mike257

[quote name='Shonks' timestamp='1487000638' post='3236153'] if your the band leader you need a watch, some gigs have a strict time schedule [/quote] I thought it'd be more discreet to attach them to my belt. Turned out it was a waist of time.

I love the way the six pack of short mic stands costs more than their normal ones. The price difference must be to pay the fella with the saw who cuts them down to size!

[quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1486776312' post='3234552'] I'll be very interested to see the price of current digital mixers in another ten years especially as some are very reasonably priced even new. Examples being A&H Qu, Behringer X32, Yamaha TF - all are around the £1500 mark (give or take).. I think the 02Rs may be retired by then! [/quote] I don't think they'll have the same kind of longevity. As good as I think the X32 is for the price point, it's been built to that price, whereas the 02R was a much higher-end device in its day, and I think the build quality reflects that. I've used plenty of X32s with dicky encoders and sticky mute-group buttons - both well known problems only 3-4 years in to its existence as a product.

Al - your pictures just put a real smile on my face. It's the first time in as long as I can remember that I've seen a photo of a studio mix position that didn't have a single computer monitor up in the middle of it. I remember when we used to mix with our ears and not our eyes!

Obviously K&M are the business, but Studiospares own brand are decent for cheapies. The six pack is around £70. They also keep a full complement of spare parts in stock for them, so unlike most cheapo ones, you can actually maintain them long term when they do start suffering wear and tear.

Good quality wireless kit costs a lot of money. Ultimately, you've still got to run power cables to your speakers, so running two more cables for the sake of the reliability and peace of mind that they're just going to work seems a small price to pay.

Just clocked it up, 20 as of today with a bass around my neck, another 40 or so techy jobs in. Probably not too dissimilar to this time last year, expecting a fair bit more to fall in over the next month or two.

This is the only song of theirs I'm familiar with but it's a belter. I should dig in to some more of it really! Might be Spotify time....

My most regular band has a smattering of stuff through the year, but the agency tends to throw things in throughout that bring the numbers up. Some nice touring backline tech work come in that kicks off April/May and will hopefully keep me busy through festival season and using the horribly quiet Jan/Feb to get new promo material boxed off for a couple of new function band projects. Quieter than I'd like it to be, but I think there's enough in the pipeline that the year will pan out ok!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1485205472' post='3222150'] When I was running a MacBook for my bands backing, it was mounted in a 3U rack case with a detachable top. MacBook sat on the top 1U space on a shelf and the MIDI and audio interface occupied the lowest 1U. Everything was hard wired together inside the rack including the PSU so that there was no chance of anything becoming unplugged mid-gig. There was a patch panel on the back for the audio and MIDI outputs from the interface all on clearly marked XLR connectors. At the gig I simply set this rack up on it's stand removed the front, back and top panels, plugged in the connections for the audio and external MIDI gear, one mains plug for all the equipment in the rack, and then opened up the MacBook and I ready to go. As others have said, you need to Max out the RAM and replace the HDD with the biggest SSD you can afford. IME spinning disk media is not reliable enough in most gig situations, the vibrations from the bass content can set off the hard disk protection, which might be the cause of your audio glitches etc. [/quote] This is the way to do it really. Everything fixed in place and connections all permanently patched in to avoid damage, wear and tear, and mis-patching. Worth the few quid in D-type connectors to make a patch panel on the case.

That's about the price I bought and sold my one for - it's on the list of "why the hell did you sell it?" kit, lovely basses. People aren't kidding about the weight though, I've never felt anything like it, bloody boat anchor. Sounds ace though, and really versatile. I'd have another in a heartbeat.

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1484305841' post='3214486'] What a great great idea using the Zoom headphones out. Never thought of that and Ive got IEM's just sitting in my guitar case! Ive got an AC moulded earplug at -15DB but I just dont get on with them and everything sounds muffled to me (although I put them in later in the rehersal rather than at the beginning which may be the problem) so will try the "zoom soloution" - Thanks! [/quote] If you're waiting until half way through the rehearsal, no wonder it sounds muffled. Your sensitivity to high frequencies is the first thing to suffer when exposed to prolonged high sound level, so by the time you put your plugs in, your ears are likely already fatigued and your hearing is attenuated in this region. You pop the plugs in, and everything is quieter, but you're listening through your already battered ears, so you become more aware of the top end loss. It's like going for a walk in the snow but only putting your coat on after your fingers have turned to icicles, put 'em in before you start!

Maxing out the ram and installing an SSD are both worth doing to maximise performance. The official Apple PSU has never given me any noise issues on my own or other people's laptops, but I've had horrendous problems with unofficial replacements. In terms of gig-proofing, on touring setups, anything gig-critical will likely have a hot backup running. You can get clever failsafe systems for running two playback computers with an automatic switchover if one fails, but that all gets quite pricey. Having a second machine accessible that you can fire up in time for the next song is probably worth looking at though.

I think it's probably a bit of a battle to find good, committed people to do "a mix of originals and covers, just for fun for now". The really driven, serious guys will be out throwing themselves in to regularly gigging bands with a clear plan - it's harder to find good people who are happy to do something that is pretty laid back and done for fun but still be reliable/organised/talented enough to do it 'properly'.

You going to track to computer or are you going full old school?

Awesome! I almost took on a warehouse a few years back with the intent to open it up as rehearsal and recording space. Bottled it in the end at the realisation of just how much finance I'd have had to take on - the studio was the bit I was really keen on but the more I got in to the details, it was the most expensive part, and the least certain to make the money back - it's a saturated market around here. Love the idea of basing it around an analogue desk though. I had a deal lined up on an A&H GS3000, I'd tracked through it in a local studio and they were moving it on for something fancy. Always preferred mixing in the real world to doing it with a mouse.

[quote name='Dropzone' timestamp='1484664445' post='3217284'] ...I once played a cover band festival... [/quote] This sounds like an utterly hideous idea. "Let's go and watch twelve consecutive bands play almost exactly the same set!" How many Mr Brightside's did you get subjected to?

I've recently picked up an old TE combo for my backline hire stock, took it on one of my gigs to test out and have used it for every gig since! Sounds bloody great, makes me reminisce about my monster green stack I had many years ago. Be great to see them back in the game.

If you speak to both Andys, I'm sure they'd be happy to film you in session at the studio and rustle up something based on that if studio footage is what you're after. Failing that, if you'd prefer to shoot in a more exciting looking location, you can always get someone out to multitrack your live performance on the day - in fact that's something I could possibly do for you if that's what you wanted.

For video, I've used a friend of mine, Andrew Fisher, he's in business as Power2ThePixel, based on the Wirral and does really good work at a competitive price. He should be easily findable on Facebook/web. Audio wise, in Liverpool I can highly recommend Andy Fernihough at Crash - he runs the recording studio based in their rehearsal complex. He's an experienced musician as well as a cracking engineer. They're on 0151 2360989. As for photography, I've just used a young guy called Callum McQueen for my recent function band promo shots. My wife is a photography lecturer - he's one of her students and is showing a lot of promise. I've taken him out on a couple of tour dates with bands I work with too, very good, very professional and a nice guy. Can put you in touch if you want to drop me a message.

Thing is, the article says it'll still be a live venue and that they've actually installed a whole new sound system. DHP run the Rock City complex in Nottingham and a few other venues around the country, I can well imagine that live music is right at the top of the agenda here. Sounds like they're just doing up the little bar so that hipsters will come and keep the tills ringing/bills paid on the nights that there's no gigs on, which gives the venue a better chance of surviving long-term!

I rely on memory, guesswork, and well timed dirty looks at the keyboard player to get through the various setlists I have to remember, but I work with a fair few singers who use them. I think it's fair play though - all of them sing with multiple bands, do solo gigs, residencies etc, so have to keep a significant amount of 'stuff' in their heads. So long as it doesn't affect their stage presence and audience interaction then it's all good with me.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1483932311' post='3211217'] Off topic, Yeah, I need money. Doing my first DEP gig this Saturday night which means I have work Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Blue [/quote] Good luck! Had to prep much new material?

I'm in Liverpool (BOOM! Event Services) but only have a small stock of basic backline bits currently, although it'll be growing this year. If you're after specifics and high end stuff, I can highly recommend STS in Manchester, they supply a lot of big touring clients, will deliver anywhere, and have an extensive stock of absolutely all sorts.

It's an interesting point raised about social media. Music is one of the biggest parts of my life, but if you scroll down my Facebook wall, you'll see a whole lot of stuff (largely tagged by my wife!) about the kids, dogs, current affairs and politics, semi-amusing distractions I've found while browsing the web on the toilet, but relatively very little about gigging. I make my living playing and engineering but I couldn't tell you the last time a picture went up of me on stage or behind a mixing console. Is this why I haven't been asked to join any A-list bands yet? Is it something people are looking at when making decisions about hiring a band member? Be interesting to hear!