TimR

The last paragraph mainly. If you're playing 'standards' that's a cover band, but if you're playing standards no one wants to pay for, then that's a 'vanity project', or if that's too strong, it's just indulgent. I wouldn't worry about 'pubs', it's not the economy that's causing them to suffer it's council business rates and Brewery rents. £300 on onw night won't make one bit of difference. But that's another thread entirely.

Seems we are one of 5 countries who get a free pass to the finals.

I have mine from 1985. I pulled the frets and filled them with polyfilla. I'll get a photo if I have time to get it out of the loft. In about 2004 I found out you can adjust truss rods and I tuned it from an unplayable monster onto something approaching a bass with low enough action to be half playable. The pickups pick up every airborne RF signal known to man.

It's too many originals bands grateful just to be given a place to play that seems to be the problem. Don't know how it's to be fixed but if you have a dep playing on someone's vanity project then the dep should be aware of the package before signing up. That could be; 'the band' pay travelling expenses, drinks or the dep is happy to just be helpful. What the band is getting paid shouldn't come into this. The band are the people who want to play their music, not the dep. It's different to cover bands where the band are expecting to get paid the going rate. In short, if the gig isnt paying enough for the dep, the band members pay them out of their pockets. If a member of the band can't get to the gig because they're skint, that's up to the other members of the band (not including the dep) to decide how they continue to support that member.

Ebony/Black wood stain.

I assume you only have a 3 band EQ on the mixer and the mid is parametric. By doubling up you can use the 'mid' set at different frequencies. Might try this for our vocals. Take a thru out straight into the next chanel input.

That's the way I read it. It's not the amount of gain you're getting, it's the amount of gain the range of the source can provide. From the manual: "The Balanced XLR Microphone preamp input supports sources with a gain range from 0 dB to -50 dB (see section [11] of this manual)."

I'm in an originals band headed up by a guy from Seattle. He has a 'style', can't quite put my finger on, but it's all the US influences from the 50s really. None of it would be out of place in an American diner. I've been calling it Americana. It's not bluegrass, or country, or blues.

Bandmix. List your achievements. You're probably underselling yourself and a few 'auditions' and jams with people looking for a Bass player will probably give you a better idea of where you fit in. If you've played functions you're a step ahead of tons of players, not least because you have some good experience. Most bands are looking for competent players rather than virtuosos.

One more email notifying of delays last month with new dates given of 7th May. Email yesterday saying it was leaving the warehouse. Then one from DPD last night saying they'll deliver today. Arrived this morning. Great comms.

That's what's known as failure of suspension of disbelief. You can generally ignore all kinds of nonsense during fictional films as being necessary for the story telling. But of something that wouldn't normally happen in real life but is obviously not extreme and/or you have experience of it, the whole storytelling illusion is broken for you. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_of_disbelief

That's dinky.

This is usually because they'll be affiliated to a body and have to follow best practices. If anything goes wrong they'll have to show they followed best practices. The officers of the club (chairman, secretary, treasurer) will be the ones who have to take any financial hit or be sued. AFAIK a band is still a 'club' and the 'members' have joint and several liability for debts and will all be responsible for one of the members negligence. Hence anyone playing out should have their own insurance. The only issue with having band funds paid directly into your personal bank account is if the HMRC should take an interest in you, especially if being paid by a business. Getting paid £80 for the odd gig could potentially look like you're being paid £320. But keep records and you should all be fine.

In the 3 piece our guitarist/singer is offset centre/stage left in front of the kit enough for drummer to be seen. Then I'm stage right just to the side of and in front of the kit. In the 4 piece it's the same but the guitarist is stage left mirroring me.

In a gig situation? Yes. Only a few people will hear them as intended.

House Land and Right. If you're self operating from the stage turn the PA to face the back if you think it may get confusing. Also, it doesn't really matter as everything should be mono.

Yes. We also have 'house lights', and 'front of house' PA.

Stage Right is right hand side looking from the stage towards the audience. House Right is righthand of the stage looking at the stage from the audience (house).

What's the rest of the band doing? They should all sticking to the correct tempo with you?

Well yes, if the band agrees it needs to change, but that change should be rock solid. If the drummer is speeding up or slowing down seemingly at random and not giving any visual cues then the band has a problem. If they know the drummer has a habit of doing it, then they shouldn't let it move.

I think you're missing the point. The band should be rock solid. If the band is rock solid, the the drummer, being in the band, will also be rock solid. If the drummer is not rock solid and the band is, then the drummer will be dragged into line by the rest of the band.

Ultimately you have a band of musicians who can keep time. Or you don't. The drummer can't alter tempo if the musicans don't let them.

No idea. I played with a drummer for several years who couldn't up the tempo gradually because it doesn't work like that. The drummer is human. I refer you to @dclaassen above.

The drummer can't speed up if the bass player doesn't.

As I say. Only if you let them and continue with the mindset they do. 🤷‍♂️ The drummer is just another musician in the band. Everyone has to go along with them for everything to speed up. If everyone else sticks to the tempo, the drummer cannot speed up. It's a nonsense that so many musicians don't understand, the drummer doesn't control the band.