chris_b

IMO the bass is good, maybe could be a fraction louder, but that doesn't detract. The guitar is way too loud in the mix. Who thought the bass was too loud? This guitarist? IMO giving up over this is an overreaction. OK, you're disappointed, but learn from this experience and fight your corner harder when you record and mix the next album.

If you just want to spend £150 with no clear objective you might as well throw that cash out of the window. You are already buying an amp. Do that first and spend a month or so to see how you feel about your sound then.

Martin and John set up and service all my basses. IMO it's worth the hassle and journey. They are great guys to deal with.

I went to school in The Avenue. The school has long gone (hooray), but it feels weird to go down that road!!

Vintage bass sold for pennies? That's life. What really upset me was the pre CBS Precision I saw, which had been carved into a Sitar, pear-drop, shape!! They should reintroduce the stocks for crimes against basses.

What is your budget?

Anything Sadowsky, every time. I have a Japanese Metro and it a marvellous instrument. After the teething problems, these days, the Expresses are getting many excellent reviews.

Best wishes to all. Here's to a busy gigging 2022.

On the other hand, I don't understand why you would decide to stop writing songs at a particular point in the calender. Chis Martin and his missus do seem to make more than their fair share of illogical statements.

I'm not a fan, but I don't dislike Coldplay. I have nothing negative to say about them. I've played several of their songs in cover bands and they always go down very well. I applaud any band or musician that is this successful. Good on them.

For 25 years I was playing a Fender Precision with an A neck. I had no idea it wasn't a "proper" Precision neck until the Internet came along! For the last 25 years I've been playing 5 string basses, all apparently just under 2" wide. I've never bothered to measure a bass neck until threads like this started up. We're all different, but looking back, going from very thin necks to extra wide necks has not been an issue for me.

Between a 4 and 5 sting the wood is different, there is more wood on a 5 string bass. The mass of almost every component is different, from the bridge to the tuners. A musical instrument is all about vibration and resonance. Anything that changes those parameters, will make a difference.

The bass run up is driving you mad? Don't play it. It's not an important part of the song. All you need is an occasional A C C# run up to the D.

In: a lead (OBBM), an amp (Bergantino), a battery (Duracell) Out: nothing

I believe they are nickel plated, with hex core.

So you're warning us about running an amp at full power, not at half power.

I've got 3 year old D'Addario NYXL nickel rounds on my Jazz. They still have a little top end left and were sounding pretty good on last week's gig.

With the volume controls between 12 o'clock and 2 o'clock?

It's so difficult to quantify "loud". Lozz plays Punk so I'd go with his definition of "loud". My "loud" always required 2 210's or 2 112's and at one point 3 112's. My rule of thumb, I'd expect 1 BF cab to cover 2 cabs from another manufacturer.

I's agree with Lozz, 2 210's would be ideal. Then you can use 1 or 2 depending on the situation. I haven't seen the Hartke cabs in use but my Barefaced Two10 was as loud as some 410's I've heard. I'd suggest starting with a Two10 and look out for a second in the classifieds.

Last night we played at a large club. The band are pretty good with isolating and taking care, but I was a bit apprehensive, all those people in the room. When we got there only about 1/3rd turned up. Excellent. I never got within 20 feet of anyone all night.

I think every cab I've had since the 80's has been ported. I don't really think about it. If the cab sounds good enough porting isn't a question that springs to mind.

I don't know anything about them, but the La Bella black tapewound I had on my Rob Allen bass sounded and felt very good. Anyone else had experience of these?

Ah. OK, so the master anywhere up to about 2 o'clock should be safe. I reckon the sound will make you proud.

Tuners and good straps.