warwickhunt

The Mooer pedals have a nice shiny sticker covering the base... rip this off for a start as their own velcro won't stick to it for long!

The 'usual' for me is 90mins, generally divided into 2 x 45. I/We have been asked on occasion to do more or longer sets but this would be agreed in advance and if need be the fee negotiated accordingly. It simply irritates me when everything is agreed in advance (start times, set lengths, finish times etc) and you arrive to be told something different; particularly irksome when you are asked to be sound-checked by a particularly early time and arrive to be told you can't even bring your gear in for another 2 hours or that your agreed 21:00 start is 22:00 (or worse). If this is totally unavoidable and beyond the venues control it is fine but when you then find out that the amended time has been the norm for ages... that just hacks me off. I recall turning up to one pub gig at their requested 19:00 for an 20:00 start to be told they were serving food till 21:00 and THEN we can begin load in. As we were told this a member of staff (who plays in bands) tells us on the QT that they always do this and if it is dead quiet they might even tell the band they are cancelled, when they are doing loads of food orders they just put the band off till after close of service! Erm, no thanks, I'm off away home and you can find an alternative band.

Does he ever meet them again 'after' he has ripped them off? I'm assuming 100% of these people don't know his story when they work with/for him... and then get ripped off!

There is a certain kind of person that will dish out their own justice over being scammed a couple of hundred pound... but this scumbag relies on the fact that they are far and few between and he does it remotely, whereby he has a level of immunity due to someone having to travel distances. However, he will run out of luck one day. I would certainly go out of my way to grass him up if I see one of his shows advertised local to me and I'd be sure to be declaring things via social media (that he can't delete).

In my arsenal (I have occasional shoulder issues) are these light basses. Dano Longhorn (short scale) Hofner Club (SS) Sandberg Lionel (SS) Nordstrand Acinonyx (SS) Maruszczyk Jake (long scale but just over 7lb) Sandberg P bass (LS 8.1lb) Aria Sinsonadia (LS skeleton bass... weighs nothing) I'd recommend any of them but the short scale basses can help in more ways than just pure weight/mass.

It could be argued it is as hard/harder to make a bass out of paper (masonite) than it is to make it out of a block of wood...

NO! Why did you alert me to that? I like Dano LHs... I like F holes... I 'might' need one of these!

I'd like to add a little personal experience re similar... identical situation (I had to check your location)! I was asked by my Mother in Law if I could look over quotes they had for a PA system for their church; they had quotes which were eye watering and totally inflated/unnecessary. My greatest concern (aside from price) was that there was no/little provision for the hearing loop (you do tend to get a few users in church settings) and the user interface. I'm really sorry but unless there is a person always on hand to operate ALL of these systems, there is no way a non-muso could operate the PA; complex desks, radio mics etc etc. I can't point you to the ideal solution but please take on board these main two points, hearing loop and ease of use (by all). Good luck.

Also check out the short scale appreciation thread!

A quick fix tip - on necks made of maple especially with maple fingerboards, cut a strip 5mm wide of black gaffa/duct tape and apply along the edge of the bass. If you have a dark neck bass you can use dayglo orange/yellow. I only apply on the 5th/7th/12th fret and replace as and when. Cost is 'zero' if you own this duct tape.

Are you sure about that? Even if you bought a used instrument in Germany, you'd be liable for import tax/duty when you brought it into the UK.

If it is Thomann, you've no worries.

There isn't a hard rule re. this! Thomann inc the import costs in their pricing, whereas others don't and it isn't always the courier who you pay the various 'taxes' to. I'm not even sure that your £135 figure is correct, I'm sure I've seen folk being hit with fees on stuff sub £100. If the site/seller doesn't mention import taxes et al, I'd budget for adding 25% to the cost (including shipping fees).

Cheers for that. However, I'll need to read it 3 times because it still seems as clear as mud! LOL

Has anyone successfully identified a drop D tuner that is a direct replacement for the tuner on a California bass with the one screw tuners? Is there a comparable tuner that will fit but maybe doesn't look exact? Measuring the post it appears to be 12.8mm, so I'm assuming 1/2"!

We have an agreement that if the others are carrying on, that person gets 1/4 of the market value of the PA. It could be a bone of contention 'how much is it worth' but we are all grown men and can sort it out, we did have a general consensus that the £1200 we paid would likely be £800 'if' we were to try and sell it within a year. I had a similar thing some years back, where a band folded and it was shared ownership; I made an offer to buy the PA off the other guys at a price I thought was fair but if anyone else wanted to offer more or could sell it immediately for more, then they could crack on and have it. However... there's nowt as queer as (band) folk!

Now THAT is a whole other ball game and a dance I've done lots of times. I'm now of an age where I'd quite frankly be quite matter of fact and bordering on blunt BUT it's not how I might have dealt with it in the past... though I now know the best way is the straightest way.

I agree and that's why in the first instance I'd be suggesting the singer buys a PA. I've recently stepped down from a band (after 10 years) and the singer owned and transported the PA; he did solo gigs, buskers etc so it was his responsibility and his choice (he was happy doing that). It won't always be the case and that is where compromise comes in because it is surely a compromise when a whole band is buying a piece of gear that only one member is going to use. It could be argued the whole band benefits but equally the whole band benefits from the drummer owning a kit and the bass/guitar owning backline etc.

I've been in bands for over 40 years and in that time I've likely had every scenario and there isn't a concrete right/wrong. Personally in the cold light of day I'd say if it is purely a vocal PA, this is down to the singer! However... if this is too contentious for your band to cope with you could do what I/we are presently doing. 3 of the 4 band members have jointly bought a PA @ £1200 (1 band member is strapped for cash due to an imminent house purchase) and there is an agreement that we (3) will recoup our outlay from 100% of the initial gig money; 4 gigs @ £300 will be paid directly to us 3 with the non-contributor receiving nothing from those initial gigs. When we have been repaid for our outlay, the gig money reverts to being split 4 ways. In the event of the band splitting we divide the proceeds of the sale by 4 and each gets an equal share.

Been using Canva (free) for band posters/FB/Insta stuff for a while; easy to use and lots of useful features.

Based on YT reviews/videos I bought the MXR (used)... too much drive for me (even when dialled to minimum). I'd heard good things about the Ampeg Scrambler, so I bought one (used)... not the right type of 'drive' (for me)! I'm subsequently back to square one looking for the right kind of OD but I'm not listening to any more online samples and I need to have them trialled in real world scenarios with the band! LOL

21st Sept 1979... I bought this album and played it NON-STOP.

We differ in that I don't really need/want and amp (or cabs) to achieve what I want; I'm looking at a preamp pedal that I can take to gigs (festival/multiband line ups) and literally give an engineer an XLR feed and ideally the pre-pedal will feed my Rolls PM pedal for IEM. At the minute I have the Fishman Plat Pro with a TC Clean Boost (which does a bit of dirt) in the effects loop but it's about 75% of the tone that I hear in my head and want to achieve. We are however similar in that I want to be able to play different basses and to tweak that pre amp tone to suit... sometimes even dialling all the grit out for one particular band scenario. I have just borrowed an EBS Microbass (II) which is really good but not the right kind of top end drive that I'm looking for.

I 'think' you and I @NancyJohnson are possibly trying to achieve the same sonic goal/tone re a sound and I'm following this as I'm struggling to achieve it as well, hence I've read and I'm following this thread. I'm going to use such vague terms that I'll be laughed at but here goes... I want a sound that is slightly aggressive, a bit of grit/drive but not overdrive; almost a good valve amp just starting to break up that is also maybe fattening up as you get speaker compression. Like you I have good amps (Thunderfunk, Tech Soundsystems Blackcat, EBS HD350) and some decent cabs (TC RS210 x2 and a TKS 115) and I have a few preamp pedals (Fishman Plat Pro, Sansamp, BBE Acoustimax, Radial Bassbone) but I can't quite achieve that tone in a package that can (easily) go with me to a range of gigs. I also have an MXR OD (too much drive even when dialled to minimum) and a TC booster (adds a nicer break up but it is still really 'distortion'). The Sansamp drive is an easy fix but it is too global on it's application; I almost want drive but just on the top end. I know some folks achieve their goals through modelling but I just can't, I've honestly tried and I end up spending 5 times as long messing about to achieve the same result as I'd get from my Sansamp or Radial pedals. I have tried Helix, I owned a Kemper (Toaster) and the Nux MLD through FRFR and through IEM; as a result I'm actually more comfortable using IEM and going through the PA with no backline but I can't find the pedal(s) that will get me the tone I want. Any way, I'll see if you manage to find something and I'll see if it works for me!

The latest compilation.