How was your gig last night?

[stewblack]

Depressing evening yesterday. Virtually empty club and the band insist I play so quietly that I was literally inaudible.

 

[dmccombe7]

The birthday party gig was a great wee night altho i just couldn't get my normal sound. I still dont know why.

So hot inside the function room. Great to see some friends there from our other gigs that also know the owner and birthday boy.

Lot of great comments afterwards so that was good. 

Not keen on doing party functions with either band as not everyone likes punk or glam but we had dancers and cheers almost every song. 

BBQ was great too. 

Going back today to pick up the PA and bass cabs as didn't fancy lifting thru lots  of sweaty folks to get to car plus car park was full when i arrived and had to use the overspill area (owners builders yard )

Seemed to quite loud last night. Think the guitarist tweaked his volume a bit too much once we started.

Dave

 

 

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, stewblack said:

Depressing evening yesterday. Virtually empty club and the band insist I play so quietly that I was literally inaudible.

 

stop playing and see if they notice

[dmccombe7]

2 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

stop playing and see if they notice

I did that once few years ago but it was because the rest of the band kept turning up their amps and had no idea about overall balance. I couldn't hear myself and decided i'd just not play to see if they actually noticed. Have to say they didn't.

I left that band shortly after.

Dave

 

[Waddo Soqable]

1 minute ago, dmccombe7 said:

I did that once few years ago but it was because the rest of the band kept turning up their amps and had no idea about overall balance. I couldn't hear myself and decided i'd just not play to see if they actually noticed. Have to say they didn't.

I left that band shortly after.

Dave

 

I had similar with a metal type outfit, tho I was just filling in, not a member as such so didn't have to put up with them for too long. 

I was strictly warned off from playing anything but root note 'plod' too, you wonder why they bother to have a bass player at all sometimes.. 

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, stewblack said:

Depressing evening yesterday. Virtually empty club and the band insist I play so quietly that I was literally inaudible.

 

This is only ok if they all played quietly too, which would not appear to be the case. I think I might have told them to stuff their request.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Really enjoyed last night's gig. I took my Black JMJ mustang with the orange classic vibe mustang as backup. The orange one has a vintera pickup and upgraded loom. I have also lined the cavities with slug tape and perfected setup. I have been enjoying playing this bass at home all week, so I was wondering how much difference there would be between the two at volume - so I played the first set with the squier and then swapped to the JMJ. Although the squier sounded good, the JMJ sat in the mix so much better. I don't know what's so special about the seymour duncan pickup in the JMJ, but if its ever made available as a spare part I'd like to get my hands on a few for my non-JMJ mustangs.

 

It was also the first outing of my Monte Allum modded Boss ODB-3 overdrive. Having owned a stock one previously I really noticed the improvement in having the modded version - it makes it a lot more flexible and easier to get a decent tone - less fizz more grind.

[JPJ]

Last nights gig was at the Quakerhouse, a fantastic real ale pub and live music venue in Darlington.

Played my Lakland passive P bass through my little Ashdown ABM 1x15 Neo combo. Place was full from the start through to the end, happy punters = happy band 😎

[stewblack]

2 hours ago, ezbass said:

This is only ok if they all played quietly too, which would not appear to be the case. I think I might have told them to stuff their request.

I estimate the bass to have been at a similar volume to one of the rack toms, maybe a bit quieter. It was utterly drowned by the keyboard monitor 

[Franticsmurf]

4 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I did that once few years ago but it was because the rest of the band kept turning up their amps and had no idea about overall balance. I couldn't hear myself and decided i'd just not play to see if they actually noticed. Have to say they didn't.

I left that band shortly after.

Dave

 

Me too - the guitarist at the time was going through a phase of having too much bass dialled in on his guitar amp. He would also refuse to do soundchecks (usually because 'we don't have time' or 'it looks unprofessional(!)'. I asked him to cut back several times. In one gig, I actually got at his amp and turned the bass right down which confirmed my suspicion and made the sound good. But for the next few gigs it was back to booming distorted rhythm guitar. So I would randomly stop playing, and I'd make sure he could see me not playing. He never admitted he was wrong, but he sorted his amp out.

[dmccombe7]

2 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

Me too - the guitarist at the time was going through a phase of having too much bass dialled in on his guitar amp. He would also refuse to do soundchecks (usually because 'we don't have time' or 'it looks unprofessional(!)'. I asked him to cut back several times. In one gig, I actually got at his amp and turned the bass right down which confirmed my suspicion and made the sound good. But for the next few gigs it was back to booming distorted rhythm guitar. So I would randomly stop playing, and I'd make sure he could see me not playing. He never admitted he was wrong, but he sorted his amp out.

Yep that's annoying when bass is ramped up on a guitar amp. One of my pet hates.

Dave

[Bluewine]

On 14/06/2023 at 21:54, Bluewine said:

Vintage car show gig on Saturday. 

 

Blue

 

 

Beautiful weather,  we played under one of those " pop up" coverings to protect us from the sun .

 

Nice crowd and the organizers a slipped us an extra $200.0 on top of our fee. 👍

 

No band pics, however here's a nice 1957 Ford Thunderbird from the show.

 

Blue

[theplumber]

After lockdown I joined a new band. Rock/pop covers. Was told before I got the gig that it may be loud and I should make sure i had a big enough amp!! (singers...what are they like!) Great band and do well on the circuit plus the guys are brand new....but at gigs..mega loud...at practise..mega loud! No amount of talking about it or moaning about it made any difference! The mixer was a sea of red lights!! I spoke to the guitarist in private about it and he went off on one saying that he had two expensive Les Pauls and a Marshall stack so he could be heard! I tried playing louder than the band which I could manage but that made it worse and my ears almost bleed! After a while though they seen sense and let me go as it''wasn't working out'' I believe it never ''Worked out'' with the last bass player either! Still friends with the guys as life is too short.......speak up!....I SAID LIFE IS TOO SHORT!!!....WHAT???????/

[Len_derby]

This afternoon the covers band, Night Shift played at the Cromford Meadows Classic Car & Bike Show, Derbyshire.

We were slightly nervous about playing outside with no cover given the forecast of thunderstorms. But, we managed to get our three half-hour sets done and packed away before the rain started. The sound on-stage was a bit odd because of the glass panels at the edge of the terrace bouncing back sound. However, we got good feedback from the audience, so all was good.

 

[Gasman]

We played a private 60th birthday party last night in Gillingham (Dorset) social club. Pre-gig requests included 'Wipeout', (not on our current list but no problem for me although our drummer worked up a good sweat!) lots of rock n roll, and One Step Beyond plus our other sax numbers (me doubling) - all very varied but appreciated. Went very well, enthusiastic dancing, free food and drink  and we've now got our new computerised Bose PA working well. 

 

Downside? Left home at 18:00, got back at 01:15... definitely cream-crackered today...

[Leonard Smalls]

We had a rehearsal today which our guitarist couldn't make... So we went ahead anyway. And bizarrely, it sounded great with 2 basses, drums and vox!

All was tighter, no widdling between songs and spending ages getting "The Sound".

Any other bands with just 2 basses and no guitar? 

Hmmm...

[neepheid]

3 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

We had a rehearsal today which our guitarist couldn't make... So we went ahead anyway. And bizarrely, it sounded great with 2 basses, drums and vox!

All was tighter, no widdling between songs and spending ages getting "The Sound".

Any other bands with just 2 basses and no guitar? 

Hmmm...

 

Only one bass, but there's no guitarist in The Inevitable Teaspoons.

[Leonard Smalls]

3 minutes ago, neepheid said:

no guitarist in The Inevitable Teaspoons.

Keys? Sax? Noseflute?

 

[Obrienp]

I know this problem of being asked to turn down too much. One of the bands I play in is like that. The rhythm guitarist/main singer has developed tinnitus, which I am very sympathetic about but he is constantly asking us to turn down. Fortunately, the drummer uses  an electronic kit, so we aren’t driven by drum volume to the same degree as other bands I have been in.
 

I was originally using an Orange Terror 500 and BF Two10 for gigs but at the levels we are playing at, they weren’t functioning properly: impossible to get any quieter and apparently too loud. I switched to my then practice rig of a BF One10 and Warwick Gnome but that was apparently too loud, even though I couldn’t hear myself because the sound was going passed me at calf level. Consequently, I sold the Gnome and One10 and bought a Peavey Max 150, which has a tilted speaker baffle, so the sound is projected up to my ears. I can just about hear that but to meet the bands volume requirements, I have the gain on 3 and the master on 1! It is hardly driving the speaker and apparently it is still loud.

 

I have been begging them to just use preamps DI’d into the desk with in-ear monitoring, so we have a silent stage but the rhythm guitarist doesn’t like having anything in his ears! I even bought a cheap wireless IEM kit so they could try it out at a practice session but they have never once used it. I feel like giving him a slap and telling him to stuff it to be honest but I have invested so much time (and money) in this band, and we do sound pretty good (though I say it myself), that I don’t want to cut my nose off to spite my face. It is hard to find a decent band at my stage in life, so I don’t want to walk away from this one but it does try my patience to breaking point! 

[ezbass]

5 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Really enjoyed last night's gig. I took my Black JMJ mustang with the orange classic vibe mustang as backup. The orange one has a vintera pickup and upgraded loom. I have also lined the cavities with slug tape and perfected setup. I have been enjoying playing this bass at home all week, so I was wondering how much difference there would be between the two at volume - so I played the first set with the squier and then swapped to the JMJ. Although the squier sounded good, the JMJ sat in the mix so much better. I don't know what's so special about the seymour duncan pickup in the JMJ, but if its ever made available as a spare part I'd like to get my hands on a few for my non-JMJ mustangs.

 

I took my HB ‘stangalike, which sounds brilliant at home, and the JMJ to a rehearsal. I played the HB and it was good, really good. Then I played the JMJ and the difference was amazing, almost as if if the bass was saying, “Did you want better than really good? Oh well, I’ll see what I can do. How’s this?” And then winks at you conspiratorially. All a bit fantastical as a description, but I was truly surprised at the difference, it also did much the same against the Stingray shorty at a gig. I wonder if the Seymour Duncan custom shop Mustang pickup is the same? 

[neepheid]

1 hour ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Keys? Sax? Noseflute?

 

 

Close - keys, sax, trombone.  Yes, noseflute - exactly!

[Cat Burrito]

Nick and I donned our crazy summer outfits for some fun in the sun as we played an hour of gothic classics in the sun.

 

 

The crowd was initially fairly small but picked up throughout the set. Some of the audience really got it, and a fair few recognised us from before. I didn't need to buy a pint which is always a bonus. I had my cheapie acoustic bass that I can never replace as it's screamingly good for the  (roughly from memory) £100 I spent on it, plus played some mandolin, mandocello, backing vocals and drum. That's us done on the live scene for a month and we have other stuff to focus on (video / recording). Unless we get itchy feet...

[Bluewine]

4 hours ago, theplumber said:

After lockdown I joined a new band. Rock/pop covers. Was told before I got the gig that it may be loud and I should make sure i had a big enough amp!! (singers...what are they like!) Great band and do well on the circuit plus the guys are brand new....but at gigs..mega loud...at practise..mega loud! No amount of talking about it or moaning about it made any difference! The mixer was a sea of red lights!! I spoke to the guitarist in private about it and he went off on one saying that he had two expensive Les Pauls and a Marshall stack so he could be heard! I tried playing louder than the band which I could manage but that made it worse and my ears almost bleed! After a while though they seen sense and let me go as it''wasn't working out'' I believe it never ''Worked out'' with the last bass player either! Still friends with the guys as life is too short.......speak up!....I SAID LIFE IS TOO SHORT!!!....WHAT???????/

Ain't that the truth. Spent most of my week either gigging or working on other music projects. I was completely separated from any negativity.

 

Agreed, life is too short. 

 

Blue

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, Obrienp said:

I know this problem of being asked to turn down too much. One of the bands I play in is like that. The rhythm guitarist/main singer has developed tinnitus, which I am very sympathetic about but he is constantly asking us to turn down. Fortunately, the drummer uses  an electronic kit, so we aren’t driven by drum volume to the same degree as other bands I have been in.
 

I was originally using an Orange Terror 500 and BF Two10 for gigs but at the levels we are playing at, they weren’t functioning properly: impossible to get any quieter and apparently too loud. I switched to my then practice rig of a BF One10 and Warwick Gnome but that was apparently too loud, even though I couldn’t hear myself because the sound was going passed me at calf level. Consequently, I sold the Gnome and One10 and bought a Peavey Max 150, which has a tilted speaker baffle, so the sound is projected up to my ears. I can just about hear that but to meet the bands volume requirements, I have the gain on 3 and the master on 1! It is hardly driving the speaker and apparently it is still loud.

 

I have been begging them to just use preamps DI’d into the desk with in-ear monitoring, so we have a silent stage but the rhythm guitarist doesn’t like having anything in his ears! I even bought a cheap wireless IEM kit so they could try it out at a practice session but they have never once used it. I feel like giving him a slap and telling him to stuff it to be honest but I have invested so much time (and money) in this band, and we do sound pretty good (though I say it myself), that I don’t want to cut my nose off to spite my face. It is hard to find a decent band at my stage in life, so I don’t want to walk away from this one but it does try my patience to breaking point! 

 

I think there's a place for " loud" as long as it's  good "loud".

 

Blue

[bassbiscuits]

Sunday afternoon gig at a very hot, humid, steamy Donkey in Leicester with the Andy Wales Blues Band. Outside was about a zillion degrees and we were roasting to death in our tight black jeans and Chelsea boots.  

But the decision to play inside paid off when a massive downpour and thunder arrived a few songs in. The whole vibe suited our swampy blues and soul music thing tho. The only downside of all that humidity is that I now have exactly the same hairstyle as Gene Wilder. 
 

Edited June 19, 2023 by bassbiscuits
Extra photo added