chris_b

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.

Any bass with the Sadowsky name on it will be the best bass you can find at that price point, and now there are 4 price points rather than 2. A lot of manufacturers should be very worried.

It was a long time ago, but I've been in bands whose names were so awful that I denied I was in them. I spent 10 years in a cover band with a name so appallingly cheesy that I (and the rest of the guys, who hated it as well) just referred to it as "Steve's band", the name of the band leader. It was a busy band but that name!! A good names encapsulate so much, they just work on all levels. Musicians will hate bad names but they usually don't matter to the public.

This irrational dislike of Markbass based on the look is not shared by most bass players, 99% of bands and 100% of audiences.

Why note for note? SRV played most of the covers he did in his own way. That's the way you do it.

There's got to be over 1000 12 bars out there. I can play them all.

Send Sadowsky an email. They know.

I use my regular amps (they turn down) and a Barefaced One10 cab. I gig with these and didn't want to spend any cash on specific gear to play at home. If you don't gig this might be more expensive but IMO it sounds better because practice amps never use premium components, have top quality EQ or have amps or cabs and drivers designed to good sonic principals. Even with tinnitus I'd still check out ear phones. IMO you can hear better at very low volume levels with ear phones.

I've played 2 of the songs listed and I'd happily play the 3rd if it went down well with the audience. Last Friday's gig was more to my taste but yesterday we played a lot of "old" stuff that went down a storm. Same band, two different gigs and two different sets. Two totally different and successful sides of the same coin.

+1 By definition a tribute band would usually stay true to the original but a cover band doesn't have to at all.

The only measure of success for me is how much is the band working and what kind of work is it doing. Whether it's an occasional gig down the Dog & Duck or an international stadium tour, a shaky video your girl friend shot on her iPhone or a million selling CD, your success or otherwise can be measured by these two things. As to who has heard of who. . . . ! If your favourite band has heard of The Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Who or any band of that ilk then you've been influenced by Willie Dixon (look him up). One of the most influential bass players ever.