Lw.

Provenance isn't just about who has previously owned a bass; I'd probably be more likely to pay more for a bass if it came with original receipt, tags & all the serial numbers/year codes in the correct places than I would for a bass that had none of that stuff, especially for brands that people have been known to fake/bolt random bits together. But would I pay more for a celebrity owned/played bass? Absolutely not.

[quote name='octatonic' timestamp='1473794298' post='3133219'] I guess my questions are- will the Mark Bass combo get over a decently loud drummer (pop/rock, not metal)? Would I be better off with a 4x10 or 2x12 cab, and looking at getting a dedicated bass head when funds allow? Cheers. [/quote] 1) Probably not 2) Yes If you're thinking you need a smaller combo in order to practice at low volumes, I wouldn't worry about it - bass amps are not like guitar amps; even the big ones work down at low volume. Have a look at the classifieds on here, from the first page alone the following would suit (I have no affiliation with any of the sellers): http://basschat.co.uk/topic/291265-pair-of-bergantino-ae112s-for-sale-or-trade/ Paired with either http://basschat.co.uk/topic/291787-new-ebs-reidmar-250-l265-shipped/ or http://basschat.co.uk/topic/290836-ebs-hd350-l350/ You could just use one cab at home, which would restrict the power from the amp & half the amount of speakers being used (so lower volume).

I think there's a fair few culprits guilty of doing that in the music industry!

Yes from me; thickness=mass=heaviness so it's got to have an impact on resonance which I feel has an affect on tone. I couldn't tell you what though or recognise a thin vs thick neck just by hearing them (though I do think if all else was equal then they would sound somehow different).

[quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1473756292' post='3132736'] ... If the JVs are so good then why bother to compare? ... [/quote] It's an inferiority complex - I wouldn't worry about it, you see them everywhere; New Zealand constantly comparing themselves to Australia when Australia just don't care. Spurs spouting off about Arsenal when the gooners aren't interested. Fenders differ by decade but generally all follow the same theme of some being great & others not so great, you have to play a couple to find the really good ones. JV Squires can also be nice basses but you can also see some bad ones. The continual comparison by JV owners to US Fender owners is driven by their vested financial interest in perpetuating the rumours of them being better, when in reality some of them can be better than some Fenders of the time but others are not. I'd love an 85 US Fender P, may get one some day - I'd also buy a JV if the price was right (meaning I wouldn't be buying it from someone that frequents this forum too often!).

[quote name='Raggy' timestamp='1473675712' post='3132086'] It was after a gig in a venue called The Butler, but outside the home of one of the band. [/quote] That is horrible - as I said I'll keep an eye out as I'm local though I imagine it'll all get traded with drug-dealers then offloaded further afield so might be worth looking in the crack converters in places like Newbury/Swindon/Basingstoke too.

It's really not a problem to play drop D on a 4-string; just get some slightly higher gauge strings, it doesn't even need to be a big difference & you don't need to change the nut. You can get some pretty thin necked 5-strings nowadays though - maybe look at Ibanez? I assume you're looking at riff-y music so the whole play your basslines on a non-dropped bass isn't an option.

What don't you like about the MEC's? I've not heard people being against them before - I've only heard unhappy rumours about the soapbar that came in the passive Streamer at the time.

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1473691879' post='3132297'] As I mentioned earlier, it's a shame how the thread's turned into a Class D bash (again) [/quote] I really don't think it has, people can suggest trying something else without it turning into a "bashing". Class-D is great in some situations & really helps some people out in terms of lifting/moving but everything is a balance & I don't feel class-D is a silver bullet providing everything we had before only removing the weight - there has to be compromise in there somewhere. [quote name='progben' timestamp='1473692556' post='3132306'] My suggestion is tweak the Tonehammer some more (maybe scoop nearly all of the midrange and add some Drive?), [/quote] Scoop the mids to add punch?! :-/

Yikes - that's bad news! I'll keep an eye out. Where in Reading was the stuff stolen from? A gig?!

Played a fun, if boozy, gig at The Frog in Worksop on Friday. The day got off to a kind of annoying start as the band we were supposed to be playing with pulled-out leaving us playing on our own but we drove up there anyway & actually had a good day drinking with friends – the crowd in the venue wasn’t quite what I was expecting; it’s a very rock/metal looking venue but the vast majority of the crowd looked like they were ready for a nightclub (women in skimpy playsuits & high-heels, men in shirts & shoes) but there was at least quite a lot of them! We finally went on stage at 10.30 & the sound was great (thumbs up to the venue for that) with maybe half the crowd watching/listening to us. All in all it was a pretty good gig, would have been nice to have a band or two extra playing with us but still fun.

I don't quite see what benefit can be had by buying an EQ/pre-amp; the TH amp is the exact kind of EQ/pre being suggested, bolted on to a class-d power section - if you can't sculpt the sound to how you want it with that, I'd suggest it's not there to begin with. What pick-up settings are you using? Jazz's are inherently nasle basses, you can change that a bit by rolling off the bridge pick-up & some of the tone but it still might not get you to where you want to be. If you really like playing a jazz then I'd move the TH on & look at amps like the handbox, mesa walkabout, orange OB1 type of options (still relatively light & portable compared to a full valve amp but more substantial that the super light-weight options). Alternatively - keep the TH & buy a P-bass.

If you've got the money for the new American Standard go for that one; the current crop of USA Fenders are generally excellent whereas, while you can get a nice 90's Fender, it wasn't the best period of their history & the basses from that time had nothing particularly inspiring about them - if you had the two next to each other, I'd be VERY surprised if the 90's one felt/sounded better.

Two options depending on situation: 1 - Laptop, Reaper (for drum tracks/looping other parts), Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface, headphones. 2 - Phone as audio source, DHA pre-amp, headphones.

What kind of budget are you looking at? There are a couple of 12" Bergantino options if you're feeling flush or an ever dependable Peavey 410 if you're not, in classifieds. Amp wise I'd say the Carvin or the Genz-benz offerings are the pick of the bunch within the first couple of pages.

The issue with this kind of question is that people are just goign to suggest what they have, which is fine but not the most helpful! I would say go for separates in any event but is weight or size an issue for you? You can get a very decent sound of more traditional 4x10's & a standard amp for very little money but they are bigger/heavier than the more spendy options. A quick glance at your current rig would suggest to me that it's a little weedy (or would be too weedy for me); I'd look at a more powerful non-class D head (because they're often cheaper used, not interested in debating their relative effectiveness) then hold out for a nice 2x12 (they're more maneuverable than 410's though often more expensive) - there have been loads pass through the classifieds recently.

It's fine; I've been in a few studios where they've asked the same - depends what kind of band you are & how you get on with the owners but I'm happy to lock the door behind me & post the key through the door in exchange for staying as long as I want. I wouldn't look at lifts though or guarantee any of the equipement. Looking at it from the other side; it's 11 at night & you want to go & have a few beers with your mates but you're stuck in a tiny office listening to the muffled sound of a band whose music you don't know coming through the walls. If you know them & know musicians generally don't steal from each other why not leave them with the keys? One of the spaces I currently use has no one there - all the doors are on push-button coded locks & the owner just texts you the code for that day then you post the cash into a little box at the end, all on trust. Does anyone steal the equipement (which would be easy)? No, of course they don't.

A lot of people use them for doing chords - I dabbled in it when I had a high c on my 5 string, they do sound nice.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1472999190' post='3125879'] To be honest I've not heard one as I'm not in the shop very often. Might get a chance tomorrow. You can pick them up very cheaply, also the big brother 1000w version (but that's about double the size). [/quote] They look quite good on paper but I've never seen one being used out in the wild so I don't really know what's wrong with them (if anything) - I like that the bigger one has wood on the sides, looks very vintage hi-fi to me. Maybe it's just because Warwick aren't an in vogue brand at the moment but if they sound anything like my big-old Warwick amp they'd be great!

The Warwick LWA500 is very small - no idea how they sound though (only ever picked one up, not played through it), Molan might know as I think they stock them in the shop.

[quote name='funkyjimbob' timestamp='1472510250' post='3121766'] That's him,yeah. [/quote] Cool thought so - the bass stood out as soon as I walked into the tent! Was sounding good too.

Were you playing this yesterday at Reading with Rag'n'Bone Man?

Interesting you're choosing between a Warwick & a Spector when the brand's inherent tones are so different despite some of their models having a *cough* similar shape. As others have said; it's not the scale length that feels off about the Warwick/Spector models compared to the standard Fender feel it's the design/body shape shunting the neck two frets further away - most Warwicks are the same scale as most Fenders ie 34". I flick between the two all the time; if I've been playing a lot more on the Fender over the Warwick, switching to the Warwick can be a bit of a pain but you do get used to it after a while. If I play both basses every week I don't notice the difference at all.

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1471954333' post='3117198'] Sigh, reminds me of happy times in Enterprise... [/quote] Ah - those were the days! It's almost a shame all the studios are vaguely clean nowadays - Rooz is the only one that has any kind of "atmosphere" now!

I think I've seen someone using a piano at Blue Studios but they're out in Dalston. Borough Studios have recently been renovated & are now quite well sound proofed.