chris_b

My jaw hit the floor when I saw my first John Mayall, Cream, Fleetwood Mac and Jeff Beck Group gigs. . . . . and stayed on the floor for Tony Williams Lifetime, Bo Diddley and Howling Wolf. Stunning gigs seems to come along every week back then.

I used to be in a duo with an amazing Tommy Emmanuel style guitarist. IMO they were both jaw dropping. On a gig, the audience would be crammed around his side of the stage, and on my side, I'd get the latecomers!

Sorry, but that doesn't work for me. I'm just browsing and I want to see specs, pictures and prices before I start making phone calls to anyone.

For all the years I played a Fender Precision I could easily have used a Squier. I definitely wouldn't have chosen a Futurama Bass II. I started on a very semi pro Framus. Actually it was a pretty good bass when you consider the other cheaper basses in the shop, a whole lot of Asian and Eastern European made junk. If a new band had a hit you could see them playing their various Hofners, Vox's, Hagstrom's, Rossetti's etc on their first TV appearances. On the next week's Ready Steady Go they would all be playing brand new Precisions, Strats, Rics and Gibsons. That was when pro and non-pro gear was a valid definition.

With the advent of CNC machines, pro and non-pro basses is not a definition that means very much. The gulf between a bass that a pro player and a non-pro player might choose has all but disappeared.

The website is a PIA. Doesn’t mention some of the cabs people apparently have bought and I couldn’t find a price list.

I guess it's the same as my Thunderfunk. I believe the lights stay on while there is power in the amp, ie while it's discharging the capacitors.

I don't know GR gear, but IMO the SM would be a good first step to the best rig you've owned. I have the SM and an SC. They each sound great and together bring the house down. I'll use both as a full range rig for my active Jazz bass, but, as a stand alone cab, I prefer the SC (more low end and slightly less top end). Sounds perfect with my passive P bass. All BF cabs are punchy and well defined.

I would be more interested if they offered an HPF rather than the octave thing. How many players actually use sub harmonics?

I put these two up the last time this thread was posted. I still like both, but the cover is streets ahead. . . . Original Cover

Best cover version? Joe Cocker singing With A Little Help From My Friends. Next best. . . . . Gladys Knight's Midnight Train To Georgia, instead of Jim Weatherly's original Midnight Plane To Houston!

I wouldn't buy an amp in the hope that it'll sound like a totally different amp. That never works. Go out and listen to as many amps as you can. Exclude the heavy ones, ignore the name, and choose the one that sounds the best.

Just a thought, but IMO if you are downsizing you can't consider it a job well done if you select a 23kg/50lb cab, like the Ashdown 4x8!! I know someone who used an Ashdown 4x8 and he made it sound pretty good. I liked it but not as much as my 22lb Super Compact. That's half the weight and loud enough that you probably won't need a second one.

Gouche is a monster player. I love these with Gladys Knight. . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YxlOy2JOyg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp4BPNDYjGg

Hejira , Court and Spark, Shadows and Light and Hissing of Summer Lawns. I used to listen to these for hours. The only downside for me is Jaco Pastorius. It's all clever bass paying, but IMO he doesn't fit and is a distraction. Max Bennett was a much better bassist for her great songs.

I saw him play bass on a TV show, many years ago. He was one of the best bassists I've seen.

IME Lakland is a step up on most Fenders, and judging by your photos, the Lakland looks like a classy bass.

Yep. I managed 2 gigs with the BB2 and an SM, before first lockdown. What a great sound! The second lockdown put paid to the only gig left in my diary, so who knows when #3 will come about!! At the moment I just have a pile of BF cabs sitting in the corner. . . . waiting.

I bought a BB2 last year, which was delivered in Feb, then bought the cover. Other than that, no bass purchases so far this year so far. No plans for anything, either.

My goto bass is an MV5 and I'm on my 3rd set of D'Addario NYXL strings. They are full bodied with a nice crispness to them and they seem to be very Sadowsky preamp friendly.

I'd always suggest listening to everything. I can learn from stuff I don't like. It might be a challenge but if it improves your playing then it's a worthwhile exercise. In lockdown #1 I reacquainted myself with the sets I'd played in the previous 3 years, then I charted about 30 Stevie Wonder songs. They're good, I know them but have rarely played any. It was a great learning experience. Now we're in lockdown #2 I'm looking at Bobby Bland (the California Album era), going through the Daryl's House videos again and looking at Kylie Minogue's Glasto set. There are songs here that I know and like, some which are technically more demanding and some where I don't know the style at all. Learn from everything.

I always analyse and play my favourite songs. You've got to know what makes your favourite music tick, but I'll never suggest them to the band because they'll never do them justice. In this house there is always music in the background. I don't listen to much music these days, unless I'm working on a set. When I'm on my own I prefer R4.

In the interval I was having a pee and 2 guys came in and stood right next to me. They started discussing the band. One said to the other, "What do you think about the bass player?" The other replied, "Dunno, couldn't hear him!" I was going through the PA and the stage volume was rattling my fillings out!!

The best 112’s I’ve owned have been Bergantino and Barefaced. My preference being BF. Vanderkley are local to you. I’ve seen many good reports about them.