ThomBassmonkey

You say he couldn't be any worse with formal training, but some people people learn theory and stick rigidly to it, losing some of the feel on the way. Not saying that's the case here, but theory's not good for everyone.

Yeah, the manual's a bit cryptic too with it's instructions. This is what the manual for my 2001RB-II says: Boost/Master: Turning up the Boost control, will add a little growl to your tone. This is an unmistakable GK trade mark sound, that you will grow to appreciate. Raising the Boost while lowering the Master will add more growl while keeping the sound level the same. Growl is actually a small amount of even order harmonic distortion, that sounds great through a woofer, but horrible through a horn (see Bi-Amp solution below). For most playing situations, the Master is set between 12 & 3 o’clock. The cleanest sound is obtained by setting the Master above 12 o’clock, and going above 3 o’clock for maximum power situations. The master on the RB series of amps is the "woofer" control. So it's saying keep that up at 12-3 o'clock and then adjust the boost and input volume to suit.

GKs are a bit complex with the gain structure. Remember there's the MB Fusion coming out soon with the valve pre that should add another option to your list.

Not sure what's going on with GK gear in the UK at the moment, there's not much of any of it. I'm still waiting for a 410RBH and that's coming direct from Polar Audio to me when one comes into the country. Hopefully they should be getting a nice big shipment soon with all these lovely treats on. The MB Fusion head (micro head with a valve pre!) is due out in December (if it doesn't get put back) and that looks pretty exciting. Hope that that's with us relatively soon.

Good detective work! Stuff like this is funny, I wonder if it would devalue the bass because the re-finish and electrics change usually would (and because it's not the same colour it was in the film), or if - because of it's history and it being sent back to BCR and them doing the work before being sold as "new" - it wouldn't affect it. I guess there's nothing you could really compare it to. Just musing to myself really.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=98869"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=98869[/url] That'll do you for as long as you need it, if you need to add to it, get a nice 2 or 4x10 and you can run both, then later get a head and upgrade in stages. £275 would then leave you £225 to put back into your bass fund and get a nicer bass. Also, iirc those amps have wheels and a handle, so you can roll them around pretty easily (until you get to some stairs at least).

All things being equal (in terms of sensitivity etc) and a 15" will produce more volume than 2 10". It's never that simple though. I prefer 10" speakers though, so it's a no brainer for me, I'd rather have the sound I preferred than a tiny bit more volume.

I'd always go for a good amp. Your cab undoubtedly adds more to the sound and if it was just a case of "what would you pick for band practices" then sure, but in the real world having a good DI on your head is important and I've never seen bands share just heads and use separate cabs. For recording, most studios will have cabs you can use or you could DI from your head. The head is also the more expensive part of your kit anyway, so it's worth splashing a little extra on in the first place so that later you can just upgrade your cab. Chances are that if you spend more on a cab with the same budget, you're going to end up with mid-range with both and need to upgrade both in the future.

[quote name='4 Strings' post='1010375' date='Nov 3 2010, 09:03 AM']Variety is the spice of life![/quote] Totally agreed, but with Ampeg being the "industry standard" for so long and there not being a shop in the land that doesn't stock Ashdown at the moment (and comparitively very few shops that stock other things) I just expected the majority of people to use one of those two brands.

It's nice to see quite a variety of rigs. If I'm honest, I was expecting far more Ashdown or Ampeg rigs than are cropping up.

I really enjoyed Bellowhead, the other bands all looked as though they were just going through the motions, even the punk band seemed a bit bored. I couldn't listen to MIA. The band seemed decent but the singer was seriously out of key for the entire song.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1009545' date='Nov 2 2010, 12:58 PM']I posted this in another thread but had forgotten about it. a couple of weeks ago i took the wrong bass to my gig. By wrong i mean it wasnt in a gigging state. No strap buttons and the pups weren't connected. I had been doing some work on it and put it in a different gig bag a few days before the gig. I really should have checked before taking it but i thought it was my new bass. I ended up having to use gaffa tape to connect the pups and to borrow some strap buttons off my guitarist. I had ot plug the holes with splinters from a drum stick. I also had to borrow a strap and even at its most extended the bass was way to high. It got through the gig though, although i was a bag of nerves.[/quote] Gaffa tape is brilliant for repairs. The singer/guitarist in my band also plays Mandolin on one or two songs including the one we usually end with. He gets a bit excited, bless him, and chucks the poor thing around. I spent about 20 minutes before a gig a while ago sticking it back together. Both the pickups (mandolin with hot rails into a Mesa Boogie sounds awesome, for the record) had fallen through, the screw holes around the scratchplate have de-threaded, the electrics are all in a state. About the only thing that was alright was the neck. 20 minutes and a healthy dose of gaffa and it was ready to be thrown about at the end of the set again.

I'd quite like a RW jazz (or I would if I used 4 strings) but I wouldn't buy a bass specifically because it looks worn.

[quote name='chris_b' post='1008739' date='Nov 1 2010, 05:14 PM']Do you take 2 cars as well?[/quote] That's a bit unfair, I completely agree with Chris B. If you're payed to do a job, you should do everything within your power to do it and be prepared for most problems, I think that's a reasonable working ethic for any business and don't see why music is any different. Taking an extra bass to gigs isn't a big deal (although as I said earlier, I don't usually do it), it's certainly not on the scale of taking an extra car.

I've been taking one bass to gigs for about 95% of all the gigs I've done over 10 years. I've only ever had a string break once and luckily there was a playing in another band that was happy to lend me his bass. Was a pain because it was a 5er and I played 6er at the time, but I managed. I do want another bass now as a backup, but not sure how often it'd get used but I fancy another one for a bit of change anyway.

I should be good for this, I can bring any of the below: Warwick Thumb BO5 Ibanez BTB406QM GK 2001RB-II 410RBH

haha, I know the feeling. I've had my new amp less than a month and I'm already thinking about another one. There's no such thing as overkill! I sold my 700RB after getting a 2001RB. More power means you have more headroom. Though I'd stick with GK if I were you, but I do have to say that. The shop I sometimes teach at has an Ashdown 410T in and I've been trying to persuade them to get in an LH500 to pair it up with (they're mainly guitar gear and haven't had in a bass head to go with the cab). They're in the process of moving at the moment to a bigger place, once they're set up there, they'll probably get one in so it'll be the same set-up you're looking at (assuming you'll be using the 410T in your sig).

Ok, detailed close-ups of the KoreaDiarrhoea for sir : Back of the pickup, can't see any names on there so it's probably a Korean copy then: Front of the pickup (most of the "dirt" is reflections of the flash in all the scratches, it's far from clean though): Good work on the DP logo, it's there: The rest of the electrics in close, the DP logo is on the pot here, the shadow from my thumb is over it though:

Hate to be a downer, but I recently sold my 700RB-II (about 6 months old, had been racked since I bought it so great condition), I was looking for £350 for it and had no cash interest at all. Ended up selling that and two 210RBH cabs for £850 on the bay with only one bid. A crime to see it go so cheap, but if you're looking for £400 for it, you might have problems.

[quote name='Bottle' post='1007622' date='Oct 31 2010, 06:02 PM']the GK head, I can use any of my cabs with it - 4x10, 1x15 or 2x 1x12's[/quote] How does the MB with 2x1x12s cope for volume at practices and gigs? That's what I'm tempted to go with.

Yep, it was a freebie. I help out around the shop a fair bit though, so I got first dibs on what they left (nothing impressive, my other loot was a knackered set of shelves and some folding chairs ) Thanks guys I'll have another look at the pup and pots later but I'm pretty sure they didn't have any writing or markings on them (couldn't see any dimples etc around the rust either, so pretty sure there's none there, I'll give it a bit of a rub in a bit to check though). I think that realistically the scratchplate would probably survive just being screwed back on, the screw hole is ok and the rest of the scratplate should hold it straight. Bassassin, if you want me to get any close-up pics of anything (like the pup) so you can have a good look, let me know. I've seen you're the go-to person about Japcrap (and apparently Korcrap ) stuff, so I don't mind uploading anything you'd be interested in seeing in better detail just for your own curiosity.

The shop I sometimes teach at is moving and there were a few bits they didn't have the enthusiasm to move, this bass being one of them, so I pinched it. I honestly have no idea about this bass, the only part of it's history that I know is that one of my old students brought it in because she didn't have space for it and was after a new bass, once she'd bought one she said we could just have it since it didn't work anyway. We took it apart with the intentions of cleaning it up and getting it working (it was just the jack iirc) but never quite got around to it. There's no markings anywhere on it apart from the Hondo II on the headstock, the pickups and neck plate are both plain. Some pics: You'll have to excuse the dirt, I only brought it back yesterday and it's literally been in pieces for months and wasn't looked after before that. Missing from the photos are the covers for the pickup and bridge, I think the shop has those bagged up somewhere. The end is obviously snapped off the scratchplate (you can see it at home in the pickup route if you look carefully ) so it'd probably need a new pickguard if it was ever to be returned to former glory. Don't really know what I'm planning to do with it yet, it was a "oh, it's free, I'll have it" situation. It has the potential to be a project bass (I've been thinking of doing a J project, but this'd give me a nice headstart even if it's a P-ish) or maybe restore it, but I don't know if it'd be a great bass ever. It feels ok from what I can tell in it's current state, the neck seems straight etc. So any ideas of value or opinions of the bass as a player etc would be well recieved.

[quote name='Count Bassie' post='1006886' date='Oct 31 2010, 12:09 AM']You know, you could find an old GK 400 or 800RB for a back-up/lighter rig. It'll be more like your regular setup, still rather lightweight, and less $$ than what you're looking at now. Cabs... Avatar makes a very hip 212, and the neo 210s are solid and sound very good. I got quite a lot of low end from a single neo 210, and that's coming from the drummer of a reggae band I gigged with regularly for two years. There is something to be said for consistency, and affordability. Also Markbass are the new Bic Lighter for disposable amps... bust it, they send you a new one. For my bread, I'd rather have a GK, who stand behind actual workmanship. .02...[/quote] I'm endorsed by GK, so I really should stick with them (not that I would buy anything else if I had the choice anyway) and it makes price less of an issue. If I did go for a lightweight rig, there's no doubt what it would be.