grandad

I used a Roland BC100 for a few years in pubs & clubs. It was totaly reliable & loud & you can add an 8 ohm ext cab. You can pick them up for about £150 2nd hand leaving you with £150 for the ext cab.

I've ended up with just 3 basses: Tokai EB3 - medium scale Epiphone Viola - short scale Gretsch Junior Jet II - short scale All 2nd hand around the £150 mark. As stated elsewhere they are very comfortable to play & no dead spots. I'm happy & would encourage others to try out a shorty. I use flatwound on all & get the soft, warm tone I enjoy. I accept they wouldn't be to eveyone's taste but I also like marmite.

Thank you Dad3353, I shall persevere.

I've been trying to learn 'Something' by George Harrison. There are a couple of very good Youtube videos to get the fingering & some fairly accurate tab sheets off the web. As an amateur, this the most difficult tune I've attempted, (not musically trained). What it has done is encourage me to explore further up the fretboard by playing runs in the low & then up an octave. It seems to be almost like a melody. The tricky part I'm at now is the line " Don't want to leave her now, you know I believe & how". Each part seems to be played differently as it comes around again. I expect I'll get a simplified version under my belt, & then slowly swop the tricky bits as I master them.

I have used a Roland KC60 or KC150 amp for a variety of jobs onstage. They are small, light, loud & versatile enough to allow experimentation.

Yes, hearing is logrithmic. Starting at 10 watts, +3dB doubles the power output to 20 watts. Another +3dB doubles the power output to 40 watts. Another +3dB doubles the power output to 80 watts. At this point, (+9dB) we might perceive that the [u]loudness[/u] has just about doubled. My PA is a Yamaha EMX 5016, (500 watt per channel peak). The led meter has +6dB headroom, (red/orange led's). If I kept the output in the green hovering around 0dB I'm only outputting 125 watt per channel & that seems pretty loud to me FOH. 500W - 3dB = 250W - 3dB = 125W. We only need the larger wattage for headroom. Some system of limiting/compression would be wise to protect speakers & ears.

Thank you, an interesting article from TC, especially the part on how we perceive bass loudness, the rms level & not peak. For several years in a 60's cover band I used a Peavey Max160 ss head into an Ampeg 115 cab. With gain & master at about 12ish it had ample headroom for pubs & clubs. I think conventional amps were rated by the electrical power they drew from the power supply, i.e. a 100 watt power amp could draw 100 watts of D.C. electrical power from the power supply & convert that into A.C. electrical power which is fed to the speaker. That process with a class AB is I think less than 70% efficient. The conversion of that electrical energy to sound energy via the speaker (2 - 5% efficient) only leaves us a few watts of acoustic power but I believe a whole orchestra might only produce 10 watts of acoustic power at max. The simple Pout/Pin formula I suspect would not suffice for modern amp design, to much jiggery-pokery going on which would not equate with what we hear. How much power one might need I suppose depends on the type of music you play & where you play. At the outdoor gigs I've done I was always amused as my watts just disappeared into thin air!

I think I saw her at the Isle of Wight in 1970, can't remember much about it.

Great video. Needed a small portable practise amp and bought the session 60 today. Good bass from a lightweight 10" combo. I like the tone overall. Volume might just do a small pub gig without DI to the PA. I only intend to use it at home/studio. I'm comparing it to my old Roland CB100 which pumped out a respectable 100W for small/medium gigs, pub/WMC's size. It looks good & my first impression is that it's an ok little combo.

Needed a portable practice combo & bought an EBS Classic 60 today. Good tone from just a 10". Worth a look/try-out.

Played a new Gibson EB3/SG, at PMT today. It was ok but prefer my Tokai copy.

My Tokai SG 32" has been my gigging bass for several years. I think it's well made and feels 'substantial' & with flats gives a deep warm tone.

I'll echo Barkin above, I've used 3 of the Yamaha EMX range of powered mixers over the last few years & ended up buying the top of the range EMX5016cf. If you can stretch your budget they do crop up 2nd hand but keep their value.

There are some pretty expensive/exotic rigs posted here so I thought I'd throw in a cheap & cheerful one. Over several years I've bought & sold several amps & cabs but always kept my Peavey Max 160 head into an Ampeg B115E, (no pedals). A simple, cheap, & relatively lightweight rig. I have the EQ flat with just a slight dip around 800Hz & get a warm even tone. Reliability has been 100% for the past decade.

[quote name='Phil Adams' timestamp='1393717332' post='2383774'] Isn't the EB0 30.5 inch? EB3 is 34. Being as I've spent my entire life wanting to be Jack Bruce, it seems only natural etc etc..... [/quote] Maybe you're right, it was some years ago.

[quote name='Phil Adams' timestamp='1393410141' post='2379806'] Do the 30.5" scale ones dive as bad as the 34" ones? [/quote] I tried an epiphone EB0 34" first which dived a fair bit. The tokai EB3 32" dives less so. It doen't bother me, I suppose you get used to it. I just love the look, the feel & the thump. I've never changed the flats since I got it several years since. I guess that a fair number of BC's would not share my views.

My gig bass is my Tokai EB3, (medium scale), just lots of low end thump.

Happy Jack makes a good point, i.e. cables. It was usually up to me to plug everything in correctly & route safely. If you include foldback monitors it can be a bit of a nightmare where space is limited. My preference was for our passive rig: Yamaha EMX powered mixer, (carried a spare but never needed it over several years) + EV SX300 speakers. I would put the powered Studiomaster PAX12 wedges on the left & right & the passive extensions centre-stage in an effort to keep the mains extension lead runs as short as possible. Cables were taped to the floor at vunerable points. I do use a pair of active EV SXA100+ for my step-daughters disco where the cable count is negligible. Bandwise, passive gets my vote for anything more than a trio.

Hi, I shall do my best to attend. I shall bake a cake, or two. I think I'll bring my Tokai EB3.

Hello all. I developed & ran the PAT course at my college many years ago, before C&G brought out their version, (which I now recommend). I've trained all sorts, both electrically qualified & lay people, male & female. I've also tested hundreds of items of equipment in all sorts of working environments. Please believe me when I say it is most definitely worth doing. I won't go into the horror stories I found but only say that even brand new equipment from reputable manufacturers have been found to be potentially lethal. So, I recommend full compliance with the law. Death by electric shock or fire ain't good. Peace & Love.

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1386343599' post='2299067'] I'm much happier now that i am an old bastard & have now stopped over playing everything,as young players tend to do. Keep it simple & tasteful works every time for me these days. [/quote] Agree. Also, played the last 3 gigs with a very competent drummer who was a pleasure to play with, makes all the difference.

Instrumental - Apache or Walk Don't Run or Brazil or Riders In The Sky, The Shadows & The Ventures Vocal - You got it, Roy Orbison or Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Queen. Feeling my age now as I don't know even half the tunes chosen so far on this thread!

Hi, I also use a CB100 & I'm looking to get the Eden EX112-8 as a similar sized cab to stack with the Roland. I've played small venues with ease volume-wise, but stacked together would bring the amp up to a better listening height on stage I think & give a little more bottom end. Mine is definitely a keeper. Chris

Just bought an Epiphone Viola, MIK 2003, £150. After a quick set-up & flatwounds fitted it is is now my favourite noodling bass.

Some soldering tips. The tips of soldering irons are copper, but plated with iron to extend tip life. Don't scrape it to clean it. If you expose the copper the flux will eat away the tip. Just wipe it with a sponge or cloth. Don't move the finished joint until it's cool otherwise you'll get a dry joint. A desoldering pump is very useful. If you make a bad joint, usually because you've taken to long & the flux has been used up leaving the solder 'pastey', remove all the old solder & start again. Agree with above, lead-free solder is a pain. 60/40 tin/lead is easier to work with, just wash your hands in soap & water afterwards. The fumes can rarely cause a reaction if you're asthmatic. Blow the fumes away gently as you solder. If you need a vice use a rubber band around the grips of a pair of pliers. Most irons run at about 400 degrees Cecius. Take care, if you burn yourself the flesh is seared & takes ages to heal. Have patience, practice makes prefect.