Is this proper jam etiquette?

[Blueszilla]

I play lots of open mikes. It takes me 10-15 seconds to tweak the house amp's controls to my liking, and should take you or the next guy up the same. It works like that in my world about 98% of the time, more or less. Once any of the participants fall outside that paradigm all bets are off though. If you told me not to touch the controls I'd simply stand down and not play a lick -- can't recall anyone ever telling me that in 40 years though. If Kirby took 20 minutes to get the amp to his liking his set would already be over.

+1. If I'm supplying backline, I might ask not to pass a certain volume setting or maybe not max out the bass on the EQ, but tweaking a little is natural. Taking 20 minutes isn't reasonable for a 'jam'. I respect your right to protect your equipment, but fiddling with the knobs, within volume limits, is to be expected.

 

[xUptheIronsx]

I agree that he was in the wrong, but only b/c you had asked him not to move things. There have been many gigs where I was sharing, and the other guy asked me not to move things. I had to play the set with out "my sound", but I had to get over it. I would NEVER tweak knobs without permission

I share my rig at gigs all the time ,and the only request I make is to not allow the PA to clip. If the guy wants a different tone than mine I don't care. Just don't blow my speakers.

I also don't allow liquid of any kind on it for spillage reasons,

...and no pop punk, emo, or nu-metal is allowed to come thru it

 

[buldog5151bass]

It is your amp, and therefore your rules. Maybe a bit overprotective, but...

I wouldn't mind a little tweaking, but it appears he enjoys his reputation. I probably would have spoken to the leader before the session if you knew this would be an issue.

 

[davidgoldman]

Your amp, your rules however if I was the session leader I would not use your amp again as you seem a little harsh. I play open mics often and agree with one of the previous posters, I plug in and start playing. I don't spend a lot of time worring about tone for a twenty minute stint with a bunch of other players.

 

[Mechanical]

Your amp, your rules. Nothing more needs to be said.

He didn't give you the proper respect. End of story.

 

[hrodbert696]

You way over-reacted. If you are providing backline equipment to share with other bassists, then you must anticipate that they will adjust the knobs to dial in their tone. Since you had a cellphone photo of "your" settings, you should have been able to set them back very easily without the drama. You put the jam leader in a very uncomfortable situation.

I'm of two minds. I get that it's your amp and your rules, but seeing as how you took a cellphone pic of your settings, how hard would it be for you to put it back to where it was?

I agree with these since it was a jam/open mic situation. Whenever I've been to these, house band bassists have always explicitly welcomed me to adjust the settings however I want, unless they need to warn me about any quirks in the gear (don't want to blow a speaker or anything). You could restore your settings in ten seconds and I don't see the need for the "don't touch my amp" stricture in an open mic setting.

Now, in some other settings, I think you'd be warranted. Sometimes it's not an open mic but a multi-band show, and if you're letting the other band's guy use your gear you can set whatever rules you want. But in an open mic, things are... open.

 

[Bassbubble11]

Don't think I would want to play an open mic on your rig......Give Kirby a break, that's what knobs are for.

That's not the point. The point is he was asked not to change it and he did anyway.

 

[Mushroo]

"Sure, no problem, you can borrow my car! Just don't touch the steering wheel; I have it positioned exactly the way I like it, and it will be a pain for me to get it back to the exact same spot if you turn it."

 

[TheOxRocks]

It seems like to me you set out to irritate him and escalate things from the get go once you learned of his past history.

If they're not tweaking it to a point where it damages your equipment what's the big deal? They want to have just as much fun at the jam as you.

I didn't even know this guy was going to be there, much less know anything about him or his history.

Set out to irritate him? Quite to the contrary. I'd asked him not to screw with my amp. None of the other bass players did (the one who wanted me to back off the bass and boost the mids a bit asked me to do it - I happily obliged).

The consensus seems to be: my toys, my rules. So I won't worry about it.

 

[okcrum]

I agree with these since it was a jam/open mic situation. Whenever I've been to these, house band bassists have always explicitly welcomed me to adjust the settings however I want, unless they need to warn me about any quirks in the gear (don't want to blow a speaker or anything). You could restore your settings in ten seconds and I don't see the need for the "don't touch my amp" stricture in an open mic setting.

Now, in some other settings, I think you'd be warranted. Sometimes it's not an open mic but a multi-band show, and if you're letting the other band's guy use your gear you can set whatever rules you want. But in an open mic, things are... open.

No, open mics are not open. Lack of respect should not be tolerated. Open mics have rules. If you ignore or flaunt them, off you go.

This type of attitude is what encourages random drunks at gigs to get up on stage and grab a mic, unannounced. If the musicians have no self respect, the crowd (or the jammers) won't either.

Don't worry, there are plenty of people who agree with you. Just search for the "...spilled on my..." or "...broke my..." gig threads.

 

[Joedog]

That's not the point. The point is he was asked not to change it and he did anyway.

Exactly. He was a guest in your house. If he didn't like your rules he could have said "thanks I'll pass".

 

[Dogbertday]

I didn't even know this guy was going to be there, much less know anything about him or his history.

Set out to irritate him? Quite to the contrary. I'd asked him not to screw with my amp. None of the other bass players did (the one who wanted me to back off the bass and boost the mids a bit asked me to do it - I happily obliged).

The consensus seems to be: my toys, my rules. So I won't worry about it.

So did you leaving cause the house band to not be paid? Or not get another gig? cause then you're messing with your bandmates $$$... I've seen problem jammers and they just get booted.

That being said, your both in the wrong

 

[Fat Steve]

Your amp, your rules. That being said, I would never allow you to provide the house amp again though if I were the BL.

 

[Passinwind]

Set out to irritate him? Quite to the contrary. I'd asked him not to screw with my amp. None of the other bass players did (the one who wanted me to back off the bass and boost the mids a bit asked me to do it - I happily obliged).

Saying "please let me adjust my rig to our mutual liking" is a whole lot different than saying "don't touch any settings and play through the amp as-is." I'd have no problem at all with the former and it would still probably take 10-15 seconds to get where I wanted to be.

 

[Joe Nerve]

You way over-reacted. If you are providing backline equipment to share with other bassists, then you must anticipate that they will adjust the knobs to dial in their tone. Since you had a cellphone photo of "your" settings, you should have been able to set them back very easily without the drama. You put the jam leader in a very uncomfortable situation.

+1. If it gets to ya, then don't use your amp. 2x10s and an 18 should be able to handle anything a bassist who knows how to jam, will dial in. Plus you had your settings on your phone.

 

[JohnMCA72]

...

The consensus seems to be: my toys, my rules. So I won't worry about it.

Consensus or not, even if there wasn't a single person who agreed with you, it's still your gear & your right to decide how it's used, period. You might want to reconsider bringing your rig to open mics, though, since sooner or later somebody is going to want to adjust something again. That just goes with the territory. The only 100% sure way to keep people's hands off is to keep it where those hands can't reach it.

 

[THUNDERGODX]

The guy probably doesnt even own his own amp.

(Gear Leech)

I used to be in a band that hosted an open jam. We usually played the majority of the night, especially me, with a few singers, guitarists, and an occasional bass player showing up.

I had a Peavey Head with an I/O switch for the EQ section.

When somebody wanted to use my amp, I would punch the switch out as I was leaving the stage, making the tone settings all flat. That way, the amp wouldnt sound as good with them as it did with me.

Im not spending my money on gear to make everybody else as good as I am.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

I've NEVER been told "you can play through my amp, but don't touch anything" at a jam. If you don't want someone touching your gear, don't host the jam. Pretty simple.

Definitely not cool to demand the settings be returned to your original points while the guy was still doing his thing. Wait till he's done and then tell him to return them to their original settings.

 

[Michedelic]

I agree with you in principle, BUT...
As long as you are dealing with a succession of players in an evening that you know are reasonable, and as long as they don't exceed the two outside parameters of overdriving the input gain or cranking the master volume, where's the harm in a brief(20 seconds max)tweaking of the EQ, as long as it's not stupidly extreme? Different basses have different tones. Communication is always the key, of course. Beyond that, though, I have no patience for social-filter challenged individuals, like the characters that Zach Galifianakis plays(ever seen 'Due Date'?). Yeah, they pop up all the time, they're usually clueless about amp settings, they're self-entitled about "my sound, man", and they force you to be a hard-ass baby sitter. So, yeah, I get it; they haven't put the money into your rig, you did. On the other hand, here's a situation I've encountered---when I visit my home town, I go to a blues jam that involves old friends/former bandmates of mine. At the end of their set, they invite people up, and the bass player is always more than happy to have me sit in, but it drives me nuts that he has all of the high end and most of the high mids rolled off. It's his idea of an old-school sound, but what he doesn't get is there's a lot of note definition missing, and most moderate high end is going to get eaten up by cymbals and guitar anyway. What he has left is this throbbing woof(and that's NOT Howlin' Wolf's little brother), but he's adamant about the settings not being messed with, so I have to respect that, as frustrating as that is.

 

[yodedude2]

... Now I'd heard about Kirby - great player, but somewhat on the eccentric side. Likes to mash-up tunes without telling the other players about it. Spends more time fiddling with his amp settings than he does actually playing. I was more than ready for him, though.

your amp, your rules. still, you baited the guy. you set him up so you could push him around. the bl supported you.

you win.

but don't be too surprised if you are the one who's not invited back.