Dan Dare

You get PL insurance automatically if you are a MU member - reason enough to join. With regard to the original question, it depends on the venue. If the playing position is reasonably out of reach of the punters, for example, I'd take decent stuff. I'm more concerned about my PA than my bass gear, which stands behind me and protected to an extent as a result.

Like for like unless you know what you're doing. Get expert advice.

At a pub I used to play in, you didn't need back projection. They'd play movies on a screen behind the band, but with the sound turned down. Class.

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1503806485' post='3360955'] my band in little old Adelaide wants to organise a 5 day tour of New York city can someone suggest 5 or 6 suitable clubs within walking distance of a cheap hotel? [/quote] I assume you'll be expecting at least 10 grand a night fee

I think you'll find the device on the back of the cab is a control for the tweeter.

If you're using a pickup on it, it's a bit of a waste having a high quality instrument. It can be tricky controlling the resonances it creates when you're plugging in (I have a similar problem using a pickup on my Martin guitar - acoustically, it's a grand piano, but a bit too much when plugged in - a cheap instrument is a lot more controllable). A lot of rock and roll/rockabilly players use cheaper, even plywood basses (which hold up better to being stood on and thrown around, too). For the kind of sum you want to spend, a cheaper instrument with a good pickup system could be the way to go. You'd probably have enough change to pay someone for a custom paint job, too.

[quote name='Mickeyboro' timestamp='1503655032' post='3359960'] What Brown Sugar so often lacks (apart from the sax) is acoustic guitar. [/quote] Not to mention a singer who can do it justice

Apple's business model? Bleed the customer white...

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1503574080' post='3359275'] Is that why they cover them in piss and chewing gum to stop people pinching them? [/quote] [quote name='project_c' timestamp='1503616531' post='3359788'] Piss and chewing gum? Luxury. Round my way in SE London we cover them in vomit, used needles and tears. [/quote] Don't forget the dog turds

[quote name='Oopsdabassist' timestamp='1503651419' post='3359904'] I like that..might have to nick it....gotta be better than me trying to do a bass solo at introduction time!!... The mental image is vaguely Bonzo Dog Doodah Band!!! [/quote] Why not play a full version of The Intro and The Outro? You'll need to take a few extra instruments of course...

I agree with bumnote. PJB cabs are very clear sounding and project extremely well. They can take a bit of getting used to - you may feel the sound isn't "full" enough on stage (for "full", read dirty), but they are deceptive. I use two C4s and a 4B, which have all the weight I want and are clean - I was playing a pub gig the other weekend and someone told me he could hear the bass clearly about 100 yds down the road as he was approaching the venue. He suggested I back the volume off a little. Yet onstage, it didn't seem too loud. The cabs take a bit of driving, too - they are quite inefficient.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1503404739' post='3357921'] ...which is why most folks just accept the expression for what it is: just a trite 'I don't actively dial a sound in'. Most of us know it's not hifi (and probably wouldn't like it if it was..!). [/quote] I'd love to be able to get a more hi-fi sound, closer to the one I hear when I plug my bass straight into the mixer (using little or no eq) and listen on headphones. That's how I practice to avoid complaints from neighbours. Sadly, I don't have the funds to buy the kit I would need to reproduce it at realistic stage levels. Or a big enough truck to carry it.

Markbass or Aguilar probably come closer to the Streamliner sound than most.

[quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1503298982' post='3356931'] I'd get the set up done first. I suffered a similar issue and found it was a raised fret. Make sure your bass is properly set up before spending a lot of money on stuff you may not even need. [/quote] Good sense. You can check roughly if the frets are level by sighting along the fingerboard. Any that are obviously too high will stand out. Definitely worth getting it looked at by a repairer.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1501869422' post='3347968'] Not uncommon and IMO not completely unfair. There was no business and the landlady made a business decision. I've heard about this happening with my local peer bands. [/quote] Really, Blue? Do you run a bar on the side? So if the staff turn up and the place isn't busy, do you consider it acceptable for them to be sent home unpaid or short paid? Perhaps your views are due to the fact that you're from the States, where the corporate will is king and companies can treat staff like dirt. [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1501925897' post='3348235'] Running a pub tends to attract a certain element of society, basically the ones with no home or qualifications so it fills both criteria until they realise it is not the same as 'going to the pub' that they have been so good at previously! [/quote] Amen to that.

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1501859933' post='3347873'] can't still believe this bo**ocks is still going on in 2017. Any evidence of an agreement is vital, be it texts or email, but, thats not always possible. I always call the venue usually on the day of the gig to at least confirm its us playing. Last gig we did was a new venue and the fee came up £100 short (albeit a genuine counting mistake supposedly and we got sorted). Half the time the landlord/lady are tanked up themselves and in the mood for a ruck, funny how its always the bass players who have to sort out the mess! [/quote] Happened to my band last year. Pub was almost empty and the landlady said at half time we should stop and she'd pay us half the fee. Sadly, the guitar player, who was a bit of a wuss, agreed without consulting the rest of us (she took him aside and did the foul deed whilst we were discussing what to play in the second set), which left us a bit high and dry. I argued the toss, but he'd already capitulated, so to no avail. Funnily enough, our drummer used to be the one who was most useful in such cases. He was - still is - a martial arts instructor (taught the police,, among others). He's a lovely bloke, but has a way of looking at people and speaking to them in a friendly tone that they can't resist. I've since left the band. I would have probably killed the guitar player - he had delusions of being band leader, despite the fact that he was the least musically able, but he was able to hind behind his missus, who played keys (extremely well) and sang - had I not done so.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1501842229' post='3347700'] One of the exclusions may be: Having a load of money and behaving like a total asshat does not mean you're insured when it all goes wrong. [/quote]

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1501849144' post='3347758'] I thought it was the new manager who refused to pay. In that case you should name and shame. [/quote] See dazza's penultimate sentence, when he says she left the following day.

I'd just buy off the shelf and spend the change on other things. If I really wanted to push the boat out, I'd get something like a Fodera. An instrument with an established name will always provide a return on the investment - today's "instrument for life" can easily end up in the classifieds because we've seen something else that tickles our fancy. Commissioning a custom build, whilst it can result in something very nice, is too personal - one man's meat is another's poison and all that - and you can struggle to sell it on for a reasonable amount should you want/need to.

Collector/investor/hoping to sell on at a profit? Buy the '65. Player? Buy the one you prefer to play.

The thing that put me off was that they don't return your original that you provide as a template (or at least, they didn't when I enquired).