Bleat

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How can we be several pages in and not one of you has wheeled out the tired old "Jaco only needed 4 strings" statement. Well... there it is! I only need 4 strings with a bass xtender, or rather I would have a bass xtender if it hadn't completely collapsed and broken on me for no apparent reason last week. So just 4 strings it is for the moment.

I have a Digitech Hardwire HT-2 which I rate as one of the best tuners. This is my 3rd one as I thought I could find better. Needless to say I couldn't, certainly not at the used prices. They come up on eBay used every so often. It's a bit bigger than heavier than a Boss and more responsive.

Here it is: Laney Amps Merchandise Always worth keeping an eye on to see what comes up. 😎

I've never been one for getting flavour of the month gear, preferring to get what is either decent and affordable at the time or what just personally appeals to me regardless. I'm not out to impress other bass players, it's all about what makes me happy! Recently I bought 2 Laney 2x10 cabs from their ebay shop. They cost me £200 each and I don't think the Nexus cabs were cheap items when they were the current bass gear. The spec certainly isn't cheap, and is on a par with those new Ampeg VB cabs aside from my Laneys handle more power at 400 watts each, a bit heavier at 17kg, I think better looking, and certainly much cheaper! As I grew up in the Black Country, it's also nice to be supporting the brand also. 😎

Did you did , did you didn't, or didn't you did. That's what I want to know.

I don't know about the TC Helix, but I have just bought a mint used Boss PH3 Phase Shifter which I'm quite pleased with. It can do several stage phasing, tap tempo for phaser speed, and can even use an expression pedal with it. It has several knobs for fine tuning the phasing. I am running it in loop of line selector pedal so can mix in some dry bass signal. If you want simplicity however, a used 1 knob MXR Phase 90 would be a good bet.

Sorry, not tried that one, but I do have a (slightly customised!) Joyo British Sound on my slowly growing pedal board. I run it off a line selector to get a clean mix and use it to mix in some Marshall-like mid boosted grit, however the eq is great and it can easily be used as a standalone bass overdrive. Great tones for little outlay. 😎

My new, itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow..... Markbass Octaver pedal.

How about "Which one is fatter, your best friend or your favourite bass?"

A/B Out is just a line switcher. Sends the signal but doesn't return it. i only need it for clean signal mixing though .😎

Not an effect exactly, but it is a pedal and it is my latest thing! Much more affordable than the urine extracting price that Boss charge for an LS-2, and does the same thing.

Recently bought a bass bridge from Mark. Good comms, nice hassle free purchase, and received quickly. Recommended!

I had the same Marshall cabs with a Jubilee head a few years ago, sounded awesome! It's a shame Marshall stopped making bass gear, I always rated their amps highly. I've gone back to Laney now but would still love a full Marshall DBS rig. Shame I couldn't be doing with all the weight involved, and sadly I'm not getting younger or fitter.

First bass was a black Aria Pro II Laser Electric Heritage which cost me something like £50 from Musical Exchanges if I remember correctly. Must have been late 80's/ early 90's. It ended up in bits after I got my first Washburn B200 which I always considered my first proper bass. I can't remember why the Aria ended up in bits though! All the parts got thrown out eventually. I wasn't that fond of it to be honest even though I did my first few gigs with it.

I'm not in a band or gigging at the moment but looking to get back to it in the next couple of years or so. Being one who has always gone for what pleases me and not given a crap what other bass players / musicians think of me, my abilities or my gear, I'm really looking forward to turning up with a Laney rig, Washburn LP copy + Epiphone Les Paul. I might even add an ancient Zoom multi effects pedal just to really get on peoples tits.

My non-expert verdict: I think the composition is interesting, with some unusual chord changes. I think it works nicely. She has a voice that doesn't match her youthful look. I actually like it though. Awesome bass and nice deep tone. Guitar and drums were a bit too high in the mix for my liking. That's about it. 😎

I found the best solution was to never get married. It's worked so far, and am looking forward to many more years of trouble free playing.

I had a GT-10B recently, It does a hell of a lot, very versatile but for synth-like stuff I found it pretty dire. If you can locate one, an old Boss ME-8B can produce some huge Vangelis- like synth sounds. I managed to program a fantastic Moog-like synth patch on mine as you can layer up all the effects eg Chorus/ Delay/Reverb/Synth/Octave. It is super easy to get to grips with also. I am still looking for another one currently.

The Z reminds me of the Ibanez RDGR basses.

My best purchases this year: 2 awesome Laney Atom/Nexus bass cabs, and a Laney NX mini amp. This years "why did I actually even buy this?" purchase: A Gruv Gear fret wrap thingy.

Just into my 50's now, and while I don't currently play in a band, or have any major back issues, my intention is to get back to playing gigs again which maybe a good couple of years off. As I'm not going to get younger or fitter, and also built like Mr. Bean, I decided recently to get the lightest cabs I could afford as a bit of forward planning. 2 x 17kg Laneys which just so happened to be the cabs I wanted a few years ago but couldn't afford at the time. For me cabs are the biggest hassle when it comes to moving/ carrying stuff about. My bass is a little over 9.5lbs, and found I was able to play for a good couple of hours or more at practice with a band I was with for a while last year with no problems. I will only consider getting a lighter bass if I should I develop back issues. My current work involves a lot of moving around so am always getting gentle exercise anyway. If anything, I have always suffered a bit with my knees. I can get down but takes me bloody ages to get back up again! 😎

Pm'd 😎