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Those are uglier than Fenders. Which is not something I say very often.

The thing is that I would notice if I didn't have my 1 knob compression at 9 o'clock. I doubt anyone else would. Even my brother rhythm guitarist says that bass is just bass to him and any subtleties of my bass tone brought to his attention seem to elicit little interest. As for the audience, I'm pretty sure that as has been said many times before, most would only miss the bass if it wasn't there, let alone discern any difference. The thing that folk readily notice is the volume, "the bass was loud". I think Motown did a lot to bring a good bass-line to the attention of the listening/dancing public. A few other popular songs had strong bass-lines like 'Hit the road jack' and 'These boots are made for walking'. I'm happy being part of the rhythm section, I like locking in with a good drummer and rhythm guitarist who are also good team players. But the subtleties we enjoy getting out of our instruments, thumbs & plectrums, strings, nuts, bridges, pick-ups, pedals, amps, speakers and techniques, for the most part are like trade secrets shared and assessed and discussed like new/old recipes by the connoisseurs of the art who are I'm happy to say venerable BCers.

Should we not do the same for:- If you played a wrong note Got the timing wrong Used flanger instead of chorus Kicked some form of distortion/overdrive/fuzz on in a song you wouldn’t normally do it I take it if only 1 person notices that’s enough, or does there have to be more than that...... I have to say IMHO this survey misses the point of how you use compression and so won’t really prove anything either way

I’ve politely declined the one gig they wanted me on and they’ve agreed it makes no sense for me to do it. No sour grapes from me, just move on and be polite, professional and maybe they’ll call me if they need me in the future

I'm 6'2" and I'm now strictly short scale... so to speak. I have gigged with a cij Mustang in the past. I've recently bought a Squier Jaguar SS recently and think it's great. Now I'm considering other SS basses and am likely to be selling my remaining long scale. I'm motivated by a mixture of age and arthiticky hands, but I also think SS basses are amazingly cool.

Likewise with Tina Weymouth, she's superb. I don't know what the thing is with big basses, I struggled for years and just thought it was my lot to struggle because I have small hands for any instrument let alone bass, what I really meant by my boys with big basses comments was that you need to try stuff out without the burden of thinking you need big (or small for that matter), try everything without preconceptions is what I mean. When I went into my local music shop the chap who usually serves me and knows my particular tastes in instruments just pointed at the Taylor and said Tried one of these? Be careful when you pick it up, it's as addictive as crack. I did pick it up and I only put it down twenty minutes later in order to pay for it. Try everything.

i saw this a while back whilst browsing, looks interesting to me, a 2ohm option would be nice but isn't a deal breaker. the feature list is pretty good too, 4 band eq, switchable from active to passive input and a switchable onboard compressor. and it's got 2 speakon connectors. if you compare to the quilter then this has (to me) a much better spec list, eg. headphone output and an aux input with a volume control makes it a great practice tool at home. and a mute switch is one of the things i miss on my markbass if this had a different badge (Fender/Ampeg/gk/etc) and was 100 quid more i'd expect that we'd be buying them in droves and raving about what a bargain they were! matt

How many people do we need to get the price down to £7.50?

fair enough but the proportions are just plain wrong, a fender P is just right somehow

You utter bastard. Another knife in the heart of rock and roll.

Nearly as mind numbingly sh*te to look at as Windows 10.

B-amp with HD112 cabs & Spector Shorty strung with labella black tapes 👌

I am more than happy to apologise if people think I have been out of order. Sorry folks; not normally my style. I have been thinking back and realise that I have probably rarely if ever expressed a strong opinion here before at all, let alone a contentious one, on any threads here. Sure I have commented and been involved in conversations, but I am absolutely certain I have never openly criticised anyone else's products and wouldn't. Its below the belt and thats always going to pretty much guarantee a defensive response (for the record, as for bias, I am not employed by Markbass or Markaudio or their distribution, I am merely a self employed professional player and sound tech in the business, so these are not my products, I am being paid on a flat day rate to demonstrate them (no commission), so perhaps that could be interpreted as commercial interest, but no more than also being the bass player in a pro function band, hoping to have a fuller diary). I normally avoid engaging in any topics which obviously turn into bashing and negativity, I don't need that in my life, but I am always open to constructive and helpful advice. BFM's first "unbiased technical advice" began with "Its a variation on a Bose L1, and that is not a good thing....", or effectively "its rubbish, it won't work". I asked if he had actually heard Markaudio in action, and on what was he basing this "expert" opinion.... he has still failed to respond. He followed up saying all systems "like this one" are rubbish and won't work, as if de-personalising and this generalisation might soften the blow. I would happily have taken my concern with his clear bias (however well intended and technically minded) and his generalistic and unnecessary comments to all here that "we don't know better" off line and PM'ed him, but he has messaging disabled, so I couldn't! I would be very happy to see a debate about PA design, as it is a specific area of interest of mine (lets talk point source and tapped horns, now that would be a good discussion!), but in another place, not one that hijacks someone else's thread, and does nothing but undermine the point of the conversation. As said, all the gear we all use is a compromise between form, function, price and quality. Whether it fits with your opinion, the Markaudio (and lots of others too) are making a good job of bringing compact and good sounding equipment to the market. Interestingly, as HJ found out today, what makes the Markaudio different, is that you CAN separate the top arrays from the subs. You can quite easily run the subs in a cluster and locate the top arrays in another location, if it is your wish and the venue layout allows.. You can add further subs, you can add power amps and add more AC arrays, which can be flown from trusses, and build up quite a large (but still light and portable) system... and it does work... quite well in fact. It is being used by a function band on Saturday night at a party I have been invited to. I am not doing the sound, so I'll try and get some video to share here if that is of interest?

HB PB-50 Modded! - *Version 3.0* *Audio Clip* This is my third modification of a Harley-Benton PB-50 Precision Bass. If you want to see what the stock donor bass looks like, Thomann have it for sale here - with more and better pictures than I can be bothered to take: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb_50_sb_vintage_series.htm As usual I reshaped the headstock to a 50s-style Telebass and painted the pickguard, but this time I went to town and converted the stock four-saddle top-loading bridge to a through-body two-saddle bridge with ferrules, more in keeping with the 50s vibe. Yes, I had a spare pair of pants on hand when I drilled through the body. And being a bit fed up with sunburst, I did a full refinish in Shoreline Gold. Yes, I know Shoreline Gold wasn't available until after the 57 Precision redesign, but what the hell, I really like it. The pickup is another Herrick Tele '51' - this time the Neo magnet version as opposed to the AlNiCo 5 variant fitted to v2.0. It's a bit stronger in the high mids and top end, throws out a bit more signal and sounds great. https://www.herrickpickups.com/products/tele-51-bass-single-coil/ I really liked the look and texture of the Shoreline nitro, so didn't clear coat it. I'm hoping it will age naturally in all the right places. The only stock components remaining on this assembly are the body and neck (obviously), the neck plate, the control plate, the string tree and the strap buttons. Everything else has been upgraded or replaced. As you can see, the Fender flats are getting a bit elderly and I want to get some of those La Bella flats that are specifically made for through-body bridges. Nevertheless, the bass sounds great and plays like a premium instrument costing many times more than the donor bass. Result. Body refin in Shoreline Gold nitro Pickguard in Ivory Cream Squier Vintage Modified through-body two-saddle bridge with ferrules Herrick Neodymium Telebass '51' pickup CTS solid-shaft pots, Chiclet cap .047uF, Switchcraft jack in cats-eye side plate Fender flat-top knurled control knobs with grub screws Wilkinson WJBL 200 tuners Fender 9050M steel flatwounds 55-70-90-105 Thanks for looking!

I think it's the horn being wider than the body that does it, it just looks... "splodgy" to me

Okay, I am buying one... no more people wanting to borrow my bass. And apparently I will get used to how it looks anyway

That was used in the making of Whisky in the Jar and Ernie....

WHAT? SPEAK UP! SORRY, I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER MY HARTKE 3500'S FAN.

Perhaps we'll have to arrange a duet of Dirty Old Town via Skype! I suspected I may come a-cropper with other BCers gigging for St Paddy's - hopefully it won't be too long before the next one!

Isnt there something a bit different with the sansamp where to boost the mids you actually turn the bass and treble down?

Just as a comment on this, my main bass is now the Taylor Mini-e Bass, obviously it's a bit niche but it exactly what I need for my current band. The scale of this is actually 23.5 inches and, despite it being a huge change from my bigger basses it was an instant and significant improvement for me, so much so I had one of those Oh dear, I should have been playing short scale for the last thirty years! I would suggest getting to some some shops and trying differing scale length basses out but most importantly, don't be put off by the It's too small / short / looks like a toy brigade, it's a boy thing, I'm sure Freud would have an answer to why men need big basses, same reason they need fast cars I expect.. just try everything rather than thinking to yourself that's not for me. The neck on mine is tiny but it has improved my playing hugely.

Try the seventh (B) - it adds unresolved tension to the C chord, but also serves tidily as the third of the following chord, so the resolution feels very natural.

Oooooooh, even the 'mother' would have trouble loving that monstrosity.

Board set up went a bit crazy the other night!

Not helped by the fact that on any of the songs with piano, the keys left hand is doing the standard solid bass line, leaving the bass guitar the noodle about in the space between the keyboards and guitars. Unless your band is replicating the keyboard parts exactly, I've found the best way to get the song sounding even close to the recording is start by emulating the keys left hand and then add as many of the bass guitar licks as you can while still keeping it solid at the bottom end.

Just spotted a few good deals on B Stock monitors. Enjoy! RCF ART735a @ £589 - https://www.andertons.co.uk/b-stock-sale/b-stock-%3A-rcf-art-735-a-mkii-15-digital-active-speaker-1400w-each-tatty-box-exrepair-72927-b-13000469-0001 QSC K12 @ £399 - https://www.andertons.co.uk/b-stock-sale/b-stock-%3A-ex-display-qsc-k12-1000w-powered-12-speaker-b-qsck12-0013 and a second QSC K12 @ £399 - https://www.andertons.co.uk/b-stock-sale/b-stock-%3A-ex-display-qsc-k12-1000w-powered-12-speaker-b-qsck12-0012

Yes, the mix can be pre-armed so it activates in that mode.

The Bass Driver DI was designed as a tone shaping direct box. The concept was to plug into the DI and send the "parallel" output to your bass amp and use your amp for your stage monitor and tone. The Bass Driver DI's XLR would be sent to the mixer and would be set for the most desirable DI tone. The Bass Driver does have a specific tone with a midrange dip that many find desirable. When running into the front of an amp it usually sounds best if your amp is set flat. If your amp is set with a midrange dip (which is quite common) or you have an active bass with a similar setting, this will be exacerbated using the Bass Driver DI. It really comes down to whether or not you use the pedal as an always on effect or like to turn it on and off. Usually backing down the Blend or reducing the Bass and Treble (plus increasing the midrange for the V2 pedal) will take care of this. If you require more midrange content you might consider our Para Driver DI, VT Bass DI or Q\Strip (no amp emulation though) products. There seems to be a misconception about tube emulation and tube amps in general. I guess if you're a younger player and have not had much first hand experience with tube amps it's easy to assume that tubes=distortion which is not true. Natural tube output stage distortion is not so much an effect but a byproduct of pushing an analog circuit beyond its design limits. Tube amps as well as our tube emulation can be set clean. Tube amps were designed to run clean. Vintage tube amps had no "blend" control. We provide one because in a studio setting it was quite common to mic a tube amp and also run a DI of the bass direct to the console to get a more complex and refined tone. A big part of the problem when recording bass even in a large professional recording environment is that bass frequencies are very hard to control and will easily bleed into other microphones if say tracking other instruments. This tends to be why most studio and live sound techs prefer using a DI versus a mic with bass amps. Because our products emulate vintage tube amps they are able to achieve their overdrive and distortion characteristics irrespective of their volume levels unlike a vintage Ampeg SVT or Marshall. Because of this, it is advisable to be judicious with the Drive settings as in a live context you will play harder when competing with guitars and drums which will result in more overdrive than intended.

For fans of Snarky Puppy, Michael League goes through his rig, pretty cool

THAT.BASS.

Thanks all for the welcome but no, not the Young Ones, it's 'Handle with Care', so I suppose that's almost as appropriate.......

I left a band once after a blazing row at the rehearsal rooms in the coffee machine area, stormed off back into the room, packed my kit...and then had to go back and ask for a hand getting my Ampeg 810 up the stairs and into my car. This is why lightweight cabs are the way forward...Flouncing Ability is an often-overlooked plus point...

There was a thread on here recently about the lengths that online 'tutors' etc go to get people to click on their videos. I sense another attempt.

Really?! Slut red in fish net stockings with prices held. What's not to like?

Tell 'em it's angled to aid dispersion etc and they'll snap 'em up, lol