chris_b

This. If you can't get a good sound out of a bass, amp and cab then effects won't do the job for you.

IMO "One size fits all" is the right way to think about buying gear. All rigs can play quietly, so you are making decisions based on the loudest you're going to play. IMO separate amps and cabs are a better idea. Then you can up upgrade each part independently. Your 200 watt Elf is only 100 watts into 1 8 ohm cab, when it is flat out, and flat out probably won't sound too good. So you're realistically looking at using 50-80 watts. Is that loud enough? I'd say probably not. I play from very loud to a whisper. I have one rig that does it all, a 700 watt amp and 2 112 cabs. That's 700 watts into 2 8 ohm cabs and 350 watts into 1 8 ohm cab. I want a clean sound so I don't run the amp with the master beyond 12 o'clock. Having more watts on tap than you need is never a problem, not having enough watts is always a big problem. My suggestion would be to start looking at 500 watt amps and good 112 or 210 cabs.

I love progress. It took 2 of us to carry my first 4x12 cab, which was only rated at 50 watts. Now I can carry each 600 watt 112 with one finger. So far, in my bass world, every improvement has been a step in the right direction. I don't miss any gear from the "good old days".

Even if you are playing 1 note you are making music, grooving. Loop pedals don't groove.

I was satisfied with one bass until the internet appeared. Now I have to reconcile the fact that I have two basses.

The number of notes is irrelevant. How you play the line is equally important and how you lock in with the drummer. Play that one note right and you can make the band fly. Play it with no interest and they'll sound like they are limping through treacle.

What make? If it's a cheap bass replace the pickup with a better one. A good set of flatwounds always improves the tone. A lump of foam under the strings works wonders.

More fabulous bass lines from Wilton Felder.

In that case you are counting the first note as the 1. It isn't, it's the 4&. I assure you the whole song is straight 4 in the bar. No half bars or complicated time signatures. The intro chords are anticipated, ie on the 4& not the 1.

Which live version are you talking about?

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Only if the amp can handle 2.67 ohms or 2 ohms. Otherwise, no.

I don't get why this is a problem. It's a straight 4 count. The chords in the intro are just anticipated.

More gigs. . . . better gigs.

On a pub gig, last week end, I used a 700 watt amp and 2 very good 112 cabs. It wasn't a particularly loud gig so the amp wasn't turned up high, but I want a clean sound so headroom is important. Watts are cheap. You can always turn down but you have wasted your money if you find your amp isn't loud enough. I haven't done a gig with less than a 500 watt amp in 25 years. 180 watts wouldn't cut it for me. 2 112 cabs gives you the option of taking 1 or both, depending on the gig.

I've been playing since the 60's and the three things that made the biggest difference to my playing was solid practice (including high standards), gigging with people who were better than me and good gear.

Connect an amp into each cab and run an instrument cable from the Send on one to the Return of the other. Job done. The preamp on the first (Send) amp will drive the power sections in both amps. Only the Master will work on the second (Return) amp.

Maybe you would need fewer weights if they were on the edge of the bass, just below the strap button.

You go to audition for a pub rock band and play them a Charlie Parker tune!!! And the they said no thanks. Not a surprising outcome at all.

This. In fact if a beginner plays a good bass rather than a "beginner" model they might find they learn faster and easier.

I saw Stanley Clark at Hammersmith Odeon and he had a bass player in the band, for that very reason.

You're doing that old thing. . . . discovering a solution that suits you and thinking you've found the answer for everyone else. Amps are not obsolete. Last year I did gigs with 20 different bands. From fully pro to rank amateur and from festivals to the Dog and Duck. This appears to be my new normal. If I want any consistency in my stage sound I have to provide my own backline. You're suggestion does not even come close to being a solution for me.

Jerry Scheff, Elvis's bassist, played a bum note on a song and they didn't have enough time to play the song again, so the offending note went out on the record. Jerry said he was driving, many years later, when a cover of the song came on the radio and the bass payer played the bum note! Jerry nearly drove off the road laughing! If you have to play the original line, and there is an obvious mistake, play the right notes. But then I'd say in many songs the original line is only a guide. Play your line.

We mature.