bassbiscuits

Out of curiosity what gauge strings are people using on their Sandbergs? Mine still has its factory strings on, which felt stiff as hell, but are apparently only 40-100. I've been dabbling with 45-105 on my other basses, and i'm liking the extra thump they give. Now the Sandberg is nearly ready for a string change, i'm thinking that 45-105 might be a good thing, though at the risk of upsetting the millimetre perfect factory set up. Hmm.

Yeah I get a slight clicking when I touch any metal part or the strings themselves, but it's not massively loud even when amped up. When I'm playing and touching the strings there's no problem at all. I guess I want to check if it's safe as I want to use the bass at a festival next weekend

Cool that's my little job for this evening then...!

I liking the idea of carefully heating the saddle/screw to help dissolve the glue. I've got some old bridge saddles like that which won't budge. I'll give it a very careful try.

Yes sorry Gary Mac I think I might have missed the boat a bit with this....!

Ha ha yes Rhys P - a good point! As long as the buzz isn't something nasty luring under the hood I'm happy to ignore it...

Hello Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere but... I realised the other day that my oldest P bass buzzes when you touch the polepieces. It also makes a very slight tick when you touch the metal parts. Unexpectedly tho none of this gets any worse if you tske your hands off the whole thing. So I guess in terms of a gig, you wouldn't notice any of this, as ,y hands would be in contact with it the entire time. So, is it safe to use, or an earth problem that needs sorting? For what it's worth, my other (newer) precision also does the same to a much lesser extent.

Hiya I've been knocking around on Basschat for a couple of years but never did the introduction thing, so here it is (tho some of you will know me by now anyway). I'm Bassbiscuits, I'm 40+VAT, and I've been playing for nearly 30 years altogether, almost all of that in bands of some sort. apart from a few fallow years here and there and occasional ventures into the land of guitar. I grew up in the 1980s on metal, funk and classic rock, but over the years have broadened to pretty much everything, including folk, jazz and country, and my playing style hopefully includes elements of all that stuff. Saying that, I do try to keep things simple and effective, playing wise and gear wise. I've always used something akin to a precision bass, and they're still the backbone of what I use. I suppose I'm a semi pro player who still has to lug his own gear to and from gigs at the end of a 9-5 working week. Thru my own band and depping work I do get the privilege of playing with some of the finest local musicians I know, who make it easy for me to sound good as a result! I guess I must be doing something right. I constantly remind myself that not everyone is fortunate enough to do this in their life, in however humble a way, and that helps me make sure I give it everything whenever I play. So yes, hello fellow Basschatters!

[quote name='Greg.Bassman' timestamp='1435872381' post='2813310'] A lot of guys that I've spoke to about markbass gear all use active basses, does it matter that I only use PASSIVE basses? I'm currently playing a fender jazz. [/quote] Nope I've got two passive precisions and a passive Sandberg and they all sound very happy indeed thru my set up. If I had to choose I'd say the precisions sound slightly better with it, as they're fat, smooth and with a bit of grit, which nicely balanced the very clean clear Markbass sound. Just realised you've already said you've got a jazz - that'll sound great no problem at all.

I found myself alone in the house today with some songs to learn and with a couple of different bass heads and cabs, so I did the decent thing and rigged them all up together to see how they'd sound, out of curiosity more than anything else. So we've got a Littlemark 3 into an Aguilar GS410, and then a Littlemark 2 into a Schroeder 1210 for a sort of asymmetrical half stack! I used an old Boss bass chorus pedal (turned off) to split the signal chain into each separate amp and cab set. It sounds cool - not exactly louder than each individually, but huge and full sounding, and I used the amp EQ to try to make one cab smooth and bassy and the other more punchy. Started out as a bit of fun but I reckon it could work live. I've got a biggish festival gig later this month and I reckon it could all come along! Anyone else come up with some odd Frankenstein bass rigs that turned out to sound monster?

[quote name='Greg.Bassman' timestamp='1435872088' post='2813307'] Cheers bassbiscuits. Again, very assuring coming from an ex ashdown user. Many thanks for the feedback! [/quote] No worries! They're good amps so you won't go far wrong.

My bass cabs used to get tucked side by side under this massive dinner table the last owner left in the house. It was the only place I could get them in and out easily for gigs. Nicely out of the way until you kneecapped yourself on the corner pieces while tucking your chair forward to sit down.

Bummer - that's a sickener. My bass, my amp head and a bag of bits all got nicked along with the car they were in a few years ago, but it all turned up in various secondhand shops where I'd put out feelers and I got it all back (weirdly apart from one old woolly hat and an AC/DC album I never saw again..) Don't lose hope mate - it can and does happen that it turns up. I'm not a million miles away in Leicester so I'll keep my eyes open too for you.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1435861235' post='2813193'] The other thing to consider is what bass is being used - in my experience the matching of a Precision to Markbass is just awesome, really work well together. [/quote] ^^^^^ This definitely!

I echo one of the othe comments above, I also came to Markbass from Ashdown - I loved the Ashdown sound but never found any of them loud enough. Markbass has a tighter punchier low end, rather than the gargantuan sea of bass of Ashdown. Personally I find the Markbass sound suits me more and seems more efficient - and they also in my opinion seem far higher volume for the same apparent wattage rating. In short, they're cool. I've still got one Ashdown head but I don't think I've used it once to gig since I got the Markbass stuff about four years ago.

Ive got a Markbass Little Mark III into a Aguilar GS410 and it absolutely kicks ass. The Aguilar isn't even remotely lightweight, but as an indication of how a LM3 sounds into a good 4x10, I'd swear by it. Fwiw for smaller gigs I used the same head into a Schroeder 1210 and it's still bloody loud! Markbass are great. Not everyone's taste perhaps, but for people like me who have to lug their own gear round and contend with rubbish parking at many venues, my Markbass head is an invaluable bit of ultra-transportable kit.

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1435763728' post='2812238'] Here's my VM5 which I got from Bass direct in May (the picture is from their website too) I'd been playing a mex Jazz V up to that point and the difference is startling! What Strings are people generally using for replacing the supplied Sandberg ones? I'd like to keep the same gauge if possible as the setup was flawless and I dont want to mess it up!! [attachment=195460:VM5Front590.jpg] [attachment=195461:VM5Top590.jpg] [attachment=195462:VM5Head.jpg] [attachment=195463:VM5Rear590.jpg] [/quote] Yeah I'm confused by what gauge are on mine - apparently they're 40-100 but they definitely feel more like 45-105, unless it's just cos the whole guitar is stiff and new. Mine are still on from buying it as they sound and feel great.

Just picked up a markbass lm2 from Andy Absolutely spot on - great condition exactly as described, good comms re courier tracking and arrived on time. Very happy to do business again.

There was a Marley blue four string at Bass Direct which I'd seen on the website before I went. I dismissed it cos I wasn't planning to spend that much money. Lovely tho. Little did I know. I ended up spending the same amount and buying a brand new TT4 instead!

In addition to the good points above (keep it simple definitely, and take some simple spares to cover you if things go awry), I'd say try to relax and enjoy the experience - not everyone even gets to play gigs, so you're already doing well! Playing live is a bit of a different skill to playing at home, and its good to do both. Onstage sound was a shock to me at first, but with a bit of practice you'll be able to pick out what's happening more clearly. I personally carry little foam earplugs with me just in case (and usually use them too if I'm spending the night standing next to cymbals etc) When i started I had a temptation to play everything i knew in every song to begin with, due to nerves mainly. A few gigs in, you'll start to relax more and play less, but play better. It'll sound more tasteful and thought out, and then you'll be sounding like a proper musician, and no one will realise you're new to it! You'll most likely be buzzing at the end of it, and itching to do another one asap. Enjoy the experience. It's great fun.

Nice!

This

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1435601450' post='2810481'] Hang on, Kanye West, along with other hip-hop giants like Jay-Z, Snoop, Fiddy and Pitbull ARE this generations rock stars. They sell out arenas, have sex with supermodels, crash super cars and drink bottles of champagne worth $1,000 each. Are we also assuming they're all male? Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé have also had their fair share of scandal and are probably as popular as the aforementioned male artists. You guys should read the gossip mags, they really get up to no good! [/quote] Thanks Truckstop I think you've managed to explain better than me the point I've been alluding to (or fearing more like) - that the guys you've just mentioned have taken up the mantle of swaggering bad boys and girls which were once the mainstay of rock. And in turn, rock's heroes are all the older generation, and all the myth, legend and fair dose of unsavoury bullshit that goes with it. Kanye isn't the worlds greatest rock star, even compared to his own contemporaries, but the fact it's a struggle to find many definite contenders from what you'd consider rock or metal nowadays kind of suggests it isn't the channel of rebellion it once was. I wasn't after a definite answer to any of this btw - I was just thinking out loud, and glad you chose to join in my rambling speculation and raise a lot of interesting points.

Ha ha it wasn't an ageist requirement, and I don't think there's one overall "greatest rock star" anyway. The point i was trying to make is that i'm hard pressed to find someone from my own generation (no pun intended) - who can really be considered as legendary as the generation before, who had Hendrix et al. And that's a sad thing to admit.

It's the oldies ain't it? Whichever way we look, the best true rockstars at the moment are the old ones. I'd throw in Jagger, Richards, Springsteen, Sting, Daltrey, Townsend, McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi easily into that list of bona fide superstars. Just hope that in 10 years time we've got enough younger guys reaching that legendary status to be able headline the big festivals eh.