Japhet

Schroeder punches well in a live mix. Just to add to what's already been said.

A few years back I sometimes played at a jazz funk jam at a pub in Cambridge. A guy came on stage and started laying down some seriously good guitar grooves and solos. Really enjoyed playing with him. Afterwards I said to my mate (who was drumming); 'that guitarist is a bit tasty. Is he in a band?' My mate looked at me a bit quizzically and said ' Yes, they're called Jamiroquai'. Turns out I'd been sharing the stage with Rob Harris (Doh!). Have met and spoken to him numerous times since and he is an absolute diamond of a bloke.

Couldn't possibly pick a favourite. Some not mentioned - Get Off, Purple Rain, Let's Go Crazy, Cream. I could go on and on and on.......but I won't.

Have found that (I presume) the electrics in some venues produce a lot of buzz so I've been looking to cancel this out. The Rocktron Hush has caught my eye. Anybody have one, use one or have any opinions/alternatives? Also, what is the difference in Rocktron's 'Reaction' line pedals?

He definitely came in through the 'out' door. Did it how he wanted to do it.

I wouldn't recommend an unlined fretless to start out with. You have to have a very good ear or have spot on technique to play one. The purists will frown on a lined fretless but to me it's about the sound rather than the look. With a lined neck you'll know exactly where you're supposed to be fretting. With an unlined neck it's likely you'll spend a lot of time wondering why it doesn't sound quite right with no points of reference to help you correct it. Just my opinion.

I have a GK MB500 Fusion and a Tecamp Black Jag 500. I presume that the Black Jag is basically a Puma with some whistles and bells added. I don't really use any of the whistles and bells (like bass or treble boost or compression) and have the eq pretty much flat all the time. The Tecamp is my 'go to' amp for gigging and to my mind it always delivers. I like straightforward punchy and clear sound with anything extra coming from pedals. The one thing the Fusion has is 2 switchable channels with their own gain which I like. It's a good sounding amp but I find the Tecamp more balanced and it seems to sit better in the mix somehow.

What a horrendous year. Thought he was an absolute genius.

Any love for the Aguilar Filter Twin. I like the blendable up and down sweeps on it and you can get a load of different sounds out of it. What I don't like is the power supply and patch cables all going into the top of the pedal where there isn't enough room. I've also got the Pigtronix Envelope Phaser which is fun, but takes up too much room on my board for now. Had a Proton in the past and found it very musical but it somehow got lost in a live setting and didn't like certain basses. Definitely on my list to try is the MXR if one comes up cheap enough.

Love Victor for the simple reason that he has no inhibitions, restrictions or boundaries to what he does, or attempts with a bass guitar. He has an extremely fertile imagination as well as a mountain of talent. Sure, he's gained a reputation as a show pony, but so what? Put him in any context and he'd be able to absolutely nail it. He is also, by all accounts a very genuine, humble and generous man.

Absolutely love Lee Sklar. One minute he's noodling along behind James Taylor, the next he's pumping out one of the best grooves ever on Billy Cobham's Stratus.

Don't know how it works in France but in England the brewery often gives pubs an entertainment budget. The markup on a pint of beer is pretty minimal and now that people don't drink if they are driving it would be virtually impossible for a Landlord to cover a bands fee straight from the till. As previously stated, a lot of punters will make a single drink last all night to get to see a band for next to nothing.

I can't help but think of bass solos as uncomfortably toe-curling events. Even in the very best hands it's like expecting Michael Angelo to produce something beautiful with a JCB and some dynamite. This however, has made me feel slightly less uncomfortable about my own limitations.

I used to use an ABM 300 with the mini 4x8 and 1x15 cabs. It was a loud rig and never farted out in a band with 2 loud guitarists. When I got the cabs the drivers in the 4x8 were seized up so I replaced them with some Celestions (I think) from Blue Aran.

I put a fender Custom Shop 62 in my Tokai and it sounds great. Very responsive and good balance of volume across all strings. Growls if you push it but stays punchy if you don't. Works very well with a bit of drive or gain from the preamp.

I reckon I've got the best of both worlds with my TechSoundsystems cab which, to me, is the coolest looking cab ever, which also sounds stonking with my Tecamp Black Jag head and weighs next to nothing. Can't imagine ever wanting anything different. Looks even cooler with the 2x10 combo and also sounds killer.

The only time I have had to do anything drastic with EQ is when playing on a raised stage which can make everything boom like crazy.

Pub gigs have always been determined by how loud the un-mic'd drums are. Some kits are very loud. I used to play in a band where the pot basher had a Pearl Export kit and a DW kit. I loved the Pearl kit because it meant the overall volume would be OK but if he brought the DW everything got way louder. I also think the efficiency of modern cabs has improved massively with (crucially) much better sound dispersal. I use a 500W class D amp at about 30% in a fairly loud rock band and have masses of headroom. No idea why you would need more - unless you're trying kill the audience.

I can at a rate of approximately 5 minutes per bar (longer if it's a tricky key signature).

Chunky for me. Precision/Stingray type of thing. Jazz neck feels like a won out bar of soap to me.

Marshall have a massive slice of the guitar amps market. Bass gear is a minor off shoot for them and I don't think they want a big slice of the market. They probably know it would upset too many widdlers to be associated with something as unpretentious as bass.

[quote name='jeigenbass' timestamp='1459521325' post='3017387'] Thanks for the replies. Do you mind me asking what model the 2x12 is? I know Barefaced do one. [/quote] My cab is an older TechSoundsystems 2x12. They later became Tecamp. There are other quality products available from companies like TKS, Bergantino, Vanderklay, Baer to name a few. Barefaced have an excellent rep too. You could also go for the 2x single 12" cabs at 8ohms each which would give full power from your amp. This set up is versatile and can cover pretty much any situation. I also have a Tecamp 1x12 cab which is great at home or for small gigs. There are plenty of very good products in the For Sale section. Hope this helps.

I used to have the 1x15 and 4x10 setup when I was happy to lug stuff like that around. I now have a lightweight 2x12 4ohm cab which is a single hand lift and handles anything I can throw at it. Wouldn't swap it for anything.

I learned a long time ago that making your hobby into your livelihood is a good way of screwing up your hobby. When I was young I loved cars and anything about them and when the opportunity arose I started my own business repairing them. Fast forward 25 years when I sold off my business and I hated everything about cars and repairing the damn things with a vengeance. I won't do the same with music. Money is of no importance as long as I'm enjoying what I do. I've played in quite a few bands in lots of different genres and have found that I hanker for he types of music I'm not playing at the moment. I currently play in a rock band and would love to play some jazz funk, latin or soul, but without side projects that I don't have time for it ain't gonna happen and I'm fine with it.