uk_lefty

That is gorgeous

And bassists who do backing vocals who tick "bass vocals" and have an Irish traditional vocal harmony group hounding them for weeks before the penny drops. Oh, I mean, a guy I know once did that. Not me. Honest.

Epiphone shorties come in attractive colours and sound very good. Not sure if they're 30 or 32 but they're definitely shorter than the usual.

Flux capacitor?

Clever! 🤓

A box.

Something made by Trace Elliott

You mean a drummer? 🤪

First band split when I went away to Uni. Sadly, we didn't socialise together so I just assumed they knew I was going away. At my last gig the singer/ guitarist brought along his mate who was a much better singer to take the band forward. That was when I broke the news. We did a reunion gig in the Xmas break and stayed loosely in contact for a while. One band broke before it got going due to too many control freaks saying one thing and doing another. I mean seriously, if you're a female fronted funk and soul band why am I in the wrong for complaining about doing FOUR Stereophonics songs??? Last decent band broke up shortly after COVID. I was annoyed we did nothing with all that downtime and really wanted to freshen up the very well trodden set list. There were tensions and frustrations but I guess the time away just heightened it all too much. The drummer used to be really awkward with anyone who enquired about gigs if he didn't know them, complained about a gig forty mins drive from his home but on the other hand would insist we gig for nothing hours and hours from home because his mate had asked. As if this wasn't bad enough he announced a gig on a date he knew I couldn't do. He also assumed we could do that gig at the singer's pub without clearing it with him first. With me being the one they'd replaced with a dep after one of my kids was born it just felt like I was disposable, they would do this gig without me and get their dep in. They did the "gig" with no rehearsal and it was an utter embarrassment and disaster. They have tried to keep going, I don't know if they've actually gigged anywhere... I was offered a stupid amount of money to go back and do one gig but said No because I was gigging with my new band the next night. Two of the guys have come to see my band a few times and we meet occasionally for a drink. I never hear from the drummer at all, despite our differences of opinion in the band he was one that I got on best with. If we hadn't been in that band together but knew each other another way we'd probably still be strong friends.

I know what you mean. The guitarist having a few small briefcase sized flight cases behind him and a Coop bag for life isn't the image, but once the smoke and lights get going I'm not sure it's so relevant. On Fridays gig I was getting good sound from my on stage rig, muddy sound from my wedge, went on a walkabout and heard the bass sounding perfect through the FOH. It's that conflict between the different sound sources that is starting to p me off, standing in the sweet spot to get the right balance isn't always an option.

Following

By having the PA mixer send a signal to a wireless box that transmits a custom mix to in-ear-monitors (posh headphones). Problem is that these set ups can be very expensive and make you feel a bit isolated. This way you can keep stage noise to a minimum but still have the PA pumping out good quality sound. I have done gigs with no amp but using the stage wedge monitors as my way to hear my bass sound, that works but isn't ideal.

It's the one top notch bass all day long for me. My yardstick of quality is my US Stingray. The Stingray sound isn't for everything though, and I do like to mix things up to keep me interested but it's got a bit silly (6 basses, 4 amps, too many pedals...). One of my basses is a Harley Benton fretless jazz and it's great for the price, but it's not the same quality as a Sire or MIM Fenders. It's still perfectly giggable though and it does come out on gigs as a first choice instrument sometimes. But loads of cheaper options and no single great bass? No thanks. I don't see the point. As someone already mentioned there's the bonding and familiarity with your "number 1" bass, then the reliability, then forming your own sound, and I'd rather do that with one special bass than be constantly rotating multiple functional but not special instruments.

So I've gone backwards and forwards and all the way round again several times. Last night had a good chat with the soundman at our venue and he is persuading me. I think I should keep some form of good quality gigging amp but also allow myself the option of in-ears. Guitarist has gone IEM for ages now and runs off a Blackstar DI pedal. Soundman complimented him on how great it sounded for a modeller pedal. I had fantastic bass sound out my amp, ABM600, but quite a muddy sound from my foldback and at times struggled for the clarity, especially when moving around. Where I think this will really help is the gigs where we need to take our own PA. No more lugging monitors, getting monitor mix right, fighting feedback...

That is a lovely looking amp set up

Well, we replaced it with something from a credible brand this time, I think it's a Mackie 18" sub. So, the failed Amazon not-so-prime sub is up for sale at the paltry sum of £25 because the cabinet is definitely in good condition, the speaker might be ok and if someone was looking to build their own bass cabs this could be a good option for them.

What's the difference between the 7200 and 7400. And don't say 200 😉

I saw a 2x10 Marshall DBS cab and I really want to buy it but the seller wants to sell it with an amp head that I have no need for. Sad times! Think I will just stick to my Ashdown 15s

I often DI my ABM head and there is no issue adjusting the master volume for on stage sound only. It's playing with the EQ settings and input gain that can p!ss off the soundman IME.

Thanks will be sure to get it a full service. I'd like to get quite an aggressive tube driven sound out of this one, my Ashdown ABM is a fantastic amp but the valve drive doesn't quite do it for me, for some gigs I'm playing with a lighter setting on a drive pedal always on so would be good to get that from the amp and leave the pedals for the big texture changes.

You must have needed a forklift to move that cab, and then to put the combo on top!!! I had that 150watt combo when I was 17. Unfortunately I don't think I ever got the best out of it. I do remember having to carry it up a pedestrian zone though and that was torture.

It's louder than I'm used to (I bought a brand new Ashdown ABM last year or the year before) but having a bit of a noodle around and I didn't notice it. It didn't bother me at all.

So, as a teenager starting out on bass I'd see the Marshall stuff in the local music shop and drool over it, safely knowing I could never afford it. Well, many years later, a cheeky eBay bid, I've got it. It fires up and it's working well, had a little noodle and everything is functional but I want to get it serviced before I trust it on a gig, the previous owner has had it in storage for ten years or more. Will try to get it to the amp tech ASAP along with some other stuff I want him to sort, then it may be unleashed soon!

I really want to glitch!