asingardenof

Last gig of the year was beset by technical issues. To start with our singist had forgotten to charge the batteries for his wireless mic, so that took a bit of time to resolve, after which it was my turn. After some random cut outs during our first set, it was unfortunate that the first song of our second was A Town Called Malice. In an effort to find what was causing the – frankly mortifying – breaks, I tried changing over the cables and bypassing my pedalboard entirely, but it was only swapping basses that seemed to solve the issue, and although I think I detected one or two glitches after that it could have just been my imagination. Thankfully the crowd took it in good spirits and our singist kept that mood light as I abandoned the P-bass and dashed across the bar to fetch the Sire. I managed to get through the rest of the gig without incident, apart from forgetting my coat in the rush to get home for midnight. It's a good thing I have next week off work as I need to do a deep dive into what the frick frack snick snack is going on with my gear. I'm hoping it's not an issue with the electronics in the Squier as I can't really afford to replace them at the moment. I'm also well aware of the irony of this happening after I'd started a thread about bringing spare basses to gigs...

EEP! Make sure your drummist wears a mask just in case if you can.

This isn't unique to Boss pedals, my tuner, compressor and preamp turn on when the electricity goes on, but other pedals don't.

Yeah, my Sire V7 is pretty low output in passive mode, but running it into the Elf through my BF cab I've actually been told I'm too loud and to turn down, and that's with a five-piece band.

Metro 24

Larger board acquired. Much more pleasing.

Report them to the admins and ask them to delete them?

Walk or demand fairer pay if you're doing the work of two bands, I reckon

Not owned one yet (it's on the list) but I gather the first iteration of the Chinese-made Metro Express range (SME model nos.) can be problematic in terms of noisy electronics, plus they don't have the Sadowsky logo or Hipshot-style string retainers, so the headstocks look a bit naff. They are on sale for much cheapness at the moment at places like Guitar Guitar and Thomann. I gather the newer ones (SMX model nos.) have addressed all these issues so I'm very keen to get my hands on one when I have the money available. Bass Direct have some of the new ones and have said they can order them in as required.

Then I stand corrected!

Sounds like we all have more sense than money!

Drop D is how I'm playing it. I believe the original wasn't played on a bass at all but was a programmed synth line.

That's a heck of a lot for what essentially amounts to a stripped down passive Jazz.

Father Bassmas got me a new octaver pedal, but now everything is spilling off my board. Guess I'll have to buy a new one then. What a nuisance...

I just suggested Two Tribes to the band and everyone was on board. Then I looked into what was involved...

You haven't missed anything, don't worry. Do the charts actually mean anything anymore?

Guardian's album of the year. I liked it but I think you have to be in the mood for it

I was going to say the same, on the assumption that the truss rod and relief are fine, then a shim would be the way to go.

Tonight's overthinking episode... Question for those who take two basses to a gig: do you take one just as a spare or do you use both? I ask because I've started taking my second bass as a spare, being somewhat paranoid about equipment failure having had an amp blow on me mid-gig, but so far I've just left it in the gig bag. I've been wondering if it's worth it, mainly because carrying two basses about is heavy and a faff, and if I'm taking both anyway whether I shouldn't just try swapping out for different songs, as there are some that would definitely sound better with one or the other. Is it more of a faff to have to change over instruments potentially several times, especially if you don't have much time between songs? And, crucially, would it only really be me that notices or cares about the difference in tone?

This is the way.

This is exactly why shops offer warranties that say "if you're not completely satisfied". I'd be talking to the retailer about an exchange or repair myself. If the box wasn't damaged then this has come from the factory in that condition, so somebody's QC process has fallen down.

Nice one. I've always wanted to play GYOW with a live band, that chorus is still my all time favourite bassline to play.