4-string-thing

I'm quite a happy bunny, as I've just collected an ebay impulse buy, a Yamaha BB 4GA II. A 1988, quilted Maple (?) turquoise see-thru, twin humbuckers and active electronics. In very good condition, as new, apart from the gold plated hardware looking a bit worn. Just plugged in and tried it and it plays and sounds great, will go down a treat with my 80's glam-metal band! Anyone got any thoughts on these as regards what I should have paid, any pitfalls etc? Turns out the guy is a mate of basschatter Peteacademy's so I reckon it will probably turn out to be a good deal. Only drawback is, I may have to move something on to appease the other half....

Aplogies for not making this, plumber let me down (arrived saturday lunchtime instead of the wished-for friday) by the time he'd finished, it was too late. Sounds like I missed a good afternoon though and will definitely make the next one!

[quote name='Beedster' post='1028508' date='Nov 18 2010, 09:37 PM']Well recovered chaps, I went to have a bite to eat and was assuming this thread would have gone bad by now. You can't beat a bit of Python to lighten the mood can you [/quote] Monty or Iron?

might have a plumber coming to fix a leaking pipe, so might not be able to make this after all.... Hopefully when he said "will be friday or saturday" he meant friday!

[quote name='Oakbear' post='1022169' date='Nov 13 2010, 08:25 AM']I'm getting GAS just reading this thread! BigRedX - I found an old thread where i think you mentioned having a Stagg EDB? Don't suppose you (or anyone else attending) still has one?[/quote] I have one, I'll bring it if I can get it in the car!

[quote name='icastle' post='1018380' date='Nov 10 2010, 09:07 AM'][b]Ashley Hutchings Dave Pegg Rick Kemp[/b] Can't work out if that lot makes me enigmatic or sad [/quote] To me, it means you have good taste sir! And if you'd said Danny Thompson instead of Rick kemp, even better!

[quote name='bumnote' post='1016628' date='Nov 8 2010, 05:44 PM']good for you keeping it. I bought a 450 in 77 with a 406 cab for about £700 from Kingfisher in fleet. Sold it for peanuts inthe 90s, biggest mistake I ever made, great amp, I prefer it to the 220 and one day!!!!!!!! I am currently in love with the 370 I recently bought, I thinks thats even better. Works a treat with my ashdown 4x8. I wont upset you about how it sounds with the 18 incher[/quote] Ha ha...there you go with your 18 incher again! I'm looking forward to the day when the new Acoustic stuff comes to the UK!

[quote name='casapete' post='1016467' date='Nov 8 2010, 03:29 PM']Acoustic are great amps, louder than their rating too! I had a 120 and it was a fine bit of kit. The 220 should be enough to gig with with a decent 4 ohm cab.[/quote] I have a 120 head too, but its not working, I paid £52 for it with a 402 cab. Its a completely different power amp inside, but the pre-amp and graphic are the same as the 220. I hope to get it repaired one day.

[quote name='Lemming16' post='1016512' date='Nov 8 2010, 04:10 PM']Thanks everyone for your replys. Do any of you know if the acoustic 220 has a “loop effect” input? (I’m not sure about the name, i dont speak english well, but it’s the input that bypasses the preamp, so i can connect a POD X3 into it and not be affected by the preamp ). I would also appreciate if you could tell me how would this amp take digital effects (The POD X3 is what im gonna use). Thanks in advance.[/quote] Yes, the 220 has a pre-amp out and a power amp in, so you could use a pod and plug it into the power section!

[quote name='bumnote' post='1016280' date='Nov 8 2010, 12:57 PM']Hi 4 str have you had your 220 frrom new then?[/quote] Hey Bumnote, yes, I bought it new with a 404 1x15 cab in 1980. It cost me £440 (about 3 months wages at the time) from Loughborough Music Centre. The amp and the cab are still pretty much in 'as new' condition. A couple of years ago I bought a 2x15 cab and have been known to use both cabs with the head, some serious air-moving goes on then!

I'll be there with my 70's Precision and Acoustic 220 if anyones interested! Anyone else taking a late 70's Precision? I'd be very interested in a comparison.

My Acoustic 220 is 30 years old and has been my ONLY amp until I thought I may need another just in case. In those 30 years, it has never let me down. I've used it for hundreds of gigs! If used with an Acoustic cab, or two (they are usually 4 ohms each) It is more than loud enough for any band, its certainly as loud, if not louder, than my Ashdown 300w head. As Bumnote said, as long as the graphic works, $110 sounds like a real bargain! Randall are pretty good amps, but if its a 2 channel (stereo) amp, wouldn't you need 2 cabs?

I bought my corvette new about 15 months ago, and the more I play it, the more I love it! So much so, I'm thinking of selling or trading my 78 precision as it's not getting played much nowdays!

My own band are quite Tap-esque, and I've been told I need a "pointy bass" but I can't ever see me with something like this, cool story though!

The old guitarist in our band was a mouthy, arrogant, obnoxious jerk, who used to announce his arrival at rehearsals by shouting "OK, THE TALENT HAS ARRIVED!" After a few months, we split the band up and re-formed a few weeks later with a new guitarist.... He wasn't best pleased when he found out, and has spent the last few weeks trying to poach our other guitarist for his new "band" Needless to say, everyone is much happier and we have a lot more enthusiasm nowdays.

[quote name='bumnote' post='1008253' date='Nov 1 2010, 10:16 AM']15" are for wimps How about a nice 18[/quote] Stop it now....you know I'm jealous of your 18 incher!

I don't think you can beat a 15" unless its with more of 'em! I'm seriously thinking of using this lot for my next gig....

[quote name='phil.mcglassup' post='1006790' date='Oct 30 2010, 10:02 PM']No probs about the thread hijack -all feedback is appreciated. It looks like I'm not on my own regarding my predicament. We also have a situation where the smokers in the group go outside for extended breaks!! Our singer has to carry a folder full of lyrics even when gigging due to lack of trying to remember them. What I really, really hate (apart from over loud drummers and guitarists) is when we're going over and over a song and there is nothing but guitarists hitting bum chords and notes right in my ear 'oles - it is nothing short of amateur. Plus when I am trying to sing backing vocals it is really annoying. Anyway, rant just about over!! At least I know what we/they should be doing so I can now lay down some ground rules and work ethics and aim for a full set by Christmas![/quote] Almost forgot, bloody guitarists "widdling" between songs, how much time does that waste, and how difficult does it make it to get any points across to the rest of the band?

[quote name='casapete' post='1007236' date='Oct 31 2010, 12:22 PM']Paris, Texas - Ry Cooder's finest? American Graffiti - great 50's/60's soundtrack (early Harrison Ford role and directed by George Lucas.) +1 for Oh Brother Where art thou too.[/quote] Oh yeah, I had forgotten about American Graffiti....

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='1006768' date='Oct 30 2010, 10:21 PM']er i didnt know you where in my band yeah i have the same thing, the guitarist learns it both parts, i learn and the drummer is good enough to pick it up as we go (he has said he'll try and find more time to get some practice in but hes just started back after 8 years so we'll let him off) the signer is the same lyrics in a book on stage and hes been singing most of em for years. anyway off topic there, i think its should be 2 weeks max per song but that means in reality you could learn 3-4 songs in 2 weeks if you commited to them properly.[/quote] Er yes, sorry to the O.P for hijacking his thread!

This is a bit of a sore point for me too. I learn songs at home between rehearsals (we only rehearse for 2 hours a week together) but I'm not sure anybody else does. Its taken us ages to get an hours worth of material together. One of the guitarists spends sunday afternoons learning stuff with another guitarist friend but quite often they'll learn stuff that we (our band) don't even play! Quite annoying as he could be using that time to learn songs we need to get sorted. He's also very hung up on learning things note for note, which I feel shows no creativity or originality. The other guitarist doesn't seem to practice at home much, he expects the first guitarist to learn both parts, then show him how to play one of them. The singer has to have lyric sheets on stage (not very professional, is it?) even though he's been singing these songs for at least 2 years. The drummer, on the other hand is excellent and seems to have his parts sorted pretty much instantly. One last moan about rehearsals, we rent a room for 2 hours a week. The guitarist and singer almost always turn up about 10 minutes late, take 20 minutes to set up/gossip etc. Then after 45 minutes go outside for a 10 minute smoke which means we actually play for between 70 and 90 minutes a week. The more I think about it, the worse it sounds, so rant over!

Sorry, I forgot to vote on date and venue, but would still love to come along... that ok?

Morris: A life with bells on. Failing that, the original version of The Wicker Man!

Slightly off topic, but the 2 guitarists in my band have both recently bought Blackstar 200w heads costing over £1100 each, and both have had problems. Amp 1, buzzed extremely loudly and was sent back for repair, they claimed there was nothing wrong with it and returned it. After a bit of fuss, they replaced it and the new one is ok, but still not what you could call quiet. Its a few months old and has only been used for rehearsals and one gig. Amp 2, is only a couple of weeks old and has also been returned for new valves. I went round to the guitarists house for a quick rehearsal last night and one channel packed up (valves again, we suspect) it's been used for just a few hours!

[quote name='TransistorBassMan' post='985972' date='Oct 12 2010, 05:43 PM']A few random thoughts.... I'm not sure where I stand on this. I've been musician, a sound engineer and a promoter and I can see validity in a lot of the points being made. I suppose you should do what you feel is right for you and sod what anyone else thinks! I usually say yes when someone asks to borrow my amp. But if they don't respect me or my equipment then I'll turn it off! Thinking about it, my experience at my first gig as a bassist had led to me being quite relaxed about lending gear. I turned up with a Westone Thunder 1A and an 100W Alligator combo. The bass player of the headline band (still) is my favourite bassist and before the soundcheck she offered me the use of her Stingray and her Dynacord rig as it would make life easier for the soundman (I was the soundman ) I said no to the Stingray, but yes to the Dynacord. It sounded awesome Lou Howard (Red Guitars/The Planet Wilson) you're a star!!! The only thing I've ever had damaged was a Fender guitar combo that one of the guitarists in my band was using!! Fortunately I'd lent the support band my bass amp, so they were happy to lend us an amp to finish our set. I can get away with never lending my basses or guitars because I don't play in standard tuning and I'm not retuning them for anyone. Having said that, when Rrussell Bell (Gary Numan's guitarist 79-89) was due to guest with my Numan covers band, my back-up Telecaster was re-strung and retuned in the dressing room after the soundcheck Nobody ever asks to borrow my synths Like I said earlier, do what you feel is right for you and sod what anyone else thinks[/quote] You know Lou Howard? I used to share a house with her brother!