Muzz

Just for some perspective, I'm old enough to have had an SVT and 810 as my Bestest Big Rig back in the day (and I worked up to that via other various heads and cabs, like a Peavey MkVIII and a V-4B), then I went down in size to lots of different heads (including a lot of Class Ds), a MB 410, a 2 x 15 Roland stack, then a Schroeder 215, and then Barefaced cabs took over, and now my Big Rig is some folks' Small Rig, but it's still capable of drowning any drummer...at which point the PA comes into play... I'm playing a lot of pubs, bars and functions now (tho some big stages occasionally, but they're always well monitored, which makes a big backline redundant anyway) with three bands who all have a decent PA. I just stand at the desk during setup with my XLR in my hand and say 'What channel am I in?', and that works... 🙂 The Stomp is the one constant piece of kit I use (and I have a dozen or so presets for different songs (like a Sledgehammer preset, a Wolstenholme preset, a Motown preset, a Gnarly Rock preset, etc, etc)), so I sound like that through everything...after that it's just about room EQ-ing... I play with a time-served (cruises and Middle-Eastern Hotel residencies) Pro guitarist occasionally (the sort of guy who inspires this conversation: 'Does Johnny know xxxx (insert just about any song)?' 'Don't be daft: Johnny knows everything'), and he has some fantastic geetar sounds, including some of the best Rock sounds I've ever heard, and he turns up with just a QSC 12" PA speaker and his FX...

So I was thinking (in another thread) about a previous rig, and it occurred to me that when I was doing relatively few gigs, I'd like to turn up with a bigger rig (even though that isn't that big: a Walkabout and a 38lb 212, and in extreme cases a 30lb 115, too, for stacktasticness), but now I'm out twice a week, I really can't be bothered with the bigger rig, and lean much more toward in-ears where possible, and the 112 combo and DI when not. Am I being more realistic, or just a lazy old toad? I should add that after some tweaking, my sound isn't compromised either way: 90% of it comes from the Stomp...

The irony being that for several years now I've only needed one cab. Still like the vibe of 3 x 12s, but I'm gigging a lot these days, and I can't be bothered with 90lbs of cab, even in three chunks...in fact wherever I can, I use inears, and when that isn't an option, it's the 112 combo and DI...

This one, perchance? Ohhhh, I really miss it now... 🙁

Ohhh, I loved the triple Berg stack I had...trouble was, I could never resist bringing all three everywhere...no self-restraint, y'see... 🙁 🙂

I'd just add that the tone which might sound just right to you in isolation may well sound very different (and not always better) when heard in a band setting*. There's lots of YouTube examples of isolated rock bass which sound very harsh, but in a band context sits in the mix differently. Have a play, as suggested above, with the settings and get to know which knob does what, then when and if you need to adjust in a band context, you'll be a bit quicker and your bandmates won't be standing around tapping their feet while you faff...or maybe that's just my bandmates... 🙂 * Quick example: I used to have a bass cab (a Schroeder, long gone for reasons I'm not entirely clear about, tho it was some time ago, and must've seemed like a good idea at the time) which on its own sounded honky and barky, but worked very very well once the drummer and geeetards started up...

Bought a bass from Pete, perfect transaction; bass arrived very quickly, packed better than most shops or manufacturers manage, all good. 👍

Yeah, if I was travelling the usual time of year we go (October), I'd book a seat like a shot and take one of my good basses (I've paid £36 return for a seat before), but this is a one-off Charity gig, and in late April the tickets are £150-ish...

I'm pretty sure I've got this one sorted, chaps, thanks to a very nice chap on here - a Honda Alien is as I type en route to me...result 🙂

Would be, but the dates I'm looking at (April, exact date TBA), the tickets are nearer £150...

Yes, there will be infrastructure there - our drummer’s Italian, and it’s his home town and musical friends who are organising, and we’ve been invited to play. I was rather hoping not to impose and to play something of mine out there, tho…

Sadly gone, I’m afraid…

Nowt anywhere at the moment, I'll just have to keep looking every day...

I was going off the OP's '...and I want something more the size of the markbass type thing...'

Weird I can cope with...in fact I quite like the Yamaha BXs...then again, I can remember the 80s... 🙂

Yeah, I was more thinking of the cricket bat Spirits...I'll see what I can find on that front first...worth a thought, tho, thanks...

Yeah, I'm trying to avoid that one, as the flights might not be super-cheap around April when we're going (they were £38 return in October when we last went), I'm trying not to double that... I suppose we could do without the singist, and I'll take a bass next to me instead... 🙂 Edit: Just checked, and yeah, the flights are four times that much...

Very often the way...if I find one, use it and want to move it on, I'll let you know... 🙂

Now that I didn't know, thanks for that - all the Hohners (not Hofners, I'm a dolt) I'd seen were neck-through...which, of course, plays right into your 'Finding one...' statement 🙁

Don't rule out a 212 (if it's small/light enough), or even a decent 15...good luck!

Bass -> Stomp -> PA -> In-ears Or (band depending) Bass -> Stomp -> Small monitoring combo/PA

I'd say that this one is an unpaid one-off charity gig, and the only other person I'll be travelling with is the singist, who isn't taking any gear, so I'm hoping to avoid the whole carnet thing... Good point about the proof of ownership, though, I'll have a think about that... Now then, I just have to find a bolt-on headless; the Steinberger Spirits and the Hohners (which seem to be most of the headlesses around) are neck-through...

Sooo, I've got a big gig coming up in Italy in the near future, and I'll be flying Ryanair (because I'm skint), which means a degree of care will need to be taken per taking a bass with me, to avoid doubling my costs (see 'I'm skint', earlier). I'm thinking a bolt-on headless could be disassembled and packed into luggage, does anyone have any clever suggestions (aka Genius Hacks, for anyone under 30) which might help?

Cheap, light and loud? The nirvana of bass cabs...generally the rule is 'Pick two of the three'... 150w is a low rating for a bass cab if you're gigging without DI support; you could run that head into it, but you'd need to be verrry careful with the volume and listen to it closely for signs of distress, which isn't always easy in a band situation; an enthusiastic drummer could give you volume issues. I run a 100w combo onstage for monitoring, but I'm DI'd, and I dial the bottom end out of the amp. I'd say a 300w cab would be easier to find and give you more peace of mind...as for the cab rating in ohms, there's another thread running about the whole 4 vs 8 thing which is quite...complicated.

I've had a LM Valve and a TH500, neither were my speed at the time, the LM Valve I found a bit...fizzy when driven (but that's not what you're after, I know), the TH500 I thought was a bit Meh, and didn't convince...again, all very subjective, and I know my goals aren't yours...those two are the older power unit Class D heads, which I found less authoritative than the newer ones; again, tho, you're not necessarily looking for a big driving live sound, so one might suit...