chris_b

ACS for me. I used ER15's for 10 years and have now switched to the PRO17's. Of course ear plugs change the sound, but not as much as the issues you get with hearing loss and IME the differences caused by ear plugs are easy to deal with. What's the alternative? Massive tinnitus, giving up gigging, hearing aids and partial (if you're lucky) deafness. Great choices!! All of these problems are preventable. If you're in a gigging musician then hearing protection isn't a choice it's a necessity.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1506612335' post='3379952'] Incidentally, I had 3 of them (not all at once)! [/quote] I only had 1. That was enough! My 412 and amp just fitted neatly in the back but the thing was a veritable rust bucket. An unfortunate trait in the British car industry at the time! Bass gear and cars from the 60's and 70's. . . . IMO neither can match up to what we can buy these days.

I thought I sounded pretty good in the 60's and 70's with my 100 watt Marshall amp and 412 cab. Though on reflection I probably sounded much like every one else. I then played through a 100 watt Simms Watts and 412 and then a 100 watt Hiwatt and 2 412 cabs. I even toured with an SVT and fridge. But the reality is I have had a better tone and volume in the last 10 years with Bergantino, Aguilar, Thunderfunk and Barefaced than I ever got back in the day.

Ahh. Sorry, speed reading fail again!

It's not the bass you thought it was or wanted. Don't throw any more cash at it. Sell it on and get something you like and want to play.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1506526926' post='3379366'] My 'phone..? I hardly know where it is, most weeks. [/quote] +1 Most people I know call the house phone. At least that'll get picked up by someone!

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1506519328' post='3379303'] In my main band, a 4-piece, the chat group is the Black Horse in Greenford after rehearsal on a Tuesday. [/quote] +1 If you can't talk on a gig or at a rehearsal, what about the phone or email?

Why do so many people think factories in Asia can't build anything properly? The QC decisions of the commissioning company will be responsible for good or bad products coming out of Asian factories, not the nationality of the workers.

[quote name='Wiggybass' timestamp='1506458816' post='3378955'] Which one? You know of another in the UK? [/quote] It's on their web site!!! [list] [*][b]United Kingdom[/b] Contact Bergantino Audio for direct sales 00 1 512 873 8043 eMail: [email="[email protected]"]Bergantino Audio Direct Sales[/email] [/list]

[quote name='Barking Spiders' timestamp='1506435534' post='3378706'] Not sure how you can learn from better band members unless they play the same instrument as you. [/quote] There's a lot more to being a good musician and band member than playing your instrument better than the next guy.

I would imagine you certainly do have support in the UK. Either an ongoing support from BD, if you bought your cabs there or from Bergantino themselves. Call the Berg dealership directly and find out the answers to your questions.

[quote name='benroch' timestamp='1505753949' post='3374047'] Any suggestions for good 5 string basses to play Rock and Jazz mainly? Been looking at fender style basses and at modern styles probably looking second hand rather than new! [/quote] There are plenty of top bassists out there playing 5 string Fenders. They are not my favourite bass in a 5 string format but these guys (most of them better bass players than me) make them work so they can't be bad, just not my preference. People will give you their preferences like they're fact. They are not, so don't get hung up on negative comments. You have some time before you are up to budget so listen to all opinions and experiences, play some basses and make up your own mind.

Glad your first gig went well. Playing in front of an audience is where you're tested, where it all comes together and the adrenalin start flowing. There's nothing else like it.

Never stop networking. Good luck.

I have no idea what basses you guys have been playing but better ones are out there. My 34" basses were Wal and Sadowsky. My 35" basses were Lull and Lakland. All 5 string and all excellent B strings. As a starter 5 string a Lakland Skyline 55-01 at £400 from the classifieds is a great 5 string bass for the money.

Would BEAD work in the meantime?

[quote name='Hey_Pauly' timestamp='1506288574' post='3377704'] Any rule of thumb for what the low, mid and high should be set to? [/quote] My rule of thumb is to buy an amp that sounds "right" when all the controls are at 12 o'clock. As long as slight adjustments, 1 click to the left or right, covers it then the amp is right for me. Any extreme EQing means I bought the wrong amp. So my answer to the OP is 12 o'clock.

Looks very much like my first bass, a Framus Star Bass, only done properly! I'd be interested if it was half the price and a 5 string version.

I liked his music. This is sad news.

Thanks to Colin, Nik and Chris for organising the Bash, it was another excellent days worth of bassyness.

[quote name='giamma' timestamp='1503563629' post='3359116'] Seems that the most of you agreed with the fact that the sound isn't full range. I've been playing with GK mbx since now and the portability is really unbeatable..I was looking for something of the same size/weight but with a more complex tone..seems I'm looking for something that simply doesn't exist [/quote] Reading this thread again. . . . Is the MBX a full range cab? It's a good cab but it's a 112 shoe horned into a box that's really only big enough for a much smaller speaker and way too small to let a 12 breath and develop a full sound. I used an MBX but only with an MB150S and playing with an acoustic guitarist. I'd put my One10 and TH500 up against that rig any day. It seems there are DB players that love the One10 and those that love the slightly larger SM. As Alex says, the bigger cab will usually sound better but I would expect either of those cabs to be better than a lone MBX on a gig.

I usually gig with 2 Super Compacts and use a One10 to practice at home. IMO it sounds better at home than one of the SC's. I haven't played a gig in the last 5 years where a One10 would have been enough on its own. Maybe I could make 2 One10's work and definitely 3 One10's could fit in with some bands I play with. Still thinking the 310 idea through but it'll probably never fly because the 2 SC's sound so good.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1506160743' post='3376771'] There are an awful lot of deluded instrument owners out there. [/quote] +1 Definitely steer clear of these guys.

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1506036032' post='3376104'] Are you really saying that 300W through a 4ohm BF cab will sound no louder than 150W through an equivalent 8ohm BF cab? [/quote] But you're not putting 300 watts through the cab, because you're not running the amp flat out. You also have to get your head around, 300 watts is [i]not[/i] twice as loud as 150 watts. Also 4 ohms is not twice as loud as 8 ohms. If you are running the amp on 50% then that's 150 watts vs 75 watts and with a good cab that will not be a huge difference. A bigger difference will be if you compared a 112 against a 212. More speaker area means you will move more air and the louder and better you will sound, and a cab with more sensitivity will be louder for the same watts by design.

One of the Macari's had a shop in Wembley when I was at school. Used to save up the bus fare and go and ogle the basses hanging on the wall.