blue

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1431625962' post='2773404'] Me too... I'd rather make it back home but if it is a stop-over, I want to be looked after and be in a decent hotel..i,e one I'd book myself in. and I don't slum it these days...minimum 3 *, [/quote] Me, guess I'm one of the few that could easily say,[i]"where ever I lay down my hat is my home"[/i] Blue

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1431595254' post='2772873'] I appreciate it's different for theater musicians & kind of different for covers but I dread to think what bands from the US think when they come over here & have to play in some of the sorry excuses we have for music venues. [/quote] Believe me, we have our share of sorry excuses for music venues. However, I always thought western rock and blues was more appreciated over there than in the states. We had rhythm and blues right at our door step in the early 60s and we ignored it. It took bands like The Stones to bring our own music to our attention. Blue

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1431585677' post='2772740'] I I have wife and kids. It doesn't take long to miss them.[/quote] Understood, me, my kids are adults and I'm a single divorced guy. If I went on the road there is nothing I would miss. Blue

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1431505932' post='2771923'] As an update the guy did finally show up with a guitar - I hadn't managed to let the rest of the band know what I thought before they contacted him. He was, shall we say, not great! He didn't appear to know how to turn the amp on, or set it up and was only capable of one rhythm. The search goes on..... [/quote] Was this a true formal audition where he was to come with rehearsed material, and did you guys make it clear what sort of experience level you were looking for? Most of the time you can weed out guys that are not a match with a brief pre-audition phone interview. Blue

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1431580616' post='2772715'] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]You will have to travel and sleep in an over sized van, but for me that would be no problem.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Blue that would be the deal breaker for me these days. Sod that. I have definitely got to the stage where I never want to stay somewhere that is of lesser quality and less comfortable than my own bed. [/font][/color] [/quote] Probably true with most. For me, it wouldn't bother me in the least. Thing is this is the only time in my life when I could go on the road. When I was younger, I was raising kids and before that I wouldn't have been mature enough for it. Blue

Ok guys, I set my gig rig up in the living room and got the crunch I was looking for by keeping the level at about 9:00 and the drive up high at about 2:00. That was with my G&L ASAT with active pre-amp. With my Gibson Thunderbird I had to turn the drive up to about 5:30. I have a gig this weekend with Greg Koch, keep your fingers crossed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zkhKsl9ICg Blue

Becoming a headliner probably not realistic for most of us for different reasons except for some of you younger guys where that window of opportunity is still open. I'm a little frustrated because I saw a bill board for one of the festivals my band is playing this summer and it only listed the headliners. So I said [i]"great, we probably have a questionable time slot on a crappy stage"[/i] That's ok, I'll get over it, but I have been thinking seriously about the advantages for headlining lately. And I mean the advantages for me. Now, when I say headlining, I mean when you have left the weekend low pay 4 hour bar gigs and your playing 4-5 nights a week, playing 500 to 2000 seaters regionally, nationally or internationally. This is also when your can charge at least $20.00 a pop for a ticket. For example a band like Lizzy Hale and Hale Storm, or even my friend Albert Anderson who travels the world with The Wailers. I also think when these bands keep expenses down there is good money to be made. You will have to travel and sleep in an over sized van, but for me that would be no problem. Comments and thoughts, just consider a few things;[list] [*]I have no interest in touring as a headlining act [*]The window for that passed me by a long time ago [*]I would love to play at that level [*]I would never give up my traditional job for music [*]Family obligations close the door on headlining for me [*]This is actually the direction I want to go [/list] Blue

[quote name='Wylie' timestamp='1431560403' post='2772684'] Take at look at the On-Stage A-frame (with neck), product no. GS7465. About $25 over here (USA) from Musician's Friend, very well built and very sturdy. About Hercules: I loved mine till the soft rubber they've begun using on the tripod adjustment screw and around the neck adjustment handle turned gradually to black glue--it deteriorates, and you can't use the stand without getting this black, sticky glue on your hands. (I'm not overly fastidious; I mean, you have to scrub it off.) The On-Stage works well for me. Wylie. [/quote] I have 2 Hercules stands on stage with me every weekend and have never seen or had black sticky glue on my hands or any where else? Blue

[quote name='The Badderer' timestamp='1431541597' post='2772450'] yeah. at the start of the chain, assuming you aren't using an envelope filter. to get the drive sound you want it needs to get the cleanest signal at the start of the chain, otherwise if it has passed through other pedals that apply a level of filtering, the original signal is then altered, so it's trying to drive a standard bass signal, but receiving an altered signal, so the OD then doesn't react the way you would expect it to. The only exception to this is if you are running any envelope filters that require a clean signal to work properly. If you are then you'll have to consider your options more carefully. I had a revelation with my Big Muff by running it before my tuner pedal as through some reading i found out a Big Muff pedal works properly by reacting with the circuitry in your bass itself, so i ran a Passive Jazz straight into the Big Muff and it worked amazingly well like the sound i'd always wanted. Obviously this is Fuzz not OD but goes to show position in the signal chain is key. [/quote] Thanks, I'll try moving it to the 3rd spot in the chain, right after my wireless receiver and tuner. Blue

Does it matter where the OD is located in the chain? Blue

[quote name='The Badderer' timestamp='1431513700' post='2772029'] Out of interest do you run quite a treble heavy tone or have a low amount of mids or lows? Do you have an EQ pedal? A lot of drives respond very differently depending on the raw sound going into them, so might be worth playing with your tone and see how it responds. Some drives can really suck the low end out so it sounds like our volume has dropped massively, when it's just the low end punch has disappeared. Sometimes you really have to crank the level / volume so that the bass still cuts through. I know it's a really stupid question but your Boss pedal has a separate Level control, are you saying your volume drops even when this is turned all the way up? I tend to use a blend pedal with a lot of my set ups so i still have some of the dry bass signal running through my sound, then i dial in more extreme settings on drives so that you still get that overdriven sound but with solid bass underpinning the band. The only drive pedal i've not really worried with this about is a Darkglass VMT Deluxe (i know there are many Bass OD pedals that also don't need a clean blend to sound good, before everyone posts saying how their OD pedal also sounds good without a blend pedal). [/quote] All good things to consider. I was using my G&L ASAT with the pre-amp on with the treble boost. When I test it I'll try using my Gibson Thunderbird. Blue

[quote name='anaxcrosswords' timestamp='1431513383' post='2772025'] For me it's not the number of people but how full the venue is. If I'm playing to 50 people in a room built to hold about that many it's great; would rather do that than play to 500 at an arena. [/quote] Good point. In the States if your not a headliner at one of our major festivals but your booked on a major stage at 2:00am on a week day, you could be up there on that big stage with big sound and playing to 20 people. Blue

[quote name='Iain' timestamp='1431465054' post='2771735'] The skin fell off my fingers after the last hour set I played in my main band. I'd vowed to take it easy but with the adrenaline... 4 hours would see me down to bloody stumps. [/quote] In the states if your working the bar circuits it's 4 hours. The only way to get out of it is to achieve headliner status. But then your going to be playing 500 to 2000 seaters and probably 4-5 nights a week. You will be traveling but also get a decent and significant bump in pay if managed correctly. Blue

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1431411865' post='2770910'] Stupid answer but are you using the same patch lead on the overdrives? if so it could be as simple as a dodgy patch lead or is it another pedal in front of it that is causing the volume drop? I am no expert on these things though hope you fix it mate [/quote] Never thought of that. Thanks Tbird. I switch out the patch cord when I trouble shoot tonight. Blue

Other considerations or variables are the fact that single coil PUs hit those pedals differently than humbuckers. For all I know tubes vs solid state might come into play as well. Blue

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1431245886' post='2769059'] [attachment=191702:Hercules.jpg] Hercules. I've used them for years. You lower your bass into the spring-loaded clip and it closes around the neck. [/quote] I also recommend the Hercules stand. I have 2 on stage at all times. The spring loaded clip at the headstock level is solid and the tri-pod base is sturdy and secure. It also adapts to all size and shaped basses. For example it fits very well to my Gibson Thunderbird. Blue

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1431459692' post='2771641'] Always bigger crowds and better stages for me. I can't be doing with playing to 30 people in a pub, tbh. [/quote] I enjoy both, the larger festival and fair crowds. I like the larger stages. I like the bar gigs because there are some cool things that can happen musically in these small bar settings that would not work as well performing to a festival crowd. Blue

I'm going to set my gig rig up in the living room tomorrow and get to the bottom of this. Blue

I still have a hard time dealing with the fact that you guys in the UK play 2 hour bar gigs and for us here in the States it's 4 hours. Blue

All my other pedals work fine. What's up with overdrive? Just like with my Boss OOB-3 as soon as you turn the thing on the volume drops way down and you have to turn up your bass and the level on the overdrive. Any easy solutions for this? Blue

Sounded great when I tested it in my bedroom. When I tried it through my GK gig rig at last nights gig, I couldn't hear any of of the crunch. Blue

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1431166821' post='2768402'] You played funk & never found a need for a filter???? You're weird! I think it's an added skill you need to be able to use effects. [/quote] When I was playing funk back in the 60s there were no filters and very few pedals if any. Blue

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1431036956' post='2767298'] I've been playing in the same band for 7 years and still struggle to look out front. I need to see where my hands are! [/quote] So do I, however when I'm singing it forces me to look into the crowd. Blue

We played The Fox Den in Mequon for the second time. The band sounded pretty good, place was packed with lots of dancing. Very cool to see how many people are following our band around and I had a chance to chat with most of them. It was a rare 7-11 gig, I was home by 1:00. Blue

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1430897174' post='2765582'] TC Hall of Fame. Great sounds, lots of control and you can download settings from your fave players from the TC site. [/quote] That's what I have, it's in my chain. I haven't figured out what songs or where I would use it yet. It'll come in handy at some point, I know it sounds good. I also use TCs dedicated delay pedal. Blue