Beedster

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1385411633' post='2288031'] .... the fact I purchased second hand ... [/quote] Which is of course not something that you tell them

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1384362009' post='2275715'] I think the thread title aged me faster than a night out with the great man.......! [/quote] I did that in '82 and lived to tell the tale. The amazing thing is that, like Keef, Lemmy really hasn't actually aged much since '82, they'd both done all the ageing nature could manage in the 60's and 70's

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1384048065' post='2272333'] It seems to me like you just fancy a new bass And looks seem to be one of the main driving factors. If you really want to buy your 'perfect' bass, you need to PLAY a whole bunch of basses. Eventually you will find one that floats your rubber duck. It will attract your attention because it looks ace and you feel compelled to pick it up, then you will find it feels so lovely and gorgeous in your hands and magical notes and flowery phrases seem to flow from you, like this is the best you've ever played. You will get a sound that will make your belly tingle, a sound you've never had before. Anything else and it's not the perfect bass for you. Then give it 12 months to see if, really, you just fancied a new bass. [/quote] Yep, like my current Precision (probably my longest tenure with a bass), a £300 MIJ that, for me, beats all my other Precisions hands down, and that includes many from the 70's and a few from the 60's that cost substantially more. Nearly every bass for which I've has GAS has disappointed me eventually

[quote name='Subfeeder' timestamp='1384179593' post='2273577'] I see that Acoustic Image gear is coming up here a few times - who sells this in the UK? [/quote] Seems to pop up all over the place, and not cheaply. Problem I found - as did Clarky above - is that AI doesn't have the grunt for nice clean DB tone in a noisy room (and I had a combo and extension cab also). I found exactly the same problem with PJB rigs.

[quote name='alistair Sutcliffe' timestamp='1384184199' post='2273667'] I own a pair of home-made fearful 12s and a little ibanez (detachable amp) combo. The cabs go super low so I either use them as subs for the pa and plug into the desk, or i can stack them as a regular bass rig. The Ibanez amp is good but definitely needs a pre in front. Pickup wise I use a bassmax and home-made clicky into a little 2 channel preamp. [/quote] I've two wedge monitors that I stack vertically and with a good pre-amp they can do a decent job of amplifying DB, plus you get the sound off the floor. Downside is a relatively heavy and unstable rig situated next to a relatively breakable instrument. Throw in the inevitable blend of beer, punters, other musicians and a drummer.....

[quote name='Subfeeder' timestamp='1384163643' post='2273288'] Surely not - where would the fun be in that! [/quote] I agree in sentiment. In reality however, and putting aside the environmental vagaries of genre, room, volume etc, the variation between individual double basses means that the amplification that's perfect for one instrument is rarely perfect or good or sometimes even adequate for another. My old Rumanian sounded crap acoustically, great through my AI rig but crap through a Walkabout. My German sounded great acoustically but crap through both the AI and the Walkabout. I changed the strings on the latter from Evahs to Silver Slaps, from which point it sounded great through the AI, still sounded awful through the Walkabout, and now sounded crap acoustically. The point of sanity - unless you're a pro or an obsessive - is that you take your bass and whatever amp you have, and you work out the best way of making the two sound good together in whatever genre you play. This may involve the hell of trying new strings (which has become a lot easier since BC started the DB forum), but hopefully won't involve the worse hell of trying new PUPs and amplifiers. Yes, some amps are probably better than others, but given that some of the best DB I've ever heard was coming out of a small guitar combo, I doubt even that's a great starting place. My approach to DB amplification has been to use an amp that I also use for electric bass, for acoustic guitar and for mandolin. At least that way I don't get angry and want to sell it the moment I change DB strings and have to start again with gain, EQ etc Acoustic Image gear was very good from that point of view, and I'm currently looking at AER C

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1384124238' post='2273126'] I think there will always be compromise with amplifying a DB, its just a question of finding the best compromise that works for you and your band. [/quote] [quote name='Mr Bassman' timestamp='1384130485' post='2273171'] Even if you have one of everything out there you'll never be able to pick the right one for every occasion or venue. [/quote] That's probably all that needs to be said about amplifying DBs.

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1384026300' post='2272145'] My brother in law has a 4001, I've used it a lot. I find it very comfortable to play and can get the action crazy-low, however I can never get a sound I like from it. It's either wooly, or twangy. It doesn't seem to be able to do that right in the mix, kick-drum frequency that you get from a P bass. [/quote] Have you tried flats?

Buy a Fullerton 57 RI from the early 80s for between £1200 and £1400 on eBay. You'd be very lucky to get a contemporary CS or Bravewood anything like as good plus it will hold its value