chris_b

IMO the OP should be looking at something that can easily be upgraded. With a combo you have to replace the whole thing, so IMO the best option is a separate amp and cab. Then he can upgrade at will.

We did the first set without our drummer. He was stuck on the M25. IMO we sounded pretty good. He arrived just before the second set and only had time to set up the bass drum, snare , hi-hat and 1 cymbal. With fewer things to hit, it was the best gig he played during his time with the band.

I rarely get FOH. My minimum band rig is a 500 watt amp and 2 x 112 cabs. It's loud enough to get a good clean sound in small or medium rooms (for larger rooms or louder bands I use a 700 watt amp) and light enough to carry without doing myself a mischief. I use Aguilar amps and Barefaced cabs. Keep an eye on the classifieds. There are some bargains around at the moment.

I'll have a go at anything, but my preference is to be simple and effective.

Sadly, I can beat that! We had a gig in Basildon. A saturday afternoon slot at a festival. When I got there I couldn't find any sign of the event. I called the band leader and asked where they were. They said they were at the festival site waiting for me. I had gone to Blues At The Farm when I should have been at Blues On The Farm. . . . near freeking Chichester!!!!! I got there 2 1/2 hours late after a 90mph ride around the M25, M23 and I think the A27. My blood pressure and stress levels were through the roof.

I've done that. I didn't bother to read the instructions(!!) and turned up at the cricket club. The gig had been moved, 6 months before, 2 miles down the road to the rugby club!!

There are only 2 questions; does the band want to do it and do the ticket sales make it possible.

This. Never meet your heroes.

We were asked to learn a song for a posh party gig. The guitarist launched into it and after 4 bars the rest of the band came in. . . . in a different key! We'd all listened to one version on YT and he'd listened to a different version!! We were busking Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman and I thought I knew it. Unfortunately I hit the wrong chord at the start of the middle section, after that I couldn't get it back on track. 5 years later and the band still rips the P out of me for that one. Stuff happens.

Practice with more focus, better concentration. Practice until you can't get it wrong. Finally, getting yourself out of a hole, musically, with no one spotting it, is a skill everyone should perfect.

I played one in a shop and liked it. My brain didn't explode. I rarely get up the dusty end so any issues up there wouldn't affect me. If the right one came along at the right price I'd jump at it.

Of course.

Unless we are Oompa Loompa's or have an injury, hand and finger size or shape shouldn't be a problem. Bad technique definitely will affect how we play bass and what basses we can comfortably play. Seems it's easier to buy a smaller bass than work on changing our technique.

I'm still looking for my unicorn bass. Must sound better than my Sadowsky and weigh less than 3.5 kg.

I prefer clear, they didn't stand out too much. I always get the cord, which ensures I can't drop and lose them.

Can we stop this childishness?

The first song I played on stage was Spoonful by Howlin Wolf. The gig came to a crashing halt as we announced the last song. All the lights came on and the caretaker of the youth club was walking up the middle of the the empty hall, saying, "I wouldn't bother. They've all gone home!"

My Wolfcraft trolley easily handles all kerbs, gravel paths and steps. ps. . . . and flights of stairs.

Calling all the Metro Express owners. . . . have you weighed your basses? I've seen a couple of examples that were about 10lbs. Is that the average or are there any in the 7-8lb range? Cheers. ps I should have said 5 string basses. . .

Sorry, not in my world.

Why doesn't tone appear on your list? It's #1 on my list.

I'll not have a bad word said against tort, burst and rosewood.

Oh yes. . . . . . . . !

Hi Dave, there's one given, as long as I'm alive I'm gigging. The task is to make it happen. No question, the best bass I've owned so far is my 9.8lb Sadowsky Jazz, which is too heavy for my back! So I had to find the bass that is good enough to replace the Sadowsky, at the right weight, and, as the budget isn't what it was, at the right cost. Tone is always the problem, but, as long as the bass weighs, plays and looks right the tone can be managed. I've just perked up a cheap Cort Jazz with a Sadowsky preamp pedal. I was planning to change the pickups and add a preamp (which was double the cost of the bass!!) but this pedal gets the sound 90% there with 10% of the outlay. It's a start.