lemmywinks

You don't have to agree, you just have to not instantly dismiss it because you failed to make it work. That's on you. Plenty of people are gigging with decent PA in pubs and getting great results. Or you could have a little tantrum 🤣🤣🤣

If you have one of those drummers that buys obnoxiously loud snares then you have lost before you have begun. Otherwise IEMs can really tame them down as they can hear themselves properly. You can also turn their snare mic off entirely so how is that louder? Dedicated monitoring requires less space than a bass amp, particularly if you're tall. One of the reasons I swapped my amp for a wedge is so I could have more options with limited space. My setup is much simpler and has zero volume on stage, no loudness wars so stage sound is far quieter. My FoH can also be zero if I want, in no way is it louder. How could it be? Better yes, louder no (although it is an option, the PA is far more powerful) Small pubs are probably where the advantage of IEMs or small monitors can be heard the most IME, particularly when space is at a premium and you could be right on top of your amp. Consistent sound on every gig and more room on stage.

He isn't starting a band though, he's joining an established gigging one as described in the original post. They may have a decent PA and monitors and their previous bassist just turned up and plugged in, we don't know. That's why he needs to ask them.

You could argue that. You'd be wrong (especially about a decent compact full range top being coloured) but you could still argue it I suppose. If the OP's band need him to provide an amp for FoH then he'll need to take one, if not then he has other options.

1 -Get your drummer on in ears and listen to them suddenly get more control over their playing. Night and day. 2 -Not necessarily, that can happen for a multitude of reasons. With dedicated monitoring you can turn up and not affect FoH too. 3 -I've found the opposite. 4 -It sounds better and you have control of your onstage sound without changing FoH..

To the OP - you're best just asking the band what their setup is. You may have to take an amp, you may just have to plug into a provided DI box. If you post their reply here then it will be easy to determine what you need to do.

It can only cloud the sound in a small pub if you are doing it wrong. Having your amp too loud because you are struggling to hear yourself next to a drummer on a cramped stage can also "cloud the sound in a small pub". You had the reputation as the loudest band locally because your levels were too high. Again you were doing it wrong regardless of the kit you were using. This isn't difficult. Also "a large PA is a waste in a pub" - if by that you mean compact tops and subs (what a lot of bands use now) then just no. Some of the best sounding pub bands I've seen had tops and subs, they didn't crank their levels but let the equipment do it's job which made them sound better than everybody else. Regardless of volume the low end will sound better with dedicated subs, you don't have to crank it to thunderous levels to hear this.

If putting a DI'd instrument through a PA is ridiculous and a worry then you're 100% doing it wrong (it's two cables FFS), if you spent a lot of time and came to that conclusion then you spent a lot of time being wrong. You also don't need a "big PA", just a capable one which these days can be very compact and comparatively cheap. Two tops on stands which are smaller than what we used alongside subs back in the day. It's literally a DI cable and a monitor return, that's it. That replaces trying to make your backline to two jobs, one of which will be compromised on some stages as the ideal volume and sound for the stage will not be the same as those for FoH. The OP might have to use his amp as FoH or the band might have a decent modern PA and use in ears. They might provide monitor wedges and all he needs is a DI box, we don't know so best to give advice after he has asked and we know the situation. Saying that putting a band through a PA is pointless and too complicated and then saying people will laugh at you for doing so is outdated and terrible advice to give anybody about to start gigging though.

The first thing you should do is find out what the band are doing, if they put everything through the PA (best option) then you'll just need to DI and sort yourself some monitoring. That might be an amp, in ears or a wedge. Chances are if they are doing this then it will be one of them setting levels with no omnipresent engineer (unless they're on very good money), used to be a hassle but with modern remote tablet based desks this is much easier. If they need you to provide bass for FoH then it gets more complicated and can be a bit of a compromise as you'll need to have the correct volume and sound for the audience and your own personal monitoring, usually one will end up sounding worse due to not being able to tailor each one individually. PA option is best basically but it all depends on what PA gear they have as well as their own monitoring situation. Ignore advice that tells you to not bother with bass through the PA for pub gigs, it's not 1990 any more and I see a lot of bands with good PA setups (2x full range tops will get you there) and in ears on pub circuits, these are usually the better outfits who get better paid gigs. If that's what the band are already doing then take advantage of it. There are no hard rules and those who will tell you putting a band through the PA at pubs is over complicated are either people who have little to no experience of it or those who's band don't have a decent PA capable of doing so. I personally find using IEMs instead of an amp live is much easier to use and setup than any rig I've owned as well as sounding better, I would never have thought that a £30 belt pack and a set of £23 IEMs would sound so clear and remove a lot of the things I hated about gigging, I can put whatever I want through my mix just by sliding my finger on a tablet screen.

Don't go bluetooth, sounds like a nice idea but is pretty much useless due to lag. I use a USB mini desk (https://www.thomann.de/gb/soundcraft_notepad_5.htm) and a pair of KZ ZS10 IEMs. Advantage here is you also get a sweet mini desk as well!

Double post!

Btw I've only just noticed how grubby the + pad looks on that board, will redo it at another date as the amp is back in one piece now!

I have a TC BH250 head which only has a Speakon connector and not a combi jack, this annoys me. I'm aiming to use it as a rehearsal head with whatever cabs are in the practice room, so I could take a Speakon-jack lead and depending on the connections provided by the cabs on offer I could plug remaining end into the amp. Essentially meaning I can turn up to rehearsal anywhere with a single cable. However the Speakon connector (4 pole) is soldered to a PCB which plugs into the mainboard, nice and convenient for swapping it in or out but not as easy to find if you want a drop in replacement without soldering wires to it. Anybody know where I can get a 4 pole Speakon combi jack with these long legs?

Yes that was me being sarcastic, the quoted bit in italics is genuine though. That car salesman tactic of turning a negative into a positive, like the built in tuner not functioning will aid learning the instrument. It looks like it's had some water damage to the screen so who knows how long the preamp will work. I don't think he owns any clamps either, you could do a better job with planks of wood and a few budget clamps. I did my daughter's cheap (and very pink) acoustic with a handful of ratchet clamps and some scrap wooden board. came out miles better than that.

Never seen it before, maybe he's heard about scalloped fretboards and thought this is what it meant? Quite how we go from that to a neck that looks like an 80s BMX grip I don't know. Oh and this is in the description: "but the LCD inbuilt tuner has a misty screen so I doubt it will ever work: get yourself an E tuning fork and learn to tune it by ear, you learn guitar much better that way." It's got a knackered tuner and the top is protruding and has a massive crack, bracing is probably mangled too but hey, he's doing you a favour by removing your training wheels. Get a tuning fork and learn to play properly noob! No need to tune in silence at a gig, just whip a tuning fork out even though you can't hear anything!

Described as "shop soiled" which is either massively dishonest or he doesn't know what that means. It's one of G4M's many "exploded in transit" acoustics which are sold off at half price or less. Absolute firewood. You can get the guitar brand new for £99: https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Deluxe-Single-Cutaway-Electro-Acoustic-Guitar-by-Gear4music-Sapele/C4Q

"It's crazed the glaze!" - another damaged G4M acoustic being sold at a massive upcharge after some rudimentary hacking about. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blues-thumb-style-acoustic-electro-guitar/193427320449?hash=item2d092aae81:g:80AAAOSwLfZemY-o

The sale is over now I think.

It's totally my fault!

He's nicked the pickguard as well!

Usually £12.49, looks pretty neat: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.planeth.gstomper&hl=en_GB

Nobody has been angry at Ashdown though, that was the point. Some disappointment definitely but nobody is mad.

Nobody is mad at Ashdown, we're discussing their basses. This is a bass discussion forum so it would seem like the right place to do it.

This one looks cool: Like someone's thrown together a Wal, EB0 and a Tele but it works.

Indeed, in fact seeing as these are touted as Dan Lakin designed you would expect them to be something along these lines seeing as he is known for his original take on aspects of Fender, G&L and Musicman basses. Quite what input Mr. Lakin has had with these Ashdowns aside from writing "dunno, a Jazz bass?" on the back of a beer mat remains to be seen.