scalpy

Geddy Lee. I've heard Rush, once.

Markbass LMT500 and two aggie db112s. For everything from polite am dram pit work to full on noisy 8 piece band. DI on the head is well recieved by most engineers and it's great having a level control. If I do encounter the odd rogue sound engineer who insists on no stage volume, won't provide adequate monitoring and the violin is louder than I'm playing, I just turn down on the DI and up on the volume and they never, ever, notice!

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1472469473' post='3121290'] Most of my basses have been covered in beer and kebab grease at some point.....i see it as a form of bass initiation [/quote] The funk is in the gunk!

If you want to get into functions, like many have said above, this stuff happens, but you're there to be a problem solver for the clients not a problem. The less hassle you can give them and the venue the better your reputation will be. We got asked to take off our shoes loading into a venue the other day, (the venue is part of a working arable farm and a bit dusty) the owner was delighted she didn't have to mop the floor after our sound check. More specifically to your circumstances, make sure someone babysits the mix and make sure you agree exactly how long she'll sing for. We had a venue ask us exactly the same thing, and the girl sang turgid teenage misery ballads for over the allotted time with absolutely no stagecraft/ audience whatsoever. It almost killed the entire gig!

A warm up helps for me, or at the very least 5 minutes of calm before stage time. Much easier said than done at most gigs but if you plan for it it does become more frequent.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1472123433' post='3118682'] also, if the drum isn't well tuned, it won't be very responsive, and you might be tempted to hit them harder to get a sound out of it [/quote] So true. We eq for the room, drummers need to tune for the band. For me personally, cymbals are often the biggest volume problem too, washy ride cymbals and over hit crashes drilling through everyone's hearing.

Music stands

One of the things that made me think I had a chance with my now wife is she had a Gibson plectrum case on her keyring when I met her! She still has Marshall acoustic amp and ovation guitar from before we met too. We moved to a new house in May and she bought me a rack for all my instruments, and understands I want to keep them in the cases as well. We now play in a function band together, she sings, and she can set up lights and plug monitors in etc no problem. So she likes my guitars a lot, especially my L'arrive parlour acoustic, which suits her really well as she's 5 foot 1.

[quote name='Thunderpaws' timestamp='1471009551' post='3109979'] I found this. Dunno if you judge it as a poor video or not! https://youtu.be/pnlUKhEH0EU [/quote] Watched. Can't do that myself, and therefore learned nothing about how the amp would work for me. Most baffling bit is when he steps on a pedal and it just gets a bit louder, with a just discernible amount of drive. Doesn't demonstrate much. Engl should be able to do better!

Very emotive tune for me, not least being slightly prepubescent when the video came out! But always loved the tune, especially the big tremolo chords and the outro riff, first time I'd really heard stuff slightly outside of bog standard 80s pop harmonies.

Great moment, get busy living!

Wannabe here!

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1470936905' post='3109499'] Does Spotify run one song into another? We have used traktor dj before and just set it on auto. The mixing is pants that way though so on occasion I've recorded a mix myself and played it back on the night. I'm too busy talking crap with the band to get up and dj live these days lol. [/quote] Exactly!

Been looking at the Demeter 400, but not sure if this will sound similar. It's got drive for starters!

Hi, I need to use my iPad to run 'fake' dj playlists at weddings and functions with my band. Ideally I'd like to create a one size fits all playlist and just be able to run one track into the next easily. (I know I should be reading the room and playing suitable music etc...!) A quick Google search reveals a bewildering array of apps do I thought I'd ask here. Many thanks for your time. Harry

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1470898942' post='3109174'] I see. And as you've discovered, with electric hollow-bodied basses, the hollow body doesn't impart any significant character on the sound of the bass. If you got a model with a piezo bridge you might get a more acoustic sound out of it, but it will most likely suffer from the same noise problems that you are already encountering. If you are looking for something that will cover electric and acoustic/DB then I'd look for a Lightwave bass. [/quote] Great, not heard of them, thank you.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1470824790' post='3108716'] Why do you need a semi-hollow for pit work? Surely that's one of the very rare instances where the bass you use (so long as it doesn't impede your playing style or sound completely rubbish) is completely irrelevant? [/quote] To a point, but some parts are written for double bass and the MD might request an acoustic. I've got an acoustic for this purpose but it's a bit cumbersome and noisy. Plus the guys on stage might be amateurs but the pit guys are all pros who tend to have trained at the Royal academy or Birmingham conservatoire. Band call for west side story was one 3 hour rehearsal, job done, no issues. They've got an ear for detail!

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1470823270' post='3108685'] Heh, fair enough. ASAT semi hollow? [/quote] Get thee away!

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1470747027' post='3108098'] You didn't go close enough to your amp to do any cool feedback-y things then [/quote] Um, need a hollow body for am-dram pit work. Not sure cool feedback stuff is going to work in South Pacific....!

Epiphone Jack Cassidy. Totally convinced it would be perfect hollow body territory, but for me it didn't do anything my regular bass can't. Looked cool in blue though.

For gigs that aren't about dominating your audience with volume, I use two HK nanos, hooked up. Astonishingly good for acoustic gigs, done small theatres and they work a treat.

MXR octave tracks down to about Ab for me. Great for dynamics too, doing pit work I can play quietly with it on as a fake five string and not worry about it glitching in and out (although doing that is cool in other applications) I do use it to be more creative as well for synth style lines, coupled with a manta it sounds huge. Our guitarist has several of the cali 76 pedals. They are stunning on bass. Really musical and classy sounding kit.

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1470313128' post='3105003'] Van der Graaf Generator! The line-up has occasionally included a bass player, but the longest-serving versions just have Hugh Banton dancing on his organ's pedals. [/quote] Van Dee Graaf Generator booked the Coach House studio at Rockfield, and keen to impress Kingsley and Otto duly built a special bass isolation booth for them, being completely unaware of the lack of bassist!

Ready for tonight's gig. Wife isn't. First dance in an hour and we haven't left yet.....

Not too tricky for me, Joe Browns sales cover most stuff, but my wife is also in the function band. 5 foot 1 and it would appear impossible to find an outfit with a cut she's happy with.