Rexel Matador

This is a great idea!

Little update, now I've had it for a while: I'm not convinced. It sounds great (no credit due to Spector there though, as I've swapped out the pickups and the preamp), and is clearly very well made, but it doesn't balance for sh**, so is not comfortable at all in a band situation. I don't really understand how a manufacturer can become so respected despite ignoring the fact that their instruments don't hang comfortably on a strap. My far less fancy bitsa Jazz will by main squeeze for the band for the time being. Question: how much difference would swapping out the tuners for the lightest ones available realistically make?

NOFX - Xmas has been Xed

Well I suppose if I'm going to go and form a new original band I'm going to have to get in the habit of telling everyone about it... I'm in the process of expanding my solo metal project Handaxe, into an actual gigging band. I'm on bass and vocals and I've found two awesome guitarists. We don't have a drummer as no-one around here seems to be both up for and up to it at the same time. We're going to start playing out anyway - just the three of us and the drum tracks, if anyone will have us in that form. It's really putting me through my paces. When this stuff was written and recorded, there was no thought given to having to pull any of it off in a live setting. Now I actually have to get through the songs from start to finish, standing up, doing vocals at the same time. What was I thinking? https://handaxemetal.bandcamp.com/

I have a Darkglass Microtubes X Ultra - it processes the lows and highs separately - Compression on the lows, overdrive on the highs. Sounds immense and can get plenty filthy if you want it to. They're not cheap, but there's a mini version which I think is basically the same concept.

I've finally accepted that the fine people at Fender are never going to call and offer me a signature model, so I've taken matters into my own hands: I've gone for a "what if Jim Root played bass?" kind of vibe. Allparts body EMG JX pickups LHZ preamp (just a fun experiment as they usually go in Spectors with PJ pickups. Sounds pretty good though. Way more natural and "woody" than I was expecting. The bass and treble controls are on the stacked pot in between the two volumes. It's in that position because I accidentally enlarged the wrong hole, but I quite like how it looks and have convinced myself that it's a logical place for it! Hipshot Kickass bridge and ultralite tuners. The neck is a Fender Player 2 neck. Lovely rolled edges, but came with lacquer all over the frets. I've done a level crown and polish, so it's all gone now. Tuned to BEAD. Discovering tapered B strings has been a revelation to me. It sounds and feels great, even at the standard 34 inch scale length. It's bothering me a bit that the pickup screws, jack nut and saddle springs are not black - might have to sort that out in due course!

Yep, LHZ is the plan. I might also put the soapbar shaped EMG P & J pickups in too and stick the DCs in another bass. By the time I'm done with this bass I probably could have bought a used US one with exactly that configuration for the money I'll sink into it, but where's the fun in that?

Yeah I'd heard some people consider them quite chunky. Seems ok to me, but when I'm building my own, they always end up pretty thick, because I'm afraid of going too far when I'm carving, so it's actually fine for me. Thin enough that the extra string isn't too hard to deal with too.

A new band means a new bass. I usually build them myself but that's been on the backburner since my son came along so this will have to do! One of my favourite things about building my own basses is coming up with new body shapes, so I'm perversely intrigued by the fact that Spector have felt no such urge since the 70s! I must say, they did rather nail it, it's very comfortable. Bought as new from Bass Direct, but it's a slightly older one with the Tonepump preamp in it - a curious little thing that is unusably hot until you get in there with a screwdriver and turn it down to half-way. It's still nothing special, but my addiction to tinkering means it'll be getting swapped out anyway. But what a lovely bass it is. Sounds fantastic through my Darkglass pedal (but then I think pretty much any bass would). It's booked in for a pro set-up to see just how lovely I can get it, but in the meantime it'll be put through its paces at band practice on Thursday. Oh and it's my first 5 string - I play metal in B standard so wanted the 35 inch scale. Not a lot of 4 strings out there that fit the bill (with a handful of notable exceptions, of course). Spector do a multiscale 4 that goes down to 36", but I wanted a Euro so here we are. After a few minutes of panic and buyers remorse, I got used to it! Can't fault it really (apart from that preamp). The CST series has an ebony board, which was tempting, but there isn't a finish/hardware combo that I like. The rosewood on this one is nice and dark, so I'm more than happy with it. If I was building it, I would have recessed the control plate, but that really is my only gripe so far!

Good advice about the cabs, thanks - I think you're right - two of the same makes more sense

Hi all, I'm forming a new metal band and thinking of splurging on a new amp. It's so hard to know what I'm going to need in terms of wattage, cab size etc. I play with a pick, on a 4 string bass tuned B-E-A-D with EMGs. Musical style is roughly a cross between The Black Dahlia Murder and Amon Amarth. Two guitars, bass and drums. I like the look of the Darkglass heads - Microtubes specifically - as I feel like I probably wouldn't need to be messing around with pedals too much to get a solid tone with a bit of compression and grit. But I'm also thinking they might be a bit of a fad and maybe I should go for something more timeless that I could shift in a few years provided I take care of it. As far as cabs go, I get the impression most gigs with a proper PA and a sound guy tend to mainly DI the bass, so would the cab(s) on stage be mostly for my benefit? My thinking at the moment is to get two - a 2x10 and either a 1x15 or a second 2x10, to be added if the situation calls for it. I was thinking maybe Fender Rumble because they're not too expensive and not too heavy. Last time I played in a heavy rock band I had a Hartke LH1000 and 8x10 cab which were both insanely cumbersome and way too much power for almost any gig we played. My most resent band was a classic rock covers band playing mostly in pubs and I got by with a cheap TC head and a homemade 2x10 (basically two of the speakers from the old 8X10 that I screwed into a box - no tweeter or anything fancy!), so it's definitely time for an upgrade. I know this is entirely subjective, but I just don't know where to start. Are there any places left (preferably in the north of England) with a good selection of amps and cabs that one can actually go and try out? I feel like Youtube demos that people were probably sponsored to make can only get you so far. Any advice would be appreciated!

For the last couple of years up until a couple of months ago when I left the band. They're still using it, as far as I know, and it took us ages to figure out how to delete me from it! I personally wouldn't recommend it, but I don't remember the others complaining about it, so maybe it was something to do with my phone.

I used BandMule in my last band - the functionality is fine but it crashed on me all the time.

I bought an interface from them for recording. Best price I could find and they took it back and fixed it when I had an issue with it. Good experience.

Everything About You by Ugly Kid Joe. 27 years later my band opened for Whitfield Crane in Newcastle and I got to tell him about it 🤣