Painy

As much as I know heavy basses are bad for my back, I just can't get on with the feel of a lightweight bass. The lightest bass I've owned was a Spector legend and I always hated the way it felt so light and flimsy like it was made out of balsa wood. My Corvette is probably the heaviest bass I've ever played and I'd never get rid of it. If lightweight basses are more desirable and that keeps the cost of the heavier ones down relatively then I'm happy (at least until my back starts to give me problems anyway).

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1441542023' post='2859625'] Why can't I ask a group of bassists, many of whom gig in cover bands at the weekend in the local pub, why they choose to use more expensive equipment at these gigs when cheap equipment would generally suffice? [/quote] I think the answer to the original question is actually right here. An inexpensive bass will indeed often 'suffice' or to put it another way will 'be okay'. Quite simply though, some of us want more than just okay. Also, as far as justifying it for weekend pub gigs is concerned - over my playing career to date as a pub rock covers band bassist, I'd estimate that I've earned somewhere in the region of £75000 - £100000. Not a fortune given that it's over a period of 20 years but I still think it justifies the financial aspect of using a more expensive bass if I wish to. As for why I might want to use one, I'd say most of the noticeable improvement you get from an expensive instrument over a cheaper one is likely to be in the playability and feel - more than in the sound. If a better feeling instrument means I enjoy playing it more then this will be the case whether it's in a pub or a stadium - and at the end of the day it is all about enjoyment for me. Having said all that, my current main gigging bass actually cost around £400 new but was still the best bass I could afford at the time I bought it for my needs. I did however gig a £4000+ bass for 10 years because I liked the way it played, looked and sounded regardless of price. If I'd had the option of gigging it at the O2 arena I would have done but unfortunately pubs and clubs were the only place I could gig it - so I did!

Opening lines to Hey Johnny Park - Come and I'll take you under This beautiful bruise's colors. Everything fades in time it's true. And later in the same song just the single line - Eyes that can change from blind to blue.

Is it just me or does this all scan like it was written by a 15 year old boy for whom English is his second language?

Big bunch of helium balloons tied to one of the handles? Might not work so well with say a Trace 410 though.

The low B is fine on mine. Again I'd say the output from the pickups is pretty week but the actual tone is good and playability is pretty reasonable - although I should really give the nut some attention when I get a moment to get the action down to where I'd like it.

I think I'm now pretty much there with my board(s). 3 months ago my pedals consisted of a volume pedal and a tuner so I've built this up pretty quickly but it now covers pretty much everything I need it to effects wise. The smaller board is effectively my main preamp going straight into the power amp in section of my amp as the preamp section in the head is dead.

I know 6 string jazz basses are a fairly rare breed - especially at this kind of price so thought I'd share this here in case anyone is interested. Looks like it's possibly a rebranded SX Ursa from the headstock. At less than £180 delivered including import duties it could be worth a punt - maybe with a view to upgrade it? Item number on eBay is 281779210398.

[quote name='disgrace of bass' timestamp='1443037801' post='2871786'] Certainly at the moment Fender only offer that colour combo in the American built basses. MIM & Squire you can get near it but with rosewood neck. [/quote] Unless you want it in a five string (which I do) in which case there's the Squier VM P5 in burst/tort/maple (which I'm hoping will be my next acquisition).

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1443023221' post='2871580'] Don't Mooer do a similarly tiny DI box too? [/quote] They do - on eBay for just under £60 so no doubt available elsewhere a bit cheaper too. In fact, are the fender micro pedals not meant to be re-branded Mooer pedals anyway?

Metallica - St Anger. Nuff Sed.

Well one of the outputs does provide 500mA and most pedals will be under 100mA so for most applications you'd probably be okay but of course you only need a couple of pedals to be over that for it to be a potential problem. What I can say though is that mine manages to happily power this little lot (except the Wah which has its own PSU simply as there are not enough outputs to run that off it too).

Some work better than others. I had a Morley guitar wah a few years ago that worked okay but the frequency response on dedicated bass wahs does generally work better. Like a lot of effects designed for guitar though you might get some loss of low end too. My EHX Crying Bass for example has a low pass filter which helps with this like a blend control on a bass overdrive. If you have a guitar wah already that you were thinking of using then there's certainly no harm in giving it a try. If you're looking to buy then I'd say you're probably better off with an actual bass wah if possible - buying used should level the playing field a bit between the cost of a bass wah against a guitar wah.

Had a Cort A6 and have to say it really was a fantastic piece of kit - not just for the price either. Moved it on cos I felt it was lacking something in the low end but have since discovered that this was actually down to a problem with the preamp section of my amp and not the bass so now kinda wish I had it back! For a slightly more metal look though I'd actually be looking at the LTD B206SM. I believe icastle has, or at least had, one which he thought highly of.

My old trans red fiver is still the one that got away for me. Traded it in against a TRB about 15years ago which sounded great but never really felt as comfortable as the Bass Collection had.

Oh dear, that was a silly thing to do. I've just had a look on the Facebook page after reading this thread and now I'm gassing for the white Jake five string on there (and it's in stock now)! Think I'd prefer it with just the P pup and maybe a black or tort guard though. Hmmm, am I right in thinking these trend to come in at under £1000?

Just received the Tech21 VT Bass I bought from Martyn. Arrived really well packaged and in great condition. Martyn really couldn't have been more helpful throughout and is a really good guy to deal with. Highly recommended and deal with complete confidence! Thanks again, Painy.

Just received the Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi I bought from Ryan and it really couldn't have been an easier transaction. Excellent communication and generally a very easy and pleasant process. Deal with absolute confidence!

Check out item number 201418083669 on eBay. I bought one of these recently and I have to say it's really excellent and the pretty blue lights look lovely too! Just be aware that the UK address is complete %@##@$?@ and you will need to allow time for it to come from China where it will actually be despatched from. Other than that I couldn't recommend it more highly!

Just received the Micro Q-tron I bought from M@23. Really easy smooth transaction and a genuine pleasure to deal with. Very highly recommended!

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1442343559' post='2866278'] I'm pretty sure one of the Ampeg 4x10s is sealed. Think it's the larger one, the HLF. [/quote] The smaller 8ohm HE is sealed,the larger 4ohm HLF is front ported. There aren't too many players that wouldn't list this as their dream rig if money were no object and they had a roadie. Hell if I could afford it I'd have one like a shot - roadie or not! Congrats BTW

To be honest I'm turning into more of a 'Fender kind of guy' these days but I still maintain the best bass I ever played was a 6 string Ken Smith in the old Wapping Bass Centre. I actually think this looks quite nice but truthfully, if I was ever in the market for a Smith then it'd probably be a black tiger.

Anyone seen the new Ken Smith singlecut? http://www.kensmithbasses.com/models/neckthru/msmodel/MSsinglecut.html