flyfisher

Damp is a funny thing. As long as the garage is well built and the roof doesn't leak then the humidity is likely to be less than inside a house, because warm air can hold a lot more moisture than cold air. As noted above, condensation might be an issue when moving cold items into a warm, humid, environment. Most electronic equipment specifications will have operating and storage temperature ranges somewhere in their manuals. Storage conditions are usually fairly extreme. Not sure about cabs but worth checking.

Hmm. I've always thought of 'rebate' meaning some form of cash-back deal. This seems more like a 'free gift' promotion. Great if you actually want the free gift, but otherwise . . .

The varying behaviour of instrument/amp combinations could simply be down to their general susceptibility to electromagnetic interference. There are EMC standards for such things these days but I'm not sure if music gear would be covered by the class A or class B (more stringent) requirements. Vintage amps, of course, wouldn't have needed to comply at all. So, all in all, it sounds like one of those hard to characterise issues but with a simple and easy solution - turn the loop amp off! (assuming it hasn't been walled-up of course ).

Just pick your own favourite colour, not someone else's favourite colour. Simple.

If you only use speakon cables for cabs then it's not possible to confuse a signal jack cable with a speaker jack cable.

[quote name='pendingrequests' timestamp='1351685017' post='1854097'] Just an update guys, So we were back at the Hotel with the horrendous induction loop system. I asked a member of staff can we turn it off, I got a straight 'No'. Looking bemused I asked him why not and apparently when they build the Hotel, they build the power amp for the induction loop system [b]within the wall [/b] allowing no access to it. A well deserved hand clap for the designers. [/quote] I find that hard to believe. I can believe that the induction loop cabling is buried within the wall but what idiot would bury an active power amp? What happens when it fails?

In my limited experience, changing key is usually to accomodate a limited range of the singer.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1351525525' post='1852165'] Dunno, but my generic feeling is that, unless you're starving the family to buy gear, receiving anything more than a slight amount of GAS blockage (or nagging) by a partner implies you've got the wrong partner... [/quote] Spot on. I may have previously mentioned a friend who has a steam traction engine, among other bits of old heavy machinery. Unsurprisingly, he has lots of friends who also own steam traction engines. One in particular recently got divorced when his wife issued a "steam engine or me" ultimatum - well, he had the steam engine before he got married so what did she expect? Seriously, I really can't understand anyone wanting to change someone so much. Fair enough if you don't like [insert characteristic here] about someone, in which case why would you want to marry them in the first place. Very odd. Bluejay has it dead right in my book.

[quote name='tonybassplayer' timestamp='1351434735' post='1851131'] Time to get my old NAD 3020E out of the loft I think !! [/quote] I'd say so . . . complete waste keeping it up there. Plug it into something!

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1351361769' post='1850576'] I mean FFS how can you not take the time to learn a great bass line like the one from "all right now" properly (if your thinking "I dont remember it being anything special" then your probably one of the people whos never sat down to learn it properly). I mean we moan about how little respect and recognition bass players get from other musicians and the public in general but what do we expect if we cant demonstrate basic proficiency in learning simple pop bass lines propely. [/quote] Don't confuse proficiency with playing a note-perfect 'tribute' cover. What if someone can play a simple bass line "properly" (whatever that means) but just doesn't want to? You may not like the result but others might. Is this a cue for examples of cover versions that are generally accepted as better than the original versions?

Also just watched it. I knew they had a solid musical background but I didn't realise it went back quite so far. Amused me to hear them explain that there was no money in the pub circuit.

I'd certainly agree that the important thing is for whatever it is to sound good - original or improvised.

Who really cares? Even some original originals have been the subject of great debate over the years, this one possibly being the most notable: http://www.beatlesbible.com/features/hard-days-night-chord/

Seems to be lot of love here for NAD

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1351197693' post='1848695'] I remember back in the day, NAD 3020..serious budget amp. Shame I blew mine accidentally. [/quote] I've got a couple of old hifi systems that I use for playing my music (coincidentally, one of them via an Apple Airport) and one of them uses a NAD3020. I bought it second hand in the early 90s and it's still going strong. The other system uses a Quad 34/306 pre/power amp that I bought in the mid-80s and is also still going strong. So I'd definitely agree with the previous suggestion to look at older used gear.

I also prefer the look of a metal-edged flight case, although I have a mix of uncased, plastic-cased and flight-cased gear. You may want to consider that 'proper' flight cases look indestructible because, broadly, they are. What this means is that anything coming into contact with them generally comes off worse. That's fine in a professional/industrial environment where rough handling is the norm, but when they have to mix with a domestic environment then it can be the domestic environment that comes off worse. We have a relatively narrow entrance hall and the walls are full of 'dings' where I've carried flight-cases into the house after a gig. In contrast, gear that is in a plastic case doesn't damage the walls or door when it bangs into them, perhaps just leaving an easily cleaned-off scuff mark. I also had a flightcase move in the back of my estate car when rounding a corner. It didn't seem to move much but it smashed the rear side window with ease! On the plus side, all my flight-cased stuff is in excellent condition.

Excellent. And you deserve the brownie points because you took the initiative to find the answers. Thanks for posting the update.

The humbucker thing is fairly easy to explain. Such pickups are wired in such a way as to minimise external interference, usually mains hum. In the case of an induction loop system being connected to the PA then it's quite possible that the system will induce a PA signal into the standard guitar pickup, which is then amplified through the guitar rig, picked up by the PA mics and fed back into the induction loop system. So, a possible howling mechanism is quite likely. Like any form of feedback, the answer is to break the feedback loop or reduce the gain so that it can't build up into an unconrollable howl. I really feel the answer is to switch off the induction system. It's actually doing it's job of inducing a signal into anything that can receive it, though that would normally be a suitably equipped hearing aid. Such devices don't, of course, emit high level audio themselves so cannot form part of a feedback loop, whereas an affected guitar and amp clearly could. The venue staff must surely have someone who understands their in-house PA system and could switch the induction loop transmitter off? If not, the band's sound guy should be able to spot where the device is plugged into the PA. Alternatively, it might be plugged into the venue's intercom system. Wherever it is, it will probably have to be disabled during gigs.

Are you playing through the venue's sound system? My understanding is that these induction systems connect into PA system, so if you're not using the venue system then its hard to see how it could be active. I also can't see why bass amps should be particularly immune to such interference anymore than guitar amps. I would definitely be looking to turn the induction system off, if only to test the idea that it is the problem. I can't see why the system can't be switched off for discrimination reasons though. Firstly because I don't think there's any law that requires such systems to be installed in the first place and secondly if the 'function' is a private affair then surely such systems can't be required.

Give it time.

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1350752401' post='1843107'] 'RhysP' You forgot smug & self-satisfied. MB1. Not everyones cup of tea then? [/quote] Yep, pick any band or artist and we could have exactly the same discussion and range of opinions.

T'would be interesting to see the splits of the 'both' voters - of which I'm one. Four years ago my split would have been about 80/20 in favour of covers but we've been accumulating originals since then and I reckon we've easily reversed that to 80/20 in favour of originals, maybe a bit more.

Glad to hear I'm on the right track!

I'm still learning about stage monitoring and it seems to me to be more tricky than the FoH PA. it's almost a case of getting the stage monitoring set up first before worrying about the main PA. it sounds like you have a pretty good set of monitors and I'd be concerned that replacing them with a single big monitor would make matters worse. With our 'full PA', I drive two sets of monitors from the pre-fade aux outputs. This allows each set to have a different mix, which can be useful, as JYUK mentioned above. Do you let the keys player and drummer adjust their own monitor volumes or try to control everything from the desk? As you have active monitors, you should be able to set the monitor output very high at the desk and let them set the volume as they wish. Keep the monitors very close to them to minimise spill. I've also tried using a spare bass combo as a monitor for the drummer, letting him control the volume settings, with reasonable success.