tontdoch Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 Hi I joined this site a few years ago but suffered a major HD failure and lost everything. Anyway, I'm from Glasgow in Scotland (for you USA people) and started playing bass 24 years ago when I was 15 - feck's sake! It was the usual scenario; three school friends wanted to start a band so the richest two got their parents to buy them a drum-kit and guitar set-up respectively. I was left with the shortest scale and cheapest bass the richest kid could find. Anyway, we sounded good after a few months and played a few school gigs playing early Stranglers stuff. I then played in various bands until a gig when I was 21 which was the worst ever. We got lost going there, got lost going back, were booed like nothing else, I had college the next day and had no sleep... I sold my bass the next week. Fast-forward to 2004 - separated from my wife, suffering from major depression, had a well-paying job - I remembered the first 'really good' bass I played. It was a Westone Thunder 1A; I bought it. That was the start of the downfall. I'm sure you can imagine the following 4 years. I had a pretty good collection of five Matsumoku Westone basses. Thunder 1A fretted Thunder 1A fretless Quantum Thunder Jet Spectrum Series II (the MIJ with the Thunder 3 electronics) Unfortunately, since I worked in the financial sector I haven't worked since 2008. I had to sell most of my collection but decided to keep the 1A fretted and the Jet. Typically, my 1A was stolen in March so all I have left is my Jet. Mind you, a friend of mine set up the Jet properly and it now plays like a dream, if you're a rock-bassist (nothing above the 14th fret). With my humble Thunder Jet and my Ashdown five-fifteen (the 100w version) I'm now getting some brilliant sounds when playing live, rehearsing and even moreso when recording. I'm still missing the stolen 1A but am consoled by the playability and sound of my setup. In a nut-shell - make the most of what you've got and you may be surprised with the results. Oh, it also helps if you avoid the economy of scale by buying the best strings you can afford. I got the D'Addario EXP strings and they still play and sound good after 3 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbass1 Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 Welcome back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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