bassbiscuits

I find the charm of P basses to come thru when played as part of a band. Mine has La Bella flats on it, which I also didn't get at all for a while until I did some recordings as voila there was an ace, fat, bass sound. Alone, mine sounds pleasant if fairly unremarkable, but as part of a band, it occupies its own sonic ground away from the cymbals, guitars and keys, which is just how I like it. But horses for courses innit - if that isn't what you're after, that's not a problem.

Absolutely! Good Gibsons can be awesome guitars. The only Gibson I currently own, a 2006 SG Junior 1968 re-issue, is a beautiful guitar. But I've played many that are at best nondescript or at worst just not very good at all in terms of build quality, finish etc. I really hope Gibson manage to get back on track, because when they do it right they do it very well indeed.

The Virginmarys at Leicester Soundhouse in April. Can't wait!

These are really good cabs - i used one for years before stupidly selling it to fund some kit i thought was going to be better, but wasn't. I'm nowhere near Maidenhead otherwise i'd gladly take it from you.

It's a shame, but not that surprising. I've had a couple of older Gibson guitars (before about 2006 or so) which have been lovely quality, followed by a 2011 one which was awful build quality and finishing (rough fretboard, machine marks in the wood etc). I haven't bought another new one since. On the other hand, the two Epiphones I have are both beautifully made (2007 Jack Casady and a 2015 Casino) for half the price. A quick look at the Epiphone website shows that they seem to have all the bright ideas for basses, while Gibson clunk along with the same old models. Maybe Gibson needs this for someone else to take over and do it properly once again. A good Gibson is a fine thing, but they're not a dead cert at all.

Small amp wise you can't go far wrong with a Roland Cube or one of the Blackstar ID practice amps. They're both about £100 new, with nice range of effects, various preset sounds and decent EQ. And more than loud enough for home use or thru headphones.

I'm with you on this one Skybone - my fingertips don't work on touch screen devices very well at all. I've got calluses on both hands and a good 50 percent of the time i'd say the contact with the screen doesn't get thru. I got a stylus but predictably I've lost it somewhere.

There's an album i haven't heard in a while - it was brilliant tho wasn't it? Must get on Amazon and find a copy...

That's a brilliant song - I've been learning it on guitar too (Mark Knopfler's playing on it is also very sparse and tasteful). It's a lovely, dark brooding song, and thankfully the complete opposite to Walk of Life...

I remember back in the day there was Picton Music in Swansea, and John Ham Music nearby, which was run by the brother of the guy from Badfinger. Bought some good stuff from both of them in the mid/late 1980s onwards (Westone, Charvel and Peavey stuff that got me through my first few years of gigging). There was a place called Rowlands Music at one point too but I haven't been to Swansea in a while and I assume they're all long gone.

Bought a Boss ODB3 pedal from Dave. All good - smooth transaction and arrived in a couple of days. Can't fault him.

Yeah I sympathise Spongebob. I left my regular band in April last year, one of the reasons being that it had stagnated into a generic pub rock thing with little in the way of new material, and songs chosen by the band leader on the basis of being easy rather than being good. I found myself on stage one night thinking "Is this it?" Once your heart's not in it anymore, it's hard to fake it and carry on, even if it is paid regular work. Leaving that band freed up enough time for me to say yes to other musical stuff instead - I'm now gigging with a original trio, doing regular solo acoustic gigs and bits of depping work. It's enough for me at the moment.

Just sold a Comfort Strapp to Rik. All good - prompt payment, good comms etc. Smooth transaction all round.

True. It's horses for courses. I have a couple of Hiscox Liteflite cases stashed away which i use for the rare occasions where I've had to fly with instruments etc or chuck them in a van full of gear. But for regular local gigs where it's just my kit in the car, its gig bags all the way.

I've got a Fusion gig bag and a couple of Ritter ones - they do perfectly well for me. I did have one of those semi rigid Protec Contego ones that came with my Lull and which was brilliant in fairness tho the handle broke on it. I did briefly have the Gator ProGo equivalent which seemed really good (it was shipped to me in error tho so I helpfully sent it back). I'd probably get one of them next if I needed a step up from the normal gig bag.

I have a little Blackstar ID practice amp, which i connect to both my bass and my ipad/ipod. Then listen thru headphones. Works a treat and gives you all the tone shaping and effects from the Blackstar amp too.

Glad you found the right bass for you - looks like a beauty.

I've got two Little Mark heads (a LM2 and an LM3) and I love them. But I've never really got on with the cabs - much prefer the sound of my Aguilar GS410, even though it's a much bigger, heavier cab. Then again, I've heard lots of people using Markbass cabs and sounding great. I'm very tempted by their lighter weight now I'm whizzing towards my mid-40s....

That's stunningly bad.

There are Tokais and Tokais.... Japanese made Tokai stuff from the 80s (ish) was very well respected. More recent Chinese-made Tokai stuff is altogether more low-budget.

My Taiwanese-made Yamaha BB604 cost me £200 s/h on here. Bought it as a cheapy spare, but it punches well above its weight. Really good build quality, high output and versatile range of sounds. In terms of value for money it's the best bass I've got and it's not going anywhere.