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I would just go direct to the warwick shop if you need anything. I ordered parts from them for a streamer and they were amazingly quick and a joy to deal with. They got loads of pats to me from Germany quicker than any uk company i have dealt with. Link: [url="http://shop.warwick.de/index.php?cat=c58_Warwick-Bass.html&XTCsid=c548a2450903316ec5ee3154d79fe571"]http://shop.warwick.de/index.php?cat=c58_W...5ee3154d79fe571[/url]

I use a MarkBass LM2 with an EBS 4X10 at 4 ohm and it is VERY loud. I have been to a rehearsal with a 8 ohm Orange cab (not mine) and I had to crank the head more to get the same sort of volume out of it. That could be the Orange cab though. As far as running hot, my LM2 doesnt even really get warm let alone hot and it runs for about 4 hours at a time. Its a perfect solution for me as I have no intention (at the moment) to have any more than one cab, but if I need or want to go bigger in the furture the cab or head will need to go which could be a pain.

I think shops will have to evolve and some have already started. I used to despise Cranes in Cardiff, the staff were rude and had no smiles or enthusiasm, and they were always so overpriced. I hadn't been in there for a while and went in a couple of weekends ago while I was down there to try a P bass. The guy I spoke to was really helpful and checked stock to see if they had any Squier CV's in when I asked instead of "no probably not mate", happily let me pick up a few basses and didnt pressure me or try and show me every slap riff he knew before handing me the bass. The best bit of all though was the price of gear in there. I played 2 different fender precisions, a Jazz and an EBS Session 60 and all of them were approx £20 - £30 cheaper than I could find anywhere on the internet and I would have paid delivery on top on most cases. They also had seriously revamped their website and had some good used gear in. They have redeemed themselves and I may even indulge in that Session 60 when I go back down in a couple of weeks.

No offense but a little bit weird. Saying that I can see the upshot of values for insurance but I suggest somebody steps in with an intervention if you start making pie charts of battery life/consumption across basses.

[quote name='gafbass02' post='1341842' date='Aug 16 2011, 01:15 PM']Very tempting. I could try the drive to bass direct. Thing is the long solo drive is a bit scary (new driver) plus the petrol price for the return journey is steep when I wouldnt be buying from Mark (sadly much cheaper from thomann). Migh be a fun road trip for me 'n Dave though.[/quote] Im in Cheltenham and not the most confident driver in the world but its actually a pretty nice and easy drive up if you leave a bit later in the morning and avoid the traffic. Also if I drive at a sensible speed and take it easy the needle hardly moves in my polo (it is a diesel though). I will drop you a PM if I decide to head up on my own anytime soon. P.S. I am sure Mark would do a deal/price match if it came to it and you would get superb support from him if anything went wrong.

[quote name='RussFM' post='1340805' date='Aug 15 2011, 03:56 PM']Got an iPhone? [url="http://www.peavey.com/products/software/ampkitlink/"]http://www.peavey.com/products/software/ampkitlink/[/url] Got a PC? [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-UCG102-USB-Guitar-Link/dp/B000PAPO9W"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-UCG102-U...k/dp/B000PAPO9W[/url] Got neither? [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Korg-Pandora-Mini-Black~ID~14913.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~K...ck~ID~14913.asp[/url] Add these: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD201-Closed-Back-Headphones/dp/B0007XJSQC/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1313420077&sr=1-2"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD201-C...0077&sr=1-2[/url] Sorted![/quote] Dont have an iphone (yet) but the Pandora looks wicked, didnt even know there was a new one and not too pricey which is perfect. Thanks for pointing that one out, real option there. [quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1340806' date='Aug 15 2011, 03:56 PM']Acoustic bass or an Ashdown Perfect 10.[/quote] Would love an acoustic bass but its getting into a lot of cash even for a cheap one and would like to use the Stingray to practice with. Ashdown is an option as it has headphone setc, but if I went down the practice amp route I would want it to make a reasonably good sound through the speaker and it does look a bit small for a Stingray 5. Might be suprised though so will look out for one to try as its not too expensive. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1340807' date='Aug 15 2011, 03:56 PM']Find the cheapest, smallest cab you can on here and get it for home use. For practicing at home it doesn't have to be good, it has to be functional and I think a lot of us forget that.[/quote] i like this option as I may have another smaller project coming up so another cab may be helpful. I still dont have the silent practice option with this though. Cheers so far guys, plenty to think about.

Bit of a dilemma at the moment, I need to stop obsessing over new gear and focus on practicing, better technique and learning songs for the band. The problem is I need some new gear to practice with and I have started obsessing and GAS-ing. [b]The issue:[/b] I leave my big EBS 4x10 at the studio as it is a pain to move in a polo, and the singer and I lift share so bring it home is not an option. I bring my markBass head and cables home after practice but I dont have another practice amp or cab at home so effectively have nothing to practice with apart from playing unplugged which isnt great. [b]Possible Solutions: [/b] 1. Get a practice amp - I absolutely love the EBS session 60 and havent played a better one, but it cost £220 2. Get a headphone practice amp - EBS Microbass is very cool and has some extra features I could use, as I find the DI on my MarkBass very limited. Again though it costs well over £200 3. Use the money I would spend on a practice amp or MicroBass and buy a completely new head with line in and headphone out (and better DI) such as TC RH450 or Genz Benz etc 4. Buy a cheap cab to play through at home and use my MarkBass head but then still have no option for silent practice? What would you all do? I cant make my bloomin mind up....

Well I finally got to try a Contemporary J5 today, I had been looking around for one and my local shop had one in by chance. I was completely blown away, it was absolutely stunning in every sense and not just stunning for theprice tag, this is superb full stop and you know its an Overwater it just oozes quality. First off the build is incredible, the inlays are so well done, the neck joint was so tight, the neck felt beautiful and the paint job and top were stunning in person. Then I plugged in.....powerful, responsive, articulate, and the variation in tone from that 2 band EQ combined with a pickup blend is all I would ever need. The thing that really made my jaw hit the floor was the B string. My friend came down today with his Lakland 55-02 and I can hand on heart say that in almost every way the Overwater outclassed it. He may even shift his Lakland buy one and pocket the difference after playing one. In short this has to be one of the best basses I have played and I want one. I would love to know if the chaps at Overwater intend to do a special edition/run of the Jazzes, I would love one in a different colour with some hipshots and black hardware but that is being ultra picky. Anyway if anyone is thinking about one and not tried one, get in the car and find one. If anyone at Overwater reads this can I please be an official endorser/artist/tester for these basses? I will put at giant Overwater flag on my amp and tell everyone everywhere I play how amazing these are.

Everyone on here has the same feelings as me when I watched Back and Forth, "what a lovely bloke, seems really grounded, wouldnt mind going for pint with him". I have P bass GAS as well at the moment, which has just been fuelled by the thought of this signature.

[quote name='Skol303' post='1333637' date='Aug 9 2011, 02:45 PM']By 'acquire' I assume you mean spend your money on a legitimate licensed copy? In the same way I acquired my bass guitar by, y'know, not robbing it from somebody's house... Just saying [/quote] No I mean find a very good friend who has a multiple user licence and get it installed for the price of a pint and being a good friend.

The latest Garage Band is supposed to be very good but if you can 'aquire' a copy of Logic it is incredibly good. Interface wise, the best I have come accross and the ones used by my session guitarist/composer friend are Apogee. I used to have the Apogee One but the Duet is the next level up, fantastic kit.

I just had a flick through the latest Bass Player mag and apparently Fender will be working on a Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters) signature Precision. Now I am not a huge foo fighters fan and I doubt it will be radical but I think it could be a nice bass. Apparently the neck dimensions will be between a P and J, it will be Mexican built with relicing to match Nate's P bass much like the road worn basses and hopefully it will have the era correct Fender decals too (Nate's is a 70's I believe). I look forward to seeing it as I have recently become a very big fan of P basses.

I bought a Fender Jazz USA 2010 model last year and while I understand that to many they are not worth £1100 new I did not think a sadowsky was worth anywhere near £500 more. It is well known that Fender have some quality control issues but I really think that if you get a good one a USA Jazz is 90% as good as a Sadowsky and IMHO a lot better than any Lakland Skyline I have played. I also think that you get a very different sound from a Sadowsky than a Fender Jazz. Its all personal preference, if it was me and I had anywhere near £1100 I would be looking at the Sei, Nordstrand, GB's for sale on here. If 5 strings arent your thing then there is also a stunning Nordstrand 4 string on ebay which I believe belongs to our very own eubassix. Nordy are said to be on a par with Sadowsky, Alleva, Lull, etc by a lot of folks on talkbass.

Not quite as old as yours but I have three leads (blue, red and green) that my dad made from neutriks and klotz cable about 10 years ago. Incredible leads and have outlasted all the other leads I have bought over the years and far better than the absolute sh**e that Planet Waves produce. When these eventually die they will be replaced with obbm cables, because they are the dogs doo-dahs.

I have a MarkBass LM2 and used to run it through 2 Aguilar GS112 cabs as I thought a modular rig would sound good and be light and transportable. I didnt like them too much, sounded a bit pokey in my opinon and they were not that light. I wanted to be able to move all my gear in one trip so, I ended up buying a EBS 4x10 Neo cab 1000w RMS 4 ohm and it is unbelievable. I can lift with one hand, its built like a tank, looks wicked and the sound is so clear and punchy it is frightening. My stingray 5 through it is devastating.

I never had to search for bands before I moved to Cheltenahm but found myself signing up to numerous sites to try an dfind some good people. Here are a few sites... bandmix joinmyband star now muso finder musicians in your city forming bands

In probably 12 years of playing bass and going to see bands I think once I have seen anyone using something boutique and that includes established bands. I have been lucky enough to own a couple of boutique basses and noone at any gig or rehearsal has really ever given a monkeys about what I am playing or what my amp is, people dont generally care, but they will comment when my bass sounds good which is because of the gear. They will recognise a Fender or Gibson and try and make small talk like "them Fenders, best guitars in the world they are" but that is about it in my experience. Someone once commented that they had heard of my Mark Bass amp.... I had a beautiful Overwater Jazz and took it to practice, the sax player and guitarist both at seperate intervals said something along the lines of "Cant afford a Fender" or "Fenders a bit too expensive are they" and that sums it up for me. 98% of the musicians I have know or met are happy with established brands and never deviate from that.

Had this a while now and despite being up for sale I am not 100% sure I want to let it go. Just an amazing instrument, the build quality is incredible and it sounds massive. Here you go.... [attachment=86000:Stingray_Front_3.jpg]

Amazing! absolutely loved that and i want to see more. What a player, really good tasteful slap and great sound too. I want a TRB now, surely buying one will make me play like that? No, oh well.