Lfalex v1.1

Perhaps it's a Geographical thing, but in the absence of a very strong creative force or forceful personality within a band, I find the default arrangement to be a sort of Plutocracy. Thinking back ( over the last 30 years) I can barely think of a single band that I was in, or knew of that didn't function in this manner. Whichever band member has the most money, living space or most relaxed lifestyle (so "free time") often becomes the de facto band leader. A good example being that they may have space enough to be able to offer rehearsal facilities at no cost to the band. In itself, a useful bargaining chip. That's not a criticism; If I had the space/money/time, I'd do the same.

I think I might be in an outfit that's close to this. My feeling is that both the drummer and singer/Guitarist are better than me. They seem to think it's more evenly matched. After a few years in the wilderness, you lose track of what you're actually good at (or not, as the case may be!)

Playability, build quality and tone come first. I actually did stick to this when I bought my first decent bass. I'd saved up a load and was going to aim for a Warwick Thumb NT5. I ended up buying a bass that was sitting (ignored) in the corner of Wapping Bass Centre. I'd never heard of the manufacturer, but the fit, finish, playability, tone, weight and balance were all spot on. So I bought it. It wasn't cheap. But 26 years later, it's still great, and has never put a foot wrong. Even if I have.

I'd love to try a Reverend. Likely to be right up my street. Nowhere within 300 miles seems to stock them 🤔

Uh... Don't want to jump the gun, but it seems like I might actually be in a band now 🤣 We'd been in touch and they'd sent me some material. I'd listened to it twice that evening, then they sprang an audition opportunity on me at 2hrs notice on the following day. I said I'd go, but not to expect miracles. Hardest 4½ hours of bass playing I've ever done, but I think I left a good impression as they're straight back into wanting another rehearsal next week... (Edit- And another rehearsal next week, plus I get to leave my amp/cab at the rehearsal space...) And then today, out of the blue, another band contacted me to say they wanted my services. It never rains but it pours.

It was some sort of co-operation between BMW's US design bureau and Musicman. Apparently they tried "alternative" materials for the body, but ended up back at Basswood 😄

I'm sure there's more to pick on than just the CAR...

🤣 But the Ergonomics are (oddly) excellent. And I think a guy called Rolf Spuler is to blame...

My back is still OK. I use my legs to lift, and for longer distances, I strap everything together and use a dolly board. My Schroeder cab is lighter than the Trace 1048h I used to have, but that decision was driven by circumstances and power handling. I could get a diminutive head, but I like good old Class A/B Watts, so the head is relatively heavy.

I'd never seen a (Real) LPB one before, mainly Shoreline Gold and the Burst. Saw a Black one in some footage from the US once

Don't know what you mean....

If it follows the real RosBeck, they should be series/parallel/neck-most single coil...

The Trans White finish looks nice, as does the Metallic grey.

Been looking for a real one for ages... I wonder how close this gets?

Had it and already spent it! Bought a Two Notes Le Bass preamp pedal. Once you get the hang of what it does best it's great. Best dirt / preamp pedal I've had.

We really need posters to list the basses they own at the bottom of their posts to see if they fall foul of their own prejudices...

There was a Silver Bongo in FS a while back that covered these 3 nicely..

I was standing well off-axis, not wishing to be right in front of the drummer (force of habit!) Maybe I'll try and get more in the firing line of the PA next time.

Much of the kit sounded fine. It was mostly the boomy and mid bass- heavy kick. That seemed to be occupying a lot of the sonic space that most of us would allocate to BG. That's why I pushed the upper mids (even) more, to try to put some definition back in.

He's certainly not a luddite. But he did call my amplification "old"... A slight criticism it was all too willing to correct. "Old but good" was obviously what he meant.

Ah, it'll be kit #3 (An old "regular" kit) for live work.. The E-kit is too extensive.

Did an audition last night. Nice guys. Good Drummer. Except... he was using an expansive V Drums set into his own IEMs and out via one of those Bose line array/sub ensembles. Maybe it was the patch he was using, maybe the EQ, but the kick sounded like a cannon and I ended up pushing my upper mids and cutting the bottom end to stop the ensuing mush. Also, all the drums look the same! So there was a major disconnect when this diminutive unit (in the "wrong" place!) started sounding like a floor tom! Was there a smidge of latency vs a real kit? Maybe. I think the fact that the sound was emanating from the PA didn't help- it's very localised compared to a real kit. On the plus side, it helps keep SPLs down, so no ear protection needed, and I can still hear today. Has anyone else had similar experiences playing along with E drums?

I don't like Gibson 3-point bridges. A single coil at the bridge is almost always drowned out by a neck humbucker unless there's a VVT arrangement to balance it out. Signal level jumps when switching between series/parallel/single coil are unacceptable. Musicman got it right with the SR5 (H). Some manufacturers just don't seem to bother. I own an Epiphone Blackbird. That's how I know I don't like 3 point bridges.

Crikey. Nearly as complicated as an Ibanez EDA900. That has six trim pots, all governing the piezo- electric bridge; One for each string, one for global piezo level and one for piezo bass trim. The 905 gets another one for the extra string!

(Not that I own one a Lakland, but I do own a bass with a preamp trim pot...) Personally, I've adjusted the preamp gain so the output level when it's flat = passive mode. That way, there's no perceived volume jump if you switch mid-gig / mid-song. If you don't do that, or never use passive mode, it's less of a concern.