bertbass

Had a lovely dads' day dinner at a local pub with the family, roast lamb if you're interested and it was very nice! Returned home and got the bass out. It turned out that it's the jack socket, the one supplied by EMG with my ready wired PJ set. Take it out of the bass and there's nothing wrong with it, put it back in and it doesn't work, yes, one of those, so it's now in the bin. The insulation is obviously breaking down under stress, I'm glad that it didn't break down mid gig. I've fitted a new socket and it's ready for it's next session of abuse.

Use a couple of coats of primer first and it shouldn't flake off.

You're right there, fortunately the spare's passive.

Got to the gig last night, set the gear up. Tuned the spare bass and got the main bass out of its case. I went to tune up and what's going on here, no sound. Quickly took the scratch plate off to check the battery and loose wires, it all looked OK took 2 minutes to dash across the road to the new Asda, I knew it was new 'cause it said so on the sign outside and bought a new PP3 even though I sort of knew it wasn't that. Put the new battery in, put the screws back in, I really must put a battery compartment in sometime, and the bass worked again. Strange, must have been the battery after all. Tuned up and then checked the P.A. Yes I'm the only one who knows how it all works. Started the sound check and no bass again, what? No time to mess around so I used the spare for the night and a great night it was. The audience loved it and we loved it. Now, the day after, I've got to find out why my bass stopped working. It's probably a wire come off or the switched jack broken but I've now got the time and the light to find the fault. The moral of the story is, a spare bass is worth its weight in gold. So for those who have asked, do I really need to take a spare bass with me, the answer if a resounding YES!!!

Entwhistle used Fanes if he was using Sound City or Hiwatt cabs, the good old pop 50s rebranded usually. Marshall used Celestions, G12m or G12h's.

Any news yet?

I used to love the old pop 50s. The best 12" around at the time, that I could afford anyway.

Two 4x10s must be heavier than an 8x10 because they have an extra top and bottom panel. Yeh, I know it's nit pickin' but all the same.........

I always prefered the sound of Fanes over Celestions, they distorted less and had a less middly sound. That was a long time ago mind you but I still have a soft spot for Fanes. The Fane studio series were fantastic, the first British speaker manufacturer to challenge the USA for quality speakers.

My Carvin had front ports, gone now as I prefer the sound without.

Used a Carvin 8x10 for years and love it but it did get a bit tatty so while I renovated it I used 2 Ashdown Mag Deep 4x10s and there was no difference in sound that I could hear in a live situation. The 8x10 is however much easier to move around but not to lift on your own.

http://www.joebrown.org.uk/wp/?p=5151

You can buy a -9v 0 +9v power supply and it's pretty easy to make one as well. You could even use rechargeable batteries

Being left handed it doesn't matter where I travel to I don't get a choice of basses to try and the variety of amps on offer in my local music shops is strictly semi-pro.

Bought my precision in 1972 and it cost £220. It was £200 right handed but being lefthanded I had to pay an extra 10%. It was sunburst as I couldn't afford another 10% for a solid colour. I never could understand that as sunburst uses at least 3 colours so why did it cost more for just one? Ah, The Target in Reading. I've done a few gigs in there. Did the manager, Ted if I remember correctly, fire golf balls at you as you were trying to pack the gear away?

In the 70s I played a gig where mine and one of the guitarists machine heads touched which was rapidly followed by a blinding blue flash. I kept well away from him for the rest of the set. Checked the mains plug on his amp and the earth had come loose and was touching the live wire. Apparently the audience thought the effect was great.

I use some of these, http://www.performing-musician.com/pm/aug09/articles/evforcei.htm bought on the bay. Used so a lot cheaper than new and they are great.

If you like the cab why not just put a handle on the side and carry it with one hand. something like this, http://www.maplin.co.uk/large-strap-handle-43826?c=maplin&utm_source=gcs&utm_medium=gcs_search&utm_campaign=L93AZ&utm_content=Handles

What, not even the Squire Jazz? At least us left handers can play a bass upside down. Not a lot of choice really if we want to try something out.

Just heard the little bastard here, Zoom Q3HD, in the misc for sale items, what a great little amp. Never heard one before. You could try adding another cab or perhaps having 2 of them.

This is the world of the left handed player. The chances to try before you buy are virtually nil. Go into any music shop and you'll find a whole host of interesting right handed basses, but in the left handed section we find a Squire Jazz, normally black, and possibly a cheap Yamaha and or Peavey and that's it. At least amps are ambidextrous. .

It's only 30 watts and half way could well be flat out with decent pickups. You may have reached the limits of the amp.

I've gone back to using my super duper refurbished 8x10 so the problem has gone away again. The 4x10s were only a stop gap as my 8x10 was looking seriously tatty. That was probably the drummers fault as well. No respect for equipment, not even his own.

In theory there is no difference in sound between front ports and rear ports and if you're standing in front of your cab playing this is true. However, when I used a couple of rear ported 4x10s recently our drummer complained that the bass became so overpowering that he couldn't hear his foldback or the guitar in places. No difference in the amp setting though. I suspect that he was hearing the output of the ports where he'd never heard it before, but then again, he is a drummer!

Don't forget that in the 60s / 70s that was all we had, 100w valve head and 2, 4x12s and that did any venue with no PA support. 2000 seater, well stander actually, no problem. I've owned a few super bass 100s and they are great but they do only have the one sound but what a sound and if it's the sound that you're after then you're on a winner.