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Happy Jack

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Everything posted by Happy Jack

  1. Happy Jack
    Damn! Not Tina then ...
  2. Happy Jack
    Oh I get all that, mate! But I'm now drifting away from the whole big-box-high-up-on-a-stand-and-getting-in-everyone's-way thing. And this is just three months after buying a pair of ART 322-As. I play too many venues where the playing area is way too small for that to be a happy solution - think Tickled Trout, yeah? Of course we can use the 322s and we do, but they routinely block out at least a quarter of the playing area and leave the band peering through the gap between them. And I somehow manage to get older every single year. Each 322 weighs 51lbs and is a bloody awkward lump, but it has to be raised either 5' onto a lightweight pole or 3' onto a heavy pole with a crank to lift it higher. Each year I find that just a little bit harder. Those 735s you mention are bloody wonderful. I stand second to no one in my admiration of them. But they each weigh 48lbs. F*** that for a game of soldiers. And it's not as if the punters will ever notice. Before I bought the 322s we spent 10 years using passive 1x12 McGregor tops and ... erm ... that's it. Since the massive upgrade to the 322s the number of comments we have received on our improved PA sound is exactly zero. If I now move to a line array system, at enormous expense, I won't be doing it because we'll sound better, or get better gigs, or get more gigs. I'll be doing it because I want to. And because I can!
  3. Happy Jack
    Why does that not surprise me?
  4. Happy Jack
    OK, found that now. It's pitched directly against the Ergo I mentioned, but Thomann seem to have slashed the price and they're selling these for just £836 each (they're usually about £1100). Looks like a very good rig and will de-clutter the stage nicely. You could put that up against the RCF ART735-A and the QSC 12.2 which get plenty of mentions elsewhere on Basschat (not to mention the Barefaced FR800), and balance ease of set-up (no PA poles, no heavy lifting, no cables strung about at head height) with claims about sound quality and absolute volume. If you're not too budget-conscious, also check out the Evox J8's big brother, the Evox 12. I'm still inclined towards the Mark Audio stuff because it does what the Evox does and also has a dedicated input & matching controls for your bass (or keys). In a pub rock set-up that opens up a lot of possibilities.
  5. Happy Jack
    And worth noting the positives of a fiver too. I use 5-string basses exclusively in covers bands because the key we play any given song in will be driven entirely by the singer's vocal range. A 5-string gives me far more flexibility in how I play any bassline, especially when something gets changed at short notice. If I'm playing originals, then I always play a 4-string. Because otherwise I might as well sell them.
  6. Happy Jack
    Which RCF line array system are you talking about, Steve? The only stuff I could find with a quick Google was major-league big-bucks stuff. At the LBGS yesterday I was well impressed with the Mark Audio kit, the Ergo and the Audio Chain. If you're really lucky, someone will be along in a minute to tell you all about FRFR systems ...
  7. Happy Jack
    Sorry Snooks, but what am I missing here?
  8. Happy Jack
    This is the electronic kit I bought some years ago from Silldx (Nigel) as an intro to leccy drums for my band, The Junkyard Dogs. It has served as an excellent practice & rehearsal kit in my little studio, it has won us loads of gigs where live drum kits were not welcome (volume issues being what they are), and it's still fully functional. There is wear and tear of course. Well what do you expect? These buggers keep coming round to my place and hitting it all evening. Some of the trigger sensors can be a bit tetchy, one of the cymbals has a metal ring detached, the throne is very tired and emotional, there are scuff marks that could scuff for England. But it's a complete, fully functional kit, and there's even some spare parts knocking around. There's the full frame + controller + snare & hi-hat + 3 x toms + 2 x splash + BOTH pedals (hi-hat & kick) + throne. Might even chuck in a pair of sticks. I'm known for my generosity. We gigged twice with it at the beginning of January and we'd be gigging it again in three weeks (at The Red Lion, in Little Missenden) were it not for the fact that I've just bought a rather nice Alesis Crimson II. So it's in fully-giggable condition if that's what you want. On t'other hand it's also brilliant for rehearsals in a home studio, and it would make an excellent first kit for a beginner. It's taking up too much space now that the Alesis has arrived, so I need it gone quickly. I'll give it a week on Basschat and, if it doesn't sell, it'll go to eBay. Bluejay will be taking photos tomorrow morning, and I'll add them asap. The kit is collection only from HA1. Please don't ask about postage - I don't have a Jiffy bag that's big enough. Similarly, please don't ask whether I'll wait in for your courier, since a mouthful of abusive language often offends.
  9. Happy Jack
    Maybe if it stays at £1.20 ...
  10. Happy Jack
    PM'd.
  11. Happy Jack
    That's seen a lot of Ford Transits, Mick ...
  12. Happy Jack
    I'm still not getting the conflict people seem to imagine between bass and uke. Why not both? Why not the same instrument, even?
  13. Happy Jack
    The cheesy 80s presentation is one of the funniest (and best-done) things I've seen in ages.
  14. Happy Jack
    Goes with the trainers, anyway ...
  15. Happy Jack
    In fairness, he did mow the lawn ...
  16. Happy Jack
    Someone's been doing too much plucking ...
  17. Happy Jack
    Is it actually his to sell? The way the listing reads, it seems that he's listed it on behalf of someone else.
  18. Happy Jack
    This is a helluva lot of DB for not much money. I have one of these and I've played two more, and all three of them sound way better than they should at this price point.
  19. Happy Jack
    There's more to life than bloody lentils.
  20. Happy Jack
    Hmmmmm. Perfectly adequate rendition, nothing to object to, and no reason to be impressed. I've heard it played as well as that at local jam sessions by scratch bands. So what makes it worth watching? Sad to relate, for most I imagine that it's the bass player's cut off shorts. I note that the rest of the band are wearing normal jeans so it's clearly not a particularly hot night where they are. Far from being a sexist post, this is intended as an anti-sexist post. It depresses me that she attracts attention not for her (adequate but unexciting) bass playing or singing, but because she shows her legs.
  21. Happy Jack
    That £23bn valuation makes me smile. Am I really the only one who remembers the DotCom bubble bursting?
  22. Happy Jack
    Passive tone controls have a very limited effect, little more than rolling off the treble. They are also thoroughly non-linear, i.e. turning the knob through 50% of its travel may have 100% effect or it may have Nil effect ... I've had plenty that were virtually on/off switches. And sometimes, especially on cheaper basses, they may have no effect at all due to the quality of the components used. My solution is simple. I hardly ever touch the tone knob on a passive bass.
  23. Happy Jack
    Did it contain nuts?
  24. Happy Jack
    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4003-Bass-Guitar/282863166865?hash=item41dbf56591:g:6qcAAOSwAa5alFDo
  25. Happy Jack
    Yes there is, Bill. The minimum size is nil, nada, no bass amp at all. Just a preamp pedal DI'd into the PA. I suspect that is not what this topic is really about though.
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