chris_b

Jamerson, Babbitt, Duck Dunn and Nathan East. The sound of a bass. You can sound different but you won't sound better.

They are, be grateful. . . . there's a guy over on Talkbass currently trying to find a way of fixing a TH500 that failed. Apparently Korg in the US is a complete shitshow with their current support of Aguilar products. I would imagine they are no better over here.

Hey Lozz, could the Mbrace Stage Guitar Stand be an answer? https://www.imuso.co.uk/itm/mbrace-stage-guitar-stand

I was out with my TH500 last night, through a BF Super Compact. Many compliments, sort of put paid to the myth that no one notices the bass! I haven't heard a TH700 in the flesh, but the TH500 is a fantastic sounding amp, easy to operate and way loud enough (through 2 BF 112's) even for my loudest band.

Skip entry level, and several levels after that. My minimum would be a good 500-800 watt head and 2 good 112's. I use Aguilar amps and Barefaced cabs. They cover any genre and playing situation. They are light, loud, modular, great sounding and reliable.

Hey @Shaggy. . . . that's exactly the rig I had. I started with a Mesa 400+ then went to an Ampeg SVT-3PRO. Fabulous sound and volume. I also looked at the 1516 but had to say no, I couldn't fit it into my car.

I used a Mesa 210EV, 115EV stack for many years. That combination proved to me that mixing some cabs can work. I'd still be using it but for the fact that 2 x 90+ lbs cabs finally herniated a disk in my lower back! Be safe!!

I guess they can do what they want, but some of the older bands, who are lucky enough to still be gigging, can lose sight of their audience. There is a thriving and well attended market for 60's artists but the audience is only there for one thing, a walk down memory lane.

Look for an American Standard between 2010 and 2016- ish. Or if you want to get to the next level, check out Mike Lull Basses.

Many years ago, I was in the house band for a jam and a friend got up to play. After his session I got up to check the gear was OK and found he had left a lighted cigarette on the top of the cab!! Luckily it hadn't caused any damage but would have if I hadn't got there in time! No one treats your gear as well as you do and most don't care what they do to it. For that reason, no one "borrows" my gear.

I liked the way my Mesa 115 EV was voiced. It had enough low end to be punchy and fat and never too much that my sound would be woolly and boomy.

Most of them won't, but it's not important if they notice or not. Just as playing a $90 guitar to 5 or 50K people is an irrelevance. Our gear is for us and if we know we sound good we'll play better, and that will make everyone else play better, and the audience will notice that, and that's the goal.

They do but each in a different way. That's why our preferences are so varied.

Ahh! My first 45.

I'd start with a better (good quality) pickup. That will be 90% of a good sound if you get the right one. Evaluate one change at a time. Onboard pre amps are OK, but they are expensive and aren't always better than a passive set up. I have a passive PJ, with custom wound Seymour Duncan pickups, which sounds better than most active basses I've owned.

My #1 and backup gear have remained the same since 2019. A couple of amps and a bass have come and gone, but nothing was worth keeping. Even so, I guess that excludes me from the program.

Actually Pre-CBS Fenders had a good reputation and were highly sought after almost as soon as CBS bought the company and started to make their cuts and production changes. Of course they weren't all great instruments, but the better Pre-CBS basses have mostly found their way into studio work via the A list session players. Those guys don't use any old basses. They have their pick of the best sounding basses so there must be something in the "myth".

No comfort intended, just relating the relative situation. 60 years ago you had to pay big prices. These days you don't. The many great alternatives around these days is the difference.

I remember when a Precision bass was 122 gns. That's what I paid in 1969. The only problem. . . . in 2023 money that is £1976.83 and a Jazz bass was about £2336.70. That was for bog-standard burst. Custom colours were extra. Basses are not more expensive than they were. The difference is these days you can buy a great bass for a few hundred pounds and you couldn't do that 60 years ago.

All AI really has to do is come up with another Strat and Precision. Job done.

How can we say what something is worth. We don't know the running costs of the factory, staff costs, raw materials etc etc. Everything is priced in relation to everything else. If it's too expensive then it won't sell. If a company prices a product then they expect it to sell at that price. All we can say is what our budget is, and what we would pay.

I had a bass, in a case, sent over from Denmark. The whole thing was in so much bubble wrap it could have bounced. It was fine.

Our singer suggested Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This and Tainted Love. I flinched, but he said, just give it a go. We did, and the audience reaction kept them in the set for several years. That's the the gig. Getting a reaction like that never gets old.

Set lists are always a compromise and we don't always get our own way, so most of us are playing a few songs we'd rather not. My view is that if we give any song less than our best then we're failing ourselves, the band and the audience. It doesn't hurt to spend 5 mins giving a bad song your best playing. I've spent nearly 40 years gigging in bands via personal recommendation. That's because I give every song 101%, even the ones I'd rather not be playing.