jonnythenotes

Thanks Chris.... That's exactly what I am hoping to achieve...

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Sorry Discreet...my initial post/question may have been a bit Hazey...I already own 'the big rig' and am fed up with hauling it around to every gig whether it needs it or not. I am putting together a smaller set up for this reason, but just wanted opinions on my initial question..

I'm putting together a small gig rig, specifically for either small venues, or unplugged sessions..(I already have a rig I use for bigger venues as and when required..) and one thing puzzles me... Will one 12"" speaker being driven at low volume, be better than a multi speaker cab being driven with the same low signal, to achieve the same out front volume ? I feel a larger, multi speakered cab...4x10 for example, being driven at low volume, and with the low signal being shared into 4 speakers is not as good as one larger speaker having to deal with all of the signal it receives, and therefore the single speaker has to do more work, even at low volume. I should imagine the volume achieved is comparable, but it's the make up or 'feel' of that volume that I am questioning. I am not mentioning the amp or cabs I presently use, as really, this is a pretty opened ended question, but both the new amp and cab will be of high quality... Ps.... This new set up will not be dealing with a 5 string...not sure if that makes any difference

I bagged a U.S. Hot rod jazz a few weeks ago. It has both P and J vintage pick ups installed, and it is easily the best Fender I have ever played by a long way. You can pick them up insanely cheap for what they are...if you can track one down.

Seymour Duncan pick up boost pedal. Have it switched off for the bass with the hottest signal, and hit the foot switch button to switch it on to your pre determined level for the bass with the weaker signal.. Pi$$ easy to use with just a signal strength knob and an on / off foot switch... I never gig without mine. Also great for a small pre set boost in songs that need a bit of lift in the mix. Hope this helps...

It sounds like the same bass player Pinball.... The tone alone seems to prove that he played on Kill you sons as well... I heard it years ago, thanks for pressing the rewind button in my head...

Thanks Discreet....mucho appreciated.

This one song has had more influence on me than any other piece of music. The tone, note selection, musicianship and power are incredible, and it's made up as he goes along.....It's called Kill Your Sons by Lou Reed, and once heard, never forgotten. I don't know how to ship it across from You Tube, but if someone out there could do it, I would appreciate it. It's the studio version on the Sally Can't Dance album. 42 years old, but seems to get heavier as each year passes.... Check it out.. It really is something a bit special.

Without doubt, Wonky is as good as it gets when completing a deal. Drove to his place to hopefully buy his Fender Jazz Hot Rod...which I did.... and found him to be a super nice chap. Very knowledgable on all things bass, but in a very none show offy way. Totaly trustworthy and honest, and makes a mean cuppa at 9 o'clock on a Saturday morning after a two hour spin in the car..... Cheers Wonky.... Hope to see ya again..

As well as never leaving guitars or small and pricey items in the car.. amps, and assorted bags containing leads etc, I never leave my gear unattended on stage, particularly after a gig. As soon as I have finished, I put my guitars back in their cases, unplug and pack away amps etc and tuck em away in a corner where I keep my beadies on them. I have seen so many people pis#ed out of their faces, hilariously jumping on stage, grabbing the nearest thing to hand and 'playing it' much to the amusement of there equally pis#ed mates...and girls are usually the worst. Another thing I still find unbelievable is a lot of the guys I have been in bands with over the years think its ok to leave doors and tailgates wide open while they stroll in and out of the venue loading the vehicle back up. One terrible admission on my part... If the weather is crap, or I am exceptionally knack'd after a gig, I leave my speakers in the boot, and back the car upto the wall of the house. A bit naughty, but its a chance I take, and we do have a pretty nifty dog who wakes the dead if he hears anything outside..

i Pack up, drive home, and hope that 'er in doors has treated herself to a takeaway and saved me a bit. I'm so hungry, and still buzzin' from the gig, I don't even reheat it, just guzzle it cold, swilled down with a suitably chilled bottle of Bud or Miller..... Second on the list is a few scoops of Ben and Jerries ice cream....just to get a bit of sugar back in my blood stream...

The two bases I take to gigs now are a Fender roadworn jazz, and a MIM precision. I paid £650 For the jazz and £350 for the Precision,(second hand values,) and they play and sound better than any of the other basses I have. They are a pleasure to play, and unless something really special comes along, they will remain as my gigging basses. It looks like my other, and perhaps what should be better basses according to current values, are going to be spending a lot of time in mothballs.

I have a couple.... Wood and Tronics and a Valenti. Really got back into passive basses again having bought a Jazz Road Worn, but still want to use the active basses, all be it in a passive mode, but I am curious by switching them to passive, will I lose some of what they are capable of, apart from the obvious that happens going from active to passive...

Without appearing to dense, can some of you guys answer this question.. Will switching an active bass from active to passive using the onboard push/pull switch make that bass sound the same as an identical, but none active bass, or will there be some drop off in performance by bypassing the active circuitry. If a bass is built as an active model... Eg Fender Jazz, will the passive switching be almost a secondary 'add on' to what the bass was built for, or still it deliver all frequenciies, tones etc just as well as a passive built model... Thanks..

Check out Seymour Duncan pick up booster pedal...great piece of kit... Use it on the guitars with the weakest signal. I got one a few weeks ago as an alternative to upgrading pick ups on a Jazz......best move I ever made, and unlike swapping pick ups on one bass, it can be used on all your basses. It's easier for you to google it than me try and explain how it works, but deffo worth a quick squint..

Perhaps a taser gun discreetly attatched to the headstock might create a bit of space for cat swinging.

Drummer... Biggest slice of it. Keyboards... Almost as much. Guitarist, or guitarists (complete with pedal boards).....Most of what's left. Lights, desk, stands and speakers..... Shoe horned in where you can get them.... Vocalist.... Whatever is left at the front. Bass player.... Behind, at the side of, or so close to his cab that he can't step back without being on top of it. This also stops said bass player having any idea what he sounds like as he is in the worst place possible to hear his own instrument. Bass players seem to be in a perpetual ' Groundhog Day' situation of having to fight for space so they feel part of the band, instead of being treated like a modern day 'scullery maid' and hidden bellow the stairs.

I drive round in a car I paid £800 for 3 years ago, and have spent nothing on it since, apart from the usual stuff..mot's tyres etc. A friend of mine bought a brand new Nissan Joop at about the same time. His car is now worth about £6000 to £7000 less than when he drove it off the forecourt, which is about the total value of my basses and rig. My Basses provide me with an income, a social life, musical fulfilment and so many other things that make me glad I play bass. Most days he sits in his car for about an hour, driving to and from work, goes shopping in it at the weekend, and the rest of the time it sits outside his house becoming less valuable day by day. That's not justication, its fact.

Blow him out.... It's outrageous that he expects you to lift a finger. You pay for him for his services, his PA and his expertise. Unless his contract states you will be roadies for him, sit back and let him get on with it. He will let you do it all day long and think you are the best thing since sliced bread, untill you drop something, or cause an injury to yourself or someone around you....then your on your own... I think this bloke is another one thinks that he is doing the band a favour, and you can't do without him..

Thanks Bassman...

Thanks Lozz.... That makes perfect sense....Very well and simply explained.

Ps.... My main gigging bass is a passive Jazz, with either a passive precision or Yamaha BB1024x as back up....