Skybone

Gorgeous looking bass, enjoy!

What I used to do if one of the guitar tracks was sounding a bit "weak" was copy it onto another track, so you're basically "double tracking" it. Pan one channel slightly left, the other slightly right.

Simple, no where near enough!

Try some "warming up" exercises before you even pick your bass up. Finger stretches & flexing your wrist on your way to rehearsals & gigs. It works for me. Maybe lift your bass up on the strap a wee bit too.

Not forgetting that it's not only the weight of the guitar that could be a problem here, it's where the bass sits on the strap, and the angle of your wrist while you're playing. Do you "warm up" your fingers & hand before playing? Stretching your fingers and flexing your wrist before you even start playing will help (it does for me). If, for example, you're a particular fan of Peter Hook, you may well wear your bass quite low. This can cause big problems with the angle that your wrist has to be at in order to play the bass, and could well cause the numbness in your hand. If you wear your bass quite high, this might not be so much of an issue. Also, do you work on a computer for any length of time? I found that I tended to lean on my left elbow a lot at work, this was causing pain in my left shoulder. Once I'd realised his and sorted out how I sit while working on the computer, I don't tend to get any problems with my left shoulder any more. Certainly, a wide, padded strap strap should help, but it also pays to think about where your bass sits on the strap, and how your hand & wrist move while playing.

Sounds more like the OP is looking for justification to walk away. "Noddy bass-lines" or not, you are still a member of the band, and if your band "mates" are taking liberties with you and openly mocking your role in the band, then they aren't band "mates". Sensitive or not, sounds like time to tell them to look for another bass player.

With Mike Peter's of The Alarm singing.

A Macgregor 100w 15" combo, my first "big amp". Utter rubbish & weighed a ton!

Quite a few years back, most sound guys I encountered would only let you play through their DI's, which where placed before your amp. They wouldn't even entertain using the DI on the back of my amp (an Ampeg combo), telling me that "If it goes down...blah-de-blah" Hopefully, they're a bit more progressive now that amp modellers and tone shaping DI boxes are available.

Was speaking to someone a while ago, and telling them about a club I used to frequent, that was "home" to Goths, Punks, Indie Kids, Psycho-billes, Bikers, Rockers, Retro-heads & generally all the 80's sub-cultures that didn't find any of the other clubs that interesting. A huge wide variety of music was played, and a huge wide variety of people mingled in the same space. Great place & saw loads of cracking underground bands there before quite a few of them went on to "make it".

I have a Zoom B3, and it has to be one of the best sounding Multi FX I've tried. Very pleased I got one. The only downside to it, is you can only have 3 effects at a time. No big deal for me, but an be a "deal breaker" for those that use a few effects at once. It sounds great though. Held off getting it for ages, as previously, I'd had a Berhinger V-Amp & a Lin6 Bass PODxt, and neither was that impressive IMO. Not tried the BOSS GT's though.

I like the sounds I get from my B3, that's all that matters to me.

I second the Ric proposal. At least try one out.

DI into the PA with an amp modeller or similar pre-amp/DI pedal. Even less to carry!

On most online shopping sites, I always check the postage costs, as most use couriers, and there usually tends to be at least a £10 surcharge on top of what you're buying for postage to the Highlands, even when they claim to offer Free Postage. Mainly because, although most courier companies have bases around the main towns, and a distribution network, they sub-contract out the domestic deliveries to a local firm. Great for them, but a complete PITA for the rest of us. Been looking at buying a new cab recently, and it's actually cheaper to buy it from Germany than from the UK. How daft is that? I was quoted £40 postage on top of the cab from a UK dealership recently.

I use either Strings Direct or Thomann. Depends on who's cheapest after factoring in the postage etc. However, Thomann seem to be winning, as even with the postage factored in, they're still cheapest, as most UK based online shops seem to consider that the UK Mainland stops just north of Perth, and the rest of Scotland is a massive cluster of tiny islands serviced by rowing boats piloted by Para Handy.

Thing is, you can get a really nice old one for the same price as one of Mr Hall's brand-spanking-new ones. Saying that, you are paying a similar price for one that's a few years old. Go figure, as they say. So, given the choice (and if someone gave me the money!), I'd buy a nice older one, or one that's a few years old.

Current GAS: Moto Guzzi 1200 Sport or a BMW R1200R or a Ducati Monster S4R or.....

A Zoom B3 with headphones. Or a 400w Hartke...

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1437552232' post='2826906'] I'm good mates with our guitarist and I frequently tell him to shut the f*** up! It usually works. No one likes other people's noise when they are trying to tune up or get a sound. Just tell him to give you a chance! [/quote] +1 for this one. If you're good friends anyway, and explain to him that you need to discuss something between songs, then surely he will stop noodling away. Does he play at the same volume level while you're rehearsing? If he plays through a valve amp, it generally is not a good idea to switch it off while running, but there's usually a "Standby" or "Mute" switch next to the power switch. Alternatively, just unplug his lead! I remember switching one guitarists amp off mid-rehearsal because of his constant noodling while the rest of us were trying to discuss something... he was a tad annoyed to say the least! We were trying out a new second guitarist, he didn't come back for another rehearsal.

No one used the EX410sc?

As much as I hated the Pop music of the 80's (and still do!), there seemed to be a lot more variety in styles, and a lot of "underground" scenes which didn't get much mainstream press at the time, though Sounds, NME & Melody Maker tried to cover a large variety of stuff. Though to be fair until the advent of Stock, Aitken & Waterman, there seemed to be far less "manufactured" music around than there was in the 70's and 90's and beyond. Who else listened to John Peel on the radio and discovered a whole heap of different music good/bad or indifferent? Everything seems to be "pigeonholed" these days into some sort of tightly confined sub-sub genre. If you like it, you like it.

If you did remove the mute screws and internals (to stop them rattling!), you'd need to source some shorter bridge saddle screws too, as the standard ones tend to be quite long (especially if you like a low action). If you want to do that, then a Hipshot or similar replacement bridge is the only option (or stop muting the strings! ).

Got home from our hols to find a new Ric bridge pickup ring sat waiting for me to fit to No.2 Rockinbetter.