Skybone

So, I'm joining a new band, nothing too ambitious thankfully, just for a bit of fun. Anyway, I have a bass, but no amp. Not a major problem as I have just bought myself a Zoom B3, so I could plug in to a PA or bass amp for rehearsals/gigs etc. But it's got me thinking about maybe purchasing an amp of some description at some point in time, and then use the B3 as a pedal board rather than as an amp sim. I've owned bass amps before, but haven't had one for quite a number of years, and the technology has moved on since then (hopefully the sound has as well!). Last amp I had was a 100w Ampeg SVT15T combo with a 15" speaker. When the stars aligned, it sounded fabulous, a lot of the time, it sounded OK, the rest of the time, it was awful. Prior to that, I'd had my share of the bad, the ugly and the down-right dreadful amps on an incredibly limited budget. In the past, I have tended towards combo amps with a 15" speaker, great for rock & metal low end, not that great on the higher range. On my guitar amp(s), i've mainly used 12" speakers, which cover pretty much all sonic bases I was after. So, back on topic. What is the general consensus of speaker configurations does the BC crowd like and why? Seen a few Ashdown combo's with 12" speakers recently that look good, and would hopefully be "luggable". Something like a 2x10 combo would "move a bit more air" and still be manageable, but would it fit the sonic requirement? I did have a crazy idea of getting a second hand bass cab and using my valve guitar amp head, but it's more stuff to lug about. The music is rock-y/punk-y/etc, the bass is a RickenFaker, sound I'm hoping for is tight & punchy, but with a good spectrum of lows/mids/highs (though whether my playing is still tight & punchy is another matter completely! ).

Had the B3 for a week or so now, very pleased with it so far. Mainly using it as an amp sim/DI box, and very pleased with some of the sounds I'm getting out of it. So far, the SVT & Flip Top models are favourites, but the SuperBass, BassMan & Acoustic models are nice too. In fact most of the amp models are pretty darn good. Some of the effects are a bit OTT, but the good thing is that they can be tinkered with, and the factory reset is nice to know about.

If it were me, I'd add reverb, just a little bit of say a spring or a small room, just to give your sound some [b]W_I_D_T_H[/b], if you know what I mean. Nothing too cavernous or fancy. If your amp has reverb, then use it, or there's quite a few nice reverb pedals out there just now (mainly digital reditions). I had a Marshall Reflektor (IIRC) for a while, which was good & cheap, and it was used in a lot of the Marshall (guitar) valve amps.

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1422467902' post='2673102'] I had one of the MiK's, well made, nice sound and a joy to play. (whilst seated for me) I just couldn't get on with the strap pin positions and where that put the neck when I was in the standing position. Was sad to see it go but as I didn't want to use it live it had to go. Might be a good idea to make sure your comfortable with that.. It was one thing I had never even thought about. edit smelling [/quote] My electric guitars are the same, so quite used to that.

BBC: [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-31039634"]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-31039634[/url]

I'm not "fascinated" with the indivdual measurements per se, it's just a way to "weed out" potentially unsuitable guitars. Unlike many, there are 3 guitar shops in a 50 mile radius of where I live. Those three shops are relatively small, and also carry a large number of other instruments, loads of guitars (as you'd expect), drums, keyboards, PA & traditional instruments (mandolins/accordians/bagpipes etc - as you'd expect in Scotland). Basses are, at most, an afterthought. Generally a very limited choice of instruments (Fender/Squier mainly, a small number of "trendy" name basses), generally nothing out of the ordinary or specialised. I was truly amazed when I found the Yamaha in one of the shops nearby. I know I have spent rather a large amount on gear over the many years of playing, that in the shop feels & sounds great, but when you get them home & into rehearsals they don't quite "meet the mark", be it "feel"/sound or whatever. Before the Rockinbetter I had an MIC Jazz, it was a nice bass, I've owned quite a few Jazz & Jazz inspired basses over the years, and they were great, but the MIC JB just didn't feel right after having owned a 4003 for quite a few years previously. I could waste a lot of cash buying basses that don't suit, but I can't afford to do that these days, so I am merrely trying to narrow the field, seeing as I am highly unlikely to get hold of another Rockinbetter with a nice comfy neck & 42mmm nut.

Anyone enlighten me on the neck width at the nut? Is the neck a chunky handful or slim & narrow?

I'm (still) waiting on a Zoom B3 to get delivered. I'm hoping that will be a more versatile bit of kit sound-wise.

Does anyone out in BC land own a Warwick Star Bass? I've been thinking about getting a second bass to go along with my Rockinbetter. I'm only at the research stage while I accumulate some pennies for this idea (along with a few other ideas/projects). Current contenders: Another Rockinbetter (more like Rockinhorsepoo!) Another RickenFaker from another source (a couple of different possibilities) Epiphone Thunderbird Classic (through neck, passive version) Yamaha BB424/42 4X G&L L2000 Tribute OR Save up long & hard & line Mr Hall's pockets a bit more... My preference is for a passive, and I know the G&L is active, but it can be switched to passive. Plus it has a nice wide neck at the nut (44mm). I did consider a StingRay, because of their neck profile, but I'm not a fan of actives (because of the last few actives I owned). I've owned 2 StingRays (2 EQ versions) in the past, both with seriously chunky & gorgeous necks, but I could never get a satisfactory sound from them. Whether that was me or the 'Ray is highly debateable. Anyways, this research got me wondering about the Star Bass, I know it's a medium scale (32"), passive, but I can't find any neck width info anywhere. Can anyone enlighten me? What do the MEC Motherbuckers sound like? Currently, it's between the Yam & the G&L. Cheers.

Sounds like you need to drop Mr Giblin a line (possibly via Wunjo?), and get a sined letter from him to prove that your new Tak was in fact the one he used on the Kate Bush gigs. You never know when it might come in handy.

I have a PODxt for guitar, and I always found it to be quite good with bass too (I use the HiWatt & Plexi models with various 4x12 cab models). Bizarrely, I tried the 4x10 cabs, but the 4x12 models simply gave a sweeter tone. I briefly had a Bass V-Amp 2, and was distincly unimpressed with it, I just couldn't get it to sound right. Took it back to the shop within a week. Sometime later, I bought a Bass PODxt, and again, it was seriously unimpressive compared to the guitar version that I had been using up to then. Sold it on after a couple of months. I know this is neither useful or particularly helpful, but do I think that the way ahead with amp modellers is to play about with them until you find something that meets what you think is a good sound.

Ordered a B3 the other day thanks to this thread, waiting for it to arrive..... Had bee considering getting a dedicated bass amp modeller, and was seriously looing at the Vox StompLab 2B, but after a bit of digging around on t'interweb, I look like the B3 was the one to go for.

Musky, the neck on my Rockinbetter is incredibly similar to the neck on my old 4003, enough for me to be very happy with the bass. I know what you're saying about the older "chunky" PP bass profile, but the profile on the Yam 424 that I tried was more of a handful than the MIM P Bass I tried out in the same shop. The Yam kind of reminds me of the StingRay neck a wee bit (owned 2 StingRay's previously), but to my knowledge, there isn't a passive StingRay in either the MM range or the Sterling/SUB range, and if I could afford an MM StingRay, I would buy another 4003 instead. I know what you mean by getting down to a shop & try a few out, but therein lies the difficulty... Near where I live there are only 2 music shoppes, there's 1 near where I work (50 miles away), and a few more about 100 miles away & more much further afield. Choice is limited in the few shops that are about, and though mail order is the best way to get a good deal, it means taking a big risk in buying something unseen & untried. I've been playing long enough to be know what I like & don't like and I've wasted far too much money over the years on gear that doesn't fit what it's intended for (as I'm pretty sure everyone else on here has as well! ). Hence asking the question on here. At the moment, the Yam is looking like a pretty good prospect. Thanks for the heads up ead, but tbh, they simply don't float my boat. Does anyone have any Thunderbird / Ric experience?

Bit of a weird query, but I shall explain. Here goes... My main bass at the moment is a Rockinbetter Rickenfaker, it replaced an MIC MP Jazz which replaced a Ric 4003. Even though I've played Jazz basses & jazz style necks in the past, but after the Ric, I was finding I was just not getting on with it at all. The Rockinbetter filled the Ric shaped gap with a similarly Ric-a-like proportioned neck (without the Ric-a-like financial outlay). I now find myself with the proposition of a new band, and already I'm thinking about acquiring Bass No.2. I'd love another Faker, but they're pretty thin on the ground. Which got me to thinking, what basses out there, if any, have a Ric-a-like styled neck? I appreciate that their neck profiles are somewhat unique, and I went through a similar process when I was trying to find something to replace the Ric and the MP JB. I keep coming back to the Epi Classic Pro IV Thunderbird, and the Yammy BB424 & 424X. The Yam has a nice chunky neck, feels nice and plays well (had a shot on one at a local music instrument retailing emporium), though never tried the Epi. How do the 2 compare with the Ric neck and each other? Anyone have any other suggestions for a good bass on a limited budget?

Another vote for "Fluffy to tray, spiky to pedal". Main reason for me, is that the spiky side collects dirt & other assorted crud like a magnet, where the fluffy side doesn't. This means that you can swap and change pedals around as you like, and not loose any adhesion (for want of a better word) on the board. If it was spiky side down, you will loose adhesion on the strip because it gets clogged up with crud very quickly.

If it's a Who tribute band, does that mean that the other "celebrities" involved are going to be tribute acts as well?

The story I heard, many years ago, was a variation on that theme, and that his mother had a heavy Yiddish accent, thus making "Gary" sound like "Geddy".

He needs to reimburse himself after having been embezzeled by his former PA..... [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29819631"]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29819631[/url]

Have a look at this site for more info on Aria & other Matsumoku built guitars... [url][url="http://www.matsumoku.org/guitars.html"]http://www.matsumoku.org/guitars.html[/url][/url]

I found that the recording process really helped, both the playing and learning the words. I could never remember the lyrics for songs (that I'd written! ), and always had to have lyric "crib" sheets for each song by the mic stand. This made things really difficult, as you'd not only forget the words, but forget where you were/what you were playing in a song. Somewhat awkward. When it came to recording the songs, doing the music separate to the lyrics really helped me concentrate on the neccesary parts individually, and it became so much easier doing those songs at the next rehearsal, as I'd not only remember the words, and so could concentrate on the music far more easily too.

Destroyer basses were made in the 80's, and were available in the UK. Like the Iceman, I don't think that they were an overly popular model in the UK, but there were certainly a few about. Not sure how many survived though. Sweet looking reissue, it's about time they revisited the Destroyer. Must admit, I really want one of the Artist reissues, now I want a Destroyer bass too!

TBH, I don't think he knows what he wants (apart from making a noise)! He does like a bit of rock and a bit of acoustic stuff to, from Nickelback (I know...) to Newton Faulkner, pretty much anything we might have on in the car, though I must say, he's not that keen on Pop (where his sister likes One D, The Vamps & other such pre-teen marketed Pop). I think the next step would be to find a guitar tutor willing to teach him, and discuss it with them.

How wee? He's 7, but quite tall for his age, which is why I think that a 3/4 scale would be better for him, and also that it'd last a few years as well. Had a look at the Harley Benton strat-a-like starter kits at Thomann, seems to look like a decent bit of kit (and should withstand a bit of battering too). Showed it to the boss, but she reckons he'd be better off with an acoustic, and that a teacher would prefer him to use an acoustic. I think it wouldn't matter what he played, so long as he was willing, though an acoustic may well be "quieter" when he's "practicing". Seen a few 3/4 scale acoustics that look half decent in the price range, though a bit concerned about the depth of the body. If someone did a cheap thinline acoustic, that would be an excellent "half-way house". Thanks for the input.

It sounds like they've employed a former Gibson Quality Control employee...

Saw them way back in 1988, with their original frontman Chuck Mosely. Never gelled with Mike Patton as a frontman after Chuck left.