Phil Starr

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1486369619' post='3231074'] What are you practising? [/quote] That's the best question so far Practice needs to be focussed, it will vary over time but you need to have a clear idea both of the short term and medium term gains you want to make. My practice for the last few months has been dominated by the demands of a new band and completely new set lists. I've got 50 new songs to learn so I've just divided them up into digestible chunks and head down and get on with it. My practice would be very different if I was working through exam grades or trying to learn a new technique on bass. I don't think anyone can really concentrate for more than 15 minutes, the research I read as a teacher would indicate that it is much shorter than that. The solution is to break each hour down into several activities and switch them around. Maybe attack four or five areas an hour. For example I've five songs I'm working on concurrently. Spending no more than 15 mins on any one combats boredom, one of them is in 6/8 time, something I've never played before. I'm going to put in some 15 min sessions with a drum machine in amongst sitting with chord sheets and the incessant repetitions of songs I'm at various stages of 'knowing'. You will almost certainly have different aims but you can always break down tasks into small blocks and then rotate them to avoid getting stale. The other thing is about regular breaks. Learning only puts things into short term memory initially, unless it is something with very high emotional impact. We all need a period of assimilation for it to be incorporated into long term memory. Taking short tea breaks will help that process. Once your short term memory is effectively full you wont be doing an hours practice you'll mainly just be over-writing the memories you made earlier. Everyone is right, little and often is best.

Wish I'd started with floating thumb, just for the string damping. One day soon I'm going to have to start to retrain myself to use it but it's always difficult to break years of muscle memory/bad habits. Given your early stages I think going for this is good advice.

Another vote for Studiospares, I have four of them, they are pretty much clones of the K&M at a fraction of the price. Not as good next to them but very functional.

You are keeping it a secret, no link to it here. It would be good to look as we might be able to see how you are advertising yourselves. You can spy on me if you want, I've spied on Hobbayne. Do you get approached by venues from Lemonrock? We got about half our leads to new venues from Lemonrock, once you've got the first gig you have to follow it up within a day or two of the gig for repeat bookings. If you don't get them then whatever they say to you you weren't good enough or maybe just wrong for their venue. Once you get, say, four venues that book you three or four times a year you'll find other venues interested. The savvy venue owners trawl Lemonrock to look at who gets a lot of bookings and go for those bands. You can do the same by seeing who books bands like yours and targetting them. I've been involved in a lot of start-ups and the first few bookings are tricky, you have to be prepared to put it about a bit. I've played for half price to get the first booking and would be happy to play for free if it got me the first gig. Then you've got bookings on your website, video of you in action etc. Most of the reviews in Lemonrock and everywhere else on the web are from friends of the band.Some even from the band members themselves

Two things primarily affect panels of the same dimensions, mass and Young's modulus (the bendiness) you'd be better off sonically with heavy MDF which is also self damping to some extent. Obviously if you start off with the idea of light weight then heavy panels aren't an option. That means extra bracing. The main reason that I recommend battening all the panel joints is for ease of construction and increased strength of the final cabinet. The screws draw the joints together whilst the glue sets, the battens hold everything square and they also double the glue area. There will be a little bracing effect and some damping of panel resonances but that is incidental if I'm honest. As you observed John, all speaker design is a bit like squeezing a balloon, an advantage gained somewhere almost always leads to a cost elsewhere. That's what makes it interesting

I have some wooden crates from the 70's, they have more heft.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1486106132' post='3229220'] Thanks for all the replies, I am more than happy to keep practising hard but from reading the replies above it does seem I am probably playing 'too hard' so will try the advice and see how it goes. [/quote] I wonder what you mean by "practising hard". You say you are new to bass and I wonder if you might be over-practising or doing the wrong practice. When I used to run, or train for cricket, it wasn't difficult to go from nothing to very heavy training/running, over doing it and then suffering after. The trick was to have light training days and to vary your training schedule. Similarly it might be worth mixing up your practice schedule. Cramps are caused by electrolyte (calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium ions) disturbances and the accumulation of lactic acid unless you have some underlying medical condition, which is less likely. In the end this is about blood supply. As well as building up muscle training improves the blood supply to the parts that are being exercised increasing the supply of food and oxygen and removing waste. Try this little test, clench and unclench your hand as quickly as you can for 30sec with your hand down by your side. Rest and then try the same thing with your hand held high above your head. You should feel the same 'cramp' as you do playing bass. In this case it is entirely down to accumulation of lactic acid due to blood flowing downhill easier than it does uphill. Developing stamina is a slow process and it will just come, even now if I have a couple of weeks with little practice I lose stamina, when the band are gigging regularly it comes back. It takes time to grow and develop new blood vessels. It may be worth massaging your forearm where most of the muscles that operate your fingers are which will push fluid back into your bloodstream and remove some of the lactic acid. Just relaxing will help too as will a proper posture and well adjusted guitar strap, loose muscles will help your blood flow.

I buy fuses in batches, you do get the occasional dud and it's easy to blow them when swapping around and fixing things. Is the fuse working in your speaker? You could swap it back and that should work but then you are back where you started. It would be highly improbable that your amp would go wrong just when you replaced a fuse so it is almost certainly fitting, unless of course you blew the fuse when you swapped them into the speaker and now have two blown fuses. If you have a meter it should be easy to check the fuse is working.

Yes, we originally planned a slot port and I built one and showed it around to a few people. It did look nicer than the round port version. The problem was twofold, the design was meant to an easy build for someone at home, I found I needed no fewer than eight clamps whilst glueing up which I didn't think most people would have to hand. Without extensive clamping the round ported cab was an easier build. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly putting the slot in meant the speaker was effectively operating into a square space and we got an unfortunate and clearly audible resonance on some notes giving a slightly artificial sound (I quite liked it, but that's just me). We killed that in the end by putting a big slab of wadding on top of the port shelf. It wouldn't be a problem with a 2x12 as you wouldn't have a short squat cab any more. If you want me to talk you through a 2x12 version I'm happy to do so at the cost of asking you to post up your progress on BC

If it is the power transformer then it's a special one for that amp, I've just looked at the circuit diagram. Might be worth contacting Hartke directly but I imagine it would probably cost in the £50-100 bracket then you'd have to pay a couple of hours labour for fitting it. Of course once it is replaced there's possibly something else wrong that overloaded the transformer. As you've realised a second hand amp is a cheaper option. DIY is only an option in any case if you are a competent engineer as you are messing around with mains voltages and high capacity condensers. Bad luck

It wasn't fair, you had Thiele and Small on your side!

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1485870960' post='3227339'] The beauty of having both Stevie and Phil contributing is that they come at things with a different perspective. Rather than causing conflict this means each stage is scrutinised and challenged. I am learning an awful lot and hopefully others will too. [/quote] Stevie may not remember it but he picked me up on my maths a few years ago. He was right. We've been 'exchanging views' ever since

[quote name='hrnn1234' timestamp='1485868263' post='3227295'] I went through the thread a couple of times already and I found only that one drawing. It actually has all the information needed, although much of it just implied. I think you won't need anything more. [/quote] Sorry about that, life really has thrown the kitchen sink at me in the last few months and is continuing to do so, the cost of elderly parents not to mention that my kids don't still have their moments. So yes I have the detailed instructions in draft form and some photo's of the construction process but just haven't got round to typing it all out and investigating why my ancient computer doesn't seem to want to upload photo's If anyone want's to build the original version I'm happy to email a word file and a link to photobucket or similar. PM me if you are interested And all the dimensions are on the original thread so you should be able to build it from that, well people already had. John you used the h**t word!

[quote name='GreeneKing' timestamp='1485708461' post='3225990'] I have both a LMII and a 500 Tube. They do both have HP Filters if you believe what you read on Talkbass where folk have gone so far as to set up a test rig to check. As was put so well above, the Thumpinator has a steeper cut off. It certainly has a significantly greater effect. [/quote]Don't suppose you have a link to that test? I use a 500Tube and it would be nice to know what they found.

By taking out that subsonic power you are going to cool down your speakers a little and that might keep the impedance down, it can easily double when they get hot. if you did push the speaker beyond Xmax the excursion limit then it will be operating outside the linear part of the magnets field where it is weaker so your sound will be distorted and compressed. If the ports are small then you get turbulence in them at low frequencies and high levels which decreases the port output, any or all of these might become important and will be reduced by one of these. Taking high voltage swings out of your fx chain is going to really affect the triggering of things like compressors and limiters. I think the original Thumpinator filters at 24dB/octave where a lot of inbuilt filtering in amps is less steep at 6 or 12dB, but that depends upon which amp of course. The other thing is that without all that subsonic mush exciting room resonances you will hear other things more clearly.

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1485510917' post='3224423'] For me the "discomfort", for want of a better word, is exactly why I'm doing it. At 54, if I don't take my axe out the bedroom now, I ain't never gonna get no wood chopped. [/quote] Hey, go for it! I didn't play a note until 55 went through the feeling foolish stage and within a year was playing with a band and paid gigs a year after that. Nearly ten years on I've been terrorising audiences all over the South West for seven years. Still feel as if someone is going to tap me on the shoulder and say 'come on you don't really know how to play that thing' but until they do....

I've found the only way is to start a diary, open mic's are always tricky to track down. Often they are only advertised in the pubs that host them and unless they are weekly are often poorly attended. Once you get to the first one talk to the people there who will know where the others are and which are the best ones to aim at. Once I started a diary locally I was stunned to find there are several every day of the week within driving distance. Trouble is the diary goes out of date all the time as they often only run for a few months only to pop up somewhere else.

Good luck. I drift in and out of the open mics. It's a great way of meeting up with local musicians and networking. In any case I'm such a tart for an audience I'd play anywhere that'll have me. The standard is so variable it's almost funny but it usually means anything a bit different and well performed goes down well. Trouble is every time I get back into it a band comes along. I'm planning a weekend of open mics with an old university mate starting tonight. Think we might be mixing Cake by the Ocean with Donovan's Intergalactive Laxative that'll surprise them. Not a pretty image

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1485277871' post='3222746'] If there is noone there there is nothing you can do. We seem to be doing ok at the moment, but ours is a lot more new stuff than previous bands, and that seems to help with the crowd in most places. [/quote] Good for you, I don't think decline is inevitable but we have to adapt if we want audiences. I admire bands that love their music and won't compromise but if it's ageing music it's going to only appeal to a diminishing audience. My worry is that without variety some venues are almost guaranteeing a smaller audience for live music and people will decide an evening with a band is not for them. What's your band called, I guess you must play round here?

If it is just for recording you have the ability to experiment with all sorts of amp and speaker sims including guitar amps and whatever double/multiple tracking works. I think the guys are right though about a lot of that sound coming from the bass and how it is played. I wouldn't be rushing out to buy any gear just yet.

[quote name='phil.c60' timestamp='1485281984' post='3222785'] Having this right now. Auditioned/tried out for an indie/post punk/some more general stuff type band and they asked me to join. Gave me a "set list" which I duly learnt some of, then some more, then started running into the "Oh you've learnt those have you, we haven't played those for ages (ever? - slight hint of sarcasm there) supposed to have the first gig in a month. Fingers well and truly crossed. Annoyingly I had a call just after I'd started rehearsing with them from someone who has what seems to be a much more together band that has just lost their bass player, but turned it down as felt I had to give these guys a fair chance (two bands is OK but three is not, for me anyhow).I'm having a bit of a sinking feeling at the moment. Slightly off topic. Apologies. [/quote]Hope it works out for you. My long layoff happened when I fell out with my band over their disorganisation.The guitarist and I had agreed we would give them a few months to improve and would leave together, or at least tell each other when we'd had enough. I didn't feel I should let him down and turned down an audition with a band I'd wanted to play with for a while. The band broke up after a big row a week later. I'm big on loyalty but now think I'd have been better off auditioning for the new band and then telling the old band giving them time to get someone else in to replace me.I think in your situation I'd go and see the other band and if it looks a better bet for you to just be honest and let the other band down as gently as you can.

What's Up Sweet Dreams It's raining Men

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1485217754' post='3222298'] I reckon these are good value for money... [url="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00D7FIW7I/ref=pe_1963591_136811311_em_1p_0_ti"]https://www.amazon.c...1311_em_1p_0_ti[/url] We have two... [/quote] They are good, and there are other good floor monitors. I've re read the op though and there is some resistance in the band to upping the on stage volume which is why I think we've all homed in on personal monitors, because you have them close to you aren't likely to be loud enough for the rest of the band to hear. It might be worth talking to the rest of the band about monitoring though if they have the money for each of them to have their own floor monitor or IEM's as that sort of system needs planning as a whole band ideally.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1485178507' post='3221775'] That's a very generous answer, and better than I deserve! The Wirebirds were pretty rough when we started, and I knew only one song they knew, but we managed to get something giggable pretty fast. I think the deadline of an approaching gig does a lot to focus a band's attention! [/quote]Oh God, I hope that I didn't come across as being sarcastic, I apologise if it did. It's just my recent experience has all been in start ups, I've found you can only go at the pace of the slowest, it has frustrated the life out of me when someone says let's learn 10 songs and then you turn up having sweated blood to find no-one else has them all nailed. In fact I've got a first meet up with my latest start up venture in a couple of hours fortunately we've got a fair few songs in common this time. I've listened to the Wirebirds in the past when you had Jenny singing for you, I wanted to get across to see you live but life intervened hopefully if you are playing anywhere near Reading next time I'm up there I can get across to see you.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1485167456' post='3221624'] Three months of rehearsing? Seems a lot to me. I've played in bands where we have rehearsed once then started gigging, in fact we didn't rehearse whole songs, just intros and outros, and the gigs went fine. My main band still gets together once a week to work on new stuff and just play for the fun of playing, but again we started gigging after a couple of short rehearsals. Any band who expected me to rehearse for months before gigging would be looking for a new bass player! [/quote] It's more than possible you are better than I am I'd probably place a small wager on that. It's also possible that you are playing with more experienced musicians. Playing within a genre also helps, if you are all lifelong blues men then you are going to have a lot of shared experience to draw on. The current start up don't have any shared songs we want to be in the final set list, that's pretty much true of my last two bands also. I reckon learning three or four entirely new songs a week is par for people who work full time, but it depends entirely upon the song, some you can jam out straight away, some take longer.