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This video confirms what I've been trying to tell people for ages - those flat patch cables from EBS and Rockboard are very prone to noise in certain environments (skip to 22:46). Not seen those mini Ibanez ones before, they look great!

After much trying out and research, I’ve finally sorted out my small rig. It’s unbelievable that this little lot ( Aguilar AG 700 and a Barefaced One 10) can produce the sounds that it does in such a lightweight package. Rehearsal tomorrow night should be fun!

If you have a back drop and end up supporting super mettallers Testament, don't let them near the stage before you go on. Last night of the Tour. Annihilator about to play the support slot. Back drop mysteriously different...

Well, I took delivery of a brand new in the box Road Word 50s Classic within the last hour. I quickly replaced the round wound strings with a set of used Chromes, and it certainly does play well (only other one of these I have played had the original strings on, which really don't suit it IMO). Sound (though a small home practice amp) is close to impossible to tell apart from the un worn Classic 50s. In terms of feel, the RW neck is better, though the frets feel a little rough.I'll have that sorted when I get the bass properly set up. Out of the box, it's pretty good, apart from the strings. By a quirk of luck, good timing, and an alcohol-induced lack of sense, I paid less for my road worn than I paid for my Classic 50s a few months ago. I'll add a picture of the two of them side by side for comparison. Of course, now it's here and I like it, I'll need to sell something to pay for it and make room in the house. I'm pretty sure that whatever I sell, it won't be a Fender though!

OK - it's all packed up and ready to put Mike out of his very patient misery Here's some finished shots before it went back into its case. First of all - a 'before and after' : Then some standard shots - probably the same ones you've seen before but with a dark background : ...and yes, Mike, it fits! :

Got to agree on them being superb quality for the money. I got this a few weeks back (brand new) for £412

Can only live in hope my brother

Pleasant Stumble whilst researchng versions of the John Martyn song :

@Paul S I love him dearly, but please do not lock me in a room with him, it’s bad enough I realise that as he gets older and more batty I will have to take him to feed the ducks, I don’t want to live with him as well....

Not to engage in some form of hideous 'who had more necks' oneupmaship but... I did own this ridiculous 6 necked beast for a year or so a decade ago! At one point (after many beers) 6 of us did attempt to play Hotel California on it. Ahh those where the days!

Saxophones in Jazz: Yes please. Saxophones in Rock/Pop: No thank you. Also: anything with a synthesized brass section makes my teeth hurt.

New original rock bands? Rock is the music of my generation, the music of 40 years ago. It's a bit like asking why no-one writes original Dixieland Jazz, original Blues music or even original Britpop. Styles just come and go. Don't get me wrong I love all these and more but whilst there will always be people who love this style or that and will write tributes in the style they love most creative people will push the boundaries on from the music they grew up with. We're several generations on from true Rock so why would you expect people to doggedly stay in one place. There are plenty of successful bands and musicians around, music goes on and keeps changing, good luck to the kids there's no reason for them to humour our tastes. At least so far fashion still demands drummers and bassists

My eye was caught on the Cerulean blue prestige this morning that I hadn't seen before: https://www.dawsons.co.uk/ibanez-2018-sr2605-premium-electric-bass-guitar-cerulean-blue-burst as I am rather partial to ibanezes, and knotty wood, and blue. There is no info on the ibanez pages, or in their facebook page which is odd, seems like they are producing so much now that even they can't keep up. I noticed also they do an 'upright' this year: https://www.dawsons.co.uk/ibanez-2018-ub804-upright-electric-bass-mahogany-oil-burst which is a bit of a departure from normal from them. I guess they are doing well, on the sidebar of the dawsons page where I saw this, if you filter by manufacturer, they have 83 models, the one one that comes close is fender with 60, and yamaha with 39, the others are in the low 10s.

Will do, timing was never a strong point, despite playing bass!

Truth. You can’t go far wrong with a used Ibanez these days.

That's amazing. They obviously offer fantastic value for money used!

A couple of my students have Ibanez basses. The one has a fantastic 6 string bass that he only paid a couple of hundred for brand new.

So... will it be good for metal??

Well, it made sense to me! Yes, I have a day job (for now! :D) and the cash was there, I also gig frequently (57 times in 2017, as I found out the other day), so it's worth my using something that feels better to be and gig fees quickly absorbe the extra costs... but if I had to use an LM3 for the rest of my days I would not cry either.

Mesa are redefining their business. People have opinions but Mesa will know which amps sell and which are and are not worth keeping in the catalogue. The Subway is their big seller and has moved them into markets that were previously closed to them. I imagine the Subway range will be extended to more models. The guy who designed the D800's posts on Talkbass and is very knowledgeable and open. Expect more great amps from Mesa in the future.

Fantastic! Well done Andy, I love the colours! It's a really gorgeous, sophisticated looking swanky type bass.

Business as usual.

That's a good shout!

I have two of these: https://www.public-peace.de/accessories/straps/maruszczyk-instruments/1889-pes40-retro Really love them, wide, padded and very comfortable. Si

Having a 130 string tuned to B is one thing, dropping a 100 to D is ok but dropping a 100 to low B will be useless.

Wowzer, lovely looking bass and a great job

A bargain compared with a pre-CBS bass. And if you can find a Road Worn second-hand, it would be rude not to buy it.

Egyptian style hidden tombs are generally not cheap, unless you can get a MIM version. The build quality is not noticeably different, provided they have been set up properly.

Nooo. Why would you stick with playing bass only because you spent £500 on a new amp rather than £300 on a used one? I don't get that logic. You should buy the best used amp for the least. Then if you decide to stick at it you can look at more expensive gear down the line.

About 20 years ago I got a bonus from work and bought a 400+ from the Bass Centre. Mesa made it for me. I gathered together some Road Ready cabs, a Mesa 115 and 210 with EV's, and was set to rock. Except, the amp failed on a few occasions with valve problems and I never got the sound I was after. I swapped the amp with an Ampeg SVT3-PRO and bingo. A fantastic sound. I used that rig for nearly 10 years, until the weight of those cabs damaged my back! I bought a D800 when they came out and thought it was a very good amp. Great sound and very flexible. The D800+ seems to be even more flexible with some great features. These are in the top flight of amps. I sold it because I slightly preferred the sound of my TH500. I would happily use Mesa amps again. They are top quality products with a great sound. If anyone has a D800+ they want to sell I'd be very interested.

I'm afraid I have to agree with jazzmanb here. All those windows back the background look cluttered and district from the band. Unfortunately that tiny backdrop only adds to the clutter. However I can also see the attraction of not having too many things to set up - especially things that don't contribute to the music/sound. IME if you simply want to get the band name about, putting out flyers on the tables is probably more effective than having a backdrop.

1. What makes owners of Mesa gear like it so much. (general question about Mesa gear ie build quality, support and availability) - for me it is extremely well designed and built. I have called upon customer service twice (not related to problems) and they have been very good. 2. What is it that made you pick that particular amp over others. (in respect to other Mesa amps or cabs and maybe in respect to other manufacturers gear) - my first amp (Bass 400 in 1988) was bought solely on a review that called it the Rolls Royce of bass amplification. I have used Mesa stuff entirely since then (save for a short period with an Ampeg PF500 and 1x15 cab). I have had a 400+ and also have a Walkabout and an M-Pulse 600. In side by side comparisons with other Mesa amps I have noticed some commonality in eq and sound. 3. Is there a favoured set up that majority of owners prefer or would prefer. - I'm a 15's kind of guy and started off with a pair of Diesel 2x15' but now use two Subway 1x15s. 4. Can you describe briefly your preferred tone (ie, warm, mellow, mid-punch, heavy bottom end, high top end are just some things i can think off) - think Bohemian Rhapsody. 5. what bass do you generally use with it. (just to give me an idea of whether your bass is passive, active or has a deciding influence on how your tone might sound) - Precision with flats although I started with rounds. 6. Finally what Mesa gear would you recommend for a Mesa Virgin like myself playing mostly classic rock with a Jazz bass but occassionally depping for other music genres doing pup / club material. Depends on what you want but I would be looking at a D-800 and the Subway cabs (whichever suits you best). The thing to remember with Mesa stuff is the eq is not straightforward. It took me 6 months to figure out how it all worked together (on the Bass 400 when I first got it). The eq is very sensitive and little tweaks can make a big difference. I have not had a single problem in the 30 years I have been using their gear and still have my original Bass 400. Wonderful kit and worth every penny. Toured with me all over.

Do you two want to get a room somewhere?

Best: John Bonhams drum sound on When the Levee Breaks and Fool in the Rain, AND his triple kick drum on Good Times Bad Times Worst: The Seinfeld theme arrrrgh FAKE BASS, FAKE BASS

[Robert Robinson]One of the Mods, you say..? Ah yes, but can you trust 'em eh..? There's the rub..! (taps side of nose, knowingly...)[/Robert Robinson]

Hi Dazed They are a lot louder and a bit brighter than some Jazz pickups I've used, put possibly also my favourite Jazz pickups. There is a video somewhere on YouTube of someone using them in a sherwood green fender Jazz bass. Give it a watch if you're interested. I last week sold a set of them in the marketplace here, but can definitely see me buying a new set in the not too distant future. Cheers, HB

Rotosound SOLO BASS RS55LD' s or SM55 's

The Road Worn has a lot of ageing work, it's not just the paint and the fag burn. The neck is really comfortable and plays like a vintage job. The bass overall is very resonant and the relic work on the hardware is particularly effective. It just feels right, it plays really well and it sounds fabulous. The cosmetic aspects are a red herring really, the RWs are very good indeed and as close as you'll get to get to a genuine early P Bass. Without the expense, obviously.

My tuppenceworth Having rather aimlessly been through various rigs over the years, I got into Mesa via their EV-powered Diesel cabs - the weight didn't much bother me (at the time) and I was hugely impressed by the power, transparent tone, and indestructible build quality. For ages I happily gigged an old Eden VT.40 head through a Mesa Diesel 1516. Also acquired Road-Ready Diesel 1x15 and 2x10 cabs for more flexibility / portability (they're actually pretty compact too) - still got all 3 cabs. Being a bit of a completist I then tried and bought a Mesa head - a silverface Walkabout, and now that's pretty much all I use. I'm sure there are better amps out there, but it sounds great for the stuff I do (blues / soul / rock) and never misses a beat. It's also quite amazingly powerful for a 300W head - I bought a Mesa Titan V12 head for big / outdoor gigs, and have never needed it (the Titan sounds more like my old Ampeg SVT-2 than the Walkabout, and has some nifty dual-channel and foot-switching options). Also have an early '80's Mesa Boogie D-180 all-valve head which I'm going to try gigging with (it's a fraction of the weight and size of the SVT), and an early '80's Mesa Boogie mk3 all-valve head / 1x12 Thielle cab for guit*r So a bit of a Mesa nut I guess! A bit ironically , I now use the Walkabout head with Ashdown 4x8 and 1x15 mini-cabs (all drivers replaced with greatly up-graded units) which I'd have to say is the best and certainly the most portable rig I've owned. I haven't tried the modern ones - seems to me that rather like Harley-Davidson, Fender, Gibson etc, Mesa are a "US icon" brand trapped in the retro market - but being an amp manufacturer also have to keep up with technology; as far as I can tell they seem to have done so pretty well.

As long as you try before you buy and you're happy with it and its what you want money shouldn''t be the deciding factor at that budget. Not sure i would spend that much on a vintage bass to be fair but that's just a personal opinion. Not sure what you'd gain over a newer re-issue but i don't have the experience to judge. Dave

Indeed Marc. Doesnt get in the way at all , but its no featherweight, like my wallet

I found a tube sound I really like with my Gibson SG Std. The Ampeg V-4B / SVT-212AV.

There seems to be a strain of nostalgia (especially among the English) that there was once a golden age when things were better. Luckily we don't apply that to medicine! 😄

It's not like you can just pull one out of a hat I guess :).

My typical settings are bass and treble at 9 o'clock and mids up full. I know intuition prevents most bassists from wanting to turn down the bass control on their bass amp, but it really is the way forward with many passive tone stacks!

Flat setting on that amp according to measurement graphs over at BassGearMag is bass and treble all the way off, and mids all the way up. So start there and dial in a little bit of additional bass and treble if required. If you have all knobs at noon, then unlike the Markbass that is actually a very bass heavy setting with a mid scoop!

Rick Nielsen can't be spinning in his grave for two reasons : 1. He is not dead. 2. Impossible to do with such an instrument without lifting the stone.