uk_lefty

Or a zoom?

You've shopped in Scarborough, I see

Go for it! If you want the Ampeg sound later down the line you can get close with effects pedals, so you're not missing out completely. Beginners today, eh? Spoilt for choice. Back in my day you got a dusty old Kustom 15w amp from under a pile of dead rats at the back of the shop.......

Definitely. Used one last night for rehearsal, very happy. There's a bit more depth and roundness to the sound than I had with the Rootmaster cab. And I liked the Rootmaster cab a lot. This is just a step up from that.

I get that whole drunk punter wants to join the band thing. I have no problem telling drunk punters "it's left handed so you wouldn't be able to, sorry" as a first response followed by a two word conversation ender if they ask again. But another band on the bill is a different prospect, I don't know what I'd do. It can be someone else's fault of they're under-prepared or just dim, but a genuine equipment failure that I could easily help with.... I don't know how I'd feel saying No even if I really want to!

I use the 500 head with a pair of fifteen inch ABM Pro Neos. There's a NCD thread about it.

I wouldn't like to be in the position of everyone in the room: venue staff, other band, punters, all looking at me going "come on mate, he will take care of it, don't be a tight b@stard it'll ruin the night if his band can't play and empty the place". Saying "not my problem" in that scenario wouldn't just make everyone say "yeah ok, fair enough" I'd hate the badgering. Having lent my amp out before I was sh!tting a small brick watching some clueless bassist keep the VU in the red for his whole set. It was bothering me so much that when the smoke machine came on in my set I was sure for a split second my amp was on fire!

That's something I'm learning a lot more about. I was never thrilled about distortion on bass and I love a good clean tone, but if there's space there for it and it's appropriate it can really lift things. Also, listening to some isolated bass tracks you hear the imperfections and often a lot more grit than you'd expect on some tracks and it just makes the whole mix work. Also helps if your two guitarists aren't just creating an impenetrable wall of sound (didn't want to say noise there... The guitarists in the last band were v good, there just wasn't room for the bass to breathe as much as I have now).

The band I've joined does a pop goes rock type thing and they're very good at it, having been at it over ten years. In my old band a clean Jazz or P bass sound with no effects was 99% what I needed, otherwise there was sonic mush against two guitars. Now, working with two guitarists again, one is the singer who drops out of guitar playing a lot, there's space to be filled by big, fat, hairy bass. Because I'm not always copying the bass part I'm trying to emulate some synth bass and synth fills I'm using fuzz a lot, and some wah, and there's almost always some overdrive going on to fill out the sound. I auditioned with a big hefty sound and the drummer liked it so I've kept it up. It's all Stingray, and now through two fifteens, that should do the job!

@Lozz196 we just know an ABM 600 is the next step for me. Let's not pretend here... 😂👍

That is just mind blowing. Considering Bowie could have hired pretty much anyone he wanted as a backing vocalist or whatever to do that track, to be able to play bass and not just sing but to deliver that performance.... Mind blowing. I've got a new favourite bassist.

New band, lots of gigs booked... I was time to upgrade the cabs. I was using Rootmaster cabs and regretted selling off my second 1x15. The sound of two 15s was exactly what I wanted. I tried a 1x15 and a 2x10 and always felt something was missing. Those have both been re-homed via Basschat. I happened upon a deal for an ABM Pro Neo. I received it a few weeks back and it was good. But I bought the last one. Then a second turned up as B stock and I just had to get it. So now my rig is a Rootmaster 500 head into TWO 1x15 ABM Pro Neos. Same weight, or lack thereof, as the Rootmaster cabs, but there's a solid metal grille to protect the blue speaker and a bit more authority to the sound. I had the Neo and the Rootmaster side by side for a few days and could feel a difference. Can't wait to push the rig a bit, not that the volume will need to be going above 3 or 4 notches, and feel the bass presence with the band!

Well, I know what I'm doing today.... Thanks everyone for this thread and the links!

I was already half way out of my last band but then some minor incident happened that stuck in the memory. I had put in the band calendar I was away from a Thursday to Saturday "at wedding". I wasn't asked if I would be back in time and willing to do a gig on the Saturday night, the words were "pretty long f*cking Wedding". Same question, very different effect.

Ouch. That's not good.

First off, I'm not disagreeing with you. I get what you're saying and I half agree, half don't. I'm on the fence. Just trying to work out the thought process and why this whole market exists... I think it's the whole knowing you want a certain bass but being able to choose a spec, colour, etc that potentially only you have, or is so rare you're not going to get hold of one coming up second hand quickly and easily. The only one I played was a gold 60s spec lefty. That just doesn't exist unless you have it made for you. I didn't like it, but the owner loved it. Good for him. At a Marcus Miller clinic he was talking about the Sire bass range. He plays a V7, not the more expensive V9 and V10 ranges. He said words to the effect that they all sound pretty much the same but the fancy wood tops and so on are there for you only as the player, for you to feel inspired to pick it up and play it. I think whether custom shop or not, a lot of us choose these superficial things about our basses that make us want to acquire them, and want to play them. The bass itself in a lab may not sound different to the cheaper versions, but if we are more inspired picking it up and coaxing different things out of it, or if we just love looking at it (or waxing it every Sunday night as I did with an old Warwick I had), it's done its job?

I've never had to do a return to Thomann but this shipping issue doesn't surprise me, sadly. I've got a cab coming from Musik Produktiv that's stuck waiting for clearance, whereas a separate order I had with them came in just a few days. It's not the retailer's fault, it's in the hands of the shipping company and various customs processes. I'd love to only buy from UK Retailers but take the example of the Sire V7. I really like buying from Anderson's and they're the UK importer. However, a left handed V7 on Anderson's, when in stock, costs £489. The in stock date keeps moving out, so I could pre order and wait and wait. On Thomann, it's actually in stock right now and costs £389. I'd love to buy in the UK to support local jobs and businesses, reduce carbon footprint of boxes flying all over the world, easier returns process.... But £100 difference is too much.

How do you combine it with the HX are you putting the Al in the Stomp's effects loop?

Long story, not interesting... But I call it the Lazy option for a reason! 😃👍

It's a funny one, the Sub feature. I quite like it as a "lazy octaver", I call it that because there's a song I'm doing where I want a clean octave down effect and it's easier to push this button than mess about with my Helix to find the octaver that isn't farty. Can't imagine using it as an always-on though, that would be too much.

What about if the venue keeps lighting the audience....

I've only ever played one and it was incredibly ordinary. I'd go to a big shop that stocks loads and play as many as possible, because I know there will be absolute gold there, it's just finding "the one" for you.

Me too, it's like a nervous twitch thing. Like guitarists always tuning between every song, or having a quick bash of the main riff of a song before the whole band is ready to play. If you're well rehearsed to just don't do that cr@p.

Phwooooaaah! They do the cherry colour version in left handed!! I was tempted but the scale length put me off. I bought a Jack Casady instead and now can't get a case to fit it.... Fuming. Fancied one of these though, could have used for acoustic and electric gigs easily.

I couldn't pick up the rhythm, whether it was an impatient, searching for an answer rhythm, or a rhythm of fanfare and anticipation.