Franticsmurf

Hi David.

What is your favourite bus pass? 'P' style, 'J' style or some more modern classic? 🤣

Hi Alina.

Dep gig with a band called 'Gettin Even' last night. I was in Gettin Even when it was a duo way back in the mists of time (about 25 years ago). I depped with them a few weeks ago when it was a trio with singer, singer/guitarist and backing tracks. Last night there was me depping on bass, the drummer from my other band depping on drums and the singer/guitarist. It was ok - the audience were of advanced age but loved the more modern, rocky stuff. Dancing was reserved for the rock 'n' roll and bluesy songs. At half time the Ent Sec came in and told us we could turn up! In more than 30 years of playing that's the first time I've been told that. I used my short scale Gretsch Electromatic through a Zoom B1-4 (just giving me a basic compressor sound, a chorus patch and a slightly phased driven patch) into my Peavey MiniMax and out through a Warwick 10" cab and my TE 10" cab. First live outing for the Gretsch - sound was a bit woolly but nice to play. IEM for vocals and to help manage the onstage sound.

This used to be a rule in a lot of the social clubs I used to play in the 90s. No dancing in the first half, strictly enforced. I agree its weird. All the acts adjusted their sets to play the less 'dancey' stuff first.

This is why I love recording. Playing live is great (and will always remain my no.1 passion) but I love trying new things out in the studio.

Played a private party on the South Gower Coast last night. This was the view as we set up: By the time we went on, it was dark and very cold, with a wind coming in off the sea. It took a couple of songs for me to even be able to feel my fingers. Slow start with a small but ultimately appreciative audience, including some sheep in the field behind the marquee. The PA took care of the heavy lifting, so the Trace and BAM200 were for monitoring only and I DI'd the Ray34HH via my Laney Digbeth pre-amp.

They earn their farthing. The truck is tricky to park, though. 😃

If it was the only song in an encore, then a new one would be inappropriate (IMO) but as part of several songs I think it is acceptable. I've played in a band working in the social clubs around South Wales for years and I've never really thought of the encore as anything more than a slightly extended gap between the last two songs. Not arrogance on my part, but the tradition of the social club - the compare comes up on stage, thanks the band and asks the audience if they want one more song. The conditioned response is 'yes', and we launch into a familiar up tempo tune. The 'new song' option doesn't apply, but we would never think of playing an obscure song as our last number. As has been said above we are thanking our audience for their appreciation. A rendition of 'Close to the Edge' would be a punishment for most present. 🤣

Yes, the Warwick cab on its own isn't enough without FOH support. I find the combination of TE and Warwick cabs just right for the sound I'm after. I have an outdoor gig tonight with FOH support and I'm using this set up: The drummer and I are getting a nice monitor volume from this and there's enough play in the volume knob (here it's at 10 o'clock) to account for being outside.

Come on in! 😃

Thanks for trying. I tried an active and passive bass (the active is my Ray34HH which isn't particularly hot) through the passive input, compressor initially set at unity. Once I realised I wasn't getting any obvious differences, I started trying combinations as set out above. The situation has changed slightly as following a re-evaluation (in other words, yet another change around), the Digbeth now resides on my minimalist board for use with the festival band (FOH sound only, with IEMs) and only shares it with a tuner. The main board with compression etc has a Behringer BDI21 at the end of the line. I don't have the same issues with the compressor in this combination.

Queen's 'Flash'. I was in a room full of mates who all played something, and I'd never played any kind of instrument before. Being good mates, they hung a bass around my neck, placed my finger on the correct fret and told me to pluck the string with my right finger - over and over again. For a few seconds I was a rock star, until the chord changed. Then I wasn't. But it got me hooked and years later, after dabbling with guitar in an originals band for a while, I hung a bass around my neck and stood up to play 'In the Midnight Hour' in my first covers band.

I have the EHX Neo Mistress and I've been trying for a few months to get a decent sound with my set up (Sterling Ray 34HH with compressor) but I find it heavy handed and I haven't been able to come up with the more subtle sound I'm looking for (as an occasional effect rather the often used sound). I also have the EHX Bass Clone and I found the sound I wanted from that very quickly. I assume that as the Neo Mistress isn't specifically a bass flanger, it struggles with the bass frequencies. I'm currently playing with a Zoom MS60B, using it to find the kinds of sounds I'm after with the intention of finding the dedicated pedals to reproduce them. However, the MS60B is proving to be ideal for what I'm after and I think, for the amount of use these spot effects will be getting, the Zoom will be my solution.

I built my own boards from a strip of plastic fascia board. Solid but light weight and you can trim it to the size you need (I have three single strips of various lengths). I covered them in black tape so they don't stand out on stage.

If you're not switching them on and off mid song, you could put the board (or a customised version of it) on the amp/cab or even in a purpose made stand - they remain accessible but clear of the performance area. As easy access by foot is no longer required, you can source or make a board to fit the footprint of the amp/cab/stand or if you rack them, to fit on a rack tray. I made a small stand from an old music stand to house my in-ear monitor kit. I started by using the full music stand with the lectern bit flat but it was bigger than I needed, so I used an old off-cut of MDF, covered it in black tape and bolted the lectern swivel attachment to it. It's just the right height so I can make adjustments, but the overall footprint is small and it can sit out of the way on stage (usually behind the PA speaker).

Perhaps the question should be 'When should we stop going to see them', as I suspect there will be many opinions. I remember seeing Brian Wilson too, at Glastonbury I think, and I agree, it was sad to watch. I remember seeing Hawkwind in Cardiff in the mid 90s. I'd been a huge fan and seen some amazing shows they'd put on, but that night the three support acts were better. It was the last time I saw them as they had become a parody of themselves. I saw Genesis in the late 80s with Phil Collins playing the audience like an instrument. I wouldn't have wanted to see their last tour. As for 'who should tell them', perhaps that's the last difficult message that a manager should deliver. Although in some cases it probably would be their last message if the artist decided to continue anyway.

Hi Jaz.

Hi Kickass, welcome. I dare not show my drummer your kickass basses, or he'll want one and I'll be relegated to tambourine. 😃

First band I was in played a biker rally - it was probably our 4th or 5th gig ever, acquired through a friend. We were naive and had a set of largely originals that with hindsight were not suitable for that kind of gig. We played, they yelled for heavier/faster/rockier songs that they knew. We put all the rock stuff we knew in but we were stopped after about an hour (it seemed like 20 hours 😃). We were expecting to be shown the door and, indeed, we were taken to one side. But they said thanks but it wasn't what they wanted. They got we were new and paid us in full. A decent bunch of guys and gals. 30 odd years later and I've played 'nice' venues with 'nice' audiences and had to put up with far worse behaviour and attitude than that rally.

They were calling it an EP on the radio.

I remember this being played on 6 Music when the EP was due to be released. Absolutely beautiful - stood out from the rest of the playlists.

Welcome on board.

I've been in a similar situation (20 minute slot in a multi band line up). We devoted a rehearsal to timings with a short list of potential songs and ended up with 4 (we were vaguely proggy so they weren't your 3 minute pop songs). It gave us about 2 minutes over run/audience interaction. While we didn't plan word for word, we knew when and roughly what was going to be said. It might seem like overkill but for me it was about making the right impression (not looking rushed, for example) and being smooth and professional about it. The result was good, we had time to cope with a minor issue with the FOH sound and the crowd liked us. In fact, the organisers gave us time for another song and fortunately we had a couple spare from the rehearsal.

Cheers. TBH it's not a problem as I wasn't planning on using the compressor with the FOH setup, as the final signal is compressed at the mixer. It was just convenient to plug the pedal into the chain to try it out. Had I made an effort and used the non-FOH board, I wouldn't have discovered the issue. I'm really happy with the Digbeth as it stands. I hadn't noticed the difference between active and passive inputs either. Although I have both breeds of bass, the signal always goes into the passive input. FWIW I was using a Laney RB7 combo and I found the tilt option (called 'Enhance') really useful for tuning to a venue. Good response from Laney.