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This irrational dislike of Markbass based on the look is not shared by most bass players, 99% of bands and 100% of audiences.

Manchester...erm, mid-80s... Our drummer (in an originals-with-the-odd-cover 80s Rock Band) was about to become a Dad, and had reluctantly decided he'd have to shelve the rehearsals and gigging for a good while, so he'd stepped down, and we were on the urgent look-out for a replacement. As a thoroughly nice chap, and knowing we had gigs booked we needed to fulfil, he had even left his kit at the rehearsal rooms for new drummers to use, in part or whole, for the auditions. We organised a Sunday afternoon, with an hour slot for each drummer we'd contacted, and it started unremarkably, but then, second to last, was the standout. And not in a good way. He turned up in a six-wheel Transit, immediately earning about a thousand bonus points, but it became terribly clear that all this thing held was his kit...and there was little room for anything else. After refusing to use of any of the already-set-up kit, he began ferrying kit in. And more kit. And more kit. After ten minutes of watching boxes piling up, and with his end of the rehearsal room beginning to look like the dockside of the Queen Mary before a round the world jaunt, we volunteered to help, and then we all spent the next 45 minutes setting up a furry tigerskin-covered double-kick kit, with six raised toms, three floor toms, eight rototoms and so many cymbals we couldn't see him any more. As he tightened up the third china cymbal, I said "No gong, then?", and he froze, looking concerned. "I didn't bring it...should I have done?" I assured him it wouldn't count against him, and eventually, with about five minutes left of his allotted hour, he was ready. The singist had been forced to nip outside to intercept the last auditionee, apologise and ask him to bear with and go for a pint in the local for twenty minutes, and then our hero launched into the first intro, to a then-bog-standard Bon Jovi tune we'd decided would make a good starter audition song. Now, in 35 years of bands, I've never played in a freeform jazz ensemble, and I certainly hadn't back then, so I was unfamiliar with the five-count intro, and the thirteen-bar drum fill*, but this chap was clearly a master. We couldn't possibly fault him for brio, enthusiasm, and certainly energy...it was his counting which left quite a lot to be desired**. In addition, having taken so long to set up his mahoooosive kit, he was determined to hit every single drum and cymbal as often as he could, with scant regard for the song, or indeed the befuddlement he was creating amongst his prospective fellow band-members. I shall leave to your imagination the meal he made of the drawn-out ending, suffice to say Richard Wagner, had he been hanging around the rehearsal rooms (unlikely) and not dead for about a century (for once, fortunate), would probably have shaken his head and said something unflattering about bombast. In German. He finished by standing, his arms aloft and his eyes shining. Had that thing Usain Bolt does (not the running, the archery-arms thing) been around, he would have been doing that. We shuffled our feet, unable to maintain eye contact with him or each other, for fear of collapsing into hysterics. Eventually the singer thanked him for his time, and we all heaved-to loading his van again, while the singer went to buy the other auditionee another pint. He didn't get the job. * I'm probably doing an enormous disservice to freeform jazz ensembles around the globe here, so apologies if so, but I'm at a loss as to where else to place it musically. Perhaps amongst those gangs of glassy-eyed, saffron-robed enthusiasts one encounters on the city streets, each banging a drum in a random manner with a blissful expression and no regard for hard-pressed shoppers... ** I note that 'dyscalcula' is the numerical equivalent of dyselxia, and apparently A Real Medical Thing. It may have been that he was a secret sufferer; that would explain an awful lot. Edit: I've just spotted that I've spelt 'dyslexia' wrong in the footnote above. Oh, the irony...

We're called The Cheeze We play 60s & 70 pop, rock and prog mainly Every Christmas we have a band curry where we discuss what to rename the band. Every year after a load of silly and non-PC suggestions washed down with several pints, we come to the conclusion that we are too well established to change. However it is a name that is remembered. We also get a fair bit of "they can't possibility advertise that they play cheesey music, so they must be good" effect

The best advice I've heard on auditions was from Juan Alderete and it's something that seemed obvious to me, but apparently not obvious to a lot of people who've tried out for bands I've been in: If there is a recording of the song - album, demo, live tape, youtube, whatever - learn the part as it was recorded by the old guy, irrespective of what the band say about your artistic freedom. You can change it later if you get the job and you're more likely to get the job if everyone is hearing what they recognise as being right.

Keep it, you`ve got a Mexican Wall before Trump gets his

So I took a trade I didn’t really want, but it was for a Basschatter who I consider a mate and it was a fair deal and he wanted my bass more than I did so went ahead. He offered a Roger Waters Precision in great nick and all the bits. It sat in my car overnight, such was the way - I’ve got a new daughter who’s been in hospital since she was born on the 4th April. I came home and plugged it in. Christ it’s lovely. So what do I do? I wasn’t selling to raise funds, I don’t “need” it. But the neck is very similar to my old MIM 50’s which I enjoyed...and it plays really well. I thought I liked skinny necks?! The black/Black/Black/chrome thing doesn’t work for me...so it’d have to see a few new bits to stay. The Bitsa I was debating keeping definitely has to go if this stays...

Prob just someone saying what s legend you are

I keep trying to start an INXS tribute band named Stranglew4nk, some right weirdos come to audition

I have a gen 2 2i4 and love it. Working via a Mac and Logic Pro X. No issues at all

^ 'chocolate starfish' - nice one, profanity filter!

I had a band called Not the Hoople once. We did two gigs. We were not a Mott the Hoople tribute, it was a silly joke name because one of the local bars had tribute acts with really lazy names that may as well have been "not Queen" and so on. We were an acoustic duo. We did have a Mott the Hoople fan arrive who thanked us at half time before leaving saying "it's good but not what I was expecting". To be fair, it wasn't even good.

So the moral of this seems to be "Buy but don't sell.." Well, that's what I'm sticking to then!!

I've used Jacks Instrument Services in Manchester for the occasional oddity. He's pretty good imho.

At which point you whip out your smartphone, plug it into the PA in the rehearsal room, play them the original to prove that you're right and they're wrong ... and end up wondering why you didn't get the gig.

My KZ ZS10s arrived this morning They take quite a bit more energy to drive than M6 Pro's but they definitely have more separation and clarity, and sound bloody great, but a replacement for 64Audio, UE, JH, etc they are absolutely not! I was expecting more low end, sub and low mid... However, they were £33!! For spare Generics (for deps, etc) I'll probably stick with carrying some M6's, but for myself, I will happily use the ZS10s until I can afford to get customs done... Has anyone else pulled the trigger yet? Would be interested in your thoughts!

Chrome bridge and knobs. And swap the scratchplate - still for a black one, but with the Black / White / Black construction so you get the outline. Would be perfect then.

Sadowsky are certainly entering a fairly crowded area at that price point, especially if you open that up to what you can get secondhand for that kind of money. The Sadowsky is a very different beast to the American original Fender and I would be as bold as to say that as good as Sandberg are, the Sadowsky name carries a bit more weight and pedigree for a lot of bass players. I would be very surprised if there is a noticeable difference in sound between the Metros and the new Express models. There may be some noticeable differences in fretwork and feel of the neck but I would go out on a limb and say it won’t be worth the approx £700 difference between models. So where is the appeal in the existing Metro range? I guess the same appeal that makes folks buy any variety of expensive instrument, because they have the money and are happy to spend that much. Also there is a certain level of exclusivity attached to it and a certain level of romanticism that the Metros are crafted in small batches by fine craftsmen in japan and not made in some generic factory that churns out models for almost every other guitar and bass company out there. It will be really interesting to see the first lot of real world reviews come in.

Huis Clos - un drame de JP Sartre (Scène: une chambre en enfer. Entrez John et Henry). John: Regarde! Une guitare basse qui intègre des fonctionnalités de marque déposées par Rickenbacker! Où est mon avocat? Je veux menacer quelqu'un! (Henry inspecte la basse) Henry: Est-il possible de fabriquer cette guitare basse mais beaucoup plus bon marché? Et de le fournir dans une couleur que personne ne veut? Avec des potentiomètres qui ne fonctionnent pas parce qu'ils n'ont pas été soudés correctement? Les deux ensemble: L'enfer c'est les autres! Fin

It sounded great thanks, I played it for an hour and am really pleased. I fixed the output jack (just needed the contact bending in a bit). A pleasure to play such a light bass, my dodgy shoulder is very happy. My fingertips are sore though, not used to those 105s! The band liked it too, so once I’ve fine tuned the set up I’ll take it to a gig. Here it is tonight alongside my number one, and the studio’s house amp.

Or a chrome bridge and knobs. The “all black” look is a bit too rawk for me...

Keep it, but get some black tuners on it

And finally, it lives!! (Minus some knobs, I need to order those...) I set it up well, and I now have a low action and good intonation. It’s very, very light and is obviously quite neck heavy. But the strap I’m using is really grippy so it’s not really a problem. The Wilkinson pickups are a revelation; for twenty quid they’re incredible - all the thud you’d expect and really punchy, but if you turn the mids up on the amp it gets honky, almost Jazz bridge pickup like. I’ll definitely use them again. Brilliant. The only issue is that the output jack is intermittently cutting out, there must be something not connecting properly so it needs sorting before I gig it, but I’m going to give it a go at band rehearsal tonight and see how I get on with it. I’m really pleased with it. There are things I’d do differently next time, but that’s all part of learning isn’t it? I’ve leaned a lot, surprised myself and really enjoyed putting this bass together. I wonder what’s next?

https://geek.wish.com/c/5ac32757414de23d554e440c

Hi I’ve bought and sold many things on eBay. And if I was uncomfortable with a eBay sale I would just refund him through PayPal the worst he can do is leave negative feedback

Eh? Where did that come from ? I dunno, away with work for a couple of days and all hell breaks loose!

The results of the PSM200 don't surprise me. That thing should never have got to market. Tips wise, give spin fits a whirl - they last longer than the comply tips - and don't disintegrate!

[Sound engineers yacking on a Bass players forum, not a sound engineers forum alert!] Ideally a boundary mic (My preference is a Shure Beta 91a) inside the shell, and a second mic (Audix D6 all the way, it has such a nice punchy smack to it!) on the outside of the front head [/forgiven!]

Got the popcorn out

Sounds like you've already made a decision and I can't say that I blame you. Good luck.

UPS should leave a collection note with you, so you should be okay

I get the bulk of my stuff from CPC now as I get a frankly embarrassing Farnell staff discount and the quality is fairly good on the cheap stuff. They have a lot of unbranded/generic resistors/caps that are exactly what you'd get off ebay or a bulk seller. Just to add, Banzai in Germany is also a good one to have bookmarked. Their prices can be quite high, but if you're struggling to find something, Banzai probably have it (I just bought a 100k reverse log 9mm pot that I literally couldn't find anywhere else). Postage is a bit steep but it's a fixed price you won't get stung taxes so it's still cheaper than america.

You thought you liked skinny necks - and maybe as a general rule, you do However, it seems to me, that just now & again, when you pick a bass up it just feels "right" - even if it doesn't fit your usual requirements Perhaps it's just the feel of the neck? Maybe it's the radius? Perhaps it's just well set-up? Perhaps it's all of these things? From your post, it seems that you are reluctant to move this bass on, because it has been a pleasant surprise I think if you did sell it on, you may well end up regretting it! There is one bass I wish I'd never moved on, and I'm really regretting it now I'd say, keep this bass - even if it's just for a while. Play it, play it as much as you can, and in a few weeks you will probably know the answer to your own question Sell something else if you make up your mind to keep this one..... but giving it a fair crack of the whip, means you are making a more informed decision, either way Look at it this way, it's actually a "nice problem" to have, one bass too many, and no immediate financial pressure to sell. Let us know what you decide. Perhaps a few of us need to leave our new basses in the car overnight? More importantly though - congratulations, and I hope your new baby daughter is ok

Have to say I'm not sure that is the best way. Maybe the band didn't like that line (it could be why the bass player left) and you might find they tell you to play that line all the time and you're then trapped. Must be better to be yourself and get the job (or not) as yourself.

By the size of transformer in the bottom picture (unless it is an optical illusion) I agree with RandomBass.

😍 Wow. That looks great! I got to play a BBP35 a few days ago, reeeaaally liked it.

Yes, but I wouldn’t like to paint it. Welcome, and on behalf of all Essex residents, sorry.

Good. I hope a sustainable, simplified quality conscious Gibson emerges from the ashes.

Pretty much every guitarist has their amp way too loud. I'm not sure it's for tone, I think it's for dominance as they believe they are the Silverback of the group. The problem is too much mid and treble are really piercing and very unpleasant.

We have those conversations regularly. It's merely Aguilar's turn.

I’m still saying watch... (obviously joking)

Does that make me a jazz drummer, then..?

Just a reminder - here's its cousin!

Any excuse to pop a picture of this 1981 SBR-150

Personally I think the amount of power lots of people use for pub gigs these day is ludicrous. Back when I was gigging regularly and going to see lots of live local bands in the late 80's/early 90's nobody used anything over 150 watts for bass & I cannot recall anybody ever being too quiet.