Lozz196

Nice one, glad it worked out Dave.

Yep, Vintage V4, and if you like a chunky neck, the Tony Butler version is excellent

Buy a used Epi, see how well you and said T-Bird fit together, as although they look/sound great they`re not for everyone due to the size and unwieldiness of them. If you decide all is ok, then splash for the proper one.

A lot may also be down to record company wants/requirements to fit a certain format. A band I know have signed to a company recently and already the company are offering their guidance on stagecraft etc. Nothing wrong with that, they are the ones who are investing, but it does make me wonder how much influence over sounds/image/recordings/performance etc that the companies exert.

Spot on, Blue, to me - and yourself from the above it would seem - an audition works both ways, you`re auditioning the band to see if they fit with what you want to do musically/hobby-wise etc. Just joining a band, any band, to avoid not being in a band is more than likely to end up being the wrong choice.

Agreed, great range and not just for the money, you can spend twice the amount and not get such good sounding gear imo.

Well having gigged my RM-EVO at the weekend I wouldn`t say it`s heavy, but 2kg lighter for the newer version, well if I were doing gigs using public transport I`d be all over the RM-EVO-II like hair on a bear.

I had the BH250 for a while and it was a really nice little amp, and irrespective of the blurb about TC power ratings, it was plenty loud enough. On-board tuner, downloadable toneprints, small enough to cart about with the regular gear yet loud enough for regular pub gigs, well as the main amp is a TC I`d stick with the brand and go BH250.

I`ve only played two, but thought they were great. Played well, sounded superb - wasn`t in a band setting so can`t say how they sat in the mix, but going through a repertoire by The Jam on a Rickenbacker just felt and sounded right. I agree about the current CEO and his Ricktroopers, not doing much to endear the brand imo.

It`s not at all impuortant for me with what I`m doing at present, but in a few years when I retire I intend to learn a lot of Motown material, and at that point I have a suspicion that brushing up on my reading skills will prove invaluable. I also think that if my reading skills had been better earlier on I would have developed my playing quicker, yes I`m good at what I do but I would no doubt have been better all-round.

Got round to using my RM-500 EVO at a gig yesterday as we were doing a travelling light gig. Connected up to an old Laney 2x15, the amount of power from the RM was amazing - input gain at midday, no eq as I get all mine from my Para Driver, the volume was barely on, 2 maybe 3 clicks max for a good but not overly loud stage volume. I love my ABM600 but the RM is much easier to gig with through portability, and as long as it`s connected up to a good cab/cabs it doesn`t have to be pushed at all. Hmmm, have some thinking to do............

Very important to me, being old-school I like to do a whole take in one, though appreciate that nowadays having the technology to be able to drop in saves a lot of time so will happily do it. Another thing that is really important for me is being present during the mixing to make sure the sound/tone I`ve recorded is used. Luckily our producer totally gets our band and the style of music we do, but I have had that "don`t worry, I`ll get you a great sound" comment in the past. As such I like to make sure that my sound - and that of the other instruments - is kept as it was recorded.

Mine is about 3mm on the E at 12th fret. I`m quite a hard-hitter as play punk, so need both some fret-buzz but also some room so that the strings don`t choke.

Protection Racket are pretty good, but have to say Mono are the best imo, worth waiting for a 2nd hand one.

Yes, it happens to me every couple of years too. I love the look of Jazz basses, think they`re extra cool looking, and I love the sound of them - when someone else is playing them that is. When I get one I just try and make it sound like a Precision, which I know is pointless, but that`s the sound I like to hear when i play bass. As such I`m trying to never buy one again but it`s a battle I know I`ll lose at some point.

I find it much easier to sing lead vocals if on guitar, yes I can manage it on bass but that tends to be on songs where the vocal melody is pretty 4/4, anything different and it`s like that patting the head/rubbing the tummy thing, it equals certain defeat.

I couldn`t have written that better Alex, I think you`re spot on there with the above as I tend to follow those to the letter and similarly never have nerves get the better of me. Being of a certain age my only addition would be to make sure to have a pre-match pee before going on.

Yep, the humble P-Bass, does its` job so well, and certainly a huge factor in many of the great bass-lines from the punk movement when bass seemed to become more audible and a bit more up-front musically too, rather than as a backing instrument.

Pretty unlikely Mark, yee-haw

Strengths - personally reliable, reliable gear, own reliable transport, pretty steady player rather than flashy, never had a drummer say they can`t play with my bass style, good inbuilt timing, pretty decent backing vocals, when the mood takes me pretty ok as a songwriter too, ability to know my weaknesses. Weaknesses - not that good with technology so have to learn material old-school ways, similarly with my reliability, not on facespace rely on e-mails/texts for band info, tend to be a tad aggressive in my playing style - whilst not an issue in my current punk band accept that this would need work if moving to other genres.

Yes, although cab-type is a factor too, those settings are quite SVT-like

Nice bass Rog, I`d go for 3-ply black on scratchplate, would like nice, sleek and sinister

I`ve found that by engaging the pre-shape and the valve drive, then further dropping some lower-mids and upping higher-mids and treble that it can get fairly near to the SVT type sound, scooped and grindy-ish.

I`ll get in touch with our band leader re this and PM the details over Steve, the guy we use is great, his products are top quality too.