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Good stuff. Saves those nice basses going to waste!

I couldn't tell you how long it was before I played my first song all the way thru on bass as I had been playing other instruments (keys, brass & guitar) long before I picked up bass. 1st thing I actually played was the end 1/2 of "the chain" (old F1 song) & then went on to learn some U2, Beatles & REM (Anyone can play "the void"). This was all about 25 years ago!

There's a lot of good stuff to choose from for what you're looking to spend. I opted for the MB 2x10 combo, which I am very very happy with (I use it to remove pottery from the shelves of the craft studio next door to our rehearsal studio). If you're looking for lightweight amps then either Markbass or Genz seems to be the best options. If I was going to buy a separates rig to replace my combo I would probably go for one of Alex's cabs or build one of Bill Fitzmaurice's cabs & get the best second hand MB amp I could afford with what I had left.

I use a borrowed CE3 from my guitarist. sounds good to me with no bass loss & can do very subtle or heavy 80's pish, but yet to hear it in a gigging situation.

May I suggest using bits of the original bassline (any wee bits that stand out or maybe just the first couple of bars of a song) & making the rest your own? I find this shows that you can work with stuff already written but have the ability to write great basslines yourself. Tally ho & best of luck

To me it doesn't matter what the bass is played on, whether it be bass guitar, keyboard, double bass, tuba or even a stretched elastic band on a broom. As long as it makes a good groove & sounds good, that's what bass means to me. I play several instruments but class bass as my main instrument because a good bassline can really make a song (not all songs need a bassline) & I used to do a lot of synth basslines (no longer have a synth). I'm also enjoying doing solo stuff on the bass too.

There's also Bandwagon in Perth but I've never used their service to do so (I do my own gear), but the young lad in there seems to know his stuff.

I use a Markbass 2x10 combo sitting vertically (as recommended by Alexclaber & BFM) & have no problems being heard at gigs & have a very ample ammount of depth to the sound. I'm tempted to add an ext cab but I don't really need one just now. So the answer is Yes, you can turn the cab 90 degrees (& it'll probably sound better). It depends on how everything is eq'd that depends if you'll get lost in the mix.

& so you should

I think the problem my band have in rehearsals is that they get a nice volume when they first set up & then the drummer has a warm up & everyone turns the noise level up. It then doesn't go back down afterwards. Admittedly, I have been at fault here too. A month ago I was a bit miffed at the loud volume levels so whapped the bass up a considerable ammount, so much so that the whole room was vibating from the panels in the ceiling to the glass in the door, left a smile on my face It was a counter productive session music wise but I think the gitter got the idea of how we feel when he's constantly too loud so I'm hoping that side of it is productive.

This is a very interesting topic. (No sh!t, I hear you say). I'm gonna put forward the idea of getting someone (sound guy) to come to a rehearsal & mess about with all our stuff until he thinks it sounds right & we, as a band, are happy with the result. At present I've been trying to get as subby a sound as possible to get right under everything else so the 2 gitters only have to sort out space for the vocals & drums. But there is some songs that I like to get a mare funky sound on (using the moogs) & the gitters usually take the same space the minute they come in. Did a 3 piece on Monday there as lead Gitter couldn't make it & we sounded brilliant. Now if we could get him to shut up during the vocals & just play solos & occasional fills that would be sheer bliss. Chance of getting him to do this...... More chance of Bin laden offering to fund the rebuilding of the twin towers!

Both my bands have a couple of songs in drop D, one of the reasons I want a 5 string.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='474642' date='Apr 28 2009, 10:25 PM']Mine's blue. I'm so ashamed.[/quote] Well at least you wont get classed as a School runner or a pimp (don't know if that's good or bad ).

Never done any drifting for yonks. I miss those days, 3.6 rover SD1 powering around roundabouts is a joy in itself. Even the 730 BMW was a hoot. Always thought silver X5's was for mums doing the school runs & black ones are for drug dealers & pimps. Do they make any other colours?

[quote name='john_the_bass' post='474134' date='Apr 28 2009, 12:31 PM']That 5 cyl 2.4 diesel is a brilliant engine, but the Scirocco is so much cooler IMO[/quote] I like them both as much looks wise, but I'm expecting that you'll see countless Sciroccos on the road fairly soon, hence putting a dampner on the coolness that it has just now. The C30 R design is a much rarer sight. Still don't know how I'll get my gear in tho!

Silver Give it a bit of bling!

I used to put all my gear in a Honda DelSol! The bass & extras all fit in the boot & the combo went on the passenger seat. Now it's a '03 Corsa. Soon to be either a Volvo C30 D5 or T5 or a VW Scirocco (C30 is winning at present). Edit... Any long distance hauls & I use my slaves to carry gear on their heads!

Outta Love Again - Van Halen Dead easy bassline that sounds brilliant. But you do need a decent guitarist to play with. Anything off of the Cult's Electric album (& even crappy gutters can play most of it).

They used to have a Carlsberg Bassbomber in the rehearsal room where I practice & used it a few times till some lowlife broke it like they did with most of the equipment in the DC. I don't understand the mentality of the daft c*nts, now they have nothing to use. Was not a bad combo AFAIR but I only used it about 4 times in there & nowhere else.

I had a few sets of the DR Strings in blue & after a few weeks the silver comes thru from wherever you play the most (even with fingers). If you slap at all I found the G string doesn't last very long at all. They do have a very bright sound tho.

[quote]Does the tuner out still work with the lead pulled out ?[/quote] Good point.

[quote]OK you can pull the lead but that takes time.[/quote] Ahh, but does it take any longer than reaching for the mute switch?