uk_lefty

Just one. But it's a big one!

If I took a knife to the foam would this take a couple of boss pedals? Got the annual Amsterdam gig coming up and my big board is too big....

I've been away working all week and I'm itching to play bass! I don't think I've done more than twenty or thirty minutes playing since before Christmas, well, except a gig on the 5th January! Life is busy and I can't always play when I want to but I definitely get the itch to play if I haven't done for a week or so, or if I heard something on the radio and I want to see if I can work it out.

Look at the Harley Benton spaceships, they're fantastic and cheap! You could mount a power pack underneath too. Personally, though I know a lot of people love the Zoom gear, I just don't rate the sounds but probably because I don't have the patience to work on them to get them precise, give me a box with an on/ off stomp and three dials and I know where I am. You've got some good individual pedals on there without the Zoom, are you not tempted to build up your board with individual pedals?

Me too. I really wanted to like these, my number 1 bass is a stingray, but I think there is something just not quite right. The Horn is too long, body too wide, pickguard too short and narrow, and that jazz pickup?!?! Also, no lefties listed which is odd for Sire. The 24 fret jazz however is really drawing me in.

A lot has already been said but one thing that made a big difference with my drummer is having a sub fairly central, either under the front of the stage if possible or at the back of the stage. This makes the bass drum sound feel like (well, it is) coming from the middle and where the bass drum is rather than off to one side. His kit is a very posh Roland that looks like the real thing. In the first few gigs we had issues with cables slipping out or him not realising a certain setting was on or off. With all that sorted though it's so much better than the acoustic kit. I honestly can't tell the difference when we play live. Oh, he uses normal cymbals because he hates the electronic ones (these weren't cheap but they just don't sound right) and he has spent so much on the kit to get the really, really fancy cymbals is just a stretch too far.

Yup, expect it will be a LOT more than the Fender mod shop. Still, I could get a P bass with some non standard options for less than £2k on the mod shop so when you compare that to shop prices for the standard gear it's not too bad. Ernie Balls will be £4-5k I reckon, though.

Have started playing the intro of the first song (Nutbush City Limits) to get some feet stomping while I did a cheesy voice over something like "thank you for coming out tonight, hope you're ready to get the party started, but we can't do this without one man. The one man we need to bring all this to another level..." Yada yada as an intro for the singer to walk out to. We never did it again. I have suggested walk on music in my present band, it's been knocked back. I'd settle for a playlist that we agree on to get the mood right, and to avoid the venue playing a playlist of all the songs we are about to play.

It's still going strong on my number 1 bass 👍

Exactly. Sire, Harley Benton... I have gigged both, the HB just before Christmas, and that was less than £160 new. Does this mean that there is exploitation to make the quality so high for so cheap, or we've been overpaying for bad quality for so long (and this can be for myriad reasons such as complex supply and distribution chains, not just profiteering). Anyhows, it seems the rule that dictates the price of second hand gear is priced low to make me want it, go sky high when I've plucked up the courage to buy it, and crash when I want to sell it.

When I started playing end of the 90s/ early 2000s my first bass, a Tanglewood P copy, was £250 including a strap, pick and a rubbish second hand practice amp. In 2006 I was in London, probably the Bass Cellar, and a German made Warwick $$ was £800 new, I think US Fenders could have been a similar cost. I wanted the $$ but only just venturing into the world of work didn't think that was a sensible use of my first paycheck. Right now that gets you a Rock bass made in the far east and little of the magic that those original German Warwick's had. I think MM Stingrays were a similar £800-900 around the time. I paid £1850 for my Stingray brand new at the end of 2018. The rises are incredible but also inevitable, a dollar was 50p in 2002 now it's not, the UK was in the EU but leaving coincided with COVID and Russia being what they are and then something political happening in the UK that might have cost people with mortgages and rents a lot more money.... The world is just a more expensive place now all around, some things more than others. I'm approaching a big birthday and for years thought this was my chance to blow loads on a flashy bass but I'll probably get a £150 Harley Benton or stretch to the Hofner Ignition bundle at £400 and still have something I'd happily gig.

Loving the new finish!

Have used them occasionally over the years, including buying my decent electric six string from them. No issues at all and sometimes you get emails with 10% offers etc. that can be quite good.

Can he lug it up the stairs and get it set up for you on a gig?

...and what do these cretins achieve with this nonsense? There must be bigger fish to fry for these idiots.

I bought it new at the end of 2018, it lives in a case and gets well looked after. The pickguard is a custom made mirror guard with the band logo going through it. I absolutely love it, it just doesn't do subtlety!

I am doing less and less gigs that require my full rig (ABM600 into two ABM Neo 15s). Most venues we play have their own PAs, guitarist and drummer have in-ears and singer is going that way too so on stage volume needs to be kept low. We now have active subs for when we use our own PA. Since early in the summer I've often played gigs direct off my board through my EBS Microbass. So, two 15s take up a lot of space. I'm thinking of trying to move them on and replace with an ABM 4x10. That should surely give me everything I need.... What are the pros and cons of this change, if I go ahead with it?

Ashdown ABM600 with two ABM Neo 15s. More than enough for anywhere.

Haha well I am pretty sure I had the film off the pickups before the gig but it is the kind of thing I'd forget. It only arrived a day or two before that gig. All stickers are well and truly off now, 10 months later.

Any three songs off Bat out of Hell (I know it's cheesy but I wouldn't mind 1% of the royalties off that one) and it's a very well put together album. Also, any three song sequence off Appetite for Destruction because it's the greatest rock album ever, IMO of course and not wanting to start a debate, but seriously that album just flows and Sweet Child O Mine (also known as the Devil's Ice Cream Van) is the worst song on it, and it's a great song.

I still love him even though he's chewed my SWR amp!

Can't forget this one either... A bit growly. It's a Harley Benton JBFL and I cannot believe it was less than £160 new.