bassbiscuits

I've learned that being reliable, learning the songs properly and not being a total idiot is the key to getting asked back to do depping work and getting good gigs. I've also finally fallen in love with flatwounds.

Regarding packaging etc, I've made good use of cardboard bicycle container boxes from Halfords etc. They're good thick cardboard, and 20 mins with a stanley knife should enable you to cut one down to the right size and shape. I've then packed the guitar/case/gigbag whatever in layers of bubble wrap and/or crumpled up newspaper, left over cardboard etc which are all lightweight and give good protection from bumps etc. If the guitar is in a hard case, then also work packing the insides of the hard case itself with bubblewrap/newspaper etc to make the guitar fit tightly inside its case and not jiggle about inside, and also to sort of prevent it bashing against any hard edges in the event of an accident. I don't know about courier costs abroad tho - i'm sure some of the other forum members will have shipped items abroad tho. hope that helps.

Really good gig on Friday night at one of our local pubs in Leicester, which was dead busy with it being the last day before Xmas break for some lucky people. Had a chance to put some recently acquired gear thru its paces too - a Yamaha bass I bought on basschat a few weeks back, and a stupidly lightweight purple chilli cab I also bought here in the autumn. Sang myself hoarse, played loud and got into a sweaty mess, so all present and correct there, plus blew the dust off some old tunes we haven't done in a while. Happy with that.

Motorhead - well, um Motorhead obviously...

i've bought used flats, but not so sure about dead round wounds....

I got this from Andyjr1515 on Basschat over the weekend and it's fair to say it's stunning. I was after a lightweight, versatile bass for gigs where I'm not taking my Lull or old precision bass, but in reality i've ended up with much, much more. I'm not over egging it to say this is a really great bass. The build quality, balance, weight (3.8kg) and playability on it are exceptionally good, at any price bracket. The fretwork is perfect, with no buzzing or choking, and a lovely close-grained slab of rosewood for the fingerboard. The bridge is a chunky, high-mass, sturdy looking affair, and the gold hardware looks classy against the wine red gloss finish. It has the Nathan East-esque active pre-amp, which in addition to master volume, pickup blend, bass boost/cut and treble boost/cut, also has a 'mid sweep' dial which takes you through a whole range of different sounds from 'light to dark' (Yamaha's wording, not mine!) and a switch to punch the whole mid sweep thing in or out. Adds up to a very versatile sounding bass, which is very comfortable to play, and which you really wouldn't question at two or three times the price. I think these were only about £300-£400 new when they came out, back in the early 2000s, which is baffling given the level of quality. Any sniffiness about the quality of a Made in Taiwan model is duly dismissed. It's strung up with D'addario Chrome flat wounds, which give it a real smooth ballsy thump. I had the house to myself for a few hours so cranked it up - a joyous way to spend a Sunday! I'm not very familiar with Yamaha's various models/ranges by any means, but top marks for this bass. I can't wait to gig it this weekend. I'd envisioned getting a spare bass to take to occasional gigs, but this is really one I'd happily take to any gig.

I ended up getting a secondhand Yamaha BB604 instead - figured it was a few notches up in terms of range of sounds, hardware etc. So far so good.

Nothing but praise for Andy - he brought a Yamaha bb604 to my house for me to try out, and it was lovely so I bought it! Top bloke, fantastic bass and he even restrung and set up for me. Pleasure doing business fella.

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1481120202' post='3189856'] No problem to gig with one of those where you don't want to take your more expensive gear. Do be warned though - Getting your first Yammy can be a slippery slope! When you realise how good their lower end stuff is, you'll soon be tempted to try some of their more expensive stuff. Then you've had it. [/quote] Ha ha! I need no encouragement to buy more basses trust me! I did once have an old Japanese BB350F fretless, and a more recent BB414, which were both decent basses, but they were both many years ago. I like the idea of having a cheap, reliable bass as an alternative to my more expensive stuff.

I picked up a secondhand Line 6 Bass Pod of some sort for recording with and it sounded great to be honest. I've got basses with both a P and a PJ pickup arrangement. The PJ bass is a bit more versatile in terms of slap sound etc, because of the extra J pickup, but I just prefer the straight P bass for the vast majority of things. It just sounds 'right' to me. Either way, good luck. Most of the basses you've listed sound like perfectly decent basses to start on. The most obvious factor I've found that differentiates cheaper instruments from pro gear is the quality of hardware (bridge saddles and tuners in particular), wiring and pickups, which you find out if you're gigging them relentlessly. But that doesn't sound like it'll be a problem for you, so whichever one you've got will do the job. At the risk of sounding like Yoda, i wouldn't overthink which one to buy either. There is no absolute right answer or one ideal bass, but anything decent should get you going and give you joy in playing it, which is the important bit after all! Good luck!

Seen one of these for sale locally, (from about 2001-ish I think) and I've been on the lookout for a cheap back-up bass for the less salubrious gigs. It looks pretty decent, and a fair bit online, tho mostly reviews from people who've had it as their first real bass etc, so a bit hard to judge how objective they are. Anyone gigged one? Are they decent enough? I like the fact they look quite lightweight and comfy, if not exactly a gorgeous looker! Thoughts?

[quote name='mike 110' timestamp='1480758038' post='3186892'] Thanks bb , am I right in assuming that the L in 760FL stands for Long ( scale ) ? [/quote] Hi Mike - sorry i only just spotted your reply. Yes as the others have said, the L stands for light. They're certainly not overly lightweight tho, and nothing like as light as TI flats which I have on my Epi Jack Casady bass. I used the La Bellas on a P bass that i often need to tune to E flat for depping work, and they hold up fine. I think they're the best gauge for me. Strangely they feel less stiff to me than the 40-100 gauge Rotosound Monel flats i used previously, even tho they're heavier gauge. I like them, a lot.

I've got 760FL gauge La Bellas on my precision (top loading bridge) and they're great tension. I'd normally go for 105-45 in round wounds, and the 760FLs are 104-43 i think. They don't feel as stiff or heavy as i'd been led to believe (i.e. you can still string bend on them pretty easily) so you'd probably be ok with a slightly heavier gauge.

I think the 137 refers to the type of pots. As for the pickups yes the last two digits are the date i think - mine end in 70, and its a 1970 bass.

But back to the OPs original point - I guess it depends on what music you play, your individual playing style and the sound in your head that you want, which all adds up to make some basses appeal to you more than others. I liked all my jazzes and would happily own one again in the future. But in meantime I've come full circle and realised that the bass I had to start with - a P - pretty much nails most of what I want.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1478934417' post='3172766'] Let's get this straight, no one tells me what I should play, but if I take both J & P basses with me, play both, and then ask which sound the band prefers, the answer is always the Precision. The same thing happens with guitarists, they may try a strat and a les paul on a certain number and ask which sounded better. In that case it may one or the other, depending on the song and musical style, but with my basses, the answer is always the Precision. Which makes me wonder why I have over 2 grand's worth of J basses sitting upstairs unused! I only play in bands, never record at home or noodle in my bedroom. [/quote] I hear you. I took my old P and my new Mike Lull to a biggish (for me anyway!) dep gig last weekend in front of a few hundred people. I was itching to use the Lull and it sounded fantastic in soundcheck. Then I got the old P out for comparison and it just sounded great - big and full, just right blend of thump and attack, and the band basically said "yeah use that one!" That's not being ordered around - that's just offering a choice to people. I'd have been happy too if they'd preferred the Lull but for that particular music, the P has always fitted it better.

I'm a P man thru and thru. I've had three jazzes which were all good basses (two Fenders and a Sandberg California) and currently have a Lull PJ4, but the bass that just sounds fattest and fits best with 90 percent of the music i play is just an old P bass. Jazzes are great for having those extra sounds, more articulation etc, but if i had to have just one bass, it would be a P every time. I play in a couple of different bands ranging from blues/rock originals to alt/acoustic stuff and just pop/rock covers and the P just always sounds better.