bassbiscuits

Definitely as a songwriter. I'm pretty good at collaborating on original stuff and hopefully sometimes even bringing something interesting to the table. But I haven't got the attention span or confidence to sit and chip away at an original idea to turn it into a really good song. If I could do that I'd die happy.

UPDATE - strung up with a set of La Bella flats now, and sounding, or rather [i]feeling, [/i]awesome.....

We tend just to put vocals, a bit of kick drum and the keyboard through the PA for most small gigs where we just use a pair of EV SX300 tops. For bigger gigs, we add on our LEM bass bins, and get the kick drum and bass going thru them as well, which does sound much better. We're only a three piece usually (four with our keyboard player) so we end up being governed a bit by how much we can fit into our cars, especially when you factor in stage lights etc.

I had a model 1B back in about 1990 to 1992 (same as this but just a P pickup, and a maple board) and it was a great bass. Was in a metal band at the time so it went nicely with my guitarist's BC Rich. Ahem. Good bass tho - secretly kind of wish I still had it really...

Hello, Just wondering if anyone has experience of these basses - my mate is trying to tempt me to swap an unused guitar for it. Now i know the old 80s MIJ stuff is held in great esteem, and I have a 1990s MIJ strat which is also cool, but this one isn't familiar. It's from 2005, and seems like an entry level jazz bass, with the description JB-STD (Jazz bass standard i'd assume) Truss rod adjustment at head end, standard BBOT bridge, budget MIJ pickups and just "Fender Jazz Bass" on the head if i recall correctly. Usual small MIJ style machine heads, vintage frets and 7.25" radius board, satin/matt finish neck. I had a quick Google yesterday and it seems that they might have been a transitional thing between MIJ and CIJ (this one is marked MIJ). It looks like this pretty much (see below, taken from Japanese website) Does anyone know where these fit into to the rest of the MIJ range?

[quote name='jonunders' timestamp='1476481590' post='3154770'] After speaking to Mark at bass direct I went for the labella 760. I couldn't have imagined the difference between the types of strings. I already feel comfortable with them and cannot see my self returning to round wounds. [/quote] Good choice - I've settled on these strings and love them. Happy playing!

I love playing bass, and i get very caught up in the moment when playing live, especially with a good drummer when its really coasting along. If I haven't got a great sound, i.e. using someone else's back line etc, then it does tend to distract me a bit tho. I dabble with playing guitar, which at home is often more interesting than bass, but onstage, playing bass is far more satisfying!

Ive got La Bella 760 FLs on both my Precision and my Lull. I find them deeper and bassier than the Thomastik Infelds (which are on my other bass) but still decent tension, not too stiff at all, and enough to string bend (a bit!). The ones on my Lull are new and still quite bright; the ones on my P are settling down to a much duller thud. Personally i find flats great - not necessarily when played alone, but in a band (and definitely on the recent recordings I've been doing) they provide the best fat smooth bass sound ever. I did briefly try Rotosound flats but didn't really get on with them and that put me off flats at the time. But TI's and La Bellas are both fantastic strings. And if you don't like them, you can always sell them on here!

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1476296662' post='3153185'] I opened this thread with some trepidation. Could have been a lot worse! [/quote] Ha ha that's exactly what I was thinking!

Funny how Epiphone manage to manufacture really good stuff like the Jack Casady bass, the Allen Woody bass and the various active and passive variants of the Thunderbird, yet Gibson just manage to come up with dullsville time and again. Just....boring, and lacking in any sort of real style. Manages to be nothing at all.

I've found D'Daddario EXL165s to be good - they are nickels, but they're bright as well as warm, and they settle down nicely. Had them on all my basses at one point, tho most of them have flats on at the moment. I've just swapped the steels that came with my Lull (look like D'addarios) for some nearly-new nickels to rein in the sparkling twang and give it a bit more soft warmth.

I've got a Protec Contego which is great - light enough to wear like a normal gig bag, but far more rigid frame, and loads of pockets for bits.

That is a genius experiment! I'm surprised it actually floated that long - learn something new every day!

Like most other people have said, yes if it's a mate, someone else sensible or someone genuinely interested in my bass; no if it's a pissed idiot in a pub or anyone I don't know or don't like.

I hear you! I'm the same. I only used stainless steel roundwound strings up until about a year or so ago, and randomly bought some nickels as I needed some strings and couldn't find my usuals. Initially I wasn't so sure, but I got really used to them and found them less sticky/coarse to touch, less noisy and generally warmer and, well, better sounding. I only use nickel roundwounds now, and I prefer them to stainless steels. Tho I did use a nearly new set of steels for a mate's spare bass I've been setting up, and in fairness they do sound and play well - especially now the new stickiness has worn off them. I think some steels are rougher than others, but generally nickels do feel softer.

Fender Precision when I was about 18 and had New Model Army 'Thunder and Consolation' album. The inside cover had a pic of the back of a P bass headstock and I fell in love. I eventually got my first P at 19 and still have it. I traded a pointy headed charvel for it, so a good choice I reckon

My mum used to play piano and organ in church when she was little, and my dad has always been a frustrated drummer who never learned to play but has always loved his music. They divorced when me and my bro were 12 and 15, at the same time as me and my brother were discovering music thru an older family friend in a band (which fascinated us at the time!). Me and my brother began learning to play a few weeks after my mum left, and it sort of became the focus of all our energy/frustration/dreams from then on (him on guitar, me on bass). That was 30 years ago. My dad helped us buy our first gear, and we paid him back each week from doing our paper rounds for years and years! He still loves coming to see my brother or me play whenever he visits and we're gigging, tho my mum never took any interest in our music really up till the time she died earlier this year. Not sure what a psychologist would make of that, but there you go!

I washed one that had gone abut mildew and it came out fine and fully refreshed. As long as you don't overdo it and stick to a cool wash there's no problem. Take the bass out first tho.

New cab to me, bought on this very forum last week. Purple Chili 1x12. I needed a lightweight 1x12 to use as the majority of the gigs I do with one of my bands are support slots and small gigs. Used it this weekend for the first time with a LM3 head and it was great. Surprisingly good bass, and quite big sounding rather than small or boxy, and effortless to carry, so did the job nicely. I think the purple/black leatherette colour scheme looks ace too. I'll be using it this coming weekend with my louder rock covers band, in a smallish city centre pub gig, which is a nightmare for parking, so having mega portable cab will come in very handy.