Ian Savage

Oh, and since it's for a wee girl, Daisy Rock would be well worth a look too.

About the smallest I've come across which can still be realistically called a bass would be something like a Squier Bronco, you can get 'em nice and cheap too.

Red 5 Audio are excellent at the lower end (http://www.red5audio.com/acatalog/Drum_Kit_Mics.html) although with a pretty good kick mic already maybe look at four SM57s and clips (if you can find a reliable source for secondhand, tons of fakes around).

Most Bass Collection basses are feather-light; haven't got a set of scales at the minute, but if mine weighs more than 3kg (about 6 1/2 lb) I'd be VERY surprised. Well-made instruments too.

I've been using LaBella Heavy Blues 12-54 gauge on my Tele for a good while now, sounds great; I've just picked up a load of Rotosound 'light-top/heavy-bottom' 10-52s for not a lot of money though so shall give those a try soon.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1157554' date='Mar 11 2011, 02:02 AM']Done. MP duly pestered.[/quote] Me too!

Don't know if the finish would be up your alley, but as far as slim neck and good range of tones goes this would suit: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=85196&hl=collection"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...p;hl=collection[/url] Would take an offer well within your budget if it floats your boat...

I'm fairly sure I'm going to regret selling the Gibson Melody Maker I'm currently moving on, but the bastards at the CSA are forcing my hand

[quote name='charic' post='1154118' date='Mar 8 2011, 05:24 PM']This is the most GAS inducing bass I could find for 1986 in the 5 minutes I could be bothered to look 1986 Rickenbacker 4003 Shadow Bass[/quote] WANT!!!!!! Is that a maple 'board as well?

As a child of the 80s, mine is likely to be considerably cheaper yet considerably more tasteless. This would probably be typical: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1980-B-C-Rich-Mockingbird-Bass-Rare-Violet-Pearl-/200524923351?pt=Guitar&hash=item2eb03781d7"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1980-B-C-Rich-Mockin...=item2eb03781d7[/url] although I'd happily jump this one's bones: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4001S-BASS-NATURAL-1980-MINT-CONDITION-/180633081581?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2a0e9216ed"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4001S-B...=item2a0e9216ed[/url]

As a musician and engineer, sometimes at the same time, I've taken to using an approach which I first saw done by the guys who used to work the Roadhouse in Birmingham (weird, but lovely men): 1/ Drummer playing at normal gig levels unmic'd, everyone brings up their amps so they can just about hear themselves. 2/ If anyone needs more of anyone else, add it in the monitors (e.g. guitars on opposite sides of the stage) 3/ Bring vocals into the monitors, adjusting e.q. and reverb in wedges to taste / to tame feedback. Only then should you start looking at the FoH mix, and bring in the mics on the drums if you're using them. USUALLY leads to a group of musicians who can hear everything they need to, and total control over the FoH sound for the guy who's actually hearing it (i.e. the engineer). At least until the guitarist turns the amp which was set at 'four' during soundcheck up to 'seven' for the gig

[quote name='ben604' post='1152468' date='Mar 7 2011, 01:41 PM']What cabs/amps do you use?[/quote] At the minute, a QSC USA900 amp (2x450W into 4 ohms) into a pair of Peavey Pro 15 speakers (600W program handling, four ohms) - they work very nicely together (a few vocals and maybe a smidge of guitar or kick drum) and probably cost less than £400 (I forget now). Add a sub and a second amp and the system'd be able to cope with 2-300 capacity venues, I reckon. [quote name='ben604' post='1152468' date='Mar 7 2011, 01:41 PM']What would you use if you had the choice?[/quote] Now THAT'S a question The idea of an active 2x15+horn pair is very appealing, BUT unless you're always playing on stages a couple of feet high you're right, they'll be too low on their own and a lot of your sound will be lost into the front row/dancefloor/whatever. Rather than put them on 'normal' speaker stands I guess a couple of good, sturdy wooden boxes or something would be more stable and not put them [i]too[/i] high, but carrying something like that around sort of defeats the object of a one-box solution. I guess you'd not always need the full rig either, especially for smaller places where you ony need vocals through the PA or whatever, so the option of just taking two speakers (and an amp, if you're not active) might be attractive. And there's good evidence that using two subs as opposed to one can do more harm to your sound than good, because of phase cancellation at the low end and all that kind of stuff; shame that using just one sub buggers the symmetry of your stage setup but it's one less thing to carry, I guess.