Dan Dare

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1497536696' post='3318953'] Because after playing for 50 years he still hasn't got it right lol. I cant stand bands who have soemone with a music stand on stage. If you cant be bothered to put the time and effort in like the rest of the band, at the expense of looking Ike you haven't, then you arent the right person. I know that sounds harsh, but ive seen so many bands where one or two members spend all night looking at their music stands and i find it looks very unprofessional and makes them look like they arent part of the band. I know some people play with lots of bands, with different arrangements etc, but even so, thats no excuse for not putting in the hours. We got rid of our last guitarist as he was always looking down at his iPad. [/quote] Easy to say if you only play in one band, which is probably your hobby anyway. Orchestras, big bands and many others use the dots. Are you really saying the look "unprofessional"?

I'm a miserable bastard and nobody likes me. That's usually my reason for leaving...

Aaaargh. Cajons.

Go to a pro' for a valuation/advice. If you think the bass and guitar world is a minefield as far as valuations and so on go, it's nothing compared to the violin world.

It's a good idea for a band not to own a PA jointly, but for band members to own individual parts of it. That way, if you split or someone leaves, people just take whatever it is they own. No arguments about buying people out, newcomers buying in (they just replace whatever it is the person leaving took with them), etc. Saves a lot of grief. Of course, if you're buying it your self, this doesn't apply.

[quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1497289023' post='3317078'] Cheap xenys 502 mixer, DI out into this and aux in to the mixer and headphone out the mixer, all done plus if want to record you can do this [/quote] This is also a good idea. When I practice, I run my bass direct, via a DI box, into my mixer and listen on headphones to avoid upsetting the neighbours and of course, it's no bother to incorporate a CD player, MP3 or whatever. A good pair of closed back phones - I use Beyer DT770s - will give you a fabulous bass tone (and also spoil you for live work when you realise you can't get that sound out of your live rig)

I do find a valve pre does make a difference. It isn't night and day and I agree with Bill that the power stage does have a much larger influence, but a valve pre does seem to sweeten/enrich the sound. You can play around with different types - Watford Valves and others do an enormous range of preamp valves (very often an ECC83/12AX7 in preamps). I find a slightly lower gain model better for bass. The high gain types are more for guitar applications and add a bit too much dirt to bass for my taste. But that's just my preference, so worth experimenting.

Might the Cub be a little low powered? The PJ Flightcase is still very compact and has a bit more oomph - 4 drivers as opposed to two. They come up used occasionally - you should get one for the price of a new Cub - and tend to be owned by jazzers and people who don't abuse them (as was mine).

B15s are lovely things, but their utility value is limited - see comments above. Remember the bass on a lot of the classic recordings was DI'd (at Mowtown, for example - where they designed/built a lot of their own equipment) and the amp only served as a monitor in the studio. So a B15 won't give you instant Jamerson sound. If you have the money and just fancy owning one, though, go for it. Far worse things to spend your hard earned on and you should get your money back when you sell it if you buy wisely.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1496440977' post='3311546'] I'd suggest a Barefaced Super Compact and use your Fender amp. There's a guy on Talkbass who rates this combination very highly. [/quote] Agreed. If you intend to keep the 6x10, it makes a lot of sense to get a smaller cab and use it with your existing head and save the big one for larger venues.

Good luck with after sales and assistance...

Nice. Dynacord is very high quality kit. I had one of their valve amps briefly a while back, but the output trannie failed (it was an old amp and I bought it used, so no criticism of Dynacord intended) and the cost of replacement was prohibitive. Very fine sound whilst it was working.

It's difficult to compare over time as memory can be unreliable. I used to love my old TE AH350 (which I sold when age/decrepitude made it a chore to carry about - it was flight-cased, too, which made things worse). It was flexible, powerful and reliable. Whether it was better than what I have now is a moot point, but it was a great amp.

[quote name='lownote12' timestamp='1496818819' post='3313983'] FWIW I had two Fender 112 cabs that at bedroom volumes sounded excellent. But they got ugly if you really turned the wick up. Same was true of a pair of TC BC 210s I had. So I bought a BF 210 which sounds good in the bedroom and excellent on the stage. But then I guess there's a very big difference in the quality of the drivers given the relative price of the cabs. [/quote] On the head. Most kit sounds decent at showroom levels, but quality shows in real world situations when you need to push it.

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1496811380' post='3313953'] I dunno. You lot. If you don't like it - tough. It's that or do all of your shopping in high street retail outlets where [i]customer service[/i] is still put into practice. I agree it's good to be informative with potential buyers but remember a lot of sellers are saying the same sort of things about buyers. [/quote] Yep

The LD Maui is well reviewed. I've heard someone using one and was impressed with the clarity and evenness of the sound around the room (a feature of this type of system). They tend to be quite hi-fi in their presentation and some may find them a little polite, especially if they are used to the traditional in your face bins and horns sound. There are a number of options for compact line arrays and they are not generally cheap (and it's best to avoid those which are). I own a Fohhn system, which I preferred on audition to the LD - it has more weight to the sound. Bose are slightly different - the drivers are angled to each side. This gives very even dispersion at closer ranges, but tends to have less projection. You really need to audition a few systems to see if they suit your needs.

Try some toy stuffing in the body with the plug.

There's a saying - "Compact/light, inexpensive, good sounding. Pick two".

A great rhythm section can make anything work. A lot of schlock has great bass/drum parts.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1496269530' post='3310175'] So you guys are saying this bass line is not played starting on an open E? And you've all been listening to the original recording? [/quote] My thoughts. Just listened to it and the bass is definitely not in the guitar register.

If a singer starts in the wrong key, the band should go with him/her. The end result is what counts. Related to this, what are peoples' views on the "right/wrong" key in which to play a song? I've known some insist it has to be as the original. Surely the singer's ability/range has to be the deciding factor. Yet I've encountered people who don't feel this way. In the last band I played in, the guitarist made a big fuss because our singer wanted to sing Grapevine in B (the original is in Eb, but our singer's voice is considerably lower than Marvin's was). Seems mad to try to force someone to struggle with and mess up a song, rather than pitch it where it is most comfortable for them.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1495290558' post='3302762'] Silly me. Indeed I do actually have a 1/8 fender hex. I don't know why I thought it was a 4mm. [/quote] A worn 4mm will probably fit.

[quote name='Joeyfivebags' timestamp='1495463612' post='3303914'] [/quote] Beat me to it

I used a couple of the flat topped knobs in your illustration on my Bitsa P. They came from a Squier. The holes in them were a little too small for the standard CTS pot shaft. I clamped them in a vice (with some card between them and the jaws to protect them) and drilled them out slightly (use a bit that is only a whisker larger than the hole or they will be loose). They turned out to be brass, so nice quality items. They fit fine now and look the part