Lozz196

They sound great with the ABM410 (I have the same set-up) so unless you`re finding that too weighty give it a go. Other than that they also sound great with Ashdowns Rootmaster cabs which are lighter and smaller than the ABMs. I have the 414 of the RM range (a 4ohm 410) and 2 x 210 - all with upgraded Eminence Beta speakers in them and all of which I`m selling soon. I go for the same sort of sound JJ/Foxton/McKagan, gnarly, trebly, with a bit of drive and the RMs handle this very well.

The Squier would be my option, you`d have a bass that will sound similar to the main but also not be an expensive instrument that would cause too much concern about leaving in a gig-bag unattended in a corner of a stage. Plus sell the amp on here for a few quid.

I imagine the answer relates to bears & woods, Mick..................

I had a bass with a Villex mid-control on it. It changed the frequency of the mids, so simply turning it a bit made the instrument much more prominent in the mix.

PM`d

Irrespective of venue I take my gigging gear, that`s what I bought it for. It would annoy me greatly if someone deliberately knackered any of it, less so if it got knackered but was an accident. Luckily although some of the crowds we play to are seriously serious people, due to that very fact they behave themselves, they don`t need to walk about trying to impress people how hard they are and mess with bands instruments. It`s only the pretenders who cause the issues - and at some of the gigs we play the serious ones usually police the gigs better than the security, anyone taking liberties is inevitably taken to task, often with the worst of Paddington stares.

2008 onwards the quality on all Fenders, both MIM and US imo got better, and from 2012 they upped their game again, and again on both MIM and US.

If the snare is a Ludwig Black Beauty def do not mic it up, as it will already be at least 27 times louder than everything else in the room anyway.

The Super Twin, Super Compact, Midget etc are all pretty "clear" speakers - pretty much no colouring to the tone, whereas the 210/410/610 of the Retro series are more vintage voiced. If looking for super-clarity and crisp highs the former are the better bet. Whereas if looking for classic rock sounds, or Motown warmth then the Retros are great.

Backup bass has to be the same type imo - I use a US Precision and my backups are another US Precision if I`m doing a really important gig or tour, and a Squier VM 70s Precision for regular gigs. Both strung with Rotosound steel roundwounds. Sure due to differences in pickups and possibly bodywood there may be a slight difference in sound, but I`ve got to be as near as my regular bass as possible.

I`m not fussed re any recordings bein sold, or vids used with me in them. Was my decision to leave. If I`d been sacked I might be slightly miffed, nut unless there`s anything contractual then you`re on a hiding to nothing.

Well on the originals band circuit quite often you gear share, or agree that "on this gig we`ll provide backline, if you do so on the next gig" type of thing. Or there may be provided backline, so it`s a case of, get on the bus/train/tube with your bass and bag of pedals/leads and get to the venue. It does of course work far easier in London/cities doing this, less so in the sticks - our local buses end at 11:30.

Just bought an Ashdown ABM410 from Alan. Great comms throughout the deal, drove to his to collect, and when there we had a cuppa and a good chat about all things bass/amp/cab, as you do. Got great cats too, one of which seemed to rather like me - and the feeling was mutual, awesome moggy. But of course, this shouldn`t be a factor in deciding whether to buy basses or amps

On stage I don`t really notice the difference, but in a small rehearsal room I find rear-ported cabs seem a bit boomy, unless I of course move the cab into the middle of the room, or, more sensibly, cut the lows for the rehearsal.

My gigging basses stay in their cases unless I`m using them. My others are on one of those 3 instrument rack stands.

Whenever I`ve had a 210/410 set-up the 210 has gobe on the top, mainly due to the 410 in general being on castors, and my OCD deems it unacceptable for the smaller cab to be on the bottom anyway. Not the most technical of reasons, but hey-ho, would be a boring world if we were all the same. There`s also the serious point that if the 210 and 410 are getting the same amount of power from the amp (if each cab is same ohm-rated) then I`d prefer to be able to hear if the 210 is struggling.

I`ve not got the answers to the specific questions but my two-pennorth is that the Para Driver is the best preamp/DI pedal I`ve ever used.

Just sold an Ashdown RM500 to Mike. I`d cunningly hijacked a post of his with a shameless plug for this amp, and we arranged a deal. As I was driving back past his from a gig this morning I dropped it off at a pre-arranged meet, where he very kindly offered me a cuppa and a chance to have a sit for a while back at his. A great chat about all things music/bass/amp/cab and then I was on my way. Deal with confidence.

When I joined my old punk covers band we did a gig in Weston Super Mare (it was my first gig with them) . A girl in the audience (19 max I`d say, and we were all early 40s) seemd very impressed by us - to the point where she asked us back to her hotel to take some Class A`s and "party". As a newbie to the band, I didn`t know how this would proceed, but was very thankful that to a man we all decided to hit the road and get a hot chocolate at the services as it was goin to be a long drive. I knew then I`d found the right band. Whereas the rock band I`d just left, well lets say the rest of them would have partied all night with her.

Not heard anything re failures on these, but, and shameless plug here, I`m going to be selling my RM500, bought new in Dec last year, used as a backup.

Very nice, love white/black/maple as a colour combo.

They`re a very bassy bass, tons of low end so cut lows and boost highs plus high mids if your amp/set-up allows this. It could be a dodgy tone pot though, so may be worth getting that checked out.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1503490830' post='3358645'] The chap from Kula Shaker did attempt this a few years ago, citing the older Sanskrit roots of the symbol. Predictably, that didn't go very well... [/quote] Yep, and apparently it also used to be the red cross symbol in some countries, prior to WW2. Originally I believe it was meant to be a symbol of light, but the strangely-moustached one messed that up.

I think there`s also the issue of context to take into account. If I walked into a venue that had Union Flags/Cross of St George Flags banded about, but it was a village fete for example I might not be that concerned. However if I walked into the same venue with the same flags but populated by DM wearing skinheads - and I am a DM wearing skinhead - then I might be a bit more cautious until I established what exactly was occuring. I do draw the line at the swastika and the hammer & sickle though, I don`t care for whatever reasons, if either of those are displayed I`m out of there.