TimR

You're either too loud or the cans are too close to the band. I'm going to start a new thread. Please contribute.

I always think that the few bars of Rush's - Witch Hunt from 3:12 on could have been so much more. http://youtu.be/bFvpMPtGD7c

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1439019809' post='2839384'] I have found the sound to light on the cans I have is next to useless , it's far to sensitive , I have recently bought a Ryger foot controller and daisy chain the lights to it , it is brilliant , you do need all the lights to talk the same Dmx language to make it run properly ie all he same make , as manufacturers often use different channels for different commands [/quote] My cans have an adjustment knob. I'm really surprised there are no decent programmable foot controllers out there. I keep toying with the idea of building one.

Having been down the route of controller etc I have come to the conclusion that setting them to auto with sound to light and just letting them do their thing gives fairly good results for pub bands. The important thing with any lighting is positioning. Getting them up high and if they're LED close to the performers is key.

A violin has only 4 strings.

[quote name='MarkW' timestamp='1438862806' post='2838143'] Every now and then I wish I had the ability to solo, but I'm hopeless at it: I have neither the proficiency to be melodic nor the technique to be flashy. But to my ears a bass solo can be every bit as pleasing as a guitar solo, provided that technique isn't used as a surrogate for musicality. Stu Hamm's solo at the end of 'Love Thing' is a very simple but beautiful piece of playing, whereas the pyrotechnics of Mark King et al, whilst hugely technically impressive, just leave me cold. That said, even if I could solo I'd never get the chance - our 'rock god' guitarist would be too busy starching his pants at the front of the stage to let me get a look in... [/quote] As Bilbo suggests: not all solo is improvised. In fact I suspect if you recorded your guitarist and disected what he played you'd find an awful lot of 'borrowed' runs and licks and probably not a lot of difference in each performance. What do you think guitarists spend all their time in their bedrooms doing? No one pulls solos out of thin air. At least not really good ones. Record an 8 bar loop on your phone or PC and just play. Next time you get the nod play something 'you just made up on the spot', anything you will play will amaze them.

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1438863486' post='2838151'] I don't think it's the only defensible position -- to my mind, another one is 'I don't particularly like solos of any sort, but hey, each to his own'. Other than that, brilliant post. As ever, the trouble begins when opinion starts to be presented as fact... [/quote] Well the 'fact' is bass can be and is played as a solo instrument. The 'opinion' is that it shouldn't be.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438865924' post='2838195'] This is why the band runs a ktty, but agree the singer might get a decent deal as the band has paid for what might be perceived as his end. They say the band can use it...but funnily the bass doesn't get to go thru it. Basically, if you want an equal split of the money do an equal split of the 'chores; which means admin, P.A, lights etc etc etc. In the end you'll be billing for time as well.... and the band is on wages. Not insummountable, but you need people to 'understand' the way things work and how things get down..and not by 'magic' either [/quote] The equal split thing can also get contentious as well. Some people write out arrangements, some deal with bookings. Even spending an hour once every few months checking leads and PA consumables, keeping an uptodate playlist for breaks if you're a function band. Maybe sorting out first dance tune if you're a wedding band. I'd still rather stick to the singer/(other slacker) turns up, does their bit, goes home, gets paid flat rate for time at gig. Rest gets split. You'll always get people complaining 'it's not fair', that's life - they can always take up singing or playing the harmonica...

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1438841915' post='2837808'] I've had this experience too. Only in my case it was more extreme: because I owned the P.A. everybody else in the band seemed to expect that I would just do it all myself so they could stand around and discuss important issues of the day. This went on for a while with me getting increasingly frustrated by having to do all the donkey work, and then set it up and get everything working so we all sounded good, and then playing a 2-hour gig, and then striking it all afterwards. One day I announced that thenceforth I'd be taking an extra 10% of the gig fee for doing this work. After that things got much better. Moral: the threat of financial sanction can be a powerful motivator. [/quote] Indeed. I used to do that. The drummer used to complain he didn't get 10% extra to set up his kit that took just as long as the PA. Then he said the band must have paid for the PA by now and shouldn't have to pay any more. Financial is all well and good but people will still never 'get it'. In the end you just have to work with what you've got and if it's not working change something and see if it works better. As I say, often it makes things worse. As long as everyone isn't taking the p... out of one person it should be ok.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1438854854' post='2837976'] ... As for the 'bass is made to be a supportive instrument not a solo instrument' comments. Sorry guys but who put you in charge? All instruments are made for whatever the artist chooses to use them for. No instrument inventor I know of ever put conditions on it's use. Your preference may be for solid bass lines underpinning a song but that isn't everyone's bag and composers and performers alike are entitled to use them for whatever context their vision suggests. ... [/quote] I agree. I'm really hoping you have misunderstood what some posters have written. I really can't believe anyone actually does believe bass should only be a supporting instrument. Particularly any decent bass player who regards themself as a musician. Scary.

I've played with singers (and brass players) who you really don't want to have at a gig any longer than they have to be. In one band the guitarist used to really moan about the singer. I told him to just accept it because the alternative would be painful. Anyway, he had a word with the singer who turned up at the same time as us for the next gig, left his bag and mic stand right in the middle of where we were trying to set up, moaned about having to be there so early and then spent the hour chatting to his mates and getting drunk at the bar. The gig wasn't too good We went back to the old ways after that.

The secret of a good solo is having the bits that are missing when the bass drops out, covered by the other instruments. If you have no solid groove behind the music then the audience cannot understand what is happening. So an out and out solo, where the drums keep the beat, everyone else drops out and the bass goes off on one is never going to appeal to anyone. Likewise, if everything drops out but the bass and drums keep the groove (not really as solo, just a break) all is good. If the guitarist or keys player are regimented enough to play a solid groove under the solo there is absolutely nothing wrong with the bass player soloing.

There is an awful lot of good bass solo work out there. You just have to look for it. Jaco's wise words: before you even look at the bass line, learn and understand the melody.

I am working on a solo for Saturday night. About 16bars long tops with a repeating motif following the underlying chords. It should sound quite nice as the guitarist will stick to the basics. One song only.

That is a seriously dangerous suggestion. Do not do that!

Unfortunately there are people who are so passionate about the Beatles that they're still convinced Paul Mcartney is still producing music that is better than anything else anyone else is producing. That's why I find it difficult to take these people too seriously. Try to keep it in context. Were the Beatles singlehandedly responsible for creating teenage culture in isolation. What was going on in Carnaby street, the Cambridge Set (Pink Floyd wtc), and elsewhere in the UK and the world? How much were they the cause and how much were they being carried along on this massive wave? .

When you touch any metal parts of your amp does the buzzing go away? What kind of buzzing is it? Is it 50hz hum or something else. Have you turned absolutely everything else off and unplugged it. Fridge/freezer, central heating/water pump? Is it there 24/7 or could it be related to a dodgy outside halogen spotlight nearby? Which earth did you disconnect?

Yes. You can still dance if the singer and guitarist are all over the place. In fact in some genres I'm sure that's normal.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1438533631' post='2835226'] Maybe it would be less of a curse and just accepted that what was earth shattering to you was different to others, and stop trying to make the point to people who disagree! [/quote] With respect. This IS an Internet forum. And Blue is American.

[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1438511697' post='2835005'] Saw a band play at a party last night and they had a reasonably decent set etc but the drummer was shocking. It took me a song or two to work out why none of it was hanging together properly, and the feel of the songs was all out as a result. Regardless of what the rest of the band did nothing was going to disguise that. My missus told me to stop being so rude about them. [/quote] The big question is; what did the audience think. I've seen bands, I've even played in bands with shocking drummers. The bass player seems to be the only person who knows what's wrong. Sometimes the rest of the band know there's something wrong but not what it is. The bands never seemed to get re-booked but there was never any feedback why, even though the floor was filled. Music is an odd thing sometimes.

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1438521456' post='2835115'] The explanation of sensitivity of new house electrics is higher than the older ground spike seems to make more sense. I remember years ago being told that you should only earth one amp in the loop when using PA systems to reduce earthing loops. Not sure whether it was genuine or not tho. Dave [/quote] That's a completely different situation. That's gross loop hum. When a loop is created through the building's mains into an amp, through the instrument lead, then into the mixer/keyboard and back into the building via the mixer/keyboard power lead. In that case the loop needs to be broken at the instrument cable using a ground lift device. In this case noise is being injected from the building's earth somehow. Or there is airborne noise that is somehow not being drained down to a proper earth.

He did that and the noise went away. The worry is that they've taken the earth spike away and his mains are now earthed through the spikes in the other houses. Which sounds to me is exactly what has happened.

A band I used to be in has recently set up as a limited company. The whole lot. Submits accounts, bank accounts, directors. I say recently, they did it a couple of years ago. No idea why. They're finding it a right hassle now. I can understand the idea of a joint account. The best way is just to have a normal bank account. It's not like you'll be doing anything other than paying in one cheque and then paying out 4 or 5. No huge numbers involved. No messy payroll bacs or anything else. No corporation tax or VAT. Just keep accounts so that the rest of the band can see it is transparent. I can't think of anything worse than getting a cheque for a couple of grand into your personal account around about payday, all starts to get messy.

[quote name='Slipperydick' timestamp='1438465328' post='2834760'] 'Interference' would be more of a harsh buzz than a hum. [/quote] If it goes away when he disconnects his earth and there's nothing on in his house then the 'hum' must be being induced through the earth via a source outside his house.

Earthed back at the substation and picking up interference from your neighbours.