Al Krow

Oh my a programmable SY-1, with a superb feature set!! And from the reviews I've seen, this is very much aimed at both guitar and bass markets. @Woodinblack - you are costing me an absolute fortune this year! On the plus side you've just sorted my Xmas pressie out! (And my third attempt at Panda FI ownership may well now be short lived...) Edit: I may have spoken too soon, apparently you need special connectivity to get the most of this, rather than normal pickups, and a budget of more than £800 for one of these. Looks like my FI is going to survive to another day!

At least with your new effects box of tricks you won't be stomping around 😉

Ah good to know! If you have some spare cash burning a hole in your pocket, then I'd be delighted to introduce you to a pedal or two also currently feeling a bit spare on my board. (Obviously please check any purchases with your accountant, first - I just hope he knows his Paradriver from his back seat driver).

When I'm capable of laying down a Jamiroquai bass line fluently, I'll get back to you on this...probably about the same time as you get your Boss SY-1 pedal in 2021 and we can compare notes. 😁

Do I need effects? Nope, absolutely not. Bass --> amp & cab works absolutely fine. You really don't need anything in between (other than a tuner). Pedals don't make you a better bass player, but they can add delicious colour and variety to our sound and provide a heap of creative sonic fun.

Defn - from the krap-Krow book of bass, and trying to keep it relevant: A quality bass rig = one that a competent BCer on the Clapham pub circuit would consider to be something that he or she would be happy to use in a band mix for gigging. In my case (not making any particular assertions on my level of competency!) I could easily put together such a rig for a fraction of £6,000. I suspect most of us could.

Wasn't quite expecting this from Eric Burdon, it's quite a departure from the 1964 original version, but I think it's great and defo deserves an honorary mention on this thread!

Mistress? Lucky you! They are a very expensive hobby though (YMMV). I guess I'm starting to better understand the cost saving motivation for this thread! Anyway back to kettle leads for me...

Should that be a 'Master & Mistress List' to be compatible with Equal Opportunities?

+1 for HPF to improve speaker efficiency by eliminating the low end sonic crud. @mcnach - now that you are making use of an HPF (on your Mesa D800+ ?) are you finding one BB2 mostly does the job or are you still doubling up with a second BB2 for the majority of your gigs? The other point about the LM2/3's to be aware of is the less than ideal EQ centre points e.g. bass EQ centred at 40Hz, rather than a generally more preferred 65Hz to 80Hz and a huge gap between the high mids and treble centre points - something which has been fully addressed on the newer MB models.

Actually really liked that! More than a passing John Lennon resemblance with the shades. I once sported a similarly slender waist line, but there has since been the odd few million calories consumed and not quite so many of them burned off in my case... Yes please do!

Oooh I really like the look of that kettle lead that comes with the free Mesa WD-800...

Soz buddy. Per Article 5B of the Book of Sibob, bass cases don't seem to qualify as not 'new gear'. Be a shame to get disqualified on a technicality, right?

This is gonna be such a breeze! Just doing a search on kettle leads right now (I've so far managed to get a replacement bass before I've needed to replace the strings so not really familiar with all that technical stuff) ... 😄

Yeah 'consumables' eg strings, picks, vocalists etc are fine as are any repairs eg necks, drum skins, or I guess even a replacement bass for the one you trash when the vocalist walks out, are all allowed in the 'Book of Sibob'.

Oh really?!! Ok I'm feeling much better already about not being the first one to go down next year then 🤣

Do you remember when You remember, you remember when you nearly lost your mind There was something so pleasant about that place Even your emotions have an echo in so much space... My first gig was actually a long time ago, when I was 17 and foolishly on lead guitar and portable video cameras were still 2 years away from being released. Decades passed and the first gig that I played in as a bass player was this one at a venue in Camden that was subsequently closed down! The band is still going strong; it's been through a few line up changes, but the two founder members are still very much involved and loving it. Feeling brave and / or nostalgic? Please share footage of the earliest gigs you have video clips of!

Yeah but you can pretend you can't not buy anything and then look daft like the rest of us. In 2021 this will be better known as the 'walk of shame' thread.

Oh don't worry the 2020 gear wish list thread will be appearing on here sooner or later as we all individually fall like flies! And just 'cos you're the OP doesn't give you any immunity as @Sibob will testify, despite getting a few purchases in before the 31 Dec 2018 deadline last year...

Yeah me too. Just thinking about whether I should accelerate a possible purchase of the newly released Boss RC-10R before the 31/12/19 deadline. I've got a horrible suspicion this thread is going to mean I end up buying more gear, at higher prices ('cos I'm not waiting for sales or for them to come up used) to get them in before the deadline and then I fail in 2020 on about Jan 3rd anyway... 😁

@mcnach @Phil Starr you are both of course absolutely right in terms of the difference that 300W to 500W at 8 ohms might make and that 2 cabs are going to better than one etc. No debate from me on that score. But we also need to factor in the age and efficiency of the OP's LM2 head which is going to be (I'm guessing) a decade old now and the fact that he can't push it to full without it getting 'cranky'. So I'm guessing we're more likely talking about 150W / 200W of his current head --> 400W / 500W at 8 ohm here as the better comparison. There is also a "practical experience" flip side to this which is that there are plenty of folk on here (me included) using a one cab solution with decent power output amp which is very adequately meeting our needs with a full rock band. I have never found my BF SC and DG M900 amp lacking in volume on any of our gigs, even without PA support.

Nah, you're all good. Sibob provided us with very detailed rules at the start of his 2019 thread. So provided you've ordered in 2019 you're safe!

Haha - go on then, having very sensibly avoided it this year I'll see how far I get into Jan, before I succumb. Lol! Actually, I guess the key measure (for me anyway) is not lasting throughout 2020, just lasting longer than @bassfan. Now how hard can that be? And on the plus side there's a whole 30 days of shopping left in 2019... 😁 POST #6 Posted February 3 (edited) Clearly have too much time on my hands first thing this morning...I thought it might be useful to put what's ok / not in one place, after our recent debates on the matter. Here's how I've been approaching it (before I crash and burn in Feb 😁) (BASS) GEAR ABSTINENCE CHALLENGE 2020 – RULES OF THE GAME Why? To focus on making the most of the existing gear we have rather than get distracted by the next ‘shiny new thing’. What’s a fail? Any purchase or trade of new or used bass gear. 'Bass gear' = anything in your signal chain that you use to make or augment your bass sound /tone. basses, amps, cabs, pedals, PA gear (if your bass is DI’d into this) What’s ok? Anything to look after or organise your existing gear or wear & tear related. Any non-bass gear. strings, gig bags, leads, pedal boards, PSUs for pedal boards, repairs or identical replacement of existing kit, lessons, software related to existing kit non-bass musical gear (this came under a stricter Tier 2 for the completely hair shirted last year) e.g. music software not related to existing kit, keyboards, guitars, drum machines etc. By concession: unsolicited gifts of gear where you had no say in the matter! When? Any purchases between 1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020

Entirely fair about 2 cabs. But the OP mentioned he was keen to stick to a lightweight 1 cab solution. For portability he's going to be hard pressed to improve on his BF SC. His LM2 puts out 300W at 8 ohms (which the BF SC is rated at) and the LM2 is more likely only putting out nearer 150W to 200W if it's not being 'pushed' which can mean "the amp ...gets a bit snarky and unpleasant". Given that the BF SC can handle up to 600W at 8 ohms, IMO he and the audience will hear a volume difference with a punchier amp which provides him with greater headroom, and there have been some great suggestions on the amp front above.