Blue_floyd20

I've got one. Great little cab. Often play small venues pubs and it's all I take with me. It is sealed and that speaker really does push some air and make a hell of a noise for such a small unit. The only downside is that it's so light that on a smooth/slippery floor it can 'walk'.

Yeah, talented guy. Individually I love Black Midi's stuff but it can be tough going after a few tracks, in some part due to his vocals. I was excited to watch their Glastonbury set a couple of years back but it became a tough listen as the grooves are in such short spells.

Cool, this has come up in our latest round of suggestions for new songs. We've been playing 'All these things I've done' after I saw a group going mental for the chorus but it's never really taken off, so going to swap in 'Somebody told me'.

Land of a thousand dances is one we play too, but a punkier version closer to The Rezillos cover - rocks along at quite a pace. Ah some good tracks there might steal those as suggestions - We play Pump it up by Elvis Costello, one of those that's fun to start with but the endless repeats in the outro outgrow their welcome.

Not sure if this thread already exists but here goes. If you're in a covers band, what do you enjoy playing from a purely selfish bass-centric POV? I'm not a particularly high-level player, due to a finger injury I play with a pick which can hamper some stuff but there are some songs I really look forward to if they are in the set: Neat Neat Neat - Literally the easiest thing to play but I get lost in this and it gives me the opportunity to crank everything up with some heavy distortion. Proper sweep your legs loud. Don't stop me now - I play this a bit heavier and busier than John Deacon, It's a 3 piece and it fills some sections out I Predict a Riot - Again, I've busied this up a little it's a fun one to play that crosses a couple of keys, I would never listen to the original but enjoy playing it, not sure if that's odd! Down in the Tubestation at Midnight - some fun little licks in this and some backing vox to keep me interested Timebomb (Rancid) - Cool Ska riff with some backing vox, good fun

Not ready to retire just yet

Wonderwall/Sex On Fire, or more generically, anything by Foo Fighters cover 95% of the requests. I've been threatened by a group of stabby little chavs for refusing to play Wonderwall, hung around while we packed up telling me they were going to kill me, the pub has since shut down thankfully. It's always a marvel to me that people think you know every song ever written though. We do have a reserve song for this occasion where we announce we are going to play a special song just requested by [drunk person], then proceed to play 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley. Live audience Rick Rolling, sometimes, but often not, well received. It's also hilarious that they think you can hear or can comprehend a word they are saying mid-song or haven't got anything else to concentrate on. Then they come back having typed the request into their phone, haven't got my glasses on, it's why the set list is in 26pt type! Like the rope light idea.

I'm probably late to the party on this. I'm in two bands Band 1, 3 piece; we have an arrangement where the PA (a decent Yamaha setup prob over £1000) was owned and paid for by our front man/Guitarist, and for each gig over a certain value myself and the drummer contribute £10 to the upkeep. It's a good arrangement, it means he isn't solely responsible for the costs of repairs or servicing. We all benefit from owning rather than hiring and if needed can run drums and bass through it without any issues. It also means any other bits and pieces such as DI boxes, lighting, cables, signs etc are bought from this buffer fund if there is a decent amount saved up. We all set up and break down the PA system at gigs. Band 2, 4 piece; Cheapo setup with a xenyx mixer and G4M 10" active speakers (Prob £300) only used for vocals. Front man owns and is responsible for all PA equipment. No animosity there, he is happy with that and he will set up and break down the PA. I'm pretty lucky - the no d--kh34d policy in both bands means none of this has ever been an issue and no one would propose something that was unreasonable.

Thanks for all suggestions so far. There is of course a safety element but I have to admit that I'm getting sick of people trying to request songs while we're mid-song, if it stops just one of them it'll be worth it. Nothing will stop the coked-up steroid-taking blokes though except the cattle prod. I'm considering sticking warning tape to the PA speaker covers, fill them with drum bags and stick in gaps as appropriate.

A lot of the places I play are not on a raised stage so you're set up at one end of a dancefloor. Come the end of the night and the crowd's inhibitions have been lubricated away, they tend to get too close. I've been hit many times with my microphone, people walking into the band space to request a song (while you're playing!), drinks spilt near pedals and monitors etc. etc. etc. It can be irritating and unsafe. It's difficult in one of my bands as we are a 3-piece so tends to be more space for people to walk into. Is there a passive way anyone has discovered of keeping people out of the band's space without being OTT and unapproachable?

I should mention - this is actually an issue. The tolex cover and handle are not very good for keeping the head in-place. I have some black foam that I put under mine to stop the head from moving purely through the vibration of the cab, there have got to be more elegant solutions but mine works! Otherwise, I always wrap the cable (Pedals > Amp) around the back so anything out the front is floor level and less likely to end up dragging the amp to the floor.

Not a great picture of it but I don't think they have. The internals of the head section is just HDF/MDF if memory serves me correctly with an alminium type barrier tape over it in the top and the cover material (Tolex in this case) wrapped over. It would be a real pain to do it any other way as you have fixings and the speaker cable getting in the way.

I've done exactly as the OP has mentioned with a combo. It's an easy job to recover the top once the amp section is removed with a bit of black carpet from an autoshop, and you can buy pre-made cases to take the amp head. The big benefit is you can keep your amp indoors and warm and stick your cab in the garage without worrying too much, plus it's all easier to carry.

I've played through Ashdown gear for 20 years as it always seemed to have a level for my budget at the time, starting out with the EB180 combo (which I still have). I would say that there are limitations in some of the single speaker cabs when used alone, so my preferred setup is a 12" and a 15" cabinet even for smaller venues, the current ones are the whiteline Rootmaster cabs. I have a 300w Original head and never found it lacking in power. All in would be less than £1000. The best thing about it is the portable nature of all of the kit, the cabs are less than 15kg and the amp is tiny, so finding your way from - to the car park and past the drunken hoards is no issue. I've had the larger MAG cabs and they are heavy as hell, not something that is an issue if you can park and load in at the stage, but that's not the reality for the majority of small venues. Your back will thank you for lighter gear. Playing for 3 hrs and then packing up with a 30-40kg cab is no fun after midnight! As for the Original head, I play a broad range of stuff from punk, through indie, pop and dance music and not found it lacking at all. The EQ is simple and can be dialled accordingly. I've played back rooms in pubs with the 12" cab only, through to large outdoor marquees with both cabs with no PA assistance on the bass and not had any issues with the sound. Anything bigger gig wise and you'd likely need to be plugged into the PA anyway.

Yamaha BB235, Ernie ball reg. Slinky. EH bass battalion. Ashdown original head, rms112 and 115 cabs. All nice and light. The overall sound is good. I'm more looking to change the dynamic to accent certain phrases to make it sound more than the sum of its parts, but be able to switch that on and off, i.e. not Eq at the amp. I also want it to be noticeable without being disruptive.