chris_b

Hell is other peoples children.

Nigel Tufnel once said; "The last band was so bad that the audience was still booing them when we were on!"

So you think your fingers are too short! PS Comes up muted. . . .you'll have to unmute to listen.

People don't have much of an attention span these days. They can't focus on anything for longer than 10 seconds or sit through something they don't like in order to get to something better.

The 80's was a great decade. A fantastic time for music. In 1980 the Blues Brothers film came out. Steely Dan released Gaucho. In 1984 Nathan East joined Eric Clapton. In 1985 I came out of retirement and have been gigging ever since. In 1988 Little Feat reformed with Craig Fuller and put out Let It Roll. IMO one of their best albums. In 1989 Delbert McClinton put out Live From Austin. One of the best live albums released. Bonnie Raitt put out Nick Of Time. And the gigs from James Brown to BB King and Ry Cooder. . . this is just the tip of the iceberg.

A bit of audience chatter? A little light hearted banter with the locals? Sheer luxury! We were playing a festival many years ago and a disgruntled audience member, maybe trying to encourage us to hurry up and get off, lobbed a beer can at us. I was very surprised to see a Watneys Party 7 fly out of the lights, bounce off the Wurlitzer keyboard and over our heads. It didn't work. We had to keep playing because the main band was still getting whizzed in hospitality.

The BB2 cab is bigger than the SC so it will go louder, deeper and be tuned differently. As always, when the questions get into obscure details, Alex is the best guy to talk to.

He has toured the world with Macca and he's got P Mc in gaffa tape on the front of his bass drum. Love it.

The band I'm playing with at the moment have the answer. You need to get a bus to another post code to be able to hear yourself think let alone have a conversation.

Fabulous drummer.

No, I always use 2 SC's for the loud gigs, but a few weeks ago I borrowed a Super Midget and ran it with one of the SC's. I thought the SM tightened up the sound and added an extra punch. The rig sounded very good on stage and absolutely massive out in the room. I'm now seriously considering getting an SM. I either use an Aguilar AG700 or TH500. I would think adding a BB2 to an SC will add more punch, a lot more low end and more volume than I had with the SM. If you already have a BB2 I'd run a second for a dual channel rig.

The direction you face won't save you. It's your proximity to the sound source that matters, and on a stage you're in the middle of an ear drum's nightmare. I can't say what filters would be good for you but I started with ER15's (I was advised that these were the base level recommended for bands. That was good advice). I used them for about 8 years. With these I could hear a whisper on stage and survive a crazy loud guitarist. I've now got the PRO17's and they are working well from the quietest gigs to the loudest. As I say I have tinnitus and don't want to retire so the cost of hearing protection is the least of my concerns. I'd go with the 17's. They work very well for me.

IMO there's no such thing as overkill when it comes to protecting your hearing. I have tinnitus and while it's not quite at to the intrusive stage it's close. I had the usual cavalier attitude to loud noises when I was younger and didn't do a very good job of keeping my hearing safe. Playing "chicken" with your hearing is the most stupid thing a musician can do. When I finally started doing something about it I used foam plugs, then went straight to ER15's. Moulded plugs every time for me. I just wish they were around 30 years ago and I'd started using them sooner.

Do they have to know? Talking to the guys I play with, their sound is usually generated by over driving various parts of their gear so a mic in front of the speaker is the best way of putting guitars through the FOH.

I was chatting to Pete Stevens about a 5 string Wal for my 50th. I never got it. Job related issues refocussed my attentions soon after. IMO a Wal is a fantastic piece of musical equipment.

I used these strings on a Rob Allen bass I had a few years ago. Felt and sounded very good. I use TI flats on my P bass.

I've played with a couple of drummers who used a digital BPM clicker thing to get the count in right. No click after that. I've met the usual start too fast guys (but thankfully not played with speed up or slow down guys for a long time). IMO the clicker worked well, starting off at the right speed always makes the number work better.

Do what's right for you, but I always prefer separates. They are easier to carry and you can upgrade different parts more effectively. I usually don't have access to FOH but if I did I think I'd still keep the "office" as it keeps the playing environment the same for every gig. There's something about massive sound waves emanating from behind me that makes me feel at home. IEM's are a different world altogether. My days of arena gigs pre dates IEMS, so I've never used them.

As we're talking about 112 cabs the orientation doesn't matter. For convenience I stack mine horizontally. It puts the amp at the right level for me. Horizontal also works for Barefaced 210 cabs because the higher frequencies only come out of one speaker.

You are not wrong. My Mk3 5 string Wal directly into an amp or desk always drew compliments.

Use pedals if you want to but I haven't found a need for one so far. Buy better gear and play it well and you'll sound the best anyway.

My confirmation bias was confirmed. Glad about that because I preferred both Fenders.

Original bass or mod. Go bald gracefully or comb over. Same thing. You choose.

Never buy or trade a bass that someone else can't sell.