Peppermint gear

Amplification by BOSE^TM

To our knowledge we were the first band in Norfolk to invest in the Bose L1 system, a unique sound system that really makes a difference to our audience in many ways.

The acoustic benefits of Bose equipment are well-known to anyone with experience in sound reproduction, be it in the music business or in home hi-fi. The Bose L1 system delivers astounding clarity and projection without the need for uncomfortable levels of volume. Since using it we have found that we and our audience enjoy the performance much more and we have received many favourable comments about the sound.

Each musician has a unit as pictured right and they are situated immediately behind us, each having a very small footprint. No other amplification equipment is required. No front-line speakers, no monitors, no mixing desk and no backline guitar amplifiers, the Bose system does it all.

Because the sound comes from directly behind us we would know if we were too loud. Because each singer has his own speaker, a better-than-stereo separation effect is apparent. Without bulky monitors and front-of-house speakers you get a much clearer view of us and there is no stage-clutter. Set-up and break-down times are greatly reduced and we can fit into a much smaller space if required.

For larger venues the sound is reinforced with a 1,000 watt Yamaha PA.

Other gear

All vocal mics are Shure SM58s. Tony plays either his Hagstrom Deluxe F, Fender Stratocaster or a Patrick Eggle custom-built guitar with onboard synth. He plays Roland and Yamaha keyboards. Tiny uses one of his many Fender Stratocasters with Boss effects. His current favourite strat is finished in a stunning ‘Daphne Blue’. He has named the guitar very imaginatively ‘Daphne’. Nice one Tiny.

Marty’s kit often attracts comments from the more ‘in-the-know’ audience members and especially from other drummers. It is a stunning kit that sounds as good as it looks. It obviously looks very much like Ringo’s famous Ludwig but the modern hardware brings it right up to date.

It’s a new Tama kit, meticulously stripped down to the last washer and re-covered with genuine Ludwig ‘black oyster pearl’ wrap supplied by Jammin Sam in Phoenix, Arizona. This particular model of Tama was chosen especially for its sound and ability to be tuned to sound like an authentic 60s kit along with features such as black coloured accutune bass drum hoops and single nut boxes on all drums to make it look like an aged kit, but with the benefit of robust fittings built using modern technology. The hardware is Tama’s ‘Road Pro’ series with limited-edition chrome ‘Iron Cobra’ double bass pedals and Paiste 2002 cymbals all round.

Marty uses a Shure PG52 kick-drum mic into the Bose T1’s onboard kick-drum gate.

Ken uses any one of his classic vintage basses by Höfner, Burns or Gretsch to give that warm and solid sixties bass sound.