RhysP

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1344093706' post='1759739'] A lot of the stuff I want to play is in drop C or C standard. [/quote] The hassle/enjoyment ratio is skewed far too much toward the hassle end for me to even think about bothering with drop tunings - I personally think they sound bloody awful anyway. If I can't do it with a standard tuned four or five string then I don't bother.

Just drop the E to D, no need to retune the whole bass.

You can buy my Bartolini soapbars for £1500 & I'll throw in the rest of the Zon Fretless for free.

Just got a reply from the local firm I contacted so I'm dropping the amp off to them next week - fingers crossed!

Looks like I might be taking on backing vocals & some keyboard duties as well as bass if the band I might be joining works out. More concerned about the voice than anything - it's a long time since I've done any "proper" singing & I don't know if my voice has held up over the years.

So, just to clarify: The streamliner goes tubey warm & very clean too, and also has good mids ( I hate that scooped mid sound with a passion). It's easily portable, loud as f*** & a very reasonable price. If this is correct it sounds just the job.

[quote name='Voodoosnake' timestamp='1344040634' post='1759180'] Cardiff Guitars on West Bute Street. Great place, swift and reasonable. Saved my ass a few times. [/quote] Cheers for that - I didn't know they did amp repairs.

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1343915087' post='1757253'] current guitars are: Hamer Chaparral. - Early 90's active model, made in USA and with boomers on the fretboard. Fantastic for widdle and whammying, but also extremely versatile. By far my faviourite neck, flat thin and fast.[/quote] Awesome! Chaparrals are great guitars (as are all Hamers IMO). Boomers are the coolest inlays ever. Has yours got the sustainiac built in or not?

I've just been looking on the internet & I've found a firm that specialises in audio & high power amplifier repair only about 10 minutes from where I live. I've emailed them to find out if they work on instrument amplifiers so fingers crossed, especially as it looks increasingly like I'm about to join a band & start gigging again for the first time in many years......never say never again!

Gotta love the Maids. Playing in front of a crowd like that must be f***ing awesome!

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1344006536' post='1758639'] Ridiculous money for what is essentially a CNC cut and assembled bass. They are workhorse basses, not boutique basses and I think at that price, they are just going to fail. I think all it's going to do is drive people away from using their basses. [/quote] I don't think it will make that much difference - there will always be people stupid enough to pay through the nose for a name rather than a quality instrument.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1343983852' post='1758097'] I've even heard it said that there's some guy from Liverpool who still uses a cheap old bass that was all he could afford as a teenager. [/quote] And it still sounds sh*t to this day.

Are there any rock/metal players using Genz Benz amps or isn't it really suited to that sort of stuff?

There's no speaker out on the combo anyway - it sticks it's full 350 watts into the internal speaker. There's a bi-amp thingy on it, but you have to use a powered cab with it.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1343947055' post='1757848'] having found a picture of the back of your combo, it's not the easiet thing... you need to get the amp out somehow, work out which screws hold it in, my guess would be if you take the handles off the top off the thing should slide (forward?) it it doesn't shift don't force it. [/quote] I've tried taking the amp out of the combo to see if there was anything obvious wrong (and for me it would have to be REALLY obvious ) but I couldn't get the amp to budge even a tiny amount when I took the screws out of the top. Thanks for the rest of the information.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1343944449' post='1757802'] Easier to ask around for someone in your area who's comfortable opening up that amp of yours..... [/quote] The thing is I can't afford to give somebody a load of money just to open it up & tell me they can't do anything with it - I'm better off putting that money towards another amp.

Following on from my "Knackered EBS combo" thread, I am wondering how easy it is to turn a combo into a cab: is it as easy as just wiring up the internal amp/speaker connection to a jack or speakon socket and plugging in an amplifier head with the correct ohms , or is it more complicated than that?. I ask this because I have absolutely f*** all money to buy a new combo/rig with, so if I can get by with using the speaker part of the combo & just buying a sh*tty secondhand head of some sort that would be OK. Just trying to make the best of a bad situation; the alternative is not having any amp at all for the first time in 33 years.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1343935328' post='1757648'] "Babooshka" and "Army Dreamers" for me. (Both on "Never Forever") Definitely Giblin on bass for the former. [/quote] "Babooshka" is probably my favourite bass part of all time, and also one of the reasons I'm selling my fretless; I could never begin to get close to that level of expressive brilliance on the instrument.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1343915392' post='1757258'] woah slow down - give them more than 24 hours to answer you, esp and it's not going to a english speaking country! also EBS may be the greatest company ever and their UK distributers are crap. [/quote] I've contacted EBS a few times over the last 18 months about various things & have never received a reply apart from when they thought I was going to buy something. Advice or questions after you've spent your money? - forget it, they don't seem to give a flying f***. (I've got a load of pedals as well as the amp).

No, nothing - haven't heard back from EBS or the amp tech I contacted. When it comes to buy another amp EBS won't be on the list - I'm not prepared to spend money on a product who's company doesn't honour their warranties, or won't even give me a reason why it won't.

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1343903575' post='1757005'] As for the OP.....the majority of replies seem to be saying set goals and keep playing....easy if you are not stuck inside your own head with depression..... [/quote] Ahh, somebody who actually knows what he's talking about - well done to you. I cannot believe some of the ignorant, offensive bollocks I'm reading on this thread: "Don't be so f***ing weak & just do it" - what a great bit of advice for somebody who suffers with chronic depression. If you think people with depression could just "stop being f***ing weak & just do it" don't you think we would? Even with medication to help alleviate the worst of it depression has ruined both mine & countless other peoples lives & to hear people come out with vacuous sh*t like this makes me so f***ing angry. "Weak"? You have no idea of the strength & force of will it takes just to get through another f***ing day when you are a chronic depressive. It's no wonder mental health conditions still have so much stigma attached to them when there is so much stupidity & ignorance like this around.