bassbiscuits

First gig of the year for me with the Andy Wales Blues Band at the Flying Circus in Newark. Was looking forward to blowing the dust off. It’s a proper music pub where people come to listen which is ace. Played a right mix of choice covers and originals - proper sweaty loud gig, as it should be. Lots of very positive feedback and I expect we will be back soon.

These sort of valve amps make me drool - VBA400, AD200B, Ampeg SVT and V4B etc, but I couldn't face lugging them around these days. I occasionally get to use them in festivals etc and they're lush. Well done sir.

I had a lovely JC bass for a while. Pros: Looked amazing, played beautifully, a lot more versatile than expected but with a real character of its own. People who’d seen my band for years suddenly noticed I was there thanks to me shapethrowing with a big gold bass on stage. Beautifully made too. Cons: Mine had ghastly neck dive (all my other basses have conventional top horns) and was prone to feedback when playing very loud on a small stage (part of a multi band gig with shared backline, so I was limited to what choices I had). Ultimately I sold it to fund a MIJ Mustang bass, which is more versatile for my style. But I keep lusting over a JC whenever they pop up for sale.

Currently only about 10 gigs in the diary for this year but I’ve gone back to university to retrain, so while the extra pocket money would be good I also don’t want to overcommit myself to too many gigs until I’m clear what I can manage. I do a mix of dep gigs, solo gigs and my own band each with their own arrangements for booking gigs. Its never been my full time job so the money is welcome rather than vital. First gig of the year next weekend. Happily do two or three gigs a month but much more than that starts to get too frantic juggling it all. The exception is summer (wedding season) and Christmas (party season) when I take as many gigs as I can!

Does the phrase “it’s meant to be a joke” mean anything to anyone?

I only guessed the Gretsch and the Danelectro. Dear me.

Would love a Thunderbird even tho I know they don’t fit me at all. I miss my Jack Casady Bass, even tho it didn’t fit me at all. And I lust after an SG bass / EB-3 etc even tho I have no use for one at all. It’s nice to still dream about basses that make your heart beat faster tho eh.

It is all relative depending on what your body is comfortable with - though 4.8kg is on the heavy side by any measure. I never used to worry about the weight of instruments, but now I’m older I really can’t do anything over 4kg at all. I’ve tried a few times but it always ends with pain and I’ve finally accepted my limitation! There was a certain authority to the tone and feel of the heavier basses I’ve owned, but with the kind of amps, cabs and pedals available today I have no problem getting a relatively lightweight bass like a 3.6kg Mustang to sound fairly mighty. It’s striking that balance between tone and weight I guess.

I’ve hurt some tendons in my fretting hand forearm which was aggravated by playing so much in the run up to Christmas. As a result I’m trying to play as little as possible at the moment while I’ve got no gigs for a bit. I’m find it extremely hard not to noodle or play at all! It’s something I do every day in some way. Feel like I need to sit on my hands or something.

That is an alternative you are right. Bit of a pain tho.

Hello, I’ve got a load of Markbass kit but have fallen in love with the sound of an Ashdown ABM Evo II head that’s in the rehearsal room we use. I want to see if I can borrow it to try through my MB cabs. I’m aware it might be a bit like mixing Silk Cut and Marlboro as they are aiming at rather different sounds. Anyone else tried an Ashdown head through Markbass cabs?

Rather than picking the clever heroic ones, I've been more influenced by solid players whose groove, tone and contribution I've probably tried to emulate something from in my own way (not saying I've succeed mind you). I'd go with: Dee Murray (Elton John) Duff McKagan (Guns N Roses) Trevor Bolder (Bowie era) Norman Watt-Roy Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) Gene Simmons (Kiss) Aston Barrett (Bob Marley) Also an honourable mention to whoever was responsible for the thumping bass lines and four to the floor drum beats in the electronic dance music I loved in the 1990s. Instilled in me the satisfying power of thumping away on a solid root note. Sometimes less is much more more.

Here’s my budget bass. Yamaha BB604 from 2003, which cost me £200 seven years ago. It’s alder, maple, rosewood, active 9v circuit. Nicely balanced, weighs 3.8kg, and dead loud. Was bought as a spare at the time but quickly became my go-to bass.

At the risk of stirring the pot, I think you can go wrong with a Yamaha too. I had one very dull Yamaha bass some years ago, and a Yamaha acoustic whose neck decided to go awol and turn corkscrew shaped. Rare, but not unheard of. But in general yeah they’re pretty cool bits of kit.

I’ve got a pair of BB604 basses which are incredible considering the two together cost only £500. Do they sound great? Absolutely. Do they give me a really good P bass sound? No. That’s what I use my P bass (or my Mustang) for. So depending on what you want, it might suit you better than a P, but if you’re after specifically a P bass sound, you should look at a P bass really.

Looks mint! Steve Harris was also my inspiration for learning to play bass over 35 years ago now. In fact I was having a bit of a rough time of things last week and ended up watching a few songs from Live After Death on Youtube which soothed my soul and took me back to being a wide-eyed teenage metal fan. I met him once at the British Music Show in Earls Court in 1997 - I queued up at the Rotosound stand for ages to get an autograph, but was then too starstruck to say anything to him!

My pair of BB604 basses. One I’ve had since 2017, one since autumn 2023. Both identical 2003 models made within a month of each other.

My entire rig (not sure where my pedal board was when I took these tho!) And the bit I’m currently using as my main small / medium gig rig. The other stuff in the background of the bottom pic isn’t mine - it’s the Cinelli Brothers’ kit from a gig where we opened for them.

I use KZ ZS10s too and my only complaint is that they feel quite heavy and large in my ears so once I get sweaty I have to keep adjusting them to stop them falling out. Decent all round sound quality tho for £40. Also heard good things about the Ultimate Ears ones mentioned above too and will probably upgrade to something more comfortable than the KZ set when the time comes.

I use the big yellow Dunlop picks that look like rounded off triangles. I play guitar and bass and have used them for both for years. Below is a pic from the Strings Direct website.

My non-scientific approach involves going (up/down a bit) “yup that feels about right.”