TimR

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1223515' date='May 7 2011, 06:25 PM']I`d suspect that the guitarist in question has a nice rig (4x12?), and is simply standing very close to it. Guitar amps project sound very well, but if standing very close, they don`t sound loud enough, hence this problem that happens in bands all over the world. Get the guy to move right out front at a soundcheck/rehearsal, and let him hear this for himself. It sounds daft, that an amp gets louder as you move away from it, so most people don`t believe it until its proved to them - and you can`t blame them really, its very contradictory. It`s especially a problem with 4x12s - our old guitarist always moaned about not being able to hear himself when using his 4x12, but never had any problems with his 2x12.[/quote] This is due to the directionality of 12"s not the distance from them. As you get further away you get into the "beam" of sound so it sounds louder. If you get the amp up to close to his ears (as other have suggested) there is no way in the world it will get louder as you get further away. With a 2x12" I would bet he put it on a stand, or as you walk away from the stage you never get into the "beam".

If you are talking about festivals like fairs or fete's etc as opposed to music festivals you need to find out who the organisers are. We played a few like that because I knew a guy on the local round table who was organising a big local fair. He put us on a stage near the beer tent and passed the word around to other round tables. I imagine that it's similar to music festivals. Somehow you need to find out from the organisers if they book bands direct or whether they use agents. Then if they use agents ask them which ones and get their books. Simple. The agent will then give you some crappy gigs and wait for feedback or if they're good will contact any references you give them and tout you to the festivals straight away. I guess you need a proffessionally produced press pack before you start that though.

[quote name='mcnach' post='1222513' date='May 6 2011, 07:27 PM']of course!!! I quit a band I really truly and deeply loved because I couldn't take any more of the "leader"'s attitude. When we were playing it was great. I loved every minute. But he was a little too uptight, got stressed out easily, and it started to annoy me. It got to a point where I just didn't want to rehearse anymore... I'd have loved to just gig, but that couldn't be... and I quit. I still see them play live sometimes and it makes me a little jealous... but it just wasn't fun. It has to be fun. Always. Because we know that there surely won't be a whole lot of money in it (at least for those at my level of commitment) [/quote] Me too. I would guess that a fair few people have quit their day jobs for the same reason. I know I did and it was a really good job that I enjoyed with international travel and good pay. I'm a people person if the people aren't nice and friendly then I can't work with them on any level. Life is too short.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1221479' date='May 5 2011, 07:57 PM']... Some people are too precious about bands...IMV, they only have to work on a certain level..like you enjoy the time doing it...being best mates or whatever doesn't come into it. ...[/quote] If you do anything for any length of time you will bond on a certain level with the people around you. It get's nasty when they turn out not to be the people you thought they were. You've got to be a strange individual not to build friendships with your band mates. Or is it just me?

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='1221306' date='May 5 2011, 05:27 PM']I suppose the question ss how much does one out weight four because if I get messed around again I'm be off bands for a very long time[/quote] If you have this attitude you'll never join a band again because you'll always find some reason not to join one. Give it a month (or six weeks, or whatever you think you can afford). Be relaxed, do what the leader asks, even if you think he is wrong. Don't make any suggestions, just turn up and play the bass. If it's not working at the end of that time period then walk, if it is then start to make suggestions if you need to.

A 1000w amp will almost definitely have a soft start or it would be blowing fuses all over the shop. You could try the QSC Forums: [url="http://forum.qscaudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=bc8964496154799629d046f4289d8e40"]http://forum.qscaudio.com/forum/viewforum....9d046f4289d8e40[/url]

This all starts to be very Deja Vue. Have a look at the PAT testing thread it got a bit heavy one hot weekend Fuses do blow apparently for no reason. Especially in 300-500W amps that don't have soft starts as I said earlier. 300-500W is around the limit that manufacturers trade off cost and practicality. Every time you turn on your amp you draw between 4 and 10 times the rated current for a fraction of a second as the transformer gets a massive inrush current. It depends where in the cycle the mains is when you turn your amp on. Its random and different each time. So for a 500W amp you could be pulling 20amps for a fraction of a second. A 5amp fuse will take this maybe a 3 amp one will as well. The internal fuse will be a slow blow or time delay and will take it too. However, over time, the abuse that these fuses receive each time you switch your amp on will eventually lead to failure. It may be that the amp came with a 3amp fuse after all. Europeans don't even fuse their leads.

That's unusual to not have an internal fuse. There may well be one that you have to open the amp up to get to. There's a few conflicting opinions on the forum about the exact purpose of the fuse in the lead. Generally it is there to protect the lead and putting a 5amp fuse in should be no problem assuming that the lead is rated at 5amp and there is an internal fuse in the amp. The problem with the cheaper amps at around 500w is that they don't always have soft starts in them and they have big transformers. When you turn them on the fuse can blow due to the big inrush current. They should definitely have a slow blow internal fuse. Email the manufacturer. What amp is it?

Maybe it's worth getting someone to video your next gig from the back. Wide angle get the whole audience in and the whole band. Watch it back with the band and get everyone to critique only themselves by writing notes and not speaking out loud. Then do the same but with people critiqueing each other. But as I said you can try all sorts of fixes but if you know deep down someone is not into it anymore they need to go.

Sounds like the singer isn't on the same song sheet as the rest of the band (did you see what I did there? ) I was in a band where the singer kept suggesting tunes she (but no one else) liked. Medium tempo ballads. The drummer wanted to play rock. The guitarist didn't care what we played and never made any suggestions and was happy just as long as we got gigs. Myself and the keyboard player thought we knew what the punters wanted but couldn't get the band to agree. The annoying gthing for us was that we'd get a tune accepted, (say a rock and roll tune), it would get learned, we'd play it at a gig and it would go down a storm. Then at the next practice they'd all want to learn more rock and roll tunes because they saw how well the song had gone down. Apart from the singer and the drummer who wanted to play medium ballads and rock. You need to get the band all on the same song sheet (I did it again! ) Essentially someone needs to drive the band and come up with the songs that you can all relate to and that the audience enjoys. That's the hard bit! If someone doesn't fit you owe it to them and yourselves to move on or you'll end up a year from here frustrated and burned out. Trust me on that one. (see above)

[quote name='Ross' post='1210440' date='Apr 24 2011, 10:11 PM']But you'd theoretically then have to ban all guitars, a bass is a type of guitar is it not? You could just change the tuning and scale and call it a baritone bassolin, technically not a bass guitar and thus not banned.[/quote] Depends what they want to ban. They banned handguns a specific barrel length and stock length. Rifles weren't banned. So my description would be a stringed instrument with scale length of between 30" and 36" with open strings producing fundamental frequencies between 20Hz and 200Hz. As a start....

[quote name='Ross' post='1210388' date='Apr 24 2011, 09:31 PM']All laws are workable, you'd just have to be the one who is strong, smart and insane enough to take over the government and change it yourself. To be honest if worse comes to worse you can just call it a "contrabass guitar" and it won't be illegal, different enough to still be legal. Or maybe a contrabass sax, there needs to be more contrasax players.[/quote] I'm not sure about that. When they banned 'handguns' they didn't just ban handguns, they described exactly what a handgun was. You can't just call it something else - a bass by any other name is still a bass.

Unworkable law. Imagine Bass amnesty day at the local police station. All those basses and amps for the police to try an store somewhere securely. Are there any policemen left who could even pick up an 8x10" let alone carry it somewhere?

I'm with Sibob. They're just notes, its what you do with them that counts. So long as the audience enjoy what I'm/we're doing I'm happy. I'd rather play to a responsive audience for free than an empty stadium for loads of money.

Again I've not listened to it, just watched the video. Looks a lot more lively. This is usually what you will find at weddings, they've had a drink and are ready to be entertained so it is a synch with the right crowd. In turn you feed off their energy and put on a lively show. The problem is when the crowd needs to be warmed up, how do you warm them up? Your confidence will come with experience and the crowd will feed off your confidence and energy. Unfortunately you just have to get out there and play lots before you can master that aspect. The effect of the lighting is clearer here. I was told that the sun shines from the sky and so that's where you should light a stage from. Get the par cans up and shining down. You have them on the floor shining up and you get hollow eye sockets and unnatural shadows from chins etc.

Watched it without sound - looks very uninteresting. The whole band aren't interacting with each other nevermind the audience. Remove barriers. 1. Music stands - low as possible and to the side, not between you and the ausdience. 2. You can't do anything about that rail, other than move closer to it. 3. Move that speaker to the left as far as you can. It's blocking the view of the band for anyone on the left of the stage. 4. Lighting is there to light the band, not dazzle the audience. If you move the lights to the front and side and point them at you then you won't be in shadow and the audience won't be blinded when they try to look at you. You'll get more eye contact with the audience then. If you have to shine lights at the audience shine them on the ceiling or floor not into their faces. 5. It's down to all of you to interract with each other and with the audience, don't leave it up to the singer. You have to support her not just musically. Not all singers are front people. If you have a guitarist or bass player who is willing to go up front and be the looney that's fine but none of you are delivering the goods. Musically I've heard some really cr@p bands who sell themselves and get the audience going. It's taken me years to realize its not what you play or how well you play it but it's all down to the performance.

I went to the wrong Taylor once. He gave me the wrong trousers.

[quote name='squire5' post='1203058' date='Apr 17 2011, 11:10 PM']Wow that is spooky.I just started reading this post with interest as the same thing just happened with our PA.What kind of speakers?? Peavey Pro-15s! Both horns gone at once.They're less than a year old as well.We've also got a gig on the 23rd,and I'm hoping the replacements will be here tomorrow.[/quote] LOL. They didn't seem suprised and got some next day. Watch/listen for clipping. This is particularly bad for PA tweeters. Make sure that the volume is turned right down before you turn the amp on or off.

Andrew McKinney's [url="http://www.andrewmckinney.co.uk/ahm/Articles.html"]website[/url]

They're not Peavey Pro15s are they? My brother was using our PA for his band and getting constant complaints that it wasn't loud enough. So much so that he hired some subs for a gig because the drummer said his bass drum wasn't sounding punchy enough (go figure). I found both had gone and Wembley PA supplied us with a couple of drivers next day. Tweeters are very susceptible to distortion at levels much lower than the main speakers are. Make sure you are sending a clean signal though your speakers.

The guys on the [url="http://forum.warwick.de/forum.php?katID=14571&cl=EN"]Warwick forum[/url] are pretty good at answering questions quickly. A few of them work at Warwick and I've found them helpful.

In the early 80s I was privileged to attend a Level 42 concert when the esteemed bass guru Mark King threw his towel into the crowd. In the resulting melee of teenage girls I was lucky enough to tear a strip from the towel. For 30 years it remained in a sealed container in a strictly controlled environment. I have now obtained a tincture of the sweat molocules from this towel by using the homeopathic processes of [i]potentisation[/i] and [i]succussion[/i]. This tincture is in the form of 30C standard Homeopathic dilution using distilled water as the base liqiuid and original fabric of the towel as a cover to an 1980s Jaydee fretboard as a striking board. I am making 100ml bottles of this liquid available to bass players of all nationalities (apart from Northern Ireland) for the bargain price of £9.99 +P&P. This tincture should be kept alongside your bass in its case where over time it will impart the essesnce of King's playing into your bass. Not only will your slapping become the envy of your peers but we have noticed on some basses a firey glow appearing on the fretboard in the places where Mr King had originally installed LEDs on his bass.

IME we bass players seem to want a lot more information than we actually need or is available. I was asked to dep once for a band for another bass player. I was given a phone number of the guitarist, told the date of the gig and that it would be in North London. I rang it every day for a few days then phoned the bassist back and told him I'd had no luck. The bass player told me not to worry they would be in touch and I was definitely doing the gig. Eventually the guitarist called on the Wednesday of the gig. I asked if we were going to rehearse and what was the setlist. He said don't worry they're just playing standards and he would be back in touch with times and actual venue detail. Saturday lunchtime he called back. Be at ..... at 7pm. Wear a coloured shirt, black trousers and shoes. See you there. I got no pad, no rehearsal and spend 3 hours playing tunes I'd never heard before (seriously standards?) by watching the guitarists hand and listening hard. Really what more info do you need?

I'm well thanks, David. My band is very slack at the moment, we only did 5/6 gigs last year but I don't really have enough time to comit to much more than that at the moment. I just tend to spend a free evening with YouTube. Pick a tune at random, play along to it. You should get the hang of it (or close enough) after a verse and a chorus. At the end of the tune move on by clicking on the first tune that catches your eye on the suggestions on the right. Its more fun and real life situation relevant than exercises. Do it in addition to the other stuff. You'll also find a huge number of tunes follow the same relative chord progressions.

[quote name='charic' post='1187515' date='Apr 4 2011, 10:42 AM']What's Practice? [/quote] Cheating.