chriswareham

Not the greatest picture, but this is my GP12 SMX married to a pair of SWR speakers, a Goliath 4x10 and Big Ben 1x18. Having had a certain bass sound in my head for years, it came as a bit of an epiphany when I got a BLX combo for free earlier this year. I'd always had Trace stuff pigeon holed as being for slap players, and was gobsmacked when I found it can deliver that punchy sound I'd been looking for. Still love my valve and acoustic amps, but they are for different horses for different courses.

If being made in China is a concern, then the Markbass may disappoint you as they shifted a lot of their production to the far east a while ago.

My "looker" is a Greco Rick copy, which I play most of our sets on. My "beater" is a Hondo Precision copy (the later Korean one with a DiMarzio pickup), which I use for the part of our sets that are in drop D rather than drop Bb. Perfectly happy playing either as they sound great and even the Hondo looks the part.

[quote name='Pow_22' timestamp='1469602375' post='3099584'] The Mk3 Sound City's are close, the Mk4s are sh*te tho [/quote] The Mk 4 Sound City is great if you know how to use the active tone controls. Same power section as the Mk 3, and more easily found on places like eBay. They can also be converted to a Hiwatt DR 103 clone quite easily, since they are an evolution of the same basic design.

A decent 4x10 or 2x10 would be very versatile for recording. Plenty of the former available at bargain prices second hand, and if it's going to be studio based then weight isn't an issue. So perhaps a Trace Elliot or Ampeg.

Here's a great example of Play Dead and chorused bass: http://youtu.be/-2SzF1Z_v3o

[quote name='highwayman' timestamp='1469707768' post='3100482'] Do -did in Raven's case- both bassists play predominately with plectrums? I've tried playing 'Love Like Blood' without one & it doesn't sound right. [/quote] I've never seen pictures of Raven playing without a plectrum, and I'd be surprised if Hooky has ever tried (particularly with his bass positioned so low).

Craig Adams era Sisters Of Mercy was valve amps (except the very early days when I think he had a HH solid state combo). He was often pictured with an Ampeg SVT-CL and loved a heavily overdriven sound. Simon Gallup was a solid state Peavey user with a sound that wasn't overdriven, but he often had lots of chorus or flanger on instead. Chorus and flanger was quite a common effect on "goth" bass sounds, check out a lot of Play Dead stuff for instance (Shine, Gaze or Isabel are great examples as well as great, bass lead songs).

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1469611018' post='3099660'] I've tried Ampeg 8x10 in studios and found them a little dull sounding. I def wouldn't put up with the weight and size issue for one, If anything i'd go down the route of 4x10 cabs. Lighter and more manageable and for smaller gigs just take one cab. I looked into the Ampeg 4x10 cabs a few yrs ago and got some great insight from fellow BC'ers. The one i would lok at is the HLF cab. I've heard a few in bands with Ampeg SVT heads and they were pretty full sounding. I've moved into the Markbass rigs now. Played thru a MB 4x10 and 1x15 rig and it was stunning. I have found that a lt of the lightweight cabs don't seem to pack that punch and depth that an Ampeg 4x10 cab does. I remember talking with JTUK about it few yrs back and seems others have similar opinion. Can you maybe borrow some other bass rigs to try before buying. Friends or even your local bass shop might loan you second hand ones to try out at gigs. Dave [/quote] The two 4x10 (or even two 2x10) cabs approach is a great alternative to the fridge, which is actually four sealed 2x10 units internally. I effectively run mine as two 4x10s anyway, since I bi-amp to separate a clean bassy sound from a dirty treblier one.

Hooky is one of my biggest influences. I can echo what others have said - try to play as many Joy Division or New Order bass parts as possible to build up a sub-conscious memory of the styles Hooky uses. I have a few JD tabs here: http://www.chriswareham.net/jdtabs/index.html Paul Raven was actually a very versatile player, and could fit into a number of different styles of band without necessarily sounding distinctly similar. See his work with Prong for example. However, on Killing Joke's Night Time album I'd argue it's mostly about his tone. He was using an active bass, and it sounds like a lot of compression was used in the mixing of the album. The Eighties bassline is a bit of an exception though, and actually sounds quite like something Peter Hook would play. As for Hooky's style, it's often about playing quite high up the neck with plenty of chorus on. You can nail that tone exactly with an Electro Harmonix Clone Theory pedal (the current model is very close to the sound of the original ones that Hooky uses). As others have pointed out, it was the limitations of his equipment that encourage him to play in his "lead bass" style, since he couldn't hear himself very well when he played around the first five frets on the lower strings!

White pearl gets my vote :-D

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1469541762' post='3099196'] Or, even better, he could have done this: [url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Other%20music%20related/Great%20Guitars/12390899_926283197460157_1096815431975292569_n%20Jack-PCs%20conflicted%20copy%202016-03-18_zpsdmtjc0wu.jpg.html"][/url] [/quote] That needs its own thread.

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1469516532' post='3098854'] These (generally) are great basses. I have a Pro and an 830 (the 830 has Grover tuners, like this one) and both light my fire. Not a lot of money but great players and a great tone from the original pick-ups. Someone grab a bargain!! Cheers. [/quote] I have a HD-830B, which is the model with a DiMarzio pickup. Someone had replaced the DiMarzio with a Seymour Duncan, but the original pickup came with the bass so I refitted it. There's now a pretty comprehensive set of pages about Hondo on the Samick Wikia site: http://samick.wikia.com/wiki/Hondo It makes it much clearer which models were made in Korea, Japan or Indonesia.

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1469557262' post='3099374'] How?! That's amazing. I had a 2009 KA and with the back seats down could just about get my 2x12, flight case and bag of leads in! Plus it had an annoying boot that was sunken so everything had to be passed over the lip to get it in. I'm 6"4 so had to have my seat back though. [/quote] I'll have to take picture next time. I fold the back seats and passenger seat down, then slide the 8x10 in on it's side so it's behind the folded forward passenger seat. The rest of the gear then goes on the driver side. This is the older style of Ka rather than the current one (mine's a 2001 reg one).

I don't understand the people saying an Ampeg fridge is hard to transport. Negotiating stairs with one yes, but on the flat theyre easy to wheel along and mine fits in a Ford Ka along with two amp heads, a flight cased pedal board and two bass guitars.

Another Hondo, this time a very good condition Fame series: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hondo-Fame-SERIES-830-Bass-Guitar-White-Hard-Case-/201628899011

Beautiful restoration! Did you source new corners for your cab? I have 140 and 370 Acoustic heads that are in dire need of some new ones!

Ah yes, cats and carpet covered amps. Not a good combination if you like your gear to stay pristine :-)

(Re)build diary!

Trace Elliot BLX 80. Pulled out of a skip at the local recycling centre and still going strong. Must be lead lined judging by the weight of it though.

Posted this in the Jap crap thread earlier on and only just noticed this thread :-) Sorely tempted but managed to resist since I already have an Avon EB0 copy.

And finally a Hondo II Precision copy: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291810689337 There's been a few of these on lately, all in black, good condition and for about £195 BIN but offers accepted. I actually own on of these that I paid considerably less for and which had been upgraded with a Seymour Duncan pickup. Did these have Di Marzio pickups originally or are they from the more bargain basement Hondo era?

An almost mint Westone Thunder 1A. It's been up at what looks like a decent Buy It Now for a while, not sure why someone's not snapped it up yet: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172264391504"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172264391504[/url]

Been a bit quiet on here so I'll post a few things from my watch list. First up an Eros Gibson EB-3 copy. Almost finished, but it's a brand I've not seen before: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401150549831

If it's the same as the violin basses, then I'm guessing the original Verithins were completely hollow bodied, while the "Contemporary" series have a block of wood down the middle for a more modern sound. I love semi-acoustic basses, and now have GAS for one of these or a black Midtown Standard!