northstreet

A couple of years ago I was on a Jet2 flight that got stuck at the gate for some reason after everyone had boarded. They played some music over the intercom to help us 'relax' while they sorted out the problem. Trouble was, every fourth song was theI Jess Glynne song that Jet2 use in their adverts. After an hour or so of that I never want to hear that b*****y song again!

The idea came when we were stood in front of the PA with the mics still live. The sound of the crowd talking was very clearly being picked up by the vocal mics - but they are both SM58 cardioid mics. Being cardioid, they shouldn't have been picking up the sound directly, so they must have been picking up sound from the audience echoing from the back of the stage. Now this may be old news to everyone else, but to us at the time it was a bit of a eureka moment. We figured that the main cause of our feedback issues was the sound from the PA being reflected back from the bar/wall whatever we were facing, in turn hitting the wall behind is, and then again in turn hitting the singers mic. Control that, and you might control the feedback. So we bought a curtain something like this (can't remember exactly what we sourced) fitted to a stand like this, and it really has worked. On-stage sound is much more controlled, and we rarely have any feedback issues even in some quite awkward venues.

So on Saturday we were at a social club we know well, with a nice big stage and decent acoustics. Took our usual set up of Electrovoice ZLX 15" tops, Mackie Thumps as monitors/back up tops, and a Zoom LiveTrak L-12 mixer. Not my favouritest mixer, as it's not quite as intuitive as it likes to think it is, but it has the advantage of being both relatively compact and having multiple monitor outputs. We run two vocals, guitar and kick drum through the PA, the guitarist uses a small amp for monitoring and I take a 2x12" 400W rig. Our standard mixer settings were 95% there, with just a bit of minor tweaking of vocal reverb and the gain on the kick channel, and we had a nice balanced sound, clear vocals, not too loud, and a nice 'punch' from the kick. At gigs at venues where we know we have feedback issues (and everywhere we've never played before) we take an acoustic dampening backdrop, which definitely helps reduce feedback by helping control the noise bouncing around behind the mics. But not needed on Saturday, in fact the loudest thing on stage was the lead vocals monitor. And both vocalists are starting to think about using in-ears, which, while presenting their own set of challenges, will definitely help with controlling feedback. We've thought about moving to a smaller tops and subs set up, but we've a fair bit of money invested in the current set up, and it works!

Ok probably a very silly question. If we use a small (say 12" sub), is there any reason why it couldn't go under the bass cab? Probably ok in terms of placement ie not under a PA speaker, towards the back of the stage (so usually near a wall) and it's not taking up additional space. Or am I missing something obvious?

I think it's important to remember that, unless you're playing professionally, you play bass for fun. So if it stops being fun, why not just stop doing it, and do something else that is more enjoyable. But - and I can say this from experience - even if you decide to get rid of your gear, keep your favourite bass (and a practise amp if possible). Because one day - could be weeks, months, even years - you'll hear a song with a interesting bassline, and a little voice will say "wonder how that goes?". And it all starts again.

This month is a bit of a milestone for me as it marks 50 years since I first picked up a bass. For a while before I’d being trying to find a musical instrument that I actually enjoyed playing. But for Christmas 2023 I acquired the albums ‘Quadrophenia’, ‘Band on the Run’ and ‘Innervisions’, and with John Entwhistle, Paul McCartney and Stevie’s left hand for inspiration, for my 16th birthday I got a bass, an amp and a ‘how to’ book and never looked back. For a while I was very serious indeed, but then motorbikes, and then family, came along, and my bass sat unloved in a corner of the spare room for many years. But about 15 years or so ago, I got the bug again, and I’ve been in your typical dozen-gigs-a-year dad-rock pub covers bands ever since. And loving (almost) every minute. I guess that there are many others on Basschat who could tell a similar story. Think I’ve a couple of years left before I’ll have to quit regular gigging as age catches up on me, but I plan to make the most of it!

Just bought tickets to The War on Drugs gig at the Royal Albert Hall in July. One of my favourite bands, saw them at the Alexandra Palace a couple of years ago, they were brilliant. Really looking forward to it.

15 years ago I was given a Gator hard case. 15 years later it's largely unmarked and the basses I've carried in it have been properly protected. Most of the time the case is stuffed between other kit in the back of a car, and I don't think a soft case would have survived anywhere near as well.

Bought a Quilter Bass Block from Josh (ReeV0) yesterday. It was a straightforward transaction as you could want, great comms, the amp is exactly as described, and it all went very smoothly. A pleasure doing business with him. Thanks Josh,

We do the same two songs, so we have a consistent baseline (no pun intended) to work to. I go out front and do a line check of each input. Then the rest of the band does You Really Got Me while I get the vocals, guitar and drums balanced. Then me and the lead vox swap places, and we play the song again just long enough to get the bass level right. Then we do That's Entertainment (which our backing singer leads on) to get their vocal sorted. Barring any major technical issues, all done in 5 mins.

We must be playing to different audiences, because one of our challenges is finding current songs that get any sort of response other than indifference!

Thanks @megallica not quite sure how we've managed to stay together for so long, but I do feel quite fortunate when I read some of the tales of woe on this forum. I think one thing that has helped is the fact that we have evolved, and we've always trying new songs in different styles, and that keeps it interesting and fresh.

I'm very fortunate to have (happily!) been in my covers band, with the same three people. for nigh on 10 years. In a couple of weeks we're playing a small festival that we've played at a few times in the past, and been it's interesting - well, to me at least! - to compare our set lists over the years. Because we only get 45 minutes or so we tend to play our favourite songs, on the basis that if we're having fun, then that gets the audience involved and we all have a good time. And they keep asking us back, so it must be working. Anyway, this is what we played in 2015: Black horse and the cherry tree Monkey man Don’t stop Tears dry on their own Feeling good Upside down Love foolosophy Crash Maria Black eyed boy Need you now I only want to be with you Ready to go My favourite game and this is what we'll be playing this year: Cum on feel the noize Are you gonna be my girl One way or another Call me Heatwave Feeling good Gimme shelter Titanium Bad romance Whole lotta love Vertigo I predict a riot I bet you look good on the dance floor Chelsea dagger Saturday night’s alright for fighting Tainted love Feeling Good has stayed, but the rest of the set has changed considerably. And that's not because we don't play those other songs any more (we'll be doing most of them at a social club gig, along with a bunch of Abba and Beatles songs, at the end of the month). It's more that our preferred style of song has definitely taken on more of an 'edge'. It's not been a conscious decision, but more of a gradual evolution over the years, and I'm not sure why that is. Anyone else been on a similar journey?

Thanks for all the suggestions. Please add yours! Off to a gig shortly so will do a bit more internetery in the morning and check out the ones not on my shortlist.