Jacqui and I had returned from Mexico refreshed but at least 6 hours
behind UK time. After a few days we were
still a bit out of time, but I organised
a band practice on the Tuesday before the gig at my place to check we could
remember any of the repertoire? In the
meantime I ordered two Line 6 Stage Source powered speakers; a 2T and 2M each with a 10" speaker and
horn and some interesting DSP in the electronics. The 2T has a useful mixer on the side - good
for solo / acoustic artistes such as Mr Mog.
Line 6 had recently reduced prices significantly and my spend was timely
and primarily aimed at overcoming the lack of space problems of pub
venues. Trying them out I was impressed
with the sound quality and small footprint.
The DSP included feedback suppression and different sound optimisation
for PA, Music, Monitor, Guitar etc.
Downsides: they are quite heavy
and tricky to locate on a pole. A
claimed 800 watt class D amp sounded good with plenty of headroom for dealing
with peaks; and there is a quiet cooling fan which only comes on when things
get hot inside the cabinet. After
playing around in the back room I concluded they were a similar hi-fi sound to the
Bose L1 but a bit more directional. The
Bose with 2 x B1 has the edge in the depth of bass and top end dispersion and
produces a big weight of sound for a less powerful amp of around 500 watts. I reckon the band would be best placed to use
the 2 Bose set up if it can and 1 Bose and 1 Line 6 in cramped gigs (i.e. most
of the pub jobs). I can't see where I
would use just the 2 x Line 6 with the band,
but I might prefer that set up for a solo acoustic session? However, I could see us using 2 x Bose and 1
or 2 Line 6 at the largest venues. On the Friday gig day I loaded up both Bose
and one Line 6.
In the break one of the audience mentioned that Mick Taylor (ex Stones) lived nearby and sometimes popped in. Wow I said: I was playing a school dance in 1968 and we were supporting a London band (can't remember the name though). They had brought a guest guitarist with them who had just landed the job with John Mayall - turned out to be Mick Taylor! So I would have met him briefly though I'm sure he wouldn't remember the lanky youth on bass with the 'Banana Tree Band' that was me then! Looking out the window we could see the wind had got up and the pub sign was really rocking in the gusts.
We opened set 2 with "Apache" and I went out front to do the 'walk' and check the sound. Guitar sound was good and then a young lady joined in the shads walk - fantastic. Things continued quite well and we even got a couple of the 'youngsters' at the bar doing a few dance moves as we did a 'strictly come dancing' version of "Delilah". I was pretty happy with the overall sound - the audience reaction to the banter showed that they were able to hear the PA clearly. We were remembering our songs better than expected and I pushed the continuity between numbers to make it a bit slicker. We finished with "Wonder of You" to good applause.
We came back on for set 3 maintaining the cosy audience reaction and played a rockier final few numbers than usual with "Born To Be Wild" as the encore. This time I was able to get the attention of the Chris's to bring it to an end together rather than the usual 'freak out' descent to a muddled finish!
We were all pleased with the first gig back and that we had laid the New Years Eve ghost of PA problems to rest by using both Bose. We didn't notice the absence of one B1 bass bin on Chris's side and, because we aren't putting bass through the PA, I reckon one B1 on my side would be fine as well. Mind you I need two my side to stand the mixer on!
We took our time packing up hoping the wind would die down. One chap came over unsolicited and said what an excellent sound I got from my guitar - I was quite chuffed! The landlady came over and said she was sorry there weren't more there - the storm had kept some of the regulars away. I didn't tell her that a half full pub was a good crowd for us nowadays! We loaded up in the wind, the rain had eased fortunately. I led the convoy back and we had to stop briefly to skirt a fallen tree near Stanton (fortunately the police were in attendance and the blue / green? lights advertised the problem from a safe distance away. Got in about 1am and enjoyed a cocoa before I took to bed.
It was 6pm on a very stormy night as Chris the Bass and I set off in
convoy up the A143 heading to Wortham.
The wind was strong and gusty and the rain was heavy and torrential at
times! Despite the storm and rush hour
traffic, we arrived at the pub after 30 minutes and parked up near the front
door well away from the worst of the puddles and mud spreading round the pub
frontage. Stepping inside we were shown
to a decent sized stone floored playing area in front of a large bay
window. I made up my mind there and then
that this would be a 2 x Bose gig but I would use just one B1 bass bin on
Chris's side to save a few inches on the footprint! As we got the last of the gear in, Chris the
drum arrived. I explained to the guys that
at most gigs from now, we were aiming
for the PA and bass amp to be right at the back and Chris the drum was to set
up in front of them. About an hour later
we were all set up and enjoying beer with the band muzak on. I was happy enough with our sound check even
though we were setting the PA down a bit to avoid a toppy ring. I wanted a less aggressive feedback
suppression than New Years Eve and figured it would be better to avoid feedback
altogether until there was a real need for more volume. By 8:30 there were was a little crowd of 20
and 30 somethings round the bar, a darts
match starting up in the side sports bar with a good age mix and a handful of
40 plusers in the dining area enjoying a meal.
Chris the bass had agreed our start time of 8:45, so we did a bit of a toilet change and came
out to open up our first gig of 2014 with the safe choice of "Flingel
Bunt". I was happy with the sound
and we got a ripple of applause which is as good as it seems to get in pubs, so
we carried on with a safe choice set. We
did start to get a bit of reaction here and there and I was heartened enough to
build up the banter which began to involve the younger ones round the bar. I avoided slowies and on this occasion we
finished with "Rock Around the Clock". We are now playing this in G as the optimum
compromise between guitar for the 9th shape chords and the vocal (A is too high
E is about right). Anyway it went well
and it's an easy reserve to have in the repertoire to drop in as needed.
In the break one of the audience mentioned that Mick Taylor (ex Stones) lived nearby and sometimes popped in. Wow I said: I was playing a school dance in 1968 and we were supporting a London band (can't remember the name though). They had brought a guest guitarist with them who had just landed the job with John Mayall - turned out to be Mick Taylor! So I would have met him briefly though I'm sure he wouldn't remember the lanky youth on bass with the 'Banana Tree Band' that was me then! Looking out the window we could see the wind had got up and the pub sign was really rocking in the gusts.
We opened set 2 with "Apache" and I went out front to do the 'walk' and check the sound. Guitar sound was good and then a young lady joined in the shads walk - fantastic. Things continued quite well and we even got a couple of the 'youngsters' at the bar doing a few dance moves as we did a 'strictly come dancing' version of "Delilah". I was pretty happy with the overall sound - the audience reaction to the banter showed that they were able to hear the PA clearly. We were remembering our songs better than expected and I pushed the continuity between numbers to make it a bit slicker. We finished with "Wonder of You" to good applause.
We came back on for set 3 maintaining the cosy audience reaction and played a rockier final few numbers than usual with "Born To Be Wild" as the encore. This time I was able to get the attention of the Chris's to bring it to an end together rather than the usual 'freak out' descent to a muddled finish!
We were all pleased with the first gig back and that we had laid the New Years Eve ghost of PA problems to rest by using both Bose. We didn't notice the absence of one B1 bass bin on Chris's side and, because we aren't putting bass through the PA, I reckon one B1 on my side would be fine as well. Mind you I need two my side to stand the mixer on!
We took our time packing up hoping the wind would die down. One chap came over unsolicited and said what an excellent sound I got from my guitar - I was quite chuffed! The landlady came over and said she was sorry there weren't more there - the storm had kept some of the regulars away. I didn't tell her that a half full pub was a good crowd for us nowadays! We loaded up in the wind, the rain had eased fortunately. I led the convoy back and we had to stop briefly to skirt a fallen tree near Stanton (fortunately the police were in attendance and the blue / green? lights advertised the problem from a safe distance away. Got in about 1am and enjoyed a cocoa before I took to bed.
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