G-bitch

When I say VFM - I'm referring to the premium you are paying for an American brand. Why pay $000's on a US made bass (MTD/Fodera etc) when there are so many amazing European luthiers for same/less money without then adding import & vat to it.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='82646' date='Nov 2 2007, 08:16 AM']The thing I'm looking at is four hundred quid cheaper than anywhere else, incluiding Thomann... I don't think anyone will match it..![/quote] Holy crap dude - what are you looking at?!

Mesa stuff is just too pricey to provide any VFM outside of the US (usual caveat about used gear though...). The Eden Nemesis line gets good write ups although not heavy, they aren't exactly like EA/Markbass from what I can gather.

The DBS will likely sh*t on any other Marshall small combo offering, from a great height!

Dude, for punk/ska I would've thought that something like a Gallien-Krueger combo would be ideal given their reputation for really cutting through live and 'loudness'. For the sake of saving up a couple of hundred quid more, it ain't worth skimping as if you want to make it into a bigger rig later you can just add a cabinet to a quality combo for a great stack, but you may well find that you want something better, sooner. Choose well and buy once so that you don't end up selling it in 6 months because it doesn't cut the mustard live (is this why you're looking to replace the Lany?). *Edit, just noticed you DBS question - that would probably be a very good move for you. The power sections in those heads are phenomenal, capable of peaks up to 10 times the rated wattage - result is that you don't run out of headroom as easily like many other SS amps, it really is designed totally for a bass guitar signal. GK have a similar reputation, hence my previous suggestion.

Cheers for that - a bit far from Bris'l but doable on the way down to the Mother in law's!

I normally just read reviews and get a few impressions and then am more than happy to mail order, but given that Fenders can be hit or miss (more hit TBH but not by a huge margin) and they are so widely available it would be better if you could get around a good few stockists to lay hands on them. No harm in phoning ahead to avoid disappointment either.

I would like to compare the 700rb with the 400rb through my 6x10 to compare the sound at high volume but internet searching indicates that only Soundslive and GAK stock them - anyone know better?

sp**k is blocked! That's hysterical. GAS = Gear Aquisition Syndrome. I think it originated from the early days of HarmonyCentral.com IIRC I first heard the term in about 99/2000. Anyway, I was going to say that it's great that everyone just pointed out the sensible option - it's a long and expensive road once you succumb to GAS. I came to the end of it only a month or two ago, I think.

I have to chime in about second hand amps. Don't avoid like the plague at all - look at any install and you'll see a bank of amps that have probably been working their tits off almost daily for years. You will notice that there are no behringer amps, Thomann amps, etc. etc. in such rigs and there's a reason for it. Loads of high quality power amps out there second hand which will provide you with years of service, no point in buying new unless you are paranoid about failures (it is a small risk) or want one of the newer class D lightweight amps. Presumably you don't give too much of a fudge about weight as it'll live in a rack on its own and therefore be very easily manageable rather than in a 10u with several other bits of kit! Plenty of bargain power amps about from the likes of Crown, QSC, Yamaha etc - check Sound On Sound readers ads as well as ebay.

Would you pay for decent gear to have a load of clueless muppets use it unsupervised? Didn't think so. That's why you get gear from peavey, laney, HH, and occasionally Trace - it's all fairly bullet proof, the local amp tech knows them back to front to repair and they're cheap. You'll notice that most marshall heads in rehearsal rooms are valvestates because you certainly can't trust valve heads to anyone. Personally, I'd pay a little extra to go somewhere with halfway decent cabs and just take my head or a sansamp to go through.

Fook me, you guys are hard to pursuade

Do a search for practise amps and my old thread will come up with loads of suggestions. I ended up going with the Line 6 little thing but that might stretch the budget somewhat.

Guys - I was going to just get as many people as possible to meet up for a few pints in Bristol when I get down there (will be there permanently from 30th November and most weekends from Friday onwards). Don't worry about getting all gear and so on sorted until a basschat bash is due; best off just meeting up for a brew and talking about the gear we'll all bring to the next bash

Rock a phat one dude! (Pun totally intended.) What are the guits doing? You may find that you won't be using the 'as recorded' tunings as it'd mean that you end up all over the shop depending on what you might be covering. Speak to the guitards and see if they're settling on some kind of happy medium tunings that the singer is happy with in terms of range on the covers.

According to my missus, the same thing everytime! (Even though I'm just noodling in E.)

This forum is nuts man - there are more people in Bristol on here than anywhere else, even London!

Perhaps I need to clarify. On mine, I have the rucksack straps out all the time (the plastic handle broke years ago - damaged the bass too :mad:) and the tops (shoulder area) of the padded rucksack straps each have a nylon strap, with adjusters etc. that clip onto the little metal loop (for hanging presumably) at the headstock end. Maybe it was one of their first and they didn't really think it through enough

[quote name='Toasted' post='77634' date='Oct 22 2007, 09:05 AM']I've never been blown away with any of ths Shuker's I've played, without exception they've all felt fragile. That doesn't mean that I can't see the attraction of a competatively priced custom instrument for alot of players.[/quote] You wanna try mine - it's a bit of a tank! My own fault for having a wenge body though I only played a couple prior to placing my order (way back in 2002!) but they were very nice; he also managed to get mine exactly has I'd asked for sound-wise. I'd do it differently now but that's just because I'm much pickier now after getting 5 years use out of my first custom. Main criticism of my base by most people is that the EMG's dominate the sound a little, I agree somewhat but still love it.

Right, the other gig bag thread tells me that quite a few of you have these bags. I've had one for 5 years or so myself and I've always pondered the same question whenever I look at it: What the f*** are those 'secondary' straps for between the top of the rucksack straps and the headstock end of the bag??!! I can't fathom it; they appear to serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever.

Yes, works just fine - although you'll either need the newer version with the higher (line level) output, a sensitive power amp input or something to boost the level if it's the older version.

Ah well, I'm sure there's more meaningful uses for your student loan (Although I'm still glad I bought a shuker with mine all those years ago)