Greg Edwards69

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Decent trolley then. Although it has to be said that RCF actually do make a case for it that has wheels!

It has to be said it is heavier than the Alto 212 / headrush. although not too much bigger.

I'd need a stair-climber trolley.  Carrying too much gear up and down a fire escape at our first gig post lockdowns is what caused my back pain last year.  

42 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I don't know, if I am lobbing it in the back of my car, I kind of like the birch box of the evox!

 

True, but it's the carrying to and from cars that doesn't agree with me. I need to wear a back-belt and tennis elbow strap for loading in/out these days.  Add the knee support I've been wearing since my knee gave way a couple of weeks ago to the mix.... I'm falling apart.

10 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Tell you what though, I am not sure it is because it is the evox 8 (ie, made of wood) rather than the J8 (made of plastic) but it certainly weighs a lot more than the altos - its good you don't have to put it on a pole!

It's about time GR Bass got in the PA system business.

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

If you are only going into a FRFR speaker anyway, not sure there is a difference. Am I misremembering or do you not go into one of those 12" Headrush speakers, which afaik is actually just an Alto 212 in drag anyway.

This was years ago when I used a markbass head and cab.  The only other solution at the time if my mate hadn't lent me his cabs would have been to go direct from my bass amp head.  Yes, I use the headrush now.  As I've said elsewhere, it would be less of a problem now if it broke or I left it at home as we have built in redundancy amongst our various systemes.

32 minutes ago, mikeycrikey said:

Do you put the full band through the DXR 12's or just vocals. I already have one and am considering buying another for PA use. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on how they perform for band use.

I also would like a pair of Evox 8. Used them in a band situation before and they were great 

Full(ish) band through the DXR12's. We used to use it for just vocals and the bass drum, but after years of nagging, the band relented and we stick everything through it.

I say ish because we only mic the bass drum currently, not the full kit, but our drummer is considering getting a set of mic and a small sub-mixer.  

Sounds great in most venues, but I'm reluctant to forgo my frfr for bass until we sort out a sub woofer.  It just helps fill out the low end lost by putting the speakers up on poles. And likewise me and the guitarists are reluctnat to give up all our frfr backline until we get a better iem solution.

Thinking out loud for moment, as it were. I have a headrush frfr 112 on the floor and both guitarists use a DRX10 each on a half-height pole as our backline, with the DXR12s out front.  Bearing in mind what I said earlier about keeping one speaker on the floor for low end retention, it's gotten me thinking.  We could possibly use the DX10s on the floor, either side as wedges, but at back of the stage and forward facing, with a monitor mix of just guitars and bass so the mics don't feed back. This could help aid low end retention whilst still performing as backline for the guitars. (or use the 12s on the floor and 10s on top). Would this be a viable solution in the meantime?

On 07/08/2022 at 15:38, Woodinblack said:

So I had the RCF Evox one side, the Alto 212ts and behringer 12" sub the other. Went out the front, wow, was it clear, it was not something we had heard before. Did the first half of the gig before realising that the bass amp was way down from the gig earlier, and the mixer had the bass way up in the PA (from the practice), so I was almost entirely through the PA. 

At the end of the gig the guy who runs the bar said it was the clearest and best we have sounded (he also said that we seemed to have amazing energy considering the first gig, I didn't mention I was drifting off 3 songs in!).The singer couldn't say enough good things about it, although he sang further back as he could hear himself so well (in fact, maybe too well).

Honestly, if I had another Evox 8, I don't think I would bother with the bass amp any more.

This is one of the bonus things about me and my two guitarists using a helix and frfr speaker each. If one breaks or (forgotten) there's spare channels to plug into. Ideally, we'd like to drop the frfrs and go iem only which we cab only do once the lack of subwoofer is addressed. 

The Evox 8 look ideal. Nice and compact and don't take up anymore space in a car than our DXR 12s and speaker stands, and you don't need IEM or monitors.  Only trouble is money. The PA isn't "ours". It belongs to the dad of one of the guitarists. We can't expect him to foot the bill to a different solution, so we'll likely go for an inexpensive, compact sub in the meantime and potentially use the guitarist's DXR10s as tops.

This has gotten me thinking however.  I highly doubt such a thing exists due to physics I don't quite understand, but I wonder if there is a full range powered speaker that can also be used as a dedicated subwoofer at the flick of a switch? This way it could be a used a sub as part of a bigger system, and I could also use it as an FRFR speaker at rehearsals.

On 07/08/2022 at 15:38, Woodinblack said:

I used it a practice, and it worked out well because I forgot my bass speakers (who does that? Me apparently), 

I've done the same.  My bass cab lived with our drummer for a while as I didn't have space in the tiny room I was living in at the time. We had a private party gig a good hour or so from home. When he turned up in his van and we started to unload, his and my heart sank when I quizzed him where the bass cab was.  He was about to jump in the van again and do a couple of hours round trip to get it. Luckily, the person we was playing for is a good friend and also a bass player. He very kindly nipped a home a few minutes down the road to grab his bass cabs. Very lucky escape that night. 

If worse came to worse that night, I would have gone direct, but it might have been a little lacking with no sub or bass cab on the floor.  However, in hindsight, after ready this thread (at least I think it was this thread), we could have simply put one of the FOH speakers on the floor and one on a pole to make up for the low end loss.

17 hours ago, acidbass said:

Balanced XLR out

This, along with being able to assign global eq and volume knob to only affect 1/4” output and not the theoretical xlr output. Exactly the same as I do on my bigger LT. I could then be tempted to downsize. 

On 05/07/2022 at 23:13, stewblack said:

The effects I have tried sound good, except the pitch shift which is horrible. The wireless foot pedal I bought to compliment it is great, the app super simple to use and that's all I can say so far. 

What’s the issue with the pitch shift effect? This is one of the main reasons I’m thinking about getting one of these. Does is track down to open E okay? does it warble? If it can simulate BEAD tuning for practice purposes I’d be happy. 

I use a helix LT as my live rig and I have a Nux mighty plug for silent practice (I also have a Blackstar Core ID Beam practice amp with limited effects and a couple of bass amp models). The little nux is great, but limited due to its processing power. 
 

I’ve had my eye on the Mooer P1 for a couple of months as it’s the first tiny practice device I’ve seen that has all the features I want/need to more or less replicate my helix such as crossover split, hpf/lpf and pitch shifting to emulate different tunings. It really does seem like a pocket helix!
 

It could also serve as a backup in case the helix fails, and a usb interface for the computer. Indeed, I’ve recently sold a valeton dapper bass and iRig HD2 that I had for these purposes but wasn’t getting used (and for temporary financial wossnames that I won’t go into - anyway, one of my guitarists brings an hx stomp to each gig loaded with patches for all of us and the computer interface isn’t important at this time). But, a single device that could replace three devices is very tempting. 

On 02/07/2022 at 21:19, BillyBass said:

I'm interested in these.  I own a MarkBass head but don't own any of their cabs.  My MarkBass head has a bit of a treble roll off, with all the EQ set flat, and can sound a bit dull playing with fingers and a neck pick up.  Having three options for tweeters could make for some interesting choices.  I'm guessing that all the different tweeter options will work well with their heads but individual options might be better or worse with fingers or a pick, P bass or Jazz etc?

 

I doubt many retailers will be able to stock all three variants of a given cabinet though.

This was my experience with my old LMII head. It was quite dark sounding with the eq set neutral and filters bypassed. As such. adjusting the tweeter L-pad on my old compression driver tweeter equipped Markbass traveller 121H didn't seem to do much, if anything at all.

9 hours ago, Dood said:

 

Sadly not - the BH800 and similar heads do have Toneprint functionality. - I've a TC Nova Dynamics pedal that although brilliant, pre-dates the Toneprint technology too. I love the pedal, I just need to figure out what the in-built settings are so I can transfer them to my Spectracomp! When I asked TC Electronic, they couldn't help sadly. 

 

Rh750 is a nice amp  

I had one of those nova dynamics pedals too. it was great for processing the two outputs of my Attitude bass. The multiband algorithm was stellar, but I just couldn’t get on with the stomp algorithm.  Much like the ovnilab review, there was a distinct artefact when the signal crossed the threshold that I just couldn’t live with. Such a shame.

Looks like GR Bass has some competition.  I understand the GR Bass combos work quite well as an FRFR solution for bassists (indeed, I was told they are working on a proper FRFR solution as well).  The new Markbass Mini CMD 121 Pure seems similarly specced to a GR Bass AT Cube, so I wonder how well it would perform in an FRFR capacity.

FWIW, I had a markbass LMII and Traveller 121H.  The cab was great, although to seemed to get heavier the longer I had it!, but I never gelled with the head. I just couldn't get on with the eq section.  But now I use a helix as my tone shaper, this could be a non issue if it sounds great plugged into the fx return.

On 19/06/2022 at 11:51, neepheid said:

A total bust. Booked to play at a football club out in the sticks. Not one person turned up. Played most of the first set to two staff, then they came up and told us they were just going to close up. Paid us anyway, and for what it's worth said they liked us.

 

Weird limbo-like feeling on the way home having played half a gig and getting home 2.5 hours earlier than expected.

 

Seems that there isn't more to supporting your local wee football team than attending matches

 

Oh well, these things happen.

When gigs like that happen with nobody, or nearly nobody there or paying attention, we treat it as a paid rehearsal.

I'm with you on the Bite guitars.  They offer two different headstock, a 2+2 design and a 4 in line fender derived design, both with the trademark bite mark.  The 2+2 seems to be the default and it just looks weird to me on a fender shaped bass.  Just as the PRS silver sky looks jarring with that 3+3 headstock.

As an aside. I remember have a debate on a FB group regarding headstock mass, answering someone else's question about neck dive. I suggested installing hipshot ultralites to remove weight from the headstock. He was adamant that it was the wrong approach and adding a hi-mass bridge was better, as removing mass from the headstock will negatively affect tone. He didn't believe me when I told him I've done it to a few basses and not noticed any change to tone. When challenged, he was unable to explain how headless basses sound great, if headstock mass is so important - his reply was "why don't you buy one and find out".

2 hours ago, fretmeister said:

When did Spike start playing 2nd guitar from back stage during the solos?

 

Since 1984 IIRC. He came out on stage a handful of times at the Wembley '86 concert. I particularly remember him playing 2nd guitar on Hammer To Fall.

52 minutes ago, TimR said:

 

That would make sense too.

 

My first amp was 120W combo lent to me but regularly being used for a function band in the 70s. 300w+ amps didn't seem to be readily available. The SVT was 300w but an outlier and required an 8x10" cabinet. 

 

So I'm really thinking the bottom end wouldn't have been there in any strength for a rock band without really distorting. 

Not to mention house PA systems. Just reading the Quora reply. It appear that in the 60s many bands relied on what was in the theatre for FOH, or the whole band plugged into an AC30. It appears that t wasn't until the mid 70s that dedicated subwoofers started to become commonplace. If John grew up listening to 60s bands, their bass playing influence will surely have rubbed off.  I notice that his bass lines got deeper and funkier as technology progressed.

https://www.quora.com/Music-How-did-concert-PA-systems-from-the-60s-and-70s-compare-to-those-today

And regarding the vinyl recording, it wasn't just the cutting of the vinyl that bass could cause issues. You have to bear in mind average home playback systems of the day. Again, what 70s bands grew up listening to would have shaped their early careers.

10 minutes ago, la bam said:

John Deacon is an absolute master.

 

The common consensus out there in the public that he's average is mind boggling.

 

Try learning then play along to something like 'The Game' and you'll see just how inventive and brilliant he was. Fits the song superbly and is indeed all over the fret board.

John Deacon, along with Jack Bruce is the reason I started playing bass 30 odd years ago after childhood years of playing clarinet and keyboards. Inventive playing with a keen sense of melody and harmony, and always serves the song without getting in the way.  

My band had to learn "You're my best friend" for a wedding some years ago. Sounds like a simple little pop song, but that bassline, wow.

I seem to recall something about vinyl records not being able to handle low bass that well so bass players of the vinyl era tended to play higher up the neck to cut a better behaving track.

Not too bad last night.  Trouble is, due to the venue (social club in a village) hosting jubilee events for the previous couple of days, it wasn’t as busy as we hoped it would be. Maybe 2 days of celebratory drinking had taken its toll on the locals. 
 

Still, we put on our usual show and thankfully, the number of dancers was greater than the number of band members. 
 

A couple of technical issues at the start due to lighting interference and the head barman didn’t know how the lighting worked, but all good in the end. 

On 04/06/2022 at 11:08, Lozz196 said:

Makes me glad I do gigs on the punk/Oi/psychobilly scene. Very rarely any bother and if there is the crowd tend to police it themselves by letting the bothersome know they’re out of line, hardly ever a need for any venue security to step in.

I’ve found the same thing playing for biker clubs and hells angels. Any trouble is swiftly dealt with. And they’re a helpful down to earth bunch, even helping us load it and out. 

On 04/06/2022 at 10:04, warwickhunt said:

 I realise pubs sell alcohol and alcohol loosens the tongue and brain but sadly I'm finding more and more of a lack of respect for bands/performers.    

I read an article a few weeks ago by a compère/comedian. She said since opening up the country after covid lockdowns, a few people appear to have forgotten how to behave in public. I fear she may be correct. 
 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/21/its-no-joke-since-lockdown-live-audiences-have-forgotten-how-to-behave

13 hours ago, WalMan said:

Last night was a late one. We don't follow football, so the final didn't cross our minds until we arrived to set up at 7 to find the pub full & waiting for kick off, and told "Oh yes you'll be going on after the football". So we set up and settled in for a long night... and then that was delayed so we ended up going on. Eventually went on sometime after 10:30 and played through til midnight using the two sets as a guide and swapping stuff as we went. 

 

Fair few stayed, but it certainly thinned out after the game ended as it did. Slightly harder work for me as we were a guitarist down, and I was in charge of the PA on my iPad - though that was pretty much a set and go affair.

 

It has been quite funny seeing a couple a FB posts today from people who came to the pub for a band and were whizzed off that they got football 🤣

 

Previous week was a blast with another outing with my first ever band from 44 years ago reliving our selection of punky power pop choons. Hells bells we used to play stuff fast. Seemed to go well generally, if confusing the heck out of some of the regulars of the venue more used to the more usual cover band fare

I remember turning up to one pub that we used to regularly play at to me met by the obligatory big screen showing football/rugby right where we needed to set up. Landlady said we had to wait until the match had finished (which wasn't long).  Then when we started setting up she told us there was another game coming on and we wouldn't be able to start playing for another could of hours and play a much shorter set!  We reminded her we had a contract with a start time and she still needed to pay us in full regardless of when we start.  My wife also phone the pub from home and told them she had a load of friends coming to see the band and wasn't happy that they had sport on.   Landlady come over and said we can start as contracted and will turn the screen off.

Another pub refused to turn the boxing match off, on a screen right beside of the guitarist.  Finished one song with an epic guitar solo and a huge cheer. He was so pleased with himself until he realised they were cheering the boxing match.

Honestly, I really don't know why pubs have to show sport when they've booked a band (actually, I do know why, but it annoys me nonetheless). And they expect a 6 piece band with drums and PA system to be setup and ready to go at the snap of a finger.

Not last night, but day before.  Barking Bikefest, in support of the Tour Series 2022 cycling event. One of our singers blagged us the last (aka headline) entertainment spot of the day before the main event via his contacts with Amazon Key who are the main sponsor.  Really nice small scale festival setup in the middle of a beautiful park. Played on a temporary bandstand with various street food eateries and other stalls around us whilst community cycle races went on around the park.

We were down to a 4 peice from our usual 6. One of the guitarists is on holiday and our female singer came down with tonsillitis during the week. Luckily, our other signer handled it with aplomb. Provided backline was excellent (Ampeg PF500 plus Ampeg 2x10, Fender Twin and Roland Jazz Chorus) but unnecessary as me and the guitarist went direct via our Helixes (whatever the plural of Helix is).  Quickest set up and break down we've ever done. 

Set went down well, especially "Park Life". When else do you get the opportunity to play that song in the middle of an East London Park on a beautiful sunny day?!

No pay, but free food and use of a secure green room. Bonus points as we were invited to the Hospitality area with free booze, food and goody bags to watch the main event after.  Really good fun. The American Amazon contingent who flew over for the even really liked us. We jokingly said... " if you need a band for your Christmas party at HQ in America...".  I'm not sure if they were serious when they said, heck yeah, we'd love you over there for that.

17 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

That is down to you not checking, they have actually done really well, have a new album, single and tour out.

 

Personally I am looking forward to next years Eurovision final in Kyiv

 

Allegedly, Zelensky wants to hold it in Mariupol next year.  That would be a humbling spectacle if they could pull it off.

15 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

The BBC is a member of the European Broadcasting Union, so it has to be them.

According to wikipedia, ITV, STV and S4C are also members under the UKIB umbrella.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Broadcasting_Union#Members