chris_b

Back in the day, the standard rig around our corner of West London was a Marshall 100 watt head through a Marshall 412 cab. 2 cabs if you were rich or had a deal. The only "standard" I've seen would be the touring SVT/810 backlines.

I only have experience of playing one NYC Sadowsky, a chambered Jazz, in Guitar Guitar Epsom, and my Metro beat it hands down. IMO disbanding the incredible Japanese manufacturing operation was not one of RS's smartest moves. Finding a distribution deal for the Metro basses would have been a major win for all bass players.

double post!!!

Having a "tone in your head" seems to be a millstone to many players. Blinkers that prevents them seeing that great tones can be had from most basses we pick up.

I was on it for about 6 months in 2007. An acquired taste, that I never acquired.

You might be right. Oh for access to a good FOH system! The bands I play with only put vocals through the PA, but I think I've tamed most bad rooms with my current gear.

I've been playing one venue since the 80's and the sound is terrible. It has a concrete floor, brick walls and concrete ceiling. If you put the bass amp right in the corner then the sound is bad. Leave a 4' gap to the corner (the stage is big enough for that), and the sound become workable. IMO there are amps and cabs that make bad rooms easier to handle, eg Bergantino, Barefaced and my old Mesa EV cabs, and some that do not work well in bad rooms. So having favourite amps at home or in the rehearsal studio is one thing but you might need a totally different amp to sound good on a gig.

Chuck was influenced by many things, from Johnny Johnson and T Bone Walker to Country music, but underneath all that he was an original.

In the 60's Chuck Berry won a case against Brian Wilson because Surfin USA is a rip off of Sweet Little Sixteen. But cases, such as this one, is the new way that publishers make money out of their songs. The only part of a song that could be protected was the melody, now artists are being sued for the arrangements and rhythms they used. Let's hope some common sense is applied in this case, but knowing some US judges and juries, I won't be holding my breath.

Gear is very important. If I can get a good sound without touching the EQ I'm winning. Good sounding gear is a great safety net.

I use a Gramma. People will be along soon to tell you that they don't work. IME sometimes they do and sometimes they don't, but they always protect the bottom of your cab from damage.

OK.

Probably shouldn't be using orange cables, they aren't earthed.

IMO rooms can be bad, but most are OK and some sound great. Buy good gear. Stuff that works well together, get a good sound with the EQ, in the ball park. Get a good balance with the band and play the gig. Nothing is ever perfect so don't go chasing those shadows. Rooms can be difficult but most will give you a reasonable sound if you EQ well enough and get the volume right. If you were recording you'd want perfect, but gigs just have to sound OK. It's the songs, playing and performance that makes a successful gig.

He's playing bass on my 45 of Rosie by Alexis Korner. Alexis on the jazz cigarettes again!! I never saw Binky but friends said he was a great player. Used to put Vaseline on his left hand to speed up his playing. I guess murdering his Mum, Dad and brother in law curtailed his musical career some what!

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I get that, but am I to assume that the HPF is working? How do I tell if I can't hear or see any changes?

The obvious benefits of an HPF have interested me for awhile. A few years ago I borrowed a Thumpinator and used it with an Aguilar TH500 through 2 Berg AE112's. I noticed very little difference with and without. I didn't see any change in the movement of the cones. At the moment I'm running a Berg Forte HP through a Super Compact and sometimes with a Super Midget as well, and I still don't hear the HPF making much of a difference. The point where I can hear the HPF working it's changing the tone in a very unpleasant way, making it thin and nasty. Is the HPF doing its job when I can't hear it? How do I know if it's doing anything useful not?

An originals band performs songs the band has written. When those songs and parts were written and who by isn't relevant. If a band member leaves the songs aren't re-written when the new guy joins.

What does yours weigh? I heard they were coming heavier than the initial projections.

I put some Barts on my 4 string Fender Precision. They were a significant improvement on the original pickups. I had the Bartolini option on my Lakland 55-94D. Great tone. For many years Barts were the standard equipment for most boutique basses. They have more competition these days, but I haven't heard a bad set of Bart pickups yet.

Was there a house band? do you remember who they were?

I know some fantastic drummers who are very loud, but these guys can also play quietly, and everywhere in between, depending on what's required. Everyone playing very loud because they are trying to volume match the drummer is not the right way of playing. My experience with drummers has always been good, guitarists on the other hand have cause most of the volume problems I've seen. I've just done 5 gigs in a row with a dep drummer. On one gig he was hassled by the sound guy to play quieter. After that I couldn't hear him, so he played in between. Me and the sound guy were happy, because the drummer could adjust his volume and get the balance right. It's not rocket science and is a skill that every drummer should be expected to know.

That was exactly the design brief for the Jazz bass.

All drummers can choose how hard they hit the drums, though many don't. The guys who can't alter their volume when they play are just very poor drummers.