JTUK Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 [quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1477307572' post='3161206'] Some people really can just pickup and play anything as long as the setup isn't tottaly stupid so to say. Some people are not as sensitive. A bit like people who can play any neck size or radius fingerboard. Also some people can still get a decent sound out of ancient strings. I myself could of easily said bass first too. But I choose cab. Anyhow regardless of bass, amp or cab DONT FLATWOUNDS MAKE US ALL SOUND THE SAME!?..... ;D I'm joking btw [/quote] I'm very senstive to the feel of the bass... not sure that is a good thing or bad thing, but it is the way it is, for me. So..I can't do what I do on any old bass with a variable set-up. Sure, I could cover a 'gig' but I'd hate it being stymied so much .... It wouldn't be worth doing for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Like others, all are important to me. However, my prime concern would be the bass. That's the primary interface between me and the sound and so I really want it to feel right under my fingers. It's the sound source... GIGO... Amps I have almost always run flat or near flat anyway. Cabs I've had less experience swapping and changing. But all my gear is Of at least a decent quality. That's a must for me. Thing is I don't want any of the items in the signal chain to be completely rubbish. And with any averagely good gear, of course I'd be able to play fine although maybe with less ultimate pleasure in the playing. However if it's a choice of 1 brilliant element and the rest perfectly servicible I'll go with a great bass every time. If it's a choice of 1 brilliant element and the rest of the gear absolute dogs... I'd probably still go for bass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1477309603' post='3161230'] I'm very senstive to the feel of the bass... not sure that is a good thing or bad thing, but it is the way it is, for me. So..I can't do what I do on any old bass with a variable set-up. Sure, I could cover a 'gig' but I'd hate it being stymied so much .... It wouldn't be worth doing for me... [/quote] Get an upright bass for a few months, even an encore P bass will feel awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painy Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 (edited) I used to gig a fairly high end Warwick bass through a decent Ampeg rig which sounded great as you'd probably expect. When the Ampeg died (it was pretty elderly to be fair and had a hard life before I got it) I resorted to using a Behringer for a while - didn't sound quite so great. Earlier this year I bought my current (very nice) Aguilar rig but now using cheap and cheerful basses (Squier P and as of last weekend a Sterling SUB Ray) and the general consensus amongst the band at this Saturday's gig was it was one of the best sounds that I've had (at least until I blew one of my speakers - but that's another story). Seems I get a better sound with a cheap bass through a posh amp than I do with a posh bass through a cheap amp. Strangely though I'd rather turn up to a gig with shared backline and use my own bass than use someone else's bass through my own rig. In conclusion I'd have to say that overall I haven't got a clue what I'm on about. Edited October 24, 2016 by Painy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterT Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 [quote name='gjones' timestamp='1477256098' post='3160968'] you can put a five grand bass through a dodgy cab and it will sound like you just picked it out of a skip.[/quote] +1 for cab. Having just gone through this (but not a £5k bass!), I was annoyed at never being happy playing what I had. As a new player I wondered was it the player, the bass, the amp or the cab. Keeping the same bass and amp I eventually swapped the cab to the Vanderkley and hey presto, changed everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 [quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1477307704' post='3161208'] I thought you played a hofner, p bass etc and an ampeg b15. Or is that in my imagination lol. [/quote] I play 7 different basses including my German made Hofner Club bass. An Ampeg B-15? No Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnythenotes Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Bass for me. It the only piece of kit you improve on the more you use it. You can't rehearse or learn anything from an amp or cab.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 It depends on context and what you're doing with it. In the whole rig, having a great amp makes more difference than a great bass, but most of my gigs are with PA support with bass DId and the bass amp essentially acting as a personal monitor for me, so the bass itself has more impact on the sonics out front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 [quote name='jonnythenotes' timestamp='1477496940' post='3162609'] Bass for me. It the only piece of kit you improve on the more you use it. You can't rehearse or learn anything from an amp or cab.. [/quote] I'd have to disagree here, I think a lot of the people who keep swapping and changing amps and cabs around are looking for a magic fix, if they stuck to one that was essentially good fur a while they'd get used to what all the knobs do, one of the big advantages of a head and cab over a combo are the ability to take the head to practices and use the provided cab to "learn" how it works without lugging your own cabs every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 (edited) Bass. It's quite rare I play through my own amp - or an amp at all - so the bass is the only constant. Edited October 26, 2016 by ahpook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Bass. And pedals. And a really good sound man. Always buy him a pint. I've played loads of gigs without an amp, or with borrowed backline. On the minor league circuit in London it's fairly usual for the bands to share gear and for the bass to be DI'd as standard and you can use the old knackered 30w no name combo if you really want to hear yourself on stage but it won't sound like that out front. So much as I love my SVT Pro II, in practice I'm far more likely to be playing through one of the pedals I've got that does a really good SVT impression (Tech 21 VT, although I've just got an Ampeg SCR-DI which is superb) ahead of the DI box I'm also with some of the above in that a big chunk of he sound is in the playing - how hard I'm hitting the strings, pick or fingers or slapping, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 For me its the whole system. Starting with the bass and ending with the cab/speakers. If there is something not to my liking with any of the components I have to rectify it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 The bass, without a doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 [quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1477509121' post='3162718'] Bass. And pedals. And a really good sound man. Always buy him a pint. I've played loads of gigs without an amp, or with borrowed backline. On the minor league circuit in London it's fairly usual for the bands to share gear and for the bass to be DI'd as standard and you can use the old knackered 30w no name combo if you really want to hear yourself on stage but it won't sound like that out front. So much as I love my SVT Pro II, in practice I'm far more likely to be playing through one of the pedals I've got that does a really good SVT impression (Tech 21 VT, although I've just got an Ampeg SCR-DI which is superb) ahead of the DI box I'm also with some of the above in that a big chunk of he sound is in the playing - how hard I'm hitting the strings, pick or fingers or slapping, etc [/quote] A man very much after my own heart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzyvee Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 (edited) My bass!, even though I have a really good bass rig most of my gigs I play through a provided back line which can be OK to dreadful. But going DI. I know that even if I have a below par stage rig, my bass and me will be constant and unaffected . Edited October 26, 2016 by jazzyvee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herman Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 I think a few of you might agree, that the priority is GAS, are we really happy with our sound? some venues we are pleased with our sound, other venues it can sound awful,depending as well if you have pa support? At the end of the day are we really satisfied with the gear we have?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 I try to prioritise [i]me. [/i]If I'm not in the right mindset it'll sound like a bag o' shoit irrespective of which bass or rig I'm using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
progben Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Before this week, I'd have said my bass, but I had the misfortune of playing through the most horrendous cab ever a couple of days ago. It was a Laney 4×10 and I couldn't get a good sound out of it for toffee. Zero depth. So yes, the answer for me is cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisheth Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Currently my basses. Very happy with the Ashdown CTM 100 and the Super Compact that I currently use, it's all about the feel of a bass for me now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 (edited) My mind and my fingers. Sorry. My bass. Edited October 27, 2016 by bubinga5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elephantgrey Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 My bitcrushers. My IE Frantabit was my first real GAS, and it took over five years for me to get one (being a pennyless teen for most of that). To this day, I still have moments where I just look at it and it makes me smile. Sure, I could get along fine without (and have done) but bitcrushers make me happy. Probably something about how they make me sound objectively worse, but subjectively better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elephantgrey Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 (edited) Double post. Edited October 28, 2016 by elephantgrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highfox Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 All starts with the bass for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Daveo Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Me. Then amp Then bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musashimonkey Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Bass for me, being comfortable and confident with the instrument brings out the best tone for me. However a seriously substandard rig can soon mess that up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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