chris_b

I saw the Chick Corea Elektrik Band in the 80's and John Patitucci was playing his 6 string on the strap and slapped the 4 string which was held on the stand.

You've probably got a list of "issues" and it seems you are trying to buy your way out of them. First you have to find out what is causing your problem. The 112 you're pairing with the 115 might be working against your sound rather than with it. With that bass and that tuning you could be putting out way too much low end and the cabs can't take it. You're using pedals which could easily be messing with the sound. You could take all the components out, one by one, and see what the results are, ie track down what is actually causing your problems. It might just be that your pedals are messing everything up and this is where I'd start looking. Try a compatible Markbass 115 instead of 12's or 10's.

Many might, but for me the answer is no not really. I'd also say that however cheap you think your Lakland is it's not cheap on any scale of cheapness. Laklands (even the Skylines) are great, well made, well designed instruments and will be hard to better. But I bought 2 basses, a Mike Lull PJ5 and a Sadowsky RV5, that meant I sold my US Lakland 55-94. So it depends where your comparisons are being made. Play a Sadowsky and I think you'll find your bass. It will set you back a bit more than the Lakland, but from what you are saying, I think you might have already found your bass. If you want to make it "better" checkout pickup upgrades or a John East Pre, or just look at your amp and cab. Upgrading those, and not the bass, might be the boost your sound needs.

You can name most successful bands and recording artists out there. There are no great bands or singers that don't have outstanding rhythm sections behind them. At all levels, we are the rocket fuel that propels every front man, superstar and ego maniac prancing around at the front of a stage.

If I was contemplating a life, sitting at home, without a band. . . . I'd keep the bass stuff going but I'd also add learning keyboards to the list of things that would occupy my time.

People come and go and it's sad when they die young like Hendrix, Duane Allman and Otis. I'll be upset when the Stones are finally in the ground. I know it's a phrase associated with Buddy Holly, but IMO the music really will die when the Stones go.

The incredibly brilliant guitarist, the shining light in our sometime Allman Brothers band, just died. He was only 40! I'm still shocked!

Do you have an amp? You could use that and buy a good 110.

Excellent choice. There is a reason why these basses have been the backbone of rock n Roll for almost 70 years. Now you need the tort scratch plate.

People see a particular make for sale and they think, "I've got one Id like to sell" so one sale thread can generate more. I saw that with Sadowsky basses a year or so ago.

Good luthiers make them and players buy them and like them so, in answer to the OP, yes they do work. The usual rules apply. If the bass is designed and constructed well enough, a short scale 5er will sound good. Make good choices.

My Mike Lull PJ5 is the best "Fender" I've ever played. Proof that the quality of the construction, components and wood actually can make a difference when it's done well enough. Even so I'll usually only use the P pickup for 90% of the time. The P bridge pickup is good but if I want any more punch or dynamics I'll use my Jazz.

So you're looking at a pre amp and a door stop. Even if it is working it wouldn't be half as good as your current amp. If the weight of your gear is getting to you then sensible decisions have to be made. IMO this is not one of them!!

I've been doing this for a few years and I always bank on a 2 hour wind-down from when I get home after a gig. That doesn't start after the gig but when I shut the front door.

My solution to weight problems was to get a trolley. Get the bigger wheels and you'll be able to push it across gravel car parks with ease. You can't do that with castors. But the real solution if weight is as much of a problem is you say, is to get a lighter cab. At the same time, you really can do better than this cab.

That's up to you but it's an irrational overreaction to this situation. Someone was killed in a car crash yesterday. Does that stop you driving or travelling in a car?

Unless they are total howlers, you might know the notes are not the ones you intended to play, but no one else will. Why are they going to pick you to pieces just for a bum note or two? You can get it wrong and screw up the song, or you can be playing the wrong line every time, I'm sure they'll notice that and will probably mention it. If your mistake was one riff or only for a bar or 2, why bother to bring that up? They'll know it will be right next time and if you're getting the feel of the song right, what's a couple of bum notes between friends. You might describe a few dodgy notes as poor choices but if they are in the same scale they're not technically wrong.

As far as I can see there is a pin that performs the same function as a guitar bridge on pianos and harps. The 36 and 22 string Harps with levers that I'm looking at have a bridge pin per string and those strings are at an angle going around those pins. The video of a Steinway has a similar arrangement.

I can't think of any other stringed instrument where the strings are kept straight at the bridge. Even the top classical stringed instruments have an angle at the bridge. If keeping the strings straight at that point provided any benefit to the sound it would have been adopted centuries ago by those builders.

My neck dive tip. . . . sell any basses that have neck dive and buy ones that don't.

I've had 2 and this one for about 5 years. I've never had a problem.

I would have put my money on David Hood with the Swampers at Muscle Shoals Studio, but Discogs says it was recorded in Nashville at the RCA Victor Studios, so that could be any one of dozens of studio bass players.

Zigaboo Modeliste and George Porter Jr with the Meters Willie Green and Tony Hall with the Neville Brothers

No, but what problem are you trying to fix? You have a bass that you like, a lot, and now you want to change it to something that you don't know how it sounds. Why? I added a J pickup to my P bass. I was happy to embrace the "more is more, and more is always better", philosophy and found it was largely a waste of my cash. The benefits didn't match my outlay. The routing was expensive and the great sound of the J pickup never materialised. OK it was slightly better but not the night and day improvement I was expecting. What are you hearing that would be improved by the addition of a J pickup? I'd suggest a better first step would be to upgrade the P pickup and move from a good P bass sound to a great one, before you consider anything else.

Don't forget to record your performance. I wish I had my first gig on tape. Note to self: find a band and get full gig number 1 in the diary asap.