chris_b

The HPF is a very handy option. I don't know why it isn't installed on more amps.

I always gig new gear at the earliest opportunity.

IMO the 3 best sounding amps I've owned. . . Thunderfunk TF750A, Dynacord BS412 and Aguilar AG700. (The next 3 are tied for fourth. . . Aguilar TH500, TH700 and Subway D800)

18's can be woolly and indistinct. I'd test the 118 on it's own and see if it sounds good or not. You may have been given a large door stop. I would stick with the 2 x 112's.

Alex recommends not running the SC and BB2 cabs together. I forget why. Maybe you could email him and find out? I use an Aguilar TH500 and SC for small gigs, for most bands an Aguilar AG700 or TH700 and SC/SM and for the very loud rocky stuff I'll swap the SC for a BB2. For playing at home I have 2 One10's. I'm not keen on the sound of the SM on it's own. I need more low end. I think the SM pairs well with the other cabs, adds mids and higher end. I rarely use 1 cab. IMO 2 always sound better, even at low volume. IMO the difference in size and weight between the 112 cabs is minimal. For me that difference wouldn't make me use one cab over another. I choose my cabs for tone and volume.

You, your bass and your amp should be creating your sound. The cab should be distributing that sound to your audience not changing it.

You're depping with a band. . . . and you're saying you won't play certain songs? IMO the job we take on when we agree to dep in a band, is to play their set to a level that they don't notice their regular bassist is missing. . . . period. That includes all the songs on the list. Whether we like the numbers or not is irrelevant.

No gods here. . . . but the guys that shaped my playing from day one were Bill Wyman, Duck Dunn and John McVie. Everything I do stems from those guys.

I've got 2 you could buy. . . . I'm trying to help.

Last year I called Newtone and asked about flats. I was very surprised to hear they don't do them!

Is that fuzz Gibson sound supposed to make anyone want to buy these amps? I've heard more musical dentist's drills.

In the last 50+ years I owned 1 bass for 26 years and 2 bases for the next 25 years. For the last year I've owned 5 basses and I can't shake the feeling that that is way too many. Many years ago I decided that I'd rather own 2 £2000 basses than 8 £500 basses. I'd sell the bass and guitar you play the least. Keep doing this until you get to a sensible total. . . . . or. . . . sod it, just buy another 3 basses.

A few years ago we were looking for a singer for our blues/R&B/Soul band and a singer turned up from a Rolling Stones tribute band. He looked like Jagger, sounded like Jagger and moved like Jagger. He wanted a change but couldn't not be Mick Jagger. We said no. He was a good singer but he would have turned us into the Rolling Stones!!

Most guys I see in pubs and clubs doing this are a "tribute to xxxx" rather than being a "Tribute" band. If you just want to focus playing the songs of one band, then most punters will be happy if you just look like you. I know guys who copy the same gear, clothes, wigs and accents. If you want to break into theatres then levels of authenticity and "the show" have no limits. I've played in Free, Led Zep, Fleetwood Mac/Peter Green and Allman Brothers "tribute" bands but we just played their songs, so not really "tributes" at all.

I feel exactly the same, and D class amps and Neo cabs are sounding so good these days. IMO we're in a golden age of bass gear.

I wish they'd come up with an L series for bass (I know there is an L series for guitars) L series - lightweight; ie anything under 8lbs/3.6kg. They'd be tapping into a whole new, and very lucrative, marketplace.

...

I don't care about the words, I always play happy bass lines.

Greg's just Greg. Guy King is always on the money. I like that bass players left hand technique, effective and economical. All the right notes in all the the right places and not an ounce of energy wasted.

I loved my 2 Lakland's but the weight finally got too much. I believe Mike Lull worked with Seymour Duncan to make a P pickup that sounded exactly like Mike's 62 Precision. I thought my bass sounded good from the start, but when I did a comparison with Happy Jack, I discovered his Lull sounded better than mine!! I finally tracked down the difference. . . . flatwound strings! I put flats on and my sound hit the jackpot.

I play a Mike Lull PJ5. It's a boutique bass in every sense. If I could find a P bass at half the price that played and sounded as good as my Lull I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Until then the Lull will have to do.

DR make strings specifically for down tuning. . . . https://www.drstrings.com/ddt-bass

Many years ago we did a gig for a corporate lawyer, his mansion in Stokenchurch actually had a ballroom! He showed us his collection, in the old stable block. It had been converted into a studio by a previous owner, Ian Anderson. He had about 50 guitars out on stands and twice that number in cases. He had several 1957 Strats and many other "collectable" guitars. How the other half lives!

I saw Knower at the Jazz cafe. Great gig and Sam Wilkes was amazing.