chris_b

That would have been a completely different song if Willie Weeks was on it. The song must have been rearranged to showcase Nathan Watts.

If you want to change so much of the sound of the bass, why stay active? I'd look at replacing the pots and pickups and forget the preamp.

Oooh, an old thread. . . . . and a perennial problem. Paul, I'm assuming that the frets are level? I would expect the Squiers to have less time spent on their fretwork than, for instance Custom Shop models. There's no way around uneven frets other than a fret stone or just playing with a higher action. I've just altered the action on 2 of my basses. One went lower and one went higher. I don't measure anything. I lower each string until it starts to "choke" on the frets then I start raising the strings until all notes play cleanly. If that's too high then the frets need levelling. I then adjust the strings to the point where I'm happy playing the instrument. My Lakland had a fret level at the gallery so it plays very well but they set it up too low. I can play it but I just prefer a little more height. The lower you go the less energy you can put into playing a note.That's ok, but as has been said, the tone will also change between stroking the strings and playing them a little harder.

A defining bass line. To a certain extent Nathan Watts was lucky that his signature licks fitted right in. Maybe his style was in Stevie Wonders mind when he wrote the song.

I treat all numbers differently, but for the first 4 bars I'll usually be listening to the whole number. If I get past that point then I can focus on the rhythm, the music or the words depending on which one is strongest and catches my attention. If the words are particularly strong, as per Dylan, Chuck Berry, Joni Mitchell etc, then the music might come a distant second. In some numbers the bass line will be the only interest, in others I'll not listen to the bass at all. I'll always listen to the drummer though.

Thomas Eich joins the long list of founders and visionaries who moved on. Some not as willingly as others: Steve Rabe, David Nordschow, Jeff Genzler, Start Spector, Michael Tobias, Hugh McFarland, Leo Fender. There must be many more. All top names who had to leave their "baby" behind.

I understand the OP's fear of sinking a lot of cash into something new and he doesn't know if he'll want to carry on, but. . . . . my experience with cheap guitars put me off playing guitar. I came back on a bass but a player needs to learn on a good instrument. You're fighting yourself and lack of skill and ability at the beginning, the last thing anyone needs is to be fighting the instrument as well. B strings are critical and do not always sound good on cheap basses. You have to buy a bass that has a B that sounds as good as the rest of the instrument or what's the point of moving away from 4 strings? The advice I like is to buy the second bass first. My first 5 string bass was a MM Stingray 5. I'm not suggesting this bass to the OP, but I'm glad I started on a bass that was easy to play and sounded as good as the Stingray.

Another BB2 would give you 2 options. Adding an SM would give you 3 options. I'm currently using 2 Super Compacts. Volume-wise I can use 1 SC cab where I used my Berg CN212 before. They are light enough for me to bring both to a gig and then decide how many I need to use. I like the look of 2 cabs and so I sometimes set both up and just use the top cab.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1452784159' post='2953488'] As for Mr Boogie & Mr Tino, I don't know if either of them have been on here or not, but I've not seen any advice on here about which cabs are suited together. I don't think it's so much a case of whether it works, but how unpredictable the sound is going to be. [/quote] CamdenRob has a Berg 210. Jim Berganino's new amp has a profile for using the same 210 with a 112 from the same range. Put any spin you like. . . Bergs are OK to mix according to one of the best cab builders working today.

The BB2 will go much louder than any other 112 cab, including the Vanderkley. As Barefaced cabs are very good at putting out what you put in I'd suggest you could check your tone settings or check the cab by trying a different amp.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1452777573' post='2953361'] Ah, but were they[b][i] really[/i][/b] "designed" to work together, or do the manufacturers just tell us that so that we'll buy them? [/quote] Seriously? Mesa, Barefaced, Bergs? I'm sorry, in my experience there's so much misinformation, cynical and otherwise on the internet that I'd need it to be proved the cabs [i]didn't [/i]work together rather than the other way around.

Don't forget the tablecloth and the lace doilies.

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1452770841' post='2953235']does Guy Pratt pay full whack for his gear when he pops up in their adverts? [/quote] Who knows, but he is more likely to pay for his gear and get paid for appearing in the advertising campaign.

Dave Swift doesn't like Lull basses. I do. Amongst the many other examples, that proves to me that what others play has no bearing on what I should play.

That's part of the myth. It's not pot luck if the cabs were designed to work together and many of them are!!

Hey, this is the first world. "Because you can" is the only justification you need.

Many different cabs are designed to work together, Bergs, some Mesa Boogie cabs several Barefaced cabs and others. The attempt to make "never mix different speaker sizes" a blanket rule is misguided and wrong. I used a Berg AE112 and AE210 together for several years and it sounded great. The new Berg B Amp has a profiles for CN 12 and 10 mixes, so it seems it was Jim Bergantino's intention that these cabs could be mixed. So yes you can do that.

[quote name='ebenezer' timestamp='1452601386' post='2951447'] may not be quite as good as a berg/aggie etc but what value! [/quote] At this level it's all shades of great.

Yo. . . . you just proved my point.

The market for endorsed gear is aimed at those about 40 years younger than me. And. . . . dare I say more gullible. Who still believes that you'll look or sound like your favourite players if you use the same gear?

That's Sean Hurley.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1452526540' post='2950813'] Have Bass Gear magazine ever reviewed the Tonehammer? [/quote] No. Sadly, surprisingly Dave Boonshoft declined their request for an amp to review. Conspiracy theorists might have a field day, but if I think an amp sounds good (and this one sounds better than most) then I don't care what's under the covers.

If there was any justice the TH amps in the classifieds would be snapped up. They have been some of the best amps around for the last couple of years.

I've been playing the TH500 for several years and so far nothing can touch it with either my Bergs or Barefaced cabs. The Tonehammer amps produce a great sound with almost any cab. I liked the TH500 so much I got 2. Just in case! I have only found 1 minor gripe. . . the fan is a little on the loud side for home playing, and 1 major gripe. . . or design fail. The -10 dB input pad button is located so close to the jack plug socket that it can easily be pushed in and you loose all your volume and on a dark stage it's not always apparent what has happened!

A current Mayer favourite of mine is this with Herbie Hancock. The wonderful Willie Weeks on bass. I've managed to get this on to the To Do list for one of my bands. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5ldO3PJ5IA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5ldO3PJ5IA[/url]