sharkboy

Good news for anyone looking for a lightweight rig - Schroeder cabs have finally sorted out a new distributor for their brilliant cabinets: http://www.schroeder-basscabs.uk/featured/

As a previous owner of a Markbass LMII and current owner of a TC Blacksmith, here's my tuppence. First up, the Markbass - great tone out of the box, and there's enough variety in the filters that it's very possible to run this with a flat EQ and just use the filters to dial in the sound you're after. The filters themselves will give you everything you want, from classic blues, through the James Jamerson motown sound, right up to a modern clean scooped twang. It's loud enough at 500W@4ohms, but for bigger venues you may just want a bit more headroom. Plus, it's superbly portable! Now the Blacksmith. First up, I realise that this isn't the amp that's being asked about, and at around a grand, it's considerably more expensive than the other TCs available. But I'd argue that rather than jump at a RH750, or BH800, you should keep saving until you can get this model - you'll be glad you did! At 1600w, there's no question whether this is going to be loud enough- if you've got the cabs, this thing can cause structural damage! It certainly takes a bit more work to get the sounds you're after, but they're all there if you look hard enough. The semi-parametric EQ section is really comprehensive, and the facility to change the centre frequency of the EQ opens up a whole range of tone possibilities. You've got the 3 presets and built-in tuner too, which is nice. The multi-band compressor on the Blacksmith is excellent - I'm not sure if the BH models offer this, I know the RH does - and the tubetone feature can get everything from a bit of growl to a full-out fuzztone. A real winner from my perspective is its ability to cope with a 2ohm load, and if you're planning to use the head for recording, the digital out is a handy feature. I confess, that I sometimes miss the light, compact head that was the Markbass (this is a 4U beast), but it offers so many other advantages that I'll happily live with the backache!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1436691664' post='2819925'] An older model, but very complete: Boss GT-6B. Wide range of effects, quality sound, easy to use and programme, expression pedal, very solid. Not the latest gadget, but respected in its day and, imo, excellent bang for buck (around £100 or less..?). [/quote]Another thumbs up for the GT6B. Sure, it's not the easiest to programme but with a bit of time and application you can get some great sounds out of it. The presets are pretty impressive too, even if some are pretty much novelty sounds with minimal use (some of the step phaser ones are good fun though!) Another plus is that it is built like the proverbial brick outhouse - no cheap plastic casing here, this is solid aluminium! If you want to do some looping though, I'd recommend a separate pedal; the one on this board is pretty restricted

Thanks for the replies guys. After speaking to our guitarist and finding out that his home contents provider is being a bit funny about the claim, I decided to go for specialist insurance through Allianz. £11 a month with one month free didn't seem too much for around £5k cover. I liked that they'll also cover any reduction in value to the bass if it needs a repair. So 2 basses, amp, 2 cabs and pedals all now covered

Apologies if this has been already debated to death (if so, can someone link to the thread?), but an unfortunate incident at practice tonight has made me think long and hard about this subject. Our guitarist's beautiful PRS Custom 24 slipped it's strap and plummeted head-first to the floor, breaking the headstock. He, like me, has got the instrument listed separately on his home contents insurance and is covered at home, in transit and at gigs, but it got me thinking whether it is enough to rely on a contents policy, or should I go for specialist equipment insurance? So, I'd love to have your thoughts on the pros and cons of home vs specialist insurance. Is the latter generally less hassle to claim from in such situations, or are they much the same? Does the specialist insurance offer more cover or more perks? Is there a company you would recommend?

I think there can be a very thin line between contingency planning and OCD! My live rig includes a spare bass, a few spare leads, batteries, strings and a decent selection of tools. Plus the most important addition to any muso's kitbag- duct tape, plenty of duct tape! I've 2 cabs, and can play on if one fails. The chance of both going is remote enough for me not to worry.ive a relatively new amp and always kept previous amps serviced regularly. If it goes, I can run a DI from my pedal board. I can change strings relatively quickly and can improv on three strings until the song ends if necessary. The spare bass is a relatively recent addition to my gigs; I'm lucky enough not to have had any major disasters yet, at least nothing that couldn't be solved by liberal application of the aforementioned tape. I've even jerry-rigged a perfectly usable strap from the stuff on one occasion! One question though- isn't bringing spares for the rest of the band allowing them to abdicate their own responsibilities? I've yet to play with a guitarist who didn't have at least a spare axe, new strings and leads. Most drummers will bring plenty of sticks, heads etc. Ours even brings spare cymbals, hi hat stand and kick drum pedal just in case. I wouldn't dream of expecting anyone else to bring spare bass strings- that's my responsibility, not theirs

Nope, I don't even think the prospect of filthy lucre would ever get Weller and Buckler on stage again. In fact, Weller has gone on record to say that even if he was destitute and his kids were on the street he'd not reform the band!

Unfortunately, I think it'll be a cold day in hell before Rick Buckler could even stand in the same room as Paul Weller without inflicting violence on him!

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1435654471' post='2810924'] There's a few grumpy old men on this thread aren't there? It's interesting that all the singers held up to be better are male and rock singers.[/quote] There were plenty of female singers of all genres at Glasto that were more in tune than Florence. There were a few standing behind her on stage, for example. [quote]I think people are missing the point, it's all about performance and engaging the audience with her. She was clearly so charged with adrenaline she lost it a little. She came on so fired up she did miss a few notes then she nailed it for a bit but overdid the jumping around and lost her breath and control at the same time. The audience clearly loved it. Do we have different standards for women I wonder? A lot of the acts lost vocal control towards the end of their sets, Roger Daltrey for one but I'd rather see an act taking risks and entertaining than just delivering and failing to engage.[/quote] Yeah, a few grams of best Colombian adrenalin, I'll wager! She missed more than a few notes, I don't think she had one song where she stayed in tune. I'm confused as to why you think any attack on Florence is an attack on female singers though. She wasn't singled out because of her gender, she was singled out because of her performance. [quote]In the past I've seen sets where she has just nailed every note, remarkably so with some of the intervals she uses. There's a difference between not being able to sing for toffee and messing up. Who here hasn't messed up playing or singing live. OK the music isn't for everyone, I'm a sucker for a good pop song. I personally find most rock songs and rock bands dull and derivative, just not my taste, but I don't come on and slag off Dave Grohl for having an off day and going raspy and shouty at the end of a set.[/quote] Y'see, here's the thing. I've watched her perform a few times. Granted, the music isn't my cup of tea (the best description of it that I've heard is the sound a flock of owls would make in a wind chime shop) but I can appreciate a good song for what it is. Yes, there is a difference between not being able to sing and messing up. But when you appear to mess up constantly, then it does start to come off as a bit more than a bad gig.

[quote name='chardbass' timestamp='1435409773' post='2808534'] I want to like Florence- she seems like a good person but my oh my... Flat as you like with a vibrato like Feargal Sharkey on a jackhammer. Every time I looked up at the screen I kept imagining Sarah Ferguson doing a tribute to Kate Bush on some kind of Celebrity Stars in their Eyes. [/quote] If only there was a "like" button! I've watched her play a few times and I've yet to hear her sing even close to in tune. Like you say, I too want to like her as an artist because she does seem a very genuine person, but my god she makes a terrible racket on stage. The best description I've heard is "it sounds like someone released a flock of owls into a wind chime shop"

I've heard this one used before, successfully I might add - "Don't tell me how to do my job. Do I come down to the docks and tell you how to blow sailors?"

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1427728087' post='2733539'] Positive mental attitude is really important when facing health challenges, overdoing it too soon because you don't want to let people down could be totally counterproductive. Invasive abdominal surgery can really mess up your core support, so please don't be tempted to pump yourself full of pain killers and play standing up, or with your bass on a strap - play sitting down on a chair with the weight of your bass supported on your lap and don't try to be a hero. If you can't manage to play sitting down like this without altering your painkiller dosage, you shouldn't be doing the gig - good health is priceless, and post op complications for abdominal surgeries can be very serious, so FFS talk to your doctor/surgeon and accept their advice, in the worst case a couple of cancelled gigs won't damage anyones health. [/quote] Very wise words here indeed. If you can get a comfortable seat/stool that will support you and allow you to play with the bass on your lap with absolutely no discomfort, then it may be achievable. But (and here I speak from experience) if you're going under general anaesthetic, then be prepared to be absolutely shattered for days afterwards, often even longer. After my op last year (a measly thyroidectomy), it was well over a week before I gigged, and even then it really took it out of me to the extent that had I had a gig the following night, I would have had to cancel. Speak to your GP because, with the greatest respect to the wonderful folk on here, we'll always try to find a way to gig, even to the detriment of our health!

Devastating news. I used to find it hard to comprehend that when I played my first gig at age 16, included on the set was a song recorded by a bassist who was almost my age when he laid the track down (Fire and Water, in case you're wondering). A true inspiration and influence. RIP

I recommend the Korg Pitchblack Pro, which is currently selling for around £55 on Thomann.de. Yes, the plastic rack ears are a bit flimsy, but theyve withstood a year of abuse in my rack with no problems so far. The unit performs brilliantly, it has standard or "strobe"style options,includes a built in lead tester and is visually quite eyecatching.

I met my first wife at one of our gigs many years ago. At that stage, we were gigging at least 2 nights a week, but quite frequently we'd do 4 nights (Wednesday to Saturday) straight for around 3 months. It was tiring, yes, especially since we all had other jobs, but boy the money was good! A couple of days after we were married she asked when I was going to tell the guys in the band that I was leaving - this was the first this had even been mentioned! I told her that had she brought that up before the wedding, there wouldn't have been one. The band was there before her, and if she kept pushing it, it would be there after her too. Needless to say, it was downhill from then on, though the money that I was bringing in from gigging did take the sting out of it. My second wife loves the fact that I play in a band. She comes to pretty much every gig we play, and often tells me how proud she is of me when I'm onstage. She'd never do anything to jeopardise my band, despite it interfering with her plans on a number of occasions. That's when you know you've got a keeper!

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1424639238' post='2698683'] I like! [/quote] Oh, come on, it has to be Highway to Heaven (or Stairway to Hell)!

Welcome to the Blacksmith club- we really should get jackets made! I got mine several months ago, and it's the best investment I've made in my live set-up. The compressor is brilliant, the tubetone is sweet, and the EQ is excellent. It's driving a couple of Schroeder cabs, one 2x12 and one 1x15. With both cabs, I'm running it at 2 ohms but at smaller gigs with just one cab it goes to 4. I have to admit, it took a couple of hours playing with the compressor to find a reasonable output level that didn't threaten to cause structural damage. It's not an amp that does subtle very well, either in sound or spec, but I wasn't looking for that in my new rig so I'm happy with it!

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1424288289' post='2694836'] I'm not saying he's talenless, just that I don't like him or his music. I like rap, as said, Cypress hill, Tupac among others. I just don't like Kanye and if someone else does, bully for them. It won't change my outlook on his talent or lack of. I do think he is over rated, but again that's down to taste. What kind of world would it be if we all liked the same things ? [/quote] The thing is, I pretty much agree with all of this! Kanye is, IMO, undoubtedly talented, but his dickishness taints it all for me. Put it this way, if Kanye's music was a washing machine full of white clothes, then that annoying side of his personality is a red sock that has somehow crept into the drum. You just know that as soon as you switch it on, the red sock will appear in the window of the machine and ruin everything for you 😊

But then that opens up the whole "is sampling stealing?" debate (for the record, as long as it's credited then no, it isn't!). Does he have an overinflated sense of self-worth? Undoubtedly. Is he a disrespectful twat by doing what he did to Beck, Taylor Swift and others? No argument here. Is he a talentless hack? Not by a long stretch.

My thoughts on the whole thing are quite straightforward. Kanye did this for one reason - Kanye. He's not anywhere near as untalented an artist as a lot are making out in this thread - he's made a couple of albums that have in no small way defined the rap genre in the last decade or so, and as a producer he is rightly held in high esteem. Just because it's not your cup of tea doesn't make it any less valid artistically! But... He's a dick. And not even an erect dick, just a big floppy dick getting in everyone's face with his dickiness. His argument that he's doing this to highlight racism in the music industry is nonense - he started doing this because he thought that he should have won awards that went to someone else - it was throwing toys out of the pram - nothing more, nothing less. He's stopped concerts because the people that weren't standing on his command didn't let him see that they were disabled and couldn't stand. He's made openly antisemitic remarks. He called his kid North, ferchrissake! Outside of his music, the only thing he has done of any merit was to embarrass Bush about his reaction (or lack of) to the devastation of the poorer districts of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. And for that matter, why has Beyonce not said anything? After all, the man has form after bombing Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMAs. If they're such good friends, why not just tell him to cut it out?

Last night was the third annual Rock for Alzheimer's gig in the Belfast Empire. We had a capacity audience of 500 and, after Ticketmaster took their cut, we managed to raise over £5000 for the Alzheimer's Society. So, a pretty damn good night all things considered!

My favourite comment from a music shop employee was about 30 years ago when my pal was looking to upgrade the stock pickups in his LP copy. A local guitar emporium had a set of Gibson pups for sale, so my mate asked the woman behind the counter "how much are the Gibson pickups?" "The what?" came the reply, so he pointed to the box on the shelf behind her. She picked them down, looked over the box before replying "these aren't pickups". "Of course they are!" he replied. "No they're not! How can they be, they're magnetic!" was the intelligent response.

Considering that as recently as May, Wilko was forced to cancel his gigs as the then apparently inevitable conclusion to his battle with cancer seemed imminent, he could have appeared with a washboard growling Swahili folk and I'd have been well stoked. We lose too many of our heroes each year, and the fact that Wilko could not only shout "I'm still here!", but go on to strut round the stage like he owned it with no less than the incredible Lord Watt-Roy quite frankly made my new year! Who cares if the guitar was a bit out of tune, or the voice wasn't perfect? Hate to break it to you, but 'twas often the case, even before the illness, but that's part of what made him Wilko!