"12 Essential Live Bass Playing Tips"

[Skol303]

... recently article on the Music Radar website:

[url="http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/bass/12-essential-live-bass-playing-tips-496211"]http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/bass/12-...ing-tips-496211[/url]

Thought I'd post it here in case anyone is interested or just fancies a good ol' moan about it!

[spinynorman]

[quote]Number 2 is a great idea, because dragging your amp head off the top of an 8x10" is so much more desirable than getting unplugged. Don't ask me how I know. :|[/quote]

[mep]

Good stuff. I must get a torch for my gig bag as this keeps getting mentioned in these sort of lists.

[acidbass]

Hmm - the one about having the cabinet squarely on the floor at all times, I'm not sure about. There are definite advantages of tilting back a cabinet, as well as raising it off the ground closer to ear level.

[Dom in Dorset]

most of it was (IMO) on a par with "Remember to breath while you're on stage"
The bit about taking keys to adjust intonation seems a little odd- as if you'd do that on stage?

[Ian Savage]

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='1374506' date='Sep 15 2011, 02:59 PM']most of it was (IMO) on a par with "Remember to breath while you're on stage"
The bit about taking keys to adjust intonation seems a little odd- as if you'd do that on stage?[/quote]

I thought that, the point I thought was going to be that action-adjuctment grub screws can sometimes shake themselves loose (particularly if they're set low), but then he started talking about adjusting intonation...no!?

[quote]Cheap cables introduce noise, [b]reduce the lower frequency response [/b]and are prone to breaking down.[/quote]

No they don't, it's the treble end which is likely to be affected as the capacitance between signal and screen becomes significant in cheaper cables.

[quote]Number 2 is a great idea, because dragging your amp head off the top of an 8x10" is so much more desirable than getting unplugged. Don't ask me how I know. :|[/quote]

Agreed, absolutely!

[quote]Many a sound engineer has suffered near heart failure when an open circuit is plugged into.[/quote]

Not sure what meaning he's trying to convey with 'open circuit', it's certainly not the general engineering meaning of the term...

And yeah, the tilting-back/lifting-up thing...can be useful in some circumstances, for sure. Not totally convinced, Mr Newell...C-, could do better.

[thepurpleblob]

In fact the cable capacitance only has an affect on *passive* basses. The affect is negligible on actives. AND, even then the effect is more to do with the cable length than the cable "quality".

Edited September 15, 2011 by thepurpleblob

[Dr.Dave]

Not a fan of 2 either - my lead goes through the cab side handle then on to the head.

Saddle screws won't vibrate loose if you put nail varnish on them when you set them.

Re the torch - good idea , but I also have those cheap baby night lights in any spare sockets including the ones in the back of my rack. I use a soft skinned rack bag so my bass can lay safe on top.

Your drink should go in a mic stand drinks holder which has a turn screw you can hang a towel off - I had a mic stand mounted ashtray too before some worthy decided I have no right to kill people.



My number one tip of all time for playing live would be - when you drop a bollock don't react , because 99% of the peasants in front of you haven't got a clue.

[Dood]

11. "mostly bad".. errrm, not true!

[51m0n]

#1 Learn your set
#2 Make sure the rest of the band learn the same set as you
#3 Play the same songs as at the same time as each other otherwise you arent playing the set (see #1 & #2)
#4 The lead goes round the cab handles not the amp handle - especially important in this age of lightweight rigs
#5 Do decouple the cab from the stage and or tilt it as necessary so you can hear it - esp with PA support
#6 Carry spares
#7 Carry spares for the guitarist & vocalist (wtf? no really)
#8 Dont bin all the mids in your sound!
#9 Make sure you have line of sight to the drummer and frontperson at all times
#10 Declutter the stage - tangling yopurself up in the 12 meters of spare power cable running around ythe stage from you pedal board to the back of the stage is unsightly, uncool, and not atually as rock'n'roll as you might thionk
#11 Stay sober

Edited September 15, 2011 by 51m0n

[cliffyspliff]

Ah staying sober is a good one.......

[Prime_BASS]

No idea why but I've always got a torch.

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='cliffyspliff' post='1374682' date='Sep 15 2011, 05:29 PM']Ah staying sober is a good one....... [/quote]


...ermmmmmmmmm

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='1374506' date='Sep 15 2011, 02:59 PM']... "Remember to breath while you're on stage" ...[/quote]
So that's where I've been going wrong.

[Ian Savage]

[quote name='51m0n' post='1374671' date='Sep 15 2011, 05:14 PM']#11 Stay sober[/quote]

Oh...

[Coilte]

Some good general common sense tips there. I'm very surprised that there is no...."make sure to wear ear plugs, the best you can afford," mentioned in the article.

[Coilte]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='1374777' date='Sep 15 2011, 07:19 PM']So that's where I've been going wrong. [/quote]


Believe it or not, but some people almost do forget to breath (well...to breath deeply), resulting in them feeling very tense.

[clauster]

[quote name='51m0n' post='1374671' date='Sep 15 2011, 05:14 PM']#2 Make sure the rest of the band learn the same set as you[/quote]

And in the same key

[Moody]

How about:

Tune up silently, preferably off stage?
Make sure you and your Guitar friend are tuned the same?

[Protium]

At least they picked the right amp in their "10 best live bass amplifiers under £1000"

[BigRedX]

IMO there are only these:

1a. Don't screw up
1b. If you do screw up don't draw any more attention to it
2a. Have fun
2b. If you're not having fun look like you are.

All you need.

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1375245' date='Sep 16 2011, 10:18 AM']IMO there are only these:

1a. Don't screw up
1b. If you do screw up don't draw any more attention to it
2a. Have fun
2b. If you're not having fun look like you are.

All you need.[/quote]


Very, very wise words. I've now played in three bands where the actual musical standards wouldn't win us any prizes but in all three we put on a good show, had fun and got loads of positive feedback and re-bookings.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='51m0n' post='1374671' date='Sep 15 2011, 05:14 PM']#1 Learn your set
#2 Make sure the rest of the band learn the same set as you
#3 Play the same songs as at the same time as each other otherwise you arent playing the set (see #1 & #2)
#4 The lead goes round the cab handles not the amp handle - especially important in this age of lightweight rigs
#5 Do decouple the cab from the stage and or tilt it as necessary so you can hear it - esp with PA support
#6 Carry spares
#7 Carry spares for the guitarist & vocalist (wtf? no really)
#8 Dont bin all the mids in your sound!
#9 Make sure you have line of sight to the drummer and frontperson at all times
#10 Declutter the stage - tangling yopurself up in the 12 meters of spare power cable running around ythe stage from you pedal board to the back of the stage is unsightly, uncool, and not atually as rock'n'roll as you might thionk
#11 Stay sober[/quote]
+1 for #5 ... often as not these days I'm just using my lovely rig for stage monitoring purposes.

-1 for #11 ... I like to grease the wheels slightly before I go up... not pissed just 2 beer sparkly - It aids the release of my nutcase stage persona more.
Strangely enough when I come off stage I'm straight back to my usual quiet self. Maybe it's all in my head. Still, it's what I do.

[Dropzone]

Mine would be

1. Play the songs as you have reahearsed them.
2. Play them in the order they are in on the set list
3. Have a spare drum key
4. Watch out for the drunk person slopping their drink everywhere!

[Coilte]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1375290' date='Sep 16 2011, 11:02 AM']+1 for #5[/quote]


I dont think #5 should be written in stone. It depends on the lay out of the venue. Also, if the stage is hollow underneath, as apart from being the actual floor itself, the bass sound can be very boomey if the cab is not raised. IMO, it is a case of tuning your equipment to suit the acoustics of the venue.