Adrenochrome

Network network network. Have a decent MySpace, have a normal webpage as well, hand out flyers at gigs, offer your band for non-paying charity gigs. Go support the kinds of venues you want to play, then review those gigs for other people's websites and/or your own website. Be a visible presence on forums that bands and venues use. We did all that and now we don't chase gigs at all.

Yes, we tried fullrange 15s and they gave no real bass at all. We got better performance from a pair of Scott subs that our guitarist got off ebay for £80.

Sam Hurst who is the manager at Reverb in Sheffield is a top bloke with a good reputation. But I honestly don't know the stock that they carry or if their prices are good or not.

[quote name='neepheid' post='286473' date='Sep 18 2008, 10:12 AM']Rechargeable PP3 batteries tend to do poorly in active instruments?[/quote] Nah, it's a known problem with that pup/preamp setup on the active Millenium and Cirrus that were built over a certain period. Brand new alkaline batteries were only lasting a month or 2. Rechargeables slightly less but a lot cheaper!

I don't have a dream bass. My current Peavey millenium AC bxp does everything I want [light, fast, balances perfectly, excellent pups] with just 2 gripes: 1) Fret wear seems excessive - cheap fret wire perhaps? 2) Battery life is appalling but manageable with rechargeable batteries.

[quote name='tempo' post='284776' date='Sep 16 2008, 09:34 AM']The Laney is a good sounding head for the money. and a few nice features. Its more of a modern, clean/bright sound compared with the the mag300 (which is great too). Just a heads up on the Warwick profet though, thomman are knocking 'em out very cheap at the moment. link- [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_profet32_basstopteil.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_profet32_basstopteil.htm[/url] I own and use one of these and they sound very nice.[/quote] That looks more than decent for the money, especially with compressor etc.

To add more beef, try backing off the overdrive a little bit, and use compression as described above.

[quote name='brokensmile' post='282686' date='Sep 12 2008, 03:15 PM']Okay....so it seems after considering the Laney, I've been pushed rather quickly back onto the market for an Ashdown! The general consensus that the Mag300 would be the better option over the Rb9?[/quote] ...I wasn't comparing mine to a Laney. just relating my experiences of a similarly-priced head of similar spec. I've not tried any of the newer Laneys so I can't honestly compare them. Try them out if you can, see which works for you!

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='282649' date='Sep 12 2008, 02:10 PM']guess i should do my obligatory ashdown big up yeah the mag 300 is very loud for the money even into just 8ohm's, looks cool (subjective). i used to have a laney combo practice amp and the sound was quite clean compared to the ashdown slightly warmer sound but the mag aint muddy can have alot of bite. best suggestion if you can A/B the pair through the same cab.[/quote] Mine has been great. It has had very heavy usage but I got the rack version so it's lived in a case since day 1 so not suffered many knocks etc. A slight boost in the upper mids and very slight roll-off of the bass makes it cut through nicely on stage.

On my ancient JapCrap EB0, which had a very dry fingerboard, I used a polish designed for antique wood that was based on tung oil. That worked really well and darkened it also. I wouldn't recommend leaving it on too long on a newish bass though.

Laney make some very good value usable kit, I had a 300w head of theirs quite a few years ago. My Ashdown head was about that price and kicks out about that wattage so I wouldn't say it's too good to be true. Also it's been very reliable and had enough juice for big clubs and a big bike rally in a huuge marquee [with massive PA but the stage sound was loud enough], no reason to assume the Laney can't do a similar job.

4 - IME that's plenty enough people to organise, and mix at the desk.

[quote name='yorick' post='281902' date='Sep 11 2008, 02:59 PM']Just had a look and the ad's been pulled, so didn't get a chance to see it............... [/quote] Ha ha, t'was funny. There might be a cached version of the page on one of t'internet search engines.

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='280295' date='Sep 9 2008, 12:43 PM']Although the likelihood of it is that the majority of players started to learn bass without knowing any theory…[/quote] Hmmm, I'm not sure about that one. I doubt that I'm the only one who played other instruments and learned [basic] music theory at school but didn't pick up a bass until much later. I've never had a lesson on guitar or bass so I guess I've a foot in both camps.

[quote name='Prosebass' post='279598' date='Sep 8 2008, 12:10 PM']From this extract I deduce the following... A. He has never played bass or B. Too many drugs...[/quote] Accurate deduction; but I won't say which.

Yep, there's a great book by Jeff Noon called Needle In The Groove featuring a bass player... and I wont give too much away. The entire book is formatted like a set of songs lyrics and there's a backstory of the development of pop music in the city the book is set. Highly recommended! There was also a CD of music based on the 'lyrics' of the book out at the same time that I've not heard yet.

We played the Cross Keys in Morley on Friday and it was a good gig with the pub about half full, with a bit of dancing going on. Our drummer Ian had a bad back but struggled on. Yesterday we played the Shay in Halifax to about 5 people! Ian still had a stiff back and Vikki our singer was ill - she had to run off after the first set and upchuck. Second set went okay and we still put on a decent show which is difficult without much response!

I'd be running Neodymium cab(s) with a class D head right now if I had the cash. Weight is a big issue when fuel costs are high with quite a lot of driving to gigs.

[quote name='Rasta' post='276721' date='Sep 4 2008, 09:12 AM']What am i talking about-try a SUBDUB night (Iration Steppaz)-footlong with reggae reggae bass food Sauce in Leeds! [/quote] They were impressive at Unity Day last year!

Never. Passive basses all on full, active bass flat. I vary tone using fingers/pick/right hand position, palm muting etc.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='275299' date='Sep 2 2008, 11:24 AM']Ignore all the posts that mention power ratings on cabs, they are totally irrelevant in this case. Your problem is a lack of amp power causing the amp to fart out, not the cab! The solution to this is a high sensitivity cabinet and the easiest way to get this is lots of speakers in a large box. If you have to use this amp I'd be looking at 8x10", 4x12" or 2x15" cabs to get enough sensitivity. Alex[/quote] Hurray for some sense! I used to have an HH 4x12 cab that sounded righteous with a 100watt amp driving it [SS or tube]. I only sold it because it wouldn't fit properly in the next car I got.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='275158' date='Sep 2 2008, 04:57 AM']I'm afraid that the world of music is full of people giving it, "I just picked it up and could play it". They're all lying :-)[/quote] ...or they might already have huge background in music eg played string instruments all through school, so much of the musical theory and 'nimble fingers' might already be there.

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='275045' date='Sep 1 2008, 10:51 PM']Valves sound louder cos they induce compression - which is why lots of compressors have valves in.[/quote] Yes, I know, I was trying to avoid misleading the poster further with the notion that valves are much louder than SS and that it must therefore be the cab that's at fault.

...oh, I was forgetting that tube watts are magically much bigger than SS watts . Sorry mate but your amp is not powerful enough. Getting more/more sensitive speaker[s] will help get you more volume out of what you've got.

Don't be put off by a guitarist doing 'stunts' on your bass. Tricks are of very limited use in the real bass world.