Franticsmurf

First run through last night for a side project that supports the Hulla band at their festival every year. It's a subset of the main band and we only play the one gig each year. The rehearsals are usually few and far between as everyone has other things they are doing, but its worked out well in the end each time we've done the gig. Last night was meant to be just a chance to go through some of the songs, see what's working and what isn't, settle in our newest member on sax and set the scene for the rehearsals to come. We warmed up with some songs from last year's set and then, completely unplanned, decided to give 'Baker Street' a go. It was on the 'possibles' list but we were going to leave it for a separate session as none of us have played it before. The sax player was quite nervous about doing it but it's a fun, relaxed atmosphere so we went ahead. And after one dodgy start we played a pretty good version all the way through until we realised we didn't know how to end it. 😀 The drummer has a purpose built soundproofed rehearsal space in his garden as he's quite busy with several big bands and depping work. It's just big enough for 5 people to squeeze in. I used my BAM200 into his 1x15 cab and my Ibanez EHB1000s to save hitting people with my headstock.

It's certainly not 'worthless information' and as someone who has owned an acoustic bass for 5 years, I am not 'clueless' about it. I may have a different opinion and experience of them than others here but that's ok. I chose to share my experience so that others could make an informed decision.

So sad. RIP Sam.

My acoustic bass is always amplified when we do 'acoustic' sessions. I tried it unamplified last week (playing with 2 acoustic guitars and four ukeleles) in advance of an acoustic gig on Saturday and not only could I not hear it but no one else could either. I am now using my hollow body Ibanez which sounds better amplified. I don't think I'll be using the acoustic again unless it's for show.

This is the mistress of my downfall. I needed a 5. I got a 5. An Ibanez GSR205 relic-ed by the previous owner more through neglect than intent but not so you'd notice (a screw forced into a bolt insert for the battery cover, some dings and scratches, all pointed out by the seller).

Rehearsal last night with the Hulla band. We have an upcoming short acoustic set for the sound guy's wife's birthday so we went through the 6 songs for that. Frankly, it was poor with little understanding of the difference between an acoustic line up and the full band. In order to be heard I have to amplify my semi acoustic bass and so I offered to step out to keep it 'acoustic', but the drummer turned up thinking he'd play a reduced kit (=a couple fewer toms and cymbals) and the brass section drowned everyone out. The outcome was that the drummer finally saw sense and is not playing (apart from anything else we have to sneak all the instruments into the marquee while the birthday girl is distracted and despite his initial claims that he could set up stealthily, the drummer finally got that it couldn't be done). I'll be playing through a small practice amp and the two guitarists will be using acoustic guitars. The sound engineer is happy and ultimately that's all that matters. We went straight into full band rehearsal for another birthday party that we've been booked to play and I think this may have suffered from the previous acoustic session. It was a bit lacklustre and chaotic. Given that the last rehearsal session we had was one of the best I can remember with them, it was a bit disappointing and we called time earlier than usual. I know we can (and will) do better so I'm not unduly worried.

I hereby give notice of impending Gear Abstinence Failure. A 5 string has been sourced, ordered and paid for but has yet to arrive. In my defence, m'lud, a recent setlist update beyond my control has seen the need for some low B action (so the bigger boys in the band have told me) and they made me get one (and they stole my dinner money, too). Good luck to those who have stayed strong and loyal to this thread. Stay strong, brothers. 😀

Four definite bookings with the Hulla band - including our self organised festival at which I'll also be performing with a splinter band. I would expect us to pick up another 3 or 4 gigs between now and the end of the year, if previous years are to go by. We tend to play private functions rather than pubs and clubs. 8 to 10 gigs per year with the Hulla is the norm. I'm also rehearsing with a new band and I would be expecting to pick up some bookings with them, probably starting in the next month or so.

Evri delivered a package to me ordered from an overseas company via Amazon. The first I knew about the delivery was when, four days later, I asked about the non-receipt of my order. The seller came back with a photo from the Evri driver of him about the drop the package over my garden fence into a part of the garden I can't see from the front or back. And he claimed I'd signed for it. Sure enough it was there - and had been during the only rain shower we've had in days. I have a porch which everyone else uses. Fortunately the contents were ok. I (naively) thought I'd get an email notification 'your package will be delivered today' and confirmation email 'your package has been delivered' as I do with other couriers.

The first few gigs I ever played had this arrangement - the venue put popular paid acts on over the weekend and allowed new bands to play for the door money Tuesday-Thursday. I doubt we would have got many/any gigs in the city centre otherwise, and it helped us build a small but loyal following. I think it also made us think more critically about what we were doing as we weren't relying on a captive audience of pub regulars and, as you say, we had to promote ourselves. We ended up up getting a couple of the much sought after weekend gigs but the band folded shortly afterwards.

If it's a venue with a reputation for having run decent live band nights (not open mic) I'd certainly offer up my services. If it was a new landlord starting out I'd be more sceptical but open to it in principal.

I played with backing tracks as part of a duo (guitarist/singer and me on rhythm guitar) on the WMC circuit for years. I hated it. As a musician, it felt like cheating even though we weren't trying to hide that we were using the backing tracks. I eventually re-recorded all of them so that almost everything but the drums was me playing real instruments. I felt better but it left the problem of not easily being able to extend (or cut short) songs according to the audience. Eventually we introduced our acoustic spot which was just us with no backing. It was so much more satisfying. Of course for the most part the audiences new no different - or at least I thought so until I started playing with a band in the same venues and we used to get the occasional comment "nice to see a proper band and not a karaoke act" or similar. I enjoyed interacting with the other band members, playing impromptu medley/mash-ups, bass and drum solos while the guitarist changed a snapped string or extended outros because the whole place was up and dancing. And I know that audiences react more favourably to a band that is clearly enjoying itself on stage and I never enjoyed playing with backing tracks. Each to their own, I know. But for me I'd rather re-arrange the song to fit the band than have to use a machine.

I am fortunate enough not to have to rely on gig income but I do expect the band to be paid for their time and effort (mostly invisible as has been described above) if the venue is taking money for the event and/or gaining a benefit from running the event. The main band I'm in plays for charity - all the proceeds from gigs goes either to the upkeep of the band, the village hall in which we rehearse and store gear or to nominated charities. Band members get no direct payment (although we benefit from our own PA and stage kit such as mic stands, music stands cables and lighting). I'm more than happy to do this but I have and will continue to refuse to play gigs that do not offer the band a reasonable fee. Our gigs are usually private functions and we have a self organised festival every year but we will take bookings from clubs and larger pubs. Last year our contribution to the nominated charities was around 80% of what we took in fees. Two years ago our 'fee' for a 45 minute set at a local multi band line up was a token for a half pint of cider for each of the band. The venue was packed to the gills from about midday well into the night and when I later found out that we hadn't been given a contribution to our charity I explained that I wouldn't be playing it again. When I gave my reasons - the manager was paid, the staff were paid, the business didn't suffer as a result of the event so I think it only right that the rest of the people contributing to the event were offered payment - we decided not to do it again. When I played in pub bands we were often asked to play at odd times for this reason. The weekend slot between afternoon and evening (4pm-7pm ish) when people were likely to disappear for food or, quite often, immediately after the big sporting event finished (around my neck of the woods, usually the rugby). We'd be setting up as the match was going on and expected to kick off (sorry) immediately after the final whistle.

Back in the day, I was the guitarist in my first band (which changed its name several times while retaining the same core line up). This recording was made in Neath College studio in 1991 after we'd spent a few days working on several new original tracks. We ended the session with a run through of our original set. This one was written by the drummer (as were many of the originals). In all the photos bar two, I'm the one playing guitar.

I had exactly the same experience with a band I was in. Often there'd be a request after he'd asked, and he wouldn't (or more likely couldn't) play it which made things worse. His arrangements of songs we played regularly were based on whim and his response when we spoke to him about it was along the lines of 'I don't care because it's you that look bad, not me', usually with an annoying laugh. We dropped him in it one night when he decided in the van on the way to the gig to change the set order so that he could start 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' solo on stage. The rest of the band were expected to join him after the first verse and chorus. We waited in the wings as he began far too fast. We could see the inevitable approaching, and his 'Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door' in the chorus was delivered staccato about four or five times faster that even Axl Rose could manage. We waited for him to finish the whole song, giggling like schoolkids, so the bemused looks from the audience were his alone, and then joined him. We all left him en mass after he started a rehearsal session with a white board showing how much better we could be if we followed his 'masterplan'. 🤣

I had an idea at the beginning of the year to try the equivalent for the Hulla band (where I always DI). I use an Ampeg Classic preamp pedal and as it's always on, it could sit anywhere - even on the sound man's desk (we have a permanent sound guy). But, as @tayste_2000, I like the idea of being able to mute the signal so I quickly added a tuner pedal. When we started rehearsing, I added my Zoom MS60B so that I could experiment with different effects on the fly as new songs were tried out. And then I was asked to provide a keyboard bass part using a midi pedal, and that had to be mixed into the bass guitar channel so on went a Joyo Orthros line mixer. And so on. My pedal free pedal board now has the MS60b acting as a noisegate and compressor as well as a tuner/mute. Somehow, a Univibe and Chorus have sneaked on while I wasn't looking. 😀 Yes - I ditched pedals entirely for about 3 days in January.

5th knock with the new band - name as yet undecided - and it's still sounding good. We've run up a set list which varies from 'Does Your Mother Know' to 'Born To Be Wild' with side tracks to 'Superstition' and 'Games People Play' amongst others. The line up is drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar and yours truly on bass. We all sing - them much better than me - so the potential is there for nice vocal harmonies. So far we've concentrated on getting familiar with each other's styles, finding the right mix of songs and, in the case of the acoustic guitarist, getting used to playing in a band (he's only ever played solo and then only a couple of times). We rehearse silently through a mixer and headphones and the recordings have been a great way to listen back in the cold light. So far, so good. Next steps are to fix the arrangements and get a couple of rehearsals at full volume with backline etc at a local hall. Then it's gig time! 😀

I'm using a Joyo Othros pedal, which appears to do the same as the LS-2, to combine bass guitar and bass synth signals. In the configuration I'm using I have independent control of each signal's output volume.

Done.

I moved to full IEM after lockdown, partly due to a double hernia and partly because the band I joined had a dedicated sound man who was able to give me a personalised full band mix. In the bands I played with before that I found I couldn't get enough vocal mix in physical monitors and I had started using one earpiece via a Behringer P2 fed from the PA mixer (the PA only carried the vocals). I love having a good mix in my ears; it's given me the confidence to sing more. I love not having to cart around amps and speakers, set them up, break them down etc and having more room in the bass corner. But I do miss the feel of the sound behind me. I've just started with a new band and while we rehearse with in ears, the plan is to play with just vocal monitoring and have a real backline. Fortunately I didn't get rid of my amp (in fact, before joining the 'IEM band', I had swapped from kit with its own gravity to light weight TE 1x10" cabs and class D amps). The hernias have been fixed (gaffer tape is so useful) and I'm looking forward to gigging with some volume behind me.

I'm no expert but I have found with active basses (I have a Sterling and an Ibanez EHB1000s) that the signal can be quite hot going into the pedal/pre-amp and this can create an unwanted distorted signal that can sound a bit 'artificial' (difficult to describe but almost like the signal is mixed with a cr*ppy synth sound with no useful tone). I tend to run my active basses with their volume down slightly, I have the mid tone turned down a bit on the active controls, and may adjust the bass tone up for individual songs My amp has an optional 'Active' input but for most gigs I'm going DI through several pedals. I love my Sterling; It would be a shame if doesn't work for you.

Last night's rehearsal with a relatively new outfit (we've been together for about 8 weeks with 4 practices) was pretty good. After a two week hiatus, we arrived with 8 new songs to work through; 6 went reasonably well with just some light sanding and polish required (starts and endings, as you'd expect) and two will require some extra work to bring them up to speed. Two of the 6 good 'uns featured yours truly on lead vocals. I'm not a singer by nature or by choice but as all the others sing and I've been doing BVs for years, I thought I should make the effort. Listening to the recordings this morning and I'm not as bad as I thought. I'll never be head hunted for a solo career, though. 😀

I had a run of four dep gigs as a rhythm guitarist in the band I used to play bass in - and for three of them I used a HB kit Les Paul over a Squire Tele.

Hulla rehearsal on Sunday. They're always a bit hit or miss at this stage (still working up to gigging season with nothing specific until April). But the BL messaged us all to say he had a 'great idea' and that we should listen to 'Ecstacy of Gold'. I didn't know that it's the title of a track from 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly', by Ennio Morricone. It's also been used in an advert recently. I'm always sceptical at unexplained 'great ideas' but this one turned out to have some potential as long as we work it through properly. Basically, at the festival we do every year the BL wants that band to come on stage section by section (we're 13 in all) in bringing in the instruments to build up the arrangement to a crescendo (which will be the drummer and me). Sounds corny and it probably is, but knowing the crowd and the ability of the BL to work them, I think it will be ok. As long as we can get the ukuleles to play the right chords. 😀 We've also started on 'House of the Rising Sun' one of the few songs I really loathe (and I don't really know why). But the version we're doing (following the Mumford & Sons 'Live at New Orleans' Youtube track) is rather good. And after two sessions, we seem to be getting the arrangement right. We have a talented multi instrumentalist in the line-up (she's my bass apprentice, sings, plays uke and guitar and she's only 17) and on this song she's playing trombone - rather well. And to cap it all off, there was birthday cake on Sunday courtesy of the BL.

I was talking about the nuances between basses, which is relevant to the original topic. I've been told my bass is too loud, and too quiet (not in the same gig, thank goodness) but never 'that's a great <insert bass model> bass tone' by anyone other than a few fellow musicians, and even then it tends to lead to a discussion about amps and pedals rather than the bass guitar itself.