chris_b

I am house bassist for a well attended Jam night, now in 24th year. And many nights I never get back on stage after my opening slot is done. Anyone who tuns up can play. . . . even the people who don't know one end of their instrument from the other. We've had a 10 man drum troupe, Didgeridoo, unaccompanied violin, banjo player and one guy who sang sea shanties and recited poetry. Another regular is a 70+ year old who shouts (like a punk Rex Harrison) his way through 60's pop songs. They all get their slot and if they come back, they can do it all again. If you put restrictions on who can play it's not a jam night.

The best strings for a bass depends on the bass and the sound you are after. I've got flats on a PJ5 and the tone is always on the money. I also have flats on a "reasonably priced" Jazz bass but that's only because the rounds sounded a bit thin. Flats can beef up any bass. I also have a Jazz bass with the twangiest rounds I could find. They all sound great.

I have back issues and I'm checking out 6 and 7lb basses. I wouldn't be tempted to buy a bass that was heavy enough to cause any more damage.

Buy the best gear you can find. The stuff that just fits, feels right, looks good and sounds like a million dollars. If it's expensive or cheap, just buy it. . . . be happy, and know you're sounding good.

What kind of gigs do you play? If you're playing at places where you are fearing for your and your basses safety, I would recommend not doing those gigs in the first place. The cost of replacing my Mike Lull is about £4000. It has been one of my main gigging basses for 12 years. IMO there is no point in owning instruments if you're not going to gig them.

I also ran into that brick wall!!

Everyone makes mistakes. I was at a Victor Wooten bass clinic and he said that on gigs he made mistakes all the time. He even made a few on that night! I could get £250 from Harry Hill for some of mine, but it's how you get out of them that counts.

On some of my gigs it should have been the Laurel and Hardy theme tune.

I've got a Bass Centre price list and a Warwick Thumb was over £1000 in 1989.

My first Wal, a 5 string mk2, cost £750. That was in 2002 and I had watched the price drop week on week until I couldn't resist any longer. A few months later I bought a mk 3 Wal for £1100. Crazy prices.

There always was a lot of "joining the club". SVT/810's was/is a club, as is any Ampeg, many of the guys using Fodera basses are running Aguilar rigs. Back in the day owning a Fender Precision was a sign that you'd made it. Owning the more expensive Jazz meant you had a "deal"!! You'd see the bands on Ready Steady Go for the first time, with their Hofners and Watkins, and by the second appearance they were playing Fenders, Ricks and Epiphones. When you got a "deal" the first thing you did was, head to the music shop and buy new gear, because you'd made it.

Good basses were never cheap. I bought my Fender Precision in 1969 on a deal for £95, but the retail price in the UK was £120. That's about £2400 at today's value. In 1969 a cheap bass was generally unplayable crap. Since the advent of CNC machines, and Asian labour, good basses can be had for a few hundred pounds.

I know a drummer with one of these. He makes 1 trip from the car. Great piece of kit.

Have you discounted the truss rod?

You got me in one. I'm not bad a grammar, but can still make silly mistakes, punctuation is a nightmare, where do apostrophes and commas really go, and I can't spell for toffee. Everything I type goes through spellcheck, and even a search engine when spellcheck doesn't look right, which sometimes it isn't. Getting back to heavy basses, I played my nearly 9 3/4lb bass yesterday. Only 4 songs but that was more than enough for my back. My 6 3/4lb bass is definitely going to get more playing time.

No. 2 basses.

I bought the same one, the Wolfcraft 5500, at about the same time. I like the axel between the wheels. Keeps them facing in the same direction no matter what you are carrying and over any surface. It's expensive but is still in perfect condition. It'll see me out.

6kg would be the combined total of 2 basses, before I'd be happy.

Buy cheap, buy twice!! I'd aim for a good heavy duty trolley at the best price I could find.

Fantastic.

My Sadowsky Metro RV5 is the best sounding bass I've owned so far. I've compared it to chambered NYC models and it sounded better. My US Lakland 55-94 was the second best sounding bass, and my Skyline 55-02 was very close to the US version. I have a Sandberg TT5 SL which is in the same sonic ball park. These basses are a "cut above" the other basses I've owned and played. The Metroexpress is seriously cheaper but has Chinese made electronics, pickups or hardware. IMO these basses don't come close to the German (or Japanese) Sadowsky's, so I'd give that one a miss. If you are aiming to buy a great bass, get a "Premiership" bass, not a "Ryman's League" copy. I find the VTC the least useful control on my Metro. The bass and treble controls are so powerful they take over. IMO there are also great deals to be had for the basses on your list in the classifieds. Also consider Roscoe, ACG, Shuker, Sei and Elrick.

I keep my current ACS plugs, and the previous pair, in my gig bag. Also several sets of foam plugs in the accessories case.

I'd be standing on one leg to be comfortable on some of these stages.

My next door neighbour plays DB through a Markbass 112 combo. She sounds very good.

IMO adding a non-Sadowsky pickup might work against the existing pickups and you'll end up with less rather than more.