uk_lefty

Either they were very much worth keeping or they're all in landfill.

I've only ever had one "covers" band play originals. My first ever band, but the other guys had been in an established band that did originals and did the whole battle of the bands things in the late 90s as well as rock covers. We had maybe 4 or 5 originals... They were really good, we would open up with one, but it had heavy inspiration from the bands we covered so it fit the sound. That band was all about the lead guitar though, and as he wrote the originals it was a guitar w4nkfest from start to finish, which went down well. But people only remember our Hendrix medley. My covers band I've been in for the last 5 years and counting has often threatened to write songs but never actually got round to it. We are a "party" band and it just wouldn't work. Our rule is that the song has to be something people will sing AND dance to, so an original is unlikely to get one of those and never get both. I'd like to get involved with a group playing originals and be part of writing and coming up with my own parts and sounds, but I think the ratio of time spend writing and practicing to actually gigging will be a million to one, sadly.

New Zealand Maori metal... I like these guys. They bring in themes of indigenous history, use indigenous language, and they're very metal...

But not miracles. It was still awful.

I am certain that just over 20yrs ago in my local music shop I saw a pedal that made a hand clap noise. I'm sure of it... Can't find anything online. In some of the covers I'm doing it would be "handy" to have a hand clap noise that we can bring in and out, I remembered this pedal but just can't find one anywhere. Am I just making this up?

There's an OLP on Gumtree for 200 quid. All black, looks in OK condition

That is a beauty. It's kind of if Duff and Sid Vicious tried to tw@ bits out of each other with their basses... Love the Status neck.

That looks ridiculous... In a good way!

The test will be whether you burst in to flames when you play the first note. In all seriousness the post that @Huge Handswrote hits the nail on the head for me.

I like the idea on the preset EQ points, adding the Old School filter, flat and scooped tone. From the description that's similar to their Marcus Miller signature amps.

Interesting. I saw an ACDC tribute where Angus and Bon were dressed the part but the bassist looked like he'd just finished his shift driving a lorry for John Smiths. It has to be all or nothing otherwise the bass player which let's face it is not the focus of an ACDC tribute became a massive distraction. My covers/ functions band has a dress code even for pub gigs. I've got an 80s band starting up and I've been picking up 80s style clothes, a few 80s basses and even a Trace Elliot amp... Who will really care that my Aria is from 1984....?

Me too, was easy to see if someone was a new member or not, which matters when you're getting enquiries about stuff for sale. I'm finding the new layout hard to navigate and it melts my head a bit all the different forum subsections combined but I understand that it's at the mercy of the host software developers so we need to just get used to it, which won't take long, hopefully!

Thanks, looking for specific recommendations though.

I stumbled upon a great deal for a Trace 2x10 combo in immaculate condition the other day and just could not resist. I love the Trace sound and I have an 80s band starting up that could be promising, and have played my Washburn-Status through a Trace at rehearsals and loved it. I have been toying with the idea of a hybrid valve amp recently too. Then this opportunity fell in to my lap, a Trace 122H GP12. It has all the usual bells and whistles plus a button to engage the valve drive and a rotary control for this. I've not seen this before on their 2x10s. I'd love to have a single amp solution for both my bands: a function band that needs a traditional P bass type sound for the first set and something more up front for a more danceable second set, then my 80s band with lots of 80s pop type tones that the Trace will be perfect for. Obviously this is going to be heavier than a very heavy thing, so I'm thinking of committing a crime against nature and having the head and cab separated so I could use lightweight cabs with the head. I'll try it with my Rootmaster 1x15 and 2x10 but ideally I want something lightweight that will give me a deep and punchy sound... 1x15, 4x10, not sure. Looking for recommendations please, not premium cost like Vanderkley and Barefaced, something a bit more mainstream budget wise (Hartke? Ashdown ABM? The TC 4x10 that Andertons are knocking out for 249?).

My thoughts too. No tube, but tube emulation says Rootmaster to me. The Laney looks great but the Ashdown are lightweight and have lightweight cabs with more options. Going from tube to FET on the Laney is like footswitching the Rootmaster drive. Without having both in the same room obviously its hard to compare but knowing the specs now I'm less keen on trying the Laney.

Can't you just sit your bass amp right next to the drummer?

That was Freddy Mercury's hoover and cleaning kit... Freddie was cropped put because it got two hot for him in the second half and he got rid of the wig, fake boobs and crop top and looked very odd in drag only from the waist down! Jim Morris on was a shambles on the other side of the stage trying to play guitar and Bruce Forsyth was on drums!

The Rootmaster stuff is great. Running the 1x15 combo with another 1x15 cab will give you a very deep, monstrous tone. I used to use the RM500 head with two 1x15 cabs. I stupidly sold one of the cabs then found myself lacking something at a big function gig and got myself a Rootmaster 2x10. I'd prefer another 1x15 though. Second hand Ashdown cabs are great value but you'd likely have to go and collect them which sounds like it's not a great option for you right now. Playing through two Ashdown 1x15s looks good too, I think!

I'd not played an instrument since the recorder at primary school. Unless you count being given a knackered electronic keyboard and some sheet music and being told "learn that in two weeks" as my music "lessons" at senior school. I basically had no clue and was trying to work it out from myself by getting learn guitar books out from my local library and trying to play my friends' electric guitars upside down. Luckily the shop had a few lefty basses in.

I had a Tanglewood Nevada, a sunburst P bass copy. It was left handed, though I thought it wasn't logical to have the deepest note at the top and was toying with getting a right hander. I'm glad I didn't. I learned on that bass slowly out of two books, one of which had the play along cd until I started playing with a band. I was 17, the guitarist 20 and the drummer 25. They were both experienced gigging musos. The guitarist was a bit of a legend from his early teens and had played gigs all over the country with his previous band which split in two, the bassist and singer going one way and he and the drummer going the other and recruiting me. I took along my Tanglewood and played with them for a year, eventually on my 18th persuading my parents to chip in 1/3 each and 1/3 from me to get my fretless 5 string Kramer. Massively ambitious at the time but that again helped take my playing up a notch. I traded in the Tanglewood as it was just sat doing nothing. I think I traded it against either a Zoom BFX 708 or a Marshall Bass State 150. I can't remember which exactly. The Kramer is still with me and still gets the occasional gig. The Tanglewood wouldn't have stood a chance. It was OK to learn on but light years behind the Kramer, which in itself isn't the best quality bass. The only photos of the Tanglewood are at my Mums house, so here's the Kramer almost 20 years ago, and again around 3 or 4 years ago...

The second hand prices of fender japan basses are soaring. I'd only relic and do irreversible mods to one of the common easy to get 62 reissues, not a PB70US or something like that, personally.

I don't believe anything can be worse than this...

Yeah that is quite annoying. I like their reviews but more for the playing than the products. At least its not all 300mph slap. Because of the randomness of it all though you can't really compare stuff. I think the German guys are the best for reviews, Bass the Word is it? I've been looking a lot at amps recently and was watching their review of the Markbass Marcus Miller stuff. They were not impressed with that at all, underwhelmed probably the best word for it.