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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!

My Maruszczyk Jake was based on the specs of a Duck Dunn I had blocked and bound neck matching headstock I decided against a jazz pickup at the bass , this comes in at around 7.5 lbs , I've had several laklands Dj , Bob Glaub , and loved them however I now have 2 Jakes and they are at least the equal if not better than the laklands , i had the bass pictured below up for sale I have since come to my senses and removed it

I'm glad he's managed it saw the announcement today. Although, as dingwalls are already quirkily shaped seeing it in lefty REALLY sent my head spinning

No but I got him to stop gigging with a Les Paul which is almost as good!!

If you just want 30w in a bedroom, a Fender Rumble is brilliant and good value. the Roland series of Bass Cubes are awesome too.

I wouldn't be too happy if I had to spend a whole gig with my foot gaffer taped to a cymbal stand!

Update o'clock: Posted the pics on my fave MIJ FB group and after lots of (occasionally heated & fractious) discussion, it's been established that the serial number & neckplate style is a dead-on match for Tokai. This is from a 1980 JB-65N: This seems to be the standard format Tokai used on their replica-level Fender copies & it's interesting to find that they were presumably building slightly more modestly-specced off-brand instruments simultaneously. There aren't any other 100% match components as far as I can see, although the tuners (which I'd say have distinctively large backplates) are quite similar. Here's the link to the full listing: https://reverb.com/item/3703632-1980-tokai-jazz-sound-bass-very-rare-natural-finish-birdseye-maple-neck-custom-shop-quality so @steviedee, looks like you got a vintage Tokai for £75. Not jealous or anything...

Team work folks!! Following correspondence with Andy and the seller I managed to pick this up at the £525 price. Andy's agreed to pick it up tomorrow once he's agreed a time with the seller. Bit of a steal? So much for downsizing, eh..

Just sold Phil a Fender cab. Really nice guy, super easy to deal with. Instant payment, great comms throughout. Even met up in the luxurious surroundings of a Sainsbury's car park to seal the deal! Thanks again Phil, hope to catch your band sometime!

Dude, get Reaper and give it a test Here are some quick tutorials that will get you going pretty fast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrObLJdQqZFZKKW5SCU7ebw

Might be worth trying other types too as some are brighter than others. Eg, EB Cobalt flats are very bright, almost roundwound in tone.

Just to clarify, I’m not the horse referred to in the OP’s title....👍

Hi Ed, apologies but sounds like there is some mis communication here. We were closed over Christmas and re opened on Tuesday so this week has been hectic catching up. Couriers can be a nightmare on occasion but generally speaking if you were promised a collection then it should have happened. Please can you email the details of your situation to [email protected] and I will get to the bottom of it for you. Apologies again but we will get you sorted.

Oh, I've made many sacrifices on the altars of the gods before - Rob Allen MB2 , Stu Hamm sig, '64 Jazz (yes, a real one), cusp Fender Showman head.....and haven't lost too much on the resale, so I think I have done enough to be let off this time.

This one actually looks pretty good, but generally I think they're tasteless, tacky and a right pain in the bum. There, I've said it. An insert for the kick drum works OK though, there's nothing worse than pics of your band playing with some other band's name on the kick. That is, if you're on a multi-bill and there's just the one kit.

According to info in another thread, no.

The full propaganda rig - backdrop and 2 pull up banners (the rest of the band call them the ‘Nuremburgs’).

I have the M9 Carbine Head and tha PH412 and PH215 enclosures. I´ve loved my Sunn 300T for many years, but it broke down on me a summer with a lot of gigs and I had to buy something quick. Enter the M9. For me, there is nothing on the market that could make me wanna change gear. Except maybe for the Mesa Strategy or the Fender Super Bassman. But since the M9 is rather lightweight (remember I´m used to the Sunn, SVT:s etc) it´s going to stay forever... I mostly play a 65 P-bass with the M9 and the PH215-speaker. When I play metal, i use one of my Warwicks with the M9 and PH412, but I could easily use the 215 for the metalstuff as well. I like lots of mids and pretty much low end. I don´t like so much top-treble-fizzle... If lightweight isn´t important. I´d skip the Subway-cabs. I´ve only tried the smallest ones but they didnt work for me at all... The D800 is the best Lightweight amp around, if you ask me. The only lightweight amp that doesn´t feel like a compromise soundwise. It´s all there. But I´d go for Powerhouse Cab. The 215 and 412, 810 and 610 are really easy to move around with handles everywhere and not Aguilar/Ampeg-heavy....

To me the semiparametric mids on the D800+ is a nice touch but I didn't need it. I found the D800 nice, but a little 'dark'. The D800+ has a 'bright' switch which stays on permanently in mine and gives it a character that I like a lot, before I touch the EQ. Turning up treble on the D800 just wasn't doing it. Now, the D800+ has a built-in adjustable High Pass Filter, which is its secret weapon, to me. The thing I love the most about the D800+ is that I can get fat, well defined lows without being boomy/overpowering. Playing a little with the voicing and HPF controls, and adjusting the bass EQ gets me a really nice sound easily. I cannot describe it better than that... The D800 was ok for me but didn't give me GAS. I am very happy with the D800+, however.

Reaper is extremely capable as long as you get on with the workflow you'll be just fine. At these levels we're talking about a preference in how you work rather than quality IMHO (unless you move into ProTools HD territory which is a whole different realm)

Yes, definitely. When I was talking to him, 18 months ago, I banged on (and whined!) about the non-existence of lefty Dingwalls, and he said that he wanted to produce some, but that would imply getting entirely new tools for most tasks, so he would start production once the company's finances allowed it. I take it as a good sign, then, that he's done it. I'm seriously thinking of killing my GAS forever by buying one!

Had the pleasure of buying Phil's US Fender Precision, was a total gent and a very smooth transaction.

A Stagg sounds perfect to me for what you want, I still think the Stagg is good if you want to move onto an acoustic upright later as the neck is fairly deep and the finger board arched, a fretless bass on it's end it ain't!

Another warning about Lakkie weights; I've owned a few Lakland Skylines (JO BG DJ) and NONE have been 9lb (never mind less), most have clocked in closer/beyond 10lb. I've heard multiple people say they've had uberlight Lakkies (particularly DJ models) but not one has been able to put them on digital scales and post a pic! Oh and tread very warily of the seller who says that it is 'the lightest P bass they've ever played' (they've only played 1) or that the bathroom scales read less than 9lb... I've got the T shirt for those replies!

8.5lbs is pretty light, and Skyline's aren't renowned for their light weight. *WARNING: WoT'S PREDICTABLE STANDARD RESPONSE ALERT* For the thick end of a grand you could pick up a nice light Maruszczyk Jake. Like this one: https://www.public-peace.de/bass-guitars/maruszczyk/jake/4-string/515-jake-4p-heavy-aged-classic140400

On a serious note, I do think it`s down to the specific instrument, not the year it was made. I had three 70s Precisions, a 77 in white/rosewood, and two 78s in black/maple. One of the 78s weighed 10+ lbs and sounded amazing, the most aggressive Precision I've ever played, I nicknamed it Ian Paisley as it barked at you (so it did). The other 78 weighed about 8lbs, sounded fine, as did the 77 which was about 10.5lbs. Major different weights of supposedly the same build-materials, and radically different sound from one of them. And a mate has a white/rosewood 77 that weighs 13lbs! Just like in The Life of Brian, they are all individuals.

please bring the 'Axe'!

But I can assure you I was smiling when I typed it.

They're kinda like more expensive TKS S212's :-)

I've got a painting of it in my attic... Wait, what?? 20kg?? Bloody hell, I thought it was supposed to be lightweight??

Loving the simplicity and the body colour with the maple board is just great.

Agree with the thoughts on trying out as many as possible in music shops, but also check out as many bands as possible to see which instruments you like the sound of in a live mix. Yes, many of those may be over budget, but if every time you see someone playing a Jazz bass you like the sound of it more than any others that`s also giving you a lead to which instruments to pay more attention to.

I can tell you for sure, that the Subway 15s are awesome cabs. They perform just as well as my old Diesel 2x15 and I don't say that lightly. I have used them with all 3 of my Mesa amps and they have got all the presence without the weight. I confess I was very pleasantly surprised. Unhappily they are about 250 quid more now than when I got mine. I know it's a trek but you're welcome to give them a go if you want to try before you buy.

Hey Roger - have you A/B'd the Mesa cabs with some of the more modern high end gear e.g. BF or Vanderkley? As you say Mesa was mega 'many years back' but I think these newer kids on the block have more than caught up with Mesa, Aguilar etc on the cab front and are definitely worth checking out, particularly as they are both less expensive and way less heavy. All three will be a step up from the Markbass traveller cabs (I have a LM3 + 121H cab housed in a AC 121 Lite combo package) but you would hope that would be the case if you are paying two to three times as much for a cab, right?! In terms of your rig set up, well that's going to be very much down to your personal taste methinks. I would pair a 1x15 (or even a 1x12) with a 2x10 over two 1x15s simply because I prefer the punchiness of 12s and 10s over 15s (and I do disagree with the 'experts' who say that a properly set up 1x15 is no different to a 1x10 with comparable drivers, other than the surface area of air shifted...if that argument was taken to its logical conclusion you'd end up trying to argue that a 1x20 was the same 1x5 speaker, which is patently nonsense).

I smell GAS 😄 Personally I would buy something second hand, if it’s for use at home not something you will be relying on to gig with. The great thing about used gear is generally you can sell it on for what you paid. I got a Markbass 121 P combo in a trade a few years ago. Small, light, sounded great, flexible tonally. Ultimately overkill for my needs at home so I sold it for what it owed me. Basically a free rental for 12 + months. I knew I wouldn’t need anything to gig with. I wanted something very small light portable and sounded good. After looking around for a while i decided a Phil Jones Double4 was exactly what I needed. I was lucky and got a really good deal on one. My advice would be decide what you can realistically afford, avoid credit, define what you need from it now and then start looking. You can always trade up if you decide to take it further in future.

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

yes my thoughts exactly

Saxondale - you just cannot go far wrong with either of the Ibanez's at this price point. Great basses for the money. I'm sure you'll get loads of other great advice here, including Squier's etc. It is actually not easy to buy a dud at any price nowadays...which great for first time buyers!

I had a Vintage V900 which the neck is very similar to an Ibanez and I just couldn’t get on with so I got a P bass instead and it felt so much more comfortable to me But I’m sure you’ll have loads of other recommendations of other people

Listen to this (two minutes in, but there's plenty of good bass during that time) and then say that!

GAK and Andertons also got the Sunburst VP. (They got 'em in yesterday.) Andertons probably the best place to drop the £499 if you don't want to wait for the White and Ebony models. The "free" accessory pack includes a Roksak TB gig bag, worth 30 or so squid.... Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro Bass in Vintage Sunburst @ Andertons

Play everything and anything you can get your hands on. My experience with P basses is that I have played custom shop and vintage instruments that if I was blind folded I would have guessed they were squires, and vice versa. You might find your perfect instrument is a lot more affordable than you first thought!

Something I'll never need again is a comb. Does that count?

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! 😄

Some great basses on here. This is my California TM4 Supreme bought a couple of weeks back.

No? Really? Awww... buzzkill. I agree with the post above: compression threads have a tendency to get weird, which is weird in itself. Visit a studio engineers’ forum and you’ll find pages and pages of discussion about “which compressor is best for bass?” (ad nauseum). In that arena, bass and compression go together like beer and crisps. But talk to bass players themselves and it’s as though compression is some kind of dark art, a taboo. I’ve never understood this and just feel that many of you guys are missing out on a great tool that every bass player should understand and have in their ‘toolbox’. It’s really nothing to be afraid of

I went short scale 18 months ago because of neck and arm problems. I have 3 short scale (30") basses, and they have noticeably different playing characteristics. This is mainly because of the position of the neck relative to the body. See Photos. In photo 1, left to right, Lakland hollowbody short scale, Fender MIJ Mustang, Harley Benton Shorty. Notice the different bridge positions relative to the end of the body for each bass. The Lakland's neck projects quite a lot further to my left when I'm playing. It feels much more like a 34" scale bass as a result. The Mustang has a thin, skinny neck which brings my left hand closer in. The HBS brings my left hand even closer in, plus it has a small body, making it feel quite dinky relative to the other two. Howeber, it has the widest neck. See relative nut positions in side-on photos, and see how much "longer" the Lakland neck is. Kev - don't know where you're based, but you're welcome to pop round anytime to try these basses out for size.

Phil bought a stupidly big bass amp from me. An absolute pleasure to deal with; sorry about the mad house when you came to collect!

Remove its four screws and slide the head out of the rack. A sticker with the exact manufacture date and signature of the QC worker should be on the main circuit board. Cheers