Al Krow

Damn! You've not got me checking out Elrick basses, a brand I'd not come across before - lol! What flavour do the Barts provide - are they quite clean / hifi? How do they compare to the Warwick MECs in the rather tasty SS1(?) you have next to it, whose growl I know I would love?

You should be able to get a really good rig on a £1k budget, particularly if you're buying used. The nice thing about buying a piece of quality used kit is that, provided you look after it but decide to move it on 'cos it's not quite what you're looking for, you won't take too much of a hit to your pocket. Bear in mind festivals should be providing a PA that is going to be appropriate for their needs (otherwise you really are going to need to tool up!) so we're really thinking about larger venues without in-house PA. I'd recommend getting a cab capable of handling 500W RMS, with a similar output for the amp. My key tip is not to skimp on the cab: for me it's perhaps the single most important part of the signal chain and therefore to budget at least as much on your cab as your amp. Top end ranges for cabs where you won't go wrong include Bergantino, Barefaced, Fearless, TKS and Vanderkley. Mid range: Ashdown and Markbass. Amps - if you want lightweight you're really looking at D class and there is such a great choice of D class heads these days! FWIW my gigging cabs for both my covers bands are a Fearless F112 and a Barefaced SC and I'm currently pairing them with a Darkglass AO900 (previously had the M900 Mk1). I've had a Bergantino CN212, which is an absolutely awesome cab but a bit bigger / heavier (at around 50 lbs) than I wanted to be carting around. My BF SC is a ridiculously light 21 lbs and I've not found a better overall combination of sound quality and portability.

Do you have a budget in mind? That would be a useful steer on any recommendations. And are you ok buying used or want to get something new? As Lozz mentioned if you have an idea on the sound eg warm valvey / vintage / modern / more hifi or a mixture of the above, that's also useful to know and do you want any on-board bells and whistles - I guess drive is the most common. Great that the covers band is doing so well! Are you guys focused on a particular genre?

Actually not quite correct:- the Mooer GE 300 and it's smaller sibling the GE 250 (£399 announced at NAMM 2020) will get you there: "Like most of the competition, the GE250 includes editing software for ease of use as a recording interface but where Mooer are offering something over its midrange rivals is the Kemper-esque Tone Capture function. This allows you to sample an amp to create new models on the GE250." https://www.musicradar.com/news/watch-mooer-announces-affordable-ge250-multi-effects-modelling-unit

I love the fact that "shït" evades the thought police, whereas stinky poo doesn't. Humans 1 computer 0. Yeah! 😁

Cheers. I thought the more detailed EQ might be worth the extra ££. It would be very hard to pretend that I'm the world's biggest fan of compression so can't really justify the upgrade on the availability of an on-board compressor 😁 An on-board tuner on the other hand would have been super useful. But as you say they have same power unit and same core (superb) sound, so I guess I should just stick to being content with my M6!

I had a similar query a couple of years back - maybe a few useful suggestions to have a look through, although as Silvia said there may well be newer models on the market now and my query, in any case, was also focused on having a DI out: PS I ended up with the Zoom B14-X (which is the sibling of the B14 I mentioned above, but with an expression pedal included). I didn't go for one with a DI out in the end!

I was very tempted to upgrade my M6 for an M9 in the Jan sales, given the more detailed EQ etc. but managed to hesitate sufficiently for all the units to fly off the shelves. Not surprising given the ridiculously good prices they were selling for. I'll maybe keep an eye out for one at the same time next year!

At the budget end, you could do far worse than the Zoom B1-4. Output jack for connection to amp or headphones. Gives you a master 3 band EQ and volume control for ease of access and the ability to set up a myriad of effects. A lot of pedal for the money.

I had a 1206. Lovely bass and I really liked the natural wood finish. I would very happily have had a 1205 in place of my equally good 1825 had a used one been available. Gratuitous pic of my SR1206!

Ah yes, it's not in an obvious place at all! It's actually on this thread - discussion starts on Nov 15th 2019 when I start by moaning that "I've not found the FI tuner to be that good / accurate"... sound familiar?!😁 You have to reset the FI to 440Hz after upgrading the software version. It's set out in the manual on the boot menu or FAQs.

So Woody continuing in the vein of displaying my lack of expertise on this stuff(!), I thought hpf and lpf, being filters, only cut below / above certain frequencies respectively and didn't have the ability to boost? Whereas the bass and treble (and mid) dials on both an active bass EQ and an amp have the ability to both boost and cut?

I had the very same issue. @Quatschmacher kindly put me straight and all working fine now and the new tuner is actually much improved. There's a lengthy bit of hand holding on one of the threads somewhere...

I guess it's the same as wandering into a high end store such as Tiffany's and having no clue as to how many zeros are attached to a particular item! Why put customers through the embarrassment of them having to find out something is well above what they have budgeted to pay? Why is that even a thing? Mark at BD is very happy to put prices on his stock, a lot of which are a multiple of the cost of a new Rick.

If you're particularly interested in Yammys & Ibbys then the following threads are worth a quick browse; and if you're looking at particular models feel free to ask the views / pick the brains of the BC'ers on these threads: They happen to two of my very favourite brands of basses, so feel free to drop me a PM too.

How are you liking the M9?

Woody are we talking at cross purposes here? I'm referring to the bass dial and the treble dial on the 3 band EQ. Won't they operate in the same way as the bass and treble EQ dials on an amp for which the centre frequencies will almost always be provided?

Ah yes I have seen those - I'll have to admit, I couldn't easily work out what the centre frequencies for the bass and treble controls were from the charts. All assistance gratefully received!

Anyone tried one of the 4003S-5 models? Thoughts?

For my part, 25 days without any gear purchases...well that didn't happen at any point during 2019 so I'm already feeling very virtuous! Although I have a strange desire to upgrade my BF SC to a BB2...must resist, at least until a sliver cloth BB2 with a padded cover comes up in the FS - yes folks that's an invitation to PM me 😉

So @bassfan are you adding Sibob as a "pre failed" starter a) 'cos he's a mod and they can do what they like 😁 and b) 'cos he understands the rules better than anyone as he invented the concept last year? If so, should any of the other trainee monks who slipped in the first few weeks be granted a second chance, if they want? You could maybe set up a tier two "2nd chancers' club"? Young master Dave (aka @FinnDave) as opposed to slighter younger master Dave (aka @dave_bass5) claimed it was entirely down to bad timing and the fact that he had £1,800 burning a hole in his pocket whilst his wife was having her nails done that caused him to slip. That could have happened to anyone right?

@Woodinblack question for you: I really quite like the 3 band EQ on Ibby basses - seems to hit the mark very well in terms of cutting and boosting at the right frequencies. With the mids we have a selector switch to choose from 250Hz (my default), 450Hz and 700Hz on the SR range and a variable mid range on the new headless basses. Do you have the electronic equipment to work out the centre frequencies on the bass and treble dials?

250 Hz is classic lower mids territory for cutting through 750 Hz for sweetness in terms of cutting a touch (but 750 / 800 will be pretty similar on that score - so not a biggie) and there's quite a big gap on the GEQ effect up to the next EQ mid point at 4.5kHz, so I would swap out the 500 Hz for something in the low treble range at 1.5khz. What about you - where's your preferences lie?

Obviously folk are entitled make there own mind up - personally I'm steering very clear of Paulownia wood basses!

But unfortunately Paulownia is a softer wood (as Holger readily admits), so will ding more easily. Not an issue if you're a fan of relic'd basses.