Ed_S

I currently have a pair of One10s and an LM800 that live at the rehearsal studio, and I found myself enjoying rehearsals with them so much that a Two10 for gigging purposes arrived just a couple of days ago. The 10CR cabs really do seem to go well with MB heads. Edit: I'll most likely keep gigging with the Nano II and my older Nano 300 as backup since the Two10 is meant to replace a Rumble 500 combo which was 350W/2x10, but I also have my LM2 and F1 heads up the cupboard if the mood takes me or more power is required. I like MB heads so I can't see why I'd dislike the LM4, though I haven't had the opportunity to try one just yet.

I used the NY121 with a LM3 head a few times while I had it, and it seemed very similar to me. Slightly different in that you can turn the tweeter down or off on the cab, and I guess on a technicality it maybe has a bit more internal volume as there's no amp head cut-out, but for all practical purposes, with the tweeter on and the same amp head plugged in, it seemed to do the same job.

I had the original rubber-handled combo and the extension cab, used them together once or twice before realising the cab wasn't needed, sold that and proceeded to gig the combo on its own for quite a while. Then I bought a Nano 300 head and realised I could get away with borrowing any old cab on the kinds of gigs we were doing, so got used to travelling even lighter and sold the combo. I soon realised I missed having it around, so I ended up buying a new leather-handled one just before everything went to you-know-what with lockdowns. I've not had chance to use it properly yet, but I'm sure it'll come in handy. Sound techs at venues used to love it as it was "enough, but not too much", as one put it.

I've had basses that didn't seem to like the changes in temperature and/or humidity that come with gigging, but were perfectly stable at home. If I enjoyed playing them sufficiently, I'd keep them with no expectation of being able to gig them. Not sure I've ever had any that really did the job live but not at home, though. That said, I do have a main live bass that rarely gets played at home, as at any given time it's cleaned and fettled from that last outing and ready to go for the next one. As far as expensive basses which don't go out is concerned, if you want to own something purely for your own enjoyment and not put it at unnecessary risk of theft or damage, that makes sense to me. If you can just crack on and accept that stuff happens, that's probably a much better philosophy for maintaining healthy blood pressure, but I've never been able to operate that way.

A couple of mine unintentionally ended up with food-related nicknames. A white/white/maple Jake with white headstock face was known as 'the ice-cream bass', and a fiesta red CV 60s P became 'the tomato soup bass'. They're both gone, though, so all I have right now which fits the brief is one with a brown neck and roasted maple board that reminds me of millionaires shortbread.

I've tried various sets of flats and eventually worked out that every time I put a set on, I 'enjoy' the novelty of something different for a while but soon have very little use for the bass in question. I then end up leaving it in its case for months on end and ultimately sell it "because I don't seem to play that one any more".

Agreed. Their BBOT bridges were a meaningful step up from the ones on my Fender Aerodyne Jazz and Harley Benton PJ-5 because both had my least favourite combination of small diameter saddles and very long grub screws with threads that defy finding appropriate length replacements. Subjectively I prefer the look of chunky brass saddles, but the fact that the threads in the Wilkinson bridges are just M3 (or whatever it was..) meant they could be easily loaded with readily available grub screws that don’t stick out at all, making them an objective upgrade for my purposes. Had there been no functional issue with the stock bridges, the Wilkinsons would have been cosmetic at very best, and probably no upgrade at all.

I've used a few of their BBOT (WBBC) bridges with the brass saddles, a set of their F style (WJBL) tuners, their 'm-series' (WOPB) and their 'premium' (WPB) P pickups. No complaints with any of those bits as yet.

I bought an Elf on a whim during one of the lockdowns but only actually got round to trying it last night at rehearsal. Flat out through a pair of BF One10s the tone was decent, but the power was disappointing - it wasn't even nearly loud enough. I know many on here have said they can gig with theirs, but sadly I certainly couldn't and it wouldn't even be a viable backup in an emergency.

I couldn't comfortably move or house an 8x10, so I'd sadly have to judge its value to me as zero.. or possibly less given that I'd expect to have to pay somebody to take it away even if you gave it to me for free. I recently sold what used to be considered a very lightweight 4x10 (MB 104HR) for about £500 less than I paid for it new, 10ish years ago - it was clear that I wasn't going to get any more for it so my choices were either keep it or just stand to the loss. Having given the recent IEM/FRFR/modelling threads some genuine thought I don't really see myself moving away from my downsized amps and cabs any time soon, but anything that I can't comfortably pick up with one hand has already gone and won't be returning.

I'm generally most comfy with the bridge at about conventional jeans-pocket height when the bass is slightly angled-up in playing position. I've had to shorten my straps a bit since losing some weight, as it's taking less seatbelt to achieve the same position these days. The idea of either practicing standing up or setting the strap to maintain the position when seated makes complete sense, but I've never done it. I practice and record sitting down, but rehearse and gig standing up. Having just given the seated-height strap adjustment a quick try, I can't honestly see it ever working for me either ergonomically or aesthetically.

Markbass Little Mark 2 was my first lightweight amp head, and it's still what my bandmates say they think 'sounds like me'. A serious contender for favourite allrounder. GK MB200 was my first tiny amp head for when even the LM2 was impractical. With all the dials at noon I think it sounds utterly brilliant - possibly my favourite basic tone. Ashdown ABM1000 doesn't sound much like any other Ashdown I've had (ABM500/Mi550/RM800/ABM600) and that's probably why I like it so much. It's clean, clear and really powerful, and it's my favourite for 'that feeling when each note kicks you right in the trousers'. And what do I actually gig with? A Markbass Nano II with my older Nano 300 as its backup. For now they're the best balance of cost, size, weight and power that I can find, plus they sound 'like me' to my band. They seem to be well built, but they're also relatively cheap so I can easily justify one and a backup. They're my current favourite for practicality and compromise, and that's what wins most of the time.

Far from it - barely any in fact. It's just that part of me being able to get up on stage and enjoy my time there comes from knowing that I've done what I can to ensure all goes well, and am generally at peace with my strategy for everything else. I'm not against any of this in principle - I'm just figuring out whether I could be happy using it, irrespective of how good it sounds.

Completely get what you're saying - I just like to know that I've given myself the best chance of a stress-free time when I'm on stage. Like for example my amp failing on a gig where there are also wedges wouldn't be too bad since my DI doesn't come from my amp, and my pedalboard has a true bypass path to my DI, which itself can take phantom power from the mixer. My board losing power would take my wireless out and need me to switch to an emergency cable, but I could plug back into an otherwise dead board and still get signal to FoH, monitors and my amp. Dropping out of the FoH and/or monitors due to my DI failing would still leave my amp, which is better than nothing. It'd just take a little bit of re-thinking to feel comfortable that I'd got everything similarly sussed.

I guess you'd want them on a cable in case it was your wireless that was the cause of the problem, which again is cheap, but also on a different aux from the mixer in case that was the cause of the problem, which is perhaps less so if you need the next model up to have enough outs. But fair play, that's kinda what I expected - it's going to put a dent in your performance that just moving closer to another wedge or back towards your amp wouldn't, but you just accept that as part of the deal.

Genuine question - what's your backup when your IEMs go down on a silent stage and you've suddenly got nothing at all? I play by ear, so hearing myself in context is a necessity rather than a luxury and IEMs as a way of doing that better certainly appeal in concept, but they seem much more risky than amps and/or wedges.

Just looking at my local shop it'd be a Squier Affinity Jazz V as it's the only 5 in stock and under budget. With fresh strings, a strap and a cable, I'd finish up at £299.97. Guess I'd have to see if they'd throw in the cheapest possible bag that should be a tenner and a clip-on tuner that should be a fiver, but if so I'd be self sufficient and have the factory strings as spares. A pair of foam earplugs from behind the bar and I could manage.

Nice colour choice! My very first bass back in 1999 was a BBN4ii in yellow natural satin, and although I sold it years ago, it always brings back good memories when I see one.

Or setups. I prefer wider string spacing and lower action with slightly more compliant strings for playing mellow tunes with my fingers, and narrower spacing with a bit higher action and tension for digging in on the rock and metal material with a pick, so I'd find it limiting rather than liberating to just use one. If I knew that going forward I only had access to one then I guess I'd have to make it work, but if I knew it was just for a while then I'd keep the Ibanez SR out as I need it for band stuff, and just neglect my fingerstyle playing until I could have my Jazz back. Then have sore fingers for a while.

I reckon people who like the classic designs would see it as unnecessary and not buy one, and people who didn’t like the designs and/or the company before still wouldn’t, and they wouldn’t buy one either.

I did. I'm enjoying it and I don't regret my decision. 🙂 I totally get not understanding why somebody else has bought something you wouldn't, though. At about the same time I bought my bass, a mate from work paid roughly the same on booking a big family holiday. To my way of thinking, all he'll get for his money is photos I can find on google image search, sand in places it should never be, and an overwhelming feeling of relief when he can sleep in his own bed again!

Nah, I get that - it sounds like you've got your setup sorted out just right for what you do, and that festival gig was a pain for completely avoidable reasons which is a guaranteed irritation. I've been in similar situations myself a couple of times so I know it's not always as-advertised, though I've always been able to sort something out and not killed an amp on a loaner cab yet. I reckon we've both given decent advice and justifications - it'll just depend on aims and resources which is most appropriate to anyone reading.

It's not always ideal, but you can't deny that 'heads and breakables' is the reality of playing certain types of gigs when you're a certain type of band. In those circumstances, if you're the one that tips up with your full rig when you've been explicitly told that there's no time or room for it, or conversely doesn't tip up with an amp head because you're not risking it, it's also a good way to get dropped from future gigs with that promoter or venue because there are always other bands that will make their lives easier. We've played some of our best local support slots for touring bands not because we were always the best fit for the gig musically, but because we have a reputation with the stage manager of the local rock club for turning up when we're told, bringing and leaving what we're instructed, setting up and checking un-fussily, playing for as long as we're given, and clearing the stage quickly afterwards. In terms of where to go after your first combo, getting a loud little amp head and some cables in a bag can't be the worst advice going if it lets you access a really commonly found format for getting out there and playing some music with/to some people.

If you're on the rock/metal originals path, then take full advantage of the fact that your rehearsing and gigging world is littered with old, heavy, tatty-looking house cabs that are otherwise perfectly serviceable and make plenty of noise for the rooms you'll find them in. Venues will often tell you not to bring cabs anyway - just heads and breakables - as there's nowhere to put them and no time to go swapping them over. Start out by just getting a good quality 5-800W lightweight amp head, a bag or case to keep it safe in and a couple of sturdy speaker cables. At the point where you actually need a cab, go for lightweight and well engineered, sell the combo to part-fund it and get either a vertical 2x10 or 2x12 depending on whether you need to be loud or very loud.

I recently went through an equipment cull which yielded a chunk of capital to re-invest in the hobby. Part of it went on a new Stingray 5 Special, and yeah it was expensive, but it was exactly what I wanted, I had the funds, I couldn't get it any cheaper, and it's a great bass that I'm really pleased with. I think it was worth paying what it cost me to own this specific mass-produced bass.