Loyalty doesn't need to cost

[Woodwind]

1 minute ago, chris_b said:

Hi, the bridge and tuners are Schaller, the pu's and pre amp are Barts. All work done by Chandlers at Kew.  The  nut is plastic. The original snapped under the E string during a gig in 1971 and had to be replaced. The frets had to be replaced, also in 1971. I'd just finished a 7 month stint playing 6 x 45 min sets, 6 days a week on the US airbases in Germany and they were wearing out!! 1968 was not a great year down at the Fender factory! After all that work, it sounds like a million dollars. Way better than it ever did in its original state.

I don't play it because I've only played 5 string basses since 1996. Cheers.

Superb!

I'm not really a Fender fan, but something about your bass really appeals. It just looks spot on, and yells players instrument.

But yes, I can see it won't do what a 5er does 😎

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

My longest owned bass is also my cheapest.

It's a Hohner B2 and my brother gave it to me, so it was free.

[thodrik]

On 14/01/2021 at 15:48, Al Krow said:

Maybe I just got lucky on this one, but the bit of bass gear that I've held onto the longest is actually an amp not a bass. I fell in love with it the instant I first played through it. It was housed originally in a PH212 combo and together weighed a staggering 80+ lbs! I managed to offload the cab in a trade for another cab which I then managed to shift to buyer in NI with a ridiculously large courier fee plus a few pedals that no one really should have wanted, except that surprisingly there were some on eBay that did. Anyway after considerable effort and wheeling & dealing I ended up with just the bit of kit I really wanted, the Mesa M6 amp and for a fraction of what they can go for new. And at 25 lbs it's literally staying put 

I bet I'm not unique on this and that there are a fair few valve amps and Trace Elliot heads that are still besting modern D class gear! 

I see you are a 'master up full and adjust gain' to taste person. I must admit I had never thought of doing that when I had the M6. Normally I set the gain to 10 o'clock and by the time I set the master to about 9 o'clock the volume level was such that it felt like the apocalypse was coming!

The finish on that Spector as well is gorgeous!

[Al Krow]

4 hours ago, thodrik said:

I see you are a 'master up full and adjust gain' to taste person. I must admit I had never thought of doing that when I had the M6. Normally I set the gain to 10 o'clock and by the time I set the master to about 9 o'clock the volume level was such that it felt like the apocalypse was coming!

The finish on that Spector as well is gorgeous!

Haha - no, not quite my EQ or volume settings on the M6! I must have knocked them when I was just angling the rig around so I could take a pic of it yesterday to post on here. That particular setting with the bass boosted and master volume maxed through the Fearless F112, which can deliver a seriously meaty low end better than any 112 cab I know, would likely take out the windows! In practice I have the bass EQ slightly cut at 11.30pm (12 noon = flat on the Mesa EQ for the benefit of any non Mesa owners reading this) and master volume like you at around 9pm or 10pm (  = 3 or 4 out of 10) and, as you say, that's more than enough for home use!

Thank you for the kind words on the Spector. It really is a lovely, lovely bass!

Edited January 15, 2021 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

My longest owned bass is also my cheapest.

It's a Hohner B2 and my brother gave it to me, so it was free.

That's a nice story. Possibly the earliest bass on the thread so far, then?

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, thodrik said:

I see you are a 'master up full and adjust gain' to taste person. I must admit I had never thought of doing that when I had the M6. Normally I set the gain to 10 o'clock and by the time I set the master to about 9 o'clock the volume level was such that it felt like the apocalypse was coming!

Interestingly the 'correct' way to set up a Trace Elliot is to max the gain until the clip light just flickers, and use the master control for its intended porpoise. As far as I can tell the input circuit has anon-linear frequency response. This certainly does give a modest amount of pleasant growl when you dig in without entering distortion territory.

[thodrik]

50 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Interestingly the 'correct' way to set up a Trace Elliot is to max the gain until the clip light just flickers, and use the master control for its intended porpoise. As far as I can tell the input circuit has anon-linear frequency response. This certainly does give a modest amount of pleasant growl when you dig in without entering distortion territory.

Yeah, I think that quite a lot of amps work on this basis. I had an SMX Trace head and it was very much a ‘gain high and master low’ amp. I think that the master volume knob was even coloured red as a ‘danger’ warning!

[Stub Mandrel]

It's certainly standard practice for guitar amps.

[dmccombe7]

Not the bass i've had the longest from around 2008 /2009 i think but its the cheapest bass i own at moment. Its my Fender Geddy Jazz CIJ that i bought in a shop sale. Its the bass i use most at home and when suits within a band setting too. I just love the feel and playability of it. 

[dmccombe7]

Forgot about this baby i bought from @karlfer few yrs back now and is one of the best cabs i've ever known and its still in mint condition. Very heavy tho so at some stage i might let it go as my Mesa rig now does everything i need and might be looking at Subway lightweight range once band starts gigging again 

Bergantino HT322 with a 12 and 2x10's with horn.

 

[silverfoxnik]

That's my kind of rig right there! 👍😊@dmccombe7

[dmccombe7]

8 minutes ago, silverfoxnik said:

That's my kind of rig right there! 👍😊@dmccombe7

The GK1001Rbii and Berg HT322  combination was impressive giving fantastic definition with great depth but the GK amp just wasn't doing it for me. All sounded a bit too clean and "clinical" if that's the right word. ?

I've still to try my Mpulse thru the Berg cab.

The Berg sounded fantastic with the Ampeg SVT4 Pro but the weight of both was too much plus the Ampeg head kept breaking down too often altho never with the band just at home. I bought the GK as a back up amp. 

Dave

[Al Krow]

So exactly how many rigs have you got Dave?! I think I've tallied four from the pics plus mention of the Mesa rig!

[silverfoxnik]

Hi Dave, 

I can imagine the Ampeg /Berg combination was an absolute joy! 

A few years ago, I used a Mesa Big Block 750 with a Berg 212 and that was a really punchy rig... 

[silverfoxnik]

4 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

So exactly how many rigs have you got Dave?! I think I've tallied four from the pics plus mention of the Mesa rig!

Good question! 

I currently have 3 rigs, 0 rehearsals and 0 gigs and zero prospect of that changing soon. 

Proof that I was never good at maths, ratios, algebra, budgeting and forecasting.. 😁

[dmccombe7]

13 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

So exactly how many rigs have you got Dave?! I think I've tallied four from the pics plus mention of the Mesa rig!

Some of those rigs have moved on since the pics.😂

Current rig is Mesa Mpulse in Mesa PH212 (8ohm)

Berg HT322 i kept in case i needed a more powerful cab as its 4ohm and would let me get max out the Mpulse if ever needed. To be honest i've just never needed it. I have an EBS Reidmar 750 as a back up amp as well.

The Berg AE112 cabs got me into the HT322 because of the quality and tone but the AE112's lacked something that i put down to depth or heft for want of better description.

Plan is to sell some of those off and get a Mesa TT800 with the new Subway 2x15 cab.

11 minutes ago, silverfoxnik said:

Hi Dave, 

I can imagine the Ampeg /Berg combination was an absolute joy! 

A few years ago, I used a Mesa Big Block 750 with a Berg 212 and that was a really punchy rig... 

The Ampeg was what got me interested in a more reliable tube pre-amp head and started looking at the Mesa and would have bought yours but just a bit too far away.

Mesa gear has been the best gear i've used in 40+ years with a mates Orange all tube head into an 810 cab that was also very nice coming a close second.

Dave

Edited January 16, 2021 by dmccombe7

[peteb]

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Some of those rigs have moved on since the pics.😂

Current rig is Mesa Mpulse in Mesa PH212 (8ohm)

Berg HT322 i kept in case i needed a more powerful cab as its 4ohm and would let me get max out the Mpulse if ever needed. To be honest i've just never needed it. I have an EBS Reidmar 750 as a back up amp as well.

Plan is to sell some of those off and get a Mesa TT800 with the new Subway 2x15 cab.

The Ampeg was what got me interested in a more reliable tube pre-amp head and started looking at the Mesa and would have bought yours but just a bit too far away.

Mesa gear has been the best gear i've used in 40+ years with a mates Orange all tube head into an 810 cab that was also very nice coming a close second.

Dave

Personally, I would be very wary of selling the mpulse to get the TT800. I had a Subway for a while and it was a great sounding amp, but I still got rid of it after a while. It was great when playing deps for a R&B band, but when I got it on a bigger stage with a heavier band and loads of keyboards - it just got lost and couldn't keep up. Last time I was down at Bass Direct, I told Mark how much I had liked the Subway, but still sold it on. He said "It's not just the sound of the amp, but the way it delivers it", which I think is very true. 

I replaced the Subway with a Handbox hybrid amp, which once you get used to the EQ section, is superb. 

I'm another one who's main rig is a Mesa amp (mpulse) and Berg cab (HS410), which is as good as anything that I have ever heard. 

Edited January 16, 2021 by peteb

[Al Krow]

53 minutes ago, silverfoxnik said:

Good question! 

I currently have 3 rigs, 0 rehearsals and 0 gigs and zero prospect of that changing soon. 

Proof that I was never good at maths, ratios, algebra, budgeting and forecasting.. 😁

Well you boys are immensely helpful for dealing with any guilt issues for me having a dedicated home rig separate from my gigging rig!

[gafbass02]

I only own two basses now. I’ve owned so many over the years that I’ve lost count, but it’s well over 200, possibly closer to 300. Warwicks, statii, many stingrays etc etc.

But the only two I still own and will never part with are my old ‘Trigger’s broom’ 1990 MiJ jazz and my bassmaster funk.  Both owned since the early 90’s and both beaten up and heavily gigged. 
Incidentally, the jazz special pictured with them here was my very first proper bass. I found it on eBay a few years back and bought it straight away. It still had my initials and my old school band name on the headstock and had hardly been touched since I sold it to fund the blue jazz in 1991/92. 
Sadly, a few weeks later, I was partway through my dissertation when my computer died and I had to sell it again to fund a new one. Talk about gutted!

But the other two will be with me till the end, and really are all I need. 

Edited January 16, 2021 by gafbass02

[peteb]

21 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Well you boys are immensely helpful for dealing with any guilt issues for me having a dedicated home rig separate from my gigging rig!

I've got two rigs; a 'big' rig (that isn't that big these days) and a more compact one, along with another spare amp. I do different types of gigs, often with very different bands, sometimes on bigger stages and sometimes in the corner of a tiny pub. Sometimes you might struggle to fit the bigger cab onstage and sometimes you don't want to be lugging a rack cased amp to the far corridors of a Travelodge in a strange city at 2 o'clock in the morning. At least, not at my age...!

I also have a third rig;  an old Hartke amp and a cheapish 810 cab. it lives permanently in a mate's rehearsal studio (I've only used it once in the past ten years). 

Edited January 16, 2021 by peteb

[dave_bass5]

These are my cheap basses, and each one has been my main gigging bass at some point, the Squier for almost 3 years of gigging every weekend. Its still my second fav bass that i own. The guitar is just there for effect lol. 

. 

[Lozz196]

26 minutes ago, peteb said:

Sometimes you don't want to be lugging a rack cased amp to the far corridors of a Travelodge in a strange city at 2 o'clock in the morning. At least, not at my age...!

Amen to that, been there and it’s not fun - and why is it that no matter which Travelodge the doors always open the wrong way for loading into the hotel at 2am, making it even more awkward?

[peteb]

12 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Amen to that, been there and it’s not fun - and why is it that no matter which Travelodge the doors always open the wrong way for loading into the hotel at 2am, making it even more awkward?

I dunno, it’s all part of the experience, paying dues and all that. It’s just that none of us are getting any younger. At least these days, we’re generally not trying to sneak extra band members past the desk to save on hotel rooms! 

[Stub Mandrel]

41 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

These are my cheap basses, and each one has been my main gigging bass at some point, the Squier for almost 3 years of gigging every weekend. Its still my second fav bass that i own. The guitar is just there for effect lol. 

. 

So what's your favourite colour for a bass?

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Well you boys are immensely helpful for dealing with any guilt issues for me having a dedicated home rig separate from my gigging rig!

A man should never feel guilty about bass.😁