Dan Dare

Got to be worth a try. If you like the bass, it will only cost a few pounds to buy a rest and try it. My fretless is a Yamaha BB - PJ configuration. I find it similar to play to my Fender fretted PJ and Jazz in terms of hand position. However, I tend to play just above the P pickup - towards the neck rather than the bridge - so rest my thumb against the edge of the fingerboard.

Sounds as if you may be using too much force. Do you have to use a different hand position on the Yamaha? I'd experiment with varying that. It may be that a thumb rest, positioned to suit, will help.

The only way to find how a combination will work is to try it. The science may enable you to eliminate gross mis-matches, but in the end, your ears must decide.

Strictly speaking, "vacuum tube" is a more accurate term than "valve"...

I second the advice to take your instrument to a good tech'. I wouldn't be tempted to try to do a set-up/loosen the truss rod yourself (you do call your self Bass Beginner). Whilst that sort of thing is not that difficult if you know what you are doing, it's best left to a pro' unless you do. If funds are ere tight, a decent set-up will be cheaper than a new instrument, unless you make a sideways move - i.e stick at the same quality level, which is not really worth the effort. It will also make your instrument more sellable if you do decide to change it. I agree the sound could well be down to pickup height and/or string choice. Flats will generally give a less aggressive tone and if you use D'Addario Chromes (my choice), they are quite bright and lively and last well. Instruments are not really oriented to any particular style. Ibanez basses generally have slim, fast necks, which is why some rock/metal players prefer them. Your amplification has a lot of influence on the tone, too. What are you using?

In the eye of the beholder, etc.

They're (I use two of them) contributing plenty. The Berg on its own doesn't have the air or midrange clarity they do. I don't like tweeters for bass - play flats and use a slightly higher action because I loathe clanking, fret rattle/buzz and the like. They also have some weight, but the Berg enhances it. It sounds good on its own, but not as good as the combination.

I use a Fusion rucksack to carry my head around. I find it excellent and it matches my gig bag (I'm a bit of a gear tart).

Interestingly, I've found recently that mixing drive unit sizes is not always a bad thing. I have a couple of Phil Jones C4s (four 5" drivers in each). I love the tone, but find they can lack a little weight at higher levels. I bought a Berg 1x12 a couple of weeks back (from BC's own obbm) to add the necessary clout and find the combination excellent. Tonally, they are quite similar, apart from the extra bottom end from the Berg'. The combination sounds pretty spiffing to my ears.

It should take a lot more than an iffy set and a few hiccups to make people consider walking off/out. No band would ever last five minutes if everyone did that. A bit of grit and determination needed by your band-mates, I suggest. Unless of course it was the latest in a long chapter of disasters and the straw that broke the camel's back.

Bass will add harmonic under-pinning as well as some weight (assuming you play the parts correctly) and rhythm. A single strummed acoustic guitar is just not sufficient on its own. Has to be bass.

So true. Crappy items can be rare, because nobody keeps them or bothers to look after them.

Can I suggest the internal measurements would be better? Also worth including the port length (you may need to adjust that to suit a replacement driver, of course).

Not as simple as that. A pub landlord is very often a tenant/employee. The pub will be owned by a pubco (pub management company - they sprang up when breweries were made to divest themselves of pubs), which controls the purse-strings very tightly. There will be limited or no budget for entertainment and frills. He may well not even be on profit share, just a wage, for which he is expected to work 7 days a week, deal with all manner of awkward customers, employ staff, manage the accounts, etc, etc. He has no security, no property of his own and can easily be dispensed with if he displeases his employer. And if he loses his job, he loses his home - a similar situation to the one agricultural labourers in tied cottages were/are in. Not exactly a bed of roses. As HH notes above, pubcos are often keen to sell their properties to developers - pubs are not the money spinners they once were - so are quite content for them to fail. The landlord has little or no control in that situation. In the case of owned pubs and free houses, if a property developer offers a landlord/owner enough to retire on in comfort, enabling him to live a normal life and not work his @rse off every day, it's hardly surprising he will be tempted to accept. That has happened to several pubs round my way in North London in recent years.

Went for £32. Someone did all right.

"Two humbuckers"? Really? "Anarchist's bass"? What a load of pink torpedo.

The reason pubs are shutting is down to economics. The properties are valuable, often extremely so. A large pub building, especially one in a desirable town centre location, can be converted into a large number of flats that will sell for a tidy sum. Add to that the fact that people go out less often nowadays and it's not surprising that pubs are closing.

I have a Carvin B1000 bass head. Nice piece of kit. Made in the US of A. EQ is excellent. If it goes pop, I'm in trouble as Carvin are out of business, but whilst it works, it's great (it's my backup, so doesn't get a hard life). I've only played a couple of their instruments, but they were very good. Given that the OP says "I love how it feels how it sound how it looks", what's the problem with it? Seems to be the bass for him.

If it's just a one-off job, I'd think about hiring a sub or couple of subs. If you only usually use your PA for vox plus acoustic and it does the job, buying subs will be a bit of a waste. If you do wish to buy and you like your RCFs, have a look at their subs. They're as good as any out there in their price range.

Supply and demand, I'm afraid. A lot of people want to play and will do so for little/nothing, so venues don't have to offer much. Many players have alternative sources of income and do it as a hobby/for fun. The plumbing analogy from earlier in the thread is very relevant. The reason a plumber makes so much compared with a musician is because he/she has a scarce skill that is in demand. T'was ever thus.

The real reason for this nonsense is to keep prices high. A lot of companies do it - destroying last year's stock, less popular models and so on - because people won't buy current stuff if they can pick up older stuff at a bargain price. "Unsafe" my foot. Unsafe for Gibson's margins is what it is.

Because you put up with it. Time to put the kit back in the car and say byeee.

If I'm house bassist at a jam, I'm happy for people to play through my rig (obviously), but if they don't have an instrument, they use my knockabout eBay cheapie. Playing one of my decent basses is a no-no unless it's a friend.

All of the above points to the folly of lending people gear. In the end, who cares if they're thought to be mean? If the choice is between that and spending money on repair/replacement, not me.

He obviously needs professional help. Fortunately, he only does his thang on cheaper instruments, but I suppose there's always a first time...