JapanAxe

This has happened to me more than once in my long and not-so-illustrious playing 'career'. As is the consensus, express disappointment, thank them anyway, offer yourself as a dep if required. Also from the band's POV there can be advantages in having a band made up of existing friends.

I had this happen with an Ashdown ABM500 once. I found it was a broken solder connection on the speaker - one of the braided leads going to the voice coil had come adrift. Having said that, there are any number of connections in any amp that can go bad and cause intermittent operation.

Any fule kno that to reproduce the sound of a bass guitar correctly you need a 4x10 on top of a 1x15, preferably topped off with a tweeter box. Then you can lunge to your heart's content. While wearing a waistcoat.

You're both right: 50% on the source 50% on the amp 50% on the speakers

My son has just bought a 50s style Vintera P - maple/white/anodised. He went and tried quite a few Ps in shops plus my 2. I haven’t had a play of it but he reckons it combines the comfy neck profile of my 73 P with the gutsy sound of my 63 AVRI. Sounds like a win.

Thanks Blue!

Hi Roger! The gig was at the Old Road Tavern in Chippenham. I expect we'll be back there at some point. Our next gig is a ticketed show at the Old Court (Arts Centre) in Windsor on 7th March. We have a couple of private parties, then the Rifle Club in Portsmouth with Kingz of Leon on 11th July. We are also looking at staging a special event somewhere in the Swindon/Bath/Bristol area - if that comes off I'll definitely post details on BC. In the meantime, here's a clip from our last visit to Windsor:

It's down to pattern recognition. Eventually se a rhythm written and you recognise it and play it, rather than having to work it out.

I initially set the Cali76 'Limiting Amplifier' by eye using the LED ladder - hardly any lights lit during normal playing, but around 20dB of compression on peaks when slapping/popping. Then I tweaked it by ear to sound 'right'.

I’ve recently had to address this issue! Having been pedal-free for years I am now playing Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes live. For me it’s the pops rather than the slaps that jump out in volume. I have tried a cheap Biyang Dyna Comp clone, which seemed perfectly adequate when set appropriately, and a big-box Cali76, which was rather easier to dial in.

Just got home from a splendid evening with my Bowie tribute band. The venue was a pub with a dedicated concert room at the side, with house PA and sound man. Just before we went on there were about 6 non-band people in the room, but once we took to the stage the place filled to capacity. We played 2 hours 20 minutes straight through, no breaks, and the time just flew by. For once I was standing well forward of my rig (Demeter into Super Twin), and both basses (AVRI Precision and Dingwall PZ5) sounded glorious. Mrs Axe commented afterwards that the bass came through loud and clear. Happy moments like this make life good!

I have an older TGI bass gig bag which I’ve used constantly for about 5 years and is just starting to show signs of wear. I recently bought the Extreme bag for my acoustic guitar (not bass). As well as being well padded it has a massive front pocket that will easily swallow up an A4 ring binder or a preamp pedal.

Even the mighty Demeter head has this issue!

Thanks that’s all good info. Yes I noticed the Fafner seemed to be pitched at HM players! I expect we may see some used HD units coming up for sale in due course.

I gig a Class D bass head and an all-valve one, but I do find myself scanning the BC ads for interesting Class A/B heads. EBS heads have pinged my radar, but are they all about the slappity-poppity high end? And what’s with the filter voicing?

Can I suggest you consider moving the pickup a tiny bit further from the bridge, as on the G&L L1500 (below) and L1505 - it adds a lot more girth to the sound, which you may find useful in the absence of a MM-type active EQ.

Our cat makes himself scarce if he sees me bringing any kind of speaker cab or combo into the living room. Speakers mean Big Noise, too much for his delicate feline sensibilities.

From 2003, yours truly rocking a Hohner Jack through an Ashdown rig. The bass now belongs to my son, amd the amp went to another member on here. No regrets!

Even if you remove all the valves and pack them separately, a drop to a valve amp can still buckle the chassis or cause the transformers to rip free from their mounting points.

I looked. I was thinking ‘OK, not so bad’ until I saw that control plate!

BEST - Dingwall PZ5 (cheers @krispn) - a keeper if ever there was one... WORST - Boss SYB3 pedal - bought as a synth pedal, sold as a wall decoration for the same money!

Mrs Axe got me a music/tab book of Brad Paisley guitar, at my specific request. Spending Christmas with outlaws and only brought my acoustic, but might have a run through some rhythm parts this evening. Also my daughter gave me a toy shaker which I suspect may have come from my grandkids’ toy box. I will keep it with my egg shakers

I’ve recently moved over to Elixir Optiwebs for my skinny-string electrics and enjoy their light feel and slick touch. On bass I’ve been on flats for the last 4 years but toying with switching one of my basses to rounds. How do Nanoweb bass strings compare against other brands for feel and perceived tension?

Someone was advertising one on here a while back but I dithered too long and missed it. Then I snagged an Ampeg PF-50T from Kenny's. Every cloud... So (1) because GAS, (2) unintended thread hijack!