JimBobTTD

Thanks again, Reverend. Good post and great review of the Barefaced.

Might be time to put my rig up for sale and start changing out bits when they are sold.

Thanks, Reverend, that's a very helpful post. I have a few questions, if you don't mind.

Which valve preamp do you use? Why did you feel the need to use one? What kind of music were you playing at the time?

I ask mainly because, although the RB700 is not heavy-heavy, it is not exactly light and it is the thing that I carry the most. I have it in a shoulder bag which makes it manageable. It is also the thing that I am least keen on changing, having had it for years and finding it key to "my" sound. But your description of the MB500 is that is a thicker version of the 700RB, which is perfect! I bought a valve preamp (Dave Hall DHA-VT EQ) to warm up the sound of the 700RB rather than for any sort of distortion and for the DI; getting an MB Fusion may make this redundant but getting rid of it would leave me without a DI if push came to shove.

Tempting, chris_b, but I think I shall stick with the 700RB-II for a while and switch the cabs. The GK MB Fusion 500 looks tempting too, as it means I could ditch my valve preamp pedal to get rid of even more stuff.

Thanks for the replies, good people of BC.

I think a Neo 115 and a 212 would probably do the full-rig trick. As Lozz mentions above, a lighter amp could then be factored in if weight is still a problem. I think it might, actually, as the amp head is a real chore to carry!

Thanks. Yes, transport is not a problem. It is just the weight of the stuff when going car to venue and car to home. Parking near my flat is sometimes a challenge, so this is more important than one might think.

No to combos. I want the flexibility that separates allows.

Hello,

I have trawled the site and other sites and I am just as confused as I was before (if not more!).

At present, I have a GK 700RB-II which I have paired up with a GK 115SBX-II and a GK 210SBX and I absolutely [b]love[/b] the sound. I often just play with the 15" and add the 210 when gigging. Our practice space is in a filthy basement and is warm. I worry about condensation and take the amp head with me after every practice. It is very likely that this is unnecessary.

The problem is that things are starting to get heavy. Humping the pieces individually is ok; the problem is when things are added up. Taking the head in its bag on one shoulder and my bass in its bag on my other, I can manage. But going back for the cabs is when things start to get unpleasant. It is ok as a one-off, but the band I have joined is established and, in the not-too-distant future, will be out gigging frequently. One venue that is often played involves a couple of flights of stairs. Can my back manage all this? Does it need to, now that we have other options?

The weight:

700RB-II : 18 lbs / 8.2kg
115SBX-II : 64 lbs / 29kg
210SBX-II : 49 lbs / 22.5kg

Total weight: 131 lbs / 59.7kg. Add the valve preamp pedal and the rack and the compressor…it really starts to add up!

I play in two bands: one that is rock/pop covers and the other that is blues / blues-rock. I used to do a fair bit of metal but that is out. The current rig can manage all three type of music. I play 5-strings.

Part of me says keep it all. Part of me says ditch the cabs. Part of me says ditch it all.

What does BC recommend? I know and trust GK and think I would like to remain using their stuff.

Would a GK Neo 212 handle the lows I churn out? Change the 115 for the Neo 212? Ditch the 210 totally? It never cut the mustard by itself, I admit. Ditch the head and go for a Fusion 500? Keep it all and endure the weight?

Grateful for any responses!

Price for the comp including postage?

Thanks for your reply. This isn't for me, it seems. Good luck with the sale!

What are the controls?

If it is blend plus two others, I would gladly take this off your hands.

What controls does it have? I'm looking for three knobs in total with a blend function.

I have Nordstrands in my P5 - same size as P4 pickups, angled pole pieces etc. I was thinking just the other day how fantastically fantastic they sound. Have a good-product-great-price-bump!

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1411757853' post='2562618']
...a bit like Pete is trying to be down with the kids.
[/quote]

That was only for research purposes.

Thank you for the support, kind people. I really felt rotten yesterday.

All feelings of humiliation have mostly passed now. It was not meant to be. It looked good on paper, but when it came down to it, he was not somebody I could spend time with, let alone work with. The other audition went well and that band is good, friendly and they want to be something other than a tribute band. More importantly, they really want me with them.

All is well again. Life is beautiful. Thanks again, kind BC community.

Having moved to a new town, I felt that it was time to find a band so I can keep myself musically busy as I shall only play with my main band once a month. I have always played metal and have been indulging in pop/rock covers the last few years, but I wanted to move to blues. I placed an ad on the internets and soon found myself with no fewer than five interested parties. One was really not my cup of tea, so down to four. One is a recording project (if it ever gets anywhere), so that's good. One is still unresolved.

Which brings me on to the two auditions. The first one went very well. I was nervous, as the two gents have been playing together for about 25 years and are both amazingly talented, but I showed up and delivered the goods. No drummer, so we shall have to meet again and see what the real deal is. But we played for a couple of hours, jamming in various keys, and the chemistry was right. Really good. I left there amazed at my performance and really, really happy with the audition and the two guitarists.

And then tonight, with just one guy in his house. Drummer not yet found. Interested in playing in a trio, which is what I really want to have. There were some warning signals that I ignored. First, he seemed a little aloof at times, and extra so when I called him this evening. Never mind…probably tired and busy. Aren't we all? Secondly, when he contacted me from his private email rather than his work one, he called himself "SRV Bob". Thirdly, when setting up, he has three or four pedals on the floor in front of him, one of which is a delay and two which are overdrive pedals. All in front of a small Behringer 8" practice amp.

We start. His timing and rhythm are poor, but I put it down to nervousness. I am not on top form either and I am not 100% prepared for the tracks we were going to play. He seemed very impressed with his own playing which was not bad but was nothing special. He was clearly a real fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan and really wanted to play his music. Hendrix too. Now, I like SRV and a bit of Hendrix, but not enough to want to be in a tribute band. Jamming went very poorly, with him playing predicable stuff, mainly based on SRV. I was almost fully unable to play off him. As we continue, I realise that he might be what I have read about here - a guitard, musically blinded by his own mediocrity and a bedroom hero. My playing becomes progressively worse as our session goes from not all that enjoyable to full-on boring. His somewhat intensifies into a decent spot of guitar masturbation. My shift from the bog-standard walking bass is met with confusion, irritation and then a request that I stick to the bog-standard walking bass so he can play over it.

It ends, and not a moment too soon. He says that I need to work on my blues bass lines. This stings [b]something rotten[/b]; not because he is wrong - he is quite right, I do, and very much so - but that it comes from someone who I do not respect musically.

He mentions that he has been playing guitar for three years. Before the "I kind of knew that" thought could settle in my brain, he mentions that he played bass for 15 years before that, both electric bass and upright. But surely this would have 1. made him not a dick and 2. given him some sort of rhythm/feel/groove? When we parted, we agreed that we would not bother giving it another go; him probably thinking that I was bad and me feeling that I was bad because he was awful.

Ach, I am venting. It is just that I have been blessed my entire musical life by playing with excellent guitarists who did not overplay and who were decent people. Most of them did not even crank their amps to drown out everything else. I feel like I have been spoilt. But now I feel humiliated by someone who is among the worst guitarists I have ever played with.

[quote name='Doman' timestamp='1409081111' post='2536181']


Here you go:



[/quote]

Oh my word! Helloooooo!

I liked it before, but it looks significantly better now. It's amazing what a scratchplate can do. Well done!

Incredibly nice. That neck is the sex. If I had the funds and the space for one....

Very, very nice looking instrument indeed. Well done!

That looks great. I agree with blablas about more shine.

This is not doing my Warmoth GAS any good...

Looks tasty to me!

Nice!!!!!!

That's a smashing colour. Nice and deep.

Fantastic, as ever. Well done!

I believe that the whole Ibanez SR range is 34".

The ones I have are all 34" and all fantastic. The SR1206 I have is a beauty and the SR1205 is the best bass I have ever played. Note that they are the 90s versions that are neck-through, not the new line with the same model numbers.

I second that the history pages are a good read.

Not so much on a phone, though, as all the photos are clipped!