FinnDave

My best purchase this year should have been the Alembic Epic I bought in June, best bass I’ve ever played. Sadly, a couple of months after buying it, I contracted a bad case of six string GAS and sold the Alembic to pay for my current family of three Ibby sixes. As Al Krow says, my most recent is a 1206, too soon to if it’s my best purchase aa haven’t played it out of the house yet. Apologies for typos, using my phone in a castle on a very windy bit of north west coast!

I always thought Kiss were a theatrical/comedy act rather than a band. I would much rather hear real music than people playing over pre-recorded backing tracks, that's just upmarket karaoke. Live music is about the interaction between the musicians and audience, but backing tracks mean there is no room for improvisation, which kills it stone dead for me.

If it's the place I'm thinking of, it went through a complete makeover 3 or 4 years ago. Place on the right as you head towards Chippy Norton?

How about "Tomorrow's Tuesday" - still about Monday but doesn't actually say so. Plus it should thoroughly baffle the locals!

I think I know the place, went in there once trying to get a gig, but they never got back to me.

Which pub was that?I live just outside Oxford, but very rarely bother to go there.

Pretty sure I was there in 91, my youngest would have about one, so probably OK with a babysitter by then. Phil Collins was drumming for him one of the early 90s gigs we went to.

So did I - he was, wasn't he?

I have must have spent a fortune on ever more expensive gear, and now my pair of gigging basses have cost me about £1100 for them both. My shins are red raw from self-administered kicks!

I bought my last bass purchases of 2019 last week - Ibanez six string, East pre amp for it, new set of strings & topped up on leads. With one bass I had for sale being collected this week, I'll actually end 2018 with my music account in the black, even taking into account the cost of fuel and wear & tear on the car driving to gigs and rehearsals. Possibly the first time it's ever happened, and it won't be by much, but it's an improvement. With 2 more basses up for sale, I should be able get a good start to 2019 as well.

I played at the Tap Social several times last year, but they didn't have a stage then. Interesting place to play.

I've bought 7 basses this year, and sold 7, but not necessarily the same ones I bought! One more is due to be taken away next week, so I will have at least one bass fewer in 2019. Sold one amp, bought one amp. Other than strings, I think that's about it.

Next time I gig my Super Twin, I'll have to take an umph meter and see what is lacking

I guess that the need for more top depends on your playing style, I have never felt the need for horns with either of my Barefaced cabs (don't think any cab I've owned has had a horn, come to think of it). But the Super Twin does sound very much like the Super Compact, just that much more of it. I think my ST is the only bit of kit I have never considered changing!

If I was starting again, that's what I'd do as well.

I don't think any piece of equipment is going to suit everyone, but if the OP just wants more of what he is getting from the Super Compact, then I can assure him from personal experience that the Big Twin will do just that. If he wants something that sounds different to the SC, then the ST might not be the best choice.

I have both Super Twin and Super Compact cabs, and sometimes the Compact does seem to lack umph on stage - but I am assured it is fine where the audience is (talking average pub gig). I use the Super Twin for larger gigs and it has never felt to be lacking umph. I use the same amp for either cab, an Ashdown ABM 600 (or a Rootmaster 800, which is now my back-up amp). My Super Twin is the first one off the line (serial # S001) and I can't image parting with it while I can still draw breath. If I stopped playing pubs, though, I'd probably sell the Compact.

That's a real beauty - I had looked at the advert several times, just wasn't sure about the 35" scale, but the reality is that on a six string, I am very rarely down below the fifth fret, so it wouldn't have made much difference really. Lovely instrument, hope you have a lot of fun with it.

I saw Richard Thompson in the Paris Theatre, Lower Regent Street in the early 80s, recording a show for the Radio One 'In Concert' series. He was magnificent, of course,, but really sticks in my mind was the chap kind of hiding behind the amps and filling in on guitar. No hiding that mop of hair and cheeky grin, his old mate Albert Lee was providing the sort of rhythm guitar we can only dream of!

My favourite era as well! Band's called the Grateful Dudes, there's a fairly polished video of our (headline) set at the Summer of Love party in Kent last August here:

Just had an enjoyable hour playing a few songs on the 506 and then the 1206, both through my small rig (Rootmaster 800 & Super Compact). I didn't change any settings on the amp. Played along to some of the Grateful Dead CD in the player at the moment (live stuff from 1974) and the 1206 sounded better - definition was better, output seemed up, it just sounded better than the 506. Then again, the 1206 cost twice as much as the 506 and is from the next level in the range. It is difficult to say how much contribution the strings made to the differences - OEM Elixirs on the 506, what I think are d'Addario 170s on the 1206, but they are well worn. The main difference between the two is the pickups, and the 1206's Nords definitely had an edge that the Barts lacked. Interesting test, and confirms my plans to use the 1206 as my main gigging bass, with the 506 as a back up. Both have a very similar feel, very close in weight, both balance well on the strap, and they have similar control layouts - just what I need in a back-up bass - nothing worse than needing it at a gig and realising you've forgotten what everything does!

The only reason I haven't yet found a real difference between the 506 and the 1206 is that the 1206 came with a set of well-worn rounds, and the 506 has a set of LaBella flats. Or had, I changed them this morning for the original Elixir round wounds simply to be able to make a comparison of the two basses. Which I will be doing once I get my gigging rig out and ready this afternoon. I'll post about the results of that later. Yeah, I am sure we could have come to a mutually beneficial arrangement had we known!

I hope 61 isn't really old, that'll be me in another 4 days! I was looking back at the year last night, and I have been playing music I love with some really talented people, played some very enjoyable gigs, and the future is currently looking bright. So I'd say - get out there and enjoy yourself, well done!

Exactly that - the 1006 is a great bass (especially with the East pre amp in it) but since my bike accident (3 years ago today) I am far less able to tolerate weight while standing, and the band I'm in do long sets. The 1206 is nearly 2 lbs lighter than the 1006. The 1006 is definitely the better bass of the two, but my injuries are done healing, so this is as good as I'm going to get now.

And two trucks with crew to cart it around and set it up!