Conan

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1240064' date='May 22 2011, 10:02 AM']Any place where I thought that there might be a danger that my instrument would be stolen or badly damaged I would also consider that my person was in danger too and therefore I wouldn't be playing there at all.[/quote] Totally agree. Why buy an expensive bass and leave it at home? If the majority of your music is played in a live situation, surely you want to play it live with the best bass you can get? If you like expensive basses (as you clearly do) then so be it. They are only instruments (i.e. tools) at the end of the day. They are made to be played, not to be collected. In the same way, it always confuses me that some people "collect" wine, rather than hoying it doon their necks... Gig with a cheap bass that you are not happy with and your performance will suffer. You just won't feel it or believe in it as much as you would with your favourite instrument. Not that a bass needs to be silly money to sound good or play well of course...

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1235822' date='May 18 2011, 03:18 PM']is he singing his opinion of Fenders??[/quote] Sorry! My mistake - I inserted the wrong link, Duh. Now corrected. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI5QCem2fx4&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI5QCem2fx4...feature=related[/url]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1235402' date='May 18 2011, 11:06 AM']Road Worn series? [/quote] Ah! But that's clearly spaghetti, not beans. That's like comparing apples and pears - or (God forbid) Precisions and Jazzes!

Aside from the blatant excuse to mention It Bites (who I am off to see in Newcastle this evening!), you may find it interesting what Frank Dunnery has to say about his "Fenders"... Listen from 1:15... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI5QCem2fx4&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI5QCem2fx4...feature=related[/url]

Not for me I'm afraid. Everything that's wrong with bass solos.... still, if his fans enjoyed it fair play to him.

[quote name='famstd' post='1232137' date='May 15 2011, 04:17 PM']The Hartke HyDrive cabs will give you great mids.[/quote] Maybe. I play my LH500 through two different 2x15 cabs. Through the Trace Elliot, the sound is very smooth with plenty of top and bottom, but it's through the BareFaced Vintage that the mids really shout. If you like the LH500, it might be worth experimenting with a few different cabs to get more midrange out of it? Also, maybe your bass of choice has a scooped sort of tone too?

[quote name='dood' post='1229908' date='May 13 2011, 01:49 PM']I wonder if people's perception of what a Bass should be is creeping in to the equation just a bit here?[/quote] Of course it is! A bass like the ones pictured in this thread will always give rise to comments of this type. Some people feel threatened by ERBs, others feel a strange sense of superiority (the "[i]well, four strings were always enough for ______* so they're enough for me[/i]" argument). (* insert name of chosen legendary bass player here. Hints: Lemmy, Macca, Jamerson, Stanley, Marcus, Cliff, Larry, Louis, Geddy, Entwistle, Sheehan, Deacon, Harris...)

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1229289' date='May 12 2011, 08:43 PM']You couldn't look much more like a bellend if you tried. Charles Bronson sunglasses, playing a comedy bass indoors?[/quote] Oh I dunno...

[quote name='JTUK' post='1227077' date='May 11 2011, 07:48 AM']One of the things that puts me off here, is how some stuff goes through a lot of people pretty quickly. There may be reasons for it, but I wouldn't happy if a bass I had built and had had for 17 plus years got passed around very quickly. Maybe not rational, but I wouldn't like to see that.[/quote] Funnily enough, I really like that! You can really build up a picture of something's worth, and it's good and bad points when you read the reasons for a number of people selling it on... Also, if you sell something and then decide you want it back months or even years later, there's a much higher chance of being able to do that if you sell on here. As others have said though, it's definitely not a seller's market at the moment. Not the end of the world as long as you don't need a quick sale.

[quote name='Tinman' post='1226302' date='May 10 2011, 03:19 PM']Wrong, wrong and thrice wrong. I have a Barefaced Vintage - feather light but sounds absolutely massive. [/quote] Me too. On both counts!

Having said that I don't like bass solos - I do like it when the bass carries the melodic part, like in this example. Very tasteful IMO... Listen at 1:52 and 3:00. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGRx5Ja2stc&feature=BFa&list=AVGxdCwVVULXfzyq-NVsKIiWotM4xKpCnk&index=7"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGRx5Ja2stc...Cnk&index=7[/url]

[quote name='Rayman' post='1225933' date='May 10 2011, 10:18 AM']To me, it's all about good music. Whether the solo is on trumpet, keys, guitar, and even bass, whatever....if it's enjoyable and stimulating to listen to, it has it's place in the world.[/quote] I largely agree with Bilbo - but this is a good point too. As bass players, most of us probably listen to solos as it makes it easier to pick out exactly what the bassist is playing, whereas it can be somewhat lost in a full band scenario. Sometimes though, what you hear makes you think "why did they bother?". I hate playing solos myself. With a passion.

Trace Elliot cabs...

Just beaten to the Leigh Gorman comment! Also, Peter Gee from Pendragon uses one some of the time - a fretless five string... Nik Kershaw played one on his debut album - most notably on the track "Gone to Pieces" - even though it was apperently speeded up as he can't play that fast!

Maybe there are a lot of people with five string basses who want to sell one?

With the silly prices that people are prepared to spend on 'Vintage' Fenders, I am actually surprised that this doesn't happen more often. People believe what they want to believe, and sadly there will always be shysters out there with more knowledge and/or less scruples that will try to part you from your cash. Second-hand Trace Elliot cabs now - that's a different market altogether. Some lovely guys selling real, genuine quality gear out there at brilliant prices...

As they all said. If you bought it "new" then it should BE new. Ex-demo gear gets sold off more cheaply and states clearly that it has been used... Demand a big reduction or send it back (at their expense of course).

First bass I ever bought was a Fender Musicmaster. It was horrible and I hated it, Awful neck-dive, nondescript tone, short scale.... but I bought it second hand in about 1982 for £70. I can still remember the lad's name. He was called Eric Faulder and lived in one of the tower blocks in Longbenton... Now they seem to go for several hundred pounds because they bear the magical name on the headstock. Oh well.

[quote name='Wooks79' post='1202413' date='Apr 17 2011, 10:12 AM']With the OTB you can choose to get the full output at 4 or 8 ohms so you have a greater choice, is there any other reason you want 4 ohms?[/quote] Yeah. And cab sensitivity has a greater influence on volume anyway...

[quote name='lojo' post='1202379' date='Apr 17 2011, 09:11 AM']Barefaced seem to tick the boxes based on what i've read, but how do I hear one ? Any other suggestions ?[/quote] Either find a Basschatter local to you who has one and is willing to let you hear one... or buy one from Alex! Remember that he has a one month return policy if you are not absolutely satisfied.

Does it have to be 4 ohm? If so the choice of BFB cabs is more limited... The Compact is 8... I'm guessing that a Vintage or Super 15 would be rather overkill?