Stylon Pilson

Saturday night was the wedding gig discussed [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=50461"]back here[/url]. And it went like a charm. It's true that the absence of a drummer did present us with certain timing-based obstacles, but we co-opted a percussionist and kept it together. The bride, groom, and assembled guests were all gushing with praise afterwards, so I'm satisfied that we did the right thing. There were a fair number of people dancing too, so our rhythm can't have been that bad. We were playing through a hired PA (a package deal where one guy provides the PA, disco, and ran sound for us). The PA was immense, and certainly very loud, but it didn't generate a very nice bass sound at all, in my opinion. Totally devoid of definition. Just this amorphous rumbling that you can't pin down. I tried to turn my rig up to drown it out, but that caused my bass to feed back through the percussionist's microphone ('twas a small stage area), so back down it had to go. In retrospect, I might as well have just taken a DI box. I took lead vocals on 3.33 songs, and I think it's the first time I've done lead vocals in 7 years. Had a momentary brainfart where I forgot the first line of the second verse of the first song, but not the unrecoverable sort. Also, in retrospect, I did sing a couple of the songs with my eyes mainly closed, which I guess is not really ideal for a wedding band, but hey, cut me a little slack. At least I sounded great. Finally, I'd like to add that there's nothing like a good gig for making people forget embarrassing things that happened half an hour previously: [attachment=29619:champ.gif] (animated GIF, click to view)

If this seller didn't know it was a fake that they were selling, then I feel sorry for them. S.P.

Had a Nitrobass into 2 1x15 Black Widow cabs. Heavy and unrefined, but loud and thick. S.P.

[quote name='OldGit' post='548601' date='Jul 23 2009, 09:27 AM']"you threw FOOD at me"[/quote] If you go to a [i]jam[/i] session, you have to accept that that's always going to be a possibility. I'll get my coat. S.P.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='547856' date='Jul 22 2009, 05:21 PM']We need some kind of "Basschat approved successful rendition of HMWYRS" certificate, a rite of passage like not drowning in the school pool on the way to a badge or two![/quote] And it could be like A-Levels, where everyone gets an A! S.P.

Nice playing. I felt like you ran out of steam a bit towards the end, but that's just me being needlessly picky. S.P.

You could use any make, but there's no telling how it will sound until you try it. Is there any particular reason why you are opposed to getting a matching Aguilar 212, or is it just curiosity? S.P.

The problem with pairing a 112 (I assume you meant 112, and not 121) with a 212 is that if they are the same impedance, then each speaker in the 112 will be taking twice as much power as each speaker in the 212. Have you considered a second, matching 212? S.P.

[quote name='buff' post='547490' date='Jul 22 2009, 12:45 PM']Read somewhere that the volume nob was a bit of a sod to get right (sounds dumb i know) person reconned it could do with 2 volume control's.[/quote] That was post 8 in this very same thread. I can see where they are coming from - sometimes when I want my LH500 very quiet for an acoustic rehearsal, I have to do a bit of "safe cracking" in the 0-1 range, but it's a very minor gripe. I don't think it needs a gain knob. S.P.

[quote name='Sibob' post='547329' date='Jul 22 2009, 09:27 AM']All sounds good to me, and how long will people have it for? Cos if it's a week each, this is like a 7month thing so far....which is fine, but we should probably be quite strict about it[/quote] This thought did occur to me too. Alex' intention is that everyone should use it on at least one gig. Which is fine if everyone gigs at least once a week. I reckon the list, as it currently stands, is probably more like 12 months. Maybe he needs to send another one round in the opposite direction? Then everyone gets to try it twice, and the person in the middle of the list gets to try a stack of 2. S.P.

Did you get to utter the line "you can't fire me, because I quit!" S.P.

That brings us up to at least 5: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=52405"]Here[/url] and [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=43945"]here[/url] and [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25505"]here[/url] and [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=48926"]here[/url]. S.P.

[quote name='JBassist' post='544929' date='Jul 19 2009, 09:28 PM']lol when i opened up the amp i found a map of the shetlands isles????[/quote] Yes, that's to be expected. Manufacturers often put maps inside amps to affect the tone. A map of the Shetlands will give you a peak in the high-mids which will sound really sweet. You did put the map back in, right? S.P.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='543334' date='Jul 17 2009, 04:10 PM']It's not just music shops - I had a similar experience recently buying a car. My wife was looking for a Jeepy thing that would fit the dogs in the back. We went to the local Vauxhall dealer to have a look at the 4x4 they now do. They only had one brand new one. I told the salesman that there was no chance we would buy the new one but give us a blast around the block and if we liked it we would hang on for a used one. "no problem, just come in and we'll get some details that we need for insurance". So, all our life details typed into the computer and he disappears, comes back, "sorry - my manager won't let you drive it. We've determined you can't afford it. In any case a new model will drive completely differently to a used one, so there's no point you driving it". Wot!! You snotty bunch of scumbags!! So... we went round the corner to the BMW dealer who could not have been nicer and bought an X3 (an extremely good deal BTW). Peter Vardy - hope you're listening [/quote] Ah, it's just like Pretty Woman. S.P.

[quote name='Rich' post='543047' date='Jul 17 2009, 10:13 AM']Perhaps the answer is to wire the gtrs and basses up so they can't actually be played or even picked up without being unlocked. And keep the kettle leads for the synths etc. behind the counter.[/quote] Certainly it might be worth doing this at the weekends until the kids get the picture. S.P.

[quote name='Marky L' post='542970' date='Jul 17 2009, 09:04 AM']Thanks for that, so I have a little headroom. The annoying voice in my head was telling me the 15 would be overloaded ![/quote] The 300W rating on the 115 is a thermal limit. This means that it's been tested over many hours with an average power of 300W (peak power probably far more than this) and the voice coil hasn't melted. You're more likely to destroy that 15 with overexcursion by ignoring distortion. S.P.

[quote name='Marky L' post='542965' date='Jul 17 2009, 08:58 AM']Am I putting 250W into each to get the 500W total?[/quote] Yes. [quote name='Marky L' post='542965' date='Jul 17 2009, 08:58 AM']My concern is if I do push the loud knob up near the top, am I going to overload the 15" speaker.[/quote] You'll hear it distorting long before it actually breaks. There will be no doubt in your mind that it is one very unhappy speaker. S.P.

[quote name='rmorris' post='541843' date='Jul 15 2009, 11:27 PM']btw if you feel the need to use Alkaline batteries don't neglect tthe fact that they can be recharged with suitable chargers regardless of what the manufacturer might state.[/quote] From what I've heard, you can recharge some alkalines, but they self-discharge very quickly, and there's a risk of the battery leaking and wrecking your charger. I'd be interested to know more about your experiences (what type of battery you use, what charger, what kind of success rate you've had, whether you've found any major issues). Thanks. S.P.

[quote name='Veils' post='541149' date='Jul 15 2009, 11:43 AM']When I asked Jon to build my bass, I told him that I wanted pretty hot output. What I have now in my bass is absolutely searing and I am sometimes finding it causes complications at gigs. I don't always use my own rig and a lot of amps just cannot cope with it and fart like mad at low levels. I don't want my bass being tamed at all as when I have the right gig setup it sounds absolutely amazing, but what would be the best way of controlling it at gigs when it is necessary? I am finding a lot of the time I have to turn my volume down on my bass which compromises my sound [/quote] A Sansamp or similar device in your signal chain will allow you to cut the volume before you send it to the amp. S.P.

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='541084' date='Jul 15 2009, 10:50 AM']My home is not related to a band playing music, there is no connection whatsoever.[/quote] And this debate isn't about what the members of a band wear when they're in a recording studio. It's about what they wear when they are playing gigs and doing publicity photos. S.P.

[quote name='Rich' post='540494' date='Jul 14 2009, 05:17 PM']I fell for the whole rock and roll, get in a band, have a few beers, strap your bass on at a comfortable height, who cares how it looks, avoid getting in fights because it's really dumb, look average and not pull all that many chicks but who cares 'cos I just love playing, approach to bass playing [/quote] Hey, me too! I didn't pull many chicks, but I found a keeper. S.P.

[quote name='sturm' post='540465' date='Jul 14 2009, 04:53 PM']erm am i missing something?[/quote] It's got a Precision neck and body, and Rickenbacker electronics. Ergo, Prick. S.P.

Fnar. S.P.

[quote name='Spartacus' post='538783' date='Jul 12 2009, 08:48 PM']Yeh but what does it look like when stripped down?[/quote] It's got an inner metal casing as well, which is functional but less attractive. Though attractiveness is subjective, of course. s.P.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='540435' date='Jul 14 2009, 04:16 PM']Nuts to the sound guy... I'd hate to be a [i]roadie[/i] for that gig.[/quote] Spiders to the roadie... I'd hate to be the [i]defenceless kitten[/i] that gets trapped underneath the rig at that gig. S.P.