itsmedunc Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 I bought Kevvo66's Trace GP7 SMC 112 130w combo today which cost £80 (Great deal. Thanks again Kev!). I originally wanted it to stick in a little studio room at home. Picked it up today and paired it with a Squier Affinity Jazz (from around 2002) that I bought off Gumtree a couple of weeks ago for £30. I've done a bit of recording with this bass as it plays and sounds really well. When paired with the Trace they sound marvellous! Really gutsy and loud. When recording into Logic, I've been using the Jazz with the vintage Ampeg emulation and nailed the sound that I've been looking for, for a long long time. I've now found, I can get the same sound and more with the Trace and this particular Jazz. I'm quite taken aback that after all this time and money, I've got a setup for £110 that I'd definitely take out and gig with (and now intend to do just that). I've used many many basses and rigs over the years and I can't think of any combination that sounded better than this one. On par, different yes but not any better. What a win! Maybe I'm just getting old! 😂😂😂😀 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 (edited) - Edited March 4, 2022 by Jus Lukin 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmedunc Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 1 minute ago, Jus Lukin said: Would you gig with this inexpensive setup? Yup. Come to think of it, I should have done a poll! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 (edited) - Edited March 4, 2022 by Jus Lukin 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ribbetingfrog Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 If it sounds right and plays right it is right. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Absolutely, why wouldn’t you? Nothing beats getting good stuff at a bargain price, enjoy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newfoundfreedom Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 (edited) I've never seen the point in gigging (or even playing with) expensive gear. I mean if you want to go out and pay top dollar for boutique stuff, and you have the funds to do so, then fair play. But there's absolutely no "need" to. You can get a great sounding rig for very little money these days. My whole setup cost me about £750 (which to me is still not by any means cheap) split fairly eventfully between bass £250, amp £250, cabs £250, and it sounds superb! So in answer to the original question, absolutely! If it sounds good and gets the job done, use it. Edited September 2, 2019 by Newfoundfreedom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 12 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said: I've never seen the point in gigging (or even playing with) expensive gear. I mean if you want to go out and pay top dollar for boutique stuff, and you have the funds to do so, then fair play. But there's absolutely no "need" to. You can get a great sounding rig for very little money these days. My whole setup cost me about £750 (which to me is still not by any means cheap) split fairly eventfully between bass £250, amp £250, cabs £250, and it sounds superb! So in answer to the original question, absolutely! If it sounds good and gets the job done, use it. The quality of cheaper stuff these days is great. Not everything cheap is good, but there is good stuff that is cheap. If one has the money to spend, that's great as you get more to choose from, and having access to more expensive stuff usually means you have access to better stuff... but is the jump in quality similar to the jump in price? Nope. My current #1 setup live cost me a fair amount more than what I was playing 10 years ago, and I love it and I don't want to go back... but if I could not afford it I would not be 'suffering' (other than by lifting heavy cabs and amplifiers ) I've owned a string of Jazz basses from various makes and qualities... I own just one now, the survivor who saw all the others go. The survivor is a Korean Squier I paid £75 for. Yes, it has had the pickups changed etc, but it's still a relatively inexpensive bass and sounds and feels great. My fretless is a £60 Sue Ryder Precision that stayed while I sold my Japanese Fender 70s reissue... My girlfriend plays a Squier Standard P/J which is one of the lightest and most comfortable basses I've ever played. That again was under £100 at Cash Converters or similar. It's a good time to be a player. If you can't afford more upmarket stuff, you can still get more than adequate gear. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I predominantly play cheap gear, after years of buying and selling gear at all price levels, I know how to set up my gear to get the sound I like no matter the price tag. If the gear feels nice to me to play, and sounds good than I'm happy. I've also found some brands work well together, and others don't. My current main bass is a £40 Yamaha, which plays and sounds great. Gig it without any problems, and no worries if it gets damaged nor stolen as I'd just replace it with the same. 😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Nothing wrong with Squier basses or guitars. A proper set up, strings to match your desired sound and feel, and a good amp set up is all you need. Think players keep things complicated with excessive pedal boards, funny looking instruments and expensive cabs. All you end up is tweaking the sound between the songs during a gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steantval Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 No problem playing with the bass, not sure about the combo being loud enough for live gigging with our band, it would require being put through the PA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibody Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Used to gig in the 90's with a Trace Elliot GP7 SMX combo and a Washburn XS4. Still have the XS4, sadly dont own the TE. Perfectly fine for giging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I don't see the point in judging anything by it's price tag. I've gigged a £20 bass and a £700 bass. I regularly take £1000 of cymbals to gigs, but the drum kit I use cost me £150. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu-khag Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Did a gig with an house 90s carlsbro combo and it was quite possibly my favourite sound I have played with. it seems to have been the room that did me favours and generally I sound pretty much the same through whatever I play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Good enough gear to gig with altho not sure the amp would be powerful enough in our band. Put it thru PA and should be fine. I tend to use my rig as a personal monitor on stage so its important i can hear it over the drums. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford13 Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Looks like you have found the holy grail - A rig you are fully happy with! On top of that it only cost £130. My advice would be stop worrying about what others will think and start enjoying the bliss that is loving your rig! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I’d use the rig stated if it got me the sound I wanted, why not. I’ve seen many pro-bassists using MIM Fenders and Squiers, some using bitsas that have cost them £100, plus as per another topic on here, some amp set-ups are going for silly money, why not take advantage and use good gear at reasonable prices. For me my gigging basses are US Fenders, they are the best Precisions I’ve ever had, but I’ve gigged my Mex Player Precision that I bought for flying gigs and I’d be happy with a couple of those as my gigging basses. I do prefer the more expensive US ones but in reality I don’t need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 16 minutes ago, Crawford13 said: Looks like you have found the holy grail - A rig you are fully happy with! On top of that it only cost £130. My advice would be stop worrying about what others will think and start enjoying the bliss that is loving your rig! This. If you need more volume, add a power amp and extra cab and drive them from the TE preamp. You'll get the same tone but louder. Job done. Don't be daft like us and spend all your hard-earned on gear if what you have does the trick. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmedunc Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 1 hour ago, Crawford13 said: Looks like you have found the holy grail - A rig you are fully happy with! On top of that it only cost £130. My advice would be stop worrying about what others will think and start enjoying the bliss that is loving your rig! Oh, I'm not worrying. Far from it. I've never been one to care what other folk think about my gear. 😀 I'm more interested in what others would do really. If you read many of the posts on BC, I think folk love to pull gear to bits and over analyse it. Everything from patch leads to picks. There always seems to be a certain nuance that makes one item inferior to another. Cost is often a common denominator. I agree with virtually every reply so far and firmly believe that if it sounds good, its good enough whatever the cost! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 8 minutes ago, itsmedunc said: ...if it sounds good, its good enough whatever the cost! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barking Spiders Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I've always got a perverse challenge out of trying to get the very best out of cheap gear, whether musical instruments or sports equipment. In my 20s and 30s I did a lot of gigging, own bands and as a dep, playing either bass, guitar or drums. My only bass was an anonymous EB short scale copy. My drum set was a 2nd hand Premier 4 piece and my only electric guitar was a Hohner 'strat' which was £100 new in the late 80s. I just had one amp, a 100w Marshall keyboard job which I used both for bass and guitar. In answer to the OP, you bet I would! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 My modded affinity Jazz was great, I only sold it because I switched to five string full time, I treated myself to a proper USA five string and fitted a preamp into it, both basses are perfectly fit for purpose Imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 If I enjoyed it more than what have now then yes. But to be honest I wouldn't... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Would I gig it? In a heartbeat. If the bass is set up according to how I like it and holds its tuning then I see no issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I'd gig it! I've played the last 130 gigs (approx.) with a Squier Mikey Way Mustang and plan on playing at least another 130 with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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