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Cocaine

Okay, so finishing has progressed significantly: Polish upon polish upon polish upon polish. lots of polishing. but the finish did come up really nicely. there are a few minor undulations, but the colour is perfect The bigsby now has its nice new brass string bar done on the lathe, and the holes drilled with a stainless steel guide on the pillar drill, and these are then mounted on the newly polished body! The Headstock piece of the cocobolo came out a bit darker than the body wood, but the grain is still gorgeous. I bought some extra thin abalone to go behind the little gold tree of life for the headstock, and made a truss rod cover from some 2.5mm black plastic. i was originally going to do this with some of the leftover cocobolo, but i want it to stand out a bit more so i have somewhere to sign my name in gold sharpie. this should hopefully all get finished up this week, and I will try and get someone with a good camera to take some finish shots!

I'm just a big-mouthed attention-seeking gobshite desperate for validation :-0 At least I'm self-aware...

Fingers crossed! https://www.npr.org/2019/08/27/754509680/musical-instruments-to-be-exempt-from-restrictions-on-heavily-trafficked-rosewoo?t=1566918468868

I’m never keen on handing over my name and email address to access something unspecified. Why do you need the data and how will you be using it? GDPR means you need a valid reason to process such data, and explicit consent is probably required. The big red ‘download’ link doesn’t fill me with confidence. The lock doesn’t confirm no viruses, just that the connection is https (i.e. - encrypted).

So glad I asked my initial question so ambiguously! I've inadvertently opened a tasty can of tech-worms. This is great stuff. For the record I am by inclination a P-Bass straight into the amp and turn it up kind of guy. However I also can't help investigating different set ups and creative possibilities It's fun, it's inventive, and endlessly fascinating to me. So for anyone who reads this and thinks, what a load of unnecessary bo||ocks just plug and play - I know I agree, but, technology has gifted us these creative possibilities so why not use them?

I very much doubt that I have ever suggested 2:1 is too low for bass! When I wrote my 'compression setup 101' post I am pretty sure I mentioned you can get something groovy happening way lower than that (I have gone as low as 1.5:1 for live and just about 3dB of gain reduction on a heavy hit note, but crucially always some GR even on the very lightest note, but never on the transient of that note, or the subsequent one). Non-sound engineers don't get compression like non-photographers don't get the exposure triangle (manual mode), because the variables all interact and they are not really obvious in how they do that. A compressor has a ratio and a threshold and the actual input gain, and it is the way these three interact that define the total gain reduction. With a threshold set at X if the input level exceeds X then the compressor will cut down the loudness increase by the ratio. It sounds so simple, but its got 3 variables, and one of those changes all the time (input level). If you get a single note into the compressor the non engineer thinks "I played that note at volume X", but the compressor is measuring that volume all the time throughout the note duration (well an RMS interpolation of the volume over a short (ms) time, but I digress). It sees a transient peak, the subsequent dip to the main note, the (very short on a bass) sustain phase and then the (very long) release phase of the envelope of the note. The way the volume changes through each part of this makes a difference to when the threshold gets crossed on the way down (turning the compression off). It may be that you cross X twice on the transient, or cross X on the transient, and then again just after the sustain phase, or not until a second or two later. The threshold is what determines this. Couple this with the added fun of manual attack and release controls, which determine how long after the crossing of the threshold level X as the level rises (attack) and falls (release) that the compressor actually kicks in (attack) and turns off (release) and it starts to become obvious as to why this is complex, but its really not until you intuitively understand that all compressor circuits achieve that compressor activated/deactivated state as a curve rather than a switch (even the fastest are not binary in their behaviour, except some digital limiters) which is what makes them sound different that you can start to make use of a compressor as a tonal tool rather than just some kind of extremely heavy handed fix for peculiarities in your playing.

Crack cocaine... another reason to avoid

I take drugs and drink loads of beer to get myself in the mood* * not really.

The best pics Ive seen of myself on stage have been taken when I am completely unaware of the camera. If I see someone pointing a camera at me, I usually look straight at them, which sometimes works but usually makes me look like a psychopath. Like this:

Ok. Some updates before more bass practice and sleep. After half a day with the spreader clamps inside the cab, and the other clamps helping to give the desired shape overall, the right side panel now fits easily into the cab. The plywood here is apparently malleable; this reinforces the lessons learned earlier. After a few goes of fitting and refitting, I also noticed that the port shows quite a bit of the right hand panel when looking into it. So the right panel got sprayed as well, at the top. After that was done, I glued in the right hand panel. Finally. You’ll notice I learned my second lesson from earlier - after clamping and wiping off some excess glue, I loosened off two of the clamps slightly and tapped in the top and bottom panels (dry) to make sure they fit in and that the correct shape is preserved whilst drying. Then I tightened the clamps up again. I only have four 24” F clamps and I wanted to put some more pressure on, so I piled some books on. It’s probably not necessary, or as good as another clamp, but it does do something. Back of the cab looks good as well...(photo is a bit dark, but hopefully you can zoom for detail) Back on track, I think. Tomorrow, I’ll try and get time to do the top and bottom. Then I can start rounding off edges, plan the feet, and paint it.

I knew I shouldn't have posted this build in realtime - I've been way too busy to do anything since I was last here! That said, I now have the right size piece for the fretboard, and I must say, it's rather pretty:

You won't believe this but I have TWO Zoom B1Fours one on my small pedal board and and the other on it's own in my cables bag. I found a hard plastic sandwich box in Tesco that with the addition of a small piece of foam provides a snug rigid protection case. £3.99! Take a look at the storage containers in Lakeland, B & M and Tesco. There maybe something small enough to give you just the protection you need.

Bill Evans quote that I don't find peculiar at all : "Perhaps it is a peculiarity of mine that despite the fact that I am a professional performer, it is true that I have always preferred playing without an audience."

@razor5cl I'd say the key difference between the BB 734A and the older BBs is that the 734A is both active and passive which gives it greater tonal versatility. Body shape etc has been more of a subtle refinement rather than a wholesale change from the Series 2. Most of the earlier models (Series 2, Series 1 and earlier) are either mostly purely passive or a minority that are purely active. The 734A gives you the best of both worlds on that score. Combine that with a capable vol, blend & 3 band EQ and P/J configuration and you have a very capable bass indeed. Here's a demonstration of my old bass(!) being played by @TJ Spicer, which will give you a good feel for its tonal variety and capability:

Explains why a lot of Motown bass lines are out of tune then...

Even Bruce Dickinson has two day jobs...

And remember....... you can never have too many clamps.😀

It's worth pointing out that I'll be changing the hole size in the next batch of cabinets to make fitting the handle much easier. While the bolts and T-nuts in Pete's cab are totally bombproof, they're overkill. So the holes will be sized to take 5.0 X 30mm woodscrews, which are listed in the Parts List.

No matter what else, interesting people will always find interesting ways of making music.

Here's a quick tip for when cutting the pipe for the port. If you're using a normal panel saw (as per for timber etc), then use a blunt one. I was cutting some drain pipe recently, and my super sharp panel saw caused the pipe to shatter in one place. I then tried again with an older saw I keep for odds and ends, and it worked much better.

And your crack.

Time is a great filter. It strains out all of the crap, so that we only remember the good stuff. Actually, thinking about it, it strains out all of the bland, "meh" stuff, leaving us to remember the good stuff, plus the outstandingly bad - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep anyone? That said, there was a queue at my local old-git barbers last week, so I ended up sitting in the trendy yoof establishment next door, listening to Radio 1. I was amazed at just how anodyne all of the songs were. Whilst I was in the shop, every song they played sounded exactly the same - some guy mumble-rapping something about how down he was that his "GF" wouldn't give him a "BJ", over a dull backing track consisting entirely of generic Garage Band marimba samples. By the end, I was so worn down by the suffocating, emotionless blandness of it all, that I wasn't even annoyed when it was time to pay and the hairdresser called me "Babes".

I've recently jumped into the amp modelling ship with the Line 6 Helix. Got it in the spring and initially ran it into the fx return of my Carvin BX700 with Markbass 121H cab. The amp and cab sounded good, although I knew I wanted to streamline and replace the amp with an FRFR solution. This way I would be confident that the sound on stage would match the sound in the PA and IEM. Now using a Headrush FRFR-112 and I'm very happy with it so far. It sounds bigger and deeper than you'd expect. On paper it doesn't go as low as a dedicated bass cab, (Freq Resp 53hz-20khz +/-3db and Freq Range 46hz-22khz -10db), but a benefit of this is it's akin to having a built-in hpf - you can turn up the wick and it still sounds bassy but doesn't get muddy and boomy. I don't use cab models or IRs. I prefer a simple eq lpf eq block at the end of the chain to tame the tweeter. My reasoning is that almost every recorded bass tone you hear, and most live bass tones are usually DI from the bass into the desk or straight out of the amp. If a bass cab is mic'd it's usually blended with a DI. The tone I get out of an amp model straight to my FRFR sounds so much better, punchier and 'real' than the tone of an amp model, through a mic'd up cab, through my FRFR. Besides, many bass players, including myself, tend to choose an amp and cab solution that colours the bass tone as little as possible. You could argue that many bass amps/cabs are already FRFR. If this is your preference, why change it with a mic'd cab model? Also, FWIW, the SVT-Pro4 model in the latest Helix update is pretty damn perfect. Line 6 have really knocked it out of the park with this amp model. I've never used and ampeg and never bought an amp becuase of its colouration, but this one just sounds so good and sits in the mix perfectly.

I had a very positive experience with them - I returned an acoustic that had been bought as a Christmas present for my daughter by her grandmother, as I thought the soundboard bracing was buzzing. They accepted the return without question, (I'm not even sure that we had the receipt) and sorted the problem within a week - the buzzing turned out to be a loose battery box. Excellent customer service, and a pleasure to deal with, even though I hadn't made the original purchase.

I know I've previously replied to this thread, in support of gigging... but here goes again.... Saturday I had two of the best gigs I've ever played. The 2nd of which confirmed why I do this bass playing malarky 1st gig was great, it was al-fresco in a social club beer garden, and all went well with a happy audience and landlord, and we were asked back and complimented by most of the crowd there. Second gig was a completely different al-fresco gig, with a different band, different set (very) and different audience. We were at a restaurant / bar, overlooking the sea, on a beautiful warm evening, with a very appreciative crowd. Much of it was a last minute set list, which altered as we went along - we added some songs we may have jammed only once or twice, and a few songs I'd never even played with these guys - luckily, I could see the singer-guitarists left hand and could hear him well. That 2nd gig was probably my favourite gig ever, and we played a much longer 2nd set than I could have previously imagined We played all sorts of stuff, and the landlord fed & watered us, paid us more than he'd originally agreed, and asked us to play there on a more regular basis I've never had so many compliments on my sound, playing, and style and broad choice of songs before... I left there on a real high, I have to say There's a lesson here too, I think. Now that 2nd gig wasn't originally booked (I wasn't strictly "available") but as a late booking, I'd said I would get there to play maybe just the 2nd set - if traffic allowed and I could get there on time, without too much stress. In fact, I rocked up mid first set, and plugged into my practice amp (cos I leave it at the guitarists' studio - so he set it up for me) Heck, my bass had even stayed in tune during transit - and I just jumped in, straight after unpacking my bass We didn't strictly have a set prepared (as the booking had been taken late - in any case, with this band, I don't usually do this set, we are a 5 piece, and suddenly, we were a 3 piece doing more acoustic type songs) I was concerned my praccy amp wouldn't handle playing out doors, but it coped admirably, and sounded superb. It's a 250W TC Electronic BG-250 208 which I didn't think would cope, amid guitar, vocals and some loud keys. Anyhow, someone in the audience complimented us on playing a couple of Nick Drake songs - she had been in school with the great man himself, and said she'd never heard anyone cover him before.... Right now, I feel I could never give up gigging. I'm still on a high, from two great gigs, especially as both venues want us (each band) back again

When you say "hats off", presumably that'd be Top Hats, Bowler Hats and Stetsons respectively?

That's a great pic Dave. I just try to imagine i'm playing at a huge venue and looking at the audience, even when its a small close up gig or even at rehearsals i try to imagine i'm on a huge stage playing to a crowd that wants to hear this band. I am quite self-conscious when i see a camera point directly at me but just try to ignore it. Sometimes i've looked a bit odd when its become obvious i've just seen the camera and don't know where to look and so i've tried to get round that with the huge stage image in my wee tiny head. Dave

I love it. Having played under old fashioned huge lighting rigs before LED lights, i learned a long time ago that gloss neck finishes get sticky. That’s why I play a USA EBMM with a gun oiled neck. I always wear sweat bands on my wrists too - they stop the sweat running down your arms.

The Wire -- A great HBO series. Coincidentally, Mrs 4000 is currently watching it for the first time, on the upstairs TV. 👍 You're all wrong though. It is (and will always be) the fuzz (from the 1970s). "Hey honey, you ever been picked up by the fuzz?" "No baby, but I have been swung by the t*ts!" Or, if they're in a car, 'rollers' is allowed (from The Blues Brothers). HTH

So you’re promoting your site?

Did a great couple of gigs over the weekend: Fri, Punks Against Cancer at The Mulberry Tavern, Sheffield. Was a sweat bath in there, the bass speaker cab didn’t work (I had trusty Para Driver to help out), couldn’t hear much through the monitors but it was a good gig, and a worthy cause which we’re always happy to play. Sat, The Boulevard in Wigan. An all dayer so some (most?) of the audience had indulged in liquid shall we say. We were headlining and the gig was amazing, bodies flying everywhere (one guys head got split open quite badly during the band before, but he was back for our set) people up on stage, the general chaos of the gigs we do in the North West. Afterwards pretty much the whole audience came up to us and shook hands/hugged us and said how great it was. Pretty humbling really, we’re three blokes in our 50s making a racket, but it’s really nice to see the hard work we put in paying off. Also made some good merch sales, all of which go back into the band, furthering our opportunities.

Why Festivals (Especially Reading) Are Perceived To Be A Wasteland Of Musical Ghastliness * Festivals used to be about the music rather than 'the festival experience' because 'the festival experience' was usually very unpleasant * Shrewd business tactics on the part of festival organisers led to an improvement of 'the festival experience' to the point where 'the festival experience' became the main draw rather than the music * In consequence, most people who go to mainstream festivals do so for 'the festival experience' rather than the music * People who prioritise 'the festival experience' are often people who like music made for people who don't like music * Festival promoters therefore book bands who make music for people who don't like music * People who don't like music made for people who don't like music don't like the bands who make music for people who don't like music * People who don't like bands who make music for people who don't like music won't go to festivals because the bands at festivals are mostly those who make music for people who don't like music but who prioritise going to festivals because of 'the festival experience' * People who inhabit bass forums tend to be people who don't like bands who make music for people who don't like music * Festival line-ups comprised of bands who make music for people who don't like music will attract criticism on bass forums Ergo: Most festival threads on bass forums will be critical of festival line-ups. See also: festival selfies, banners, performative display, DJ sets.

I adopt a different persona onstage anyway to help me 'perform', different clothes than I'd normally wear helps me be someone else. I'd imagine the same would work in front of a camera. For instance, this chap from @NancyJohnson's band pretends to be Mark Radcliffe 🙂

Pee wee

I've done this a few times. Always prefer the tone to be honest, but I do miss having air move behind me.

This started out as New Amp Day thread for my Genzler Magellan 800 but has grown a bit more than I was originally anticipating…. DISCLAIMER - what is stated below is just my opinion based on my experience with my bass and my cab being played at smallish pub gig volumes. I thought I'd throw that in because there might be 1 or 2 comments below that some people might not agree with. This thread just relays my experience, thoughts and feelings at the time. Having been in the market for a new amp for a while, I'd managed to narrow down a shortlist of amps that, on paper at least, ticked all my requirements; lightweight, plenty of power for bigger/outdoor gigs, more voiced towards a vintage rather than a toppy hi-fi tone, and, sensibly priced (not cheap as such, but nothing ludicrously expensive either). In the end I'd managed narrowed it down to the Aguilar Tone Hammer (either the 350 or more likely the 500), the Darkglass Microtubes 900, the Mesa Boogie Subway D-800 and the Genzler Magellan 800. A recent trip to Bass Direct armed with my own cab, a Tecamp M212 and my trusty passive Sandberg TT4 jazz bass, I had the chance to try out and compare the Darkglass (DG), Mesa (MB) and the Genzler (GZ). My test driving session was in BD's store room which is nothing more than an industrial unit full of boxes, so possibly not the best acoustic environment to test gear out, but that's how it was. I started off running each amp with all the tone controls at 12 o'clock. Any adjustable preshape filters were set to their off/minimum settings and the GZ and DG were set to their clean channels. All 3 amps the were broadly similar tonally, but there were differences. The MB had noticeably more bottom end than the others. The GZ sounded flat with no obvious frequencies either cut or boosted. The DG, somewhat surprisingly, had what sounded like a bit of a roll off at the lower end. Not much, but it was noticeable compared to the others. However, the DG had something more pleasing in the mids to my ear. It probably all comes down to what each manufacturer perceives a 'flat' sound to be. Next came an hour or so of finding out what each amp had to offer by going through various eq settings and swapping the amps over to compare each one with similar tones dialled in. Each amp yielded some fantastic tones and each had their own distinctive voice too. In fact I wasn't able to coax a bad or unusable sound out of any of them. It was a tough call as each amp has its own strengths. Mesa Boogie Subway D-800 The MB was the least versatile of the 3. Tonally, it goes from shouty and aggressive to really shouty and aggressive. Not that it has a bad tone, far from it, but it is anything but subtle. With the 4 eq points set to 12 o'clock and the voicing control set flat there was more inherent low end than the GZ and the DG in particular. Using the bass control, voicing filter and deep switch, you had 3 options to dial in even more bass. Not that you need any of them. I found that I was having to wind the bass eq back to 11 or even 10 o'clock and keep the deep switch off to stop it getting overpowering. Not that the bottom end was dominating the other frequencies, but I'd imagine that it could get overbearing in a band situation if you're not careful. The voicing control on the MB, which is an adjustable mid-scoop, has a wide range and to my ear but anything over about 9 or 10 o'clock and you were getting into 'sounds great on its own but makes you disappear from the mix' territory. Less is definitely more with that one. The tone that really put a smile on my face was playing the Sandberg on the neck pickup, the voicing set at about 8 o'clock, deep switch off, the bass eq set about 10 o'clock, low mid at 12, upper mid at about 1 and the treble at about 11. It pretty much turned the TT4 jazz into a Precision! This tone very nearly sold the Mesa to me there and then. But much as I loved the core tone of the MB, it was hard to make it sound anything other than aggressive and bass heavy. It felt like it was constantly having to be kept in check. Darkglass Microtubes 900 There's no denying that there's a lot of hype about the DG, and rightly so, it's a cracking amp. On the clean channel with the EQ set flat, it was the least bassy sounding of the 3 but had something going on in the mids that I really liked but can't quite describe. It was in no way thin sounding, it just didn't have quite as much low end as the other 2 with all bass eq at noon. Upping the bass eq to about 1 o'clock bought the low end back up to a similar level as the GZ. Of the 3 amps, the DG has the most comprehensive eq section which was quick and easy to get a great sound out of. It was the only amp not to have a preshape or contour feature, just a 4 band eq with each mid band having a switch for 3 preset frequencies. A setting that sounded great to my ear was bass between 1 and 2 o'clock, low mids at 11 on the 500hz setting, hi mids at 1 on the 750 hz setting and the treble just backed off a touch. The big selling point of the DG is the Microtubes circuit which has both the Vintage Microtubes and B3K voice settings available. Tonally, like a lot of guys, I want a bit of warmth/hair/grit/additional harmonic content (insert your favourite adjective here) in my sound, not overdrive as such, but something that is neither squeaky clean nor yet dirty. A bit grubby I suppose. I was expecting to get some mild warmth using the VMT setting at lower gain, but even with the drive and blend controls down in the 8 to 9 o'clock regions there was still too much on tap for what I am looking for. Switching to the B3K mode changed the voicing and actually sounded less driven to me, somewhat surprisingly. It also introduced a slight mid-scoop too. At higher gain settings there are some great overdrive and distortion sounds to be found, but these are way over the top for anything that I play these days, everything from 70's disco to contemporary indie. Having said that, the hairy teenage rocker in me who first picked up the bass more than 30 years ago was screaming at me to buy it for the fun factor alone. Unfortunately, the podgy, balding, middle aged man in me (which is me these days) was urging something more sensible. The DG was still tempting for the tone and flexibility of the clean channel alone but why pay extra for the Microtubes engine that I'm not going to use other than for a bit of fun? Just to be clear, I'm not saying that the Microtubes engine is inherently bad sounding or unusable, it's just that even at minimum drive settings it was too full on for my requirements. I read recently someone describing the DG sound as like the bass being played through both a bass amp and a guitar amp at the same time (or words to that effect) and I think that sums it up perfectly. It's not your classic Ampeg saturated valve bass sound, it more like a bass being played through a Mesa Boogie dual rectifier. Genzler Magellan 800 Of the 3 amps being compared, the GZ was a last minute addition to the short list. I'd borrowed a friends Genz Benz amp a few years ago (can't remember what model it was, unfortunately) and found that it had a bump in the boxy sounding low mids that I struggled to eq out. I'd just assumed that this would likely also be the case with the GZ. The good news is that this assumption was misplaced. On the clean channel with the tone controls at noon and the contour control wound right back the tone was to my ear the flattest of the 3 on trial. The blurb online talks about a “weighted feel to the notes” which I'd just assumed was the usual marketing claims. However, the low end is definitely forceful, punchy and powerful but without feeling overbearing like the MB. The mids and treble are equally present without being boxy or brittle. The eq section is simple and flexible and contains bass, treble and a single semi-parametric mid plus the contour control that has 2 different voicings, A & B. Voice A is a variable mid-scoop which doesn't have the range of the one on the MB but is far more usable for it. It was only when I cranked it up to 2 or 3 o'clock that it started to get into the realms of potentially not cutting through in a band situation. The MB voicing filter hit that spot much sooner. Voice B is a more vintage sounding mid bump with a slight low end roll off. Voice B set to about 10 o'clock with the bass pushed up between 1 and 2 o'clock gave a great, useable retro tone. Like the DG, the GZ has a dedicated drive channel, but even when ragging it the range of drive available on the GZ still seemed less driven than the DG at minimum settings. That's no bad thing. The drive sections on the DG and the GZ are very different creatures. The GZ is on the more subtle but extremely usable side. I've been through many different amps and pedals trying to find the perfect warmth/hair/etc. tone and the only that came close was the Aguilar Tone Hammer. The GZ drive (more warmth and enhanced harmonic content than a pedal style overdrive) is rich and creamy with plenty of clarity left in the underlying bass tone. There's no fizz either, just smooth, dynamic warmth. Think along the lines of the Tone Hammer but with more definition or a SansAmp at lower gain but without the mid-scoop. This was what convinced me to go with the Magellan. It just sounded right, my favourite settings being with both A or B contours at about 10 o'clock and the eq section all at noon. Even though I was looking for exactly the warm/hairy tone that the GZ delivers, the clean channel has a real immediacy about it. With contour A at about 9 o'clock, bass and mids at noon and the treble back at about 11'o clock, the tone was powerful, punchy and clear. Even now having played through the GZ for several hours I can't decide whether I prefer the punchy clean channel or the warmth of the drive channel the best. Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 I didn't try the Tone Hammer (TH) directly against the other 3 at the time, but having already played through a TH 500 a couple of weeks before, I was leaning more towards the other 3 over the TH which is lower powered (although in reality would probably have easily covered every possible gigging situation that I'd ever need it for) and although it does the warm, vintage tone brilliantly, it didn't seem to be massively versatile. Summary Without sounding like a cop out, these are all truly great amps and I could happily live with either of them. I wouldn't say that any one is any better than the others as each one has something different to offer. Ultimately I ended up buying the Genzler as that was the one that suits my needs. But it was a tough decision. The GZ also happened to be £150+ cheaper than the others, but that was in no way a deciding factor in my choice. If you want a set-and-forget single tone amp, the TH and MB are great choices if their inherent sounds are to your liking. The TH is perfect for warmer vintage tones and the MB is the ideal choice if you want something more aggressive. But if you're looking for subtlety you definitely won't find it in the MB. If you find yourself asking "is it any good for metal?" on a regular basis, the DG is the obvious choice, although the MB is definitely worth considering too. Don't write off the DG purely as a metal amp, the clean channel is good. Really good. For my needs, I found that I was having to reign back both the MB and DG to keep them under control. But I'm sure there are plenty of guys who would just let them rip and sound a damn sight better than I ever could! The simply great tone and the versatility of the Genzler is what made me choose it over the others. It doesn't do the insane drive and distortion of the DG but instead it delivers a convincing smooth valve like saturated sound that could be used across many different genres. It's not dissimilar in that respect to the Tone Hammer, but the GZ has more clarity to its drive sound. The clean channel has a lot of power behind it, real weight, dare I say the H word? The drive channel and the different voices of the contour are usable through pretty much their entire ranges. The only thing I don't like about it is its daft name

Fantastic colour....and I love the SR5 shape and pickguard. You definitely got the good end of the deal!

Again that just seems to capture the relaxed feel of the band. That's a more natural looking pose. I prefer that type of pic where you don't know its being taken.

The new date of a bass is the date the manufacturer records the serial number as its birth date. Anything much older than say 9 months, in a shop, I'd be asking for a discount on. There are manufacturers who mass produce and saturate the market - they usually insist on retailers holding a large amount of their wares in stock. It's little wonder that examples of relatively old new items floating around.

I agree with the others , take a breath before you do anything. one thing to bear in mind , a guitarists hearing could easily be shot in the higher and mid frequency ranges , they will therefore hear more lower end i.e you. I had this in my last band , the guitar kept getting louder and louder , because he couldn’t hear it ! If that is a factor and if you can all get past it, it will be cool

For me, like @Al Krow, I was late to the bass. A friend taught me some basics as I couldn’t play guitar... proudest moment being asked to join a band... then another band asked, then that morphing into our own band. Made some great friends... I’m ok at playing bass now... oh... and we played Wembley arena. 😊

A wise man* once said: "A gentleman is a man who can play slap bass. And doesn't." *Actually, it was me, so for "wise man" read "blithering simpleton".