peteb Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 (edited) 12 hours ago, Dad3353 said: I forgot to mention the bass-related incident at our gig. I'd bought a new 9-volt battery for the bass, so Our Youngest fitted it just before sound-check. No bass from the amp, so he queried the DI box. As a quick test, I got 2nd guitar to plug in instead of the bass; lo and behold... guitar..! The DI was fine, then, but no bass still. First suspect: the new battery. I opened the trap, 'tongued' the battery and got a 9-volt sting, but then all became apparent. The flimsy snap-on connector was missing the black wire. Survival mode kicked in, so the missing wire was fished out from the nether regions of the battery box, stripped with finger nails and wedged between the contacts of the connector and the battery terminal. Stuffed carefully back into the battery box, trap closed... Bass..! I'm now looking through Ebay for more robust connectors, or even a suitable replacement for the whole battery box. OK, it's a 'low-cost' bass, but that connector was really, really flimsy. The day was saved, though, which is the main thing. I had a similar issue with rather 'high cost ' bass (a Warwick Streamer Stage 1) at a bike rally a bit ago, in front of one of the biggest crowds I've played to in recent years. Fortunately I had a spare bass to hand and nobody noticed, but trying to change batteries in an active bass in a hurry backstage is certainly one of those banana skins that can trip you up if you're not careful... Edited June 18, 2018 by peteb 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 7 hours ago, 12stringbassist said: I played one at the weekend and it was a place with it's own monster PA, so we didn't have to cart ours along. We went on at 10pm, which I think was a bit late. Our first half went down really well and we played it like we meant it. Our break was fairly short between sets, but the crowd started to drift and when we kicked off again and saw them leaving... for the first time, all of my momentum just went. I just felt like stopping. With the number of people left in, I just couldn't bring myself to go into the sing-along crowd pleasers. Unusual. I think tiredness due to my health condition was catching up with me. Oddly, the pub management were more than happy with us, but I felt like we had lost one for a change. Thats happened to us before, if the crowd are up for it in the first half, we don't stop, just carry on through to the finish, 2+ hours of playing and my right hand starts to cramp up by the final numbers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Had a double header last weekend, Saturday in a pub in Dawlish, Devon, played there a few years ago, forgot why we stopped doing it.... late start 10pm to midnight, bloomin' awful, terrible load in down a back alley, bins and all. Predominantly young crowd who didn't know a single one of our numbers ( Zeppelin, Hendrix, Sabbath etc) so went down like a sack of plop, dance floor filled up nicely when the zombies behind the bar put the spice girls on, so thats ok ;), at least it paid OK, we won't be back. Sunday afternoon 4 -7pm at a great little boozer next to the Railway station in Newton Abbot, less money but a lovely crowd of older punters, head banging and dancing, a much better atmosphere all round, lots of compliments and an invite to a biker gig in September, what a difference! We will be back 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 National Fete de la musique here in France. Did a dep tonight, absolutely brilliant gig. Great welcome, big venue, great mix, set was perfect for the venue and got to play some cool tunes with some great players. Good money too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Completely different one last night. Played in support of a youth group doing school of rock. Six full songs and about 20 intros and fills to cover scene changes etc. A few rehearsals before hand and then the big opening night yesterday. A massive amount of fun but VERY different to a normal gig. The amount of concentration needed was immense. We were behind and off to the side as well so didn’t have a great view of what was happening at times. The kids were also in a group and joined us in a some of the easier songs which was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 On 19/06/2018 at 01:35, skidder652003 said: Predominantly young crowd who didn't know a single one of our numbers ( Zeppelin, Hendrix, Sabbath etc) so went down like a sack of plop, dance floor filled up nicely when the zombies behind the bar put the spice girls on, so thats ok ;), at least it paid OK, we won't be back. Been there many times, we also play a lot of 70s harder rock. For us it's usually when we accept a corporate or wedding gig. We're not a wedding or functions band. It's a brutal experience,playing to a completely uninterested crowd. Take the money and run. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Just back from opening the local Nor Lye (Northleigh) festival. Never a great slot if you're opening, but we played well enough, and the chap serving me at the bar afterwards asked who our bass player was (the bar had no line of sight to the stage) and complimented me on my tone when I said it was me. Obviously a fellow low end man, we had a brief but cheery talk about the legendary Phil Lesh and then moved on. not a bad evening, home in time to eat dinner. Playing a festival in Oxford with the same band tomorrow, this time a 2 hour slot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I've commented on several lackluster gigs, but last night we hit it out of the park. We played an outdoor festival with one other band , a really good rockabilly band opened for us, Amy & The Incorruptibles (check them out on YouTube). They played 5:30- 7:00 we clised, played 7:30-10:30. 1. Outstanding weather 2. Outstanding tent, stage, sound and ights 3. Professionally Organized 4. Nice crowd and our hard core fans were particularly nice 5. We had played a bar gig Thursday night too. There was a great band vibe and we were on fire from the first note till the last, with a legitimate encore. Our BL did a great job calling songs and we had plenty of our best material we didn't get to play. 6. Great pay, I was paid upfront as soon as I arrived on set. I like that. Really needed this one guys. We don't play again until July 8th at Summerfest " world's largest music fest. We have a 5:00-6:00 slot. Pic, my rig from last night. Blue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 (edited) 19 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said: No way on earth would I be playing it that snake fest of cables. In fact, a lot of places I play wouldn’t let you. Agreed, not pretty. However those cables were the least of our concern last night and had 0 impact on our performance. Only one of those cables we're mine, I play wireless. They were cables from the sound crew so I wasn't in the mood for cleaning them up. Blue Edited June 23, 2018 by Bluewine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Bluewine said: I've commented on several lackluster gigs, but last night we hit it out of the park. We played an outdoor festival with one other band , a really good rockabilly band opened for us, Amy & The Incorruptibles (check them out on YouTube). They played 5:30- 7:00 we clised, played 7:30-10:30. 1. Outstanding weather 2. Outstanding tent, stage, sound and ights 3. Professionally Organized 4. Nice crowd and our hard core fans were particularly nice 5. We had played a bar gig Thursday night too. There was a great band vibe and we were on fire from the first note till the last, with a legitimate encore. Our BL did a great job calling songs and we had plenty of our best material we didn't get to play. 6. Great pay, I was paid upfront as soon as I arrived on set. I like that. Really needed this one guys. We don't play again until July 8th at Summerfest " world's largest music fest. We have a 5:00-6:00 slot. Pic, my rig from last night. Blue Good one Blue - glad it went so well. Makes all the effort worthwhile when it comes together, right? Like the look of your bass! What make and model? PS what's your band called - I'm assuming you guys are one step above Amy & The Incorruptibles if they were your warm up act?! Edited June 23, 2018 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 2 minutes ago, Al Krow said: Good one Blue - glad it went so well. Makes all the effort worthwhile when it comes together, right? Like the look of your bass! What make and model? PS what's your band called - I'm assuming you guys are one step above Amy & The Incorruptibles if they were your warm up act?! That's my Custom Shop Gibson ES-335 Bass in vintage faded cherry with vanilla binding. Amy & The Incorruptibles are a very pro sounding rockabilly band so there's no comparison. We're Maple Road. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 4 minutes ago, Bluewine said: That's my Custom Shop Gibson ES-335 Bass in vintage faded cherry with vanilla binding. Amy & The Incorruptibles are a very pro sounding rockabilly band so there's no comparison. We're Maple Road. Blue Aha - hence the completely classic design! Is it is short scale bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 1 minute ago, Al Krow said: Aha - hence the completely classic design! Is it is short scale bass? No, the ES- 335 is full scale with a very thin Jazz bass type neck Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 (edited) 1 minute ago, Bluewine said: No, the ES- 335 is full scale with a very thin Jazz bass type neck Blue Oh dear, that's really not helpful to know in terms of GAS! If you have a mo, please do upload a couple of pics and provide a review on the attached thread: Edited June 23, 2018 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 20 hours ago, FinnDave said: Just back from opening the local Nor Lye (Northleigh) festival. Never a great slot if you're opening, but we played well enough, and the chap serving me at the bar afterwards asked who our bass player was (the bar had no line of sight to the stage) and complimented me on my tone when I said it was me. Obviously a fellow low end man, we had a brief but cheery talk about the legendary Phil Lesh and then moved on. not a bad evening, home in time to eat dinner. Playing a festival in Oxford with the same band tomorrow, this time a 2 hour slot. Yeah Dave, I know what you mean about opening. We we're lucky last night as we were on the other side of the stick. People were pretty well lubricated by the time we started playing. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Just got on from a 6 til 8 slot at another pub 'festival', a few singers in the afternoon (only caught the last one, she was very good), then us for a couple of hours, then another band who wear setting up when I left to come home for dinner. Own PA, so not such good sound as last night where there was a proper rig with plenty of monitors and a sound crew. On the other hand, we did get paid tonight. 180 mile round trip tomorrow to rehearse with Dead tribute before our 2 slots in Dorset in a couple of weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 (edited) 22 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said: Not suggesting they were yours mate, I just couldn’t play with that around me as I know I would go over. Pleased it went well. Bet you’re looking forward to your annual Milwaukee shindig. Yes and no, we struggle every year at Summerfest. For example, when we played under Frampton last year we were so off we couldn't use any of the video footage. And I'm not a conspiracy theorist or anything but I'm not sure support acts are getting the same sound as the headliner. The sound we had last night was far superior to anything we've had at Summerfest.The owner told me he got the whole system for 12 grand. And it's just main stages throw us off. We do fine at festivals on side stages. But last night certainly revealed we have the ability, when we're burning on all 6 cylinders. Blue Edited June 24, 2018 by Bluewine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurksalot Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 A quality little soirée last night , we played for an hour at lurksalittle's 18th party . massively stressful lead up to it and setting up , and I've still got to go back to finish clearing the room 😳 She chose the set list for us and everyone was bouncing along to it , it was a blast 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Very busy gig last night, loads of people, played 3 hours again. Very responsive crowd, still doing the ‘one more song’ thing after that. drummer spent two songs searching for his lost earplug only to find it on the drum. Tired this morning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 2 hours ago, lurksalot said: ...it was a blast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurksalot Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Dad3353 said: 😂 I'll have to find someone who took some , I had my hands full all night . even the playlist on the iPod needed monitoring as Lurksalittle had collected 4 hours worth of songs from her and her mates choices , but they all played at different volumes 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Did a dep last night with a power trio - the drummer was also a dep, who I'd never met before. I was slightly nervous 'cos it was a big-ish room, the band are loud, and everything but the bass was through the PA. I only had a 120w valve head, so I turned it up and hoped for the best. It was fine. Lots of dodgy moments, but we carried it off... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dontregartha Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 We opened for the Sugar Hill Gang at MK11 in Milton Keynes with our Soul/Motown/Funk band. I've played the venue on open Mic nights, but this was my first foray as a band. The stage is narrow, but deep enough for us all to have room to move around. The sound was pretty good too, (awesome house PA) although I would have preferred a bit more definition around the bass tone - the sound guy just mixed it low end. We had a lighting guy as well, so all in all looked great. The crowd was great and gave us a real warm welcome, and we got a couple of bookings as well as securing a couple of return gigs as main act at the venue. The SHG were great, i you like that sort of thing, but they could work the crowd.If you haven't been to MK11, check it out - the lads there run a good, if a little unusual venue. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, wateroftyne said: Did a dep last night with a power trio - the drummer was also a dep, who I'd never met before. I was slightly nervous 'cos it was a big-ish room, the band are loud, and everything but the bass was through the PA. I only had a 120w valve head, so I turned it up and hoped for the best. It was fine. Lots of dodgy moments, but we carried it off... Why didn't they put the bass through the park mix? BTW, nice job on Purple Haze, it's not an easy song to pull off. Blue Edited June 24, 2018 by Bluewine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Just now, Bluewine said: Why didn't they put the bass through the park mix? Blue No subs. Just very good tops. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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