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It's nothing to do with improving tone, but I became a more useful bass player when I started boosting the height of my cab (by using the keyboard combo as a handy amp-stand) during rehearsal... I could hear what noise I was actually making, not what I thought/hoped I was making.

I have used a music stand for the first two gigs with the band I've joined... but I'm working double time to learn the material thoroughly enough so that I don't have to in future. Keys player gets away with it, but when there are only three of you standing up I don't really want to be the one rooted to the spot, staring at the dots while the other two leap about... I couldn't have done those early events without the help given the time between joining and first gig, but that was our choice to get to work before I was 100%. I know we'll come across better when I ditch the stand, but I understand why some people like them. Few things get the pulse racing like that moment when you realise you have no idea what to play...

My 'greatest hits' include forgetting to turn the volume on the bass up when I've silenced it, spending two frantic minutes (that felt like ten) before a gig failing to notice that I'd turned the mains power for my rack off at the wall, and running over my own mic stand after we'd done the post-gig gear distribution from van back into our own cars. I'd put it down in the dark, not missed it when surveying the contents of the boot, and then didn't miss it again as I reversed straight over it... still, no one died, although the stand has never been the same again.

Cool! Like it Looking forward to listening to it at home through speakers rather than 'phones. If this is your first recording effort then good job - everyone resisted the temptation to overplay for the tape (which was what happened when my first band got their first shot at studio/recording time many moons ago, to no benfit of the songs) and the production is plenty good enough for a demo imo. Hope to hear more from Goon and the Kings soon!

Me too! I have a passive Streamer Std (not Rockbass, but not full-fat Warwick either) with MEC pickups and although it sounds lovely (really lovely) it is significantly lower output than any other bass I own - judged purely subjectively by A/B'ing through my rig. I used to use a clean boost to avoid faffing with the amp when switching instruments, which works fine, but tbh my general belief in simplifying my setup wherever possible (and laziness) have caused my to effectively retire the bass from live use From my guitar playing days I've always had a soft spot for Gordon Smith instruments and I stumbled across this the other day [url="http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/archive/products/volumax-and-blacklab-booster/"]http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/archive/products/volumax-and-blacklab-booster/[/url] which looks interesting. The fact that they are starting to do basses is promising too...

If you really really want to swap out the neck on the Vintage then a decent luthier could graft it on for you - it would be a one way journey for either the neck or the body, but it is possible... I like the neck on my Vintage at least as much as the neck on the various Fender/Squier/other p-bass types I have tried, but I too have a 'habit' of tinkering so sypathise with your concern. The last fail-safe is of course that Vintage basses (i.e. [b]V[/b]intage brand, not [b]v[/b]intage old) are outstanding value for money, so you could get another and keep one standard while modding the other... Good luck whatever you choose! Also, I have to say that the tuning stability on my V4 is outstanding - don't know for certain why, but 99% of the times I pick it up it is still in tune, and then doesn't need touching for the whole session. Love the damn thing

My 2p, fwiw... I always prefer not to daisy chain. I think I read somewhere that if you do then the cable between the amp and the first cab is carrying all of the power, rather than when using two outputs each is carry half. I think (and am prepared to be put straight) that this means you could get more heat in the cable with the daisy chain option, and also that you have introduced a single point of failure to the signal path to both cabs. Of course, a lot of people do daisy chain, and you don't hear loads of people telling you not to - so it is probably academic in reality, but for my setup (a pair of 1x12s stacked vertically under a head) it is no bother to use both outputs so I just choose to go the non-daisy chain route.

Absolutely agree with uncle psychosis above. Everyone had to go through a first live performance, and most of us went back for more, so don't wind yourself up about it! Good luck for tomorrow

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1411067566' post='2556227'] What happens is dust gets in if they are vented drivers, this finds the gap and then you get a crackle and farting speaker. On Black Widows you can unbolt them, clean the gap and away they go again. [/quote] Thanks spacey - I have a cab loaded with Black Widows that I was debating scrapping / selling as spares or repair because of crackle after a period of no use, but I'm going to try this now. You could have just saved me from doing something daft!

Think I agree with most of what has been said here. I play various secondhand basses, and my current fave is a Vintage V4 I got secondhand from the forums here. To my mind if it plays and sounds the way I want it to, and can hold onto the tuning for more than one song, then it's good enough. That said, if someone put a stack of cash in my hand I have no doubt I would go and buy a pile of expensive 'dream' instruments on a whim, and then probably not play most of them...

I know them guys (Past The Fall) - haven't seen them in a while though. Guitarist Tom used to teach me six-string, though he is probably trying to forget... Hope they are doing alright. In fact, I wore their band shirt at a gig last week...

Just bought a lightly modified Vintage V4 from Paul. Really nice bass and he was a pleasure to deal with and went out of his way for me which I really appreciate. Top bloke - thanks very much!

I did something similar to this recently on a no-name bass that had a truly nasty 'sunburst' thing going on. The main thing I discovered is that for success you need to have an appropriate surface for the new paint to key into. Not being an expert, I would assume that the exact nature of that surface will be determined by the paint that you plan to use? I just went to a local hardware shop and asked their advice on paint, which they were happy to provide - I had tried to get some paint option input from a well-known DIY chain, but they kind of looked at me blankly, since I wasn't painting a wall. Unfortunately I don't recall exactly what paint I used and have disposed of the evidence, but both undercoat and top coat were from the same manufacturer and it was straight out of an aerosol. Don’t know if that helps? The other worthwhile bit of experience to pass on would be that this will take time and patience. I spent a weeks’ worth of evenings on the preparation (rubbing down etc. with increasingly fine sandpaper) and probably another week, half an hour or so per day, applying coats of paint so as to allow for drying time. I also stripped the bass down completely at the start to avoid doing complex masking i.e. all hardware out and neck off, which was a pain but worth it in the end IMO. Good luck though – it is satisfying when done

[quote name='Immo' timestamp='1406558751' post='2512421'] I wholeheartedly prefer to scratch, ding and blemish my basses by myself, thank you, sir. [/quote] What he said, although having said that I only ever buy secondhand stuff, apart from strings and cables - so most of my basses and pedals and cabs etc etc already have a certain amount of previous abuse to report anyway.

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1401970063' post='2468762'] I guess it depends on whether you naturally use the top (high) or bottom string to orient yourself, I do the former so was able to instantly play a 5 when I first got one (played it at rehearsal that same night). Id be royally stuffed playing a 6 though. [/quote] Absolutely - the first time I ever picked up a 5 I realised that my 'mental map' - which sounds better than it is - was completely based around the fattest string being tuned to E... Everything changes when that changes, especially because for me at least my right hand wants to work around that string and forcing it to do everything from the second string gets confusing very quickly. Now if anyone made a 3 string...

The basses I have now (an old Warwick, a new MM and a bitsa I built 20 years ago) all seem to be determined to stay in tune, no matter how hard I hit the strings... same thing with the non-trem guitars I own. Worst instrument I ever owned for stability was a Strat copy... just look at it sideways and it needed tuning twice. Actually play it and you were in 'alternative' tuning territory almost immediately. Don't miss that piece of firewood :-)

Bought a pair of 1x12 project (homemade) cabs from Mark. They are great, and he was a pleasure to deal with - made plenty of time for me and let me try them out. Really pleased with them. Cheers, Paul