chris_b

The Albany, Hob Goblin, Red Lion, Mulberry Tree, Barmy Arms, Turks Head, The Crown and at least 2 more whose names escape me, all gone as regular gigs. Are the George or Fox still putting on gigs? The Cabbage Patch is still active, any I've missed?

After the drummer nearly knocked my bass off the stand one night I now put it back in the gig bag between sets. No advice about DB's, sorry.

Not at all. Sounds like a very professional band to me.

Most of the big touring bands, including Bowie, The Stones, Dave Gilmour etc, use prompts in case the singer gets distracted or forgets the words or arrangements.

Just be grateful you've got such a good singer. The only deciding factor for me is do they sing well. I know guys using folders, ipads and memory. If they are good at their job then I'm happy for them to use whatever props they need.

I like fretless basses. I fell in love with the sound of a Rob Allen 4 string fretless bass. It just sounded better than anything I'd heard before. So I bought it and discovered 2 problems. It was fretless and had 4 strings. Although I'm very set in my 5 string ways I'm sure I could have coped with either "issue" on its own but together I just couldn't make it work for me. I used it in the 2 bands that I thought would appreciate the fretless sound. One band leader shrugged his shoulders and said it was OK and the other said he preferred the sound of my Precision! So I sold it. I think the answer for me is a 5 string fretted Rob Allen, but that's a different thread.

No such thing as mistakes. Just opportunities to play something new, different and interesting.

You've missed the point again.

And when you're done with bass playing you can sub-let to 26 Albanian plumbers.

I always get the feeling that you are reading the words but not getting the meaning. I was trying to illustrate the point: focus on playing well and sounding good and you will open more doors than by just playing expensive gear. I bought that Wal for £700 but the price is irrelevant. Expensive strings (or anything else) are certainly not a prerequisite to sounding good but there are points in the scale of prices where "sounding OK", becomes "sounding good", becomes "sounding better". We all decide where we are on that scale, but my point is to try a little further up the scale and see if that brings benefits. Don't be satisfied with "OK", try for "better". If you do or don't find improvements at least you tried and you might actually end up sounding better than you did.

Best rig for. . . . I use the same rig for everything. I'll add speaker cabs if I need to be louder than normal but 1 rig does it all for me. One thing springs to mind, looking at the list of gear you mention, I don't think you have a gear problem. So buying yet another rig isn't going to work. If everyone else bar you is in the FOH and monitors then their stage level won't be loud and yours will. If your rig has to carry the room then it will be louder than everyone else. Common bloody sense tells you that is what will happen. Rules of physics apply. You need a level playing field. You need to hear yourself, the bass has to be loud enough out in the audience and the band doesn't want to be swamped by bass on stage. . . . so put the bass through the FOH and fold back. QED!!!

A few years ago I did an outdoor gig at the Blues On The Bay Festival, Warrenpoint, NI. It was a bright but cloudy day, bitter wind and the only gig I've got sunburn and frost bite at the same time. 5 layers including a fleece and overcoat couldn't keep out the cold.

IMO we should all strive to sound the best we can. If someone doesn't care about how they sound then we are not on the same bass planet and none of my posts are for them. I used to play in a smoky dive off Regent Street. A horrible, smelly, bad sounding dump of a place. I insisted on bringing my Wal, and Ampeg gear rather than using their awful no-name combo. One night I was offered a gig in a pro band by the band leader, who had dropped in for a beer. That lead to touring the UK with good musicians and paid a lot of the bills. OK so you might not want to go pro but its a nice feeling and an affirmation of your bass playing if someone asks. I don't care where or what you are playing, you shoot yourself in the foot on every gig that you don't try to sound your best and play your best. And I had a set of DR's on my bass that night.

Excellent. Now to start looking for gig number 2.

Exactly. This is my point. If you think these are the best. . . . buy them. Don't buy something else because they are cheaper.

Many do and can. As I just said, it's all about preference and choice.

Some people are not going to like some stuff. Maybe it doesn't fit with their aims and preferences. At the end of the day, they just prefer other stuff. That doesn't mean that the stuff they like is "better" or the stuff they don't like is "worse". It just means they are the same as everyone else and have a preference.

Buy a set of good flats and it could be a once in a decade event. That makes even an expensive set of flats a good investment. I use DR rounds and I try to keep them on for as long as I can. They are expensive and I don't have the longest pockets but, again, as an investment in making me sound as good as I can sound, I think they are worth it. IME there is only one rule for bass strings: Always buy the best. They will make you sound better.

+1 Your preferences and prejudices may want to lead you into other areas but, IME armed with enough time, an open mind, a good pair of ears and the manual, most bass players can get a good bass sound out of most gear.

I have 34" and 35" basses. While I can see some might feel more comfortable on a different sized bass, I find there is no practical difference when playing either of these scales. I bought my basses for various reasons, mainly the tone, so scale length didn't enter into it. If I want to bring the nut closer I just alter the angle I'm holding the bass. Don't be put off when looking for a new bass, just play an instrument and see what you think of it. Then find out what the scale length is. If you need or prefer a 30" bass then ignore this post, we inhabit different bass worlds.

Then my "classic internet comeback" is that addition to the debate you were looking for.

That's not a downside. It's a consideration and a factor you take into account. This is the running costs that you accept before buying any bass. You don't buy a Range Rover and then complain the mpg isn't as good as your Skoda!

I reckon you're set with that amp. The DB751 would be hard to beat through Barefaced 10's. Was 4 410's a typo? I'm not sure what gigs anyone can be doing that would need more than 2 Four10's. Anything bigger than that and the FOH should take over. 4 would look impressive but you couldn't plug them all in or you'd start doing structural damage. I'm currently using 2 Two10s and I can get louder than a stupidly loud thing. Certainly sounds nice, fat and punchy on every gig so far.