bassbiscuits

I own one vintage bass - a 1970 precision. I bought it 24 years ago, when it was merely old, but nice, because it played, felt and sounded great. It wasn't for any sort of investment, or an ego trip. It was just the best secondhand bass i could afford at the time. What distinguishes it from the other newer basses I've owned since, is that its very comfortable and played-in from 48 years of use. Its super lightweight because the wood has spent years drying out, it has a beautiful woody, mellow sound reflecting nearly half a century of the wood reverberating, the lacquer has all aged to a beautiful amber and the paintwork is far more authentic than any modern relic I've seen. None of this makes it the best bass ever. But it is a very cool, usable instrument. Replacing it with the equivalent USA P bass you could buy new today would give you a very different instrument, which some might prefer, but other might not.

Thanks all - some good ideas for me to be getting on with.

Cool - yes if he still has the pup that might be a good solution. I preferred my Fishman to the LR Baggs one I changed it for - the Fishman sounded more natural and clear to me.

It's been 24 gigs all in for me this year. I left my long-term band in April, having done nine gigs in 2017 and realising it had run its course after 12 years. The rest have been a mixture of solo acoustic gigs, a couple of depping bass gigs, and three gigs with a fledging original rock trio in which I play bass (festivals and supports slots etc). Did my final gig of the year last weekend - a really good solo gig which was a great way to wrap things up and quite encouraging personally that I'm on the right tracks. I've got young family so I'm trying to keep a balance between playing once or twice a month tops, but keeping some weekends free. I am pretty hopeless at saying no to gigs tho....

I few years back i used to use a fretless Bass Collection SB301 which cost me £100 secondhand, with a secondhand bitsa cabinet made of a GK Backline 1x15 box with a newer Eminence speaker inside (about £150 all in ) and an Ashdown Mag 300 head which cost me about £200 new. Good rig for £450 all in. Did plenty of gigs with that.

Cheers MoonBassAlpha, Yeah I had a Fishman Neo a long time ago for another guitar - it was quiet but did sound very nice tho. I paired it with an EQ pedal and was well away. Maybe that's the answer

It is a good shout - i picked a copy up of Time's Up a while back and its stood the test of time very well.

Here's a thought - does anyone make a pickup suitable for small, travel-size (ie Ed Sheeran-esque) guitars? I realise I've missed a trick in being able to use mine as backup for my one acoustic guitar. I have a spare soundhole pickup, but the measurement of the small soundhole is smaller than pretty much every regular pickup. An under the saddle transducer would be fine, if they're any easier to find at this smaller size. Any ideas? Not looking to spend huge bucks as the guitar was only £130...

Zanaka, by French singer Jain. Sort of electropop/world music mash up, with some great bass playing on it too by the producer, a French chap called Yodelice. Sly and Robbie guest on drums and bass on one of the songs too. It has also proved invaluable for keeping my kids happy on long car journeys. Aside from the three obvious singles, the outstanding album tracks for me are You Can Blame Me, Son of a Sun and Heads Up. EDIT - ah i've just checked and it was released in 2015, but i don't think it was on the radar in UK until this year (well not with me anyway!)

REM - Automatic for the People (found a cassette from my student days, which then chewed up before the end of first side. Bought it on CD immediately). Max Q - (a one-album wonder from back in 1989 by Michael Hutchence, Ollie Olsen and some other guys) The Hothouse Flowers - People (found myself singing "Don't Go" one day, and then found this album secondhand the next day, so snapped it up).

There's always the world of short scale basses, like Fender Mustangs etc, which are lighter, shorter scale and still very cool and credible. There are also lots of light weight amps and speaker cabs around these days, which are ludicrously easy to move compared to the big old gear i started out playing 30 years ago. I guess that as long as you're enjoying it, then keep at it. Lots of older guys on Basschat who will no doubt have some tips and support to share?

I'd say yes you need an amp - something between about 300w-500w should be plenty for most gigging situations. Going through the PA will work up to a point if there's a big enough PA with bass bins etc, but unless they also have monitors you won't be able to hear anything you're playing onstage (and neither will the drummer, who will want to lock in closely with you). In terms of bass cabs, a single 15" speaker is always good, as is 2x12" cab. Bigger rigs and multiple cabs will give you a bit of everything, but unless you need lots of volume, a good single cab is easier. Unlike guitar, there's no huge need for pedals etc either - bass, into tuner, into amp is generally enough I find. Does that help?

The Iron Maiden Live After Death Long Beach Area gig, 1984 - that was a major part of my teenage life! Any AC/DC gig with Bon Scott, and any Kiss gig up to about 1977.

I'm down to just three basses these days (a P bass, a Jack Casady and a Yamaha BB). I know its not cool on a forum like this, but I hate having stockpiled gear I don't use. Puts me on edge when i think of the money tied up in gear that's not out earning its keep. There's a few keepers among my bits of gear which aren't for sale mainly for sentimental reasons (or just because they aren't worth much to sell) but I'm certainly resisting buying anything more at the moment.

I bought an Ashdown Mag300 head about 10 years ago as a spare to cover a load of gigs when my old Peavey began packing up. The Mag was incredible and became my main amp straightaway. Very loud for its rating, lots of bass and quite valvey-sounding even tho a transistor amp. I thrashed it and it always sounded cool. It led me to explore the rest of the higher spec ABM range at the time, tho none of which I got on with as well as the Mag, strangely. Good amps tho. I moved to a Markbass head in the end cos it was smaller and louder than the Mag, and I still use it.

The nearest to all-round perfect I had was a 1995 USA P, which sounded great, even across the neck, good action and strung thru the body. (its the one on the left in my avatar) However, it weighed a lot and had a really big thick neck - it benefited the sound, but made it hard work to play for long periods. I now only have one P - the sunburst/tort/rosewood 1970 with a B width neck which i bought over 20 years ago. (on the right of my avatar) It's not quite as consistent as the more modern one, and a bit gentler sounding, but it makes up for it by being lightweight and full of mojo.

Hmm yeah. I have a 1970. The tuners didn't have that little circled letter after the Fender word until about 1973 i don't think, the decal doesn't look right and certainly shouldn't have the "original contour body" wording at all. Fingerboard veneer looks kosher tho at first glance. Should have a thumbrest below the strings, but evidence of that lost with the scratchplate swap by the look of it. Dunno. Needs a closer look. As Creeper says, pickup and pot codes should help.

I should say so. Saved me from another day of deadly headlines about Brexit and Trump.

Cheers Hobbayne I was more really leading up to using my "show me Kevin" line, which turned out to be less funny that i'd expected. Sorry.

I'm confused - does this Kevin guy actually exist then or is it just a funny thread? I need some proof. Show me Kevin.

Over £3,500 for a secondhand Epiphone Jack Casady? Er, I love mine, don't get me wrong, but that's an awful lot of money....

Ha ha! Sometimes yeah. And my flask of tea....

Fair play to you Andy - that's a good decision I'd say. I left my band of 12 years this summer, as we've got two young kids (the littlest is 16 months) and the whole juggling act was proving too much. The gigs were increasingly playing covers I wasn't keen on to indifferent audiences and it got to the point that I just felt like screaming every time more gigs came in. Sorry to hear your little girl is going to have a poorly start - i think you're doing the right thing taking the pressure off yourself musically and focusing on the important stuff. I still love playing, and have been doing the occasional solo gig and some original stuff with two friends, but it's for fun, support slots and little local festivals, with no one putting the pressure on. Good decision Andy, and I hope every thing works out well with the little one.

Lots of vocals A big bag of spares/tools etc A Volvo estate