4 Strings

My advice would be to go for an amp and cab, gives more flexibility and allows you to add later or change your mind about the amp etc and, frankly, combos are heavy! If you're looking s/h, amps like Hartke go for a song at the moment and you get a great quality amp for £100-200 with a valve preamp etc and tons of power. For cabs I'd recommend a 2x10 and then you can add a 4x10 or other bigger cab for bigger gigs (or do it the other way round). You get three rigs that way. Again Hartke, but Laney, Peavey etc are all good and go pretty cheap too but, as in all things, buy the best quality you can afford. For new, same makes but you'll probably end up with just one cab. 4x10 is the jack of all trades, as long as you can hump it about. I use a 2x10 for almost everything, supplement another (or my 1x18 monster) for bigger events as I can no longer be bothered lugging the 410 around all the time. HOWEVER, my advice would be to have a good listen, especially to the cabs, before you buy to make sure it all makes the noises/gives the range of sounds etc that you like. A cab that's deep front to back is likely to sound deep too, if that's what you want (combos rarely are). (Lastly as you're starting out perhaps don't spend too much until you know exactly what you want. Can normally get close to your money back on s/h gear)

Years ago I had my precious Trace amp pinched. I think they thought it was a lap top, in its gig bag. To replace it I thought I'd have a change, being a Trace man at the time, so I bought a s/h SWR Workingman's 300. Well, it was ok, sounded ok, never really liked it. I once did 'Pinball Wizard' at a gig and tried to get the JE feedback during the intro guitar bit, it really howled but that was its only happy moment and a little while later it let twice me down at rehearsals costing me to get it fixed each time. A sad little amp, never satisfying. The case got used for something else and it was replaced by a Hartke and demoted to spare and has bounced around the car, floor, gigged by the lad etc. I now find out that it's an SWR [u]ENGINEERING[/u] which is hand made in California, pre-Fender (I thought it was Fenders that were pre-anything) and has the Spirit of Wonderfulness about it as a desirable thing. So I bought a (s/h) case for it and look upon it with more respect. My, how it sounds better now it's pre-something!

No new suggestions from me as its Andy Fraser (surely the coolest ever) and our friends Phil L and Norman W-R. >Edit: Looking at that pic again, even kids don't have waists like that nowadays. Thanks MacDonalds.

Here's a photo of the tidal movement through a restriction from above. Is this what the hole does (seems the opposite of the beam blocker)?

Am I the only one who wants to hear different things at different times? If I feel I'm losing the beat I'll go near the drums and I want them and my bass to be loud. If I'm worried about tuning (or even what the next chord is) I want to hear my bass so I'll go near my cab. If I'm doing bvs I need the vocal monitors (badly!). I play once a month at a place who virtually insist I go through their system instead of backline. I can't change what I hear. If I go nearer the monitor everything is louder, not just me. If I'm not happy with my level I can do nothing about it, if I turn up I get turned down at the desk. I end up turning down until he notices and puts me up then I go up again! Ridiculous. I know, what about sending me just the bass signal to my own personal monitor? Oh, that's backline.

I'm not so convinced mass producers of bass cabs are so bound by profit when it comes to varying cab design as they can charge so much anyway. Some Hartke cabs have certainly had unusual formats, but they don't last too long in the range. Not because of sound or margin but just look odd (even horrible - whatever that is) and so don't sell well. If I'm frank, many of BFM's cabs are pretty 'horrible' looking and wouldn't sell in sufficient quantities for mass production. I'm dying to try one, and also a Barefaced too.

Pretty high. Bit lower than I did in the slappy 80s though. I play with my thumb at the back of the neck, anything lower is a real pain in the wrist. Can't play anything fluently with a long strap. I realise I look a bit crummy to metal enthusiasts, but then, I'm not one. Can't see what the relationship to sitting is though. That's only the best height for when you're sitting. I am full of admiration for Mr Trujilo, playing so well at such an awkward (for me at least) position.

[quote name='mart' post='1281170' date='Jun 24 2011, 04:11 PM']Good idea to use some "pictures"! In that language, isn't the "ideal" arrangement neither of these, but rather this: | | Between = and || there will be very little difference.[/quote] This was the question. Its a while ago now, but I went = in the end, all looked a bit unnecessary | on top of | with the amp teetering on the top so, rather against my usual judgement, I compromised (or at least possibly) sound for not looking silly. On a similar question, I usually use one of these 210s for my Motown band so its a warm, roundy sort of sound (Fender P + flats etc) and it's difficult to prevent boominess. I normally stand the cab up for dispersement but was wondering whether reducing dispersement by laying flat would reduce reflectances and boominess. I often end up having to reduce the bass on the amp to reduce boominess but hate having to do this as I never want to reduce the weight of the bass for Motown. I will experiment along these lines next time out (next Thursday) but any opinions in the meantime? Surely angling the cab back will worsen things?

[quote name='Pow_22' post='1308418' date='Jul 18 2011, 08:53 PM']Ive checked closely and it is down to the crappy camera. It is just the inside of the valves glowing and not the plates. The is a hole in the middle inside the valve that is why the top is glowing. It does seem to be purely the inside wire so im much happier now. Thanks for everyones help on this. Will be phoning the tech tommorow to get it booked in for a services and once over. I assume the two valves that i have switched places dont matter? Ive had it on standby for 30 mins since swappin and they all seem fine now[/quote] As far as I understand bias is applied to each valve individually and so they should go back in their original sockets - anyone know more than me? Valves are suppose to get hot, if they don't the heater element in them is not adequate.

[quote name='chris_b' post='1308132' date='Jul 18 2011, 05:37 PM']There were a lot of 16 ohm cabs about in the 60's and 70's.[/quote] In those days amps were valves so you'd select the speaker impedance to match and so the actual impedance was not important. Also in those days two cabs were common so 2 x 16 Ohm cabs in parallel would give you 8 Ohms at the amp, which would be fine. 2 x 4 Ohm cabs would give you 2 Ohms at the amp which would not be fine so a 16 Ohm cab would be more useful than a 4 Ohm cab.

I know that the impedance should match but I've done plenty of playing with cobbled together gear and run my HA350 through 2.5 Ohms for a few gigs (one being unbelievably loud!) and my rig served all the other acts too with no problems at all (lowest impedance they give a figure for is 4 Ohms). Its got a fan and nothing seemed any hotter than normal. Not to be recommended but certainly at low volumes there shouldn't be a worry unless the amps designed like a racing car.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='1304004' date='Jul 14 2011, 09:20 PM']I'm not 20 yet and i'm already past the stage of thinking i'm awesome...[/quote] I'm 50 and I think I'm getting better. Or not as poor as I was.

You can certainly get good at practicing. How good you are on the bass is an unquantifiable thing about expression and, as has been already said, communication (goodness, Booker T's keyboard lines are simple enough). But if your technique means you can't play some of the things you want to express then you need to practice them. The likes of Hendrix and Jaco had practiced their technique and theory so that they could express what they wanted. I have nothing like either when compared to someone like Jaco, but I see bassists in the pubs whose technique I can see is more limiting than mine but they play enviably well as they know what to play. There's not too much that's taxing in Jamerson's playing, but boy did he know what to play and how to play it. Try as I may, I'll never play like him either.

Don't forget the OP said that very little was coming out the PA, so lets not bring sound engineers etc into the arguement. In my experience a good bass player (or any other instrument for that matter) can make a dreadful bass sound good (look at Jack Bruce for example - no, only joking!). If a Wal sounds similar to a P, and a Squier P sounds similar to one too then they are both going to sound similar, especially through the backdrop of the rest of the band. Conclusion to my comment then, practice more to sound better, not buy an expensive guitar.

In reality I have no doubt the basses actually sounded different and the players made them more so, but that sound gets rather swamped by drums, guitars and all sorts of other noisy things so subtleties ten to get lost, and they can all sound like, well, a bass guitar. There are definitely differences, I've heard countless bands and bass players, quite a wide variation in sound between them sometimes on the same night. Last night, Islington O2, first bass, Tanglewood Canyon, very solid, second a Mustang, very clanky and seemed to leave a hole in the bottom end (surely the sound selected not the bass). If you want to hear a marvellous jazz sound grab some Seth Govan on a Thursday in Chelmsford.

Originally a guitarist I used a pick for a few years before holding my breath and becoming a 'proper' bass player and learning to use my fingers. Been fingers ever since. There is definitely no right or wrong way, although I find fingers to be more versatile (until recently, did a cover of 'Your Sex is on Fire' tried with a pick but found it easier and more powerful sounding with fingers). There is a different sound with a pick, that click, but never really needed enough to use one. Closest was a church worship thing where I wanted that scratchy Entwhistle Live at Leeds sound and used a 10p coin. I do admit to a certain prejudgement though, a player with a pick has to prove himself whereas one with fingers is expected to be good. Total nonsense, of course, but sub-conciously its there. Along with the thought that its probably a guitarist now playing bass. Wilton Felder is another funky pick player - early Jackson 5 stuff for example (I Want You Back etc)

[quote name='Nostromo' post='1299535' date='Jul 11 2011, 02:39 AM']. . . I wouldn't think you could possibly expect the consistent quality control that you might resonably expect in a mid market priced bass if your only paying just over a hundred quid for it . . . and for that reason, I'd probably want to play the actual one I was going to buy before I got it. But hey . . thats just my humble take on it ?[/quote] This is an excellent point. There seems to be the impression that every US Fender in the shop needs to be played as they are all so different, and yet on the other hand the quality control should be the best. For these much cheaper basses, surely there's likely to be more variation (and therefore character?) between them. I'm sure they're not punched out in the same quantities as the Fenders either.

Doesn't seem enough to worry about, if its not getting any worse. Its not great, looks like more effort has gone into producing than the Fender BBoT and it looks cast, in which case don't try to straighten it as its likely to snap. (It won't actually be tin though that material is too expensive and soft.)

Cheers guys, looks like he'll be relying on the headline band rig for a little while! Its a well used amp, his is a busy band and it was well used before he got it. We'll be keeping an eye for a cheap s/h one while he does some saving.

Hi, thanks. The whistle is there regardless of anything being plugged in anywhere so I suppose its the power amp. I have a copy of the schematic, thanks, and in the end it will go to the amp tech if this isn't 'typical of ...' and something I can do. Most will say its the valve but I've always found valves to be the most reliable and resilient of components (may still be the valve, but that would mean it's the pre-amp). Problem with the amp tech, however reasonable he is, he'll be about the price of another s/h amp and the lad can afford neither.