chris_b

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1487933874' post='3244256'] Its Jazz, and as my tenor sax playing brother in law says..."Its Jazz, there is no such thing as a wrong note." [/quote] . . . . just poor choices! The last time I told this story Bilbo nearly threw his Zimmerframe across the room! I was asked to do some gigs with a Jazz piano trio. I said OK, knowing I didn't know any Jazz tunes. hey it was a paying gig. One piece of advice I was given a few years before worked a treat. [i]Never hit the same note twice in a row. If you do you've made a pattern and it can be right or more likley, wrong. Use different notes and you're either playing the right note, a harmony or a passing note[/i]. I guess this is ancient dance band philosophy and it's pretty close to Victor Wootens, [i]You're only a semi tone away from the right note[/i], but it worked for me. Turned the volume down, bass full up and set up on the other side of the drums and no one noticed. I did that gig for about 4 months.

Surely if you're noticing the height of the frets you're pressing too hard.

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487930802' post='3244196'] Anyway, after last night's vocal rehearsal and subsequent discussion, it is apparent that I can use whatever I like. [/quote] That's good. Having a chat is always better than confrontation. But, are you sure? Listening to your video I can hear some strong 5 string bass lines.

2 things. . . My Spanish guitar had an action so high I couldn't press down all the strings at once. So no chance of chords. A best friend who already had a Futurama 2 Deluxe and Watkins Dominator and played all the guitar parts. We needed bass lines so that's how it all started.

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1487799058' post='3243114'] I feel like a dinosaur and it's getting near extinction time. [/quote] I first felt that when Punk arrived!

A serious musician would understand the concept of different basses, sounds and even dress being appropriate or not in different playing circumstances. If you are in this situation you just have to decide how serious you are about your playing. All this "tell 'em to F Off" is no very grown up.

If it was causing a problem and I liked the band then I'd have no problem bringing another bass.

Longing for something is nothing like owning it. Once you make a special bass your go-to instrument your levels, expectations and interests readjust.

+1 for the Gallien Krueger MB500, while you're making your mind up. You don't give a budget, but the Mesa Boogie Subway D800 and Aguilar TH500 are great amps that would leave your band thinking "Wow" when they hear your new sound.

Together my Mike Lull P and J basses and US Lakland didn't cost as much as some of the sums being bandied about. If you're careful you don't have to spend a lot to get good basses.

Which sets are you comparing? There is always a difference between things. Often cheap means a lack of quality, so you have to develop your preferences. I would imagine that some cheap sets won't sound as good as some better sets and might not last as long, but as the others have said, the strings you prefer might have nothing to do with the price. I've had a set of GHS precision flats on my P bass for about 5 years. They always sounded good. I've just put on a set of TI's and I think after playing them in the house for a week I might prefer the cheaper GHS strings. The first gig is tonight and I'll make my mind up tomorrow.

While you're looking I'd check out Lakland and Mike Lull basses. Top quality instruments.

A TH500 is 350 watts into 8 ohms and you cannot damage an amp by running it into a cab with a higher watts rating. Cabs don't drain amps. Amps power cabs so IMO you would be fine with this gear as long as 350 watts is all you need. If you want more volume add another 8 ohm cab. I have no idea what this Ashdown cab sounds like but I've used a TH500 for the last 3 years through several Bergantino cabs and several Barefaced cabs. It has sounded perfect to my ears in every situation.

[quote name='lownote12' timestamp='1487661827' post='3241514'] Cheers Chris [/quote] The real answer is to take what you need and only you know what that is. I just take one of everything. An old story; I was told I make all my basses sound like me. I wasn't quite sure what to make of that, then I saw a video where I started on the Lakland and switched to my Lull P bass and the differences were. . . . at best, slight!! After that I travel light and don't bother which bass I take to the gig.

As Ambient says, depends how good you are and what you're playing. It's very easy to lock with a good drummer on the first gig. . . if you've both done your homework, can listen to each other and can play. If you can't do that then please don't assume that no one else can. The OP has to fit in to a working band. They don't have to fit to him, so the onus is on him to join in and get himself up to speed. These guys seem to be willing to hold the fort until he does this, but instead of doing that he's throwing in the towel, giving up! That's sad, because he's throwing away the best confidence building and learning situation he'll ever be in. Don't walk away, use the patience that these guys are obviously showing and get on this accelerated rock bass learning curve. Gigging with these guys is worth more than every rehearsal put end to end. As I said earlier, unless we haven't been told all the facts, he must be better than he thinks he is or they'd have fired him already.

My fantasy would be to swap with Duck Dunn in 1962. Then I'd be the one on all those Stax, Atlantic, Booker T and Blues Brothers records. . . . and all the rest.

If they haven't fired you then you must be doing a good job. Are you running through the songs at home? To walk away now doesn't seem like the right thing to do

You want to match the bass to the song and you don't want to look like a plonker? Hmmmm, how can I be diplomatic? You must realise that no one (not even another bassist) will care two hoots whether the sound of different basses will match different songs or not. The sound of your best bass will match every song you play, as long as you sound good, play well and don't hit too many bum notes.

If you're gigging what is the point of "rehearsing your arse off"? If you are well prepared and have done your homework you shouldn't need rehearsals at all.

The SVT 3 PRO is 450 watts at 4 ohm. . . . but if the AG500 gets your interest, wait another month or so and the AG700 will be available.

I think this is a good idea.

My rule of thumb is that if the volume controls are always over 12 o'clock then I need a more powerful amp. But you're already running an 800 watt amp. The "controls don't mean a thing" mantra might be relevant at the cheap end of the market or at some time in the past, but it doesn't apply these days at the "professional" end. I'd like someone who repeats this mantra to come up with some actual examples, names of amps that are at full volume at 12 o'clock. Anyway, the D800 is not one of those amps. You get what it says on the front panel. If you're running your amp too hard it will overheat and switch off. I wouldn't expect you could hurt a D800 in this way. Thermal protection would step in and prevent any damage. If it hasn't done that then you're OK. I'd suggest you need less volume from the amp and more from the speakers. The D800 is an accurate 800 watts which will run at 2 ohm, so I'd add another cab.

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1487575984' post='3240775'] The issue with these new Gibbos is that they look a bit generic; [/quote] I would imagine the first instruction to the designers was, "This can't look anything like a Fender". That's one hand tied behind their backs right there. The next was probably, "This can't look like anything we already designed". That's the other hand tied! The designers were probably pointed in the direction of "safe". This is a first step in a comeback for Gibson. The next bass will probably be a better one. I'm no Gibson fan and my instructions to the designers would have been, "Take the most popular bass we have ever made and come up with a great version 2". It's a first step, but this design makes me think that Gibson are competing with Asian made basses in the US. I would expect Americans to lap them up. That looks like a good starting point for Gibson, but what do I know. Both Fender and Gibson have been (and maybe still are) on the verge of bankruptcy so have to make big moves to stay in business. Neither seem to have been very bold or adventurous with their new models, but if these basses play well and sound good then people will accept the looks. GAK have them in stock for £844. That's not a bad price for a USA made instrument, and the deluxe version will probably make more people happy.

I don't know. Fender get slagged off for sticking with the same 4 designs and Gibson get slagged off for coming up with something different. If these basses sounded good enough I'd play one. Hanging around my neck they wouldn't look generic, boring, horrid, zzzzzzzzz or weird. I've got enough of that to spare whatever bass I'm playing.

[quote name='Defo' timestamp='1487502790' post='3240202'] What if we set the cost bar at £1200 (no secondhand) [/quote] If you say "no secondhand" you exclude many of the better basses that could fall within your budget.