Newfoundfreedom

Absolutely. Googled him and learned something new. 😁

Google time again.

Yes. I've always been made to feel most welcome.

Third time's the charm. 😉

.........so f#@*ing ugly? 😂

That kind of thing really boils my p#ss on any forum. There's nothing new under the sun, and when a forum has been around for a few years then pretty much everything imaginable (at least in any way relevant) will have been discussed before. So what then? Are people supposed to just stop posting and use the site like a big online encyclopedia? What a boring forum that would be. If it wasn't for new people asking old questions, most forums would die pretty quickly.

BANNED!!!!

I find expressing an opinion online usually does it.

Yeah fair play for putting yourself out there. I definitely couldn't do it. Not only because I don't have the knowledge of talent, but I don't even like gigging with the band I'm actually in.

As long as they don't start talking about aluminum. That just sends me into an instant rage! Although I do understand why they would be such big fans of Fenders. You wouldn't want to be in a car crash without one.

Maiden meets Sabbath. I like it!

They're already building one in the South. What we need is for Canada to build one in the North, then the rest of the world can chip in for a lid.

I agree. They're pretty superb for the money. But I still think the Gretsch Junior Jet 2 is better.

That's exactly what we do. Except everything in the bucket goes to charity.

I'm still very much missing the "love" side of gigging. It's a horrible feeling of nervous energy all day (sometimes several days) before the gig, and the same feeling pretty much throughout. I maybe start to relax a couple of songs before the end, knowing it's almost over. Then there's the dopamine rush after. Which is just the feeling of having gotten away with it. That's pretty much the only enjoyable part, but it's certainly not worth the stress of the build up. For me It's kind of akin to getting into a fight and getting away without getting your head kicked in.

I'm like a bear with a sore derriere on gig days. Before we even started the band I was fully upfront and told everyone that I didn't want to be out gigging every weekend, and half a dozen, party / BBQ type gigs a year would do me just fine. Yet, here we are again, another Saturday night gig coming up and I can already feel my mood darkening. I just don't think I'm built to be in a gigging band. Like 4000 above, I have my own personal battles with depression and anxiety and being in a gigging band just causes me way too much stress. So much so that I've just told the band that after our last booked commitment at the end of the month, I think I'm jacking it all in. I just don't need the stress in my life.

Looks like you pulled in a good crowd too. Fair play. 👌

???? Erm....... Welcome Twigman......10 years ago.

£150 postage. I'd want the bass for free.

Nar then. Big up to the northerners. Even the ones from t' wrong side o't' Pennines.

We did a very similar thing last weekend. Played a festival on Saturday night and it was blinding. Played a small charity gig on Sunday and it was absolutely awful. The first set was so out of time that the drummer actually had to stop on serval occasions and restart to try and bring it all back together. The really scary thing is after the first set, two of the guitarists said "well that wasn't too bad" which just goes to show that they had no concept of what the rest of the band were doing, and just listening to themselves. At this point the drummer lost her sh@t and started packing away her kit. To be honest she was probably about 10 seconds in front of me. We had a bit of a band meltdown and had it all out during the interval, then went on for the second set, with everyone paying attention and it was superb. Which probably, at least as far as I'm concerned, saved the band. If we'd played as badly in the second set I'm pretty sure the drummer would have walked, and I certainly would have. It's an absolutely horrible feeling to play that badly in public and something I never want to repeat. Just to make things marginally worse. We had a celebrity in the audience (one of the Drifters) who saw the first half, told our manager we were badly out of time and needed a lot more practice, then left before seeing what the band was actually capable of. Still it gave us a new band mantra. Now whenever things are going wrong or getting a bit heated, someone just shouts "F#@k The Drifters!" 😂

On the other side of the coin. Just because you're playing for free, it doesn't mean it can't be worthwhile. We played a local bar a couple of weekends ago. For free, as far as the venue was concerned. But we advertised and promoted it as a charity fundraising evening for a children's charity which the band supports. The venue took a good wedge over the bar, the audience thoroughly enjoyed it, and the band managed to raise enough money to financially support a child in care for a year here in Bulgaria, all doing something we love. Everyone's a winner!

The problem is, these days, with most of the pubs, (at least outside major cities) either already closed, or struggling to survive, the economics of paying a band just doesn't work. Say for example if you're in a 5 piece. To make it even modestly worth your while, not even factoring in tax, gear and travel costs. You're going to be wanting at least £500. That gets you £100 each, but very few amateur band's are going to attract enough punters to increase the pubs profits by £500 and cover costs, let alone make enough money to make it worthwhile for the venue. Especially when most of them can pay a Karaoke host £75 and probably pull in just as many punters. People often talk about exploitation, and say things like "I wouldn't work for that much", and slag of bands for playing for free. But in reality, if you're in it for the money, then you're better off being a plumber anyway. If you're in it for the music and the fun of playing, then why not? It's just like any other hobby. If you play golf you buy the best golf bats you can afford, and still have to pay the course for the pleasure of playing. I bet those guys would love to play for free. Are they exploited because Ian Woosnam gets paid to play?

This thread is useless without pictures. 😉

I've heard various stories about how unreliable Behringer stuff can be, but it's usually second hand information from someone who's never actually owned any. Mine has never been anything other than rock solid.