How was your gig last night?

[yorks5stringer]

17 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

We played a set at the UK Country Music awards. Short and sweet, as there were numerous acts on the bill, interspersed with some talking and eating and general awarding. 

Really friendly and helpful crew and there was no chicken wire in place, so it was obviously a civilised crowd.

We played well and got some positive reponses from the audience, which was nice, as we're more geared to Americana, than straight country, although I've no idea what the difference is really.

 

Anyway, the band's called Fine Lines, just so I don't get shouted at.

Nice Starbass, China or Korea?

[dmccombe7]

6 hours ago, bassbiscuits said:

Here you go Dave - the FB page is here. There’s a couple of showreels on there which gives an idea.
 

You’re 100% right tho - there’s some ace bass lines in there (quite a lot of which aren’t what you’d expect at first, but learned right they really lift the songs.)

 

Thoroughly enjoy it. 
 

https://m.facebook.com/imstillstandingtour/

Excellent stuff in there. Cheers @bassbiscuits

Will go through some more clips later.

Dave

[MacDaddy]

Yesterday's afternoon gig, was at Choko Beerfest. The last of my dep gigs for The Soul Seniors.

It was in a marquee at the back of a village hall in rural Oxfordshire. There was beer on sale, but it was more like a 'family fun day' what with all the kids running about.

As it was a lovely day, most people we're in the sun outside the marquee, but they seemed to be listening as we were getting applause.

I took minimal gear, bass setup was:

Bass - wireless - pedal tuner - BDI21 - PA.

It was a tinny bass sound from the monitors but it sounded good out front.

Got back home to that London in daylight.

[jimmyb625]

2 hours ago, yorks5stringer said:

Nice Starbass, China or Korea?

It's the Chinese made one. At some point, I'd love a German Team-built version, but it's probably just a pipe dream. 

[martthebass]

Played a nice Club in Huddersfield over the weekend; we normally play this venue a couple of times per year.  Had a good gig but the numbers were well down on when we last played in March.  Hope this is a glitch and not a sign of the prevailing economic woes.

[BCH]

Last Saturday with my acoustic band "Human Too" 

[Bluewine]

On 25/09/2022 at 10:37, Jack said:

Not the most amazing one for us last night. The White Line (for you 'tell us your band' folks) played a pub on the beach. To practically nobody. Oh well.

 

The rig was my trusty G&L L2000 into a Shure Wireless>TC MojoMojo>Sansamp Paradriver V2. I was right by the pa in a tiny room so I put a tiny amount of 120Hz up (as that's where our sub crosses over so it kind of felt like a decent guess) in the singer's wedge and left my stage stuff in the car.

 

 " Played to nobody"

Jack , as you know , that happens to all of us sooner or later.

 

Blue

[Staggering on]

On 26/09/2022 at 11:06, BCH said:

Last Saturday with my acoustic band "Human Too" 

 

Funny how the term "acoustic" has changed over the years, not better or worse but definitely different.

When I started gigging  in the '60's on an acoustic guitar playing the folk music that was popular at the time an acoustic gig was playing guitars, banjoes and the odd double bass and if we were lucky there might be a microphone or two that we crowded around. That was common in clubs and coffee houses and even in big venues and when a guitar solo came up there was much moving around and raising up the guitar so it was close to the mic, you can see this in a lot of the old folk music videos from the '60's such as Peter, Paul and Mary.

The next step was more mics with dedicated mics for each instrument and maybe even one for each singer and the sound was actually the real acoustic sound of the vocals and instruments.

Then came the first pickups and now the sound of "acoustic" instruments through the amps and PA is a long way from the actual sound of the instrument and often a variety of effects and EQ are used to change the signal even more and of course it is LOUD. These days it seems even most buskers use some sort of amplification although a few play old school acoustic.

A few years ago various rock bands and singles (Clapton comes to mind) decided to do "acoustic" or "unplugged" shows and albums but of course they were definitely plugged in and that added to the image of a modern "acoustic" gig, a few acoustic instruments but probably an EB and maybe an electronic keyboard and of course pickups on anything acoustic. Some bluegrass, folk and country bands are probably the last truly acoustic bands around now.

Let's face it, using mics for instruments in almost any live situation is very tricky but if things work out a guitar sounds like a "real" guitar not a pimped up hot rodded guitar that sort of looks like an acoustic instrument with a wire coming out of it and sometimes controls mounted on it too. 

I have played with mics and pickups on guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo and double bass and I have to admit the good pickups we can get now are easy to work with can sound quite good but it doesn't sound like an acoustic instrument but that's the way it is now, many people have never heard a real acoustic guitar or bass without an elaborate sound system.

The worst part from my point of view is that when you see a great player the excellent guitar he is playing often sounds pretty much like any other guitar once it has a pickup and some electronic tweaking.

Not a rant, just an observation, and as I said above, I use pickups and love them but it's not really an "acoustic" show and calling it that just doesn't seem right. Of course I am part of this problem when I tell people I play acoustic double bass...with a pickup.🙄

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by Staggering on

[Greg Edwards69]

8 hours ago, Staggering on said:

I have played with mics and pickups on guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo and double bass and I have to admit the good pickups we can get now are easy to work with can sound quite good but it doesn't sound like an acoustic instrument but that's the way it is now, many people have never heard a real acoustic guitar or bass without an elaborate sound system.

The worst part from my point of view is that when you see a great player the excellent guitar he is playing often sounds pretty much like any other guitar once it has a pickup and some electronic tweaking.

Not a rant, just an observation, and as I said above, I use pickups and love them but it's not really an "acoustic" show and calling it that just doesn't seem right. Of course I am part of this problem when I tell people I play acoustic double bass...with a pickup.🙄

I've not tried it myself, but allegedly, IRs (impulse responses) can help 'plugged in' acoustic instruments sound more like a mic'd up acoustic guitar/bass. One of my guitarists used an IR in his helix when he uses his Yamaha Silent acoustic guitar.

 

3Sigma have a few bass options you might be interested in. Of course you'll need something to load the IR into. But you can pick a small device up relatively inexpensively these days.

Upright Basses Archives - 3 Sigma Audio

Edited September 28, 2022 by Greg Edwards69

[Staggering on]

Thanks for the info. That's pretty cool but I don't think I need it, I will continue to produce the nice dull thud that fits nicely with the band I play in. On my DB I use a Realist Lifeline and go direct to my Acoustic Image Coda S4 or straight into our Bose PA and for my limited home recording I have a decent mic that does the job.

[BCH]

10 hours ago, Staggering on said:

 

Funny how the term "acoustic" has changed over the years, not better or worse but definitely different.

When I started gigging  in the '60's on an acoustic guitar playing the folk music that was popular at the time an acoustic gig was playing guitars, banjoes and the odd double bass and if we were lucky there might be a microphone or two that we crowded around. That was common in clubs and coffee houses and even in big venues and when a guitar solo came up there was much moving around and raising up the guitar so it was close to the mic, you can see this in a lot of the old folk music videos from the '60's such as Peter, Paul and Mary.

The next step was more mics with dedicated mics for each instrument and maybe even one for each singer and the sound was actually the real acoustic sound of the vocals and instruments.

Then came the first pickups and now the sound of "acoustic" instruments through the amps and PA is a long way from the actual sound of the instrument and often a variety of effects and EQ are used to change the signal even more and of course it is LOUD. These days it seems even most buskers use some sort of amplification although a few play old school acoustic.

A few years ago various rock bands and singles (Clapton comes to mind) decided to do "acoustic" or "unplugged" shows and albums but of course they were definitely plugged in and that added to the image of a modern "acoustic" gig, a few acoustic instruments but probably an EB and maybe an electronic keyboard and of course pickups on anything acoustic. Some bluegrass, folk and country bands are probably the last truly acoustic bands around now.

Let's face it, using mics for instruments in almost any live situation is very tricky but if things work out a guitar sounds like a "real" guitar not a pimped up hot rodded guitar that sort of looks like an acoustic instrument with a wire coming out of it and sometimes controls mounted on it too. 

I have played with mics and pickups on guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo and double bass and I have to admit the good pickups we can get now are easy to work with can sound quite good but it doesn't sound like an acoustic instrument but that's the way it is now, many people have never heard a real acoustic guitar or bass without an elaborate sound system.

The worst part from my point of view is that when you see a great player the excellent guitar he is playing often sounds pretty much like any other guitar once it has a pickup and some electronic tweaking.

Not a rant, just an observation, and as I said above, I use pickups and love them but it's not really an "acoustic" show and calling it that just doesn't seem right. Of course I am part of this problem when I tell people I play acoustic double bass...with a pickup.🙄

 

Valid observation. I find anything bigger than a smallish (intermit) pub/room, you need to amplify and balance. We use small RCF M18 digital mixer to provide a FoH (with sound eng) & monitor mix to keep the stage low in vol for pitching etc & FoH low as required (this has the effect of more listening/ quieter audience) ...trying for Hi Fi quality /separation. The guitar is a nylon electric, bass Gillett electro acoustic +e' piano ...very happy with the controlled sound...great feedback from the audience (in the gig pic above, over 120) the other bands on with us were twice as loud...ha

 

[Obrienp]

11 hours ago, Staggering on said:

 

Funny how the term "acoustic" has changed over the years, not better or worse but definitely different.

When I started gigging  in the '60's on an acoustic guitar playing the folk music that was popular at the time an acoustic gig was playing guitars, banjoes and the odd double bass and if we were lucky there might be a microphone or two that we crowded around. That was common in clubs and coffee houses and even in big venues and when a guitar solo came up there was much moving around and raising up the guitar so it was close to the mic, you can see this in a lot of the old folk music videos from the '60's such as Peter, Paul and Mary.

The next step was more mics with dedicated mics for each instrument and maybe even one for each singer and the sound was actually the real acoustic sound of the vocals and instruments.

Then came the first pickups and now the sound of "acoustic" instruments through the amps and PA is a long way from the actual sound of the instrument and often a variety of effects and EQ are used to change the signal even more and of course it is LOUD. These days it seems even most buskers use some sort of amplification although a few play old school acoustic.

A few years ago various rock bands and singles (Clapton comes to mind) decided to do "acoustic" or "unplugged" shows and albums but of course they were definitely plugged in and that added to the image of a modern "acoustic" gig, a few acoustic instruments but probably an EB and maybe an electronic keyboard and of course pickups on anything acoustic. Some bluegrass, folk and country bands are probably the last truly acoustic bands around now.

Let's face it, using mics for instruments in almost any live situation is very tricky but if things work out a guitar sounds like a "real" guitar not a pimped up hot rodded guitar that sort of looks like an acoustic instrument with a wire coming out of it and sometimes controls mounted on it too. 

I have played with mics and pickups on guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo and double bass and I have to admit the good pickups we can get now are easy to work with can sound quite good but it doesn't sound like an acoustic instrument but that's the way it is now, many people have never heard a real acoustic guitar or bass without an elaborate sound system.

The worst part from my point of view is that when you see a great player the excellent guitar he is playing often sounds pretty much like any other guitar once it has a pickup and some electronic tweaking.

Not a rant, just an observation, and as I said above, I use pickups and love them but it's not really an "acoustic" show and calling it that just doesn't seem right. Of course I am part of this problem when I tell people I play acoustic double bass...with a pickup.🙄

 

Sounding genuinely acoustic with amplification is so tricky! Even with an SM57 in front of the instrument the quality of the sound is changed. Mics also suffer from feedback issues and are difficult to use if you like to move around a bit, so it is much easier to use an onboard pickup (not saying they don’t feedback as well). Piezos tend to sound harsh and brittle, magnetic pickups don’t really sound acoustic, combined pickup/mic combinations sound harsh (to my ears) and I have tried quite a few. The best result I have had for acoustic bass (guitar, don’t know about uprights) was with K&K transducers but I also use a Zoom A2 preamp that has “correction”. The upright bass voice really does correct the sound to be more acoustic, plus it has automatic feedback correction (a real problem with bass) but of course, that is reducing the tonal spectrum. There are others on the market from Fishman, etc, for more money.

 

I used to play acoustic and slide guitar in various “acoustic” bands. I tried just about every pickup on the market and various acoustic amps/PA combinations. I eventually settled on Taylor’s ES2 system through an AER acoustic amp (DI’d to the PA) for regular acoustic and a Highlander pickup in my National, also through the AER, with radically different EQ profiles for each. Perhaps an AER bass amp is the ultimate solution for acoustic basses but they are eye  wateringly  expensive. Bose column PAs also seem pretty effective for amplified acoustic instruments but again really expensive.

[Greg Edwards69]

1 hour ago, Staggering on said:

Thanks for the info. That's pretty cool but I don't think I need it, I will continue to produce the nice dull thud that fits nicely with the band I play in. On my DB I use a Realist Lifeline and go direct to my Acoustic Image Coda S4 or straight into our Bose PA and for my limited home recording I have a decent mic that does the job.

That's the second time today I've seen the AI Coda S4 mentioned. The other time was on a talk bass thread - a chap has downsized from bemoth rigs to one with a similar sized extension cab for electric bass. 

 

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/your-feelings-about-rig-size-for-stage.1579120/#post-26845765

 

It's gotten me intrigued, as I reckon it would be a far superior, compact, one box solution to my current Headrush FRFR-112. I note there's a used one for sale in my local music shop, but unfortunately I can't justify the £1,000 asking price.

[Staggering on]

We use a Bose L1 system with their 8 channel ToneMatch mixer. The EQ in the mixer is very good and very versatile and I can make my DB sound almost exactly how I like it although that may not not be the "my bass only louder" ideal. The Bose also works well with my banjo and a SM58(I think) and with the ToneMatch my natural "acoustic" singing voice can actually sound pretty good. 😊

When I jam with friends I might use the amp with the DB or just do the acoustic thing, it depends on the circumstances.

[Staggering on]

1 hour ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

That's the second time today I've seen the AI Coda S4 mentioned. The other time was on a talk bass thread - a chap has downsized from bemoth rigs to one with a similar sized extension cab for electric bass. 

 

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/your-feelings-about-rig-size-for-stage.1579120/#post-26845765

 

It's gotten me intrigued, as I reckon it would be a far superior, compact, one box solution to my current Headrush FRFR-112. I note there's a used one for sale in my local music shop, but unfortunately I can't justify the £1,000 asking price.

 

The Coda has a down firing main speaker mounted on the bottom and another smaller speaker on the front and that spreads the sound around in a way regular combos can't and is good for most DB situations. I don't have  the additional speaker shown in that post (don't need it) but the output increases and fires out to the front so it makes a good combination. 

Yes, they are expensive but I managed to get a very good deal that included the DB, Coda, bass case and both of the (expensive) covers for the Coda, everything was about 10 years old and in new condition, I lucked out on that deal.👍

[King Tut]

We had a really enjoyable gig at The Cavern in Raynes Park last night playing as ‘Del Bromham and Friends. It was a more intimate venue than we normally play, and it made a change to only have the keys, vocals and kick drum going through the PA - but it was really nice - hearing the guitar and bass as the musicians have voiced them!

We only played a handful of numbers by Stray, concentrating on Del’s solo stuff. We played a few we’d never played before including ‘Around The World in 80 Days’ (Del reckons even Stray had never done this one live), ‘Morning Dew’ and ‘I Am’ from the new album. We also played ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’ which I’d never played before and ‘White Feather’ which we’d only played once at The Stables PC (pre covid!).

WE had a great crowd and to top it all there was a fab chippy next door! Big thank you to our drummist for the long derrière drive there and back, Noel, the Guvnor for his welcome and enthusiasm,  and everyone who turned up for keeping music live!

[alant]

5 hours ago, King Tut said:

We had a really enjoyable gig at The Cavern in Raynes Park last night playing as ‘Del Bromham and Friends. It was a more intimate venue than we normally play, and it made a change to only have the keys, vocals and kick drum going through the PA - but it was really nice - hearing the guitar and bass as the musicians have voiced them!

We only played a handful of numbers by Stray, concentrating on Del’s solo stuff. We played a few we’d never played before including ‘Around The World in 80 Days’ (Del reckons even Stray had never done this one live), ‘Morning Dew’ and ‘I Am’ from the new album. We also played ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’ which I’d never played before and ‘White Feather’ which we’d only played once at The Stables PC (pre covid!).

WE had a great crowd and to top it all there was a fab chippy next door! Big thank you to our drummist for the long derrière drive there and back, Noel, the Guvnor for his welcome and enthusiasm,  and everyone who turned up for keeping music live!

I saw Stray a few years ago supporting Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash at Marshalls in Bletchley. That was when your predecessor Stu (who I knew vaguely through a mutual musician friend) was playing bass.

 

[King Tut]

21 minutes ago, alant said:

I saw Stray a few years ago supporting Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash at Marshalls in Bletchley. That was when your predecessor Stu (who I knew vaguely through a mutual musician friend) was playing bass.

 

Yes - Stu is now living in Spain. We played with MT's Wishone Ash last year and I met Martin - Nice Guy!

[Mickeyboro]

9 minutes ago, King Tut said:

Yes - Stu is now living in Spain. We played with MT's Wishone Ash last year and I met Martin - Nice Guy!

But with a terrible taste in trousers…😂

[alant]

35 minutes ago, King Tut said:

Yes - Stu is now living in Spain. We played with MT's Wishone Ash last year and I met Martin - Nice Guy!

Yes, I heard he had retired over there. I met Martin a couple of times also.

[jimmyb625]

A great evening at Telford's warehouse tonight, made even better by catching up with some old friends who I hadn't seen for 20 years. No photo's of the band or my setup, as I wasn't in the best frame of mind prior to playing, but here's a picture of the outside.

[Woodinblack]

10 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

A great evening at Telford....

 

Sorry.. I started not believing after the start words

 

[martthebass]

After last week’s ‘quiet’ affair I didn’t have any great expectations for last night’s outing. This was a town centre pub with a fairly young crowd and the 3 bouncers on the door told volumes. Not the sort of crowd that I’d expect would appreciate 70s Glam....this was an Agent job so they aren’t renowned for good product placement so to speak. Anyhow, I was genuinely surprised, we had a great night with lots of singing and dancing from the first number to the end of the second encore. Praised by the pub management and more bookings on the horizon, happy days.

Edited October 1, 2022 by martthebass

[dmccombe7]

16 minutes ago, martthebass said:

After last week’s ‘quiet’ affair I didn’t have any great expectations for last night’s outing. This was a town centre pub with a fairly young crowd and the 3 bouncers on the door told volumes. Not the sort of crowd that I’d expect would appreciate 70s Glam....this was an Agent job so they aren’t renowned for good product placement so to speak. Anyhow, I was genuinely surprised, we had a great night with lots of singing and dancing from the first number to the end of the second encore. Praised by the pub management and more bookings on the horizon, happy days.

Always a good feeling when that happens. Nice one.

 

[FinnDave]

Just got home from an afternoon gig with Franklin's Tower. It was at a beer festival in a village hall, which had a surprisingly good stage, very solid, about 9 metres by three and around 2 feet above the rest of the flooring.

Surprising choice to ask a Grateful Dead band to play at a small village beer festival - but we seemed to go down well, even spotted one or two wearing GD T shirts. Even more surprisingly, we were passed a hand written note by a member of the audience requesting 'Althea', which wasn't on our set list but we played anyway.

Back home now to eat and then off to my second beer festival of the day, in my home village where I am playing with the Wirebirds at the local cricket club.