Muzz

No, no, no. Not ever. My band leader sometimes tries to do the 'give us a solo' thing...I ignore him. I was in the Dam once with a mate walking across a square, a bloke was doing the keepy-uppy tricks thing with a ball, and kicked it to him. He bent down, picked it up and threw it back, and said "I'm a 'keeper..."

Anything with a PJ (or even just 2 pickups) and a U-Retro. Job done.

I'd echo the recommendations to go and try all sorts at Bass Direct* and somewhere which may have Foderas in stock (Bass Gear have some - have you ever played one?) - if you don't know exactly what you like (other than simply wanting something, and that's a powerful driver in itself) then a cheap and fast learning curve is time there. As an example, I always wanted an Alembic (and a Status, too), until I owned one. And then I didn't any more Ditto a lot of other basses - I've been through a lot, and I've found what I like (which is Shukers and my Dingwall), but it took a long time and a lot of buying and selling secondhand. You may find, like I did, that you walk in Bass Direct wanting a particular brand and walk out wanting something completely different. Knowing what you want is even more important with custom luthier built basses like Shukers, ACG, Alpher, etc - they are all fantastically talented guys who will build you exactly what you ask them to, the rub is you need to know exactly what you want to ask for, because it won't exist until they've built it, and by then you've bought it... You're in a very exciting position - don't rush, try as much as you can, learn as much as you can and enjoy the process... Edit: Just seen you're after a 5 - definitely try Dingwalls, they're extraordinary basses, and that 37" low B is unbeatable, IMHO... * Or Bass Gear, or The Gallery, or Drew's place (The Great British Bass Lounge) in Manchester - depends where you are and where you can get to...

That's odd: we have it in our set, and it gets folk up for the second set just fine...

One of the advantages of playing with good deps is that there's never any fannying about - turn up, tune up (silently), get a rough volume, adjust if necessary by listening to the bloke who's setting the sound up, play the songs. Once you're used to this series of events it happens automatically even at the vaguest of writing/rehearsals. It's not rocket science, it's being a grownup...

A definitive answer? On here? Whooooooowweeeeeee....

He's being a dick - if he wants to play loud, he should turn up early, that way he isn't boring anyone else with his fretw*nkery... Mate or not, I wouldn't put up with that at a rehearsal - just walk over and unplug him...

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1437488663' post='2826451'] The sight of a bunch of women attempting to linedance to the 7/4 section of "Music" by John Miles is thoroughly entertaining. [/quote] Where and when? I'm there...

With some due respect, Bilbo, I'd say your jazz gig and an evening entertaining a complete cross-section of wedding/birthday function guests who'd like to get up and dance are two pretty diametrically opposed things. How packed is your dance floor to the 'not in 3:4 or 4:4' stuff? I think I'd pay money to see that... And it'd be a mistake to confuse 'lazy thinking' with lots of thinking over lots of gigs after lots of audience feedback...

The theme from Starsky and Hutch.

I play in three bands: a wedding/functions band, an originals band and an unashamedly Heavy Metal pub covers band. The first has a setlist picked from around 150 songs, the bookers get to pick from there, we do stuff from GnR to Johnny Cash to Bruno Mars to funk stuff to the obvious Sex On Fire/Dakota to Paul Simon's You Can Call Me Al to Avici to Luther Vandross to a whole Irish subset. The second we pepper the set with covers, as someone mentioned earlier, to keep the punters focused, the third is stuff we want to play (the less obvious stuff like early Rush and Whitesnake and Dio) with the odd Sandman in there. Guess which one I get the most gigs and get paid the most for? At a wedding recently, a girl came up to me to tell me her boyfriend was a drummer in an originals band and didn't it "compromise my musical integrity" to play covers all night? I didn't actually laugh in her face, but I did smile and shake my head. I told her I enjoy playing songs, however despicably obvious, for a dance floor of pretty girls, and getting pretty well paid for it. The Irish stuff, in particular, always gets the place absolutely bouncing, full of jigging happy punters, and oh my God they're only three chords (four for the technically challenging ones )... It all depends what you want from a gigging experience, but I wouldn't ever sneer at anyone else's song choice. The only real yardstick is if it's well played*: a badly played obscure cover or original song (tho it can be harder to tell in this case ) is as toe-curling as a badly played Sex On Fire... * And that can include whether it's played straight as per record, or whether than band makes it their own...

Sounds like it'll be worth a go - you could try a dry run: put both basses in gig bags (if you have two), have a crack at carrying them round in one hand...take them to the shops on the bus...

Not an issue as far as I'm concerned - I've had (owned and gigged, rather than just heard) all-valve, AB and D stuff over 35 years, and I've had bad uns and good uns in both/all three camps. Someone said earlier it's an issue if you can hear it (whether this is actual or psychologically influenced only a proper blind test would prove, but even then, like the scrap plank bass test, it's unlikely to change opinions), but lots and lots of other factors are much much more important to me. I've kept my Streamliner through lots of other amps, D and AB (I've no room in my life for an all-valve behemoth - I kinda wish I did), and it works for me, and with the Compact/Midget can bring the house down: 'umph', 'heft', whatever, all day.

Well, it's a no-brainer - you'll be carrying both at once, so if you can carry both basses in one hand in two cases at the moment, then both basses in one case will be no worse.

I've used a double gig bag for years now, they're less bulky than two separate gig bags, and with two of my basses (I don't play anything over 9lbs) in is an easy one hand carry. Mine's a Warwick, which has stood up to lots and lots of gigs in the back of car and van, although I'd like a Mono double. I'd say they're not as heavy or bulky as two gig bags of comparable protection.

The thickest earplugs may not be the best. As has been suggested, the ER20s (some here : [url="http://www.allearplugs.com/earplug-suppliers/acs-advanced-communication-solutions/etymotic-er20-high-fidelity-earplugs-white.aspx"]http://www.allearplu...lugs-white.aspx[/url]) will allow you to hear what's going on at a reduced volume, but the best ones are the custom fit ones. I've got tinnitus thanks to idiot drummers and guitarists (compounded by my too-casual approach to the dangers of consistent high SPLs), and it's no joke.

We had one particular guitarist who was habitually very loud (he'd start quietish, then turn up and up), because he complained he couldn't hear himself. Got a tilt back stand, pointed his combo at his head...he turned down straight away... Drummers, tho...if they're any good, they'll have more than one volume. And vice versa...

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1436794114' post='2820779'] It's down to cab size rather than driver size. If you've not got the lows, try the 102 STD cabs. Bigger cabs = bigger lows with the Markbass cabs. [/quote] D'you know, this makes more sense than my whole ramble above. It was a busy day in work...

I can't see the 2x10 being less in the lows than a 12". It all depends on your playing volume, but if you're finding 2x2x10s not enough in the lows (with appropriate EQing), I can't see a single MB 12" in a smaller box giving you what you need. I'd also try not to think in terms of speaker diameter alone - I've had a BF 2x12" which had much, much more in the low lows than a 2x15" Schroeder I had. I've had a MB 1x12, a 4x10, I've currently got 2x1x15s (the combo and extension speaker), and I'm using a Compact and a Midget (I used to have a Super 12 and a Big Baby 2).

Use it on a Dingwall...no Mr Floppy issue there I've also got them on a couple of other 34" scale basses, and I don't experience floppiness* on either - having said that, I prefer higher tension strings, so I guess that might help... Edit: This is using a .105 E on all basses... * Ooer, Madam, etc...

I just couldn't wait that long - I know I'd change my mind or see something else I'd rather have. I had Jon Shuker build me a bass last year, but I picked one which was partially-finished from his stock, he made me a new neck and finished it off in less than six weeks (the hardware delivery took a chunk of that up), and that was long enough for me... I didn't think Sandberg were such a small outfit that deliveries would slip so badly - email them and ask to know when the delivery is definitely gonna be. Then make a decision.

We don't rehearse in the wedding/function band - we just get a link to the new songs (specific versions) learn them, turn up and play. We're booked up into next year, and we ain't cheap, so we must be doing something right I get to play with a lot of pro deps, and they don't half raise your game: I'd say always seek to play with people that are better than you, it'll improve you quicker than anything. On the other hand, the originals band was (we ain't got together for almost two years now) all about songwriting in rehearsal, which was a whoooole other thing entirely. To address Blue's OP - Monthly: I've just joined a fledgling 70s/80s Metal covers band (yeah, I know, but it's proper guilty pleasure ) and we're approaching it on the basis of we play four to six new songs at a rehearsal (we can only fit one a month in, given our other commitments), then next time we run through those and add another 4-6, and so on. Gig ready in half a dozen rehearsals, then it's off to blow the roof off the Dog & Duck, again, probably once or twice a month, other gigs notwithstanding... But I'm only working on that basis because it'll fit in with my main gigging schedule...

Great for the money - I've had a couple. If I'm being picky, one could have done with a fret dress, but the other was perfect.

I had a BDI-21 to do exactly what Mark was coughing about above, found I never switched it off, so 'upgraded' to the BDDI, which I didn't think was a whole lot different for several times the price. Never went to the DHA stuff because I was off in the long grass buying hybrid valve pre/Class D heads, and some bigger stuff, but I've always had a kinda 'I don't need one but I'd like one' GAS for DHA kit...

I received mine Saturday morning, they went straight on my Shuker (the other Shuker has DRs), and straight off to a gig Saturday night. Initial impressions are favourable, tho I'll post in more detail after another couple of gigs (I have a full weekend looking), but the coating shows no signs of any wear after the first couple of hours hard pick-work, which a good thing.