Franticsmurf

I would imagine the difference would become more apparent at gig volumes. Probably more noticeable in the overall sound as well, as there should be space around the bass drum and, if my understanding is correct, more headroom in the PA amp which is no longer trying to cope with inaudible bass frequencies.

There's another HPF thread here. (I've partly quoted my response from there). I've recently added the Sine H24 to my board, at the end of the line. I can't compare it with any other HPF. We have a regular sound guy and he was showing me the EQ he uses for my bass in the FOH sound. It had a cut at 35hz and since I like the sound he gets, I thought I'd invest. I tried the Sine at rehearsals, going in to a TCE BAM200 and a 1x15" bass cab. The Sine was set to cut 30hz (the lowest setting). I could definitely hear a difference with it engaged. Very subtle but it tightened the sound up. We record all our rehearsals (just in case we want to release a 'Lost Tapes' retrospective 😂). The recording had a more defined bass guitar sound (all other factors - mic position, recording levels etc - being equal). The master volume on the amp was slightly lower than usual. A non-scientific review, I know, but enough for me to be placing this as a permanent 'always on' pedal on the board.

Enjoy the break to recharge, refresh and enjoy the bass.

I'm good enough to be in the bands I'm in, and almost always the best bassist on stage when they play. 😃

In the sense that I only listen to music that is to my taste, then yes I guess I am limited. But I have found that as my tastes have widened, I have embraced the style well enough to play. Just after lockdown I joined the Hulla band and their repertoire is enormously varied as it largely down to the whim of the band leader and the line up of the band. We have ukes, banjo, bongos and brass as well as drums, bass and two guitars. So we play country, folk, rock, funk, pop and (for want of a better term) easy listening. I've had to listen to and play songs I wouldn't normally take notice of, and that has broadened my playing style and in some cases my musical tastes. So in another sense the limit is what I put my mind to and not personal taste. I am not interested in playing jazz, which is probably a good thing as I don't have the technique or discipline to do so, nor metal. No reflection on the genres other than I don't listen to them.

Having tried resting my thumb on the strings and not really got on with it, I found that my technique works better for me, (I play with a pick, my finger tips in a kind of plucking action and the traditional finger style depending on the song). 😃 I rest my thumb on pick ups and occasionally the neck where it joins the body. I wouldn't advocate my technique over any other way, but be aware that there are several methods and choose the one that works for you and the music you're performing.

I struggled with that (and still do now and again). There were so many bits of advice - in the end I just found ways of doing it that suited the way I was playing the rest of the song. So sometimes I will use my left hand fingers that aren't fretting, sometimes the palm of my hand either on all four strings or just dabbing down momentarily, sometimes a finger or thumb from the right hand. It's not an elegant technique but it works for me.

As above. If I was starting out now, I'd need to have some motivation. That'll be different for everyone. In my case, it would be to be able to play a few songs with other musicians but it could equally be to be able to record a bass cover video of your favourite song or just to be able to play along to your favourite album. Set little goals so you know when you've achieved something. Scales, theory, reading - all important and will bring you immense benefits, but don't let then get in the way of enjoying the playing. If learning the bass becomes a chore in the early stages, it might be enough to put you off. I started off playing guitar and after I'd got some of the basics, the biggest improvement came through playing with other musicians. It allowed me to listen, question, learn, make mistakes, correct them, build confidence and contribute to a great vibe - which itself became a reason to learn and play more. There is a wealth of resource on this site. Not just the Theory and Technique section but many of the discussion threads as well - I've picked up loads of little hints and tricks by reading posts that aren't necessarily about technique. Above all - have fun. At last night's rehearsal we had to take a 5 minute break as everyone was laughing. I can't even remember what it was about. 😃

The rehearsal with the Hulla band was a bit different last night as I was... er... ahem... ummm... playing guitar. In my defence, I'll be away for a big gig at the end of November and we have a band member stepping in (up) to play the bass. She's never played it before and has been learning the songs and playing the occasional song at rehearsal. So last night was a good test for her and she passed. But rather than stand around looking like a punter, I brought my semi acoustic guitar and played along with the tunes just to see if I could still do it. I could! And yes, I enjoyed. There. I've said it. 😃 (Edit: to add photos)

Or make that your sound in the band. So in years to come, the posts on here will go along the lines of "...first one fretless, lots of nods to Andy Travis..." 😃

Nice fretless and I could definitely hear the Guy Pratt/Floyd influences. Great stuff!

The longest serving bass in the ranks of my small collection, this Spirit XQ2 headless has been with me for more than 20 years since I first spotted it going for next to nothing on Ebay. It's battered and bruised from my attempts to fit a Roland GK3B pick-up, I hadn't changed the strings for about 3 years until a couple of months ago when I picked up a bass string adapter and put four newish single ball end strings on it. It's gigged, recorded, acted as a spare and been the talking point for many a drunken punter ("Hey mate, your head's fallen off!" "Yeah, I know, all your mates have already told me"). When I got my Sterling 34HH and later, my Precision, it sat patiently in the corner knowing I would return. And when I depped with a mate's band last year, it performed admirably as I knew it would. It's currently resting as I renew another old friendship with a Hohner Jack. Edit: It has a great drop D bridge tuner for those 'Brick in the Wall'/'Dead or Alive' moments. It's light and feels great to wear and play. The sound is growly straight into the amp but it's a passive beast. It's probably not worth much to anyone but me and it will be the last bass to leave the collective should I need to sell up.

Keep going. If you think of it as a competition with other originals bands, the ones that will succeed are the ones that will go on longest. As Dave has said, try self promotion. Get in touch with other bands to organise (and share the costs of) a double header. Blag gigs, gatecrash open mic nights, offer student unions a discount. As an originals band it's like a start up business - investment for log term return, loss leaders, promotional freebies, charity nights for exposure. While it doesn't do to be taken advantage of, if you're in control and plan your strategy to achieve the goal of getting known, anything legal goes. Good luck. 😃

If I'm using backline I'll start off with the settings for the last gig and adjust accordingly. I'm starting from something that worked last time and while, as has been noted, all rooms are different (and sometimes change during the evening), I have find it easier to work towards the sound from a known starting point. If I'm going into the FOH (as I do with one band), my settings on the board pre-amp are pretty much fixed. I adjust the bass using the shaping knob on the Digbeth and work with our regular FOH man to get the right sound.

I have an EHB1000s and there's no neck dive, as you correctly suspected. I used to play an Epiphone EB0 and that had bad neck dive. I got used to it when playing but between songs it would slip if I wasn't hanging on and that was annoying enough to eventually let it go.

I'll often have background music on if I'm working on the computer or around the house. If I'm learning a song I'll have a recording of it to listen to and play along to. But I can't remember the last time I actually sat down to listen to a track or album. The closest I come to that is when I'm out on the hills (I'm training for a trek in the Himalaya) and I'll listen to compilations on the MP3 player. I'm not sure if this is a result of being a musician. I'm currently learning or brushing up on two sets so that might have something to do with it.

I was a student living just down the road in Woodgreen. Watched most of it on a tiny black and white TV in my bedsit. I don't remember The Led Zep set and knowing my attitude to current pop, I would probably only have taken notice of the likes of Bowie and Status Quo. I did like Queen, so they would have been on the radar too.

I've felt like that, albeit only for a few days at a time. It definitely helps to have a purpose - band, recording, teaching. The last couple of years have been the first where I've been in more than one band and apart from increasing the opportunities to rehearse and gig, it means a wider range of musical styles and techniques. I find the challenge motivating.

Yes, twice. Both times were for different reasons. The first time was when the long term band I was in got stuck in a rut and I was standing on stage in a club playing the same set list as I had several years before in the same club. I saw the gig out but shortly after I sold almost all of my bass gear as I couldn't see myself playing live again (I kept my headless Spirit XQ2). I was tempted back after a couple of years to the same band (the setlist had changed a bit) but the break had cleared my head of the negative stuff. Of course I had to 'tool up' - I had a bass (as I'd kept up playing because I was recording my own songs for fun) but I needed an amp, cabs etc. The second time was to look after an ailing parent. Although it was an enforced break, I think it was also a necessary one as I'd become complacent with my playing. The B/L didn't like rehearsing and I found myself just going through the motions on stage (literally in some duo gigs I played as a geetard as if I didn't know the song I'd turn the geetar down and mime to the backing tracks - which I'd played on). Once again most of my kit went although I held on to a bass amp as well as my Spirit headless. This was a three year break and when I was lured back into the gigging world again it was to something much better. I joined an Eagles 'tribute' band (more 'songs of The Eagles' than look-alikes) which meant I had to learn specific parts and I really enjoyed the challenge. That was in 2018 and although that band has long gone, I haven't looked back. I think being in a band (The Hulla) that is constantly working on new songs, gigging them, and which has a song list large enough to cycle through several times in a gigging 'season' helps as it keeps things fresh. I'm also in a second band which is getting to the point of gigging and the challenge of that is fun too. My advice from my personal experience is take a complete break if you feel it would do you some good but think carefully about selling all your kit, just in case. Whatever you decide to do - good luck. 😃

Good point. My first band (we were in black and white, it was that long ago) weren't particularly good and played mostly originals. But we got loads of gigs because we were available, we told everyone we could do short notice gigs to fill in for cancellations and most importantly, we turned up.

Many years ago I was in a great trio - we were tight, the set list was good and we were playing two or maybe three times a week. Some of the work was through an agent but perhaps half was in local pubs and clubs with no middle man. We had residencies in two places (gigs every 4-6 weeks booked in advance for the year). Then it all started to dwindle. We didn't get advanced bookings for our regulars, places we'd played where I know we'd gone down well were no longer in the diary. I wasn't the main booker (that was our singer/guitarist) and when we asked him, he had stories about venues stopping live music or having no money to pay bands. My suspicions, and those of the drummer, were aroused when after a charity gig in a local club where we'd been received really well, the singer said they didn't like us and would never book us again, The drummer happened to know the people who organised it and they confirmed my interpretation of the night having been a total success. It turned out that for whatever reason, the singer was upsetting the venue owners with his pre and post gig attitude. I saw this first hand when we were asked to play a high profile venue launch with several local celebrities. The drummer and I turned up looking our usual smart selves (I decided to treat it as a club gig and although there'd been no discussion about dress code, so did the drummer). The singer turned up looking scruffy and proceeded to have a stand up argument with the guy who had organised the gig about his appearance and because we were late. It turned out the organiser had given the singer an earlier arrival time than the one he told us and had asked for a smart casual dress code, which the singer had also failed to mention. Although both the drummer and I witnessed the argument, the singer claimed he knew nothing about it and made up some story about being double booked. We played about 45 minutes and they paid us off as the singer just wasn't trying. One by one he managed to p*** off all our regular venues, and/or the word got about and we were left with out-of-town agent gigs - the kind that no one else would touch. If I hadn't seen the argument, and the drummer hadn't known the charity show organisers we would have been none-the-wiser.

Decent rehearsal with the Hulla band last night. We worked through three completely new numbers (Love Grows, Love Really Hurts and 25 Miles) and shook the dust and cobwebs off a few that hadn't seen the light of day for many a month. The Hulla is a large (13 piece) band with mixed skill levels but when everyone is working together it's a great thing to be a part of. Gig looming on 4 November to raise money for a local homeless charity.

Personally, it's about having the smallest/simplest set up for each application. I play in two bands and occasionally dep in a third. Each band has a different style and while one (The Hulla) is a 13 piece with many different instruments, the other (The Rip) is a trio and the dep band varies in number according to the whim of the BL/singer but usually includes backing tracks and a female singer. For 'The Hulla' I need a simple, 'traditional' sound for an established setlist of mainly 60s and 70's easy listening covers, with a few rockers thrown in and some more modern tunes as requests. I use a simple board with tuner, chorus and pre-amp and go straight into FOH, using in ears to monitor. For 'The Rip', which is currently finalising the set list of 70s and 80s rock with a few from the 90s, I need a bigger sound to fill the space when the geetard goes off on one, so the board includes flange and phase as well as chorus, octave and a couple of drive pedals and is intended to go through a backline amp. I also have a floor mounted midi pedal for triggering a synth. The depping band tends to play a mix of more modern songs and for this I tend to look to the simple board, adding a filter and compressor. The pedals also change according to the songs - for example The Hulla has just introduced a couple where I want to try using a delay and volume pedal for a swell/held bass drone. If it works, the board may expand a little. I often swap individual pedals to experiment with different makes of the same effect. I've always done it this way so for me the 'board for xxx band' is the norm. I have considered a 'one size fits all' set up, but it would be large and complicated and would definitely not meet the smallest/simplest criteria.

First rehearsal for a while for the three piece (The Rip) and once the flakes of rust had fallen off it wasn't too bad. We're about ready to gig now, all that is needed is the edges to be polished and a few rough starts and finishes to be sorted. You always know when the serious rehearsing is over when the conversation switches from the arrangements to which guitars/basses are going to be used. 😃 I've played in trios for years but this is the first time I've been singing as much as I am (still mostly backing) and it's the first time I've taken more of a band leader role (personally I prefer a guided consensus approach but the other two are always looking to me for the lead on decisions).

I found this in another thread on Basschat: The BAM 200 doesn't have an HPF.