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Now..Your First Gig Rig Rundowns


Low End Bee
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[quote name='Deep Thought' timestamp='1488364900' post='3248217']
Early 80's-Westone Concord I bass (still got it), Peavey Century head (damn good amp, I was advised not to sell it, but I did)...
[/quote]

I gigged a Century amp into a huge sealed HH 4x12 cab for about a year. I don't think the amp or cab were bass specific but it made a righteous racket :D .

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My first set up was a Yamaha BB300 and an H&H Bass Baby, however, I never gigged with them as I was then asked to play guitar in a band which saw me selling my bass gear to concentrate on guitar. Fast forward nearly 15 years or so and my return to bass playing (best musical decision ever), my initial rig was a Yamaha RBX of some sort and a Hartke Kickback, again I didn't gig with it. My first bass gig rig was a Fender Jazz through an Ashdown ABM300 2x10 combo, which I later added another 2x10 cab to. In fairness I haven't had a lot of rigs (basses are another question), the Ashdown morphed piecemeal into a Markbass head through a Schroeder cab and then onto my current Phil Jones set up.

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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1488362571' post='3248175']
We need to expand this to what people wore for their first gig!...
[/quote]

It's too far back to remember. I have a photograph[s] somewhere that I'll dig out. For now I'll just say that[/s] I am almost certain I had clean underwear on at the start.

Found it;
[attachment=239382:HolidayMoodDublin86.png]

It was a four piece. I am on the left. M, the drummer, did main vocals but he is concealed behind P, the guitarist. E was on keys and was the drummer's girlfriend.

Wow. I had forgotten what we all looked like then.

Edited by SpondonBassed
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[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1488368642' post='3248273']
Well I'll be damned.

[url="http://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/britamps/watkins/westminster/west6.html"]http://www.vintageho...ster/west6.html[/url]

Never noticed that one before.

Mind you, [Pedant] it is 10W rather than 15W [/Pedant]!

;)
[/quote]

It was the 15W I had. Not technically a bass amp I guess. But it was sold as suitable for guitar, bass or organ as it had a 'heavy duty speaker'.

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1992 - Platform 9 in Aberdeen (since closed down).

We were supporting a mate's band, and from what I remember I used his Laney stack, playing my Arbiter Ric copy.

I seem to remember my own gear at the time was some kind of grey Carlsbro head, about 150W, with a no-name 2x15 cabinet. Also had an excellent little HH 60W combo with a single 15 in it.

(edit): ah, clothing. Tight black canvas jeans and a cut-off Waysted T-shirt. :)

Edited by HengistPod
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I used to think that I started gigging in 1975 .I recently discovered it was 1974..........


First gig

Market Harborough Working Mens club (bit of a trek from Nottingham in those days...fee...£29.00 less agents commission shared around a four piece band. We knew 12 songs and had to play 3x 20 mins sets.

Audition p bass copy ....£29.00 from woollies ( a weeks wage as an apprentice plumber or gig money for a band in Market Harborough :lol: )

No idea what lead I used into....

Laney 100wat Klipp guitar amp and a 2x15" Carlsboro cab....bloody huge and weighed a ton!



Happy days trying to get back home by coasting down hills because we couldn't afford the petrol :gas:

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[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1488382215' post='3248458']
I used to think that I started gigging in 1975 .I recently discovered it was 1974..........

[/quote]

There was a lot of sh*t being smoked back then, yeah ...

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Where have all the Carlsboro amps gone? They never seemed to go wrong so they must still be around, they sounded OK and were not overly heavy, Westone Thunder 1/1a through a Carlsboro amp seems to be a bit of a classic starter package of the 80's

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[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1488400519' post='3248706']
Where have all the Carlsboro amps gone? They never seemed to go wrong so they must still be around, they sounded OK and were not overly heavy, Westone Thunder 1/1a through a Carlsboro amp seems to be a bit of a classic starter package of the 80's
[/quote]

I've still got a Carlsbro 4 × 10 from my first 'proper' rig living at my parents house (somehow I've always forgotten to pick the massive, space consuming thing up in the last 20 odd years).

I assume it still works, it's built like and weighs as much as small tank.

Edited by Cato
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My carlsbro viper was awful... underpowered farty monstrosity... although it was miles better than the HH bass baby it replaced. The HH was so bad and I became so enraged with it I ended up smashing it to pieces in the garden with a sledgehammer... i think the speaker magnet is still stuck to my parents radiator. 😐

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Maybe it was user error causing the tone issues with Carlsbro stuff. My Cobra 90 had Hi & Lo input plus a gain control. In order to get some decent volume I put the Thunder 1a through the Hi input and turned the gain up. Possibly not the best way to get a tight sound.

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[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1488403181' post='3248742']
My carlsbro viper was awful... underpowered farty monstrosity... although it was miles better than the HH bass baby it replaced. The HH was so bad and I became so enraged with it I ended up smashing it to pieces in the garden with a sledgehammer... i think the speaker magnet is still stuck to my parents radiator. 😐
[/quote]

The sight of my hh 215 sticking out of the skip in my rear view mirror was one of the happiest days of my life.

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I remember the Carlsbroro Stingray (I think). 100W, 1 x 15, It was certainly a lot better in a gig situation than the Marshall 60 I was using, Much punchier. They also did a 1 x 18 + 1 x 10 (or maybe 8) that was about the size of a wardrobe, that was pretty much useless. I seem to remember Session were the new kids on the block at that time - they did a 4 x 10 combo that was a tier up from starter gear.

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First public appearance on bass... Church service in 1981. Borrowed Fender Musicmaster and Carlsboro Amp.

First performance with paying punters, 1984, Christian Union rock opera at university... Aria SB700, Arion Stage Tuner Pedal (Anyone remember Arion?), Laney Linebacker 75W 1x15 combo.

First paid gig, 1989, residency at a local comedy club in a folk band supporting Eddie Izzard, Linda Smith (RIP), Mark Steel and Bill Bailey... Aria SB700, Boss TU-2 tuner, Boss CE-2B chorus, Trace Elliott Series 6 1215, 200W, 1x15 combo.

Still have the Aria and the TU-2. Still use the CE-2B on my pedal board!

Edited by TrevorR
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[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1488367780' post='3248257']
1963 Hofner 500/5 into a 1967 Selmer T&B into an Eden 210XLT cab (bit of a mis-match there).

How anyone can remember what bloody lead they used is quite beyond me!

I know I didn't use any pedals because I didn't have any.

And I do remember very clearly that I quickly discovered that a semi-acoustic large-bodied bass makes a very effective feedback generator.
[/quote]

Some of us really are that sad... First appearance was a borrowed curly cable, the next was the no name cable I got when I bought my bass... It was red. The third was one of two Klotz cables I bought at the same time as I bought my Boss pedals. One was red, one was blue... Still got them in a box in the garage.

No idea how or why I remember this stuff!

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[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1488400519' post='3248706']
Where have all the Carlsboro amps gone? They never seemed to go wrong so they must still be around, they sounded OK and were not overly heavy, Westone Thunder 1/1a through a Carlsboro amp seems to be a bit of a classic starter package of the 80's
[/quote]

I have a Carlsboro 100W four channel PA. Bought it second hand out of the local paper with two wedges last year. It's great for the play-alongs during practice and eventually I hope to practice singing at the same time as playing... Don't say you haven't been warned.

Edited by SpondonBassed
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You're gonna hate me....

About 1963. I had just switched from guitar to bass.

A 22" juke box speaker I had scrounged from a guy I knew on a USAF base, fitted into a 3/8" plywood open backed box I built in our garage..
Powered by a Pye (early Philips era) 50 watt mono valve HiFi amp.

Bass?

Oh yeah - 1962 three color sunburst Precision bass. Carried it round in the fender cardboard box because the guy I bought it from couldn't afford the case at the time!

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