Dan Dare

Hellzero is right. Short of paying out for lightweight tuners (which may not solve the issue if the imbalance is really bad), there's relatively little you can do. SD's strap positioning guide helps, as does a grippy strap, but they're not a complete solution. You shouldn't let go of the neck. You refer to having a problem when playing an open string. Are you removing your hand from the neck when doing so? If so, practice playing open strings without removing it completely. As long as your left hand fingers are not in contact with the strings and you are still supporting the neck, it should be fine. It's actually inefficient to completely remove your fretting hand from the neck - you have further for the hand to travel back into position when you need to fret a note.

This is very good advice. You don't want to be eq-ing out the hump. As others suggest, I'd look at general purpose large diaphragm condensers from Rode, SE and AT at your budget.

If you've still got your Quilter, that should provide the oomph you need. I'd check out pedals and preamps. Something with a valve or two in it would probably do the trick for a classic rock sound. If not, a used Ashdown would be a safe, modestly priced bet. If your budget is less constrained, see suggestions above. As your like your Laney cab and if you have money to spend, the big Nexus valve head is a formidable beast.

I think you might be pushing it to expect a single 12 to cope in a band where you play heavy rock. I agree with others that the Rumble 500 is a sound choice, but suggest an extension cab will make a big difference. Any 8 ohm 12" cab would do it (within reason) if funds are tight. It doesn't have to be a matching one.

Norman "not visually appealing". Are you having a laugh? He looks a proper geezer. No b/s, doesn't care about image, just about playing good notes. How is that not something you'd want to aspire to?

Caveat emptor has to be the rule. If people in the market for something don't do their research (as others have pointed out), they may well end up paying over the odds. I see plenty of items for sale on here, on eBay and on many other for sale sites that I would consider over-priced. So I don't bother with them. Many people have an inflated idea of the worth of things they are selling and for myriad reasons, which range from naivety to chancing their luck. That's fine. They are unlikely to make a sale. The market is pretty good at deciding these things.

So it's a Squier Bronco. The cheapest bass from the Fender/Squier stable and he wants £220 used. Another fantasist.

What a chancer. Pompous tripe in the comments and he doesn't even know what it is. It's not even a bass. It's a baritone guitar - typically tuned A D G C E A.

No photos from the time (late 1960s), but found this pic' of my first bass. Not the best instrument I ever played - the body was 1 inch thick plywood - but it got me started.

Surprised nobody has cited this chap

Don't take the risk. I'll take it off your hands for a fiver. I know. Selfless of me, but that's just the kind of guy I am.

Have you played through/tried any of your choices? One man's meat and all that.

In isolation, a sub for the bass can be very satisfying, but put it in a live environment - unless the space is acoustically ideal (which is rarely or never the case) - with a full band and I agree with the comments above. It just adds mud and mush. Even on my PA, I keep the subs dialled down, so they are just adding a subtle weight to the sound.

I know. I was young and naïve at the time 🙄

If you have any decent shops within reach, drop in a try a few of your chosen models. When you've found something you like, look for a used one in decent shape. As it's a first instrument, I wouldn't buy new. A budget (price, not quality - there are some very good budget instruments around) instrument will not usually realise that much of the new purchase price when the time comes to upgrade. As others suggest, a P bass is a solid, if a little safe, choice. A used Squier can be picked up for a very reasonable price - loads around on places like eBay - and can always be moved on easily at no great loss if you want something nicer.

I'd bet that was the studio rig or hired.

If you really want one in a particular colour and it isn't available here, probably cheaper to buy a plain one and get it re-sprayed.

Agree about Markbass if you want a modern rig. They have a nice combination of warm/old school but not dull. You still get good note definition, which is very important for reggae because the rhythm/timing is so critical in the bass.

Bill's absolutely right. If you have a fan-cooled amp, it's remarkable how much dust can be drawn into it, especially if it has no filter. I try to remember to clean my PA power amps regularly. There cab be a fine coating of what looks like fur (which is accumulated dust) inside and on the output trannies. It must have an insulating effect and prevent them from keeping cool. If you have never cleaned a fan-cooled amp, take the top off and take a look. You may be in for a surprise. It's simple enough to brush off the dust and fluff with a soft paintbrush and vacuum it up.

A 7 band graphic is going to be pretty sweeping (no pun intended) in its effect, because each fader will cover a wide frequency range, so adjust judiciously. When I used a graphic-equipped TE head, I'd start with everything set flat and then increase the amount of gain on each fader one at a time (and take it back to zero before adjusting the next). It was pretty obvious which was least to my liking and once I'd found it (or them), it was just a matter of reducing it until I was happy with the tone. Be aware that they will affect each other, so be prepared to experiment to get it to your liking. Adjust using your ears, not your eyes. It doesn't matter what it looks like, as long as it sounds right. Generally, cut is preferable to boost and be careful not to attempt to make up for cabinet deficiencies (particularly at the low end) by using large amounts of boost. You can easily run out of headroom and fry your drivers.

Exotic hardwoods/coffee table basses. "Reliced" (another word for deliberately trashed). Weird shapes, especially angular/pointy. Dozens of strings and knobs. Stupid names/emblems.

Any of them. It's only 3 chords, innit... 😁

Care to share some of your work on here? I'm partial to a bit of McGonagall.

Norton or McAfee anti-virus?