Happy Jack

Hmmmmm. Video DJ or Manchester derby? We've all made tougher decisions than that.

And you can make it worse - I've seen a number of pub bands in London where the 'spontaneous banter' is clearly scripted and rehearsed. My God does that suck. My favourite was a 4-piece band where both guitarists and the bass player had mics & stands. About 30 minutes in to the first set, I finally twigged that one guitarist did all the singing and ... erm ... that was it. There were no BVs or anything going on. The second guitarist and the bass player each had a mic & stand purely to let them do the pre-prepared banter.

Yes to both. Why do you ask?

Do you mean 'guitar' or is it actually a bass?

I'm still not convinced that you should be parking a Ferrari outside the Dog & Duck ...

Cheap thing by Equinox, worked fine last time I plugged it in. Collection from HA1 3RG or WC1E 7BD.

And then of course there's stinky poo-Glo:

Ta very muchly.

We're the Junkyard Dogs: http://www.junkyarddogslondon.co.uk/index.html

Thanks Mud, very helpful. The landlord now is an Irishman (Shane) - don't know if it's the same guy. We're there on Sat 30th December, which may or may not turn out to be a dreadful night to play our first gig there!

Just bought a pair of ART 322A cabs from Tom - lovely chap, very helpful, knows his stuff.

We're playing there after Xmas, first time at the pub and we know nothing about it. Worse, none of us lives anywhere near Chingford and can be arsed to go up there on a recce. What's it like? How big is it ... is there a stage ... any problems with the load-in ... how are they on volume ... what's the crowd like ... the usual.

I can't believe that no one has mentioned the leather handle ...

The thing I love about this photo is the decision to mic up the stacks ...

It's a mighty fine line ...

Another week, another topic about The Beatles which leads instantly into a debate about whether they were actually all that good, were they really that influential, did they really matter that much, and what's all the fuss about anyway? The people who start these topics or jump into them with both feet rarely ask the same questions about Elvis Presley or Buddy Holly or Cliff & The Shadows or The Rolling Stones or The Who or Jimi Hendrix or The Doors or Pink Floyd or ... ad infinitum. Gosh, I wonder why not?

And that will make my trousers flap, will it?

I've had an old SM58 'lose sensitivity' over time, which might itself be age-related, but the identical SM58 next to it in the box is still working perfectly five years later.

Y'know, that could be just about my worst nightmare.

I suspect that there's more than a little by way of crossed wires here. Some are talking about how to achieve the best sound for the band, some are talking about achieving the lowest weight and/or cost, and some are talking about other things entirely. If I was in a professional functions band where we all earned (most of) our living from playing in that band, then the PA-based route would clearly give the best results for band sound, the cost could be offset for tax purposes against the band's gross income, and I would expect the entire band to buy into that solution. But I'm not. I'm either an enthusiastic amateur or (at best) a semi-pro, earning what amounts to pin money for indulging in my hobby. I play in multiple bands, sometimes for years and sometimes for weeks. Whether or not I might like my entire band (whichever one we're talking about just now) to go through the PA, I have absolutely no choice but to own a bass rig. If that makes me a "Dino" then I'm cool with that. In truth, though, I think that makes me quite sensible. Turn it on its head. How would you describe a drummer without his own kit, or a guitarist with no combo? I suspect that the word "idiot" would be one of the milder terms. A bass player who can only function in an environment where five grand's worth of PA is supplied is of limited use. Now me, the "Dino", I can function in an environment where five grand's worth of PA is supplied, AND I can function in any other bloody environment too. What's not to like? And this isn't just about me, the bass player. What about the rest of the band? If I become a PA-based player, am I really going to have to find a PA-based guitarist, a PA-based keyboard player, and a PA-based drummer to play with? That rather limits the opportunities, don't you think? Just because something is a really great idea in theory (and a PA-based band is a really great idea, I like it) doesn't mean it will always work in practice, still less that it will be a better solution than the one you already have.

On the Smoothound front, I've found that it wedges nicely under the handle of a Barefaced cab ...

Too little information.

Leaves plenty of room for your undies.