mike257

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1366023089' post='2047314'] Yep,mine are a nightmare too. I just got the singer to stop chaining 4 way mains across the front of the stage. We use no power at the front of the stage.. Also, he rolls the cables around the plugboard which results in huge white pigtails of cable. I have threatened to maim him and he has stopped, but he still puts out far too many plug boards for our needs and I go round later removing them. Might I suggest a couple of stage snakes to minimise cross stage xlr madness? Thommann do a 6 way 10metre xlr for about £30 delivered,no postage on the second one if you get two. I'm using them to replace my far too big 24 way stage box and intend to put one at the rear of the stage and one in front of the centre wedge. If you have active wedges you can send your aux out with a chan on the box if you use a sex change adaptor. Yes I'm very anal about cables.. [/quote] I'd been thinking that, especially as we're about to pick up a bigger rig. There's someone local to me on Gumtree flogging an 8 xlr/4 balanced jack 4m stagebox on the cheap so I may grab that. Will be miking the kit for bigger rooms so will be a lifesaver for that.

Cheers mate, I'm aware the Force is discontinued - we're buying used so we can get a bit more bang for our buck. Need cabs and amps for a 5 piece (Drums, Bass, Keys, 2x Guitars, 2x Vox) function band - we find ourselves in venues of various sizes so ideally I'd like something that can grow to fill the space we need and take the whole band miked up, but without carting the whole lot out for a smaller room - the 2x15 tops in the Force rig seem like they'd be ok on their own for smaller rooms where they'd just carry vocals and keys. I've been offered a pair of the Force i25, four Force i subs and the amps and crossover to run it all for a little over a grand, which seems reasonable to me. With buying used, I'm tied to what's on the market at the time and we need something sooner rather than later. Any alternative suggestions you think will do the job will be gratefully accepted though!

Afternoon all! Having finally convinced the function band I play with that it's time to replace their creaky and underpowered PA, I'm shopping around for the new rig. Have been offered what looks like a decent deal on a set of EV Force i tops and subs which I'm leaning towards taking. The one thing with PA shopping is there's very little in the way of real-world reviews out there, even on gear forums, so it's hard to pick up first hand feedback. I'm aware they're entry level by EV standards, but they're a considerable step up from our current comedy rig and on paper should be great for us. I'm wondering if any of BC's finest have used these cabs and want to share their thoughts.... Cheers! Mike

The majority of session work comes by word of mouth - producers, MDs, bandleaders etc will have go to people that they will call for sessions and a personal recommendation is probably worth more than anything else. With that in mind, networking is absolutely key - get talking to, involved with and playing with as many musicians as you can, make it known that you're available and go build yourself a reputation! You can build yourself profiles on various online sites, and there's Facebook groups dedicated to hooking bands up with deps etc but it's rare that somebody will go down that route as a first choice when looking for players.

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1366016376' post='2047198'] I really like to properly route as many cables behind the stage as possible to prevent all sorts of accidents and unsightly cable runs, but if really needed to,a straight run across the monitor line would be fine if properly taped down. [/quote] Me too - band drive me nuts with this and I'm continually trying to whip them in to shape. Although I'm the techy one, it's the keys player who looks after the desk during gigs for practical reasons and his corner of the stage is always an insane nest of cables, no matter how tidily I start it off!

I'm tied up this week, but if you're stuck in future I'm around - I'm based in Liverpool so probably not cost-effective for one-off shows but if you're stringing a few together drop me a line. Also do FOH and tour management, check out the link in my signature for more info. And joegarcia - I didn't realise until afterwards but we met the other week! I was driving/teching for Mugstar when they swung through Bristol last month. They mentioned your band name when we were on the way back and the penny dropped. Nice to put a face to the name!

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1366019537' post='2047247'] Steve, may sound daunting, but if you record the rehearsal with every song you're not sure about, then you can rehearse more at home and nail the intros etc. It will be a good experience and may lead to more paying work. Go for it. [/quote] Wise words. The first time is the hardest but if you put yourself out there the opportunities will start coming your way. I also find dep gigs often push me to learn things I might not have done otherwise and that can only be good for you as a musician.

Shocked as I've followed updates on his condition and by all accounts things were improving. A sad loss, he was a wonderful musician and by all accounts a lovely guy too. He was a massive influence on me as a player and his use of space and dynamics really set him apart from a lot of other players in 'metal' bands (hesitate to call them that really). I feel for his family who must have been through such a difficult time watching him slowly improve only for this to happen. RIP Chi

They're generally made to a good standard and there's some belters among them. I've heard some glorious sounds come from a Classic 70's Jazz and my MIM '72 Telecaster Deluxe has become my go-to guitar, just feels brilliant in my hands. Definitely nothing wrong with them, and while some are more impressive than others I've never played one that wad truly rubbish!

I put a Wizard Thumper/84 combo in a Squier P/J bass I upgraded. Was a good few years ago and they didn't have as wide a range of pickups or market any specific P/J sets at the time. Spoke to Andy beforehand about the kind of tone I was looking for and my requirements and he custom wound the set for me with the J slightly hotter than normal. Both sound great but as mentioned further up the P always overpowers the J and I find myself using the Thumper exclusively. That's not to say the 84 isn't a great pickup, just that in this bass I get everything I need from the P pickup and it sounds brilliant. It's definitely worth a call or email as Andy is very knowledgeable and helpful.

There's very good reasons for both approaches to exist. When I'm mixing multi-band gigs where I don't know the bassist and the backline, I'll default to using a DI box and take the signal before the amp unless the player requests otherwise. For me as an engineer, that means I know that even if the amp is crap, unreliable, gets its settings fiddled with by less educated people sharing rigs or whatever, I've got a consistent and reliable signal coming to FOH anyway. If (for example) somebody like BRX rolled up who obviously knew his rig and his tones and had a setup that lent itself to me taking a post processing signal I'd be more than obliging - it only takes seconds to pull an XLR out of a DI box and throw it into somebody's rack/pedalboard/whatever. I think you'll find that most FOH guys would love to work with a band to create the perfect FOH mix but the realities of gigging rarely allow for that luxury. The quality of their work is their calling card just as your performance is for you and they'll be looking for the best mix they can achieve given the time and resources available to them. Sometimes that means compromises have to be made somewhere, but with a bit of communication everybody can have their input and end up (reasonably) happy!

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1365675737' post='2042623'] Cheers guys! I wondered myself how much input the other guys had, and i think you can hear a definite Flea thing in the bass. However, they have absolutely zero input in the live shows, that's just Thom and Nigel. They just use their recorded parts live, which is a bit of a downer, I think. [/quote] I can imagine they'd struggle to get those guys schedules to line up enough to play even one or two shows!

They are awesome. I've had mine for near a decade now (after a Wayne's World style "oh yes, it will be mine" moment). It's not my go-to, but that's probably because I've got it set up with uber-high action so when I'm playing in noisy rock bands I can beat the bejesus out of it. For me it sits next to the P as the Telecaster of the bass world - you can play pretty much anything on it, its a proper workhorse. Unlike some basses, you can really lay into them without being too precious about it and they'll take it all day long. That's why I love my 'ray and my Tele - Leo had it right!

Can't stick the video on as mini-Mike has just gone back to sleep on me, but I've tracked through a U5 before and they're wonderful things, would definitely be on my studio shopping list. I'm pretty sure Alex (Mr Barefaced himself) used to use one as the centrepiece of his live rig - U5 into a massive power amp and a BF cab.

[quote name='Stan_da_man' timestamp='1365621765' post='2042042'] *Cough* Opposites. [/quote] Disappointed me, sad to say. And I LOVE Biffy. The new material did come across better live though, and they're really growing in to these big venues, the stage show and standard of production on the Opposites tour is stunning! Back on topic, nice review Milty. Sounds like very much what I'd expect from a Thom Yorke project, which leaves me wondering how much input the other guys have had, but I'll be checking this out for sure!

Yep, chunkier strings should give you some of that tension back, if you're making a permanent switch on one bass it might warrant a small tweak to the truss rod as it adjusts to the different tension on the neck.

[quote name='paulconnolly' timestamp='1365119251' post='2035752'] Gateacre is quite close to home but not convenient during normal office hours and their opening times seem a bit eclectic to say the least. Whilst they are " the oldest music shop" in Liverpool I've no reason to suspect they are any better stockwise So this thread is over - I'm off to Stringbusters . [/quote] I was about to suggest Moran Sound too - they have a decent selection of strings in (although I don't play a 5 so couldn't tell you off the top of my head - worth a quick phone call though). It's also much more pleasant to visit than the big'uns in town. It's a little family run business and there's always a warm welcome. They're very happy to help, make time for the kids when I've been with the family in tow, and don't make you feel awkward for browsing round the expensive stuff when they know you're only buying plectrums. I try and go there for all my little bits and pieces, even if it costs a pound or two more than online - they always knock me a couple of quid off for buying multiple packs of strings as well. EDIT: I remember them telling me they liked to keep flats and those funny nylon wound bass strings in "just in case" so not inconceivable that they'll stock fivers too. Plenty of Rotosound hanging on the wall.

There was once a (rather scathing) review written of my old band that contained the killer line "And no, Mr Bass Player, flailing around the stage like a lunatic does not equal passion". I like to enjoy myself on stage - not my fault if the critics can't hack it!

I know Easyjet specifically allow you to purchase an extra seat for instruments (within certain size limits) - you enter your own passport number and some specific text as the passenger name. Will work out cheaper than paying their hold baggage charges every time!

[quote name='EskimoBassist' timestamp='1364070682' post='2021687'] When they stopped selling them at the time there was some story about it being to conform with new EU guidelines and that at some point a redesigned unit would be available to the market. Wouldn't hold your breath as it's been a while, I'd just cough up for the Diago if I were you - I did for my powerstation and 5 years on its still going strong. [/quote] I've already got one - wouldn't have minded a spare though. Bit of a kicker coughing up £60 for the same box that cost me about £15 first time round though!

Have they stopped altogether? That's a a shame if so. I know they went through periods where they didn't always have a regular supply of them but they'd always turn up eventually.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1363958003' post='2020119'] I had one of the Indonesian Squier P specials too and also have a USA jazz. Whilst the Squier was excellent value for money and was almost as playable as the US jazz after a bit of tweaking I thought the quality of the pickups on the jazz blew the Squier ones out of the water. If I'd kept the Squier long term I'd certainly have upgraded the pickups. As it turned out I found a US P bass deluxe which made the Squier redundant and I sold it on but it was, as I said, very very good value. [/quote] I've got one too, first bass I owned and still gets played now 14 years later. I've swapped the pickups for Wizards, the bridge for a Badass II and replaced the pots but its the awesome neck that makes it a keeper, not just the sentimental value. Great basses for the money they cost.