FuNkShUi

Yeh they definitely speed up the learning process. I don't think i've ever sat down with a tutorial, but i look for covers. I'm playing a lot of Motown/Disco/Funk type function band stuff so it's not easy to pick the lines out in general. So i'll find a cover i like the sound of (there are a lot of terrible ones), have a look to see the general area they play the song at, and then go from there. But i'm with you Blue, probably cuts the learning time in half for me.

Welcome!! Lovely bass

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1429618224' post='2753230'] Feeling groovy? [/quote] Kind of got it!

I like that. Cheers!

Yeh not keen on having to rush to get things right. Especially as we are in charge of our own sound

Yeh we were told we had an hour to get everything in, set up and sound schecked. Took us 20 mins to get everything set up, so 40 mins for a sound check We arent usually this fortunate either, but thought we'd make the most of it! [quote name='blue' timestamp='1429548095' post='2752492'] Goes with the territory. When asked to turn down by a venue owner you turn down. It's not worth it to put to much thought into it and take the fun out of the gig. Blue [/quote] I agree with you, and thats what we did. This venue is very popular for weddings/functions so there was no need to be angering the manager! As JT said though, you do wonder if they should be booking bands if they don't want the sound levels a band will produce. I'm not over exaggerating to say i've heard acoustic acts play louder than we were asked to play. Obviously you are advertising for your next potential gigs everytime you play, so we made it known to the organiser early on that we were asked to play at the level we were at. We also said during the introduction that if there were any problems with levels, be that we were too loud or too quiet, to let us know. We did turn up a bit as the night went on, and as i said, overall the gig went well. Dancefloor full all night, a good few bookings off the back of it, and the manager asked for our contact details to book us in for 3 more slots!

Second hand ones pop up from time to time at a really good price in the for sale section

Yeh this was what we were most p*ssed off with on the night! They let us carry on for 40 minutes. Then when there's only 5 minutes before guests come the manager comes in and tell us we have to turn down. Alot. Couldnt have told us that 30 minutes ago when you were in the room talking to the bar staff could you??

Never heard Hotrods before. I'll suggest these to the drummist

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1429523991' post='2752167'] Yep... thought you'd have done that but those sort of gigs send alarm bells to me... and would not be keen to go back there if that was the approach. I do sometimes wonder about venues who want the money from putting on these events but fail to consider that their venue and a few local authority constraints plus any on their own make it totally wrong for the purpose..?? [/quote] Well this is really my main issue. I don't think the venue should be allowed to advertise as being open to bands, if they have this volume constraint. Whether it be their own or not! [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1429522721' post='2752153'] What amp are you using where the lowest volume setting is too loud for a venue? I've never had any trouble using various amps for quiet practice at home, I found it surprising that you had to resort to turning it down on the bass itself! [/quote] Aguilar TH500 with 2 X TKS 112s I would say though, we have never been asked to play this quietly before. We've played functions for the National Autistic Society before, so are well aware of how to set up to be suited to the guests. This was waaayyyyyyy quieter than we would usually have it for them.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1429521482' post='2752125'] all the while making out the band is willing to do what those two come up with... [/quote] This is pretty much what we did. Explained the situation to the event organiser, and said to speak to the manager if they'd like the volume turned up. [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1429521914' post='2752133'] Hotrods or brushes can help in this scenario, although thats still not an enjoyable compromise for the drummer. [/quote] Yeh he had brushes. But disco/funk/motown didnt sound right with them at all

Our drummer was probably the most effected by it. He said he resorted to almost letting the sticks drop onto the drums rather than hitting them.

We aren't a loud band anyway, so i was surprised we were asked to turn down in the first place. Yeh, we let the organisers know that the level of volume was down to the manager, and not our preference.

I havent got an issue being asked to turn down. We play for the venue/function/party, so if they ask you to turn down, you turn down. Where i have an issue is when we have an hour to soundcheck before the function starts and we wont have another chance to get levels right until we play, and the manager comes to tell us we need to turn down, alot, 5 minutes before soundcheck finishes. We'd been playing for 40 minutes, fine tuning the mix levels, and 5 mins before the end of our soundcheck he tells us this. Usually it would just be a case of taking everything down in equal amounts. But the problem here was we were already quiet! My amp was already at the lowest volume output, before no volume was coming out. I had to set it to as quiet as possible, then cut the volume some more onboard my bass! We aren't a rock band so being loud as hell isn't a problem, but we were asked to play so quietly our brass section didnt bother with mics. This wasn't a small party either. It was in a function hall with 250 guests. Sent us in to a small panic to be honest. It all worked out well in the end though. Had a good gig, got a few good bookings from it. But we were asked multiple times to turn up. So should this venue state no bands when they take bookings? They didn't seem keen to have one.

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1429454470' post='2751497'] Francis Rocco Prestia of Tower of Power fame. [/quote] Great point of reference. Jamiroquai stuff is rammed full of them too

Firstly, i want to make it known, i'm an awful singer, and would be a terrible frontman. I have got a huge respect for anyone who has the minerals to get up and try to be the face of the entertainment for a whole gig. Our frontman is a great singer. But is not the best at talking between songs etc. Does this make him a bad frontman? Not to me, because he does a superb job singing, and we have two other members who do the job of interacting with the crowd. Its a team effort! It's quite strange though because outside the band setting, he is always the life and soul of the party, and loves holding the attention of everyone.

[quote name='Huge Hands' timestamp='1429183752' post='2748826'] ..Any time I hear Morrissey's voice...sung or spoken. If my brain doesn't burst, then I get destructively violent to my surroundings. [/quote] I'm with you.

A cool song, well played. Love the tone you have too. Nice

That is a great cab too. Cant go too far wrong with some Agi gear!

They look great! Congrats!

Another TKS fan here I have 2 for when I need them, but one is plenty loud! I had Berg HDs before. Great cabs! But the TKS match them for sound IMO, and are a lot lighter. That was the deciding factor for me. You get to customise them too, so what's not to like?

Some pretty cool set ups!

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1428934901' post='2746083'] Having the bass EQ turned up just completely buries all the little ghost notes and kills the clarity of the higher notes so I keep it turned off all the time. [/quote] Nice little tip. Might try this in one practice see how it sounds