All Activity

It’s interesting that the TE1200 never seemed to sell well and is hardly stocked anywhere. I wonder if it’s the 1200w rating that put folk off ? Ive used 800w heads that seem underpowered at times PF800 as example even the RM800 isn’t what I would describe as extremely loud. 500w to 800w heads you can hardly hear the difference so 1200w shouldn’t concern folk as it’s only twice as loud as a 120w amp !

Maybe I should've worded more carefully. I do not know how it would rate compared to newer players like the Projects. All I know is that in the eighties, when I worked in a Hi-Fi shop, we compared it with expensive players like the Michell GyroDec, and the differences were minimal. From that perspective, I see no reason to ditch a 505 in 2025; one wouldn't ditch a GyroDec either, I presume.

Loud and proud 😂🎸

Honestly, I was amazed by the difference (sounds like a YouTube video title)

I took a different tact this year.... Decided time waits for no man, so I'd try as much bass gear as I could, use it, then pass it on, and try more... 1. Notable purchases: Yamaha 734a - outstanding bass. Trace Elliot 115 twin valve - beautiful amp, has THAT valve sound. Tonex one - absolute game changer. 1000 steps above amp simulators. Zoom ms60b+ it is a brilliant pedal. In a brilliant compact size.... However what made it good was also it's bad point - I couldn't change patches easily and couldn't read what the patch was. Gator twin bass case. One of the best purchases ever. Carries everything I need in spares. Fits on your back very easily. No need for 2 cases or worse 2 hard cases any more. Frees up hands for load ins. TC bc250 combo. I thought it was great for small medium gigs, had plenty of options and was unbelievably light. Eden practice amp, quite loud has aux in and headphones. Nice sound. Cheapo temu wireless - work great. 2. Notable let downs: TC sub n up. It's a good pedal, potentially great, but the tone prints give too many options and if you start off on a bad one you're up against it. I couldn't get a decent octave sound out of it easily. Different upgraded set of temu wireless - clash with interference at 50% of venues. Prob a lot more, but I'll have to remember what I've had and sold this year...

Isn't this a slightly odd question due to inflation? If you've not bought basses for a few years then you'll probably be surprised that a new USA fender is just under £2k! Which is only tangentially relevant if I've bought stuff secondhand.

Ah the plot thickens! Great info though, thanks! I think I need to get me a copy of that book!

Excellent, hope it's a banger!

It's also a demonstration that although high mass is different, different doesn't automatically mean better.

I bought my expensive (although < £3k) basses because I wanted them, not with any great regard to what I would be doing with them (other than playing).

I was having fun with my GX-100 at lunch today. Managed to make a couple of fairly cool synth sounds with the bass harmoniser, bit of dirt, touch wah, guitar harmoniser, flanger/phaser, delay, shimmer reverb, vibrato, humaniser. BassSynth.mp3 BassSynth2.mp3

A few things have got in the way! I'm sitting next to my partner in hospital, she broke her humerus. Hopefully heading home soon, but as I will be at hers* for about a week things are on hold! *I'm not sure she would appreciate me setting everything up in her lounge.

Can you believe this is actually a smaller-bodied model compared to the original ATK shape? Those can be even heavier! The 200 (and several other more recent models) have a slightly slimmed-down body shape, it's not as wide as the original ones. Helps when looking for a case that fits. And the headstock is just slightly narrower as well. I've had three MIJ ATK's from the 1990's and all of them were boat anchors - especially my 5-string ATK305. They were wonderful basses, and I somewhat regret selling my first one. I've had them alongside a Stingray 5 for a few years, and as far as comparison goes I think they were very similar - both in weight, tone and feel. The neck shape of the ATK305 was a really close match to the SR5. The main difference in feel was the satin lacquer finish on the ATK (but polished to a gloss by years of playing) versus the oil finish on the Ray. Tonewise, the Ray had more clank and less mid scoop with all set to neutral, and was overall the more agressive sounding of the two. The ATK had a trimpot on the preamp board to adjust the output level, but even when matching it to the Ray it was still the more polite sounding of the two. Both had that distinct brightness but on the Ray this started at a lower frequency, it seemed, which helped it punch through a mix just a bit better. Both were fantastic basses though, and the ATK punched well above its price point. Enjoy!

Not really. It might help you to enjoy 'just doing pub gigs' a little bit more and, possibly, increase your options for other gigs that you might be able to do.

We’ll have to refer to the small print for that…

I knew that the Dual 505 was a highly-rated turntable back in the early 80s. In fact, it was the only budget option at the time (with the Rega Planars 2 and 3 being the more expensive options). However, I had not realised that the 505 is still a contender. The idea of an cartridge upgrade feels too complex right now - but maybe later. For now, I have ordered the stylus from Audio Affair, and will be shopping for belts from Thakker: (my Dual 505, my sister's Pioneer PL Z94, and my Yamaha KX580 cassette deck). I was grateful for the advice, to avoid cheaper copies of the stylus and risk damaging the record collection.

That's an awful lot of variables none of which are "If I'm just doing pub gigs."

Does buying a bass for someone else count? But you must not come to acquire it later on in the year...

Not really. I was replying to your reply to Tauzero who said that there was too much thinking going in. Looks like there still is...

Looing forward to finding out if Santa has got anything up his sleeve that's going to make the cut into any of your "best of 2025"?! Have a fab Christmas all!

I would return it as it seems like it's faulty.

My question would be, why wouldn't you? I'm guessing that you could afford it and if you had a better instrument then it might make you play better / sound better / enjoy the experience more. Add to that, other musos might take note of your improved sound and more professional quality gear and start to consider you for other projects when they need a bass player, some of which might possibly be a step up from only playing pubs.