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I have a Cluedo board game and I am currently living in a bungalow. My 18 year-old self would never have envisaged such an outcome.

I'm always slightly bemused by these 'best of ...' type threads. How exactly do you define 'the best'? What criteria and metrics are being used? I've no doubt that the 2 amps in the original post are superb, but are they 'the best' because they among the most expensive class D's available? Or because they have an impressive and unique feature set? Or for some other reason? Some specifications have been quoted as have some of their unique features, but no-one yet seems to have mentioned their respective tones and flexibility, which for me personally help me decide what 'the best' amp is - for me. For example, I was tried out the Mesa Subway D800 (I'm guessing an amp that shares much of its DNA with the WD800) and it was a fantastic sounding amp, but I found it very limited in what it could do. It went from shouty and aggressive to REALLY SHOUTY AND AGGRESSIVE. Now, I'm quite partial to a shouty and aggressive bass tone, but at other times I want something more subdued, but I wasn't able to coax that from the D800. In the end I plumped for the Genzler Magellan because that could do shouty and aggressive too, but it could also do subtle and mellow, warm and vintage, bright and funky etc, and it could do all these with the conviction that the Mesa delivered its aggression. Out of the 2 the Genzler was the 'better' amp for me because it was way more versatile. But if I was playing in a punk band the Mesa would likely have been 'better' for my needs. One mans' treasure and all that.

I mis-read this and added in a comma which completely changed the meaning and the resulting mental picture: " he wears a black glove and dresses, a bit like Chairman Mao."

Jeff was not only an incredible musician and bass virtuoso, but an absolute gentleman. I am so proud to say he was a dear friend of mine. Taking a lesson from him was so surreal. He had such a serious and caring way about him. I will forever miss him. He was an extremely intelligent, articulate and worldly individual. There’s no one like Jeff. ❤️

It's interesting how we know this. What the general public often fail to recognise, is that "criminal is as criminal does". Most archcriminals, even at the highest level, can't resist screwing the system. For example, Hans Gruber was registered as living in a council flat in Holloway, North London, and was claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (which incidentally, his brother Eric continued to collect for three months after Hans' death). Even Hitler was on Incapacity Benefit (one ball), until he signed off a bit quick when he suddenly became famous for winning the Nuremberg Rally. And he put "The Berghof" in his mother's name for 'tax purposes'. Probably.

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I nearly bought it, but I tried it out and it wouldn't play Rhythm Stick properly, kept fluffing some of the notes, so I gave it a miss...

(Dr) No no, it was just some spunky interior design suggestions (black candelabras, a large fishtank etc), in case Mr Delvar was feeling a bit "beige". 🙂

I wear mine, it helps me keep time Thank you

My BB1000MA back then in it's gold periode 🙂

I see each instrument as having a certain voice. You could be Tom Jones and sing with the phrasing of Freddie Mercury, but you'll sound like Tom Jones.

Just a quick note as ive been celebrating my ascension to a half Trav by putting another guitar hanger on my bedroom wall! My arrival of a beautiful tobacco burst BB424 has promoted a further purchase of some Ernie ball cobalt flats (DR high beams on the 1025x) and yes, I started with Yamaha 21 years ago with a BBN5 then a BBNE1 (in aqua why did I sell it) and spent the interim with every posh make under the sun (11 years with warwick) and this year rediscovered how fantastic these basses are from my long time buddy "Trav" so yes "I'll never buy a fender again" there I said it 😂

I put it you, that you indeed do possess a box containing this very game, secreted in a cupboard under your stairs, and don't even attempt to deny it by spinning the old "bungalow" story. We've heard that one too often.

The Who - live at Leeds. They're an entirely other band live compared to albums. For me, that album is perfection.

Monday night gig - the Komedia, Brighton, opening for Finnish blues artist Erja Lyytinen - played a 45 minute set, nearly all originals - just one cover that works really well as a medley with one of our own. Band played brilliantly, amazing response from a pretty reasonable cold, wet Monday night crowd, and the three brand new songs fitted perfectly with the older material. All in all, an absolute corker of a gig!

Theres a thing on the "other" site - have a look at this video then list your top 3 basses just for fun Heres mine - MTD Super 5 Sandberg California Dingwall Leland Sklar

Ok, to many these will be just another two copy basses. To me (having played them) they are just so much better. SVL Guitars are the work of Simon Law, guitar tech for Matt Schofield, Robben Ford and Pete Townsend. In fact he is with the Who recording at the moment (and, with these, I got a set of Pino |Palladino's strings). Hugely resonant and nice and light. They feature 5% overwound Lindy Fralin Vintage pickups, lightweight reverse tuners and Gotoh bridges. Absolutely awesomer work and they will be my constant companions from now on.

Salmon Pink is the correct answer.

Started playing when I was 15 my bass teacher played blues so that’s what I mainly learned, then started playing reggae and I’m still playing it now at 55 , and loving it more than ever , and I’m picking up my custom sandberg tomorrow, that I ordered in December which also adds to the fun 🙂

Hey guys, I posted on here a while go but since then my guestlist has grown quite a bit I thought I'd start a new thread in case some of you might like to know about a Podcast/YouTube channel I publish called Bass Lessons Melbourne - Player Profiles. I interview local and touring bassists and publish the discussion as a youtube video and an audio only podcast episode. You can find the videos here: And the podcast here: Apple Podcasts Spotify Podomatic Stitcher In the meantime check out this episode with the legendary Leland Sklar

Great, now I want a Ken Smith.

I'd be gouging out my eardrums..

That's the nickname Dr No gave to Ursula Andress. He was so truly despicable. 😬

Well after going missing for 18 days since being collected from my house on 2ndMarch, I get an email from P2Go this morning saying that they had located the parcel, and that it is on its way to the buyer of my Sadowsky Preamp. As I had already refunded the buyer, I contacted P2Go via the online “live help” to ask them to cancel the delivery because I had already refunded the buyer in full. Anyway, not long afterwards the buyer contacted me to say that he has received and would pay me the money, which he did in due course. So to sum up, whilst this has all been very inconvenient for the buyer and myself, at least they did manage to find it in the end and everyone is happy. Although I am losing confidence in courier companies the more I use them. Btw, the buyer is a fellow BC'er and the communication between us has been great.😋

I am partial to Mesa, however the fact that the Bergantino looks vaguely like a downsized mid 1990s Hi-fi amplifier is really cool. I would love to pair it with the Ashdown vertical 3x10 for no other reason other than it would look cool.

I have bought all three of Dave's books because he told us about his first one here...I can't buy yours if you don't tell me what it is.🙂

Sorry to interrupt the hilarity you cheeky scamps but can I just ask @jebroad is this Bash confirmed for certain, as in hall booked etc.? Only checking because I want to book a hotel for the evening before so I don't have to do a round trip on the day.

Thats right! Good on yer! SM is TERRIBLE for it!

PIRATES!

Be warned Mr Skinnyman, additional sanctions will be applied, if you keep on using your quota of "little reaction things".

Personally I have used a rack compressor (a Focusrite compounder) for years and years, but then I had a very specific set of requirements with my rig that it helped out with a lot. New rig now, may even ditch the always on compressor completely, and get a pedal comp for some very overt compression fx in a few distinct spots rather than the always on comp set up I've enjoyed for the last 10 years. In general the single biggest weakness of 90% of compressor pedals is a lack of serious metering: by definition you cant hear compression work when its transparent, unless you are in the mix, in which case you are playing your bass, not setting up a compressor! If you want really transparent compression then I recommend looking at parallel compression, or anything with a blend knob. Parallel compression allows you to 'get away with' heavier compression settings without them becoming so obvious, its all about psychoacoustics, it also can act more like an expander than a compressor. Most compressors with an LPF dont compress the bottom of the signal at all, anything under the LPF frequency is not compressed and so you have to bear this in mind, they are great for transient shaping but not so good at taming wayward low end. Multicomp pedals are the solution to this, but the truth is you need a huge amount of parameter control and metering to get the most out of them - or some kind of computer interface (and therefore a digital pedal) - and masses of experience. Things like the spectracomp are fine, but unless you really know your beans dont go fiddling with the internals. Personally if I want an obvious effected compressed sound then I love optical compressors, they have this gorgeoues bwoooOOP sound to the front of the note when set right, its so funky I love it to death, but its definitely not an always on thing! My favourite is the Joe Meek FloorQ btw. For an always on compressor I like to emulate the compression of a tube amp (not the saturation though), I have explained exactly how I set this up on a bunch of other threads so a search will help you, but basically its a very very low ratio (1.3:1) and a threshold set so its always on, just (this ends up being a very low threshold indeed), attack slow enough to let the transient through, a bit of low pass, a medium/fast release ( I play a lot of 16ths) and make up gain to match on/off output when digging in. This way you cant really feel it, but its always helping atad to even things out, your dynamics are unchanged in the main. I've even run this in parallel with a much faster attack too, it stays really transparent but fattens up the front of the note a bit.

Indeed. But then your cheque bounced, I didn't get any of the follow on work that you promised and my friend Donna reckons a 'proper' photographer would have kept his own clothes on. I don't know, I just felt so....so.... used

Both are clearly towards the top of the lightweight high powered bass amp market. I'd love to try both to be honest. I'd also like to see what Genzler have in their plans....

I use Elixirs currently, never had anything but hugely positive things to say about them. They outlast everything else and make the hefty initial outlay well worth it over the course of a year. D’Addario NYXL strings are also incredibly long lasting, especially as they do not market them as a ‘long life string’. They don’t stay super bright, but they have kept a good level of brightness the months I have had them on, which is amazing considering a set of Ernie Ball Slinkys (which I do love) last me a couple of practices and gigs and then need replacing. I hate to be controversial and potentially antagonise any fans, but I personally find Rotosounds strings dreadful.

Seems I'm the only one who thought the retro Stingray sounded utterly horrible. 😐 Impressed by the first MTD and Ken Smith, but I kinda doubt they're in my £200. second hand price bracket. 😬 I agree about Mr Devine's nice playing. 👍 Bet I could make them all sound rubbish, by spanking out my version of "Town Called Malice".

Your wish is my command. *Use decent headphones/speakers* I'll let you try to decide in which order they go. The basses change every 4 bars. Volumes have been normalised as one was a fair bit louder than the other, this is a tonal comparison, not a pickup volume test. Both are strung with La Bella flat wounds, the '71 has 760FL, the 44-64 has 760FS. The 44-64 is very much based on a 1964 spec Fender Precision, so a C width neck with a shallow depth. The '71 is kinda classic 70's, B width neck and really quite a bit deeper. Si

Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live - fabulous album (and DVD if you want it in visual format too)

In short, yup! B|Amp does indeed give you access to a huge amount of functionality. The DSP speaker profiles just don't appear on any other bass amp I am aware of. Absolutely brilliant. You can think of Forte as being a B|Amp as the signal path integrity is the same, however, think of the Forte as having a B|Amp with it's settings "locked" to an optimal configuration. The EQ is fixed, not fully parametric as an example. Yes, you can save programs on B|Amp and there is also a wireless foot controller for changing your programs (which may of course include a driven patch and then maybe a compressed sound, or EQ adjustments!!) Do I think B|Amp is worth the extra dollar? If you saw the amount of kit I used to grab around in order to achieve what B|Amp can, the answer is a resounding yes. That said, Forte offers up a very strong argument for remaining on my shopping list.

I've had good results with Dunlop Super Brights at the cheaper end and then D'Addario NYXL's at the pricier end.

I did once...didn't make any difference

I'm certainly no legal expert, but I know from past experience that a threat of legal action can be enough to get things moving. I'd start by asking them for their registered address, so that legal papers can be served. I suspect that they wouldn't want to risk the expense of this going to court, nor run the risk of having their terms and conditions thrown out - for what is a trivial amount in the grand scheme of things. You can make a claim online yourself in many circumstances. Have a read at this:- https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/taking-legal-action/small-claims/deciding-whether-to-make-a-small-claim/ (My own experience - a set of expensive hair straighteners failed just outside of warranty. The large online retailer refused to take any responsibility, citing the warranty had expired along with their standard T&Cs. I insisted that this was sold as a premium product and I could reasonably expect them to last longer. I eventually asked for a repair, partial refund or discount on a new set, and if they could not provide one of these then I would take the matter to a small claims court. I had a full refund for the product with 30 minutes.) George

Great gig at Caird Hall in Dundee. Took us nearly 8 hours to get there, due to high winds on the A1 causing chaos. Always get brilliant audiences in Scotland, and Dundee was no exception - plenty of participation and dancing in the aisles. Fab venue with friendly crew and staff. Quite a cavernous sound but I got used to it fairly quickly and enjoyed the bass sound onstage - one of those nights when your rig sounds how you wanted it to! The return journey started off with blustery snow, but at least the winds had calmed down a bit. 700 mile round trip for the gig, but still well worth it.

Had two gigs at the weekend with the Stones trib band that I regularly dep with. They've recently had a line up change, including adding a second guitarist. Saturday was his first outing with the band and the drummer (a good friend of mine) was also a dep, playing with them for the first time. We hadn't managed a rehearsal all together. So Saturday was a bit ropey tbh, and although the punters seemed to enjoy it, I shall draw a veil over the details of the evening. Suffice to say it wasn't my finest hour. Sunday was completely different! Same line-up, what a fantastic gig!! Everything just seemed to come together to make it a really stonking performance. The venue was a bar, very local to me, who often put on music including occasional Sunday afternoons. The place was completely rammed, everyone there had come for the sole purpose of seeing the band (and having a few drinks of course). The place was laid out so all seats were facing us, no screens playing football or any of that nonsense. Sound guy was a bloke well known to us, a performer himself and really excellent. Lovely support act, who stayed to listen to us right to the end. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a gig more. I felt like we were all playing out of our skins. I had several friends and acquaintances in, all of whom thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking out at the audience, every one of them seemed to be tapping their feet or singing along (no room for dancing, it was that packed!). The atmosphere was fantastic, everyone was friendly and having a good time (mostly over 40's of course, just like the band!) When we finished we couldn't move for people wanting to come up and shake us by the hand and buy us drinks. What was particularly pleasing was the number of women who came up to me and said how great it was to see a woman playing in a rock band and kicking a*se, especially in the same week as International Women's Day. I always reply 'You can do it too, it's never too late to learn - just go for it!' I would love to play with that line up again, we all really gelled. But with me and the drummer both being deps it's unlikely to happen all that often. Nevertheless a fantastic gig and I still feel high about it 24 hours later.

I always felt that Wishbone Ash 'Live Dates' was a totally brilliant album but all the studio stuff sounds thin and lifeless. IMO etc etc.

Hiya Gary

Yes yes yes, these replies and suggestions are all very interesting blah de blah de blah, but at no point has ANYONE (including the OP) actually considered whether his wife actually wants, or needs, a bass guitar for her birthday

I'm surprised at the dislike of that bassline. I think it's sublime.