Lozz196

It`s funny, amps, and how to find the ones that work best for us. I happened on mine by accident. I`d been through many Class D mini-amps, all great, but there was always something that just wasn`t quite there, tho couldn`t put my finger on what it was. And then, after using many provided rigs I suddenly realised that the ones I liked best were Ashdowns, be said Ashdowns combos, head & cab, whatever. So made sense to go down that route and am more happy with my sound now than I have been in a long time. Admittedly I use a Sansamp Para Driver for my eq & gain, but I find that the Ashdowns on their bypassed eq section really flatter the sound and after a long time, I get exactly what I want. And, sorry about this, but what I`d been looking for was the "H" word. The smaller amps in comparison just didn`t have it - though the Ashdown RM-500-EVO was the nearest (and very near too, only really notice the difference on bigger stages, in pubs it had plenty).

Buy one main bass, one backup bass, one amp, one backup amp, one speaker cab, and whatever you do don`t join Basschat as you will talk yourself out of all of the former and it will cost you a fortune.

The 2012 - 2015 US Jazzes have a quite deep neck, as does the MIM Classic 70s Jazz.

[quote name='BarelyL4' timestamp='1507389718' post='3385166'] Hi Lozz, that's interesting as that's the sort of tone that I am after - I currently run a MB LMII into a Berg 2x10, so I'm looking for a similar set-up but in a lighter package. [/quote] For reference, the link below is my sound. Even putting my Precision/Sansamp through a Gallien Krueger (which have a fairly reknown clarity to them), I still had to really push the high-end to get this through the Retros, plus due to their softer/more rounded top-end, the gain didn`t really come through as well as I wanted. The Retros just softened the sound that little bit too much for me - essentially making a more Retro sound, whereas I needed more modern clarity/attack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJMBJAK91M8

I went down the lightweight route for a fair while and fairly happy with all the amps I tried, but hand on heart, when I used them the weightier amps did sound better to my ears. And thinking about it, guitarists never seem to moan about carrying a whacking great Marshall valve amp around, so a 13kg bass amp isn`t that big a deal to me.

I had a Two10 (coupled with a Four10) and did find that I had to push the highs on my amp a fair whack to get the definition/edginess I wanted. So if your amp doesn`t do highs/definition very well then the BF Retro Series may not be the right range. For reference my tone is a bit like Duff McKagan/JJ Burnell, and I really had to push highs and high-mids to get anywhere near what I wanted. It`s why I moved them on in the end, however that was my fault, not the cabs, if I`d been doing anything else at all they would be pretty much perfect, but they are relaxed at the top-end.

If you were using the AG very clean you`ll struggle to get that from the TH. I`ve had both and to me the clean-ness of the AG seemed more in the Markbass area than traditional Aguilar old-school sound which the TH does so well, so maybe throw a Little Mark into the option-pool. Of course if you had the AG with the drive and were using that as a main part of your sound then the TH can get pretty near, as old-school warmth/drive it`s where the TH is.

It`s nice to be trend-setter

I`d get a very long lead that would run around the edge of the stage, then gaffer it down along the front to avoid audience members getting caught on it. It`s easy for us all to have a pop at clumsy singers but remember, the singer is what sells the band and they should be concentrating on their own performance, not having to worry about leads on the stage (and I`ve been on a good few bands with clumsy singers so am not coming from a holier than thou position here).

I`d message Alex direct, he`s incredibly helpful and providing your explanation of needs is clear, he`ll recommend the right cab from his range for you, not based on cost or profit, but for customer satisfaction. It`s why BF are such a great company, a good bass-player at the helm (rather like many bands really).

Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols is a great guitarist, and considering the rubbish about them not being able to play, listen to Nevermind The Bollocks and his guitar work, which is a cracking blend of many great guitar tracks. The producers, Bill Price & Chris Thomas, in the prog about the album commented on his playing and how he`s so tight as a guitarist. Malcolm Young of AC/DC - Angus gets the limelight, but without Malcolms rhythm work I doubt the band would have been so good. A great platform on which Angus/Bon/Brian could work on. Izzy Stradlin - Guns N Roses. Again a great rhythm guitarist, and seemed to have a knack of playing very sparsely, adding to the songs rather than being the rhythm guitar that kept the songs going - not an easy feat to accomplish. G`N`R certainly missed him when he was gone.

Well I`ve had Gary Mac set one of my Precisions up and it plays beautifully, and the pickups are pretty much balanced perfectly, so maybe PM him and ask him for the settings he used on mine? I`m a pick player, and a heavy hitter - Gary did say that my set-up was the highest he`d ever done, I suppose I`m more caveman than I thought. One thing I did note from the above though, a .60mm pick - I`ve found that the lighter the pick, the more mids/highs come across, and less lows, so that may be the area to look at, and possibly up a gauge or two? I use 1.14mm Dunlop Tortex Wedges, and even dropping down to 1mm I can hear the change in the sound, especially on the D & G strings, both being far less "forceful" in the mix.

For the music suggested I`d go fo LaBellas or GHS Precision Flats, both to my ears fit that sound really well.

Plus point to your mate for sticking with the first person, despite being offered full price by the next, pretty decent I`d say.

[quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1507210593' post='3383955'] The Adelphi? Do you have the obligatory photo taken in the Gents? [/quote] Given the fact that I was always hammered in those days, it`s quite possible it happened, but I`ve no recollection of it. Did use to love playing there though, always a great gig.

[quote name='mr4stringz' timestamp='1507030352' post='3382814'] The awesomeness of Ashdown customer service right there. [/quote] They really take it to the next level, great comany to deal with, and Mark himself is very helpful.

Aside from a couple of dodgy performances on guitar/lead-vox, my first actual proper gig, on bass was: Location/Venue: The Adelphi, Hull Your age: 21 Your bass: Yamaha BB1100s Your amp: Fender Bassman of some sorts, with matching 4x something cab (10s or 12s) The set list (some of it): All original material Anything else that might be funny/interesting/embarrassing: It was my first ever gig on bass, the bands first ever gig with that line-up, and though the band were well known in the area, the audience thought it was the best they`d ever heard the band. Cue instant big-headedness, I`d arrived!

Just about my only preparation for the gig is make sure I drink at least one bottle of water just before going on stage, and make sure I have a pre-gig urination - at 50+ one needs to make sure their bladder behaves.

The Ashdown Mag combo should be fine, I`ve used a few recently as provided rigs and they`ve more than been up to the job. The ABM combos as mentioned by la bam are also great, in comparison to the MAG range I find the ABMs have more depth to the sound. Depending on budget and if you`re concerned about weight/portability I`d check out the Fender Rumble 500 combo - a 210 combo that sounds great, or at least when I heard one in a band setting I thought it did. Get a lot of good reviews and are pretty lightweight for an amp of its power.

I`m careful with my instruments, but if a ding or knock happens, then it`s genuine road-wear/battle-scarring for a gigged instrument. I`ve never minded buying used instruments with wear & tear on them either, playability and sound matter more to me. In fact on a used bass I`m quite happy to see some dings, speaks to me that someone thought the instrument was good enough to gig regularly. I suppose that`s the glass half-full view, the half-empty view being they thought it was a rubbish instrument that didn`t deserve looking after.