casapete

Motown Chartbuster Vol 3 (silver cover) is a classic compilation. Hearing this when I was in my early teens was a lightbulb moment for me. To be honest, all the Motown Chartbusters albums are great, although if you're just discovering this stuff the 'Motown Gold' triple cd is a great place to start, but beware - you'll get hooked.

Same for me, lighter gear has been a godsend really. Wish it had come a bit sooner for me, but better late than never. I'm coming up 60, still touring and (just) making a living from playing bass. Done around 150 gigs this year, all over the UK and local pub stuff as well. I find the worst time for me is if there are any gaps in my schedule - a week or more off and I really feel it on my next gig. Hands / arms and mainly lower back start letting me know I'm not 25 any more. Can't see me stopping any time soon though, it's what I do

Advice from Fender on using guitar leads for speaker connections - If you use an instrument cable as a speaker cable, you’re probably OK at low signal levels. At high signal levels, though, trouble brews—all that amp power attempts to flow through the instrument cable’s too-small conductor. The unhappy result is that a lot of amp power is converted to heat and never even reaches the speakers. You get reduced speaker output, some probable distortion and, in extreme situations, heat-induced cable or cable connector failure. And you definitely don’t want your amp overheating. Rest of the article here - http://www2.fender.com/experience/tech-talk/instrument-cables-speaker-cables-arent-interchangeable/

I have a Countryman Uke bass, and love it. Best £150 I've spent in a long while. Sounds massive amplified, but almost inaudible unamplified. Fun to play, and the punters always comment on it. As the last two posts above, a good alternative to an acoustic/electric bass.

Agree with TheGreek, the Nanyo Bass Collection are light and great value for money. What about a Fender Precision Lyte? Mine is around 7lbs, MIJ build quality, active controls and a fair amount of tone variation from the PJ pickups. Good s/h ones go for upwards of £300. Since a shoulder injury a few years ago, mine has been great, with long sets not a problem.

Yup, agree with you on the sound they make. Not for a minute to be mistaken for a DB, but have an 'acoustic-ness' which does suit certain situations I find. I've never tried an electric bass like a Stingray with the piezo bridge option, wonder if they have that quality?

If you can be bothered to read it, usual controversial list etc! http://www.musicradar.com/news/the-17-best-bass-players-in-the-world-right-now?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20165&utm_term=1272076&utm_content=360580

Of course, totally agree. However, let's not forget that before the Speakon was introduced in the late 1980's, 1/4" jack ( and occasionally XLR) sockets were used by everyone, including big pieces of kit (200/300 watts) manufactured by Ampeg, Marshall, Sunn, SWR, GK etc. Was just making the point for the OP though, that using a jack connection on one end of a speaker lead for his purposes is not going to be a problem for him.

Not sure about louder, but the one I tried was more middle biased which may cut through a bit more. Still not enough unamplified though IMO.

Some interesting stuff here should you decide to go ahead. http://www.musicradar.com/news/10-of-the-best-acoustic-bass-guitars

Apart from these ^^^ !!! Tried the one in Hobgoblin in Leeds a couple of weeks ago - was actually quite loud!

Can't remember seeing any nylon strung acoustic basses TBH?

I use bronze wound strings on mine, but even though they're quite bright they're not enough to cut through unamplified. There's generally not a lot of love on here for acoustic/electric basses, some of which is well founded. Most people seem to agree that they need to be amplified, which makes them sound less 'acoustic' and thus makes them a tad unnecessary over a standard electric bass guitar other than appearance. I use mine straight into a small Yamaha / Bose PA system in a smallish pub, doing a weekly 'acoustic' session with a guitarist. Without the PA it wouldn't be possible! Best you see if you can get to try an acoustic bass out in a shop and see what you think of the level they produce.

Auto-renewal is nearly always dearer than swapping companies. Just lately though I've noticed a trend for the auto-renewal quote to be quite favourable for the first time, and then ( once they have your confidence) they assume you won't check the deal the next time and hit you with a massive price hike. Price comparison sites are your friend.

Yup, got a Washburn AB20 which I've had a long time. Played a lot of others too! IMO all the ones I've tried would struggle unamplified with anything other than quiet rehearsal level. May be best to consider factoring in a small combo - the Fender Rumble stuff is pretty good and very light/compact - so you're able to be heard properly. S/h is your best option for a bass - just saw a Washburn like mine go for £150, and others worth a look are models by Tanglewood and Takamine, both of which come up for sale quite often. Over your budget, but the recently introduced Taylor GS mini bass is an amazing thing, and it's guitar sized dimensions would be very pub friendly too. https://www.gak.co.uk/en/taylor-gs-mini-e-bass/904810?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqY7i2uyL2AIVCDPTCh0szwZiEAQYASABEgIqv_D_BwE Good luck!

Sounds like a plan ^^^^ Incidentally, whilst Speakon connections are undoubtedly a vast improvement on 1/4 " jacks, before they were around we did somehow manage to use our SVT rigs etc

Mine did. Asked whether being a musician is my main source of income ( I sometimes can’t believe that either ) and if I have any other employment.

+1 for OBBM's stuff. £17 for a cable with speakon & jack connectors that will last a lifetime. http://bassic-bits.co.uk/

Maybe a refusal is based on driving history, whereas a decline to quote is down to other stuff like ooccupation / age etc?

Interesting point. I have been down as a musician on my car insurance for over 40 years ( semi pro and pro ) ,and during that time have had companies change their stance on whether to insure musicians or not, sometimes to decide at a later date they do want my custom after all. I was with the AA for a few years who then out of the blue hiked up my payment to a stupidly high amount, something like six times higher than usual. Think it was their way of saying they didn’t want to insure a musician , without actually refusing to cover me. These days there are quite a few different choices when entering ‘musician’ in the occupation box. I’m down as one who plays ‘popular music’ , other options being classical, teacher and some more I can’t remember.

It's got my interest now then.

Interesting, thanks for the comments. Can you update when you've tried it at gig kind of levels please?

My experience of Elixirs is that they feel a bit dead from the off, but then don’t get any worse for ages, which I guess is inevitable with the coating and the general design brief for longer lasting strings. Was just wondering if the EXP’s feel brighter at all and manage to retain this. Going to give them a bash I think. Will report back, may be some time though ?

Thanks Adam. I've been using EXL 170's for years, but will give the EXP's a go. Didn't like the feel of Elixirs so hope these manage to feel less 'coated'. Cheers.

Thanks for the heads up. Just to clarify, the programme is on Vintage TV (channel 82 on Freeview) at 5pm on Sunday 10th December I'll be watching.