lozkerr

So have I

I have a few: Brewdog, because of the owner's attitude. Which is a bit of a shame because the beer's decent. Wetherspoons, because of Timbo's treatment of his staff during the pandemic and because of his support for the B-word. BT, for being the worst employer I've ever experienced. Not so much lions led by donkeys as experts gaslit by sociopaths. On my last day, I nuked my laptop and Blackberry for no other reason than pure spite.

Not for me, even though my go-to bass is a Fender. I'd buy a Sandberg or a Sei and drink whatever was left over.

That's a shame. We've done two originals in the punk band by jamming. They'll have their first outing in a few weeks.

I guess it depends on your audience. In social situations, I've always had a more interested response when I say I play in a band than when I try to summarise what is a dull if esoteric job.

I do that. "I'm the Sabotagers' bassist" sounds way cooler than "I'm a data engineer in genomic research."

It's easy to be wise with hindsight, but after mulling this over for a bit, I'm pretty sure I'd have gone hell-for-leather for a pro career if I'd started as a carefree teenager instead of (cough, cough) years later. I absolutely love almost all* aspects of live performance - dance, drama and music - and I think I might have done OK. Even if I hadn't, at least I'd have tried. *Midnight load-outs, stroppy/drunk punters, lugging heavy gear about, hours on the road, crap hotels, colleagues with hygiene deficiencies and junk food from motorway service stations excepted, natch. But you have to take the rough with the smooth.

Thanks! I hadn't come across that one!

Indeed, but lighting software isn't cheap. All the packages I've looked at use a subscription model, which can cost £££££. I'd also need the ability to stop the moving heads without the stage going to DBO between songs and if anything went wrong on stage. A separate controller with pause and DBO controlled by a footswitch would be essential without a lighting person present. Experiments will continue.

Agreed. Without a lighting crew, there's only so much that's possible without making things look daft. I'm thinking about making wooden mounts to sit on top of the PA cabs, each holding three moving heads. Have them adjustable to compensate for the stacks being in different positions from the stage. Program some dynamic effects either along with the PAR cans chase or use a separate controller with a chase controlled by a footswitch. The latter might be a better option as it keeps the moving heads in a separate DMX universe. I'm still experimenting at the moment and it's possible I'll decide it's too much hassle.

Very much so. They also make the lighting bridge sway when all six of them are moving together. I'm thinking about putting them in two groups of three and mounting them on top of the speakers. That should at least keep the light off the dancefloor if they're programmed correctly.

I do the lights for my bands, and we have the same problem, even though the rig's pretty basic - Behringer LC2412 driving eight LED PAR cans. Chases are programmed into the controller and I just set one going when we go on stage. If we had a dedicated lighting person, there's a lot more we could do - I've been experimenting with adding moving heads and thinking about whether I could do anything with MIDI - but it's not practical to play bass, sing BVs and work the lights. Stomping on a footswitch is about my limit.

Well, that's Tier 2 oot the windae - just bought a set of drum mics from @EBS_freak. Might as well get the rest of the bits I need to complete the PA now...

Just bought a set of drum mics from Russ. Arrived very quickly and in great condition. I'm a happy gal today.

I'd describe it as full, warm and vintage, especially with an all-valve head. This might convey a bit of it - WTP600 head and 210 cab by Eden, song by Joy Division, mistakes by me:

It sounds like it. All the Eden stuff on the Gear4Music site is being sold cheap too. There's nothing there that I need, though. It's a real shame. I love the Eden sound.

"Eden are one of the most recognized brands in the bass guitar world..." Which I guess is why Marshall effectively let them go bust before flogging off the remains to Gear4Music.

My five-string Fender weighs 4.5 kg and does feel heavy when I pick it up. A wide padded strap makes all the difference when playing, though - I only notice the weight when I take it off afterwards.

Aaaaarrghh... some sadist has put a Sei J5 on the marketplace. Must... resist... must... resist...

I know they are, but I've never really liked Standing In The Rain. Though if the OP had said four, I've have included it.

From ELO's Out Of The Blue: Big Wheels Summer and Lightning Mr Blue Sky I like how it starts with one of the saddest songs Jeff Lynne ever wrote and gets increasingly upbeat to finish on a high.

THIS 👆👆👆 Never, ever, click or tap on a link in a text, email or WhatsApp message, even if you think the sender is genuine. Instead, do the boring old-school thing of opening a new browser window and logging in as normal. It can seem a bit of a faff, but it does give you a defence against accusations of not taking proper security precautions if the worst does happen.

OK, I'm in, if only because we're planning on moving house this year and any spare cash will have to go towards that. Hopefully I'll manage a bit longer than I did last year (out before the end of January).

Same here. I use checklists to tick off all the bass, PA and lighting gear I take to gigs. It has STEINBERGER at the top and bottom, so I hopefully won't forget it. I've never needed it yet. But I'm certain that the one time I do forget it is the one time I will need it.

Having PMSL at Wanchor when adding it to my silent disco killer track, that is a brilliant solution.