Bass - Lead - Amp

[fleabag]

Bass > lead  > 31 band mono graphic >  PA.  No pedals for my fretted, but a chorus for my fretless.  That's about it.

[toneknob]

22 hours ago, Supernaut said:

Does anyone run a simple set-up anymore?

 

I'm seeing bass players these days with crazy pedalboards in front of them. 
 

The only pedal I have is a Polytune. 
 

What happened to bass, lead, amp?

 

My amp has a pedal with four switches. Please advise 

[Rosie C]

22 hours ago, Supernaut said:

Does anyone run a simple set-up anymore?

 

 

For bass guitar, at small gigs, that's me: bass guitar->lead->amp.

 

For double bass I have to have something or other in the line for impedance matching and something to prevent feedback, so a pedal board comes into play. If I'm using IEMs I have a pedal that splits the signal. But generally, the fewer things I have to carry around, the happier I am.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Rosie C

[Cat Burrito]

I used to be bass into amp and no more (I'd borrow the guitarists' tuner before rehearsing / playing) but these days I am really enjoying a small pedal board and using effects. Never say never. Ultimately it's about what suits the band / song. 

[Downunderwonder]

Btw, for my most sucessful band I had a pedalboard that could land the space shuttle if it was reprogrammed for that.

 

We played original music through my PA.

 

Vive la difference!

[nilorius]

Kick is a kick, punch is a punch !

[neepheid]

7 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Absolutism fails again. Or do you post this kind of thing just to get a rise?

 

Originals bands with no PA would never get out of their band leaders' studio round here.

 

Read it again - "Only covers bands NEED their own PA" - nowhere in that statement does it say that originals bands are procluded from having PA.  I think you read too much in there.

 

My originals band doesn't have a PA and we've managed to play many gigs, 95% of the time in venues with house PA and backline and on the odd occasion where we've had to play other places (like when we got asked to play a wedding one time), we'd borrow a PA (funnily enough, from the covers band the drummer and I are also in).  So basically I'm 100% in agreement with BRX.

 

"Originals bands with no PA would never get out of their band leaders' studio round here." - bit absolutist, no?  Or is that the super clever joke that has just whooshed over my head?

[Rich]

2 hours ago, Cat Burrito said:

I used to be bass into amp and no more (I'd borrow the guitarists' tuner before rehearsing / playing) but these days I am really enjoying a small pedal board and using effects. Never say never. Ultimately it's about what suits the band / song. 

Ditto all the above. For a loooong time I was bass > cable (and then wireless) > amp, but then I started experimenting with a few different stomp sounds and eq settings and, well, that was that  my board is quite dinky but I enjoy fiddling with it. Although I'm told I will go blind.

[Woodinblack]

10 minutes ago, neepheid said:

My originals band doesn't have a PA and we've managed to play many gigs, 95% of the time in venues with house PA and backline and on the odd occasion where we've had to play other places (like when we got asked to play a wedding one time), we'd borrow a PA (funnily enough, from the covers band the drummer and I are also in).  So basically I'm 100% in agreement with BRX.

 

"Originals bands with no PA would never get out of their band leaders' studio round here." - bit absolutist, no?  Or is that the super clever joke that has just whooshed over my head?

 

No, I think it is a statement of fact in an area. Around here, whether original or cover band, if you don't have your own PA you wouldn't be able to play many venues at all, apart from maybe a multi band set where someone else has their own PA. I am sure in a city it maybe different, but here that is how it is - it doesn't matter what sort of music you play, you bring a PA or noone is going to hear you.

 

Edit: and yes, there are original bands round here

[knirirr]

On 07/08/2023 at 09:39, BigRedX said:

If you were properly purist you'd just have an upright bass and no amp.

 

For one jam that's what I do; it works well unless a lot of loud saxophonists turn up.
Otherwise, it's straight into the amp.

[tauzero]

23 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Read it again - "Only covers bands NEED their own PA" - nowhere in that statement does it say that originals bands are procluded from having PA.  I think you read too much in there.

 

My originals band doesn't have a PA and we've managed to play many gigs, 95% of the time in venues with house PA and backline and on the odd occasion where we've had to play other places (like when we got asked to play a wedding one time), we'd borrow a PA (funnily enough, from the covers band the drummer and I are also in).  So basically I'm 100% in agreement with BRX.

 

"Originals bands with no PA would never get out of their band leaders' studio round here." - bit absolutist, no?  Or is that the super clever joke that has just whooshed over my head?

 

@Downunderwonder only quoted the first sentence. The second sentence was "Originals bands play venues with in-house PAs and engineers." That sounds pretty absolutist to me (who used to play in originals bands with our own PA).

[neepheid]

I stand corrected.

 

IMO?

[Downunderwonder]

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

Only covers bands NEED their own PA" - nowhere in that statement does it say that originals bands are procluded from having PA.  I think you read too much in there.

No logic. An original band with no PA in my hood would be a mere studio project not a gigging band. Did they need to be gigging? No. But man that's the only logic in not needing a PA.

[neepheid]

9 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

No logic. An original band with no PA in my hood would be a mere studio project not a gigging band. Did they need to be gigging? No. But man that's the only logic in not needing a PA.

 

I'm sure your hood is lovely, but I'm glad I'm not there having to humph PA to all my gigs - I get a break from all that nonsense with the originals band here 

[Bassman68]

Each to their own, whatever gets you through the gig?
At the end of the day, it all boils down to …

A Bass

A lead

An amp powering speakers

 

Mine just involves a bass, a lead (going into my transmitter), a receiver going into some effects (via more small leads), going to another lead sending DI signal to a desk, going into an assortment of poweramps, going into another assortment of PA speakers?
Not a lot of difference, just on a larger scale?

[BassAdder60]

2 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

No, I think it is a statement of fact in an area. Around here, whether original or cover band, if you don't have your own PA you wouldn't be able to play many venues at all, apart from maybe a multi band set where someone else has their own PA. I am sure in a city it maybe different, but here that is how it is - it doesn't matter what sort of music you play, you bring a PA or noone is going to hear you.

 

Edit: and yes, there are original bands round here

Exactly the point I made .. totally agree with this in deepest East Anglia 

[Leonard Smalls]

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

Originals bands play venues with in-house PAs and engineers

We've got a PA and we only do one cover...

But having tried to play gigs with our loud'n'shouty brand of punkfunk in places where there's no PA, we now have a policy of only playing places that are effectively dedicated music venues (*).

If it's a boozer with a band playing most of the punters have gone along for a drink, and will tolerate music if it's something they know. However, in a proper music venue the punters (if any!) have gone specifically to hear new music. Which means no-one shouting for Wonderwall or The Birdy Song. It often also means there's no pay, unless it's ticketed or sufficient is donated. Last gig we did in Birmingham (2 hour drive) the promoter said "you're all going to get paid!". I said "excellent, how much?". "£18" he said. So I thought we'd easy cover fuel with our £18 each, but it was £18 between us! We all see it as basically a hobby - I don't get paid to go climbing or skiing either. Still, we've got 2 well paid ones coming up...

Meanwhile,  our (my!) PA sits at home for rehearsal use.

 

 

* This means we have to travel - we're in the middle of nowhere so the nearest actual venue is at least an hour away.

[toneknob]

22 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

Plus playing with effects can be really fun. Making a huge wall of noise with overdrive, fuzz, delay and reverb and then at the end of the song letting it ring out into a squealing, snarling mess is about the best fun I've had with my clothes on! I honestly suggest you try it! 😁

100% this. I have a massive box of effects at home and I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm not going to get massively better at any technique after 300 years of playing, so I'm venturing in other directions for expanding my interest and enthusiasm for my instrument. Obviously I recognise that the audience for this is realistically one, ie me

 

Meanwhile at jam night I'm happy to knock out Autumn Leaves for the millionth time and get a polite round of applause for a nice plummy walking line. Sometimes the band even nod their approval, or maybe they're just falling asleep.

[tauzero]

35 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

We've got a PA and we only do one cover...

 

It wasn't me who originally said what you've attributed to me - in fact, I said the opposite.

[Leonard Smalls]

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

it was me who said you said the opposite

Indeed... But yours was nearer and I'm a lazy git! I know it was BRX with the original postulation, but as I was neither agreeing, nor disagreeing having tried both options I felt I could get away with it.

And besides, you can't beat a good misquote 😁

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

... And besides, you can't beat a good misquote ...

 

Indeed. 

 

...

 

 

[Rich]

I'm in two covers bands. Each has a PA. Sometimes it comes out with us, sometimes it doesn't.

I used to be in an originals band. It had a PA. Sometimes it came out with us, sometimes it didn't.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this exactly.  

[Rich]

34 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Indeed... But yours was nearer and I'm a lazy git! I know it was BRX with the original postulation, but as I was neither agreeing, nor disagreeing having tried both options I felt I could get away with it.

And besides, you can't beat a good misquote 😁

 

"I hate it when people misquote me on the internet." (Abraham Lincoln)

[Dan Dare]

On 07/08/2023 at 14:44, BigRedX said:

Only covers bands need their own PA.

 

Originals bands play venues with in-house PAs and engineers. Since the mid 90s the only venues I have played with an originals band that didn't have their own PA were ones that do not normally put on live music and for those we hired in a PA.

 

A PA can be handy for originals bands. Established OBs with reputations may indeed "play venues with in-house PAs and engineers", but the key question is how often?

 

Many OBs struggle to get more than a handful of gigs a year. Having a PA can be handy if it means you can play in places other than established gig venues. In the past, I've put on gigs in local pubs with OBs I've played in. To do that, we needed our own PA.

 

It wasn't worth hiring in a rig, engineer, etc. We often made little to no money, but the idea was to build a bit of a following, get ourselves noticed and get match fit (which playing in rehearsal rooms doesn't do).

 

Maybe it's different these days. Being an old git who no longer has aspirations to conquer the world, I haven't played in an OB for ages. I would if something musically interesting came along and they didn't mind the fact that I'm ancient, but I guess that's unlikely.

[Count Bassy]

Bass to lead to amp here. Although I do have a wireless system, and sometimes add a tuner. But definitley no effects.