Machines

The RedSub Coliseum was always a budget experiment for me, sounded OK but the ergonomics and feel were really quite bad. The D-Roc was actually designed properly and balances very well. I'm rehearsing with it tonight so will let you know once I work out how these straplocks work 😂

I'll try and do some sound demos today if I can find my interface. EDIT: Found it

Last weekend was the Bass & Guitar show in Liverpool. I had the opportunity to be on the Bass Direct stand for the weekend helping with product demos and made a couple of bass sales (Cort A5 Plus SC & Kala U-Bass). It is well documented in other threads that the weekend was fairly quiet, which gave me the opportunity to try out most of the instruments I liked the look of with no limitations. The most popular basses were without a doubt the Dingwalls, a good mixture of those who had never played a fanned fret before - and some who are diehard Dingwall fans. Lots of people went for the D-Roc 5 to try out - it was moderately priced (for a Dingwall !), and had a stunning aquamarine flake finish. It was definitely the most popular instrument I saw being demo'd and was with me too. As a passive instrument, I expected it to sound a bit dull compared to the NG/Combustions, but it did not. It was mostly plugged into a GR Bass head and 2x12 carbon fibre cab. It was without a doubt the most thunderous yet clear bass sound i've heard to date. The pickup switching was very good and there isn't a bad sound available from it. Every time someone tried it out I was hoping they'd put it back, because otherwise I couldn't have it. We got to the end of Sunday and it had survived, so I agreed a sale whilst we were packing up and took it home that day. The only downside, is that I will have to lose 1-2 basses to fund it, but i'll get over that quite quickly. And here it is just before the show opened - I hadn't played it yet nor considered buying it.. should have got Sheldon to sign it but in the fluster of packing up I didn't think of it (i'm 2nd from left).

Imagine spending 2 hours sat next to him discussing life philosophy over a curry. Yeah that happened to me 😀.

I agree - it was too large a venue and whilst in a fairly accessible location, was expensive to access, and ended up looking slightly comical in terms of the space filled. I did the 2008 Manchester Bass Day and that was mental. 2011 Olympia much the same. There were some well known players at Liverpool but not quite as big as we've seen elsewhere.

No, didn't see a single mask in 2 days. I think it's marketing for the event, lack of consultation with the bass community (e.g. Basschat), a lack of buy in for exhibitors, possibly due to apprehension at a new location and the attendees list not looking too hot.

As someone who spent 2 days on the the Bass Direct stand, I can confirm this. Other than an apx 2 hour period on Saturday afternoon (which was bordering on very busy), it was mostly quiet (average 1-2 public in the 20m stand, peaking at 6-8 plus staff). Speaking to the other bass exhibitors, it appears the organisation and marketing for the event was rather lacklustre. There was a very well attended drum show next door, but in another building 5 mins walk away, when there were 2 empty aircraft hangar sized adjacent to the 'bass room'. Putting them together would have made sense and increased footfall for both events. The bass room was a mixed bag of small solo exhibitors, and large distributors, with some random guitar stalls/education types. 3 of the guitar stalls packed up Saturday PM and didn't come back for Sunday. That said. On the BD stand we had some great players turn up and had the time to talk to them, and let them try stuff out without time limits. As someone not invested in the event, I thought it was good fun - caught up with some old faces, met some new - plus got to try out some amazing equipment at my own whim. The Saturday night party was fun, saw Yolanda Charles play a very good set. We were all invited to jam if we wanted - but the setlist was too unfamiliar for me and I didn't want to look like the amateur that I am in front of a very skilled & educated crowd of peers. We packed up an hour early (and were the last doing so) and got home a couple of hours ago. I think if I had paid, I would feel quite put out. P.s the Dingwall in this photo is no longer available 👀

Check this out too: https://theukbassandguitarshow.com/exhibitors/. Not that many 'bass only' stands, but a few that could be hybrids (e.g. Musicman / Ibanez). No map of the hall yet which would be the best indicator. As long as it's headphones only (or at least quiet periods) it should be bearable, but i'm taking my ER-20s regardless.

I'll be there tomorrow setting up with BassDirect - so should be able to give a sitrep of the other stands in place. The live stage very much looks bass focussed though.

Odd pickup choice with the passive J's (as the battery just for the lights !) when nearly all RBXs are humbuckers, but i'd have one (white, not black). If I find one for a decent price (they were clearance at about £350) then i'll go for it. Caveat - I am an RBX fan anyway.

I've for the most part had matching head/cab, the reasons for this have always been aesthetics.

I am in a similar circumstance. What I have does everything I need, and everything I want. Part of playing for me has always been looking for the next shiny thing to covet (hence the 60+ instruments in 20 years). There's one bass I MIGHT shift, but it needs a bit more time to see if it's excess to requirements, and another I might change the preamp in. Other than that, happy.

I've seen some top of the range fairly new £1k Corts struggle to sell for £500.

My current collection is so pleasing I am disappointed I won't want to sell any of them to buy something else I don't need.

Nothing - I always have a huge meal beforehand and don't fancy anything at 1am.

I have one fretless bass. It came with frets 🛠️.

What percentage of bassists have or play a fretless ? I would imagine it's <10%, if not much less. Ibanez do some specific fretless models, which I imagine they think covers that arena, but for every model to have a fretless option (produced in advance) may see a lot not sold.

That's better. Multiple playing styles, a range of octaves, in the mix.

Personally, i watch your reviews with both the sound, and my pants, off.

I just called him too. He said that the RM is not a silent amp designed for home practise, but designed for stage use - so the fan runs permanently. However, it is possible to add a thermal switch to the fan circuit, so it only runs when it gets to a certain temperature - which is unlikely to happen at home. A superb solution.

Having just joined an originals band after zero gigs for 2 years, I have 4 in the diary already in the next 3 months. I haven't gigged original music in over 15 years, so it's quite exciting.

Sounds like he's rolled a few too many if that's his observation of metal bass tones.

Bridge pickups for metal ? Yes. Sure.

Every Cort demo, ever. Let me beat that though, with this chap that they found outside the studio: