wateroftyne

Thanks, and here's hoping! The trickiest part of this is that we're rehearsing the tunes generally without the vocalists being present. We just need to be as tight as we can and move with them where possible... especially as it's all being filmed & recorded. Thankfully our MD is as sharp as a tack - I've got massive respect for the job he's done. Another thing which may - or may not - surprise people is that this isn't a reading gig. The brass guys have been given parts by their leader, but that's it. No-one has dots.

Update... here's some pics from yesterday. It was a good day - you could tell we were all starting to relax a bit more. All the tunes were recorded so the lampies can work out the cues and visuals. Today felt a bit different - it was a shorter day, but a bit more intense as we (and mainly the MD) started the very necessary process of nitpicking. We've got tomorrow daytime off - the gear is being taken to the Arena for the setup. We'll get time to do some checks tomorrow night, and hopefully run through some songs with vocalists we haven't hooked up with yet. More of the same on Saturday.. a couple of the main stars won't be around 'till Sunday - the day of the gig. So lots of waiting around and last-minute run-throughs.

Ahh... I knew I was going to do something today. Today was pretty intense, so I didn't really have much time to think. I used the R-400 all day, as it's what was left plugged in last night. They're both going with me this weekend, so I'll have a bit mess around with it at the soundcheck tomorrow night.

Wow... they've taken everything that was good about the tune, thrown it in the bin, and replaced it with blandness. That's quite a feat, that.

One man's bladed weapon, another man's...

Yeah... I guess it would be! I just a mute-y cable, so I don't think about it. ...until the mute mechanism fails. ha ha. TBH, I'm going to dial the output back tomorrow, and it the input harder.

Oof... too early to say. I know I'd be happy with either.

^^^ actually, the gain settings on the above photo tells a story. Both were set to pretty much the same volume - the output on the WB-100 is maxxed (as Leszek suggested) but as you can see, the input is barely ticking over.

So yes, anyway - this was today... The songs are coming together, so I had a bit of time to do some A/B-ing. Basically, as they have the same pre, the characteristics are the same - the richness & clarity. But the WB-100 is bigger and 'bloomier', whereas the R-400 is more focussed. So no surprises there, then...

Once I'm done with it, and assuming Mrs. WoT doesn't give in, we'll work on a road trip for it :-)

Yeah.... I used an RH450 for a year or so a while back. The WB-100 is in a different world. It's just there. Big, fat notes. I'm not going to use the word 'heft'. Oh, bugger. I just used the word 'heft'.

Hmm.. I imagine if you want insanely loud and clean, it's probably not for you...

Hello! Good question. Leszek suggested I just leave it opened up, so that's what I've done. I can only think this thinks I play in insanely loud bands. ha ha. In the distortion clip above, the first clean section is already turned up louder than it was in the rehearsal - and that's in a big room with full brass. I'd expected it to distort then, and I was surprised when it stayed clean. I had to crank it even more to get it hitting pretty hard, but even then there was still a long way to go on the input gain. I'll have better idea today as I'm A/Bing it with the R-400, and I know where that's usually set around gig volume.

That's rehearsal day 2 over with. A long one, but we got loads done with the brass section and vocals, and a couple of special guests. The set list is eclectic to say the least. Here's some day #2 photos. I'm not in any of them, 'cos I took them... https://www.sundayforsammy.org/sunday-for-sammy-2018-access-all-areas/blog/band-rehearsals-day-two

There'll be a mic on the cab on the day, I think.

A couple of people have asked about the distortion on this amp, so a spent a couple of minutes after today's rehearsal to make a quick clip. I rarely if every use distortion, so I'm no judge. Bear in mind that this was incredibly loud. For 120w, this amp has a lot of headroom before it gets dirty! I could have backed off the output to bring it in earlier, but... I forgot.

Here’s a pic of my pedalboard and chord charts... :-D

It’s just something that happens. It happened to me with PMT recently.

First rehearsal today - six hours' worth. It was loads of fun. The show's being shot for DVD, so everything has to be spot-on. We've got a week in the rehearsal hall, so we'll have the monitor mixes pretty much there by the weekend, so hopefully the check in the arena will mostly be tweaking stuff. The band is great.. the drummer's from Lindisfarne, the keyboard player's from Dire Straits, the other keyboard player and sax player are from The 1975's live band, the guitarist was a touring member of The Arctic Monkeys, and one of our vocalists sang on 'I Would Do Anything For Love' with Meat Loaf. And then there's me. I daren't pinch myself. Loads of pics here: https://www.sundayforsammy.org/sunday-for-sammy-2018-access-all-areas

Just had a six-hour rehearsal with it today. MY GOD... the notes are massive. Some of the tunes are old-school P-and-flats, others are rounds and growl, and it just responds beautifully. It's beautiful. Can't wait for tomorrow.

That logo, though.. it's one step away from Comic Sans.

More pics, just 'cos the sun finally came out...

Okey doke - I'll suggest it to him :-)

That would be a good idea - I'll mention it to Leszek. Are you volunteering to babysit it?

OK.. in that case, how far back do you want to go?