Greg Edwards69

SInce changing to NYXL strings I have no desire to change pickups. They sound fanstastic.

Same here. My Tribute JB2 sounds great. I see now reason to "upgrade" hardware for the sake of it. They sound and perform great out of the box. Only things I need to do on mine is get it re-wired as there's a ground issue, as it's still audible when the volume is turned all the way down. And I want to replace the tuners. Actually, what I want to do is install a hipshot xtender, so whilst I'm at it, I'll replace them all with ultralites and make the bass a little lighter.

Anyway, yes, inexpensive instruments are incredible these days. My G&L Tribute JB2 (their equivalent of Fender's Squier brand) has become my No.1 bass. Heck, even my diddy Jackson Minion is a joy to play and sounds great.

Indeed. I'm a placid guy too and dislike confrontation, but it really winds me up when a complete stranger dares to make snide comments about my gear. I'm the one with the gig. If you're so great, why are you here watching me play on a Saturday night when you could be gigging yourself?

Is it white and gold, or is it really blue and black?

On one hand, you can buy perfectly decent "giggable" basses for a lot less. On the other hand, the price of these basses has drastically risen over the last couple of years. For example, my G&L Tribute JB2 has become my primary bass since getting it in the black Friday sales in 2021 for a mere £299 (down from £399). Excellent instrument and ready to gig out of the box. That price held for a few months after black Friday. But I've noticed recently that it's not just shy of £500. Similarly, Squier prices used to be fairly stable for a number of years, but I've notice the prices creeping up in recent months. Edit: Looking at a number of Squier model on PriceSpy, many of them jumped up by around £50 in the summer.

One of my band's guitarists has just bought an Allen & Heath CQ18t. Not had the chance to play with it yet but I've been exploring the tablet and phone apps, as well as reading up on the specs and it looks darn useful and easy to use. It's similar in design to the X-Air and X18 in that it's a combined wifi-enabled stagebox with a touch screen, with 6 aux send for personal monitor mixes, not to mention built in effects. One of the issues many X-Air owners have is the wifi is a bit unreliable and resort to using third-party routers. Allegedly the A&H router is more reliable. There's also apps for both iOS and Android, for mixing and personal monitoring, as well as windows and mac. I know it costs more than the Behringer, but it might be worth a look anyway.

I've mentioned it before elsewhere, but my nemesis is "Get what you give" by the New Radicals. It's not difficult to play, but I have a devil's job remembering it. For a song with only a few chords, it's a busy bassline that rarely sticks to the root - lot of passing notes, inversions, slash chord tone. And never the same through the song. It's constantly shifting. It's the only song in our repertoire I have to read whilst playing.

I really wish multi effects units included 9v outputs for the odd external pedal, or wireless receiver.

My wish would be for Line 6 to update the Pocket Pod concept with Helix algorithms that they currently use in the Pod Go, Bluetooth streaming, tuner, headphone out, rechargeable via USB-C, and a main output that can be configured to instrument and line level (as they did with the HX One). A mobile app for editing would be a plus, but I'd settle for HX Edit on a laptop. One can only hope.

I have Mighty Plug (the original non-pro version) and used to have a couple of MS60B units. I largely agree with all your sentiments there. The Mighty plug is okay, but lacks crucial features for me such as octaver and pitch-shift, and the Bluetooth audio is too bass heavy. It's also not appropriate for live use, even as just a backup device. The MS60b is still quite a good unit and I sometimes wish I had kept one. But to use it in a live situation without backline, it would need a separate DI box. Not a huge dealbreaker, but it's extra faff. The lack of Bluetooth and headphone output for home practice is a problem as well, and IIRC, the pitch-shifting is diabolical. I've done the iRig HD with iPad/iPhone. I never really took to it and I wouldn't want to rely on that as a foolproof backup. I considered the HX Stomp and the Hotone Ampero Stomp and Mini. They would work great as backup devices, but again, no Bluetooth streaming or battery power for quick home practice. By the time I've plugged in teh necessary power, USB, guitar and headphone cables I may as well use my Helix LT. That new Kemper looks cool too, but it's a lot of money for a backup device. I thought the P1 would do it all, practice tool, backup device for gigs and interface. But I was sorely disappointed with the sound quality. I did not like it at all. The P2 doesn't offer anything that would make me want to dip my toes back in the P series waters either. So, like you, there's not a do it all device that fits my requirements and budget at the moment. And also like you, I've split it between two devices. The Boss Pocket GT has everything I need from a practice device, and the Sonicake Boom Ave is a fool proof emergency backup at a price I don't care spending for something I hope I won't need. It's also analogue which makes it quick to dial in without any faffing around. It only missed a pitch-shifter, but if I really needed to use it for a gig, we'd simply skip those songs that need it. I'm still keen on the Sansamp FlyRig V2 - it has more features that I'd find useful and I think for some gigs where I need to travel light, I could happily use it instead of the Helix, but I'd struggle to do that with just the Sonicake.

I've had a couple of natural oil finished Warwicks in the past. I wouldn't say I babied them, but I definitely looked after them, kept them clean, and maintained the finish and hardware. I seem to recall Warwick (possibly) mentioning that you should only need to regularly wax them for the first couple of years. After that, the finish should have built up sufficiently that it only needs a touch up once or twice a year. As for the neck, with regular playing, natural oils from your hands should keep them smooth and playable. IIRC, I waxed the back of the Thumb's neck once and hated it. I left it alone to let nature take it's course and it became one of the fastest necks I've ever played. PS, I used to use Kaisers Lem-Oil (not actually lemon oil, pretty much just lemon-scented naptha) to clean finger poo off the frets, then fed the fingerboard with proper lemon oil. Worked a treat. FWIW, the Warwick bass manual has cleaning and care tips

FWIW I ended up forgoing the all-in-one backup and performance tool. The device I want doesn't exist - at least not in my budget. So I now have the Boss Pocket GT as a practice tool and recently bought the Sonicake "Boom Avenue" flyrig as a hope-I-don't-need-to-use-it backup for gigs. It's okay, but I'm still considering getting the Sansamp Bass Flyrig V2 instead if I can find one for a good price - I could easily gig with one of them instead of the Helix (as long as I don't have to pitch shift. Even though the Boss Pocket GT doesn't have bass amp models per se, I think it sounds much, much better than the P1. And the built in bass presets are usable without any tweaking. The only downside is the transport controls are all but useless since Youtube changed their restriction algorithms. It can be controlled with a wireless footswitch like the P1/P2, which could make it a viable live tool, but like yourself, the price then creeps up and you may as well use a more appropriate multifx device. Not to mention, I'm not convinced the headphone output going direct to FOH would be as good as a dedicated line out or XLR DI out on other "gig ready" devices.

Before we got a sub for our PA last year, I was still using my FRFR speaker to support the low end as well as going direct to the PA and using IEMs. I'd highly recommend using an FRFR speaker as your backline instead of a bass amp/cab if you're going to use an IEM feed with bass from the mixer. This way you'll have more consistency with your tone.

I guess it's feasible, but if you keep your FRFR speaker in the traditional backline position - at the back of the stage facing forward - I would be concerned that putting a full mix of everything else could cause feedback issues - particularly with vocal mics. IMHO, you would be better off putting your bass through the PA and using your speaker as a monitor wedge. Or better yet, get those IEMs you've been considering.

That's the challenge. It's difficult to say when a new song comes out if it will be a classic. We've dropped a number of songs over the years that we thought were worth learning at the time. But sometimes, just sometimes, a "Mr Brightside" or "Sex On Fire" comes along as you just know it's going to be around for years to come.

Just seen these via a google search for something else. Looks lovely and different to typical fender shaped designs (even though it's based on a particular fender as the OP mentioned. I'm not a fan of pickup switches on basses TBH, I tend to find myself wanting more control of pickup blends. But the additional switching options look interesting, even though I can't determine exactly what they do - even Anderton's aren't quite sure.

Classics are great and safe, but absolutely you should add a few modern numbers. As others have said, Lizzo, Bruno, Dua Lipa, Sheeran, Harry Styles are all safe bets. (FWIW, "Shut Up and Dance" and "Mr Brightside" never, ever fail to get people up singing and dancing) Whilst weddings parties have a huge demographic, remember that half of them - generally extended family - will be chatting all night to people they haven't seen for years. The ones that tend to get up and dance are the bride and groom's friends. Focus on that demographic moreso than the grannies and aunties, and you'll be in the right area.

I had one of these when they first came out. It was my first "proper" amp. I remember the cab design being very efficient, and the volume belied it's power rating - it easily kept up with a drummer in rehearsals and small gigs. The preamp was pretty good and had "that" classic trace tone. I just wished it was lighter. Or at least had side handles rather than the rubber strap on the top. I do wonder how well a modern version of this design would work, with a lighter cab material, neo speaker and lighter amp. Maybe Trace (or rather Peavy) should investigate.

I found the key to jumping up and down the neck on this one is pointing your head in the right direction in anticipation of the next bar i.e., looking at the 17th fret whilst you're playing the low notes, and looking at the 5th fret whilst you're playing the high notes.

Exactly why I stopped playing my old Warwick Thumb! Back when I was younger, fitter and ergonomically naive, I saved up my pennies for my first "really nice" bass and chose a 5 string, bolt-on Thumb after getting into Jack Bruce and trying out several Warwicks at the UK Music Show. I loved the ginormous neck and didn't mind that the headstock was in the next postcode. But after a number of years, it started to cause problems - back and shoulder pain that would last several days after a gig and my fretting hand would cramp up during repetitive basslines down by the nut. As my experience and skills grew, I realised the bass' inherent design was the problem. I stopped playing it and got a new bass that balanced properly and I don't get those physical problems anymore. Since then, I make sure any bass I feels right ergonomically.

Indeed. I don't even use my frfr speaker for gigs anymore since we added a sub to our PA system. And I only kept using it when the guitarists ditched their backline to fill out the missing lowend from our previously sub-less PA. Now I have this big lump of a 12" frfr (well, it's big to me!) that I only cart to rehearsals so I'm looking to downsize. I did have the smaller Headrush 108 speaker too, but regardless of the specs, it just didn't have the low-end heft of my bigger 112 and had a different-sounding profile. I also realise that my Headrush 112 isn't the most accurate thing in the world, even though it does sound pretty good with bass - I just don't get the same great sound out front. A 10" seems to be the sweet spot. I just need to decide whether to go for the superior and more accurate QSC K10.2, or a Yamaha DXR10 that will more closely match our DXR12-powered PA speakers. If I could dial my patches in on a DXR10, I stand more chance of them sounding the same in the PA. Although the same could probably be said for the QSC as well.

Whilst I don't have a QSC speaker (yet) so I can't advise on the best dsp settings, you could try stacking a couple of hpfs in series. The hpfs employed in these devices are usually fairly gentle with a -12dB/oct slope, so stacking them will result in a more aggressive low cut. I have a fixed hpf in each preset on my helix (around 50hz) that gets sent to FOH and my headrush frfr speaker, and another variable one in the Helix's global eq that only affects the frfr speaker, letting me adjust it for the room. You could do the same with your set up and have hpfs in your QC and another variable one in the QSC speaker. FWIW, I would probably go with the K10.2 as well. QSC themselves recommend it for bass with FOH support and from Bob Lee at QSC himself in response to my question.

It’s been in our regular set for years. Great fun to play, and sing with those big harmonies. It never fails to get the crowd joining in. We do a little bit at the end to give our drummer a little spotlight too.

Nearly forgot to write a report We were back at the Cow & Telescope in Southend on Saturday night. We played out debut there a couple of months ago but we must have left a good impression as we were invited back for this prime Saturday before Xmas when another band had to pull out. Apparently a number of other bands requested the slot but the venue wanted us. I did wonder what sort of turn out it would be, given it was the Saturday before Xmas but also the first day of a long break at home for many people. My fears were unwarranted as we had a great turnout. And everyone was up for a proper party. Singing, dancing and joining in from the start. The usual Christmas songs went down well and our super-sub, Sophie, I reckon did her best yet with us. Fab night and back slaps all round.