chris_b

I don't know anyone who has said the science is irrelevant, but you are constantly telling people that what they hear and like is wrong because the science says it isn't right. So no one can like anything if it doesn't fit with your view of how the science should be implemented. We get the science but there is a place in this world for a good 410's and 810's without us being constantly derided for our choices.

Very sad news.

I bought a Dual Showman 215 rig in the early 70's. I tried it on 2 rehearsals and swapped with the keyboard player who had bought a Hiwatt 2 412 stack. He was happy, but I definitely got the best of that deal. Fender bass gear had a very clean sound, which largely fell out of favour with the advent of Marshall and Ampeg. 99% of the guitarists I know use Fender combo's, but I've only seen 1 bass player using a Fender rig in the last 30 years.

This is the usual tedious one-sided tug-of-war. One side thinks the text book is more important than your ears and shouts down anyone who disagrees or thinks that ears are more important. There are talented cab builders who will impart the facts in a helpful way and those who prefer to use a sledgehammer. Some don't care for anything other than the purest message. There are no shades of grey, only black and white. That approach causes more problems than the message. Apparently there is something wrong with me and everyone else who don't accept that black and white are the only choices. There are many talented cab builders who are building "shades of grey" cabs and, in actual fact, they sound great.

The one thing you can be certain of. . . . . if they didn't like it either they would have said something or someone else would be doing the gig.

I don't agree that a Jazz bass can sound like a Precision. You can mod or redesign a P bass as much as you like, but nothing else sounds as good as the standard P bass, which is why in reality they have ceased to evolve. They don't need to. But like any 2 pickup bass, the wide tonal pallet of a Jazz will give you enough rope to hang yourself. The main reason for a bad sounding Jazz is the guy who twiddled the knobs. Don't over analyse the sound of a Jazz bass. Most of the players listed in the previous posts were almost certainly playing stock basses (except Bobby Vega). They sound good because, amongst other things, their good ears can get great sounds out of their instruments. We have as much of a chance if we work harder at it.

The F1 was the only MB amp I didn't like. I preferred the LM2. The best MB amp I've played was, sadly, the first they discontinued, the LMK. You could run the two channels together which made a great noise. I think MB amps are always worth a listen.

Shops will contain what they think/know they can sell. Look in a shop and that's what people are buying. It's actually pretty easy to kit yourself up as a beginner bass player. Just get one of the starter packs. The next step is easy as well. Yamaha's or Fenders etc, they are around. After that becomes harder, but by that time most have reached the natural conclusion of their "hobby". If your interest is still alive you'll find out where to look next. It just won't be on your door step.

Chuck Rainey, Larry Graham, Bobby Vega and Anthony Jackson have all been Jazz bass players at one time or another.

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1432231562' post='2779544'] Interesting. A low 'B' has a frequency of 31Hz so in theory the channel you mention should rip the fundamental right out of it? I know that our ears work more off the overtones to deduce the actual note played but even so, it's slightly counter-intuitive (to me at least) to filter out frequencies higher than 30Hz? [/quote] Your logic is not correct. Check Ampeg cabs. At normal volume levels most are only rated down to 40ish hz including the 810. That doesn't seem to impair their E and B string handling capabilities.

[quote name='Iheartreverb' timestamp='1432241743' post='2779713'] I'm going into a programmable sansamp (which is famously mid lacking) and in short, my band mates hate it. [/quote] So no one is going to like your sound except you? I would think having a sound that your band doesn't like is not conducive to a long and fruitful relationship. You don't need my advice, your band seems to have covered all the relevant points.

Shops like GAK, Guitar Guitar and Andertons have sorted out their business model, so the shop is now just the front for their internet operation. That is the future of higher value musical instrument sales.

+1 Ted, I think we're wrong to focus on bass frequencies. How low can your rig go, etc. The emphasis of most recorded bass is in the mids and low mids so IMO we need less bass and more mids to get a better live tone. I never have boom or mud in my sound and I put that down to my Berg cabs tightly controlling the bass frequencies.

I don't know the AC/DC version, I just love what these guys do with the song. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay_jN3KHp5c[/media]

Many music shops haven't made the leap to online selling and are finding they can't survive in the internet age, so they will stock what they know they can sell. I would guess that for every bass player purchase they get they will sell something to 100 guitarists. They are not "idiots" just businesses trying to get by. That's why the stock is always skewed the way it is. The days of having a local music shop with a stock of great bass gear (even for me in London) have gone and will never come back, but great shops catering for bass exist. You just have to make it a day out to get to one.

I once put a J pickup on a P bass and unfortunately the improvement wasn't as much as I was expecting. I play a PJ these days with the J switched off, because I find the P is much better on its own. So before you get into the potentially messy and expensive business of modding the bass (with an uncertain outcome) I'd look at trying out a preamp, such as the Aguilar Tone Hammer. It's an OBP-3 on board preamp in a pedal and would almost certainly warm up your sound.

I've used Markbass and TC amps with 2 Berg 112 cabs and they both sounded great. I even used an Ampeg SVT3PRO and it sounded very good. Can you stretch your budget a little further? If you can get to £450 - £500 you have a wider range of amps available to you. Like the Genz STL 9.2 and Aguilar TH500.

I'd forget the castors and get a trolley.

I occasionally work at our local Uni. The stress levels there have been pretty high for the last 4 weeks. Hope all went well for you.

They do sound good, don't they. I briefly had the MB2, but it was a 4 string and fretless. Both together made my brain explode so sadly it was sold on, but it was the best sounding bass I've played in a long time. Have fun.

Phil Harris is in his 60's and wants to slow down. The kids have other careers, so sadly a closing down sale it is. Our drummer is a mate.

When they first signed to Motown The Supremes got 1% each. I don't think Van Morrison even got that much when he signed up to his first management deal in the US. What ever you think of the songs, it's wrong that he gets so little for world wide hits such as Brown Eyed Girl and Moondance.

Love Affair were not very proficient. Steve Ellis' timing is all over the place. Time was money, and the studio players were used because they got the job done in 2 takes. Many bands got ripped off, mainly by their management, but using studio players to avoid paying the band royalties is a new one on me.

And a lot of it has already been sold.

Make sure you've got a couple of good bands to underpin the depping. It's even more flakey than normal band work. I built up a roster of about 7 good bands that I depped for on a regular basis, but after a couple of very good years with the regular bands turned into a down turn, I discovered I wasn't being called any more. If you're not available when they want you you'd better be very good or they'll find someone else, and there are a lot of great players out there.