EBS_freak

Looking at a rig - there's the main reason - and it's a valid one. People want the traditional look. re: punch - is more than just a choice of speakers - its also down to the processing and EQ. Lack of depth - that down to the tuning of the cab also. DSP on most modern cabs has been put in to iron out the lumps and bumps. If you like the low end, EQ it in. Most bass cabs have been tuned to colour the sound so it has low end and mid range humps and bumps.

I don't know if I'd agree that they are floor monitors - most are FoH speakers placed on their sides. The ABS plastic is primarily for weight reduction. If you want to move up, move into ply cabs which theoretically has less flex. But that introduces the weight. e.g. 745 vs it's wooden equivalent (NX45A) adds circa 5kg. The thing is, as you get into more and more serious PA, weight seems to be less of a concern. There's some mighty fine cabs out there, but they come without outrageous weights. Take a look at the L'Acoustic 112P for example. Powered Single 12 with compression driver (3"VC), 32kg (about the weight of a Fender twin!). Before long, you are getting into 40kg+ cabs. How far do you want to go? - remember, your FoH is more important, so it would be more wise to invest in that. Lets not forget, Anthony Jackson was doing this with Meyer long before most... and Mike Gordon for that matter. I think they clocked that PA cabs generally far out perform the bass cabs that are commonly sold. Mind you, lets not neglect to mention that Meyer tends to come with a sizeable price tag. Luckily these guys would appear to have a road crew (with fork lifts?! :P) to move their gear.

It's very straight forward - the app for your computer is very good - so useful at home and on gigs, which ever controller/tablet etc you are using. And you can also get a fader board for it if you must have sliders.

Hang on, hang on! Brain wave. Behringer XR18 / Midas MR18 is an interface as well as a mixer! ipad/android/pc/mac control. Midas would probably be the nicer out of the two to have if you want to do recording at home as the preamps are a little bit nicer than the standard ones on the Behringer.

Have you looked at using mixing desks as interfaces? https://www.andertons.co.uk/mackie-dl32r-32-channel-digital-mixer-dl32r This is quite a good deal - 32 ins, 32 out - 14 analogue outs (16 if you include the TRS outs)... is a formidable multitrack recorder in it's own right (records multitrack direct to HD without the need for a laptop or additional i/o card - just drop the recording from the disk into your DAW). All the sockets are built in to the unit without needing breakout boxes (e.g. unlike the X32 rack). Great mixer, great recording interface. You can expand it to handle Dante too if you want to go down that route. Kinda also depends upon you already having an ipad though... which you may or may not have. All that power, in just 3u. If you haven't got an iPad, you may consider the QSC Touchmix 30 as it has a touchscreen built in (also allows remote control via iPad). I know that these are pricey - but they are relatively portable and offer outrageous ins and outs for the money. There's also the X32 Rack - that hasn't got all the I/O available unless you buy breakout boxes - but what is on board by default would probably suit you. Its big advantage is that it's controllable by android/ipad and PC/Mac. It can act as a recording interface, however the direct to SD recorder expansion card has just been released. It's a shame that the Touchmix 16 can't be a recording interface as that would suit the bill nicely - and offers multitrack recording without being connected to a DAW.

Here's my go to setup. Front of house : GB Spitfire -> Shure ULX-D -> Kemper Profiler + Remote (running Chandler/SSL channel strip profile) -> DL32R (FOH) (optional with Waves Multirack if I can be bothered) -> RCF945/8004 Monitor : GB Spitfire -> Shure ULX-D -> Kemper Profiler + Remote (running Chandler/SSL channel strip profile) -> DL32R (FOH) -> DL32R (MON) -> Shure PSM900 -> JH Audio Roxannes Wireless mic follows a similar route... Front of house: Sennheiser EW500 945 -> DL32R (FOH)..... Monitor : (Talkback mic (for over band inears)) Sennheiser 935 with Optogate -> DL32R (MON)... For gigs that warrant it, switch out the DL32R (FOH) for GLD80 No traditional amps here. Not needed! And never been happier! Heres my dep setup (where no inears are available) GB Spitfire -> Shure ULX-D -> Kemper Profiler -> 1 or 2 EBS210 or GB Spitfire -> EBS HD350 > 1 or 2 EBS210

Trying to find you some polyester examples!

Sounds like a successful days shopping.

Doesn't matter what it's worth. If it's your go to bass, it's your go to bass!

Good shout. Make sure it's defo a polyester finish that he puts on though - other finishes will not be hard enough.

What bass are you having doing? Presuming it's a bolt on? If it's only a fingerboard, as opposed to a whole neck, I can't imagine it being silly money. As I say though, make sure it's not just being sprayed, it needs to be radiused and polished.

Yeah - it's Bow Finishing. I was being lazy it would seem! Top chaps. PS - make sure, whatever you have done, you have the neck radiused and polished also.

When you say epoxied... are you looking at boat epoxy like Jaco, or polyester like Pedulla? If it's the latter (which I actually think is better), then people like Bow Finishes, Sims etc... can sort you out. I've tried to find some examples of the type of finish you can expect with poly - As you can see, they look identical (and sound pretty much exactly the same as the epoxy equivalents) to the HG Thor necks - which seems to be the benchmark for epoxy necks. Make sure you post the before and after if you have it done!

Singer I know, whenever I do gigs with him, he expects this as he is a nervous driver. It's kinda annoying - but he's the best vocalist I've ever worked with... so I'll let it ride. Go the other direction - complete annoying *** of a keys player. Her response about travelling to gigs - "I could drive. But why should I?" Funny - it's just reminded me of a particular journey I did with her. Her dad waited with her with keyboards at a truckers diner so I could pick her up with her gear. Bit annoyed as a little out of the way but it was a long drive (south coast from Birmingham) so in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't too bad. Cut a long story short, drove down, did the gig and drove back... she was asleep all the time she was in the car. When I reached the truck stop to "meet up with her dad" again, she dropped the bombshell that her dad was never coming and I'd have to drive her up the motorway to where she lived (an hour way - adding two hours onto my journey). Everybody said I should have just left her there... but I just thought, it would be just my luck that she would get raped or something and I'd be all over the news for leaving a female all alone at a truckers diner. Oh the stories I can tell about that band.

Is that your way of saying Ashdown are crap? :-p

Yeah, that's pretty cool.

Buy a small case then - and exercise a little self restraint! :-p

True - but that's the physical interaction with the instrument. Anything after that is just taste - and that's subjective.

Give somebody like House of Tone a call... they may be willing to take the broken pickup and repair/rewind it for you. Certainly should be a lot cheaper than replacing it... and if it is rewound, it will likely sound better than most of the off the shelf stuff anyway. http://www.houseoftonepickups.com/

A wheelie suitcase - mostly because it's strong enough, light, got a pull out handle and on wheels. Carries all the XLRs, powercons, looms, straps etc. You can load it to capacity and the contents can weight a tonne without the bag destroying itself. For example, in contrast, how many of you have a drummer with a canvas rolling bag for their hardware? And how many of those drum bags are not falling apart? Guess the size of your bag depends on how much gear you take to gigs.

And in a studio environment, you'll have so much tweaking available to you, your favourite bass may end up sounding nothing like the sound of your favourite bass! Similarly, if you are going through a PA live, what you do behind the desk has a bigger influence on your sound than the amp and cab... (unless you are running your backline far too loud that the volume overpowers your PA)

Where's the elf in the port photo?!

Here's a suitable analogy... A £50 heap of junk car will transfer your donkey from A to B as will a brand new 30k one. The point is, the value of the car doesn't stop you getting from A to B. Why should a bass rig stop you doing A to B in your performance. The gear may not perform to how you wish it would - but it certainly shouldn't be the main steer for getting you there. Can you imagine any bass great turning down a gig because they aren't plugging into their favourite backline?

I guess it all depends upon the gig - but relying upon gear to play bass is going to hold you back more as a bass player than anything else. If you are the bass player that insists on all sorts of gear and as a consequence is a nightmare to work with... isn't worth the hassle. Maybe the increased use of modellers is people's ways of dealing with the perceived problem?

Can't see this advertised anywhere, so I've posted it up. Not strictly just guitars - there are a handful of some basses there... but may be of interest to some. The Guitar Show - New Bingley Hall, Birmingham. 24-25 February 2018. http://www.theguitarshow.co.uk/