chris_b

Very nice.

Small is good but as bass players we still have to move air. Micro cabs might sound good on stage but can they reach to the back of the room? I haven't gigged a One10 on its own yet but I have giged 2 of them and they worked well, even with a my 5 string.

When you are hot, drink water. . . lots of it. If the guys in the band were flagging after 10 mins they should be seriously worried about their general health.

What is your budget?

Willie Dixon was hugely influential. The songs he wrote and records he produced formed the basic building blocks for a couple of generations of players of all instruments. He was on many of the songs I played when I started learning bass. He was one the first bass players I listened to to get bass lines.

IME the best musicians wouldn't need to be told. Anyone who needs to be reminded to pull their finger out can leave, and those guys wouldn't be missed.

I prefer gigging. These days, most of my gigs are done without rehearsals. I'll get an mp3 or links to YT, do the homework, turn up and play. Good drummers make it all possible. Having said that I'm rehearsing on Wednesday. The drummer and me are fine without, but it's been called by the band leader, mainly for his benefit. He'll turn up under rehearsed and with no clear idea of the new songs or their arrangements. On the gig he'll probably have forgotten at least 50% of what we did. The drummer is very good, the songs are usually excellent and apart from the amnesia, the band leader is good too. So, as usual, I'll put up with the hassle to get to the good bits. Ho hum!

IME originals bands are either democratic or dictatorial. The democratic ones can be messy if the focus isn't there. I've been lucky in that respect.

The problem I have with Glastonbury is the music. I'm not a fan of most of the guys who play it and I'm not really inclined to wade through the stuff I don't like to get to the few bands I do. Then there is the BBC coverage. I don't much care for their ideas of how you present a music festival. The trouble with TV people, they can't just show the music. They have to get creative and believe they have to add all their bits which is what makes the show interesting! Take all the BBC rubbish away and just leave the music. And then, what idiot thought all those bloody flags were a good idea! What's going on there? Janelle Monae. Did she bring Brandon Gilliard? An amazing bass player. I'll have to have a look on YT and see if her set is there.

IMO there are two kinds of rehearsal, covers and originals. For the originals, anything goes. We used to sit around in someone's front room, start with a skeleton of an idea and swap suggestions until we were happy the song was finished. Then we'd take it to the studio. Rehearsing covers is costing you money, so turn up knowing what you should be playing. The geography of the song and arrangement might change but that shouldn't be a problem if you already know your part. IMO practise is what you do at home to learn the song and rehearsal is the band putting it all together.

I dep with bands so I regularly get to play different styles of music. From blues rock to soul, blues funk, the old style R&B, pop covers from all eras, reggae, americana and ragtime. I love the variety and playing with good drummers in these styles improves my playing on every gig.

How old fashioned to go to a 3 day festival in a muddy or dusty (trench foot or sun stroke) field for the artists. The people I know who go to Glastonbury go for the event.

Depends on what flatwound strings they are. Upgrading to a good (and new) set of flats might just be the icing on the cake.

Of course you can reuse strings. . . . . but after all that work and expense upgrading your bass, don't you think a new set of strings would cap it off nicely?

I've got a Mono Vertigo. Great case and you bass will be totally safe.

If your problems can be fixed by sorting out an unbalanced bass then that's good. If they can't then reducing the weight is the only way forward. I can just about gig with my 9 1/2lb Jazz bass but if I move a lot (or it's just a bad day) I'll feel the ache in my lower back starting. If I carry on I know the next day will be very bad. There have been gigs when I've had to switch over to my 8 1/2lb P bass in the interval. These injuries never go away and many get worse over time. Some can stabilise but take care of your backs then you won't have to worry about stinky poo like this!

If you like Hartke so much you'd better check out any lightweight rigs they make. I use Aguilar amps and Barefaced cabs. I'd recommend them all day long.

The 4 ohm cab will get 2/3rds of the volume and the 8 ohm cab will get 1/3rd of the volume.

IMO there is always a possibility that a small cab is not going to be loud enough. If you've bought 4 ohm cab then then you're stuck because can't add another cab, which is the easiest way to increase your volume and improve your tone. You really won't be able to tell the difference between 4 ohms and 8 ohms. The sound difference is small. The benefit of an 8 ohm cab is it's flexibility. You can add another cab if you find you need to. Again IMO, a 110 wouldn't be capable of pushing bass frequencies out into the audience on any gig I've played in the last 10 years. I've gigged with a 112 and a 210 but I wouldn't expect a good sound out in the room from a 110 unless I had FOH support or was playing with an acoustic guitarist.

Big teeth!!

I used a Berg CN212 for several years. One of the best bass sounds but sadly the 46lb, or so, lift started to wear me down.

The F112 is a very good cab. We heard a couple at the SE Bass Bash a few years ago. One of these cabs will have more low end than the SC because the cab is lager, but at this level personal preferences are the only deciding factor. What one cab sounds like is critical but, even on the quietest gigs, I always run two 112 cabs. Two of these cabs just sounds better to my ears.

I once had an E string that was badly wound and one of the winds was standing proud of the rest.

If they don't want to talk to you, you shouldn't be talking to them. Basic online safety.