thodrik

Leads, cables, or as my brother likes to give me 'T-shirts with terrible bass related puns or jokes': A small sample of what I have received over the last few years: My wife utterly hates them, which means that my brother will continue sending me them for as long as we are both alive (he is 38 and I am 36). If we stay in good health then that is possibly 80 more t-shirts if a t-shirt is provided every birthday and Christmas.

https://reverb.com/item/4046543-trace-elliot-715x-bass-combo if it is one of these then you could maybe run the jack from the combo into a head but there is really not much extra cabling so you may struggle. I would just use the combo or bring an amp and cab.

Usually Orkney, sometimes Edinburgh and Glasgow. Though the Helix is on the back burner for the next few months at least owing to housing renovations at the moment

Thanks! Your posts on the Helix over the last while have really brought my head round to the idea. It is definitely on my list of purchases. This year hopefully!

I tried running just a Sansamp into the PA with a monitor wedge at a gig circa 2009, but the soundman refused to put any bass through the monitor on account that 'the monitor is for vocals only' irrespective of the fact that we were an instrumental band and were headlining the gig! For that reason I have generally always used my Mesa Walkabout 1x15 combo so I at least have a monitor for me whatever the set up at the venue, even if none of the Walkabout tone is going through to the audience. Being honest, this is probably a good thing since the Walkabout is usually turned up beyond a level where clean headroom is actually possible. I will always own some mammothly loud amplifiers and cabinets, but that is just a personal interest. I don't need them, I just like them. I have been tempted by the Helix route, but was put off by having a Bass Pod, where I got option paralysis and discovered that the Sansamp was a far quicker and more practical for gigging. Yes the range of sounds on the Sansamp are limited but the sound it does is pretty much everything I need when gigging and recording at speed when I just need to lay something down for somebody. A Helix is definitely on the cards though as it could cover so much of my recording needs for both guitar and bass.

In terms of EBS, I don't have much familiarity with the class D stuff, but I have owned a Fafner since 2009 and have used the HD350 and TD650 amps in the past. The EQ controls and characteristics of EBS amps bear a lot of similarities. Very versatile and powerful EQ controls and can be used in pretty much every type of genre. The drive circuits are very good as well, though I think that the EBS amps sound best run pretty clean and I prefer the drive controls on Aguilar and Mesa amps to EBS for 'rock' style tube overdrive. In terms of a pedal platform though the EBS amps are brilliant as the amps can be very transparent.

I wouldn't discount the Aguilar TH series either. Like the Darkglass it doesn't have a valve, but the drive feature is really good. The TH500 or TH700 would be on my list for sure. If you want something bigger and with loads of headroom, someone is selling my old Mesa M6 in the classifieds here. I actually sold it because it was too loud and clean and preferred the furry, bloomy tone of my old Walkabout. Heavy compared to modern class D amps though would perhaps be a lethal weapon with a Barefaced 6x10.

Hmmm, I actually have 3 'drive' pedals on my board and a full on fuzz. However one 'drive' is the Sansamp bass drive which I run on clean, the other ones are a Darkglass B3K and Alpha Omega which I run with the gain at very low levels. To my ears the two Darkglass pedals sound better together than run by themselves, so I use them for adding 'character' as much I use them for actual overdrive. For a loud rock gig the pedals are almost always 'on' so I haven't bothered trying to get the AO and B3K in a seperate loop that I can turn on and off with one switch. This has been my 'that will do' temporary set up until I buy a single drive pedal to replace the AO and B3K. However, I have not had this set up for nearly five years! I should never have sold the Aguilar Agro...

Rumours era Fleetwood Mac. I used to have a 'Peter Green or nothing' attitude to the band. Now I really really like the later period stuff, especially the 1980s stuff. Other than that I am fairly consistent. There is nothing that I used to love 'back in the day' that I now actively dislike listening to. Well, maybe the Red Hot Chili Peppers, post-Stadium Arcadium, and perhaps Baroness and Queens of the Stone Age depending on what their next albums are like. Even then that is more me not really being interested in the direction the bands are going in (and in Baroness's case the tinnitus-levels of red line peaks and brick wall compression production techniques) rather than me growing tired of a particular style. I probably listen to Queens of the Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails, Kyuss, Rage Against the Machine and Alice in Chains a lot less than I used to, but that is more on account that their back catalogue is engrained into my brain so I really don't need to listen to them anymore, particularly when there is so much new music to listen to.

I very much favour Mesa over Ampeg. For a back up amp I like something light and in a small package, because generally it won’t need to be used unless the main amp has an issue, which will generally (or hopefully) be very rare. You can’t really go wrong with the Mesa. I would definitely take the D800 over one of the class D Ampegs including the SVT 7. I would like an SVT Classic but not as a back up amp I would be taking ‘just in case’. I do like SVT IIIs, however the Mesa will have far more power and clean headroom.

Finding them in the UK new is tricky. The lack of an actual tube pre-amp and limited EQ (compared to the TT 800 and WD 800) is kinda what stopped me from buying one. Also the voicing of the amp is apparently similar to the older Carbine amps which I found to be a bit aggressively voiced. I owned an M6 for 18 months or so before selling to buy a Big Block 750. If I was lucky enough to own a DB750 and wanted a back up amp that was tonally consistent then I would probably be looking at an Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 or similar. If nothing else, if you buy a Mesa you generally get something that is rock solid in terms of design, construction and reliability. I have had a Walkabout for 13 years and it is still kicking. If you can try one out I would definitely recommend doing so.

Ok then. Probably the Ultra Jazz then. Probably five strings. Probably sunburst. Probably would still get sold.

If offered for free, definitely a Fender Custom Shop which I would then try to sell. I would then use the funds from the sale to pay for some floor insulation and a new oil tank.

To be fair I am guilty of that on many occasions. I wasn’t meaning to ridicule so much that it is good to know that it isn’t just me who does that.

Bands like Torche who use drop A tunings on guitars (Sonic Youth style with the low E tuned to and the remaining strings in standard) tend to have the bass in standard tuning. For Sabbathy tunings around C sharp standard I would just tune down. For modern metal on 8 string guitars I would probably do something similar to Deftones approach or the Meshuggah approach where the bass is actually tuned ‘up’ from standard EADG tuning. For me it really depends on what works for me in the context of the band. Currently I’m back playing in standard EADG tuning for the first time in ages.

I am regularly guilty of the odd typo, but someone at Bass Direct has really had a bad day here. Definitely gave me a laugh and to be honest it won’t stop me from buying from the shop again.

Theoretically about £13,000-£15,000. Realistically about £0 in the current economic climate and my current actual need for a new bass.

For drop C on a four string I use gauges of 130, 95, 70 and 50. I used to use a 120 but prefer the tightness of the 130 though I wouldn't try to tune it to D standard! With a drop C/D standard bass I used a 120-90-70-50 set of D'addario Balanced Tension strings, If Chi Cheng was using 120-65 strings for drop G# that would seem to me to be very light gauges for the tuning. Pretty sure that he was using a four string tuned to G#, C#, F#, B, so a 65 gauge tuned to B wouldn't be overly tight. I used drop G# tuning and needed to at least use at 145 gauge but had better results with a 160. The type of tone Chi Cheng went for did not require a really tight bass sound. His sound was massive, slightly-soupy and all-enveloping, so it is possible to use lighter gauge strings tuned down if you are going for that kind of sound. Personally I really liked Chi's playing. I used to use 115-55 sets of GHS strings in standard tuning, which were about my limit.

What is your budget? Also, if you are playing drop D/C etc, you can generally set up a four string to achieve those tunings. My main band plays in drop C. I have a five string and four string set to drop C. I generally gig more with the four string as I generally don't need the extra string but I do more writing and rehearsing with the the five. You could of course play a five string tuned BEAD but if you are in a band playing a lot of open string riffs (as a lot of rock bands tend to do) trying to transpose riffs can be more problematic than simply setting up the bass to a different tuning. It might be worth getting to a shop and trying a few different five strings. String spacing at the bridge is one end, shape of the neck near the nut is another thing. It is generally just worth trying out different makes. You might be surprised at what you prefer. In terms of the sub £1,000 market, a Squier/Fender/Sire might be worth a try as they will definitely have wider string spacing than the Ibanez, as will something like a Sterling by Musicman (though I think that is narrower than a Fender design). There are loads of good five strings at every budget, including used ones on the BC marketplace.

Honestly, it might be worth contacting EBS directly and they might be able to provide/sell you replacement drivers designed for the cab. In general my understanding is that EBS use Emminence drivers made to their own spec. The Prolines I think used speakers that were very similar to Emminence Gammas, however I don't have any knowledge of the equivalent Neo speakers. My best guess would be something similar to the Emminence Deltalites but made to EBS' own spec. Accordingly I would contact EBS directly. They are generally very good to deal with in my experience. If they can't sell you the part direct, they will point you to their UK distributor or dealer.

For what it is worth I have been using the Fafner with a Mesa Powerhouse 6x10 and it is fairly tremendous. Heavy, impractical, but tremendous. Prior to that I used it with Peavey-era Trace Elliot cabs, a 2x10 and latterly a 1x15. I have also used an HD350 with Ampeg cabinets and it was pretty good. However I personally think that the EBS amps are better suited with modern cabs with either a flat response or good high range extension. So Vanderkley or Bergantino would be my choice if not the matching EBS cabs.

I have had a Fafner since 2009, still going strong. There is a big similarity in terms of the EQ between the Fafner (mk 1), the TD650 and the HD350 except that there is a 12AX7 tube which forms part of the drive circuit in the TD650 and Fafner. The Fafner is a hefty lump of an amp at about 440watts at 4 ohms it isn't massively more powerful than the HD350 which is more portable as well. Generally the HD350 is the most practical of the amps. I was going to buy one back in the day but bought the Fafner because I thought it looked really cool (still does). Not tried the class D amps but I would reckon that the EQ system will be similar as well to the older bigger amps so I would have not hesitation getting one of them. However while the Fafner is still trucking on I don't see the need. The 802 unfortunately is not in my price range (well it is, but it would risk divorce).

My NYXLs are still working okay after about 3 months. However, I am not playing that particular bass regularly (gigging and rehearsals have dried up recently), so it probably gets played about 2 hours a week at the most. Even then I am not convinced that the NYXLs last demonstrably longer than normal XLs as they have started to dull slightly even in that time. From being a long time user of the D'addario XL strings though I am not convinced that there is a massive jump in quality from XL to NYXL. I think I still prefer Elixirs though so will be going back to using them next as over the long terms they are a good investment. I prefer the initial tone of the fresh NYXLs (and fresh XLs) to most strings I have tried but the Elixirs deliver a 8.5 out of 10 sound which remains constant for about a 18 months. On another bass I got a set of Ernie Ball Super Slinkies which I loved, well for two weeks and then the E string just died.

I use it with a Dunlop brick. No issues.

I have had one for 5/6 years. Really great transparent compressor. The best thing about it is that I have never thought ‘I need a new compression pedal’ once since I bought it. Highly recommended unless you need a compressor that really has an affect on the overall tone. Works great on guitar too!