didn't like the drummer any way

I just bought the deluxe edition of Mansun's Attack of the Grey Lantern. From back in those '90s. I'd forgotten what a great band they are...

It's a chance you take going to an audition. I've failed auditions, been sacked from bands - sometimes politely, sometimes not. It's all part of the fun. It's character building I suppose. Whenever I've had to reject or sack someone myself it's rarely been personal so I wouldn't take being on the other end that way myself. The best thing to have in music is a bit of humility. People who think they are the greatest are best avoided.

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1508845635' post='3394780'] What was the event ? just curious Dave [/quote] National Brass Band competition. Now that's proper rock and roll. We won by the way