mike257

I've been auditioning bass players for the band I'm guitaring in - strange being on the other side and watching somebody else play bass. Here's a few things I've come across... The biggest one is [b]learn the material[/b]!!! Turning up not having nailed tunes you've been sent a week or two back is not going to win anyone over. Listen to the drummer and lock in as best you can. If you can't hear the drummer over the noisy guitarists, ask them to shut it for a few minutes so you can play with just the drums. I'm stunned how little attention has been paid to the drummer with some people we've tried out. Be prepared to adapt your usual sound/tunings/whatever - shows you're easy to work with and looking at the bigger picture. We've got lots of songs with riffy bits in that are quite reliant on hammer-on/pull-offs to open strings. Had guys turn up with a five string and insist on playing it round the frets on the low B, seemingly just because it's there - even though the feel is just not happening and would work better on a drop-D'd 4 string. Listen to the stuff they've sent you and try to pick out which bits can be open to interpretation, and which bits have important rhythmic/melodic interplay based around an existing bass part. It's great to show your ideas and your creativity, but also important to spot bits where the whole band locks in around a groove and support them. If you're trying stuff you haven't heard before, get the basic feel and structure down before building on it with ideas/flourishes - people will be more impressed by you picking up a song quick and nailing all the changes tightly than with you playing incredible fills but not getting the structure/grooves. Mostly, relax, be yourself, enjoy it. Good luck, hope it goes great!!

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1319027694' post='1409020'] Hey Mike, nice Van! Regarding the inverter, you`ll need a fairly hefty one if you`re going to run a couple of laptops and some phone chargers and it is as you`ve heard, wasteful to convert 12v to 240v only to have someone use a wall wart charger to drop it back to 12v again There are lots of 12v power supplied for netbooks and phones etc, encourage those using your van to buy one for their kit! I have one for my Netbook,cameras and phone. There are cheap triple outlet 12v+usb boxes on the net that you could stick on either side of the van, and the usb is dead handy for phones and ipods etc. I`d still fit an inverter, but use it only when you have to, to keep the load down. Btw what split charge system are you fitting? is it the 30amp smartcom? What Ah is your leisure batt? Soz for all the questions, but I built my own campervan and so got interested in all this sort of stuff. Regards, MM [/quote] Hi MM - thanks for all the good info! I'm going to do my best to keep 240v stuff to a minimum - 12v USB hookups sound great, I've been looking for something like that to mount in the wall panels. The split charge is an old Xantrex Pathmaker 200 - it was part of the vans original fixtures from its past life, and has a magic button to use both batteries to start the engine if your starter one packs in. I've kept all the useful parts from the electrical system so I've got the fuseboard, a mains battery charger and an RCD for my 240v hookup, and a bunch of other bits and bobs. The battery that was fitted appears to be a standard starter battery - it had been in a bank of two, but someone had long lifted the second one. I've been given a whopping big coach battery from my bus-driving stepdad that I'm looking at using, not sure on the Ah off the top of my head, it's in the shed at home. I'm trying to leave space to hook up two or three standard size batteries in the enclosure I'm building, so I can replace it all with 'proper' deep cycle ones when cash flow allows it. Also decided I'm using wired controllers when I put the xbox in - they can come out from under each seat and then no scruffy guitarist can get off with one in his back pocket! Been sketching out how it can all connect into a coherent audio system, between the front CD player, the front/rear iPod hookups, and the xbox - lots of switching!

Heard nothing but good stuff about these Joyo pedals - I'm hankering for the OCD clone (Ultimate Overdrive) for my guitar board. Seems like they're awesome for £30. Did you have to wait long for delivery? Aren't they usually shipped from way out east?

I used a Korg DTR-1000 when I had a rack, and absolutely cannot fault it. Had it in line with a mute footswitch out on the floor and never noticed any impact on tone. Stayed permanently wired between my wireless and my head, and powered from one of those aforermention Samson rack distributers, so setup was instant. Ended up going back to a TU-2 and slimming the 6U rack down to a small one to just hold my Ampeg - easier as my mute footswitch is still on the floor in front of me, but the readout is there too. No more turning my back on the audience every time a tune up is needed!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1318686182' post='1405209'] Good afternoon, Mike... It's easy enough to get 240v from a small 12/240 converter; enough juice for a game console or any light mains-powered gadgets ('phone chargers..?) Makes my recent acquisition look pretty tame (our 'world tour' goes no further than Domfront, anyway..!) Congratulations on your hard work. [/quote] Thanks! I'm chuffed with how it's looking so far, lots more planned though. I've had a look at the invertors for 240v power and one is definitely on the shopping list to put some sockets in for chargers etc, but I'm trying to power as much as possible from 12v directly. It's supposed to be a lot more energy efficient than converting the 12v into 240v, and then having the Xbox/TV power supplies convert that 240v back into 12 again. Will take a bit of fiddling with a soldering iron on the xbox, but nothing harder than rewiring a bass! [quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1318872247' post='1407243'] A long long time ago I had a Green version of this with a mattress or 3 in the back[url="http://www.scltd.net/www/bkmotors/applications/filelib/Ford%20Thames%20400E.pdf"]http://www.scltd.net...ames%20400E.pdf[/url] [/quote] Now THAT is a cool looking van! I'm definitely leaning towards sticking an Xbox in there, thinking of getting a cheap USB hard drive to attach to it and ramming it full of music and movies - jukebox on wheels! We're planning on driving to France next year for a holiday with the kids, so it'll be a lifesaver

Just had a band out in it tonight, they were made up, and threatening to book me for a European tour next year! Good times

Cheers guys! I think the family might have preferred me to keep the toilet in and build a full blown camper van, but there's plenty of space for a tent in the back when we do wanna go camping Been planning the layout for the electrics, it keeps changing, but I think I can squeeze it all in under the back seats and box it away nicely, hopefully making a start tomorrow. Also been scouting for TV brackets, got a 20ish inch LCD I was given with no power supply, and no idea if it works, but it runs on 12v so if it's any good I can hack it in there one way or another!! I've been reading up on making an Xbox 360 run off a direct 12v feed too, means popping it open and going at it with a soldering iron, but if I can find a cheap one off ebay then why not - not putting my own one in there though

I've got a load of Space Blanket insulation stuff spare that you can have on the cheap if you need it - seriously overestimated how much I needed for the van!! Looking forward to seeing this come together

The Line6 M series (M5/M9/M13) get good reviews on here, especially for the kind of effects you're after. They have all the models from the individual delay/mod pedals like the DL4, and loads more stuff, and none of that silly amp simulation to get in the way of your real tone. Whichever one suits you will depend on how many effects you're looking to use at once and the connectivity/programmability you need. The M9 is probably a good start though - there's a fair few users on here who can give you some real-life feedback on them.

I've always found I get the most contact from JoinMyBand and Gumtree - some of the others (FormingBands and Bandmix spring to mind) want you to hand over cash before you can contact anybody, which limits your possibilities somewhat as most musicians are too skint/tight to stump up dollar just to send an email. Oh, and I'm including myself in that last statement!

That'll be ace. Even just having a stereo pair always on hand is a winner for rehearsals - it'd save me so many "so how did that song we wrote last week go?" moments!!

I'm getting pangs of regret looking at this picture Dan - I bet she sounds great through that rig!!

That looks great mate, and I love the colour! I'd been thinking about white for a body I'm planning to refin, but you might have swayed me here

Looking great! Can't wait to see this finished. I ran into the same problem with pot sizes when I pimped my Squier, couldn't fit my nice CTS one in the tone spot. Well... couldn't quite! I ordered a mini and still haven't got round to changing it, I've just got a pickguard that doesn't quite sit flat for now!

Nice work Ben, tons of space in there! You planning to get a recording setup working with the ready made 'control room'?

I haven't got a custom bass to write about, but there's one bit of band gear I'm getting very hands on with! I bought myself a big van back in January, which I'd started to fit out for band use - unfortunately the engine was a duffer, and I ended up writing it off and buying a van off the garage that do all my maintenance. It's an ex-Jarvis (British Rail workies) site van that they were using as a mobile workshop, so needed some 'alterations' to bring it up to the touring spec I wanted! Here's a few snaps of how the van looked when I picked it up.... [attachment=91149:vanNS.jpg] [attachment=91148:VanOS.jpg] [attachment=91150:crew-area.jpg] [attachment=91151:vanback.jpg] In a past life, it functioned as the mobile site office for railway workies, the front half had a desk for the gaffer to sit at, and the back section was two toilet cubicles! The garage had ripped out one cubicle and fitted a small workbench, but you can still see a fully fitted loo and sink on the left hand one! There's a full hot water system with massive tanks plumbed in, and all kinds of gubbins attached to it! After some long hours of stripping all this out, including lots of swearing, stuck screws that haven't moved in ten years, and use of extreme force, power tools and big hammers, I managed to remove the toilet, plumbing, sink and all the unneccesary bits, and relay the floor panels for what will become the 'luxurious' seating area, it was time to get started on making it look good.... [attachment=91153:layingcarpet.jpg] [attachment=91154:insulating.jpg] [attachment=91155:walls.jpg] [attachment=91156:carpetdone.jpg] Trying to glue carpet smoothly up a vertical wall is a royal pain in the arse!! Stuffed all the cavities with 'Space Blanket' loft insulation to keep us warm on road trips, and moved some wiring in preperation for the funky electrical system that is going in soon. With all that done, it was back to the garage for the most important bit - getting the back seats fitted! They're now in, on removable tracking so I can pop them out again, and to a very high standard too, with massive spreader plates under the chassis to take the load - they aren't coming out in a hurry! [attachment=91157:seatsin.jpg] Van is looking great, and took the kids to see Blackpool Illuminations (not so great!) to give it a test run. I'm now a billy no-mates in the front as everybody wants to sit in the new bit. As soon as I've got a weekend free, it's on to the next job - I've got a second battery and a split charge system that's going to power the internal lighting, the external spotlights over the load door, and the entertainment system. For now, there'll be an improved sound system going in the back, and when I've saved up a bit there'll be flat screen telly with DVD player going in. I might even re-fit the old water boiler that I've stripped from it so we can have a brew on the road! Oh - and if you want to hire me out for gigging, go here: [url="http://facebook.com/boomtransport"]facebook.com/boomtransport[/url] Mike

http://www.johnhenrys.com will probably have what you're after, they rent backline and stage gear for all kinds of tours/fezzys/tv shows.

There's loads of how-to's on the interwebs, most of them suggest long drying times and lots of oven bakings (and not the oven you cook your tea in, unless you want some unhealthy chemical cocktail as your next pizza topping). A good guide on doing it in one day if you're short on time/patience: http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/boxinaday.html

I turned 27 in July, and find myself wondering when will be time to pack in the whole originals band route. I've got a baby on the way, and two step-kids already, and my other half is definitely losing patience with the time and money it takes to sustain the band. Started trying to put my new band together almost a year ago, and after countless false starts and line up changes, I'm still two band members short of where I need to be. The frustrating thing is that I'm reaching a point musically where after years of learning and trying different things, I feel like I know what I want to do, and I'm finally really confident in the music I'm writing, and in taking the reins with the band - I'm just not in the position I used to be to throw myself into it in the same way. How do you reconcile it?

Just listening now - sounds great. Friend of a friend is in a dubstep band called The Corinthians here in Liverpool, I'll link him your stuff - sure he could point you towards some promoters/nights you could approach over this way.

I've got an Affinity P-Special that's probably about 13/14 years old now - it's always played great, and over the years it's had the bridge, jack socket, wiring, pickups, pots and scratchplate replaced, so now it sounds as good as it plays too. If you get one that feels good in your hands, it's a decent bass for the money, and easy to improve with off-the-shelf parts.