My rented backline adventures

[svtb15]

You mean, Jimmy is a white guy?

Wait, wait wait! You mean Jimmy ISN'T a tiny James Brown lookalike wearing a Devo hat???

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

You mean, Jimmy is a white guy?

See Post No. 170...

 

[svtb15]

I know he is a white guy.. Just messing....

Jimmy something like this would be good for THOSE dates.. Just point it towards you and forget the crowd.. Let the PA do it

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

I know he is a white guy.. Just messing....

From the smile, I figured so.

...Jimmy something like this would be good for THOSE dates.. Just point it towards you and forget the crowd.. Let the PA do it

I wish I would have kept my Buster combo...

 

[David Hayes]

I am luckily almost always able to score a V4B or an SVT of some sort. I am not ovely particular about my tone as long as it sounds like an SVT. lol

 

[JimmyM]

I know he is a white guy.. Just messing....

Jimmy something like this would be good for THOSE dates.. Just point it towards you and forget the crowd.. Let the PA do it

Kirk, Mesa's super hard to find for rental bass backline, at least it is in my circles. Besides, I'm Ampeg's bitch

And Roland, not only will it land me with a kickback combo, but it'll land me in the world of the unemployed. I really only said that as a joke.

 

[Clammy]

No, but Merrillee is


Slovenia? Ever do a gig with Winny Puhh from Estonia? Great band, if a little...um...odd. That's great that they supply a metal band with a little Yammy combo, BTW. That must have looked awesome

Never played with them, but I've seen a few of their vids on Youtube. "Odd" is putting it very mildly, but they're fun to watch, and the music is pretty good, too.

The combo was so small, you couldn't see it anyway, hahah!! Plus, our guitarist was supplied with a 100w full Marshall stack (per the tech rider), so all I could hear on that stage was him, heheh... it was a fun gig, nonetheless.

Cheers!


Cheers!

 

[moff40]

A couple of you guys have me beat by a long shot. I haven't had the pleasure of being given a tiny practice amp masquerading as "backline", but I have a few friends who have.

For the past 30 years or so, off and on, I've played with a hard/rock metal outfit whose heyday was the early '80s. The band still has a following, and still sells records, if only now from the merch table and online. Since about 2006, every summer, we've got together for a few weeks and gone to do a bunch of shows, either here in Canada or Europe. These are really the only "fly" dates I do; the rest is local and I bring my own rig.

Anyway, with this band, I'm usually very specific when it comes to backline, so I usually get what I want. The only real disappointments that come to mind is that everytime I play Ottawa (Ont Canada), I always seem to get stuck with the same Yorkville XS400 2x10 combo with a Yorkville extension cab. Everywhere else I get my SVT/810. I'm an Ampeg guy, so while I was able to coax a somewhat usable tone out of it, and it was plenty loud, you can imagine my disappointment with the Yorkville.

And then there was the Open Air in Germany in 2012. First disappointment was that my bass did not arrive (it was never transferred to the international flight due to a thunderstorm in Toronto), so, being left-handed, ended up using the only lefty I could find (a $200 Ibanez SoundGear), and the backline amp was a Marshall bass amp (some rack-mounted POS) with a 4x10. Needless to say, it sounded like sh!t to me. Marshall should stick to guitar amps. Actually, I think their bass stuff is discontinued now except for the "student" stuff.

BTW, Clammy - I think we may have met in person - I was an Ottawa boy for years, and I've known John Ricci just about forever...

 

[Clammy]

A couple of you guys have me beat by a long shot. I haven't had the pleasure of being given a tiny practice amp masquerading as "backline", but I have a few friends who have.

For the past 30 years or so, off and on, I've played with a hard/rock metal outfit whose heyday was the early '80s. The band still has a following, and still sells records, if only now from the merch table and online. Since about 2006, every summer, we've got together for a few weeks and gone to do a bunch of shows, either here in Canada or Europe. These are really the only "fly" dates I do; the rest is local and I bring my own rig.

Anyway, with this band, I'm usually very specific when it comes to backline, so I usually get what I want. The only real disappointments that come to mind is that everytime I play Ottawa (Ont Canada), I always seem to get stuck with the same Yorkville XS400 2x10 combo with a Yorkville extension cab. Everywhere else I get my SVT/810. I'm an Ampeg guy, so while I was able to coax a somewhat usable tone out of it, and it was plenty loud, you can imagine my disappointment with the Yorkville.

And then there was the Open Air in Germany in 2012. First disappointment was that my bass did not arrive (it was never transferred to the international flight due to a thunderstorm in Toronto), so, being left-handed, ended up using the only lefty I could find (a $200 Ibanez SoundGear), and the backline amp was a Marshall bass amp (some rack-mounted POS) with a 4x10. Needless to say, it sounded like sh!t to me. Marshall should stick to guitar amps. Actually, I think their bass stuff is discontinued now except for the "student" stuff.

BTW, Clammy - I think we may have met in person - I was an Ottawa boy for years, and I've known John Ricci just about forever...

There's a good chance that we've met. I've been living here for about 28 years now, and have been in the local music scene just about as long. Have we ever played any shows together (Exciter and your band)? What's the name of your band?

As for Marshall bass gear. Don't discount it. My main rig is a VBA400 on top of mid-80s JCM 800 Bass Series 4x12 and 2x15 cabs. This rig is an Ampeg killer, hehehe... The VBA/VBC series was awesome, but it has been discontinued. I think mainly because most people only think "guitar" when Marshall is mentioned.

Cheers!

 

[moff40]

There's a good chance that we've met. I've been living here for about 28 years now, and have been in the local music scene just about as long. Have we ever played any shows together (Exciter and your band)? What's the name of your band?

As for Marshall bass gear. Don't discount it. My main rig is a VBA400 on top of mid-80s JCM 800 Bass Series 4x12 and 2x15 cabs. This rig is an Ampeg killer, hehehe... The VBA/VBC series was awesome, but it has been discontinued. I think mainly because most people only think "guitar" when Marshall is mentioned.

Cheers!

We haven't played together - at least when I've been with the band. The band is Fist.

I'm willing to concede that my issue with that Marshall might have been traceable to the actual bass I was playing, and the fact that the 4x10 was on the floor. All boomy; no real definition.

Way back in the early '80s, my Fist rig was a Sound City 200, jumped to a Marshall JMP; the Marshall pumping 2 4x12 slant-tops; the Sound City running 2 1x15s. During one cross-Canada tour, I bought a Magnavox-era SVT in Saskatoon, and that was the tone I was looking for. While that amp was eventually sold (during my side-trip to Trace Elliott), since then I really haven't really LOVED a bass amp that wasn't an Ampeg. As always, YMMV.

 

[Baird6869]

Here's just a lovely rig I had the pleasure of playing thru last month in Anaheim at a corporate gig. I asked for a SVT and an Ampeg 4x10 or 8x10 and got this disaster.

Super old Randall solid state head with a dusty used and abused SWR Henry the 8th cab. The bass was surprisingly a early 70's Fender Jazz.

The head was terrible and actually started cutting out right at the end of the gig (the DI feed was fine, thank god), I am not a fan of the cab and the bass took me an hour to set up (it wasn't playable past the 7th fret as it kept bottoming out).

Absolutely terrible rig. Surprisingly the drums were high end and they keyboard amp was a sweet Roland Jazz Chorus 120.

 

[Clammy]

We haven't played together - at least when I've been with the band. The band is Fist.

I'm willing to concede that my issue with that Marshall might have been traceable to the actual bass I was playing, and the fact that the 4x10 was on the floor. All boomy; no real definition.

Way back in the early '80s, my Fist rig was a Sound City 200, jumped to a Marshall JCM; the Marshall pumping 2 4x12 slant-tops; the Sound City running 2 1x15s. I bought a Magnavox-era SVT in Saskatoon, and while that amp was eventually sold (during my side-trip to Trace Elliott), I really haven't really LOVED a bass amp that wasn't an Ampeg. As always, YMMV.

Oh yeah, I know the band. Were you with them in the early 90s? One of my bands played with you guys at Roxanne's (IIRC). Back when I was playing guitar.

I've always been a Marshall guy. They have the sound in my head. When I first made the switch to bass, I was running through my JCM900 guitar stack. Eventually, I picked up a couple of Super Bass amps, and the JCM 800 Bass Series cabs. Then, I moved up to the VBAs. I do use Ampegs pretty regularly thanks to having backline supplied 99% of the time we play. I do like them, but prefer my Marshalls. Tone is a subjective, personal thing for sure. I've only gotten to use my own rig twice with Exciter. Both times within the last 2 years here in Ottawa.

Cheers!

 

[georgestrings]

Maybe if I turn up ridiculously loud the next time he gets me a 410...hey, it's all blowing past my knees and I can't hear it, right?

I don't know about that plan, bud - you might find yourself gigging thru 210s after that, hahahah!!!


- georgestrings

 

[seanm]

We haven't played together - at least when I've been with the band. The band is Fist.

I saw Fist in the late 80s early 90s.... trying to remember where. You didn't happen to play the last New Years Eve at the Chaudiere Club before they got rid of the Rose Room? I believe Sword was the headliner. If not, it had to be Roxanne's.

Anyway, glad to hear you guys are still together.

 

[svtb15]

I hear ya

Kirk, Mesa's super hard to find for rental bass backline, at least it is in my circles. Besides, I'm Ampeg's bitch

And Roland, not only will it land me with a kickback combo, but it'll land me in the world of the unemployed. I really only said that as a joke.

 

[LiquidMidnight]

If I have learned anything from this thread, it is the importantance of owning a good DI.

+1 to that. I've never owned my own DI box, and like Jimmy, I'm generally not a fan of using them if I don't have to. However, this summer, I figured that a DI box would be a good investment, so I picked up a JDI. That thing's paid itself back 4x already.

BTW, worst provided backline I've ever had to use was probably a Peavey Firebass through a Hartke Transporter cab. I like Hartke, but when you plug into a Transporter, it becomes apparent very quickly why it's Larry's budget line.

 

[moff40]

Oh yeah, I know the band. Were you with them in the early 90s? One of my bands played with you guys at Roxanne's (IIRC).

Roxanne's and the Chaud were clubs the band played often, as was the British.

Fist has gone through many iterations over the years. I've often joked that with all the personnel changes, it's almost like Spinal Tap - in fact, three of the drummers (John Chenier, Cliff Davies, and most recently, Bob Patterson) have died, though not onstage or choking on vomit. With the exception of Cliff's suicide, none of their departures were as spectacular as Spinal Tap...

I was in the band from '83-'85, toured "In The Red", and then played on and toured "Danger Zone". Then I went on to gig with One to One, and then off to doing my own thing, but still maintained contact, and did studio stuff with Ron off and on.

I saw Fist in the late 80s early 90s.... trying to remember where. You didn't happen to play the last New Years Eve at the Chaudiere Club before they got rid of the Rose Room? I believe Sword was the headliner. If not, it had to be Roxanne's.

Anyway, glad to hear you guys are still together.

Like I said earlier in the post, I left the band in 1985 or '86, and then moved from Ottawa to Vancouver in 1990, so it likely wasn't me you saw. Ron has kept the band active over the years, with the odd hiatus here and there. He has a few guys in Winnipeg he plays the odd gig with, but he usually flies me in for bigger shows.

The Fist thing started back up as a lark. On a whim, we decided to do a reunion a few years ago, and that sort of snowballed into playing in Europe in 2012, and a new album this year. We still only play a few dates a year, usually timed so everybody can use vacation time, but the audience is still there, and they still buy tee shirts and CDs at the shows. I can't count the autographs I did in Germany...

Cheers, guys!

 

[rolandm]

Had an odd weekend. Friday night in Burlington, Iowa we played a pretty cool spot called the Washington. Fun little place, mostly blues and jazz, but with the occasional rock and pop outfit wandering through (that was us). We'd sent them our stage plot ahead of time (no one apparently reads them), and were hoping for the best. Not so. We run entirely in-ears and are entirely digital in terms of processing - no amps. Extremely quiet stage, with the exception of the drums. Took the sound guy a bit to suss it out, but it ended up alright. Apparently every rock band that comes through there is loaded for Hammersmith, from what he said.

Next night, I sat in for a benefit with a buddy's band, back line provided, so I didn't need to bring my personal rig. I find out it's an Ampeg B2R and a 410HLF. Boomy, squat sound without a lot of definition, partly due to the room, and partly due to the head. I got a decent enough sound, but it was definitely not my cup of tea. I've played through one Ampeg cab that I actually thought was passable to my ear, and that was coupled with an Aggie DB750 head. Other than that, when I see Ampeg on the backline at a gig, I cringe.

We're off until March redoing our show, except for a small benefit for Washington, IL tornado survivors in January, which has (wait for it &#8230 an 810 Ampeg cab on the bass backline. BYOH, though. So my GK gets to make a rare road trip out of my studio. YAY!

 

[JimmyM]

Had an odd weekend. Friday night in Burlington, Iowa we played a pretty cool spot called the Washington. Fun little place, mostly blues and jazz, but with the occasional rock and pop outfit wandering through (that was us). We'd sent them our stage plot ahead of time (no one apparently reads them), and were hoping for the best. Not so. We run entirely in-ears and are entirely digital in terms of processing - no amps. Extremely quiet stage, with the exception of the drums. Took the sound guy a bit to suss it out, but it ended up alright. Apparently every rock band that comes through there is loaded for Hammersmith, from what he said.

Next night, I sat in for a benefit with a buddy's band, back line provided, so I didn't need to bring my personal rig. I find out it's an Ampeg B2R and a 410HLF. Boomy, squat sound without a lot of definition, partly due to the room, and partly due to the head. I got a decent enough sound, but it was definitely not my cup of tea. I've played through one Ampeg cab that I actually thought was passable to my ear, and that was coupled with an Aggie DB750 head. Other than that, when I see Ampeg on the backline at a gig, I cringe.

Grrrrr....

 

[rolandm]

I think the main reason I cringe, is because I don't have enough time with the Ampeg products to really know their intricacies to the point of being able to get it fairly close to "my" sound. It'd be the same if someone stuck an Eden, SWR or whatever up there, I imagine. But weirdly enough, every SVT I've come across just sounded so bloody BOOMY. Cut the low end and it'll tighten up a bit, but honestly, if I take the head off and use a GK (1001/2001/800/700 - whatever as I'm familiar with them), I can quickly dial in a nice, tight growl out of my jazz bass.

Maybe I need to just go to the music store and sit there for an hour or so twiddling knobs. LOL.