SimonK

No - I'm of the tone is subjective camp - I know what I like, but quite often hear some very highly rated bass players whose tone I don't like, which then gets me worrying that maybe I'm missing something... but then I think back to the many years I did live sound where about 75% of people said they like my mixes, and then there were always about 25% who didn't - some of whom I respected as musicians but clearly we had different opinions...

Oh bollocks - just finally managed to watch the Tony Franklin video above, which took me down the rabbit hole of "Equal Temperament" tuning systems vs "Just Intonation"! I think the best explanation is from Jacob Collier, which is a perfect vindication for playing fretless and ignoring the tuner (which in Jacob language: "inspires more endorphins in the body"!):

I've only ever played an unlined fretless and really like the big expanse of smooth wood to slide around and find the notes - I do use the dots on the top of the neck as a rough guide, but I think lines would just take away a bit of the freedom that a fretless neck gives!

Yes I made the mistake of having rounds on my fretless for the first couple of years and ended up having to get the fret board sanded down to get rid of the marks. The flat wounds don't have as good a mwah but are more comfortable to play (as in they don't hurt fingers as much when sliding). I agree that low action is a must. I like the fact that people see a fretless and think it must be harder to play when it really isn't. I think when I first got mine I just took it along to band practice, checked once or twice to see if anyone thought I was out of tune but as no one did hey presto I was now a fretless player! Thus said I do keep an always on tuner on my pedal board, but it is only really to glance at every now and again, especially if I'm struggling to hear myself. Conversly so long as you don't play open strings you don't need to worry too much about tuning the strings on a fretless so long as it's within a semi-tone which is great if temperatures are fluctuating! Gratuitous fretless photo:

The Mornington Crescent of Basschat!

...coz this is an internet forum and we have to talk about something! Thus said the least helpful advice I find on this forum is "what cab (or speaker size/combination) should I use" as I agree - you need to plug them in and play them rather than obsessing about specs. Amps, pedals and basses, however, seem more able to be described using words.

Yes I also upgraded the pickups and hard ware (well bridge & nut) on my Artcore as they were cheaper components and the gold-effect tarnished quite quickly on the bridge, but I think (to stay on track with the thread) it emphasises the point that if you find a cheaper instrument that plays well you can always upgrade the hardware to get the spec similar to a much more expensive instrument. The big brand names also come with a premium that is probably only worth it for resale value. Certainly Ibanez (and increasingly Sire) are two brands that make excellent instruments but at surprisingly affordable prices compared to the more famous brands.

Conversly I was after a Gibson ES335 a few years back, but then played an Ibanez Artcore that was a better instrument despite being a third of the price, and really couldn't see how Gibson can justify those prices! Thus said the Epiphones were pretty poor compared to both the real Gibson & Ibanez... but we are digressing...

So I've gone down the route of 4 or six (occassionally eight) 10s for quite a few years, and then got my hands on a 15 about a year ago and had forgotten the different tone you get from it - so over the last few months I've used the combination in the picture below which to me sounds pretty good (albeit the amp isn't close to full volume). Oh and they are both Trace Elliots just without the badges as I don't like them being sideways! Also the 2103x (top cab) has been specifically voiced to complement a 15 cab - so maybe this is cheating?

Yes - pretty much my experience, although it's not uncommon to talk about the bass - although almost always to do with looks and asking what it plays like rather than sound, which fits in with what everyone else is saying on this thread. Perhaps the exception is that I do play fretless a fair amount and people do comment on the fretless tone, although whether it's the actual tone or just the fact I sometimes ham up the "mwah" a bit to make it obvious...

...and yet the combination sounds so good!

Picked it up today - does not work at all as someone plugged two amps into it at the same time - apparently it was backline at a festival and the new bass player didn't realise the other amp was still connected... will probably take the weekend to test each speaker, cross-over etc. but for £20 it's worth it just for the entertainment! In other news I did actually get the rear shocks replaced on the car two weeks ago, reframing it as vindication for only gigging proper manly cabs - thus said I could have bought a rather nice barefaced cab for the same cost as the car repairs 🤘

...buts thats different from not "knowing or caring" about the overall sound of the bass...

When people are saying "the punters rarely care what the bass sounds like" are they meaning the nuances between different basses, or the "bass" in general? My experience is the opposite in the sense that if the bass is too woolly/diffuse I have a line of people telling me it's "too loud", whereas if I can get a sound that sits a bit more tightly in the mix then no one complains. Although this is almost entirely down to EQ/mixing, and very little with the actual instrument in my hands at the time!

Maybe take the guitar into a shop and get a set-up as well? I've used 12-53 phospho-bronzes on my acoustics for 30+ years, and normally if there is a tension issue it's more to do with needing the truss-rod tweaked a bit rather than the strings.

I'd just go in to a shop and play a bunch - you will probably find the one you like the most is higher than your budget anyway - that's certainly my experience as I don't think I've ever gone under budget on a music related purchase! Thus said, for £1500 I don't think I'd ever buy without playing, but for £500 I might take the risk - so I suppose one advantage of going cheap is that you potentially have more options than just the ones you can lay your hands on in a shop!

I've got a template (see attached) that I've used in various situations before. I think it originally came from my University for research type things but I've used it for a local cricket club and various other public events. The idea is to identify potential risks, calculate the score based on probability x severity, say what you will do to mitigate the risk, and then calculate a new score post mitigation. Risk Assessment Blank.docx

Score - just need to work out what's wrong with it when I pick it up tomorrow.

Here's four of my rigs:

...is that a tier 1 fail as the sugar from the mini eggs goes into your blood which powers the muscles in your fingers to play bass and thus definitely contributes to the signal path 🙂 ?

They've never all been in the same place as I tend to leave them where I play - far too heavy to steal or move unnecessarily! Mind you writing the above post did make me think that this summer I should get them all together in one place just for the fun of it - I've probably also got enough heads and splitter pedals to power the whole lot as one big rig which would be entertaining - I could use bass chat members to see how far away they could hear me from!

Yes I have multiple Trace Elliot cabs because they sound awesome, but due to their weight and age can now be picked up for almost nothing. Currently I have the following (roughly grouped how I use them): 2x2103x The first one has replacement speakers that are a bit dodgy, so I grabbed a second for about £40. I only really use the good one now. 1x1153 which is a nice 15 inch speaker to fit under the 2103x 1x1048 for the 4x10 sound 1x2103H for the 2x10 + horn sound 1x1810x it was going for £20 so I thought why not A combo which is essentially a 1048H cab which used to have a GP12 head apart from the previous owner threw it away so I added a GP7 head from a 715 combo, meaning I now have an additional 15 inch speaker in a cab but without a head - not dissimilar to the 1153 as above. This latter one is mainly used as a work bench! So yes that will be 8 Trace Elliots...

If you are starting out the Squire will be fine - you are unlikely to notice much of a difference between instruments at this price point. The most important thing is to just get playing (and practicing).

+1 for the squire, although listening to that I would say playing ability (and hitting notes cleanly) will make a far bigger difference than the instrument you choose - indeed if you are starting out trying to play slap I would stick to a four string until you've been playing for a few years!

I think, same as with other areas, AI will change the way music is written and maybe even recorded. It's a tool, and for me can help me write lyrics in particular that I have struggled to do in the past. Then the song/music writing part gives some interesting ideas, but in both cases I think I would want to use the AI as a tool to help develop something that I would probably want to record properly in the end - thus said the AI vocals are loads better than any singer I know, so it may be putting AI vocals over a recorded track. Of course the biggest problem with AI is that it makes it much easier for people to create things, meaning more crap to wade through until you find something good!