How would you decide?

[Evil Undead]

As some of you will know, it's probably going to be some time before I start playing out again. Because of this, I'm debating whether or not I really need all of my gear. But I just can't decide. I don't need everything that's for sure, and the money could definitely come in useful.

I've got two basses, both short scale, both very different.

One is heavier and has the most amazing tone, but I find it kinda hard work to play - were my hands and wrists not screwed it would be a total breeze (I bought it because it was so easy but things have progressed a bit since).

The other is so easy to play and also a good 1lb lighter than the other. But... although it does sound kinda good, it doesn't have quite the tonal personality or versatility of the other.

And then there's the amps.

One practice amp, only 15W 1x8 - sounds ok, kinda heavy but certainly very useable.

And a head/cab setup, light, sounds great, but a pain in the ass to set up whenever I want to play. I'd leave it set up but one of the pets would be chomping on the cables. Would also net the most cash.

I've thought that I should keep one bass, and sell off the amps and get a nice 1x10 combo for home use. I'm happy with a combo, less to set up and less opportunities for chewy animals!

What would you do in my situation?

[LukeFRC]

If i were you... sell the big rig if you can - or at least the cab.

[HowieBass]

Surely the only difference (cable wise) between the combo and the head and cab is a speaker cable (obviously both have mains cables, which I'd imagine are equally chewable as each other). How long does it take to plug a speaker cable in? I accept that if you have the rig hard up against a wall then wrestling with the head and cab might be a little awkward (but there again if that's the case a speaker cable would be out of the way?).

[EMG456]

Just reading up on your other thread - best of luck with it all.

I always think that you have more connection with the instruments than the amplification so I guess I would sell the big rig and the practise amp, which you say sounds just "ok" and buy a small combo which sounds really good.

My only direct experience is with my own Phil Jones Bass Briefcase amp. It's the first practise amp I ever found that actually sounds exactly like a really good big rig - only smaller and quieter. They now do even smaller ones as well and they come up secondhand occasionally. It's always sitting ready to go in the room and is loud enough for acoustic type gigs.

Re the basses, do you know exactly why the heavier bass is more difficult to play? Is it neck shape, action, neck placement, pickup positions, body shape, balance? If its just needs a really good setup, it may be worth having that done by a trusted luthier.

Also, don't be scared to move down string gauges - the commonly held belief that lighter strings somehow don't have as good a sound as heavier is a complete red herring - in many ways they can actually sound fuller and more dynamic, all with the added benefit of encouraging a lighter touch generally and easier fretting.

Cheers

Ed

[Evil Undead]

[quote name='EMG456' timestamp='1399371886' post='2443458']
Just reading up on your other thread - best of luck with it all.

I always think that you have more connection with the instruments than the amplification so I guess I would sell the big rig and the practise amp, which you say sounds just "ok" and buy a small combo which sounds really good.

My only direct experience is with my own Phil Jones Bass Briefcase amp. It's the first practise amp I ever found that actually sounds exactly like a really good big rig - only smaller and quieter. They now do even smaller ones as well and they come up secondhand occasionally. It's always sitting ready to go in the room and is loud enough for acoustic type gigs.

Re the basses, do you know exactly why the heavier bass is more difficult to play? Is it neck shape, action, neck placement, pickup positions, body shape, balance? If its just needs a really good setup, it may be worth having that done by a trusted luthier.

Also, don't be scared to move down string gauges - the commonly held belief that lighter strings somehow don't have as good a sound as heavier is a complete red herring - in many ways they can actually sound fuller and more dynamic, all with the added benefit of encouraging a lighter touch generally and easier fretting.

Cheers

Ed
[/quote]

Hey Ed

I've heard of the Phil Jones briefcases, but never had chance to try one. I should look into that as they seem to get great reviews. My practice amp is only an 8" and it sounds a bit... woody I think is the best explanation. I really like 10's so I'd love to find a 10" combo with a versatile sound. Been looking for an Ibanez Promethean combo but someone always beats me to the ones that come up for sale here

Bass-wise. I think it's the action - I know this is going to sound utterly ridiculous because the action is way under 2mm at 12th fret, and the relief is fine, but my hands are pretty weak and I think even this is too high. Strings are 40-95 which I think are ok - they're bordering on being a bit "flubbery" so I don't know if I'd want to go lighter than that.

The neck shape is a jazz width but a fairly hefty profile. Feels pretty comfortable in that respect, and it's got J pickups which is fine. Balances well, weight isn't heavy by any means, so it must be the action. My other (much cheaper) bass has an action that's barely above 1mm and that's great for me. But it doesn't sound quite as good.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Evil Undead

[EMG456]

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1399378068' post='2443550']
Hey Ed

I've heard of the Phil Jones briefcases, but never had chance to try one. I should look into that as they seem to get great reviews. My practice amp is only an 8" and it sounds a bit... woody I think is the best explanation. I really like 10's so I'd love to find a 10" combo with a versatile sound. Been looking for an Ibanez Promethean combo but someone always beats me to the ones that come up for sale here

Bass-wise. I think it's the action - I know this is going to sound utterly ridiculous because the action is way under 2mm at 12th fret, and the relief is fine, but my hands are pretty weak and I think even this is too high. Strings are 40-95 which I think are ok - they're bordering on being a bit "flubbery" so I don't know if I'd want to go lighter than that.

The neck shape is a jazz width but a fairly hefty profile. Feels pretty comfortable in that respect, and it's got J pickups which is fine. Balances well, weight isn't heavy by any means, so it must be the action. My other (much cheaper) bass has an action that's barely above 1mm and that's great for me. But it doesn't sound quite as good.
[/quote]

If by "woody" you mean kind of "boxy", "middley" ( it's difficult to describe sound!) then that's exactly what most practise amps always sounded to me. The Briefcase actually has two 5 inch speakers but still provides that nice sound so yep, it may be worth while checking out. Also, just out of interest since you say you like 10's, I noticed the other day somebody on here selling an Acme Sound Low B1 cab. That's a very small full range cab with a 10, a 5 and a tweeter and it will sound fabulous although you'd still have the head/ cab thing.

Re the basses, it's more difficult. If a really good fret dressing would be able to get the action down on your better sounding bass then it may well be worth trying that. Of course, you could find that the higher action is a contributing factor to the better sound so perhaps as an experiment, raising the action on your other bass temporarily to see if the sound improves would incur no expense. If you do it yourself carefully, there's no need to worry about getting it back again if you don't like it. For each saddle height adjustment screw, turn it by the same number of exact turns - I would suggest 1 full turn as we're dealing with quite low actions here. Retune the bass as increasing the height of the saddles is likely to increase the tension on the strings and then try it. If you don't like it, one full turn backwards for each saddle adjustment screw takes you back to exactly where you were.

I'm with you on the 40 - 95 gauges but my ears tell me that others can use much lighter strings and still produce pleasing, excellent and punchy bass tones from them. Yes, they will feel odd at first but once you adjust to them, you would be producing the same sounds but with less physical effort so for the cost of a set of strings to go on to your "better" bass to try, it may be worth a punt?

And finally, there's thinking out of the box... the Ashbory bass, with it's ultra short scale length and silicone strings is physically extremely easy to play but still produces a great tone - very double bass like.

Cheers

Ed

[Cosmo Valdemar]

I want to know what the basses are!

[Weststarx]

If you are going to end up needing them in the future theres no point selling stuff to just go and buy the same things again when you decide you need them in the future.

I did this with my paintballing gear, sold everything due a bad knee injury which meant I couldnt take part in any physical activity for a year or so, sold everything cheap only to then go back and spend even more money on new gear when I could start playing again! And if any of you play paintball with your own gear, you'll know its even more expensive to do than bands, guitars, amps etc!



If its gear you dont like or dont really need, and selling it wouldnt bother you, I would sell away.

[tedmanzie]

You are having tendon problems so sell the 'difficult to play bass'. Keeping it is only going to make the problem worse.
You have said enough about the head/cab to make it clear that this needs sold too.
Keep the practice amp,[i] don't buy anything else.[/i]

[lemmywinks]

Personally I would have a gear clearout go for the best of both worlds!

I would sell both basses and get one that is very light yet sounds the way you want it to. Does Prosebass still make those tasty little short scale headless basses?

Maybe the little Promethean/Harley Benton/Redsub combos would be a good fit too, .small and pretty light yet capable of providing suitable backline at moderate volumes. There was one for sale for around £200 recently IIRC.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1399468881' post='2444512']
You are having tendon problems so sell the 'difficult to play bass'. Keeping it is only going to make the problem worse.
You have said enough about the head/cab to make it clear that this needs sold too.
Keep the practice amp,[i] don't buy anything else.[/i]
[/quote]

Ted has it spot here I reckon.