largo

& tone-wise Kevin, is there something different in the 700w?

I have a pair of One10 cabs & went with the Roqsolid Cajon bags. Not a perfect fit, but they protect all sides of the One10 cabs and have a zip & carry handles. Every time I carry the cabs, I hear shouts of "pizza delivery"...

Any idea if the RM-EVO amps have similar eq points to the ABM 3 or 4 or neither?

Funnily enough, I'm just about to do the same. I already have a mic stand so ideally want something that clamps to the mic stand instead of a separate stand just for the iPad. Need the ability to adjust the iPad holder & a wee bit length so I can see it. Haven't got it yet but the Quiklok IPS10 looks good for me unless someone suggests something different. Sorry to hijack your thread.

Why not just go for a decent set of ear plugs?

When I joined my last band, I was asked to "buy out" the person leaving. Basically he named his price for the "shared" gear he'd invested in. I did some maths, felt it was worth the investment and went ahead. I do wonder if I'd said I wasn't interested what might have happened? Chances are the band would do the "buy out" & then pay me less anyway so either way I would earn about the same. These days, if I decided to leave I think I'd probably wish the rest of the band all the best and walk away leaving my share of the gear.

Didn't Kevin Dean ditch his BF Super Compacts for a pair of the 112 cabs? Sure there's a review somewhere. Certainly got me interested

My biggest problem when playing was the isolation the IEM's gave me, so be careful. The custom moulds will be even more isolating than the cheap IEM you have just now. Our desk had no more channels for ambient mic(s) and even when I did manage to try an ambient mic, it picked up so much stage noise it was hardly worth it. Because of this, our keyboard player eventually went for the ACS Live! system but at over £1000 it ain't cheap. I went for the new Westone AM Pro 30 IEM as a compromise. Fantastic, giving me a 12db noise reduction so I can still hear the other guys/girls onstage when not playing or when someone from the crowd speaks to me but when the music starts it's the band mix I hear. Triple drivers which aren't perfect, I know, but still giving a decent bass response through them.

I used to own 2 x Vanderkley 210MNT cabs. Much easier to carry although not half the weight, stacked taller too with a slightly smaller footprint. Win, win.

Had a set for a few weeks but they were too bright! While I appreciate the feel is flat wound, if I wanted a round wound sound I'd simply by rounds.

Interesting to know how many of the naysayers also sing or do a fair bit of backing vocals. I can remember a lot more bass parts than the words to all the songs we play.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1483351097' post='3206340'] Amp: Handbox R-400 - old-school Class A/B, but only 10kgs Cab: TKS S212 - old-school ceramic drivers, but only 20kgs (lighter than many Neos) Bass: Maruszczyk Jake - chambered body, only 3.3kg Lightweight doesn't have to mean Class D or Neo. :-) [/quote] Guess lightweight is all relative, my complete rig weighs less than your cab!

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1483016389' post='3204131'] What's important, imho, is employing correct lifting techniques - using the back and body properly. When we lift weights, we follow proper techniques and take care to do it right. The we go out to a gig and try to drag that heavy cab/amp out of the car boot at full stretch, bending over to reach it. Even a light object can do harm lifted wrongly - see Twincam's post above. [/quote] I think this exactly right, but ... in my 30 years of gigging, it's very rare that you get the opportunity. Imagine lifting weights when their in the back of your car! Gear is often packed into the boot of a car, or a transit, or a trailer. Surrounded by other bags of cables, spares, other people's gear etc. It usually involves stretching & lifting, or stooping to lift. Definitely not the opportunity to employ correct lifting techniques. I've gone heavy to lightweight back to heavy(ish) and am now back to lightweight. Don't care what anyone says, heavy amps definitely have the best tone, however.... Someone once said your back is just like your ears, protect it while it's good not when it's knackered & that's what I've (finally) decided to do.

Not sure about others but playing in a wedding/function band we tend not to follow a defined set list, instead choosing songs & medleys on what the punters are enjoying most. That can be choosing from 200+ songs. To cut down on time "finding" songs in the folder we're moving to using tablets & it's definitely speeding up time between songs. Flippin' expensive way to go though, especially if it's iPads!

Me too, I'd be picking up the phone.

Out of curiosity, is a "stripped" vintage bass worth more than a "refinished" vintage bass? Personally, I would get it finished in SB & then Sonic Blue as you said. Bring the old lady back to her former glory!

Here, here... totally agree with Mr Ambient on this...

My daughter, aged 10, has been chosen from her class to learn clarinet. She loves it, although I do have to subsidise the lessons to the tune of £180/year. Still money well spent in my opinion.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1479218101' post='3174814'] Why are you so loud on stage that you need to wear ear plugs ? [/quote] It's the circle of life please read my original post.

Cheers EBS, it's definitely not my bass tone from the amp, the guys like to say I'm a mid player not a bass player! However, I do go pre-EQ from the DI on the amp though. The old subs were db Technology, cant remember the actual model but were supposed to be decent too. The plan is to upgrade the desk next year & go digital but cash is a bit tight just now, having spent £4K+ on new speakers and still paying that off. I'll definitely go for the HPF option & keep a look out on eBay for a 1u rack mount for the bass drum too. 3 out of 5 of us have now go in-ear again to try & get around the on-stage volume/mud which has definitely helped. There's only one floor monitor, a Mackie SRM350? again for the guitarist/sound as he doesn't like the sound isolation that IEM brings. Funnily enough, he;s the one that complains most that the mix is suffering because we've all gone IEM. Cheers again.

I believe the FOH sound is great according to various reviews, it's just the volume/muddiness on stage that is an issue. For the record we use an analogue Allan & Heath Mixwizard 16:2 analogue desk and have QSC rig comprising of a KW112 top & K Sub each side. The desk definitely has HPF options and I'll be looking at using those on the next gig, especially on all vocal mics. We have no noise gate (AFAIK) for the drums, which are mic'ed on bass drum, snare/hi-hat & then overhead for rest of the kit. It's only in the last year or two that we've had problems with onstage volume, coincidentally since we changed to powered subs instead of passive driven from a power amp. I always put it down to the guitarists hearing going, he's the only one who has never worn earplugs in the 20 years we've been playing!

Thank you for all your help, certainly a few things to try at the next gig. Will be interesting to see how our "sound engineer" guitarist responds to the advice

So, everything is typically mic'ed or DI'd in the band I play in. As most people do I guess, we get our gear setup and have a quick onstage sound check making sure gear works, bass, drums, keys and set a decent onstage level. Then the PA volumes are cranked up and typically I can no longer hear my backline over the bass bins! Just get a low muffled bass. So, I turn up, the guitarist turns up, the drummer hits harder and we all have to wear earplugs because on-stage is so loud! I stand almost in line with the bins as is the case with most areas given to a band, wide but not very deep! I haven't got the option of moving further back. We did think it was the bass bins last time, so last resort was investing in a new PA rig. Very same thing is happening. So, I was wondering if others have a similar problem and what might be done to fix this. Would, for example having a couple of boards with acoustic foam, strategically placed to prevent "spill" back to the stage make a difference. Or will it not make a difference to bass bins? Getting desperate.