TimR

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1480273193' post='3183018'] No, lefties just play like this: [/quote] And as it's Panto season...

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1480272218' post='3183007'] Except the left handed piano. [/quote] They're only for apprentice piano tuners.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1480268338' post='3182952'] Sure, but the 1st thing I'd do is see what gtrs they are running as to how they themselves approach it. You know you have trouble looming when you see them both rocking twim humbuckers, for example. But as always, it is more how they approach things and it is more an issue when they both have to play 'everything'... I like gtrs who know that they can drop out of the track... [/quote] Yes they tried to convince me that the two guitars sounded different. Which to be fair, they did, but everything just morphed into one hash of noise. Yes. They both played everything. In fact in some tunes one of them played everything and more. On some occasions he 'helped me' by adding extra root notes. .

My opinion of them is founded in the 80s when they picked up local cab firms and at pro theatres with Sure pro wireless microphones ££££. I'm guessing technology has really moved on in the last few years and it may be time to look at them again. I suspect pros don't have a lot of time for experimenting. They stick with what works and unless there is a real need to change then if it ain't broke; don't fix it.

Convention. Every stringed instrument, even the piano, goes from low to high, left to right.

Most of the professionals I know own more than one instrument. They may not take them to gigs but they do own a backup. Occasionally a drunk brass player will leave their trombone on a night bus. They'll get up the next morning, head off and spend the day teaching using their spare and then pick up the 'found' trombone from Baker Street on their way to whatever West End show they're playing that night. There are hundreds of reasons to have a spare instrument, or at least a way of getting hold of one in an emergency. Instruments get broken, lost, stolen. Just because it's never happened to you, doesn't mean it doesn't ever happen or will never happen. A £100 spare bass takes up no room and means in an emergency the gig doesn't have to be abandoned.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1480248494' post='3182741'] That is reasonable, but I'd far rather keys than a 2nd gtr.... I find 2 gtr bands 'can' be quite one dimensional altho that is more down to the player than the 2 gtr idea. At a local level, mostly it doesn't stand-out.... depends on the gtrs and set-up, of course. 3 pieces..?? [/quote] It's down to sloppy arrangements mainly. I joined a band where both guitarists just played the same thing. Although they didn't. They were both so slightly different that it sounded terrible. If one was slightly out of tune it was pitiful. We did a lot of work on arrangements got them playing different parts. It sounded 100% better.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1480252910' post='3182779'] It's weird how you see on threads like this, about taking spare basses and amps etc, often citing the 'professionalism' of it. I'm a professional musician. I only own one bass, albeit it a very nice one, I also own just one amp. Everyone I play with is either a pro or semi-pro, and with the exception of the sax players I play with, they all just take one instrument along. Most times there's not room for spare stuff. I own one instrument that's well cared for and maintained. I did a solo bass gig on Friday, one bass, one amp, one ebow, one MacBook etc 😊. [/quote] Yes. I was like that for years. You only need one failure and it'll change your mind for life. I have one bass on stage. The other one is hidden away in a case wherever it'll fit. I suppose if you have a big network of people to call on, if you have a major fail, someone local might be able to pop along. Our guitarist forgot the PA speaker stands at one gig. A quick phone call to a mate who happened to live in the same town and we had stands within 30mins.

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1480194876' post='3182488'] In all my years gigging I've never had anything fail or break on me. There, I've jinxed it now, next gig it'll all go wrong... [/quote] Yep. The only time I've ever had a catastrophic bass failure was when a singer asked me, at the practice before a gig, if I wanted to borrow his bass as a spare. Up to that point, in 30 years of playing, I'd never even broken a string. Ever since then I have a spare bass. In its case somewhere fairly close by. I can't remember last time I opened the case and don't actually know if the bass is still in it.

Alex seems to like clean. The power amp is advertised as transparent. I'm sure he's staying out of preamp territory as that would colour the sound of the combo and limit the market to people who like the sound of that preamp. Possibly.

Now that someone has mentioned taking a spare bass; you know what will happen if you don't.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1480159322' post='3182067'] Both those things can happen but that's User Error not the fault of the amp or its design. [/quote] Exactly. So there are more elegant solutions to cutting a hole in your cab and compromising the integrity.

Regardless of the pros and cons of combos, I think the big problem with the lightweight heads is keeping them on top of the amp while plugged into your bass. Wander too far away and your head follows you off the cab and onto the floor. I think really all you need is to tie your cable round the handle of the cab before plugging into the amp. Anything like a rack case or sheet of metal is going away from the idea of a lightweight setup.

Most cabs use 3/4" ply, I believe Alex uses 3/8" void free ply. Thats half the thickness but high quality. The cross bracing adds strength but also stops the cab walls vibrating. It's also very important for the box to be sealed except where the ports are. I can find the write up for his 10"+15" cab but think there is more. There are no pictures.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1480106350' post='3181799'] Have you got a link...I believe that prototype is about three meters from where I'm typing this... [/quote] No. I believe he took down all the photos and everything. It was amazingly detailed. Think it lasted about two years. Different drivers, box sizes, WinISD plots, crossovers. Different thickness ply, bracings in different places. The slot depth and width were adjustable at one point so that he could test the low end frequency responses. There has been some serious work done.

Maybe Alex could come up with a new product: The Bareface Bareback. .

I wouldn't start opening them up. Alex is pretty particular on the construction, especially the cross bracing to keep them rigid while using lightweight plywood. I followed a thread on another site a few years ago when he was making the prototype. It's very clever.

Luckily his saving grace at the moment is we do find some common ground. But it's like wading through treacle to get there.

Don't join a band if you think you can change the material they are playing. Currently having a bit of a battle with the band I joined as the singer (who joined a bit before me) seems intent on getting rid of a load of the tunes we play in favour for tunes he likes and is obstructive when tunes are suggested that fit with the current style and image of the band. He's treading on thin ice. .

How long is this pub? We played something similar a few weeks ago. We just played to the area where people could actually see the band. I'm not interested in performing to people who are not watching.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1479586375' post='3177714'] I spoke to a pub manager about this one night and he said the fact that he has live bands every week means that his customers keep coming back. Many of them come on nights that bands aren't playing and he believes that if he lost the bands he'd lose these customers completely. By 'investing' in music once a week he keeps his loyal customer base happy and, in a very competitive local environment, that's his livelihood. [/quote] Yes. It works like this throughout the year. Pubs make big money on Sunday afternoons in the Summer and nothing on a Wednesday night in the Winter. They also make huge amounts on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. Bands should operate on this model as well. Some gigs should pay more than others. I've played the same pub 4x each time it's had a different audience, but we still get the same amount. He didn't reduce our price when no one turned up and he didn't increase our price when it was rammed.

Our band doesn't do a full run through rehearsal, studio 'rehearsals' are always practices.

Is that c£5k for the band? For a four piece it works out at £1250 each? That's about £550/£100 per gig. What %age of the door do you get? How big are the venues? What's the predicted return? May be worth a gamble if these are known, it's similar to putting on your own gig where you have to outlay before the gig. However, you've got travel and accommodation expenses on top and you have to take time off work? Do the sums. I don't think this is pay to play as such, it's more of buying into a commercial project for a decent share of the profits. I would hope!!!

We should be aiming to produce well rounded people not creating a population of people who can just read and write english and be able to do maths. All subjects should be equally as important at a basic level. Other subjects (like the three R's) obviously should be studied in greater detail. Some subjects obviously need fairly decent sums of money invested in equipment, others don't. Effectively what the government are doing here is trying to prevent schools from cutting their music budget to fund other subjects (which all too often happens when their overall budget is reduced.)

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1479560993' post='3177474'] I can only speak about the area that I know and the kids I've met. So your experience is different. It doesn't make either of us totally wrong. The truth is neither of us has done a national survey. [/quote] The truth is yes, they can afford XBoxes and all the other stuff. XBoxes keep them in touch with their mates and give them something to talk about. When my boy meets a stranger in the park (because shock, horror, he does go outside) the conversation usually starts around gamer-tags. I could pretend I don't know what they are but I know enough about this being the equivalent of swapping phone numbers. When I was at school we talked about last nights TV programs. These things are just as important now to the kids as musical instruments are. However, it's not one thing or another. It's a bit like me saying all you do is post on BassChat all day long. I'm sure you only do this when 'your mum lets you' or whatever the adult equivalent for us is. .