Lozz196

In my old covers band the guitarist had that very same rig, sounded great but what a ‘mare to move about. He ended up with two Marshall 1x12s and if I recall correctly an a Orange Terror amp and was just as loud as before, but sooo much more practical.

I reckon it would have in the hair-metal late eighties.

I used one years back, with the matching 4x12 and it was loud enough for indie/rock covers with guitar (Les Paul & Marshall half stack), drums & keys.

Sounds good, and go for guitarist 2, it will be like looking at a photo negative when the band are on stage!

You are Eric Cantona!

As soon as I saw this thread my suggestion was going to be the Ashdown RM210T. I have a pair of them, they sound great.

I’ve just ordered a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless for one of my Jazzes, so I’ll update on here once they’re in and been out to task.

Well last night I used both the .73s and the .88s at rehearsal and in the mix not much difference, but the .73s were just much more enjoyable and easy to use so sticking with them.

At present it’s Fender Jazz bass into (studio owned) Ampeg amp/8x10, not even a tuner, aside from a clip-on. Should add, at present am doing classic rock in a band with guitar & keys, so leave any kind of effects to them, my job in this is to stick with the drums.

You’ll work up your biceps with that amp Tim, but it will be worth it, they sound awesome.

If I recall correctly Dave Swift does the opposite, flats E to G, roundwound B for greater clarity in the mix.

My steels are 50-105, whereas nickels are 45-100 so can’t say exactly re the feel due to higher tension, but sound wise yes it’s same as regular nickel/steel comparison, nickels warmer & steels edgier.

Yes I have the steels on my Precision, been on since about April and similarly still sound great.

You’re in for a treat, I use these on my Jazzes to get a bit of warmth/tame too much top end and have been very impressed. My main bass for home use at moment has had them on since around Feb this year and they still sound good.

My fave bass is my black/black/maple US Fender Precision, but it isn’t my most played at present. It has such sentimental value to me that it’s the one bass I’ll never get rid of (unless I have to of course). Edit - my most played at present is my black/black/maple US Fender Professional Jazz, due to it fitting the band I’m in better.

Good points, I probably should have been clearer on the picks I use, all Dunlop Tortex Wedges, started off using 1mm, went down to .88m, but then tried the .73mm and found those are the ones I enjoy using the most, but annoyingly are the only ones that don’t give me the initial attack that I like. It’s strange that such a small difference in dimensions makes such a difference in both sound and enjoyment of playing.

So, I’ve found that I enjoy playing with a lighter (.73mm) pick more than the heavier ones that I used to use. But I prefer the sound with the heavier ones. I’ve been trying to lighten my touch while playing, gone for lighter gauge strings and really enjoy those too. My question to myself really is do I just bite the bullet and forget the heavier picks and enjoy actual playing more, at the expense of the sound that I prefer. So has anyone else been through similar, and if so how did it work out for you?

On stage monitors are fine providing you get a decent enough sound check to get the levels right, and a sound engineer who will work on said levels as required. Get neither, well can you then hear yourself, and more importantly, can the rest of the band (especially important if you start songs). I’d have no problem playing just through my Tech21 Para Driver or VTDI if I could guarantee proper sound check and able/willing sound engineer, much easier and delivers the same sound where needed.

I’d have lived to have been able to dance a bit when doing ska numbers in my old covers band but I’m afraid it’s beyond me.

Should be fine, I’d expect the ABM to put out around 600-800 at 8ohms so connected to a 12ohm cab I wouldn’t expect it to overpower it - as with anything though, don’t boost low-end too much and use your ears to determine if the cab struggles.

I get where you’re coming from Jack, and to be honest even on the big stages where you’re 25 odd feet away from your amp a Class D amp will - in my experience - be loud enough, it’s just that A/B or valve amps just seem to have a greater solidity & presence to the sound. Of course if you know you can get good sound checks then monitoring will cover hearing yourself but all too often it’s line checks, and one of my pet peeves is bands continually going “I want this upped/lowered in the monitors” between each song. So on a big stage knowing your amp will have a depth and presence is a bit of reassurance. And to be honest, I preferred having the sound of a good amp behind me and no bass in my monitors anyway. Ah, those were the days.

Yes the valve drive on the ABM EVO 4 I found to thicken up the sound and go into drive only if really digging in (so all the time with the way I play) whereas the RM Drive is more like a traditional overdrive pedal, needs fine tuning to get that drive when digging in balance right.

This may be something to do with A/B amps sounding better when pushed, just like valve amps, whereas perhaps Class D amps just sound the same? I don’t know, I’ve never had to push a Class D amp to the point where it struggled but on bigger stages my ABM600 had a much different feel to the sound than when on smaller stages.

Whichever is the heavier one - as in used on 70s Fenders - I found it to have less lower mids, or at least that was the characteristic of all three 70s Precisions I had. Slightly tighter bottom end and more aggressive top end.