chris_b

IMO black and tort is a good move. Sadowsky basses are another level altogether! Playing my Metro RV5 for about a year made me realise that I was the junior partner in this relationship and I had to raise my game to match the bass. Hence the lessons. Mine is a little on the heavy side and was causing some discomfort to my shoulder. I have started a workout to generally increase my strength and now this bass seems to be getting lighter. I can guarantee, I wouldn't be putting myself through all this for any other bass.

I'd also be interested to hear a review. I have 2 One10's and I slightly prefer their sound to my Two10 on it's own. I put that down to the filtering used on the Two10. So, because of that, I'd always imagined 3 One10's would sound even better than my great sounding Two10 + One10 rig. I'd like to find out if that assumption is true.

That's good. Somebody thinks you're worth investing in. Congrats.

Klaus is a cool guy. He has a great take on bass playing, minimalism and great tone. His simple style was an influence in the early 70's.

IMO Mike Arnopol cabs look pig ugly but get excellent reviews from users on Talkbass. I play 5 string basses so I would feel nervous using a single One10 on a band gig. On occasion I gig with 2 One10's and they definitely go loud enough and sound very good together. As well as the Crazy 8, there's also a Crazy 88. I believe Happy Jack has used both so the OP might want to message him.

IMO if you're reducing your basses to the minimum 5's are the most flexible instrument to own. In the thousands of gigs I've played, I have never been asked to bring a fretless and when I turned up with one on 2 separate occasions, I met with total indifference! I'm a fretless free zone from now on. My take on 2 basses that give the widest usable range is a passive PJ5 with flats (currently with foam) and an active 5 string Jazz with rounds.

They won't, but that's why you make sure you play and present yourselves better than "just another band". Then they will come to see you.

I've played Sex On Fire hundreds of times. I still can't get the intro right. The drummer has to count me in! The thing I like about being a bass player, is playing bass. The craft of making a song come alive, via the bass line, for the audience. Playing songs I like is a bonus, but playing bass with other musicians is the best bit.

Land Of A Thousand Dances, Higher and Higher, I Wanna Take You Higher. All fantastic minimal bass parts, that just cook!

Braver than me. What if they took you up on your offer. Permanently! A player took over from me in a band and the guys were tearing their hair out because he couldn't play a shuffle on root notes only. He was a good player but had to play a bass line up and down the frets. He said he felt "ill" just playing 1 note. They decided to bin all the shuffles, which was a big deal for a blues band! I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing, but I figure it's only 4 minutes. . . . I haven't come across a number I can't deal with.

I still bought all the Beatles albums. IMO they were required listening, but I had been going to John Mayall gigs for since the end of 1965 and I had very little interest in anything else after the Beano album came out.

Why are you expecting an amp and cab or combo not to sound as good as your Line 6? If you choose well they could actually sound better. Adding anything into your signal chain has the potential to sound better or worse. Most of us don't use Line 6 and can sound pretty good. IMO better is always better. If your gear is making a good sound then adding speakers will always make it sound better. If you buy something that doesn't sound how you want then more of it is probably going to sound worse.

Anyone who walks into a gig can tell the bass player is using Markbass from the back of the room. That's good marketing. As good as the colour of Orange amps, the blue bits on Acoustic cabs, the stripes of Peavey and Trace Elliot's UV light. Every mark bass rig I've heard, mostly combo's, but some stacks, has sounded good. My LM2 was a great sounding amp. I'm surprised they are going into the instrument market, but Peavey made it work, so I guess, if they have done their homework, they could be a success. They're probably not at the boutique end of the scale, but if they are challenging at the SIre end they might carve out a chunk of the market. If MB came out with a range of "Fender" basses they'd be slagged off. They didn't and they get slagged off anyway! I'll wait to comment until I see real reviews of what they sound and play like.

Unfortunately the possibility to beat my "biggest gig to date" has long gone. I'm only at the Red Lion in Isleworth.

Some uniquely good Shufflling from Tower Of Power. . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAVC0CUP5TQ

I bought a Super Midget from andyneeds (great guy). I'm using it with one of my SC's. I've already got the thumbs up from last week-end's gig. My Two10' cabs might be at risk!!

OK, that was you was it. Sorry I didn't clock the name. There are guys throwing out songs they don't like. Not liking them is fine but, my point is, that doesn't make it a bad song or bad bass line. I don't particularity like Classical music, so does that make any of it bad? There are a lot of songs out there that I don't like much, but I'd never think that made them bad songs. I'm not a fan of a lot of songs I've played in cover bands, but when the bass and drummer get it right they are very effective lines for those songs. As I said, that's my definition of a good bass line.

I was actually addressing every one with an "If the cap fits. . . " approach.

Why are you assuming I was talking to you?

Are you guys actually bass players? Call Me The Breeze and every thing else by JJ Cale, has great, simple and effective bass lines that push the song along perfectly. Never Met A Girl Like You, anything by U2, Status Quo or ZZ Top and many others. . . all simple bass lines that are nothing by themselves but are exactly right in their place. If the bass line is good for the song then it's a good bass line.

If you already have moulded earplugs, in-ears, are playing at lower volumes and are still having problems, I'd ask what kind of volume you are playing at now? If you really do have Menieres then it might be game up. Don't you have to surrender your driving licence? If not, I'd find the best headphones out there (make sure they work for you) and start using them. The drummer with the Jon Cleary band, used to sport big headphones. It's never uncool to protect your hearing.

I was going to quietly abstain this year. . . . and then 2 weeks in a cab that I've been waiting for for over a year came up! That is me done now for probably the next 3 or 4 years, but I've blown it for 2019.

I haven't played a Metro Express (yet), but if you are in the market for a new Jazz bass then they are now a direct competitor to Fender and many others at that price point. Other "boutique" manufacturers are making the same move. Fodera and Ken Smith tried it and didn't like the result, Lakland and MTD tried and made a success of it. Now I see Xotic are making that move. If these guys can maintain their quality at a lower price point then people will buy their basses who would never have considered or been able to afford them. Anything that keeps these great bass businesses healthy is a good move in my book. My experience is that my Metro has caused me to sell all my other Jazz style basses. I have tried out about half a dozen Metro's of all types, Modern, Vintage, Will Lee and a chambered NYC. My Metro RV5 still sounds better to me. When a Metro Express comes around I will be first in the queue to try it out.

I've been using D'Addario NYXL's on my Jazz. They have been on for about 9 months and they still sound full and lively.