OutToPlayJazz

Picked up an Ashdown Little Giant 1000 yesterday as a compact backup to my Genz Benz. Tried both the 350 & 1000 in the shop and the 1000 (even playing through a single 8ohm cabinet) clearly had more headroom & depth to the sound, so that was the one. I've been comparing the LG with my Shuttle 6 this afternoon, and the Little Giant performs well through my GB cabs. I'm not worried that I won't get anywhere near the quoted 1000w with my 8ohm cabinets as I don't play loudly anyway, so it'll do just fine. The most noticeable thing between the two is how the valve in the preamp in the shuttle makes things very slightly softer in terms of attack. It's almost strange going back to all solid state again.

Thanks for the clarification, Chris. I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say that we're looking forward to seeing (and playing!) the production ready models. Best of luck with your new venture and the expansion of the Overwater brand. Rich.

I just picked up one of these today as a backup amp to my Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0. I A/B'd the 1000 against the 350 with a California PM Supreme, so a very good bass for the comparison. I was using an Ashdown 2x10 deep cab. Even at 8ohms both amps sounded very good, but the 350 was drier sounding and you could tell the 1000 had so much more headroom, even with only one 8ohm cabinet to play with. More later.

What about the Ray 5 classic series? Wouldn't that be the best of all worlds for you? Personally I like the ceramic magnet Stingray 5. Still thinking of selling the piezo Ray to get another one...

Quite strangely, I get the same problem using my double bass/fishman preamp with my Roland BassCube 100. Horrendous feedback nearly all the time. Now the Warwick Triumph upright doesn't do this & strangely there's no feedback with the same DB setup into my Genz Benz. The bass I'm using is hugely resonant so you do need to keep your hands on the strings when not playing, but it sounds perfect with the Genz setup. As for sound post setting, no the sound post should not sit under the bridge foot. That will strangle the sound. There needs to be a small gap between them. A luthier will spend some time moving the soundpost around, as all basses are different and respond in sonically different ways. Here's a quick excerpt from a setup guide... Proper soundpost position is in line with the center of the foot on the bridge's G string side and in the neighbourhood of 1/2" to 3/4" lower (towards endpin). Correct positioning of the bridge is also important. You need the centres of the feet lined up with the "nicks" of the f-holes. Rich.

They look very good quality and very varying in design. Not sure on the headstock shape, though. The traditional Overwater style would have been nicer. The pricing will be the clincher...

I originally got playing in bands by playing at the local jam sessions. By attending every week and showing people what I was about, work soon came flooding in when I was about 20. Best of luck - I'm sure you'll find your niche soon

I play whenever I get the chance. Even if it's just a chance to plug in and noodle for a few mins. It's one of the few things you can do for a living that you never get sick of. I suppose in my case, being a multi instrumentalist it's different, as there's always something else to learn or work for, whether it be learning a new piano part to accompany a pupil, work on a violin piece, etc, etc. It's great. I'll be working on a new unaccompanied American Folk Etude with a cello pupil towards her grade 8 tomorrow morning. There're always new challenges and that's why it doesn't get boring.

Well, these have certainly proved to divide opinion. Personally, I think it's a stunning piece of design. Dare to be different - Hats off to the Bongoids!

I like the look of that! How does it compare to your solid state stuff? Always faniced an all-valve setup for certain jobs.

[quote name='ukbassboy' post='794537' date='Apr 2 2010, 06:38 PM']I've got a Bongo 5HH in Desert Gold that I got off eBay for £900 that is absolutely mint. It's very quickly become my favourite bass - plays great, looks awesome and the 18v preamp puts out some MONSTER noise. Absolutely lethal when paired with a Shuttlemax 12.0! I just can't work out how these basses still get such a bad rap. I honestly think its just because its now fashionable to hate them, but thats fine by me cos in 15-20 years when there are not many 'vintage' ones about mine will be worth a fortune![/quote] Very good point! Bongos will become seriously cool in the future, I'm sure. And yes, 18v preamps are the only way to go. They always seem to boost in a more balanced way to me.

I'm sure I put these pics up before, but by way of introduction, this motley crew forms the basis of the OutToPlayJazz band, the Fono Productions Jazz band, the core of many musical theatre shows, professional pantomimes and the rhythm section for the Jeff Hooper band on the BBC/Warner Strictly Come Dancing Tour & the Nick Ross Orchestra. Mr.B here has one of those odd brains in that he's a human photocopier. Once he's played a piece of music with the sheet music once or twice it's copied into his brain in any key. An amazing pianist, MD & all round entertainer. Mr.Dabbs is possibly the most musical drummer I've ever encountered. Formerly from the chart band, Long View, he's also a very good orchestral percussionist. Then there's me - I double up as electric bass, double bass & cello for a lot of jobs with these guys.

I take good care of mine, even though they are worked very hard overall. I'm not bothered about being the first owner - Two of mine are used instruments. I clean the bodies/necks with Pledge before going out to a gig (like the maker) and make sure I always have pretty clean & zingy strings. I'm very lucky in that the two used instruments I have at the moment both came to me in pristine condition, even though one was almost ten years old.

Very nice bass - Congrats!

I'll play anything people pay me to play, simple as that. There are no depths I won't go to (musically speaking) if there's a paycheque at the end of it.

Hmmm... I like the grammatical correction there - I prefer "arse" too. I think I was just typing very quickly at the time.

I love the 25th Anniversary model that this is based on, but perhaps the colour is putting me off. That and the fact that the Big Al is so funky looking with the same electronics package. I think I'd go for the Big Al personally. But then again, I love the look of the Bongo, too. Rich.

Thanks, Duarte - Well put point of view from an owner! Yes, I still want to give one of these a go at some point. I think they look fantastic and they have a great reputation, too.

Not at all, ThisNameIsTaken - Yours was one of the more common sense variety. Much appreciated viewpoint sensibly put

Thanks, guys - Some interesting responses so far This thread set out to ask a question and there have been some very honest responses & some very funny ones too, so thank you. To clarify, by "looking professional", I mean I will always dress appropriately to play professionally & the main reason I post pics of my Status basses in particular isn't to show off what I've got, but to continue to promote a company which I have been supporting for over twenty years, whose values and quality I hold in very high regard. As for those seeing a good opportunity to have a personal swipe at me, keep trying assholes Keep the thoughts coming in, guys. It's very interesting to see how people prioritise their gear buying choices.

[quote name='Earbrass' post='790836' date='Mar 30 2010, 05:29 PM']You don't care what other people think, yet you list all of your expensive/"prestigious" gear in your sig. Hmmmm.[/quote] There's nothing prestigious there as far as I can see. It would be listed there, no matter what I was playing at the time.

[quote name='Mykesbass' post='790830' date='Mar 30 2010, 05:22 PM']Is there not the chance you are mixing Image with Fashion - from the looks of you rgear list, image is extremely important to you - it's just that you have gone for a very personal statement - all those lovely woods for a start. As with the car, the Skoda does have a certain image - shows you're comfortable with owning a solid reliable well built car not a member extension, proving you're a bass player not a lead guitarist [/quote] Haha! Nice comment Yes, perhaps I like my basses to look a certain way, but I'm not making a statement as far as I'm aware - Just making sure I play what I like & to hell with what anyone else thinks, basically.

Perhaps I'm getting old (at 40), but I keep bumping into a lot of threads around these here parts concerning image. From threads about how cool/ugly Bongos are & how impressive a big hulking two tonne rig looks to the visual merits of DIY home relicing (no it's definitely not a recognized English word!) When I buy a rig, I look for the best sounding combined with the lightest weight and smallest possible size combination. When I buy a bass, I want it to have the best possible quality, the best balance and amazing sound/playability. And in another parallel, when I change my car this year, I'm probably going to go for one of the new Skoda Superbs. I've had two diesel Skodas in the last few years and I value the bullet proof reliability and build quality above all else. The looks or badge snobbery mean nothing to me whatsoever. So I suppose what I'm asking is, when you're either buying gear or playing it, how much does image [u]honestly[/u] mean to you? Do you value how you look to other people over how something feels to play. As you can see, with me, it matters not one jot as long as I dress appropriately, play professionally & have the right sound/quality in my hands. I don't care what other people think as long as I'm happy with my gear/sound. Discuss.

Well luckily looks aren't everything - Fortunately I'm judged on my playing/sight reading ability as opposed to my looks. *PHEW* Beauty being in the eye of the beholder and all that, I think Bongos are amazing looking basses. Yep, they didn't come from the 1950's, which sometimes can be a good thing. Call it progress and excellent design.