Trace Elliot ELF paired with a hifi speaker Vonyx SL8 as a bass cab

 

I bought this Vonyx SL8 passive 8 inch speaker on eBay because it was offered to me really cheap. I plan to use this as bass cab for my bandmate and if it doesnt work, I'll try it as my guitar speaker cab or a stage monitor.

So on our rehearsal I brought it and tried his Trace Elliot ELF mini bass amp head and I was really surprised. It sounded nice and crispy. Works well as his bass monitor during rehearsals and for small venue gig. The Trace Elliot ELF has got an XLR output which we use to connect to the PA system. So yeah his bass still goes to the FOH (Front Of House). 

I also tried this Vonyx SL8 as my guitar cab. It worked but not as good as a bass amp. Especially when I step on my effects pedal for distortion. Also it's probably got to do with my Vox MV50AC mini amp head. Perhaps if I use a hifi amp, it might work as an FRFR speaker. I haven't tried it yet because I lend my speaker to my bandmate.

So if you're looking for a cheap bass cab for home use or rehearsals or small venue gig as a monitor speaker, I think this is the answer. 

How to drop tune using your Zoom G1Four

 It was shared to me by my good friend and ex-bandmate on how to drop tune using the Zoom G1Four. I've been using this pedal for very long time. I never tried until he mentioned it to me. 

Also after discovering how to drop tune, I started to re-invent and use it to up tune. Like a virtual capo.

If you want to know how I did it, here's the link to my membership videos: https://youtu.be/i_my36qtVSM?si=zSl-KDPbYn08mONB

I joined 5point6 band on their gig at ABP Southampton Marathon 2025

 I was invited by 5point6 as dep guitarist. We planned to rehearse about 3 times for this gig but we ended up to meetup more it's because we've been a bit unlucky with the drummer. I think we had 3 drummers that didnt push through because of busy schedules and conflict of interests. Anyways, we finally found one and the line up was completed.

Fast forward to the gig. I was very excited. The organiser planned it very well. The challenge now is the road closure because of the marathon going to the venue. Our venue was at Itchen Bridge Woolston and by the barrier/toll gate. My son came with me that day. We commuted so it wasnt a problem. And the stage was just right in front of Woolston train station. 

When we arrived, Rock Choir Southampton was already rockin it and you can hear the cheers and the music from the train station. We immediately went there and waited for my bandmates. Then, when Sherwin arrived, just few minutes later, Karl approached us because he's in charge of the sound system as well as they will be performing with his band, Davey Jones Locker. Anyways, he said to us to start setting up on stage while the Rock Choir were performing. Then soon enough all of our band members arrived.

There's Mr. Rhino jamming along to the music of Rock Choir. We were busy on stage setting up and Karl was helping us with our sounds. Then it was time for our set. We had a quick soundcheck just to hear ourselves from the monitor on stage and for Karl to test our sound in front of the house speakers. Then we were good to go. 

Everyone was busy, the participants running under the heat of the sun. It was quite warm that day but at least there's breeze because they were on the bridge. The crowd cheering and then the volunteers and the organisers busy with the event. 

We just crack on with our songs. The unfortunate thing happened. I snapped one of my strings on our second or third song. The show must go on, so we just continued playing and then after that one another string snapped again. So I was left with just 4 strings. We still continued until it was our last song and on the intro, I really needed a complete set of strings so we swapped guitars with our rhythm guitarist. 

And that's what happened that day. We stayed for Davey Jones Locker and they're amazing. Rockin the stage and high energy band. Mr. Rhino pass by again and dance to Davey Jones Locker songs. It was amazing day for us.

Improvised Recording at Planet Sounds Rehearsal and Recording Studios

 We've had the chance to record our session at Planet Sounds Southampton. So what we did was, plugged everything to their mixer and then line out to Focusrite Scarlett Interface and record.  Sounds straight forward isnt it. 

So, Im using my zoom G1four guitar processor and directly plugged into the mixer. The bass was plugged straight the mixer and then the drums goes to the drum monitor then lineout to the mixer. We were using an electronic drumkit. The electric guitar and acoustic of Rob goes to his amp. So he got a Laney acoustic amp with a DI out. So that's easy. We just used the DI out and into the mixer. His electric guitar goes to his Boss Katana 50W which doesnt have a lineout. So we mic'd it and that's the only one that was mic'd in during our session the rest were plugged straight to the mixer. 

Also we used the PA speakers as our monitor and the only one who's using the headset to monitor our recording was Sherwin. I let him use my wireless in-ear monitor which I bought from TEMU and it's a Wave WP-10 wireless in-ear monitor. So he can hear our sound and mix it properly. He asked me to adjust from the main mixer which one needed boosting. It was mostly the vocals and he finds that his bass was loud so he kept asking me to turn it down a bit. 

Then he did his magic from his home and added/tweaked it and that's the result of our improvised recording session at Planet Sound Rehearsal Studios.