zbd1960

I don't yet play with a band, but a sound engineer friend of mine does a lot fo 'fixing' of bands. Locally (north mids) it depends on the type of pub. Some go for fewer events but pay more (£300+). Others prefer to have 2 or even 3 bands on one night and pay sod all - and get rubbish as a result

Jeepers... apart from everything else, no eye or ear protection... I'm amazed he's alive

I am prety new to the world af amplified music, everything else I do is acoustic based. I have noticed that people seem to serously underestimate sound pressure levels (SPL). Whilst not 'accurate' get an app for your phone that measures SPL and see what you're experiencing - it won't be 'accurate' (proper measurements require freqeuncy measurement at a fixed distance) but it will be indicative. Bear in mind that for bar staff in a venue, they are limited to 85dB (peak I think rather than average) for one hour. If your ears are ringing etc then it is too loud and you risk serious permanent damage. I play in a large symphonic wind band - I sit in front of the drum kit, typani and 7 trombones and 95dB in rehearsals is common where I sit. I have ear plugs.

I'd be tempted to go along to see it, having seen it in a rougher state at Leicester. Unfortunatley, I have an all-day rehearsal in Birmingham

Not my world, but a big tick for enthusiasm and wanting to 'have a go' which is a big plus in my book. I agree with the comment that commitment and enthusiams and a willingness to do some work is more valuable in the long-term than brilliance. I know and have played with a number of 'brilliant' musicians - it tends to be difficult to enjoy anything around them as they are often perfecitonists...

As mentioned above, a decent luthier woudl advise whether it's worth it or not

Hi, I'm just over the border in north Shrops, but work in Cheshire. I'm new to bass (weeks rather than years).

Depends on what the problem is. Something like laryngitis maybe be a few weeks. The vocal folds are very delicate. If it's something like nodules, then that's very serious and may require surgery. You can't rush/push a voice back or you risk permanent damage. A common issue with typical band singers (doesn't sound like it in this case) is they don't understand the physiology of singing and sound production/voice support. They don't know how to relax the throat muscles and instead of singing, they indulge in tuned shouting. This leads to the voice tiring very quickly and becoming hoarse, usually in less than an hour. A singer with good technique can sing for hours - within reason.

I play various instruments in varous sized orchestras/bands. With amateur musicians, timing is often an issue. Common errors include speeding up when it gets louder / more exciting / goes up in pitch, slowing down as it gets quieter or down in pitch. For people new or inexperienced with ensemble playing, it has to be worked on. A common issue is people not listening to what others are doing and I am sure this is a big clue to the issue - listening to what the rest of the band is doing. I currently lead a sax choir of 7 or 8 players. They mostly have about 3 or 4 years' experinece, so relative novices, and this is their first experience playing in an enemble. Playing together in a group for the first time presents a lot of challenges. Short of bringing in a tutor to a rehearsal to work on timing, the only option is to do things like record a rehearsal or work with a click track to see if matters improve.

I play in several orchestras and groups (typically between 30 and 70 players). It never ceases to amaze me how 'unrealistic' people are who book you for a concert/gig. I've learnt that if I'm involved with the organisation of the event to have a thorough 'reality check' discussion with the organisers

My worst back incident ws when 22 - adjusting the tuning of the car radio... I could hardly move and was laid up for a month

I have an Asus laptop and I sometimes play stuff on it through the main hi-fi (usually for sound files which have been sent through Messenger or similar, or for the odd recording of a concert I've made). Something which makes a definite improvement is to connect the laptop to the pre-amp via an offboard DAC such as the ones sold in Maplin for about £30.

Being new to all things bass... I have already seen that here is a huge choice of effects available with prices from not too bad to ouch. I'm a fan of Zoom anyway as I have an H2N recorder (which I've used to record at a couple of concerts I was playing in). The B3 keeps popping up when I go trawling round the web. This is looking like a good way of acquiring adecent amount of capability without going mad... I am definitely twitching...

The past is indeed another country... The clichés abound, "one man's meat is another man's poison" and so forth. I was born in 1960. A bit of a heretic to some since during my teens I loathed the fashions/clothes/music of the 70s... Not everything was bad and not everything was good either, just the same as now in that regard. Bad things included people smoking everywhere (I'm allergic to it). Things like cars were very unreliable and fell apart after about 5 years. Less technology meant that people actually talked to each other... Technology has moved on tremendously, for better and worse. Some things have gone backwards though, such as social responsibility of both people and businesses

An osteopath I knew used to say that the root of back problems generally is that the human muscuko-skeletal system is not really designed for walking upright - it's evolved from being quadrupeds and it's still not the finished product. Whilst weight, muscle tone etc can be factors, they guarantee nothing. Fundamentally we do things (e.g. sit in chairs, use computers, play basses) which we were not specifically 'designed' to do. Most of us have bad posture habits and other behaviours which are less than ideal when it comes to protecting our backs. My back first went out at the age of 22. At that time, I was fairly fit and weighed 10st. Unlike then, I am now careful about what and how I lift things and some things I will not even attempt. I have had far fewer problems in the last 10 years or so (I'm now mid 50s). A work colleague in his mid 30s had always 'laughed' at others' back problems. He's a fit guy, running half marathons etc. Suddenly 2 months ago his back 'went'. He said afterwards that he never understood why people went on about backs and he thought people were making it up and just 'slacking'. Cue excruciating pain and being unable to move for several days: he now has a different perspective. If you've never suffered, be grateful, and sympathetic to those that do suffer.

Backs are tricky things. Some people are fortunate and seem completely immune, no matter how daft the things they do are, and never have so much as a twinge, let alone full-blown muscle spasm and lock-up. Other people only need to glannce sideways to have things go completely to pot. What happens to many people is that some minor act puts a couple fo vertebrae in the lower back very slightly out of alignment. This causes pressure on a nerve, which sends stabbing searing pain through your body. To protect itself, the muscles around the affected vertebrae lock-up to immobilise the affected area, This results in you becoming anywhere between 'stiff' and utterly incapable of moving without a great deal of pain. The medical profession is generally not very good with backs. If you're lucky it will ease off itself, you may need some heat, manipulation, massage etc to help relax things and to get them back where they belong. I put up with regular seizures during my 20s and into my 30s and eventually got fed-up with pain killers and 'bed rest' and so I paid to see an osteopath: best decision I ever made. It now rarely goes out badly and if it does cause trouble, a couple fo treatments usually sorts it out. Of course, none of this may work for you. So long way of saying: carrying and moving anything which is awkward - does not need ot be heavy - is a risk with backs and you can't say just because it's not a major part of what you do that it is not a risk, it is.

As someone relatively new to a lot of this, I have noticed when I've heard pub bands that the concept that the singer and the band should be in tune with each other seems ot have missed some of them completely...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1463303641' post='3050236'] Not our finest moment, but at least we didn't think it was a good idea to appear in public with our trousers down around our arses. Ha! Ha! [/quote] True

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1463301011' post='3050199'] Almost everthing. Kipper ties, huge collars, and flares just didn`t quite make it. [/quote] I was a teen in the 70s and I loathed the so-called fashion of the day. I agree with the realtive wealth comment - I left school with A levels and got a reasonable job, which then led to better opportunities. I think there is some truth in the aging aspect - more of us who are older are invovled in stuff than was probably the case 40 years ago

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1463296288' post='3050162'] Is that because it is what is expected and looks right? [/quote] I suspect so...

Several reasons. A very significant number of people do suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lives. Youngsters tend to think they're indestructible. I smiled when a 28 yer-old colleague said "But I'm too young to have back problems" - mine went out for the first time when I was 22. Second audio technology has moved a long way in 40 years: magnet technology using rare earth magents in particular. Computer aided speaker cabinet design, new stiff, realtively light materials for cabs, microchip and digital technology... all means less mass EDIT: remove silly typos...

Shudder - I haven't watched it since I was about 14 back in the 70s and I have no plan to resume anytime soon

*cough* I was involved with the Sheridan Smith 'Cilla' in a minor way and I was impressed with her singing

With musical instruments it's generally a good idea to buy the best you can afford (and it doesn't matter if it's a piano or a bassoon). The action, set-up and playability of a better instrument are worth having as you are much more likely to stay with it if basic ergonomics and mechanicals of the instrument are not an issue. Bassists are relatively fortunate in that 'pro' level instruments are relatively inexpensive compared to others (e.g. even a 'student' level bassoon is about £8,000)

Had a trial lesson with a guy over in Wrexham - that's only about 14 miles from here, so pretty local really. The guy has a full-blown recording studio as well... Lots and lots of toys... this could be very bad for my wallet. He like smy bass which is good news...