barneyg42 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 So I buy myself a new ZoomB1Xon as an after xmas pressie to myself and it was its first run out last night. We had time for a sound check so I wandered out with the singer to have a listen. Totally underwhelmed by the sound I had set up I had a fiddle with the amp setting and to be honest it didn't sound much better! Still, it was a good gig and we got a great response. So at the end I'm packing up and I see my problem. I run a TC BH500 into a TC 2x10 and a Barefaced Compact, usually a monster awesome set up which tonight sounded all midrangy and had to be cranked so much it seemed to be distorted..........I'd not plugged the bloody Compact in!!! Doh.....so the TC is sitting on top in all its midrange glory with no decent bottom end at all and the Compact was just a bloody expensive speaker stand!! And actually the TC on its own sitting on the floor is always a decent sound but sat up high it was pants. Oh well lesson learned, I've only been playing for about 40 years!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 You're not alone. Last summer, we got a seriously well paid rock trio gig. (For us anyway) We would play for 40 mins and get €1,000 between us. PA supplied as per our requirements but no engineer. We got a mate in to mix us and set about setting up the PA as it had been delivered but just dumped on the stage. 6 foldback monitors, 4 FOH cabs. Huge desk and huge power amp. Nothing, not a sound. After 40 minutes of head scratching, panic and trying to get in touch with the sound hire company, a member of the future audience says "shouldn't those two big fat cables be plugged in somewhere?" We had nothing coming out of the power amps. Durrr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 We managed a classic last year. It was the third or fourth gig with Jenny, we opened as a a five piece (four now, we cut a guitarist) for the first set, then Jen came on to front the second. We started her set with 'White Rabbit'. Now this was in my local pub, 200 yards from my house, full of people from my village I drink with nearly every day...and who have had to put up with me going on about how great our new singer is etc etc. So expectations are high, and reputations in the balance (mostly mine). Bass, drums and guitar play the intro, she steps up to the mic and gives it everything....the audience look unimpressed, some of my friends are shouting to turn her up, so one of the band ups her mic level on the PA, not enough, they want more...they can hear her as she reaches the crescendo, but it's not enough. Harp player/PA man returns to stage and casually mentions that he turned the power amps off during the break (never done that before or since) so Jenny was doing her best to make herself heard unamplified over the full band thumping away behind her. No further complaints about her volume once the amps were back on. And her voice is so powerful that we didn't realise she had no amplification as she sounded fine to us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goblin Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Nothing major, just silly mistakes. I played at one of my regular haunts with the trio variant of my main band. Turned up, setup, soundchecked - no issues. The landlord always complains that it's too loud anyway, even if the PA isn't turned on! Whilst we were doing the first set, my right ear seemed a little bit lonely, everything could still be heard, but something just didn't seem right with the mix. It was only when we put some music on in the break that I'd realised I had nothing coming out of the right speaker. Thought it was the ipod lead so swapped it, still not right... it only turns out that when I'd turned the desk around to plug in the singers in ears, I'd disturbed the connection from the right master to the power amp Plugged back in - problem solved, sounded much better for the second set! Then to add insult to injury, between the second and third set, landlord was complaining that I'd blatantly turned the PA up, and I was adamant that I hadn't... forgetting that adding the other speaker can make a difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 My lads current band. First gig ever. Big opening chord from the guitarist - Nothing. Band keeps playing while guitarist fiddles with knobs Nothing. Band keeps playing. Guitarist swaps to different guitar. Nothing!. Band keeps playing. Guitarists fetches third guitar form the car. Plugs in. Nothing. Guitarists final decides to switch the amp out of standby! Hooray. Said Guitarist now known as "Standby" Deeprose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Got to a gig once, unpacked and the singer asked if I had forgotten something. I sure had. The drummer. He was still sat with his bike at our agreed meeting spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Playing EUB at a gig a while ago I decided that I needed to turn up a little part way through a song. I chose an appropriate pause in the song to stoop down to my Fishman pre and slide the volume up - it got quieter. I did it again - it got quieter still. I shoved the slide up all the way - totally dead. Then I realised... I was looking at it upside down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Not at a gig but at a practice only a couple of weeks ago...I hadn't touched my gear for months but that's not really an excuse. I set it all up, it was all plugged in and the effects loop was all set up but I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get any sound. I checked the signal path, the volume was turned up, checked the battery in my bass was ok...still nothing. Then it dawned on me looking at the back of my rig that there was no speaker cable from the amp to the cab. D'OH! Also, on my practice combo at home I'm forever putting my bass jack in the headphone socket and scratching my head as to why I'm not getting any output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madshadows Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I remember after starting to play again and buying my Stagg practice amp off Ebay and plugging in a bass to it for the first and hitting the strings and nothing !, fiddled with the knobs for about 10 minutes, still nothing and then realised that I hadn't pushed the guitar lead all the way into the input on the combo, what a dummy ! LOL John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudpup Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Big gig this new years eve, big London pub and i was using a 900 watt amp with 2 BF Big Baby cabs so potentially able to flatten most of East London if i pushed it as i wasnt running thru our PA. I had the flu so was feeling pants and had stuffy ears and head. Played first set all ok. Second set and band start to turn up a bit, i thought it was my woolly ears but i just sounded limp compared with the other guys. Ended up running the amp 3/4 flat out thinking i had a problem as i never have it anywhere near that loud. During teardown afterwards i spotted the top cab speakon lead dangling in space......Still havent figured out how it came out though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerstodge Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 You lot are useless, you wouldn't catch me forgetting both my basses and driving 30 miles to a gig... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Mate, we played a party one night. The electrics were really dodgy and my amp kept cutting out, so there were long periods of no bass in the first set. During the break, I di'd straight into the desk for the rest of the gig. The thing was during the break folk came up to us and said, that was brilliant! One guy even booked us on the strength of that woeful performance. Thing is, you thought your sound was sh*t. Everyone out front never noticed, I bet you all the tea in China! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barneyg42 Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 (edited) [quote name='ubit' timestamp='1420994890' post='2655947'] Mate, we played a party one night. The electrics were really dodgy and my amp kept cutting out, so there were long periods of no bass in the first set. During the break, I di'd straight into the desk for the rest of the gig. The thing was during the break folk came up to us and said, that was brilliant! One guy even booked us on the strength of that woeful performance. Thing is, you thought your sound was sh*t. Everyone out front never noticed, I bet you all the tea in China! [/quote] Too true! Gig went down a storm! Guitarist had the man flu and played pretty badly but despite this it was a great gig. Got to wait until next Friday to rectify the mistake and hopefully get the sound I'm loooking for.......preferably with the wonderful Compact plugged in!! Edited January 11, 2015 by barneyg42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 No power to amp. Worked out I had blown a fuse in a mains lead that only had a 5amp fuse. The drummer was getting a bit frustrated and had come over. He took the 'broken' lead and threw it in the bin. I fished it out took it home and left it on the side with mental note to change fuse later. Next gig grabbed lead from the side, arrived at gig, plugged in, no power AGAIN! Now I carry spare fuses and change them straight away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notable9 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 [quote name='ubit' timestamp='1420994890' post='2655947'] Mate, we played a party one night. The electrics were really dodgy and my amp kept cutting out, so there were long periods of no bass in the first set. During the break, I di'd straight into the desk for the rest of the gig. The thing was during the break folk came up to us and said, that was brilliant! One guy even booked us on the strength of that woeful performance. Thing is, you thought your sound was sh*t. Everyone out front never noticed, I bet you all the tea in China! [/quote] And how much time do we all spend talking about and worrying about what bass or amp to buy or take to the gig. Bin sayin it for 30 yrs, the public havent got a clue about bass, it all sounds the same to them whatever you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestar Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I once setting up in a hurry in a dark and dingy rehearsal room plugged my speaker lead from my hartke 500 into its own eefects loop in or out, can't remember which, It didnt like it and I had to have it fixed. First time Ive ever owned up to this. Especially as I got it mended under warranty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 We had decided to split the pa up so as to ease the load on my good self. Gave the drummer the 3 mike stands as he had a lot of drum crap to move around. First gig and we help him in with the gear and I notice something is missing. No mike stands and he stayed 40 miles away. Have you ever played a gig with your mic gaffer taped to a spare cymbal stand and a brush handle from the pub? I have. [size=4] [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyquipment Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Noise gate pedal failed on my board The screeching whistling mid song eeeech... Had to play clean after that with no overdrive or distortion I felt sad Inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbytodd Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 our durrr moment was a few weeks back two gigs in a row Friday night was at a caravan park Saturday was a wedding.we turned up to the wedding started setting up only to realise the power pack for the mixer was 50 miles away still at the caravan park.luckily one of our friends lent us his mixer so we had to pay him as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 [quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1421005842' post='2656123'] We had decided to split the pa up so as to ease the load on my good self. Gave the drummer the 3 mike stands as he had a lot of drum crap to move around. First gig and we help him in with the gear and I notice something is missing. No mike stands and he stayed 40 miles away. Have you ever played a gig with your mic gaffer taped to a spare cymbal stand and a brush handle from the pub? I have. [size=4] [/size] [/quote] Brilliant. The guitarist forgot the speaker stands once. Although he actually carried them out of the house and just didn't see them in the dark. They were still on his driveway when he arrived home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestar Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 We used to place bets in my previous band to decide what the guitarist would forget for the gig. Examples include all of his leads for a gig in Lincs; he had to call at a Maplin on his way from Essex. Suit trousers he had nip to Sainsbury between stes to find a pair of black ones. Guitar stand etc etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 [quote name='barneyg42' timestamp='1420968968' post='2655481'] So I buy myself a new ZoomB1Xon as an after xmas pressie to myself and it was its first run out last night. We had time for a sound check so I wandered out with the singer to have a listen. Totally underwhelmed by the sound I had set up I had a fiddle with the amp setting and to be honest it didn't sound much better! Still, it was a good gig and we got a great response. So at the end I'm packing up and I see my problem. I run a TC BH500 into a TC 2x10 and a Barefaced Compact, usually a monster awesome set up which tonight sounded all midrangy and had to be cranked so much it seemed to be distorted..........I'd not plugged the bloody Compact in!!! Doh.....so the TC is sitting on top in all its midrange glory with no decent bottom end at all and the Compact was just a bloody expensive speaker stand!! And actually the TC on its own sitting on the floor is always a decent sound but sat up high it was pants. Oh well lesson learned, I've only been playing for about 40 years!!! [/quote] IMHO, bass effects for live performance is still a pedals game. Multi Effects units are fine for rehearsing at home and maybe for bedroom recordings but not on stage. I would also stay away from Zoom. Just my opinion. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) We played a small beer festival last year and I went on stage plugged in and... nothing... turned the amp up again, checked everything was plugged in, di etc... still nothing. looked at the engineer who was scratching his head and twiddling with things trying to find out what was wrong. Silence from everyone else in the band and the crowd waiting for me to sort it out. A few more minutes faffing around then the engineer came on stage, checked everything, swapped out the DI etc... after another minute or so of head scratching I realised the volume on by bass was set to 0... Edited January 12, 2015 by CamdenRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barneyg42 Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 I tend to use a radio link and always turn it off in the break, of course I always turn it on for the big power chord in the first song of the second set...........don't I?? Also I set up at one gig turned up the bass to get sound plus lots of crackles when I turned the volume pot. Ensues mass panic as I think my bass has gone awry! First stop, change batteries but no change, then start to check amp, speaker and effects connections, nothing!!! Then check bass again.......push jack into socket properly and all is well! Another Doh!! moment!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 There have been instances of buttons not pressed, leads not plugged in etc, but when I was playing trombone I took the slide apart at home to give it a clean and oil. When I got to the gig and opened the case I had only half a trombone. Hm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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