Osiris

Yes, I'd agree with that. In my opinion and experience, to regular punters a pub band is usually judged by the quality of the singer and the type of material they're playing. Also, IMO, most pub crowds prefer a second, or even third, rate Oasis cover to a musically perfect, uncompressed, original composition - simply because they've usually had a few drinks and they want to sing along and dance with their friends rather than spend the evening analysing the individual components of the song. The challenge was issued in response to the following statement, As Al Krow is focusing exclusively on the use of pedal compressors by pub bands, my challenge to him is based on the band's he plays in which, AFAICT, are your 60's to contemporary rock and pop bands. Pub band volume tends to vary between barely controlled to way too loud. These bands are ubiquitous on the UK pub scene, jazz bands don't really crop up in the UK pub scene. Jazz really isn't my thing so I'm happy to take your word for its noticeable absence if it were to drop out. But my challenge to Al remains - stop playing half way through a song and see who notices, count the people who stop dancing and report back here with the findings.

Around 2 years ago my Helix Stomp crapped out half way through the second set of a pub gig, I've mentioned this before. The band was using IEM's at the time so I had no backline with me. It was a pretty typical pub gig, the venue itself know for its live music, not just a pub with a band up the corner. Anyway, my Stomp died and there was no bass signal for the last half a dozen songs. You could count on no fingers the number of people who stopped dancing. Not one. I got some hand signals from a guy who was indicating that he couldn't hear the bass but other than that nobody else appeared to notice. The guy spoke to me after we'd finished playing and it turned out he was another bass player. At best you're a guitarist in the band as far as almost every punter is concerned. Don't believe me? At the next gig you do stop playing half way through a song and see how many of the audience notice. Report back here with your findings.

I don't know - Ozzy

But where do you draw the line? Just about everything about the bass and bass player will go unnoticed by the average pub crowd unless they are other musicians, especially bass players themselves. Off the top of my baldy head this includes, but is not limited to; 5 string basses, active pre-amps, through-neck construction, 24 fret necks, the weight of your cab, the brand of bass/amp/cab/effects you are using, etc... All of these are things that you have posted about at length over the years, as such they are important to you and you've spent a considerable amount of money on getting gear that meet your requirements. But, whether you like it or not, nobody else will notice or care unless as mentioned earlier, they are other bass players. These people who don't notice are the exact same people who don't notice if you are compressing or not. So what makes compression any different? Yes it's subtle, but arguably more noticeable than the perceived benefits of a through neck, active bass against a traditional Fender design. If we're speaking in abstract collectives, there are several folk on here that are actively extolling the benefits of compression and how it helps, how it makes you sit better in the mix, it adds a consistency to the bass sound that cannot be achieved by technique alone despite claims to the contrary. I ask again, If it makes the bass sit better and sound more professional, for want of a better vague description, why not use it?

I tend to go bass into compressor into amp so I can't really help with placement suggestions 😃

That's what I was thinking too. Maybe try the compressor first in the chain so it's not picking up the noise from the other pedals to see if that helps. It ought to unless there's something else going on that's adding to the noise.

I can dream - Skunk Anansie

Making Judy smile - Ride

Nights in white satin - Moody Blues

The Genzler Magellan amps, both the 350 and 800 have fans but they are totally silent, never heard a peep from either amp and at low, in-house use volumes.

Anarchy in the UK - The Pistols

Flight of Icarus - Maiden

For me, in a rough sort of order of preference it's; Dazed and confused Babe, I'm gonna leave you Battle of Evermore Stairway to heaven - Yes, I know. But it's still an immense track 😃 Heartbreaker - excluding the bollocks guitar solo bit in the middle, was Jimmy off his head when he recorded it, it's a real mess, IMO. Immigrant song Gallows pole Good times, bad times Communication breakdown Bring it on home Beyond those it's all a much of a muchness for me.

Irrisistable force - Inspiral Carpets

Under cover of the night - The Stones

High voltage - AC/DC Hopefully that's self explanatory 😃

Don't expect roses - Therapy

Through glass - Stone Sour

Who are you - Black Sabbath

2000 lightyears from home - The Stones

Drag it down - New Model Army

In my case, it's a damaged Ulna nerve. Might be worth Googling the symptoms to see if they match yours? With me it's more in the wrist and the elbow, I don't have any issues with the palm so maybe it's something else in your case? Either way it might be worth a quick look if only to eliminate the possibility.

I have nerve damage in my left arm and wrist caused by years of cycling. 3 or 4 years ago I was at the point where I could no longer play a 34" scale bass for more than a few minutes without cramping up and getting fatigued in my left hand. A mate of mine who is a medical professional suggested trying out a short scale and another mate of mine had an Ibanez Talman that he let me borrow for a couple of weeks - and it was a life saver. The first fret being 4" closer makes a massive difference, especially if you're a bit of a short arse like me, I can play a short scale for hours without any cramps or fatigue, something no amount of warm up or exercises was going to help with on a 34". If you have a similar issue I'd say don't even think about it, just try a short scale and see, it'll hopefully be as much as a revelation to you as it was to me. All my 34" scale basses have been sold off and I now only play short scales, whenever I play a 34" now they feel cumbersome and impractical, and I wonder how I managed to struggle on for so long.

New dawn fades - Joy Division

Don't want to know if you are lonely - Husker Du