Lozz196

Lovely pair of basses

The way I play golf you’d think I was using my bass instead of a club anyway

It’s not been that much of an increase, the MIM Standards were around £560 at the change the Players can be got for £615.

We’re being a bit more selective now and not accepting everything we’re offered. For one we are all getting older and our gigs are countrywide, secondly now that we’re a bit more established we should leave some space for the up & coming bands to have a chance. We get the opportunity for the bigger gigs, it would be selfish to take all the smaller ones as well.

Agree, we’re very fortunate to have the hobby/pastime/job that we all share and take that moment out to just realise it.

Don’t know if they stock ‘Rays but PMT are pretty good, they’ve branches in Bristol & Birmingham so not too far from you.

JJ was a big influence on me, not so much in playing style (as he’s far too good) but in acknowledging that the bass can be in the forefront of the mix, and have a different sound to the regular bass sounds we’d heard up til then. We’re playing Rebellion in Blackpool in 3 weeks time and The Stranglers are one of the main bands, whether or not I get to meet JJ to say I’ve been on the same bill as The Stranglers is a big one for me (and for our drummer who is a big fan of them).

I do think that the chrome pickups really add to the look.

Same for me Chris, I can take or leave the rest of it but would find it difficult to give up gigging.

I’ve learned that the more gear I have the more I want, and more importantly the more there is to go wrong, so my pedal journey has me down to my trusty Para Driver and a good old faithful Boss TU2 tuner.

It could be a case of more speakers needed for your set up rather than more volume. You’ve two 12” speakers up against each guitarist using approx twice/sometimes four times that amount. Multiply that by double and irrespective of volume you’re being swamped out. Ideally each guitarist would only use one cab each, but even then you’re up against it imo.

They are incredibly good instruments aren’t they, and not just for the money, at twice the price they would still be good value imo.

Considering that the old Motown stuff was probably played through an Ampeg (maybe straight to desk on recordings) I’d look at the VTDI, it’s capable of a lot more than just driven SVT sounds. Additionally it’s the only pedal I’ve used that has that sponginess to the sound that valve amps seem to have.

Well I’ve not noticed the fan at all, but then we rehearse at same volume as we gig, not daft loud but we’re a punk band so unlikely to hear a fan with all that going on. I’ve got the RM500 EVO2 as well. For regular stages and pubs not much between the two, but get on a big stage and the depth and feeling of sound from the ABM comes into its own. Have to say though, the RM500 is the weightiest sounding small Class D amp I’ve had, and I’ve had Markbass, Aguilar, GK, TC amps, the RM for me beats them all - but the ABM does trump it.

From the amps listed Ashdown ABM 600. It has that depth and feel to the sound at high volumes/on big stages that stops the ever-increasing turning up to compete. I`ve found with the smaller Class D amps that they certainly go loud enough but at the high volumes or on bigger stages the sound thins out, which is where we keep turning up, whereas the ABM just doesn`t, it`s pretty much as near to an all-valve amp that I`ve found in a manageable size. It`s also very capable of old-school sounds and coupled with good cabs really shines.

At one of last weekends gigs the main vocal mic kept cutting out. The sound man said he was having trouble with the wi-fi signal which up until we played had been fine. And we were the only band to use wireless kits. And he hadn’t realised we were wireless so he wasn’t taking the easy option. Hmmmmmm......

Looks great, really nice grain in the wood.

I recently bought a Squier VM77 Jazz and have been amazed at how good it is. I’ve had many Jazzes, US, US Deluxe, MIM but the Squier for me is the best of the lot.

Cheers Russ, the black n maple is the one I recorded the song/album with so it’s kinda there.

Bruce Foxton for me. As well as having great tone many of his great bass lines are what people recognise the songs by, almost as much as the vocals, which is both very difficult and a talent in itself. Eton Rifles, Town Called Malice, Down In The Tube Station to name but a few. Great player with a great ear for melody and remember, he was only late teens/early twenties when he wrote many of those classic bass lines.

What haven’t I been able to source that I’d buy in an instant - a Tech21 preamp/DI multi pedal with tuner on it that runs on good old fashioned batteries. For overseas/flying gigs their Fly-Rig and dUG would be ideal for space saving but they have to run via power supply so you’d have to take a power lead, extension lead and foreign plug adaptor. So just as much gear as my tuner and Para Driver, making it no easier at all.

Yes, I (and my band) do. We gig pretty much every week but as an originals band our set length varies from gig to gig so we have to have the not so often played material up to the standards of the always played so necessary in our view. Additionally it’s where we get the weekly “news” from the singer over who he’s been speaking to about what, rather than have endless messages about merch/proposed gigs etc. It’s now a feature each week, much like - for those old enough to remember - on The Two Ronnies. And lastly we just love playing our music, so being able to do so in the leisurely environment of the rehearsal room rather than the frantic gigging environment is a luxury.

I recently bought a Squier Vintage Modified 77 Jazz Bass when returning a bass I’d bought that had a slight defect. I saw it displayed and thought it looked great, tried it out and just loved playing it. After years of buying and then moving on Jazz after Jazz I think I’ve finally found one that I really gel with, and at a time when I wasn’t looking for one.

Well we all write together, but in general either the lead singer or myself will present a rough idea of the song and then we all work from there to get it where it needs to be. We usually plan for two more songs than is needed for an album, then whittle out the ones which sound like they least belong. And sometimes those left out end up on the next album so not much waste.

I used to use 50 - 110s but switched to the pretty much standard 45 - 105. I noticed instantly that the sound was less low and had more attack and topiness to it. I should add it was the same brand/range.