Staggering on

Exactly. I play DB and EUB in jazz groups from trios to big band and I also play in a bluegrass band and my 200W Traynor SB112 handles gigs with ease and has a DI out so it can be put into a PA at festivals or large venues and it is on stage as a monitor. It has served me well for several years, I guess if I played some other types of music (ie louder) I would use other equipment but my amp can be used at home and at gigs and rehearsals so is perfect for me, small light and a reasonable price...and it's made in Canada too.

Short freebie gig playing an intermission set with the 7 piece jazz band last night that turned into an important learning experience for me. One of our members who is a teacher had organized a day long workshop for several school choral groups and due to a cancellation asked if we could fill a slot in the evening program and it went well and we sounded very good. I planned to use my Yamaha SLB 200 and go straight into the Traynor SB 112 combo that I have used many times either by itself or as a monitor with a line out to a PA. When I had it set in place and turned it on nothing happened, it usually takes 2-3 seconds to come on and has never failed before so I checked all the cords and used different wall outlets and still no action. Luckily the school had a bass amp I could use and it all went fine. Now for what I learned. If your amp has been sitting in a car in a parking lot for seven or eight hours with the temperature around -15C it will take while to warm up and come to life. I had taken it straight in and it was still cold but after I changed to the other amp I tried it one more time and stood like an idiot wondering why I bothered and then after about 10 seconds lights came on and all was well, it just needed extra time for the current to warm up the components, who would have guessed? Edit: Yes, I tried it this morning after it had been in my house overnight and all is well, lesson learned.

Forecast for Friday night is -31C and Saturday night will be -30C. I'll be going through a lot of firewood in the next few days with daytime temps between -15 and -20 C and lots of wind. Not starting a contest or trying to prove anything but this has been a cold week, don't think I'll be doing any skiing on my trails for a couple of days.☹️

Let's hope your plan works out for next winter, have you been to Banff before?

That's terrible news and at such a busy time of the year, sorry to hear that you won't coming over here for a vacation. I hope your medical consultation goes well.

The Shen SB 100 that I use for jazz and my pathetic attempts at bowing in my lessons and orchestra is a D neck while the old Czech ply that I play for bluegrass has an E flat neck. Not too much of a problem because when I play bluegrass I rarely play anything higher than C on the G string and find it easy to switch between the instruments. As Beedster said above, listening to yourself and making adjustments as you play is the way to go and don't worry about it too much. So far that's worked for me but I agree that it would be a problem farther up the neck and in thumb position.

No photos but the seven piece "little big band" packed the hall last night with over 100 people and very few seats left empty. We have had very few rehearsals and only a couple of gigs in a store and a museum where we just played as folks walked by and I was expecting a pretty ragged show but the band came together really well and we even had to play an encore which is very unusual at this venue. We had two vocalists with us last night for the first time and both did a fine job on some Christmas tunes and classic jazz vocals and they also did a couple of duets and the audience loved them. Usual rig, Shen SB100 and Realist Life Line pickup with NuX wireless into a music stand mounted Schatten Design preamp that only has a volume control into a Bose PA and I had some good comments from a double bass player about my sound and playing. I love having that preamp right on the music stand, I can easily adjust my volume to fit the song. The band played well and the crowd was really with us, all in all a very good night.

Apparently there are a lot of opinions about hybrid basses but usually the basses sound better than all laminate ones so that is very positive. My teacher and others think that the mix of solid wood and laminate can cause some problems because they do not expand and contract the same way when temperature or humidity changes and this can lead to stresses on the top and bottom, especially on hybrids with laminate sides and backs. I wonder if a bass like yours with solid top and back might have the same problem, perhaps a luthier will join in here and give us some ideas. I guess the best thing is that the top and back have not cracked and only the side seam has opened a bit, there must be some stress somewhere. Full disclosure, I was interested in buying a hybrid but after doing some research I now have two laminates. I live in a house that is heated by wood so the temp can be a bit erratic, I use a humidifier 24/7 all winter, I live in northern Ontario where winters are very cold. My luthier thinks I take proper care of my basses but both my Shen (2010) and Czech(70's) basses have had a bit of seam separation that my luthier repaired. My conclusion is that even with good care any bass can have a seam problem, the good thing is that it is easy to repair and there is no damage to the top or bottom.

I have had a Stagg EUB and currently play a Yamaha SLB 200. I use either my Acoustic Image amp or a Traynor SB112 and have spent quite a bit of time playing around with the EQ on the Yamaha and the EQ's on the amps and the closest I got to an "acoustic" sound is with the Acoustic Image amp and that changes in different rooms of course, it's very frustrating. I use the Yamaha for rehearsals with a 7 piece swing band and a bluegrass band and have actually used it on a few gigs when space is limited and in both bands I can get by with a sound that is not really very "acoustic" but cuts through and is quite loud. For most gigs I use a double bass with a pickup. I am still trying to get a nice acoustic sound but have never found it, I use the Yamaha as it came from the factory with the original pickup and so far it has worked for me and the bands I play in are happy with my sound. There are quite a few discussions about this topic on here and on other sites and many ideas and opinions including some that say an EUB is not a double bass and just accept that fact and go ahead and play it as it is. Your instrument sounds interesting, any chance of a Photo?

I second that! 👏🤞

Very tight space in the North Bay museum for a seven piece Christmas gig last Saturday night, BL looks unhappy but he booked the gig knowing where we would be set up. We were in an area where there is a big staircase in the room leading to the upstairs area where there were activities for kids so there was a constant stream of people passing us and some even stayed to listen for a while. We played some standards and quite a few Christmas pieces arranged for a small band and it went well, although in the jazz waltz arrangement of Oh Christmas Tree (terrible chart and too long) I was totally lost for about a third of the song while the tenor sax was soloing but I just kept the 3/4 pulse going and finally got back on track. Lots of vendors set up outside the building on a cool night (-4C) so folks came in to warm up and listen for a bit so we always had an audience. I used my Yamaha SLB200 straight into a small Roland amp that handled the keyboard too. Reasonable load in and out and a nice no pressure gig that also served as a rehearsal for a couple of gigs we have coming up before Christmas.

Gollihur in the USA, they ship anywhere.

A busy week so this is a bit late. Last Tuesday Simply Blu (not my idea!) played to packed house of over 120 with extra chairs crammed into the corners and we had a great night. We normally play summer bluegrass festivals that are mostly open air and this was the first time we have played in a hall. Some debate amongst the organizers if this was the biggest crowd they have had since starting monthly concerts in 2017 so we were very happy with the turnout that included some friends and family and a whole bunch of bluegrass fans and some who were just regular attendees. We were up for it and from the opening notes of Freeborn Man until the last chord of our encore we put on a good show. We played a set of about 70 minutes and took a short break before another good hour of energetic bluegrass and the crowd loved it. The band members are scattered over a large area so our only rehearsal was on the Sunday before the gig, first time together since early August but it came together fast. These guys are fantastic musicians and I am lucky to be playing with them, I joined the band almost 4 years ago when the leader saw me playing with a jazz band and asked if I had ever played bluegrass. The answer was "no but I'll give it a go" and it has turned out to be great fun and a good learning experience. Given the setting we decided to abandon the usual laid back festival approach and went with energy and entertainment in mind and it worked. Lots of amazing solos throughout the show but the only bass solo was in I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome where I tossed is nice gliss on the G string and apparently got the most applause of the night for a solo. I'm not a great bass player but sometimes a schticky lick will fool most of the people! A memorable night.😄 Not the best photo but it's all I have now...

Another gig with the Nu-X on Tuesday with no problems, set up as described in my earlier post. This was a bluegrass gig in a hall packed with at least 120 people, 8 mics for the other 4 members for vocals and instruments while I just had a vocal mic and the Nu-X and from comments I heard the bass sounded good.