ThomBassmonkey

I do. Only a small one but there's still lots of crap to be talked. Love the Tokai LPs so much I bought one within a week of them arriving. We don't stock many big brands, mostly stuff like Tokai, Kustom, Hamer etc. We also do EBMM, Korg and Vox and other bits but don't usually carry stock.

[quote name='leftybassman392' post='766776' date='Mar 7 2010, 11:26 AM']I recently discovered that Ibanez have made a special limited edition of the fabulous Lefthanded JS1200L, but have been unable to source it in the UK. Anybody know if it's available here? (I found a couple of outlets in the USA, but I have a feeling US dealers are not allowed to sell Ibanez into the UK market.) Anybody have any information?[/quote] If it is the case that Ibanez Dealers in the US can't supply the UK market, it'd only be so that US dealers aren't screwing with UK dealers. If the item's a guitar that's not available in the UK, then there's no problem. Best bet would be to ring up a big guitar stockist and just ask them what they can get in, places often won't list everything they can get purely because even in a small shop it's thousands of items.

If you're ready to give up bass like that (for however long), I assume you're not in a band? Personally I find the bass is an instrument that needs to be played with other instruments. Unless I'm doing technical practicing or writing, if I'm on my own I'm way more likely to pick up my guitar. In a band situation though, holding together the music and slotting into a groove is unbeatable though.

If the MIM needs a complete fret dress etc and you got it cheap because it needs the work doing, it's going to be less hassle to move it on. If you're going to lose a lot of money by doing that, it might be better to sort out the problems.

Just thought that rather than put up loads of threads, I'd just try and keep one updated. Check out our: Website: [url="http://www.james-warner.co.uk"]http://www.james-warner.co.uk[/url] Myspace: [url="http://www.myspace.com/thejameswarnerprophecies"]http://www.myspace.com/thejameswarnerprophecies[/url] Facebook: [url="http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=james+warner&init=quick#!/pages/James-Warner-Prophecies/14983952164?ref=search&sid=1254095726.1626246513..1"]Facebook stupid long link[/url] Twitter: [url="http://twitter.com/jameswarner"]http://twitter.com/jameswarner[/url] [code]1 May 2010 The Old Bell Hotel Derby 16 May 2010 The Central Nottingham 20 May 2010 Stereo w/Laika Dog York 21 May 2010 The Appleby w/Thyrd Eye Burton 22 May 2010 The White Post (acoustic) Stanley Common 31 May 2010 George IV Lichfield 12 Jun 2010 The Old Bell Hotel Derby 18 Jun 2010 The Appleby w/Leather Zoo Burton 26 Jun 2010 The Cross Keys (acoustic) Belper 3 Jul 2010 Glastutbury Music Festival Tutbury nr. Burton 10 Jul 2010 Macmillan Cancer Trust Festival Nottingham 16 Jul 2010 The Stockroom Sheffield 13 Aug 2010 Pj’s Rip It Up - Ripley Ripley 14 Aug 2010 The Appleby Burton[/code] We're always after gigs and bands to do gig swaps with too so if you fancy a little give and take, feel free to get in touch, either on here or email [email protected] for more info.

If you like how intuitive stomps are, give the Boss ME range a look over. It's roughly designed like a row of stomp boxes but still works like a multiFX. If you like the sound of the TC though, you're better off getting used to that if it's an option.

Make sure that outputs/sends are connected to inputs/returns and vice versa. Also make sure that nothing's muted and that everything else is hooked up normally.

Personally I find (with any instrument) the amp will make more of a difference to the sound than the bass. If the bass feels nice and you have the right amp, you're 90% of the way there, if your bass compliments your amp, that's it.

You can get rack trays (something like [url="http://www.dv247.com/microphones/shure-urt-rack-tray--17100"]http://www.dv247.com/microphones/shure-urt-rack-tray--17100[/url] ) but you'd need to fix it securely and even then I don't know if it'd be strong enough (I wouldn't like to bet my amp head on it). You could always build a new enclosure.

If you just want an amp that means you can hear yourself for guitar, bass and keyboards (one at a time of course) you'd be best off getting a bass amp. You can put pretty much anything through a bass amp without worrying about damaging it. If you want something that sounds good with guitar and keyboard but works for bass it's a bit of a harder choice. You can put a bass through a guitar amp but not with very much volume and even then the low frequencies could damage the speaker. If you're purely playing bass for your own pleasure, have you thought about a headphone amp or a vox amplug or similar? They can be had very cheap and would leave you money to buy a guitar amp without your budget taking a hit. Though they are completely useless for anything other than playing on your own. Generally Ibanez and Yamaha basses are good instruments. I don't personally like Yammaha basses, but it's just preference (they feel cheap to me, not that their build quality's bad, just something about the finish I think. Pure preference though). The GSR and RBX ranges are both considered good starting basses and if you like them, I don't think you could go wrong.

The James Warner Prophecies are playing at the Old Bell in Derby tomorrow (Saturday). Feel free to pop along and join in with the general madness. Don't know of us? Check out [url="http://www.myspace.com/thejameswarnerprophecies"]http://www.myspace.com/thejameswarnerprophecies[/url] and you should get a nice taste of what we're about with is just having a good time. Kick off's at 8pm, hope to see you there.

My band's going through a phase of shaping up a bit at the moment and we're working on styling ourselves a bit. We're not all going for a matching style, but hopefully we'll all stand out a bit from the crowd. For photo shoots etc we're going to go a bit further too. We all roughly have outfits on stage anyway, it's just taking it to the next level (though mine's going to change a fair bit if I can find suitable clothes).

I used to practice at Magnet regularly and the bloke that runs it is a nice guy and reliable. If they're blaming problems with repeated cancellations of practices on Magnet, they're talking out of their arses. Leave well alone IMO. If it's that hard to sort out a practice, getting gigging will be a nightmare.

[quote name='throwoff' post='765143' date='Mar 5 2010, 02:03 PM']HAHA I think I might well buy one of these - [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/fullers_unilock.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/fullers_unilock.htm[/url][/quote] I'm due to order various small bits anyway, that could be a nice addition. Would certainly do the job (1 input and a pad button wins 2 inputs. )

[quote name='matski' post='765007' date='Mar 5 2010, 12:19 PM']Now, call me pedantic but I don't call some tiny 1 x 10 '100w' Hartke combo really up to the job... Especially as the material I played required the use of 5-string bass droptuned to low A![/quote] Sorry but that made me giggle. Mainly because I can relate. I agree with your whole post though. Many of us have spent over £1000 on a rig, none of us have spent that much because we're happy using the next guy's 100w 1x10 combo. Similarly, none of us have spent that much so that the guy with the 100w combo can sound amazing without spending a penny. I've lent out my gear loads of times and have no problems doing it if I trust my gear's sturdy enough to take a bashing and I trust the bassist using it not to give it too much of a bashing. Underlying fact though is that it's my gear and I'll do with it what I want. And I've NEVER played a gig where the promoter has said "you cannot use your amp", I've played ones where they've said that they would much prefer it if I use theirs, but they've never forced me to (though because I'm a nice guy, unless I have a real problem with the provided amp, I'll use theirs).

I had no problems with people using my Carlsbro 1x15 combo, i was made of sturdy stuff and simple to use. My new GK rig though is far from simple (it has no less than 5 volume controls) and through the 2x10 I'm using, it's pushed fairly hard so I don't think I'd trust people not to blow it up. I might have a re-think in a couple of months when I get another 2x10 but for the moment no one else uses it. If people turn up to a gig without an amp though, not a problem. I'm going to start taking my £20 DI box with me just in case. If they have a problem with that, maybe it'll inspire them not to be so damned lazy in future. Most of the gigs my band plays, the stage is big enough to put a few amps in front/on top of each other so they're just left set up and taken off at the end of each set. And for the discussion earlier about guitar amps not being shared, I see the issue more as valve amps rather than specifically guitar. Solid states are just more sturdy IME so there's less risk involved in lending them out.

[quote name='mcgraham' post='763998' date='Mar 4 2010, 02:37 PM']I for one have rarely been in the situation where it is possible to stand that far away from your amp. IEM gives both you and the FOH significantly more control over personal monitor levels in a way that doesn't interfere with onstage sound, which in turn gives you a whole lot more control over onstage sound, and in turn more control over the FOH sound. Whilst I don't wish to belittle your suggestion, pointing a cab so as to direct it's sound all the way across the stage to where you would be standing does seem to fly in the face of having a controlled onstage sound, but that's just my opinion [/quote] Fair point, like I said, that's more of a solution I've used in small practice rooms where FOH sound isn't a consideration. For smaller venues, angling a cab could be possible to an extent, it depends on the stage and what gear (both amp and PA) is being used. It definitely wouldn't be as ideal as IEMs though.

Sorry, I've not read through the whole thread since the dog's just started yapping so apologies if someone's mentioned this before. If you want to be in the cone of sound without pointing the cab at the roof, have you tried tilting it back a little and then standing on the other side of the stage? Depending on the room, bands I'm in have had to do it before (usually in small practice rooms for the guitarist's sake, can't say I've ever had to do it for a bass since they're more omnidirectional).

Thanks guys. It's basically a competition idea for my band. It might just be easier to let them wear. I'll check out the body shop idea though. Thanks guys.