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You'll get there. It comes in stages. I could go further and say the cab isn't part of the equation but I won't. Or maybe I just did. Who knows? It took me years to undo decades of conditioning. No one told me, I just took in little nuggets and absorbed things, tried stuff, listened to people who'd been on similar journeys, kept an open kind and pushed back on the masses (of BassChatters) that try to suck you in to their own established realities and then one day, "Boom!", sorted. It all dropped into place and became completely clear. Literally. I'm an evangelist about it, yes but I don't worry about it anymore, it's sorted. It gives me time to focus on my playing.

Just want to say a big thank you to everyone who replied to my Post, for giving input by sharing experiences, knowledge and advice. Very much appreciated 😍 And from all of this I think I know now what to look out for and most importantly what my 500 quid will by buying next. (and even what I'll be looking out for after that !) Cheers Steve

This is very similar to my experiences. My teacher is a professional jazz pianist and we spend far more time talking about chord extensions, progressions, how to change the chords if you're playing with a bass player and how to comp etc, than I did with previous teachers. We use far more interesting pieces than I used to in the past, and I have pretty much free reign over what I play. There's been a few times when I've suggested a new piece in a lesson, we've pulled it up on YouTube and within a minute he has the key, all the chords and melody figured out by ear. Even on stuff he's never played.

Amazing bass, not used on any recordings though 👍🏼

Queen - Dragon Attack. It's been my favourite bass tone since I first heard it in 1985, 2 years before I even thought about picking up the bass. Then I bought a VHS tape called We Will Rock You which has since been re-released as Live in Montreal and is solidifies my opinion that it's still my favourite bass tone Funny considering I've played Musicman basses for the majority of my playing life. I've since come back around and started playing a P again

Looks awesome! Absolutely love it!

Anyone notice this at Bass Direct recently? I’m sure it was used on his “Influences” solo album. https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/jaydee-supernatural-series-1-8-string-kingwood-1983-ex-mark-king-pre-owned/

Not a tone. It was Denis Dunnaway's bass line in School's Out that drew me in but it was John Deacon's sound on Queen 2 that really lit the fire and gave me the sound I wanted. That has inspired me to this day.

That's really interesting about how MK set his active EQ. If be very interested to try those settings out on a JayDee. I usually only make small additions or subtractions with any active bass. I wish I'd never sold my custom JayDee MK mk3. It had a graphite-reinforced neck with maple laminates replacing the usual walnut and vice versa. It had a unique profile to it as well. John Diggins himself made it, and it was an amazing piece of craftsmanship all-round. I sold it for sbout £600 in the summer of 1992 because JayDee basses had "gone out of fashion"(!) Why I should have been bothered by that I can't quite remember.

I think its possibly a combination of what I'm playing, the tone I have in my head, the colouration of the vintage sounding Two10. When I was playing 50's Rock n Roll with an Ampeg/Ashdown head then I was happier and had no urge to change but since moving to fretless in a 3 piece original band playing more melodic, cleaner and more upfront in the mix, something just hasn't worked. Changing to the LM IV helped but it's still never been the sound I want.

A bit of unbridled joy this evening. The bass player is Pete Morgan with the Dudley Moore Trio playing the evergreen 'The More I See You' and comes from a 1971 video on YouTube. Swings beautifully. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/the-more-i-see-you-dudley-moore-trio/

Although I'm loving the sound of the Jaydee in this one:

Yesshows - bass solo at the start of Ritual part 2. When I first heard it I assumed it was a guitar solo and when I finally realised it was bass, I knew I wanted to play with that kind of tone. I loved the sound - bass but with a trebly distortion which I later found out was Squire's Ricky with each pick up going into a different amp (I'm sure you know the details). I spent a few wilderness years playing guitar but I always came back to that sound on that track. By the time I took up the bass properly, I had most of Yes' albums and spent quite a bit of time chasing the Ritual solo sound on a minuscule budget (I couldn't afford a proper Rickenbacker). I finally got a sound I was happy with a few years ago with a combination of Ampeg SCRDI and bridge pick-up on my Sterling 34HH and either DI or into the FX return on my Peavey Minimax 600 and through a pair of TE 1x10" cabs. It's not the exact tone from Ritual, but it works for me and the rocky elements of the sets we play.

This has been my favourite live track for a good few years now.

Burke Shelly - Budgie, Great intricate work from a 3 Piece.

Why do you think that is?

Brilliant find... thankyou!

yeah it definitely does that. on a wooden stage that I have played on a number of times I noticed that I would have to cut the bass on my amp to about 10 o'clock lock from 12 o'cloc... with the harley benton mat I found I could actually boost bass and it still sounded way cleaner / clearer with much less boom

It’s nearly done!