chris_b

I was a bedroom player for 12 months. Then I could afford to buy an amp and within a month started rehearsing in a band. I had 2 rules when I started; to play with the best people I could find and it didn't bother me what sized fish I was as long as I was in the biggest pool I could get into. For a large part of my life I've played original songs. I still play originals today, but playing them to an audience has always been the aim. This is only a discussion and I can understand why others would want to do things differently, but I know what they're missing, and to me that's the bit that makes it all worth while. C'est la vie.

Fire the singer.

[quote name='Old Man Riva' timestamp='1444329900' post='2882359'] I always liked this tone..sounds like an old Thunderbird, or could be a Rick? [/quote] It was a Precision.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1444315774' post='2882188'] To judge others by your own standards is unfair and unnecessary. [/quote] Fairness doesn't come into it. Of course we all use our own standard to judge. How else is opinion supposed to work? You are right, we are not all the same, so I accept anyone who has a different view to me.

I would always say yes and see where it goes. Several times I've joined a band which was only 50% what I liked only to have one of the guys say, "are you interested in a side project?", which has always turned out to be 1000% better.

If you want to learn a language put away the book and talk to people from that country. As a bass player you only get "match fit" by playing live and in front of an audience. I learnt bass so I could join a band and gig. I practice a new number when one gets added to the set and so far this year I've only rehearsed 3 times, for a new band. For me the only reason to play bass is to gig. The other buzz is when a good player says, "Well played". It's R4 or the World Service for me on the way home.

If more people put the weight in the ad then they wouldn't be asked and others wouldn't think there was an obsession.

2000, I took the family so see that gig. Midnight Train To Georgia is Bob Babbitt's tone at it's best.

[quote name='chevy-stu' timestamp='1443021468' post='2871536'] I'm relatively new here, but one thing that seems to stand out and I don't get is what seems like many forum members concerns about the weight of a bass. I just don't get it. Can someone explain.. [/quote] No. Seems like you'll have to experience the life changing problem of a bad back for yourself. All lifting, carrying, bending and stretching tasks can be affected. Be grateful you don't get it. It's too late when you do.

2 Retro210 cabs at 12 ohms looks like 6 ohms to an amp, so that will work because it is above the 4 ohm min, and 3 Retro210 cabs are fine because they re 4 ohms. Unless you're running your amp flat out I wouldn't expect there to be any difference in volume between 4 ohms and 6 ohms, but more speakers will add volume. If anyone is running their amp at full volume they need a bigger amp. Edit: PS advice for non valve amps only.

If you can't lift it it doesn't matter how good it sounds. Don't torment yourself. I believe Ashdown valve amps sound pretty good with Barefaced cabs. . . and there's always a Retro410, 610 or 810.

For me the best tone in bass playing, in no particular order: Reggie McBride with Keb Mo. Cornell C Williams with Jon Cleary. Anything by Bob Babbitt and everything by Nathan East.

Check this out. . . . . . . [url="http://www.talkbass.com/threads/barefaced-bass-retro810-custom.1178644/"]http://www.talkbass....custom.1178644/[/url]

In a front room I've heard differences between wireless and a lead, but next to a drummer? I think you'd be hard pressed to hear a difference on stage. Maybe going thorough a PA would notice, maybe not. 99% of the time I don't use FOH so a PA never figures in my planning. If you focus equally on every link in your signal chain then you're covered in every eventuality. IMO most players don't focus on the most important area, their technique. Get that right and you can sound good on any old gear.

This is all advice in the dark, but if you're stuck on the Ampeg sound the SVT3PRO and the PF800 are the only amps of theirs I'd look at. You could wait a couple of months for the Mesa Subway to come out and see what that can do for you. IME an Aguilar TH500 is a fantastic amp in the "vintage" bass sound area. Looking at your gear list I think you can do better in the cab department. The Mesa Subway cabs look interesting but with the world of bass cabs evolving as it is I don't see any Ampeg cabs that interest me any more. I'd go for a loud and light 2x12.

If you can't see any benefit then they're not for you. A story: I dep in a band which plays a slow song in D, and I start the line on the low D. The regular guy starts on a high D and drops down for the rest of the line. The band leader thinks my version is so much better that he makes the regular guy tune the E string down for that song. Sometimes one is just better than the other.

Bad cables can affect your tone more than good cables. The signal is affected by the cables' ability to carry the frequencies correctly and without loss through the copper. Whether you can hear a big difference or no difference at all is also a variable.

Everyone can be replaced, even the songwriting star front man, Genesis, Pink Floyd for example? It's also easy to replace a star band member, Allan Clarke, Paul Jones, Clapton, Peter Green, Moon and Entwistle and Brian Jones. They decided they couldn't replace John Bonham, but in the end Led Zep did just that. At the other end of the scale, we've just fired our drummer, of about the last 8 years. He seemed to think his place was guaranteed and he gradually stopped trying. To get back on topic, if your playing is a hobby then you'll stop and start as you feel like it. Guys like Blue, and me, play because it's in out blood. We'll not stop playing without a fight.

Rinat Ibragimov, what a great player.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1443751425' post='2877439'] He told me, [i]"I don't have to be in a band"[/i]. Right there I knew as a musician I had nothing in common with him. I have to be in a band. [/quote] +1000

What really pisses me off. . . . is. . . . . Must be under 30!!!!!

If I'm reading this right, you've got one bad ear and one good ear and you're not putting an earplug in the good ear? That's dangerous. You're potentially heading in the direction of 2 bad ears.

Another demo. . . . 2 of my favourite bass players. These guys are great together and in their band, Dumstaphunk. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjfJHTElo_E[/media]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1434484379' post='2800120'] had the filters changed in my ACS's to pro 10's and they still cut our to much treble, [/quote] I use the ACS ER15's and I can hear everything. The treble is reduced but it's no problem for me to hear everything comfortably from stage whispers to flat out guitar and/or drum solos. Sure the sound is different and you hear less, but you hear even less when you're deaf. I saved what was left of my hearing when I started using these plugs, about 8 years ago, and I wouldn't/couldn't gig any more without them.

Not using the graphic is as valid a choice as using it. The features are there to be used or not depending on the sound you like. I don't understand why you think you should be using everything on the amp all the time. I didn't use the graphic on my Mesa 400+ or on the SVT3 PRO and I don't use much of the EQ on the TH500. If the basic sound is exactly what you want then where is the problem?