chris_b

IMO this is the wrong question. Get a great sound out of the best new amp you can find and don't worry about what you used to sound like. Trying to make one amp sound like another is bound to fail.

How small is small? The cab I bought was a Bergantino AE112. I'd check out the Berg CN112 in the classifieds. It's a fantastic cab and a great starting point for a small modular rig. I used an Aguilar TH500 and IMO it's a perfect match for the Bergs.

I used to take a big 115 when I played with an acoustic duo because that's all I had. It wasn't right. I bought a neo 112 and IMO it sounded much better and was obviously more sensible to take into small folk club gigs. That got me thinking about modular rigs. These days, even for the loudest bands, I use more smaller cabs, used to be 3 112's then a 212 and 112 now 2 Super Compacts..I don't miss the big cabs at all, for volume, tone or carrying.

We had a guitarist who listened to the video instead of the version sent around by the singer. He'd put it through a weird bit of software to change the key. There was a magnificent train wreck when the song started in 2 keys, with each side claiming they were in the right key! The Rattle and Hum version doesn't change. You're flexible, but I'd make a point of asking why they didn't know that and which version they really wanted to do. I get charts through from our cover band leader and there's always wrong chords and arrangements. Guitarists!!

A better offer came in.

This U2 version changes. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRHV-HWhqWQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRHV-HWhqWQ[/url] Make sure you're all listening to the same version of the song before you get together.

If it's cash, we usually get the full payment up front. There's usually too much going on after the wedding and reception to leave it till later.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1468833830' post='3093573'] I think I'll go with another 212...less complicated and more likely to sound better. [/quote] Really? I'm sure a second 212 will sound great but I don't see why adding a 112 you your current cab is going to be more complicated or sound less that just as good. I used to run a 4 ohm 212 and 8 ohm 112 because that gave me 3 options of rig. My amp did run to 2 ohms but that's irrelevant if your cabs are both 8 ohms. As long as you run the 112 within it's capabilities you're not going to damage anything and you'll benefit from more volume coming from more speakers and a better tone as a result. Your 212 cab will be running at half power but with 2 212's, because both cabs are 8 ohm, they will each be running at half power when compared to a 4 ohm 212. There are no downsides to you running a 312 or 412 rig, except the 412 is less modular and so less flexible.

My Berg 12" cabs were the best for set and forget. I used to fiddle for 30 secs when there was a new amp and then I didn't touch the rig again. Even EQing to the room was unnecessary after that. A little 1 or 2 plus or minus click on the volume and tone on the bass and I was fit to go. I'm missing the simplicity.

[quote name='luckydog' timestamp='1468758618' post='3093119'] If marooned on a desert island with a bunch of musicians (and no suicide pill!), and by some miracle a container of musical instruments washed up, [/quote] With my luck it would be a crate of banjos!!

+1 for don't complicate things. One thing at a time. Floating Thumb is not essential to playing a 5 string bass. You will never see any of the "greats" using FT anywhere. Just focus on extending your current technique to cover the new instrument. It will work if you give it time.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1468748238' post='3092995'] I've said before the vast majority of bass players need a P bass because it does what most people need it to do. If I hear a bass with a weak sound..it very very often isn't a P.. [/quote] +1

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1468743233' post='3092948'] i suspect the neck profile may have something to do with this weird black art of why Ps and Js sound uniquely different [/quote] Fraid not. P basses were offered (maybe still are?) with an A neck, basically a jazz neck, and they still sounded like a P bass. The unique P bass sound is generated by the design and placement of the pickups and the limited amount of tone control.

[quote name='ivansc' timestamp='1468737831' post='3092912']Maybe we have all been looking at it from the wrong perspective all these years! [/quote] No [i]maybe[/i] about it!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1468605632' post='3092139'] No, Blue; that's [i]your [/i]job. [i]Our [/i]job is to have fun and educate the audience, whilst (hopefully...) entertaining them. [/quote] Has no one here been fired because they didn't pull in the crowds? Blue is right. Beer sales pay the band. Dad, you've got the right ideas but in the wrong order. A cover band should entertain the audience whilst, hopefully, having fun. Education? From a cover band? Good luck with that!

She played on two of my favourite records. Bass on River Deep, Mountain High and guitar on You've Lost That Loving Feeling.

A 5 string bass is just another bass with an extra string and a couple of extra notes. Put your 4 string basses away until the 5er becomes second nature.

Has anyone suggested balancing the volume on each bass so they are similar?

Why is Laphroaig 40 more expensive than Black Label and a bottle of Aldi Scotch is cheaper still? They're all just whiskey. If you can tell the difference then you'll appreciate a better playing and better sounding instrument. If you can't tell the difference will probably be unimportant to you, hence all the questions asking how people can spend so much on "expensive" basses. To me there is a definite improvement in feel, playability and sound in the custom made basses I've owned over production line basses I've tried. Even between them. You really could hear the difference between my Wal and Lakland when recording, and the Wal sounded so much better. On a gig the difference swung the other way. In my case I currently have 2 £3K basses that sound and play much better than my £1K bass. I can't afford these prices so I did the only sensible thing. I bought them both from their original owners at much less than the RRP. I'd love to have a £300 bass that felt and sounded this good, but so far (and I do look) I haven't found one.

Steve Rabe was a cleaver guy, also when he worked for Acoustic he was Jaco's amp man.

If the truss rod adjustment irritates you that much why is this bass on your list in the first pace. I'd be looking for a good used Am Std P bass.

[quote name='lucky' timestamp='1468356678' post='3090446'] And i never knew Ford had Volvo [/quote] They did but now Volvo is now owned by the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group of China.

I put this in the last thread about dark stages. . . . if you can't see your frets the audience can't see you. Get some lights.

If you are not travelling to gigs in a car, and you don't have guaranteed access to a PA system, you'll have to go light, small and powerful enough to be effective. 500 watt D class amps are between 4 and 7 lbs and the smallest, lightest and loudest cab I know of is one of the Barefaced 112 cabs. Put it on a trolley and you're in business.

You say, there's more of this in these cabs and more of that in those cabs but if the band can't tell the difference between either rig. . . . . why carry the extra weight?