Al Krow

Ok if you really want to know... maybe it's because: (i) just being expected to play root notes with the occasional 5th thrown in, gives us the headspace to think about other things, like gear, and to spend hours discussing it on Bass Gearchat? (ii) if someone else did it instead of us, the rest of the band would almost certainly find a better bass player who had the time to put into practising (instead of doing the damn PA, lights, bookings and promo), and (iii) the likely end result is that no-one in the band would have any gigs to play at! ...now can we get back to discussing DMX please? 😅

I'm also taking the PA gear as well as the lights so, as Phil has touched on, getting something that that I could transport easily and be quick to set up was a key consideration for my crew. Back in 2018 we got a pair of basic Chauvet DJ bank bar lights and a Chauvet GigBar2 all coming to around £450, when there wasn't so much choice as now and figuring it all out as a newbie without the benefit of this thread! But the GigBar2's relative bulk for transport meant it was only getting used at functions and the Stairville CLB5 is much more compact for transport, although I'm sure that @Stub Mandrel is correct that you can set up t-bar stands for less with separate pars (don't forget something decent to transport them in to avoid damage), but in my case, and the other two band leaders who bought this unit for their bands, getting something that was "plug and play" and in a convenient bespoke case was definitely a key factor with our limited technical abilities! It complements our pair of DJ bank bar lights, which we now mount on our PA poles, to give us a modest but decent lighting set up for most of our gigs. I pulled together a short video clip to review some of the already-provided settings to share with the band - setting 12 got their vote! Stairville CLB5 - Selected light settings

https://www.thomann.co.uk/stairville_clb5_rgb_ww_compact_led_bar_5.htm?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1581403906&gclid=CjwKCAiA86_JBhAIEiwA4i9Ju5JFb0lrjHVlTSGWmXCQQTtHinkidF1OsFS-2tEHXrS0mzcRReylrBoCYFcQAvD_BwE We've just invested in these lights, which are also being used by a couple of mates' bands, and all with a similar profile to yours in terms of venues/genres. Decently portable and happy to recommend as providing a good starting point to build on.

What's your budget?

Wow, I'm impressed at this zombie thread resurrection! 6 years have passed and the world has been through Covid and back! Was a time I still used backline and had moved on from a fab little Alain Caron combo, still one of the very best ever combos IMHO, to Barefaced cabs & DG amps. Gah...it's all FoH, digital desks and IEMs these days for me 😅 @Lozz196 you played a P-bass and got a "to-die for" tone from your rig and little Sansamp pedal if I remember correctly?

It sure is. Doesn't work with B2-4 unfortunately?

I would have gladly traded up my B1-4, which has the same chip set as your B3n, for a B2-4. But I keep come back to the editing software on the B2-4 only being for iOS and and not Android/PC. Why?!

Hmmm...not sure about the analogy? Don't many of the 4/10 UK marriages that don't last, end precisely because one party tried a side piece first?! Besides open relationships seems to be much more of a thing with Gen Z - guess that's a bit like bandmates depping for other outfits?

Haha no - it's was my mic for my occasional BVs and audience chat! I just swapped mine with the lead singers - obvs for BVs the SM58 can sit lower in the mix than you would want your lead vox mic to be set at. As mentioned a little earlier in the thread, we measured the difference and the AKG D7S gave an additional 6dB headroom (in terms of desk settings at least) before feedback kicked in vs the SM58.

I think it depends on what the ambition for the band is, and also what stage of development it's at? If it's established and a purely "for fun" project then I agree, it should hopefully be relaxed e.g. my previous band which was a more "for fun" project and had a very stable line-up for it's final 6 years with no-one leaving. which was lovely. And when two key band members left back in 2022-23 (one emigrated, the other just felt it was getting too busy for him) it did lose quite a lot in terms of comradery. My current crew is a more semi-pro outfit and I'm very conscious that gig fees are a significant source of income for several of my bandmates. We have a crew of 7 on rotation, going out as a 4 piece, so if particular individuals weren't willing to put in the time and effort to make it work then they'd be asked to leave 'cos it wouldn't be fair on the rest. I guess I'm lucky that, 4 years in, we've got a lovely bunch of musos and gigging/working with them is a lot of fun. We're defo still not 100% free from occasional band angst - but your point about being able to have a grown-up chat is 100% spot on. It's not something I've always got right in times past, but hopefully something I'm getting better at.

I guess I'm fortunate with my lead vox then, haha! The two of the three female lead singers who have been using SM58s were both completely sold on our live performance experience of Set 1 being plagued by feedback, and then Set 2 being feedback-free with just one change to the set up at the interval: swapping-out their SM58 for my AKG D7S!

Yeah probably semantics? If someone's asked to leave a band against his or her wishes, by their bandmates that's a "sacking" in my books, even if it's done in a civil manner. But, as you say, it really should start with a grown-up chat if at all possible.

Tbf bands, including amateur ones, sack band members all the time, right? Sometimes a band member just doesn't click, isn't cutting it or prepared to put in as much as other band mates to grow the project etc. There's a myriad of reasons. But the point about treating people how you would want to be treated is absolutely the right one: pretty sure that A would hate the rest of the band treating him the way he's treating B?

Yeah, bands playing covers eh? Not sure the Zoutons are complaining too much about the royalty cheques they're getting each year, though?

Nice one Dave! Thank god for the Zoutons, eh?!

Very nicely put Gav! Particularly like that final para, albeit the VTDI is £250 not £99, but that's splitting hairs on the philosophical point. Hope you manage to land one used in due course.

I didn't come across the Stone Roses until a few years back. Instantly fell in love with their sound and Mani's awesome bass lines! RIP - you've gone too soon, but as a musician you achieved so much.

All good / valid points gents! Genuine real-world question: how much of the sound and feel is going to be preserved (or lost!) depending on the amp & cab or FoH set-up that you are going through when playing live with a band? What is going to be a "necessary minimum" quality set-up to hear the lush tones this is producing in a live band mix?

Sure, but it can also be a question of cost and value for money as well as how pretty the pedals look? For some folk spending £900 on two pedals, whose job can be done by just one other which is well regarded and well established, for a fraction of the price, is also not going to be rational or potentually indeed affordable. So whilst the discussion may be tedious to some, it can also provide useful information to others?

Thanks. It is indeed possible to turn the speaker sim off on the VTDI, but I guess I'm looking for a comparison of the two pedals as standalone - shame I no longer have my VTDI otherwise I could have loaned it to you to do a proper A/B, Peter!

Exactly thanks. Two Origin pedals under one hood on the highly regarded Sansamp pedal, which is often available for around £150 used. So, back to my question of whether this is a material step up over the much loved VT Bass DI? Look forward to an unbiased A/B of the two in due course.

That's a really useful point, thanks Linus! So essentially we can go from bypass --> clean or dirty B15 tone, depending on what you have the pedal set on. Tbf I guess that's exactly what you would have to do if owned the amp? Some great bass tones from this - particularly liked what IMA was producing - that Retro Rock! Ooof! Question: how much different / better than a Sansamp VT Bass DI, is this?

She tried the wireless out at a gig on Sat and worked great. @Woodinblack Do you guys just use the one wireless? Just wondering if there will be interference / drop-outs if more than one of us get the same wireless set up? I note that, in theory, both the Joyo and Lekato have 4 channels. Amusingly her Lekato wireless via Ali Express arrived in time for the gig, but her AKG D7S from Thomann didn't!

Haha - no, simply meant I agree 100% with Rich! I'll edit to avoid any confusion!

We found the wifi connectivity improved a lot and we no longer suffer drop outs following switching the CQ desk's internal setting from 2.4GHz to 5.8GHz