molan

[quote name='deepbass5' timestamp='1410884459' post='2554320'] Agree with all above as with Lozz I feel in a live band situation i head for the Markbass most gigs ( function band and rock n roll stuff) it cuts and has a air to it that lets the harmonic content breath. MB500 fusion gets used a lot for practice and jazz gigs spade loads of warmth with the three valves you can get glass too but easy to loose your mids and over scoop it. I Find it more difficult to plug and play with the GK at volume but could just be me messing. Molan hasn't mentioned the Carvin class D amp. worth checking at the price. has graphic and comp and valve and para and yes i am still very tempted to give up my GK for the extra Para and graphic oh and 2 x 12 as well from me [/quote] Oh Ok then, it's worth looking at Carvin as well. The BX700 has a lot of fans and the B1000 is really nice for big clean power. Both are really well priced for USA made heads. If you do decide to try TC and are tempted by the RH450 then make sure you try one in a band situation and not just a shop demo. There's something in the circuitry that makes these sound good in low volume demo situations (or at bedroom volume) but they can be absolute tone suckers live. Simply the worst live amp I've ever used

They've come down in price a fair bit now. Were £200 when first released but down to about £170 now. We thought about ordering a couple to try out in the shop along with the new boost pedals that also came out this year. I actually forgot all about them with all the NAMM excitement! May have to get on the case today!

My favourites are probably Aguilars. Never really heard a bad one and lots of high end US builders are starting to offer them as a standard option now. They have a 60's and 70's voiced J set available

Big Bang is my favourite MB head. I like the general tone but also the aux in/headphone out options which are really rare for an MB. For big lumps of clean power the SD800 is nice, tried one once with a 4x10 plus 2x10 MB cab setup and it sounded huge

[quote name='hen barn' timestamp='1410976082' post='2555272'] i Wish someone would make a synth bass pedal that you could use. (that doesnt sound like a silly rasberry)i play in an 80s band and have tried every one out there and still cant get that basic 80s synth bass sound???? i am currently using a Zoom B3 which is ok?? One day some one must do it???? i think it would really sell? [/quote] MarkBass is the best one I've tried (apart from an Akai which is really expensive now).

You have to be careful if you try to adjust without removing the neck. If the bass and neck aren't supported properly you can sometimes do more damage than it's worth. I've seen a bass where someone damaged the neck heel, body and a pair of screws by trying to just loosen two screws and tilting the neck - they then leant on the neck and it slipped sideways forcing it downwards and causing all sorts of nasty things to happen I usually just bite the bullet and take the whole neck off. Never had any issues doing this, just need to be methodical in loosening and re-tightening the screws. There's a simple guide here - it's for a new nck but gives basic tips on how to put the neck back in the pocket and tightening the screws etc: http://youtu.be/dyu0uylL9jc

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1410945505' post='2554846'] This there are plenty of low ball chancers on here now we all try to get a tiny bit off or do a deal but some times you get some idiot trying to offer you about half of what the bass is worth I don't know why this seems to be a trend now on BC as it didn't used to be that way.But with prices I only ever lower to the lowest I am willing to go I would rather keep my stuff than give it away as neepheid pointed out earlier about selling on gumtree and the like I agree it is much easier to sell on there than BC which is a shame really as it is nice dealing with other members and keeping an instrument in the fold so to speak [/quote] There also seems to be a trend, maybe from the same people, to push for a lower price and then once it's agreed they bail out and stop replying. Maybe they just enjoy haggling for the sake of it, seems a bit of a waste of time to me

Our rhythm guitarist adds keys on a few songs and brought along his new baby Novation MiniNova to rehearsals last night. I had a quick play and it was great fun using the squelchy bass settings to try and cover Bernie Worrel type Parliament funky bass parts (although my playing was pretty useless!). With all the new, relatively low cost, analogue bass heavy synths out there at the moment (Novation Bass Station II looks cool) I just wondered how many people used one alongside a bass for either recording or live work?

I'm really looking forward to hearing the 1126 - love the idea of the 6" mid driver

[quote name='Bassnut62' timestamp='1410873398' post='2554133'] Bloody hope not! I need that white on white Strat in my hands ASAP! Thanks for the heads up. [/quote] Just checked and the last one we ordered was quoted at 8 weeks and took 15

GK and MB are in a different league from TC. GK are generally 'rockier' than MB and the latest models are all made in USA and good quality too.

Make sure you keep on at them about delivery, stories of 4 month actual build times are fairly common

FM cables are great, the silent jack versions work really well too!

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1410472257' post='2549909'] Oh really...? [/quote] Looks like it - very excited about the snakeskin ones, lol

I see snakeskin S112's on the horizon, and black S212's with metal grilles and black 1126's with cloth grilles and . . . And . . .

I hear the range is coming to the UK and available for demos very soon. . .

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1410090273' post='2545962'] Thomann play with MB prices all the time. I keep a weekly watch on their prices across a number of key products and it's really interesting, from a retailer perspective, to watch their 'dynamic' pricing policy. [/quote] Spotted an example of this yesterday - Thomann put up their Aguilar prices by a huge amount after a summer of heavy discounting. The TH500 head had dropped right down to £475 last week and it rose to £630 yesterday! Same kind of price rise across the TH350 and SL112 cabs as well. They are now more expensive than many UK stockists on these. It'll be interesting to see what happens with MarkBass. It's a very different brand and a lot more stockists than Aguilar so they may try to hold these lower prices to force the market. . .

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1410101632' post='2546095'] Sort of on topic, sort of not... where is a good place to buy from the UK at the moment then? I wouldn't mind picking up a Micromark for rehearsals! [/quote] Are you rehearsing with a drummer? I love the MicroMark but tried one at a full band rehearsal recently and it wasn't really loud enough. Just about ok as a personal monitor but not enough oomph for the rest of the band to hear properly and we wouldn't normally DI the bass at rehearsal (although that is an option for us). I also took it to a small acoustic gig and it works brilliantly. Easily loud enough for stage volume and was in the foh mix as well. Forgot to add earlier that the £635 price at Thomann is actually higher than it was this time last month (albeit only by a few quid!).

MarkBass pricing changes from month to month as MB and, I think, their distributors test the market to see what price things will sell at. There were some very good offers available to in July and August - some of these were passed on to customers whilst others were held as higher margin (also to offset against unsold stock purchased at higher prices). There's no obvious differentiation between Italian and Indonesian made stock. In fact a couple of the very best bargain offers recently were on Italian made items. There's a couple particular combos from higher up the MB range that have been available at great prices recently - I know of a couple of BassChatters that have taken advantage of these recently Thomann play with MB prices all the time. I keep a weekly watch on their prices across a number of key products and it's really interesting, from a retailer perspective, to watch their 'dynamic' pricing policy. They often take a lead, high selling, item from a manufacturer's range and discount it really heavily as a promotional item which helps to bring in new customers and can push people towards other, potentially higher margin, items as well. Euro to £ (and $) does have a significant effect. This is really helping on import pricing at the moment (although it's screwing exports so not always great for the market as a whole).