Phil Starr

Watching this with interest.

Jack plugs are often a bit temperamental. The contacts get dirty, the spring arms bend and jack plugs actually vary quite a lot in size so some plugs and sockets won't work well together. If you've had the socket replaced it isn't impossible it wasn't a duff one or that it wasn't soldered in properly anyway. You've nothing to lose by cleaning the socket, I've even done this with a jack sized roll of 600g wet and dry gently rotated but it sounds like you need to get someone to at least check the soldering, if they are going to resolder it might well be worth replacing the socket anyway as the cost will be mainly labour so a new socket will only add a few quid.

Love your set list, I used to play it pretty much lol. Really miss Dirty Pretty Things, fun bass line compared to the dinosaur rock stuff I'm playing now. We did Gold On The Ceiling too, Jimmy Eat World How about Basket Case American Idiot Local Boy In The Photograph In The Morning; Razorlight Golden Touch Buck Rogers Monster; The Automatic Bohemian Like You Don't Look Back Into The Sun Can't Stand Me Now London Calling (old punk era songs go well with the up tempo stuff you are doing)

If I get time today I'll see if my mate Andy at Axe Music can get hold of one.

The King is Dead, Decemberists. Just full of joy and some lovely work by the bassist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDO4bzFWewk&list=PL559E1711B07598F1

Good advice, I think it's all clear but just in case... I've made the basic assumption from the 'wedding band' bit that you have a good sound out front and a regular sound engineer. From that I've assumed the FOH sound is 'right'. We don't often use the bins but when we have I do hear a lot of enhanced bass. If I was engineering you with this sort of a set up I'd be looking to get most of what the audience hear coming from the PA and getting the sound levels right down on stage, that helps you hear more and cleans up the sound because I get less backline coming through the vocal mics. A good engineer working regularly with a band however will work with the band to give them what they want of course, so long as the physics allows that to happen. If you have an engineer then just chat to them between gigs to see if they can achieve something that works better for you. It may need little more than a tiny tweak of eq on the PA and the same on your bass amp. If you are doing the sound yourselves then all the options the others are suggesting, basically cutting the deep bass from the subs are where to go. On a positive note the few times I've played with my preferred set up (as a bass player, not a sound engineer) with about 40% of my bass coming from the stack and 60% though the PA with a gentle bass roll off on the back line and the opposite boost on the PA it sounded lovely on stage and off, and I could hear everyone else

you are best off replacing it with an identical speaker especialy as it works as one of a pair. It is almost certainly made specially for Laney, so contact them. Failing that it might be worth contacting Celestion, They have an email service branded as Dr Decibel and are pretty helpful. Laney first though.

Sorry it's bad news, there's little you can do as bass frequencies are radiated 360 degrees and as much will go backwards as forwards below a certain frequency. The sound from the speakers is what you are hearing so a blanket won't help. The only solution is to think of your bass stack as a means of monitoring rather than as part of your sound. Use a kickback or a wedge as your on stages peaker, or find some other way of pointing the speaker at your ears. Then roll off the bass so you are only really getting the mids and tops, If you get it right this will combine with the bass you are getting from the subs and give you a balanced sound, the audience will hear you through the PA anyway so you don't need to worry how it sounds out front.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1441548095' post='2859687'] Driver size has no bearing on frequency. [/quote] Troublemaker Good advice so far, I can only add a few teccie bits. Deep bass is dominated by reverberation in most venues (the deep bass bounces off walls floors and ceilings and this reinforces the directly radiated sounds) This means you'll need less deep bass in most gigs than you would use practising at home. All speakers start to beam the sound in a narrow cone once the sound has a wavelength less than the diameter of the speaker. For bass this means all the mids are beamed. If you don't point the speakers at your ears you won't hear yourself. On the plus side you can hear more without disturbing the balance by pointing speakers at yourself. (or by pointing the guitarists speakers away from your ears ) When sound levels are high your ears adjust to protect themselves against damaging middle frequencies making everything sound muddy. The best way of hearing more is if everyone turns down. Good luck with that! You'll get better at picking out your bass from the mud just by practice. Just like eavesdropping on an interesting conversation the other side of the room, which I never do of course.

I'm assuming this is just about sharing our thoughts about gear? I kind of think anyone who plays music in public to entertain other people is one of the angels, at least until they demonstrate otherwise! We play in pubs mainly, anything from 20 people to a few hundred. We play all the standard cover band fayre that most of you have probably played too at some time. So we are nothing special, and the pay is crap as you all know. That's just context. This isn't a functions band or anyone young enough to have dreams of 'making it'. I take spares of everything that would stop us playing to every gig, spare leads of every type, the monitors would double as PA speakers or bass speakers and my 'get out of trouble' bit of kit is a little mixer amp borrowed from a broken Yamaha Stagepas PA that will run the PA or double as an instrument amp. I take a spare bass, which I've never needed. Both of our guitarists take spare guitars. I reckon that anyone performing in front of an audience owes that audience a bit of respect. You do your best for them, that means taking decent gear, not necessarily expensive but reliable and at least good enough for the job. I'm lucky in being able to afford to do this, my kids have left home and money isn't tight any more, I wasn't always in that situation and my backup used to be a soldering iron and a tool kit to me the important thing is taking it seriously enough to do your best. I usually have two MIA Fenders with me. They are far better basses than I am bass player and the cheapest Squier would be plenty good enough as a backup, but I get a lot of joy out of owning and playing them.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1441302046' post='2857785'] I'm a regular at open mics, playing acoustic guitar and singing, my singing has improved no end since I started doing them, then my partner joined me on drums (just a snare, hi hat and crash) gives us a common interest (playing music at a pub ) we actually played our first festival at the weekend ( a very small unpaid festival) but neither of us would have got anywhere if it wasn't for open mics. The band I play bass in also got a gig after one we did, someone came up afterwards and asked if we did gigs, no I said but my band does. I don't really understand the hostility to open mics, they're good fun if you enjoy playing live and your playing is bound to improve. [/quote] This, I've been invited to play with other bands at open mics and got gigs for every band I've played with. One of my bands was 'grown' at an open mic. We learned three songs a week and played them at a local open mic until we had a full set, then played our first gig at the pub that ran the open mics. With other friends I've been invited to play at other longer more controlled sessions and even to play on a local radio station. It's also a chance to play stuff the band don't like and to play with people I wouldn't get to play with any other way. If you go with other band members it's a chance to talk without the pressures of a gig or rehearsal. It's all good for me. I've a real desire to perform and a high tolerance of the less able musician so I guess it was always going to be my sort of thing, I understand that if you are a professional musician gigging several times a week it wouldn't be for you but I've never understood the sneering you sometimes hear,

[quote name='anaxcrosswords' timestamp='1441320824' post='2858005'] Well, that was interesting in the weirdest way possible. The guy I’d agreed a few songs with was supposed to meet me at 7:30. As I needed an ATM I set off slightly early so got to our rendezvous about 5 minutes early, just in time to watch him being arrested. I kid you not. Still, had a great night! [/quote] [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1441322439' post='2858016'] Didn't he come up to the required standard then. [/quote] Brilliant

For the use you describe flats are definitely worth a try. I've noticed problems tuning old strings by ear, I hear off tones, so just as I get there I start hearing other overtones that aren't in tune with the string I'm tuning to. On the digital tuner I can see this happening, the initial note may be in tune but if you leave it vibrating for a couple of seconds it wanders off tuning and eventually settles down to a frequency slightly off the initial one, In extreme cases I see the tuner deciding there is an entirely different note being played, often the fourth above, even when I am damping the other strings. It's reassuring to see a machine seeing what I am hearing. My theory is that the accumulation of dirt on parts of the string means that the mass of the string varies along it's length, the fundamental will be unaffected but the harmonics will be affected when the dirty and massy part of the string is vibrating most. If I am right then when you fret a dirty string the part nearest the bridge will be heavier because of the dirt from your picking fingers, that would lower the note it sounds and explain the need to bend the strings to raise the tone. I've run no controlled tests though and never read anything about this so this is all just conjecture. Has anyone else noticed this? It's much more noticeable on old skinny strings.

New cables sometimes don't work, in this case someone may have not tightened a screw or over tightened it and broken the wires. Simple to check and yes, it is +1 and -1 you need. If you are gigging it is best to carry a spare of every cable, but beg, borrow or steal another speakon and that will eliminate the suspect lead, or not.

After looking at a thread on here I got one of these. http://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-amp-instrument-wireless/pid16092/cid761/line-6-relay-g30-digital-wireless-guitar-system.asp the Line 6 G30. In the end the only question ws whether to get the G50. As everyone says the battery cover is a bit naff and the clip could be more secure, a velcro cable tie would be better but it's been a hundred percent reiable, never had a dropout and is better made than I expected at the price. I use some 2200mAh rechargeables and carry a spare set plus a backup set of Alkaline batteries, The rechargeables last the whole set and then go on and do another 5 hours at home but I make sure they are topped up for every gig (I must put them on for tomorrow in a minute) The sound is cleaner than using even a short high quality lead and the freedom is great, I've even wandered out of the pub and onto the beach at a gig in Teignmouth, a bit eccentric but you've got to try it once

Most bass cabs are pretty coloured, the only way you'll do this practically is to DI through the PA and use another PA speaker as your onstage monitor. You'll have to choose carefully though and probably spend a bit. Many PA speakers have limited excursion because they don't really handle all the bass without a sub, though I suppose you could use a compact sub and a top if you really wanted to go for it. I used to use the basschat 12 in their PA version with a fairly decent horn and it is the best sound I've ever achieved, the problem is knowing which PA speakers have high excursion bass drivers, though if they are active speakers with DSP built in at least you won't blow them.

You guys are making me so jealous

The reality in most of the country is that if you play covers you can gig regularly and get paid, but it can be a grind if you don't enjoy it. Playing 2-3hrs of songs means a lot of hard work refreshing the set and keeping all the songs in the air plus the 6hrs away from home for each gig. It isn't for everyone and not worth an average of £50 if you don't love it. For anyone playing originals the opportunities to gig live are more limited and pretty much something that the under thirties with hopes of success will do. If not then music becomes a hobby, and I'm not looking down of that at all. Lots of musicians a lot more skilled than I are playing at home, releasing music on the web and doing the odd cameo at open mics or other one off 'events'. Gigging dominates my free time and affects my family too, I couldn't do it if i didn't love it. One other alternative suggests itself though. Your musical tastes seem to be for the music of your youth. So many pub bands do the same stuff that you are giving up but there is a market for stuff other than 70's pop/rock. All the audiences want is familiar stuff they can sing and dance to, so you could try to put together a covers band to do the type of songs you like more. You seem pretty clear about what you want to do musically. The things you need to decide are; will I miss performing to an audience, and will I miss playing with other people. Good luck

Sorry I lost track of this because of the holiday period. I'm assuming you have a cab for the Delta as otherwise you wouldn't know it was mid heavy (the peak I mentioned) and the behringer is a new introduction to the thread. You seem to have a range of 15's and a single 12. It's just about impossible from raw data to predict how two speakers will complement or clash with each other. You just need to try all the combinations. My advice is to keep an open mind but also to keep notes. Try them in different rooms if you can and with different basses if these are available. Have a bass playing friend along too to do the listening tests if one is available. If you were designing a cab you wouldn't start like this but with a sound you were aiming for and the intention of finding a driver that would match your design. Mixing speakers isn't wrong in any technical sense but it's more cookery than science. You might stumble across something that tastes (sounds) great but it might be horrid, the only way to test is to suck it and see. If you end up with something that sounds good then it is good. It is fun to try things but most people who swap drivers and cabs around like this are still doing so in twenty years time looking for the elusive perfect match. For most people the best thing is to find the cab that sounds the way they like and buy two if they want it louder. If you are a born tinkerer though you'll have more fun just trying every combination under the sun. Have fun

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1441021846' post='2855362'] I wouldn't worry about it get out there and get playing in a band, its great fun and for me what it's all about I've never had any complaints about my playing and my isolated bass tracks are full of squeaks and strings slapping the fretboard etc... It's inaudible in the mix and if you tired to cut it all out the track would probably sound dead and lifeless. Also, you learn proper muting techniques etc as you go. Go for it, you're probably just as good as the rest of us [/quote] This

Good luck tomorrow.

I'm a live sound engineer turned bassist and backing singer. It's shifted my opinions on mics. First i'm assuming you are looking in the £70-150 sort of price range. The Sm58 isn't up to it any more in terms of sound quality, just not enough detail. People like it because it is what they know, and you need to know a mic almost as well as a guitar, and just like a guitar/bass some people will get more out of a s*** instrument than a poor player gets out of a good one. There's one other good thing about an SM58 though and that is that it is a cardioid, what this means is that you don't have to be so tight to the mic to get a decent sound. From the point of view of an engineer the tighter the mic pattern the better in terms of avoiding extraneous noise and feedback but as a performer needing to be 'on' the mic all the time is really distracting and if you move a lot when performing you'll get a lot of poor vocals as you constantly move off the mic's sweet spot. Drummers move a lot so I'm suggesting you look at whether this is an issue. It's all compromise but the ease of use may be a bigger factor than the need to avoid drum bleed through the mic. I've ended up with the Sennheiser 935 http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/vocal-microphone-dynamic-cardioid-e-935 which is very tolerant and neutral sounding. FWIW the Shure Beta58 is described as super cardioid by Shure but is pretty nearly cardioid and sounds much better than the 58. I've also used the AKG D5 which sounds great but needs good mic technique, it is a real bargain though at it's low price. I grabbed it by mistake last night though and struggled to dance, play bass and sing at the same time

As indicated this isn't expensive for a neo driver, replacing it means the combo is 'original' and will get a decent price if you ever sell. The sort of replacement you might go for is something like the Celestion http://www.bluearan.com/index.php?id=CELBN12300S&browsemode=category at £115 or something similar. You won't know what it sounds like until you have spent your money and time. It may be better, but probably not as good and certainly not the same. I'm fairly optimistic you could get a speaker to work in the cab, re tuning may be necessary but someone here will help with that. So, you could save yourself £50 maybe. If you sell the cab it might be you'd lose that and more. There may be some fiddling involved too both to tuning and the mounts on the driver may vary. Only you can decide what is best for you. I'm not recommending the Celestion by the way, I haven't modelled it so I just don't know if it is right or not.

As above, accept the booking but when doing so let the landlord know it will be very similar to your last set. The LL may have good reasons for wanting a band he likes to fill an open slot at fairly short notice. Most decent LL's understand this much about bands, use this as a way of getting booked through the year at even spacings so you can bring him a freshened set each time. He/she will probably appreciate your professionalism in wanting to do the best for his/her venue

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1440668893' post='2852780'] Good morning folks, Firstly may I apologise for being away from this thread for a bit, I know you are all waiting for information from me. I fully intended to be able to spend lots of time working on a description of the cabinet as well as being involved in the testing through independent review. Unfortunately, as life has a habit of re-directing my energies, I've had to contact Phil to say that, at least for the foreseeable future I will have to pull out from being able to deliver the write-up to you. Indeed, for now I'm even finding it difficult to 'just be a musician'. Hopefully these ups and downs will be temporary and I can get back to doing what I should be!! I will of course try to keep dipping in and offering any experience with the cabinet as requested, though I won't be on BassChat in an active capacity certainly for the next month or so. That said, I have to sell a load of kit, so at least expect to see that... This is a brilliant thread and really enlightening. BassChat really is the best [/quote] Dan thanks for the insights you've given us. I completely understand where you are coming from and I hope everything works out for you so that you are back with us soon. Keep on playing that bass.