chris_b

My passive Mike Lull PJ5 is under 9 lbs, well balanced, has an effortless neck with great sounding custom SD pickups. This is one of the best basses I've played. With my new TI flats it's getting good comments from bands and audiences.

I played the Sundowner in Edmonton in the early 70's but missed out on the Rainbow.

[quote]. . . . Ever played a bass that made you think you played better?. . . . [/quote] All the time. IMO sounding and playing better is the only reason for buying the next one. Is it a psychological thing? Not if you do it properly and assess the new gear with your head and not your heart. If you do it like that then you probably are playing better.

I saw the Beatles there in the 60's. Saw. . . didn't hear a note due to the screaming!!

Just learn it.

Is this an "anyone can walk in off the street" open night or are particular people expected to turn up? Don't worry about your strings, if you can, find out who you'll be backing and get a set list off them so you can get a heads up on the numbers you'll be expected to play. If anyone can just turn up and play. . . well, good luck. I've seen these nights and you can get a lot of acoustic bedroom players turn up with their "original" songs. It's usually best to let them play unaccompanied.

I get it! I also understand why others don't. ES writes great songs and his records have very high production values. Our cover band plays one of his songs and it is nicely constructed, good to play from a bass stand point and are very popular with audiences.

Small, light, loud but still sounds good at low volumes and capable of being gigged on its own. . . Super Compact or Super Midget. There's also a Bergantino AE210 in the classifieds. Not so light but cheaper and still one of the best 210 cabs out there.

I know this is a forum about bass, but. . . . there's so much agonizing, nit-picking and over thinking about the tiniest detail of bass that the biggest "issue" is nearly always overlooked. No one else cares about our wonderful bass gear and sound, but add some vocals and we're going to be more use to a band than any non-singing bass prodigy. I sang in the band at school, but I went on to play with some good players that put my "croaking" into perspective. I stopped singing. I should have worked at it but I haven't sung since and it restricts my bass playing options every day. I know I could have joined a couple of good bands if I'd been able to do even passable BV's. I lost out on 4 gigs at New Years and found out on Monday that a gig I was lines up for is now going to use a singing bass player! Everything else is faff. . . . play bass AND sing. You'll be working when me and players like me are left sitting at home.

The big selling point for TC was their "We can drive 3 cabs" line, so with their amps at the time running down to 2.67 ohms the cabs had to be 8 ohm. IMO for smaller cabs there is no point in 4 ohm versions (unless the amp runs down to 2 ohms) because you always get more volume and better tone from more speakers.

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1488836843' post='3252314'] How hard is it for you to sell a bass you like the tone of, playability etc. but use the least. [/quote] Not hard at all. If it's used the least that must mean you've got a bass(es) that sound and play better and you use the most. I sold my Wal mk3 Custom 5 string bass. Wonderful as it was I'd only gigged it twice in 3 years and I hadn't taken it of its case in a year. So when I got an offer I took it. It was the best sounding bass for the originals bands and studio work but when that dried up other basses became more appropriate. My Lull P and Lull J are fighting each other to be played. I don't have a [i]one-in-one-out[/i] policy, but I do have an [i]it's-got-to-be-gigged-to-be-kept[/i] policy. I have no problem selling stuff that won't be used.

I'd vote for Sadowsky. If you want to dip a toe in the water their Metro's are a good place to start. Not cheap, but you could still call them "entry level".

Upgrade the P pickup. Then you won't need to add the J.

A few years ago, after having a fret stone and ultra low set up at the Gallery, my Lakland played like a million dollars. I play quite lightly anyway but I still had this feeling of constantly having to hold back so, after a few months, I decided the action was too low. I took it up a little and am now much happier. I find I'm now able to bring better dynamics to my playing. 3 of my 4 basses were Pleked when they were made so I have a good starting point. I don't measure my strings when I'm altering the action on my basses. I take the strings down till they buzz then bring them up until they don't. Obviously, with a lighter touch they won't have to come up as far as some but that little bit of extra height is enough for me. Everyone is different. I saw Nathan East, one of my favourite bassists, at GAK and he had a very even and light playing style. Every note was perfect even when he was messing about. When I saw Victor Wooten at DV247 his playing style was very "agricultural". It was a surprise to me how rough he was when playing. Almost attacking the bass.

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1488642073' post='3250717'] I do get a feeling I'm being taken for a ride here..... [/quote] No one's being ripped off. For whatever reason, if you don't shop around then the price you pay is what you've decided to pay. Your decision. You can't blame the shop if you discover the same thing cheaper. Do more homework or don't buy in a rush.

SD are great pickups. I have Mike Lull's custom versions on my Lull basses. Lindy Fralin pickups were designed to sound like vintage Fender pickups. I love the fat sound of the Bartolini pickups I have on my Lakland and on my Fender P bass.

I don't know what kind of music you play but here's a big +1 for ditching the rhythm guitarist idea. Is the other guitarist good enough to take on the sole guitar role? You'll have to play differently but you shouldn't see it as trying to fill a hole in the sound. The dynamics and overall band sound usually improve when you only have 1 guitar. The last time I played with 2 guitarists the second guy doubled on keys. That made it just about bearable.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1488669037' post='3250989'] . . . . . however the DEP has more work to do than the other regular members. . . [/quote] That's not actually true. The difference is the dep has to do the same thing in a lot less time. With most of the deps I do I'm familiar with many of the numbers and getting my head around new numbers, new arrangements and old numbers in different keys is a great musical education. Also playing with a new drummer is always a great experience.

Both cabs and amp look great to me.

Email Alex and ask.

Deps can dep out a dep. I managed to pick up a couple of great gigs in 2 bands last year because the dep had to cancel.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1488537386' post='3249732']the dep doesn't have to put up with all the band drama crap [/quote] I depped for a fantastic blues/rock band many years ago now. The argument started as we were packing up and the band had all but broken up by the time my gear was in the car!!

All you guys who refuse to be "told" anything must be the band members from hell for the other guys in the band.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1488488219' post='3249475'] If I DEP a bar gig, my fee is $175.00. I'm not concerned with what the others are getting. [/quote] Do you get many offers?

Same. I know that most of the bands I played in divided up the money equally, but some didn't. As long as you get what you think the gig is worth to you then there's no problem. I know a function band that pay very well for a dep but it's less than the usual guy gets. I've also done deps where the band has asked my what my rate was! That stumped me the first time. What a dilemma! If you go greedy you've possibly killed a good gig and no one wants to go stupid low!