Mornats

I like it. I like it a lot. Really nice beat to it and technically well played. You sure you've only been playing for 2 and a half years?

I had a bass delivered that was wrapped in bubble wrap then placed in a cardboard guitar box and taped up and it came to me fine. The strings weren't loosened and nothing untoward had happened to it. Parcel Force did the delivery and didn't smash it (but maybe I was lucky?!)

Gotta agree with Twigman on this. After having my Overwater set up with a beautiful low action I now use a much lighter touch to fret the strings. My Dean bass is still set up with a high action (I was playing with different actions to see what suited me best) and my hand aches more when playing that than when playing the Overwater. I find I do have to put more pressure on to hold down a string.

But in general, I found the technique described somewhere above about testing how little pressure you need to fret does indeed make a big difference.

Most likely caused by not learning any technique at all when I first picked up a bass to be honest. I'm sure with practice I'll get a handle on it.

[quote name='i play in N #' timestamp='1333766413' post='1606287']
ive got a 3rd finger that i cant really control to well, so ive had to adapt , but hey, i can play a little its been like this with anything i do, and isnt down to a bad technique, it kinda moves when i move my index finger
[/quote]

Same here. My first and middle fingers are fine. If I discount my ring finger I can use my little finger ok but most of the time my ring and little fingers just move together. I'm currently trying to practice scales with one finger per fret just to try and get some control over it. (I did watch the one finger per fret video above and think it's sound advice btw. I just want to do this exercise to help with control over my fingers!)

Any idea if these two would both fit into the back of a Lancer saloon? I stupidly bought a saloon after owning hatchbacks for years and now I need to fit stuff into it! I've borrowed a 100w Laney Linebacker from a mate (a 1987 model - it's a beauty, British made and bought new by Jack Bessant from Reef) and noticed that I've only ever played through Laney amps so I'm perusing my Laney options at the moment.

I do like the pre-shape option on the old Linebacker but I don't think the new models have this do they?

And as a slight feeler (as I may end up needing it but I'm not sure) would you consider trades? I've got a 1991 5 string Bass Collection SB310 (active, in black) that's not getting used.

My Tanglewater Contemporary Jazz. I just love the maple neck with the black body and headstock. The pearl inlays set it off nicely too. Amazing player and sounds fantastic.

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Edit: I need to grab some better photos... watch this space.

Heh, I had 3 basses and went looking for the "one" to replace them with. I now have 4 basses.

One of them is the "one" though so not doing too bad.

I used to have a baby sitar.


But then I got old enough to look after myself.


Already grabbed me coat...

Some great advice on here.

Rockafella, I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to aches in my left hand. A few things have really helped me though. First and foremost, the advice being given here about using a light touch is spot on. I took my bass for a setup with the instruction that I wanted the action (the height between the strings and frets in case you're not familiar with the term) as low as possible without giving too much fret buzz. I can now fret most notes without putting my thumb behind the neck. Not that I wouldn't use my thumb but the action is so nice now that I can just apply a little bit of pressure to fret notes. This has totally changed the way I play and I can play longer and faster now.

Warming up before playing does help too. I struggle to play anything decent if I haven't warmed up. You can either play some easy songs slowly until you get some fluidity in your hands or do exercises, whichever works for you. I got myself a gripmaster but didn't find it useful. It's not building up the right kind of strength for bass playing mainly because it's not strength that you need. Plus there's concerns about developing carpel tunnel syndrome by using one.

As I said, there's some great advice in here so have a read and try some of it out. Good luck!

If you own a custom-made exotic wood bass you can measure it with the thickness of £50 notes.

[quote name='barkin' timestamp='1333471353' post='1602244']
Note though, that's a 4 Ohm cab, which means you're kinda stuffed if you want to add an additional cab to the setup. Good price though, if it's what you want.
[/quote]

Ah yeah, I did notice that. Good point about limiting the ability to add another cab as that was an advantage of going for separates.

[quote name='barkin' timestamp='1333471353' post='1602244']As you're only rehearsing/jamming at the mo' though, I think I'd be inclined to carry on with the little 15W Laney, or borrow the 100W one, for now - no harm in keeping the volume down in rehearsals - and keep an eye on the for sale section until something comes up.

Good luck ![/quote]

This. This is what I'm going to do. I've borrowed my mate's 100w Laney Linebacker and will see how it goes. If the 15w let me at least hear myself then this should work a treat. It's got a lovely punchy sound to it and some really nice tones with the pre-shape option selected too. Plus the Reef connection is pretty cool

[quote name='barkin' timestamp='1333471353' post='1602244']Edit - just noticed a GK head on here, 135 quid posted - seems a bit of a steal to me...[/quote]

Oooh, I'll take a look but my time limit is gone now so I can really go for what I want.

Thanks for all the help everyone and sorry if I rambled on a bit!

Wise words. And is having a warranty worth £150? Hmm, I think not. I'll be patient as my mate has just lent me his 100w Laney amp that I'll try out. Used to be owned by Jack Bessant pre-Reef so has a little history too

Although this has caught my eye: http://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/backline/bass-amps/ashdown-mag-300h-evoii-half-stack-package.html

Wicked price for 300w of Ashdown MAG into a 210 cab.

[quote name='janmaat' timestamp='1333400108' post='1601288']
Not sure if this advise it any good, but I was playing through this GK Backline BL-115 on a couple of rehearsals and I must say, from the different randomly available stuff, and the price tag, I consider it great.... Cheap, if you you look at it, amazingly versatile from the controls, and loud enough - plus I like the fact you can angle it easily.

[url="http://www.thomann.de/de/gallien_krueger_bl115.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...ueger_bl115.htm[/url]

So that's probably what I'd buy if I'd buy a combo, though of course the head + speaker is so much more fun since it allows you to evolve more. But hey...
[/quote]

Just been looking at this and I'm seriously considering it now. £207? Sounds like an absolute bargain! Gets good reviews too...

Oh lord, that starts off the 12" vs. 15" speaker question now! In short, I'm looking at a 12" on the vague assumption that I'll get better mids rather than lows but still get some lows and it won't sound woofly like a 15 does. Or summat like that. I'll try out a 12" EB 180 and a 15" one side by side to judge tbh.

Thanks for the offer though Barkin, much appreciated!

Totally sound advice Bigwan. I imagine we'd start off gigging in the pub we practice in and would possibly stick to the smaller venues. Any bigger venues would likely have a PA system (so a DI output is essential for this possibility) but without knowing the exact venues, I couldn't say really. I think I'd be pretty safe with an Ashdown MAG 300 head in an appropriate cab (210 maybe) but I'd really like one in the next week or so which then pushes me to looking at buying new unless I can find something sharpish on here. And that I think, is the crux of my dilemma. Buy new for short term gain vs. buy used for long term benefit.

So, with that in mind, like I said I'm sure I'd be safe with 300 watts going into a 2x10 and that would do me mid to long term. If I can't get that, I may have to compromise with a 180 - 200 watt combo that could fill a small to medium-sized pub with my dodgy bass notes. Now, I know that 180 watts from one combo could be louder (however you define louder...) than 180 watts from a different combo. So this is where I'm starting to think about 12" speakers over 15" speakers. e.g. the Ashdown EB 180 comes in either 12" or 15" but I don't know if one or the other would give me more benefit in this situation. Just weighing up my options with the EB at the moment (and learning more about amps/cabs/combos and their suitability). The benefit of the EB is that I've tried one and really liked it. Had a couple of Spectors and Fenders go through it in a shop and put my Overwater through one at another place. I've not tried anything else other than a Line 6 (which sounded quite good with my Overwater to be fair but they've never stood out as a recommended brand that much so far).

Or am I thinking about this too much?!

Ok, had my first practice session. Just the guitarist going through a 50w Laney amp and drummer un-miked. Took my 15w Laney Richter and it just about coped. I had to crank to volume up to 9 and throw a whole loads of mids and some highs in there just to be heard and I could just about hear it. Not bad for 15w to be honest but I do need more. They reckoned the bass should be 3 times the wattage of the guitar amp (and I know there's more to it than just wattage as xgsjx says.

So I'm back to looking at two options. Either the Ashdown EB-12 180 / Gallien Kruger MB112 or go for the Ashdown MAG300 head and a suitable cab. The EB / GK option would mean I could order one new and get it quick whilst I'd have to stalk to the for sale section on here for the head/cab set (or indeed, look on here for an EB / GK). Obviously the MAG 300 would give me more headroom but as my little 15w performed okish I can't help but think that for this band's setup that a 180/200w combo would be plenty. I think at the moment the MAG 300 / 210 cab option is my favourite if I can find a set fairly quickly.

No worries mate, completely understand. (Which gives you a bump anyway!)

Just a little feeler from me (oo-er). I'm looking at getting an Ashdown ABM evo II 300w head. Now, I know very little about ohms and impedance so have no idea whether this cab would be a perfect match or not. (The cab's a little out of my budget but from what I've heard, they're quality cabs so could be worth the extra cash imo.) I could pick up too as I'm only in Brissle.

I'd be interested in this if you would consider a courier. Essex is a tad too far to drive to pickup and I'd get dangerously close to Landan...

Now that sounds like a good bargain (shame that one's collection only from Essex). I'm quite keen on the idea of a separate head/cab now. A while ago I did think about getting a head only and using it to shape the tone before pumping it into my Guitar Rig interface. And a separate head and cab would be lighter if I took two trips to the car and back

I've had a read through the 17 pages of the lightweight cabs thread... phew! And yeah, lightweight usually means very expensive. I did manage to pull out this gem: Gallien Kruegar MB112 - 200w (hit or miss as to whether it's loud enough) and 13kg and £250 new. Ticks all the boxes if it's loud enough. I've been convinced to favour buying second-hand off BC though so will be keeping an eye out for something.

At the moment it's just for practice and I've no idea what type of venues we may (or may not) play yet. I'm pretty sure I actually gigged back in the 90s with a 30w Laney Linebacker (I think it was) and it competed with the drummer, guitarist and keyboard player quite well. Only really went into the PA for a Battle of the Bands thing in a much larger venue. (If anyone's from Preston, most gigs were upstairs at the Adelphi pub and the BotB was at The Mill.)

Trying the 15w and the borrowed 100w would at the very least let me hear what 15w and 100w sound like

I know Trace's are heavy but how easy is this to lug in and out of a saloon? A saloon car, not a wild-west pub that is. I'm rather weedy to say the least and would still like to move something like this.