ThomBassmonkey

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1187878' date='Apr 4 2011, 03:35 PM']I think the idea is you would have your ipad or iphone etc with you anyway, so by just using the iRig, a lead and bass you have a pretty good rehearsal (or with Garage Band a recording) device.[/quote] Agreed! I don't think the iPad is a direct replacement for a laptop anyway, it has it's own advantages and disadvantages. This does make me wish I had an iPhone or iPod touch though, I don't practice anywhere near as much as I should because I only have my big rig (which is way too much hassle to set up for a short practice) and a tiny practice amp which doesn't sound great (sounds ok for what it is, but when I have a GK big rig sat downstairs, it doesn't sound too good in comparison.) Something like this where you can plug in and play anywhere without carrying lots of stuff around is briliant. I'd be tempted to invest in an iPad but all the fun stuff I've seen people do on them seems like it'd get old pretty quickly unless you had a real use for it. Though if I was doing something more experimental in a band, an iPad could be used to do some amazing things.

I've never actually sold an expensive piece of gear (with the exception of my old amp where the money was already spent before I recieved it). Now that there's money to spend rather than just what people have offered me in trade, the choices are much tougher! Damn, life's so hard.

For £400 you could buy a new Gallien Krueger MB200 and an Ashdown MAG410 cab. That'd be plenty for most gigs. For larger ones, get a split speakon cable and you can get another cab. The head's only 200w (into 4Ohm) but it's incredibly loud for it and you'll get way more volume from the speakers than you should if you're using a 4x10 or 2 4x10s. 2nd hand there'll be a lot more stuff in your budget, you'll be limited to what you can find though. As a hardcore GK lover (don't ask what those stains are on my amp), my knowledge a bit limited on what's out there for that price.

Personally I'd go for a Gallien Krueger 2001RB-II, then start collecting 8Ohm 410RBH cabs until you have 8. After that, get Obbm (from these forums) to make you some splitter leads and you'll be good to go! 1080w into 36 10" speakers. If you're worried that's not enough power, don't worry, you can daisy chain the heads. You could have 4320w on tap with 4 heads. That would be enough for small gigs and you'll have more than enough headroom!

GK reliability and power are both awesome. They've loud amps for the wattages (I'd happily gig the MB200 200w micro-head) and they're sturdy. I've dropped my RB2001 (in an ABS case) onto the edge of a marble step which then sent it flying across the concrete floor into a wall, the case has cracked by the amp's fine. As for sound, they sound quite different so you should look up videos and reviews on youtube or ideally get your hands on one (I know how hard it is to find GK amps to play though).

It'll depend what room you're in. It's where the LBGS was held.

It's hybrid picking, don't see it very often on bass but it's far more common on guitar, especially in acoustic stuff where someone's using a pick instead of fingerpicking.

I'm not sure that playing the string with your thumb is the best idea, but if you're keeping an even volume and not struggling, it's not specifically a bad thing. As for which pickup you're resting your thumb on, it really doesn't matter. You'll get a slightly different tone out of moving your hand back and forth, so decide based on that and comfort.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1185263' date='Apr 1 2011, 09:07 PM']One thing is for sure, you will not find anywhere that you can walk in and buy a do it yourself kit in a box with body / neck pickups / frets and wiring looms / pots etc.[/quote] You mean something like [url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/bass-guitars/pid17650/cid560/build-your-own-bass-guitar-kit-classic-pb-style-complete-wall-parts.asp?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=pricecomp&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping"]this[/url]?

Tribute bands and covers bands are very different things in this sense IMO. A tribute band will pull in a crowd (or not) depending on what band they're paying tribute to. Covers bands seem to be more general entertainment. People might go to a pub because "there's a band on" but I don't often hear of people going to see a specific cover band (though some do have a reputation for being good and will encourage more people to go, I doubt it'd make the difference between an empty and full room though IME) but that's more of a tipping the scales than the biggest deciding factor.

Check out the rest of the expert village videos, I think they're serious. I think it's one of those kind of things where it's more important to have everything covered than actually have good advice.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1182280' date='Mar 30 2011, 02:38 PM']He plays drums too...in a cool Hip Hop stylee LQGrM5HS8vU[/quote] Christ, I don't think I've ever seen drums being played that badly.

This one always makes me cringe. I don't know how the guy manages to get so much fret buzz and so many uneven notes. There's even blatent mistakes left in etc which is pretty bad for a youtube video from "Expert" village. It gets really bad around 1:40. To be fair, from some other videos I've seen of him, he's a pretty competent pianist, though that doesn't explain why he's attempting to do the bass videos.

[quote name='chris_b' post='1182075' date='Mar 30 2011, 12:34 PM']You are right, they are only tools but a good workman looks after his tools.[/quote] Within reason, yes. I gig a lot and if I was precious about them, it'd make everything take twice as long (just for example, I'd be looking for a stand every time I wanted to put it down) and I'd be wary on stage, making the show less energetic (not that I throw my gear about, I still use expensive stuff that I don't want to damage). But I'm not bothered about accidents. The guitarist/singer in my band is notoriously clumsy and I let him use it when we're jamming or messing about and he knocks it about then looks at me worried, which always makes me laugh. In saying that though, most of my instruments are in good condition. The Sandberg's the only one that's really been knocked about and that's because I love it and feel it's a keeper so I don't need to worry about re-sale value. Because it was less than perfect condition when I got it, I don't need to worry about marking it. The Ibanez BTB I used for 8 or so years still only has 3 marks I can think of, one's a tiny knock on the body that's not gone through the paint, one's a chip on the headstock where it fell onto the edge of a cymbol in my room (nasty looking, but has never affected it other than cosmetically) and the other's a small mark on the back of the neck which is around the 5th fret and has served me well when I can't see what I'm doing on stage as a marker. If any of them got damaged in a way that did affect it's use, it'd be sorted right away. I look after my tools, I just don't mind their cosmetic condition.

I don't care, they're tools, as long as they play and sound nice, they fill thier purpose. My Sandberg is battered, it started off life as a "soft aged" finish, then by the time I got it, it's had a few bumps and scrapes and I've not really been careful with it. It looks great though, sounds and plays fantastically too. Until I got this, I didn't really like relic'd finishes (and it put my off my Sandberg a bit when I first saw it, not enough to pass it up though) after owning one for a while though it's great. I don't have to make sure it's always on a stand, if someone else knocks it I don't care, when I stood it up on a seat a while ago and it fell off, despite lots of people swearing very loudly, I wasn't one of them.

I have a Sandberg JJ5, it's basically an active Fender Jazz 5. Hopefully next week I'll be picking up a Fender Deluxe USA Jazz 5, so basically the same bass (active 5 string Jazz, same body shape, pickup config, 34" neck etc), but different. I'm not thinking specifically these two basses (I'm including things like Sadowsky, Overwater etc), but in general, how much difference does the changes made make to the basses? Do they feel similar? Sound similar? Are they really upgrades to a classic model? I don't really know what I'm expecting with the Fender, my Sandberg is a SERIOUSLY good bass so it'll take a lot of beating, but I expect the Fender will be a close second (close enough for me to keep it). I started this topic more as general discussion than a "will the Fender be better than my Sandberg" though. When I have them both, I'm gonna record some sound clips and do a proper comparison.

Does the buzz get louder as you turn up the amp? Is it present if a bass isn't plugged in? Is it there if your bass is plugged in but you're not making any noise? I'd give Polar Audio a call, they'll know best. [url="http://www.polaraudio.co.uk/"]http://www.polaraudio.co.uk/[/url] the phone number's at the bottom.

I'd have one guitar each side. Why have two similar instruments together? We usually have the keyboard player (through the PA, she doesn't use her own amp) and guitar amp one side, drums and guitarist/lead vox in the middle and me and my amp the other side.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1180537' date='Mar 29 2011, 10:41 AM']Justin Chancellor's tone is not really typical of a Wal and is more dependent on the effects and amplification he uses. That's not to say you won't like a Wal, but if you pick one up and expect to sound even remotely like him you may be disappointed. You only have to look at the variety of sounds that Wal users get out of their instruments to that a Wal is all about finding your own voice. If you didn't know you would be unlikely to suspect that Justin Chancellor, Mick Karn, Percy Jones and Leigh Gorman all use the same make of bass. As for the Torzal Twist, think of it in the same way as a you would a fan-fret instrument, except that instead of each string having it's own scale length each string has it's own plane relative to the neck. If you were to take a cross-section trough the neck at any given point the relationship between the string and the neck at that point would be exactly the same as any other normal necked bass at the same point.[/quote] Yeah, I know they're quite versatile. Every one I've heard has had a certain sound about it though that I really like. He does use a lot of FX, but there's lots of times when he doesn't (or only has a touch of chorus or the like). Ah ok, I think I have the way the twist goes wrong in my head. It must be hell to make a neck for.

[quote name='WHUFC BASS' post='1179619' date='Mar 28 2011, 03:30 PM']1. Traben Chaos Core 5 2. Traben Chaos Core 5 3. Traben Chaos Core 5 4. Traben Chaos Core 5 5. Traben Chaos Core 5[/quote] I'm no detective, but I think I see a pattern here... Some good ones, I'd love to have a go on a Wal. I'm a massive Justic Chancellor fan and his tone's always staggeringly good, they seem to be instantly recognisable and still sound awesome. They look brilliant too. I've just looked up the Torzal Twist basses, they seem very strange. I can't see how the action would be even over the whole neck, it must change with the twist. Playing something like that with fanned frets would be quite insane. Maybe an unlined fretless to really screw with your head.