Gareth Hughes

For about £90 you can get a Carl Martin Classic Optical Compressor. I am seriously in love with mine - has a lovely big sound to it with the gain turned up and great, user friendly flexibility with the attack and compress knobs. I'm a fan of simple compressors for live use and this ticks the box. Had previously used a DBX 163A and a Joe Meek 3Q preamp. The Carl Martin is a happy medium there for me. Well worth the money.

And which cover is best for metal anyway?

I've fallen head over heels for them. Have them on two basses, one being my main 4 string, and have two more on the way. Would love to have one on my Precision, but after having one on an old bass found that I can't palm mute comfortably - the P cover being that bit wider than the J version. Absolutely love them and love playing with the floating thumb. Also love that it makes me clean up my left hand technique to stop unwanted strings/notes ringing.

I have the 600 and it really does cover a lot of ground. A few times I wish I'd spent the extra few quid and gotten the 900 but that's only because after years of solid state heads I still freak a little when I see a clip light, but on the Streamliner it's perfectly acceptable to have the clip light flash. As for tone at lower volumes - the Streamliner's power section is independent from the valves, meaning that the tone stays the same no matter what the volume. In other words, it's not like an all valve amp where the power amp valves play as big a part in the overall tone as the preamp valves. Well, at least that's my understanding of it. Enjoy the headphone out - it's a truly beautiful thing. And the DI is outstanding. I'd hold onto this amp forever just for the sheer quality of the DI.

Cheers for that Dood. Possibly adding that to the list of incoming Mooer's as soon as sanity disappears for the evening.

Dood - how do you find the Pure Boost with regards to loosing any low end? Read a few reviews on TB that say there's a tiny amount of low end loss, but that it can be added back in with the EQ. Any issues with headroom?

Check Thomann out - think they go as small as 1/8 or 1/10.

Just did a trade with Matt for some pedals. Great communication throughout. Would be happy to deal with again. Cheers, g

Only person I've known to do this, with a variety of wooden instruments, is a luthier I know - and he had a gadget for checking and maintaining the humidity and was always keeping an eye on it - so not really a 'set and forget' kind of thing to do.

Sold a Boss PQ-3B pedal to Joseph - swift payment and great communication through-out. All good.

A third,would be wrong then, and a seventh completely,out of the question?

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1349388576' post='1825831'] Me, I'll stick to root- 5th - root - 5th thank you [/quote] What's a 5th ?

Absolutely. Much undying love for Moloko. When 'The Time Is Now' went into the charts it did make me realise that the X-Factor's of the world will never suppress good music forever.

Speak up fellow bass brethren. Change doesnt come if we say nothing. Last time this happened to me, on a Michael Buble type loungy gig, the low end from the pianist (who booked me) was so great that I just stopped playing and began flapping my arms up and on the ! and 3 until it caught his attention. Only then did he notice how much he'd stepped into 'my' space. Gotta let them know!!!

Melvin is such a good player. MD for Chaka Khan. Tasty playing and such a clean, full tone. Me likee a lot.

Hey - good timing, I've literally just sent this email to Faithless here, pondering the same thing, tho from the angle of 'Is a cheap EUB worth getting over a real acoustic if you're not planning on playing jazz/making it your main instrument/playing in a pop setting?'. Here's my tuppence's worth. Hey Laimis - I don't have any experience with the Palatino's but it sounds like an EUB is the way forward for you. If you're using it in a pop setting, chances are the PA and stage volume would make life hell for a real acoustic bass. There's just too many problems caused by the low frequencies coming from the sub part of the PA. And if you're standing near anyone else then just about anything can cause feedback - the kick drum, low notes from the guitar - I've even had feedback caused by vocals in a monitor being too loud. The frequencies just travel up the endpin and get that bass shaking. Pain in the ass. So, given your band mates wouldn't be too keen on taking another car just so you can have a real upright, then that's two reasons not to get one. I think it would be worth going down the Palatino route just so that you can start getting your left hand used to the note spacing - and even the right hand takes a lot of work to get used to plucking at a different angle and with a different part of the finger. So if the Palatino is cheap enough it sounds like a good way to get into the upright world without spending too much money - and you can always sell it on if you decide to keep going and upgrade. Another thing to consider is that the pickup makes a hell of a difference - and you can upgrade that at a relatively low cost (and take the pickup with you if you need to travel or change to another bass). Here's another thing I've found over the years that might actually work in your favour - a lot of people that hire me say they love the upright sound but the truth is that they love the look of the upright only and they still hear the sound of the electric in their head. So if the Palatino doesn't sound anything like a real acoustic bass that isn't always a bad thing. A real acoustic bass can sonically get lost very easily when there's cymbals and guitar chords taking up the high end space and then all we're left with is a low rumble (which is very hard to play in tune with). Hope that helps. gareth