Skybone

Had a couple of good dealings with them. Bought a couple of speakers for an old cab from them at a very good price. Spoke to them a few months ago because I couldn't find any combo handles in the spare parts section of the main Ashdown site for my amp, as the rubber was splitting. They couldn't find any, but took my number and said they'd have a look around, and call back if they found some. Lo and behold, about an hour or so later, they called back as they'd managed to find some and sent them out to me.

I had our shirts printed up by https://www.shirtysomething.com/, based in Nottingham. Good price, great service, great prints.

Growing up, listening to rock music, and being fascinated by it all. Hearing bands who were bass driven or had very distinct bass presence made me want to do that over anything else.

Might be keeping an eye on this thread, with a view to trying to make it down there... 👍

Well, this is a bit late, but another +1 for Gemini Pickups.

Totally agree with this. Always have the neck pickup dialled back a bit, as the circuit on a 4003 sounds "muffled" with volumes both on full bore. Dial the neck back a touch, and it opens the sound right out. Not sure if this is a thing on a 4001 though.

New strings will only help. Unless you like flats. Then only old strings will help.

I recently went through a bunch of old CD's that I'd not listened to in years in order to get some "new" music in the car, but I quickly discovered I stopped listening to them for a reason. Likewise, I get recommendations for new stuff quite often, but very, very little of that piques my interest. It's getting a tad frustrating.

There's always "Sorry, we're already committed to something else on that date", which will bizarrely get cancelled...

Dancing on the Ceiling - Lionel Richie

Congrats to being in the enviable position where you only need 1 bass.

It doesn't help that the Ric pickups are all wound in the same direction, and therefore not naturally hum-cancelling, as a split coil "P" type pickup is naturally. You can get RWRP replacement pickups, but you could lose the "Ric-ness" of the sound. There is a way to reverse the polarity of the bridge pickup if you are electrically competent on TalkBass, but again, it's up to you whether you want to look at that as a solution. Unfortunately, if you throw too much gain at a Ric, it can get a bit noisy, but they do sound awesome when they're just subtly overdriven.

Two: Yes, if you plug your pre-amp into the FX Return of the amp, it will bypass the amps pre-amp and go straight into the power amp section. I've been using this for quite a while with an Ashdown combo. I like the results, but its not everyones cup of tea. Three: It's not the bass amp that will colour the sound, it's the cab. The colouration of the sound will depend on the cab you're using, but it will give you a good approximation of the sound you're after. You can always tweak the settings on the pre-amp to try and work around this.

Trapped Under Ice - Metallica

Now there's an idea!

Very tempted by one of the Epi Thunderbird Pro's (an Ebony one). Personally, I wish Gibson/Epiphone would reissue the Victory series.

I was asking our drummer about double pedals, as boyo was after one. Turns out he had a spare one, and so sold it to my son. Actually works really well on the Nitro kit Kick pad.

Noticed that, but you might also think that they might actually get involved in a discussion about T'birds.

Always had a hankering for a T'bird, but never scratched that itch, though that itch has been surpassed by one for the Dingwall D-Roc. Owned a Tokai T'bird briefly. Does anyone else find it a bit odd that the OP hasn't replied as yet? 🤔

Skid Row (Downtown) - Little Shop of Horrors

The Top 10 of Top 10 Lists voted by Top 10 Lists

Vote With A Bullet - Corrosion of Conformity

As with everything, a lot will depend on how much you have to spend on a case. As has been said, modern, padded gig-bags are a really good investment. Even the low-mid end bags available should be pretty good. If you want a hard case, then there is a good selection available, some can be pretty heavy on top of the weight of the bass, but will give you piece of mind when travelling with it. Do some research/web searches before you buy anything.

Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield