Happy Jack

I like the demo players riffage, and I like that just for once we see a demo with what is obviously someone's favorite gigging bass rather than a brand new boutique thingy, but would it not have made more sense to demo this with an actual y'know like P-bass? I'm spared the agony of having to decide whether or not to buy one by the absence of an XLR out. I always go to FoH as well as my rig, so that's a bit of a deal-breaker for me. Yes, I realise that I could use a DI box. No, I don't want to take even more gear to gigs.

Puzzled ... surely the pickup in a P-style bass IS a humbucker? What am I missing here? And don't call me Shirley.

Sadly @thebrig, this is pretty much standard practice when hooking up with strangers who claim to be musicians. Two weeks ago I was contacted by a guy who had two guitarists and a vocalist but needed a rhythm section for a project. My immediate assumption was that this would crash and burn but I said fine, I'll supply a drummer. The organiser set up a WhatsApp group which went absolutely mental with banter and positive vibes, leaving me dreading what was to follow. A week later one of the guitarists quit, never having actually met any of the other guys. Organiser managed to replace him in double-quick time, which I thought was impressive. We got together in my studio at the weekend. Organiser turned out to be delusional about his own playing abilities. Replacement guitarist was just about OK but had travelled from Bromley in Kent - I'm in Harrow, try using Google Maps to check that journey. Singer (of course) was a no-show. You're dealing, in the main, with flakes and fantasists. @Chris B is bang on the money here ... if you can play only with people who come personally recommended, then you're in a good place.

Have a look at the Powersoft range of top-end power amps, as used by most major venues.

In theory, agreed. In practice, playing a large enclosed stage at a decent Summer festival with an over-exuberant foldback monitor (controlled by the sound guy) pointed at you and your DB? Well, bin there, dun that, bought the earplugs. The word 'outdoors' covers a multitude of sins ...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224590283643?hash=item344a9fc37b:g:F8oAAOSwuklf0Qxa That design really, really reminds me of something, now what was it?

Agreed that you should experiment, but I suspect that you'll find amp placement is easily as important as the settings. On electric bass, most of us put our amp/combo/whatever directly behind us so we can hear it more clearly. On double bass that simply directs the greatest volume at the largest feedback source on stage ... not smart. You need to have your foldback feeding your ears, not the back of the bass or the f-holes.

Get it right with the clip-on mic and it will do a good job for you. Get it wrong, or find yourself with a ham-fisted sound guy, and welcome to feedback central. If in any doubt at all, then you're probably best off fitting a Schaller magnetic pickup or a Realist piezo pickup. If all you need is on-stage monitoring, and you'd prefer to have your own rather than relying on the PA, then at such low volumes your existing rig for electric bass should be fine.

Do you see that little black round thing over there? That's the rabbit hole down which you are about to disappear ...

I've had my share of vintage keyboards and - in general - found them thoroughly unreliable. When they work they're great, but a keyboard has SO many different components that can go wrong or fail completely, and they're a good deal more fragile than, say, an electric bass. They're also frighteningly expensive to service and repair. Tracing an electronic fault in a keyboard can absorb hours of time for a tech guy, and that ain't cheap. IME you'd be far better off buying a new or nearly-new keyboard where you can reliably expect it to do exactly what it's supposed to, and for at least several years. These things are mere consumer electronics these days, and consequently far cheaper than in the days of Rick Wakeman. 😉 If your son is Grade 7 piano then he'll only ever be happy with a proper weighted keyboard, which is a very rare thing in organs and synths, and with the full 88 keys. By far the best value for money that I've found is the Alesis Recital Pro, brand new for less than £400 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154660692542?hash=item24027ee23e:g:BRwAAOSwO6Fhb90M) or menufacturer refurb'd for less than £300 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175140881036?epid=27005577640&hash=item28c735c28c:g:0u4AAOSwNkBh-9KG). As a piano it's genuinely excellent, especially at that price point. The nine other presets (organ, synth, etc.) are less impressive but will do for a starter instrument. If your son really takes to this whole keyboard-player-in-a-band thing, then when he wants to upgrade to a decent Hammond sound (or whatever) he's far more likely to want a dedicated unit to supply that anyway. Obviously if he wants to play in a band then you'll also need to arrange to have his left hand amputated but I can't offer much advice on that. 😗

Define "everything".

I think you'll find an Oates down the Hall ...

Where's Gwyneth Paltrow when you need her?

I'm now deeply concerned that I might attend a UK Beach Boys gig and find that Brian Wilson has borrowed Macca's bass ...

Getting the wax out in one piece makes it easier to use when making candles ...

Paging @wateroftyne 😂

Very few people can slap a bass like Lee Rocker ...

The Oxford English Dictionary does a pretty good definition. Of course, that's what it's there for so it would be surprising if it didn't.

Perhaps more importantly, why on earth would you do this? "The speakers are 8Ohm. Currently wired in series so it's a 16 Ohm cab. (Can be re-wired to parallel very easily to give net 4 Ohm if you wanted)"

Absolutely this ^. If you're the entire rhythm section and they can't hear you, then something is seriously wrong with the way the band sets up at gigs. I'm not convinced that you can blame their defective hearing or lack of musical experience! 😂 If I were you (and of course I'm not) I'd be suggesting the band goes out for a drink and a chat.