chris_b

GHS flats would be very good strings to put on any bass, but before you question any part of your sound or upgrade or replace anything you need to get a much better amp. You can't accurately judge anything through an amp like that.

Over the years, the playing, arrangement and production values on most "throw-away" pop songs has been pretty excellent.

My Mk2 and Mk3 5 string Wals had beautiful necks. Slim, fast and perfect. The weight of the Mk2 was the only downside. The Mk3 had no downsides at all, but anyone willing to spend upwards of £4500 on a bass had better have played a lot of them and decided that nothing else will do. You do not want to find, when you've spent that kind of money and waited 3 years, that you don't like the neck profile. Or anything else about it!! My Mk2 was replaced by the Mk3 and that was replaced by my US Lakland. I have no regrets about any of those upgrades.

All my big amps have been kept in an SKB 4U case. Ultimate protection and plenty of room for ventilation. I usually put them in the middle 2 slots. There was on in the classifieds a week ago.

+1 Lozz It's not your status that matters it's your attitude.

Given up on the B string. . . . . It seems to that there are a lot of players who like what they know and don't like having to think too hard about what they are doing. They've done the "heavy lifting", can play pretty well and feel comfortable in themselves. Some of these players will look around, see 5 string basses and think, "I'll have a go at that." I reckon 99% of those guys will give up and the reason doesn't really matter. You can discuss shortcomings in the instruments as much as you like but IMO most of them will give up because they didn't [i]need[/i] to play a 5 string bass in the first place. They fall at the first hurdle because they didn't buy into the requirements and changes they'd have to make in order for the transition to be successful. You can play anything on a 5 string bass, McCartney played Beatles songs on his Wal, but there are a lot of songs where you [i]have[/i] to play a 5. If you're not playing any of those songs or it doesn't matter to you if you are playing them an octave up then you didn't [i]need[/i] a 5 string bass in the first place. If you [u]want[/u] to play a 5 string bass, don't bother. If you [u]need[/u] to play a 5 string bass then work it out. Work through the changes and difficulties and if the first instrument doesn't feel or sound good find one that does.

[quote name='highwayman' timestamp='1470953499' post='3109656'] What should I also be doing. . . . if I want to progress on my bass journey? [/quote] You should do what every player whose records you have did, play along to your favourite records. Bands are good but you'll have a lot of distractions and you really have to get the basics down first. IMO keeping it simple is the best way for a bass player to think. Who are your favourite players and bands and favourite songs? Play along to them. Find a local jam night and check it out. When you're feeling brave enough, join in. If you like what you hear, start looking for like minded musicians.

You could just turn the cab upside down.

Haven't we been saying this in cover band threads since 2007?

I hope I get a mention.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1470748555' post='3108122'] decent monitoring is the key to doing this. [/quote] . . . . and a good FOH engineer. I've done this a lot with the acoustic duo I played in, and it was OK, but add a drummer and guitars and the level of complexity increases. I'd need some oomph behind me. What about the other amps, guitars, keys and the drums? If the bass is the only one doing this it will be very easy to unbalance the sound on stage and difficult to get a good FOH balance from on the stage. Last weekend I played an open air festival. Apparently they had a great sound out front and the on stage monitoring was fantastic. . . . but I still had both SC's thundering away. Call me old fashioned but there's nothing like your trousers flapping from a couple of cabs in close proximity behind you, especially with the drummer and guitarist we had.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1470773633' post='3108402'] This is good tip fro a master builder. [u]Don't[/u] untwist the windings. [/quote] Err. . . . [i]do[/i] untwist the strings.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1470687232' post='3107713'] The only thing I'd say is that you should never 'lose' a gig because of your sound and if depping you wont get asked back by anyone decent. [/quote] +1000

[quote name='randymussel' timestamp='1470676025' post='3107567'] Sadly Lulls, Roscoes and Dingwalls are mostly a bit above my means (and frankly, too good an instrument for my ability!) [/quote] Look for a Lakland 55-01. The last time I looked there were a couple of reasonably priced Lakland 5ers in the classifieds. Come to the SE Bass Bash in Addlestone 24th Sept. You can checkout a lot of basses there. If you find a bass you like that's "too good" it's up to you to get better and even out the imbalance.

[quote name='bigjimmyc' timestamp='1463940951' post='3055190'] I suspect that it played up a bit due to standing on the cab at high volume. [/quote] Since the days of my Mesa 400+, and some valve issues, I've put all my amps on foam blocks on top of the cab. I've never had amp trouble since.

Send Alex an email and tell him what you want out of your gear and he'll make some suggestions. He was spot on with his recommendation to me.

It seems to me that if you start anything with negative thoughts then it's a hard slog to get any joy out of life. IMO this is a great set for a cover band because it's a great set for an audience. On the networking front - the last audition I did for a band was in 1985. Since then I've constantly gigged. For several years I was playing 150 gigs a year on a professional level. I managed to do this by word of mouth or from people seeing me play and I can't network for toffee! One of the better gigs came when the band leader saw me trying to play my socks off with a very average band in a dump of a gig. Play every note like it's the most important thing in your life. Every musician you play with or who sees you playing is an opportunity. (/pep talk)

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1470343513' post='3105415'] Opportunity duly taken, [/quote] Good stuff. I'm with JTUK on this. I have played with some fantastic players and I can remember every one of them, but I couldn't tell you any of the songs we played.

None of those songs are my taste but for a cover band that's aiming higher than the usual run of the mill pub stuff, they are a great set of choruses and hook lines. And none of that silly time wasting rehearsal business!! If the band is a good and professional bunch then I'd get out my megaphone and say, "Don't screw it up!" Anyway, let me know if you need a dep.

You don't need the cash or you wouldn't be tempted to pass up this opportunity. If you don't want to play bass in a good band (which I'm assuming it is), in good surroundings to good people then why are you playing bass? If you make a good impression in any band you'll be networking and everyone has side projects. I'd happily do this gig and I'd be travelling from Surrey.

Was this "SS Amp in Service Scam Shocker" a Daily Mail article chance?

[quote name='Iheartreverb' timestamp='1468749971' post='3093015'] so here's the story. [/quote] If you're comparing your cab to an HLF or 810 it will sound totally different. The HLF is ported and designed to go very big in the lows, which IME gets very muddy and the 810. . . . is double the size. Not a fair fight for the Matamp. I play with a loud guitarist using 1 Twin usually with no PA support and I bring everything to a gig, just to be heard. Tomorrow I'm taking both TH500's and both Super Compacts and daisy chaining both rigs. You have to be loud enough with these guys so I'd suggest (as has already been mentioned) over compensating. You say you [i]usually[/i] have PA support, so you have to be ready for the gigs where you're [i]not[/i] in the PA. More speakers is always better because they move more air. A BF Four10 is up there in SPL terms with most 810's and will anchor and underpin the sound on stage and out in the room. A 210 won't do this at higher volume.

A good tech will check voltages etc. MOSFETs can need biasing. Caps can be changed. Not sure how any of this can be interpreted as a "problem".

The TF750 is a fantastic amp and will run at 2.67 ohms. I used to run mine with a 212 and 112 when I needed a big sound for my loud bands.

Govons, A 212 at 4 ohm and a 112 at 8 ohm makes a 2.67 ohms load on the amp. This is good as all speakers, each of the 12's, will get the same power from the amp. If your amp is 4 ohm max then you can't run these 2 cabs. If you like the cabs I'd get a new amp, the Magellan or Mesa D800 will handle 2.67 ohms, then you can run either or both cabs. A good and flexible modular set up. If you like the amp then you need to replace the 212 with an 8 ohm cab. The suggestion to change a speaker, means you'll have to change the 212 because it will have to become 8 ohm in order to match the 112. That's expensive, might sound bad anyway and will totally change your sound. One last suggestion. Buy another amp like the one you already have. Run each amp into each cab and daisy chain the amps.