Tonteee

Completely fair rant, complaining about the human condition to overvalue one's own possessions. Everyone wants to feel like they've got a bargain, just like they tend to appraise future value on the high side. I think the part of the brain responsible for this is just to the left of the bit that creates GAS...

Totally understand, Duroc!

I was going to say that the scratchplate screws look old. A faker rarely has old scratchplate screws knocking about. Oh, I appear to have said it! A funny thing, the English language...

Also - obvious question time - do you mean you need a mixer and an amp? Or in fact, a mixer amp? I ask as you say you have 'speakers' - but not whether they're active or not. I'm also wondering this because you say the mixer needs to have enough 'oomph'. As Richard says, all will become clear if you know the type / rating of the speakers. Assuming you have passive speakers of maybe 250w RMS, I'd first suggest having a look at one of Mr Thomann's t-amp E800s for the ampwork. 350W per channel at 8R, nice big fat toroidal transformer, safe as houses build quality, 5 year warranty - and about £137, today. I've used a couple of them with good results. That leaves you £163 for a desk and patch/speaker cables. I agree with Richard that the Soundcraft desks are nicer than the Allen and Heath ZED range. I like the sturdiness of the Soundcraft EPM 8 - plus it feels like a proper desk - but it probably gobbles up your remaining budget, and a bit more. It also doesn't have any FX on board. The Soundcraft Notepad-12FX has a Lexicon on board for the same sort of money but it's a bit more plasticky, though. And dials, not faders. If you really want a mixer amp, stuff hasn't moved much beyond what you used before. You might want to look at the Yamaha EMX 5, or perhaps some of the higher-end Behringer stuff. But for the power you want, it'll cost more to go this way. Hope this stuff might have helped...

Just thought I'd add here that I've found my O/D sounds very different on different amps - I know that sounds fairly obvious, but it's worth a mention. For example, I quite like my Budda Om O/D - has a useful tone control I find, to help get a balance between cut and weediness. Also not very expensive for a cool looking/sounding pedal. However, it always sounds somehow better going through my SWR Studio 220 than it does through an immaculate Trace SMX I get to use regularly, both with flat EQ. Now, I appreciate there's no real mystery here - different pre-amps, different baked-in natural tones - but I thought that it was worth mentioning. It probably wasn't...

Hey LD, how's the practice going?

Embarrassingly, scored better on the guitars. 80% vs. 86%...

Nice bass, well done. I have to wonder though, how does one 'accidentally' bid that kind of money...?

Eminently fair enough. Everywhere else I would have suggested has gawne already...

Totally. If cramp is the issue, practice will sort that. I remember in 1874, when I started playing, that I used to get terrible cramp playing the riff to We Gotta Get Outta This Place by The Animals. I used to push myself to get trough the riff for the whole intro and verse. It certainly taught me to loosen up my hand. Funnily enough, I still use it now as a warm up. All the best with your endeavours!

Wouldn't Promenade Music in Morecambe qualify?

No longer available... Sale or shame, one wonders...?

I'm not entirely certain I get what you mean, but it's quite a natural reaction to strike harder when playing faster when you're learning, because you're putting more effort in. You might need to loosen up a bit generally - if you try to use the minimum of effort, you can play faster as your hands will be less tense. If you'e not wearing a strap, do - even if sitting down. Your tension in your hands may be as a result of trying to use your arms to hang onto the bass. I hope that helped. Apologies if no! I'm afriad I'm no tutor. Someone better may be along shortly...

I too really enjoyed that, whilst definitely not a metalhead. Great show, guys. Very well played, too. I also felt it reminiscent of first album Maiden, but lots of other things going on in there too. Bass solo was tasteful, too. I wish I was so tasteful when faced with a solo... I particularly enjoyed that when soloing, the player pretty much always 'assumed the position' - I.e. One foot on monitor, feet astride, shoulders back, rock face. Aaaand why not! I also noticed a lack of serious amounts of pedals, which is cool. There seemed to be some tucked up the back with the amps, so I assume it was a matter of set and forget.

Doesn't sound terribly small either. Great to hear of a music shop opening in Central London for a change! Too often the opposite.

Another one for Powercon here. Much safer IMO than a chassis mount kettle-type IEC.

That sounds mighty cool! I agree with the reviewer - noisy fun all day to be had there.

Whilst initially suspicious of this thread being another moanfest, I've found this discussion quite interesting, plus a reflection of a discussion I was having with my dad - also a gigging guitarist of varying amounts over the years, of the 50's/60's blues/pop persuasion. He postulated that I don't seem to enjoy playing to people. Or even playing with a group of people, in say a jam context. I thought this quite odd - I gig quite a lot, I enjoy gigging, I'm usually proud of the quality of music the bands I'm in produce for the audience - the usual mix of pubs, bars, functions, etc. I gig between 1-6 times a month, with 4 different bands playing RnB, soul, old-school funk, pop. Not showing off, just giving context. Our discussion showed that he felt the difference is that I don't get a kick out of 'entertaining the crowd'. He felt that I did a job and got out. I thought it odd, but on reflection he's probably right. I see a big crowd as a marker of the band's ability to hold attention and entertain, as opposed to a warm feeling of self-fulfillment. Now playing a tricky part correctly in a gig context? Nailing a harmony? Making a brilliant sound? That makes me smile. If others enjoy that too, cool. I raise all this as I want to support the notion that playing an instrument, forming a group and not gigging with it can be very rewarding. Most of the jazz stuff I've done has rarely gigged, but the experience of having to follow a chart playing unfamiliar structures has been invaluable in my growth as a player. I'm grateful to have had those opportunities. There's been talk of rehearsal without a gig in mind is not rehearsal. The goal is not so defined, surely? Playing a piece well is a goal in itself. To wrap up this gargantuan message, I wanted to add that I'm not keen on rehearsal in front of an audience. I think any new material needs to have been rehearsed. To not do so is - to me - disrespectful. Right, as you were, outpouring over. 😀