mcnach

+1 I wouldn't want less than 15/17

next time accidentally step on his left hand before the gig...

If you are just talking protection, then sure. If you want a better sound experience, then it may be worth spending more, it depends on your situation, your band and venues you play, and your goals. From 10p foam plugs all the way to IEM systems, they all offer protection, the main difference is how well they allow you to hear what you want to hear. There's no 'one size fits all'/ But use some kind of protection.

probably not, but they don't sound nearly as good.

They're a vast improvement over the usual 'xmas tree' plugs for sure. However I find with mine that the seal is not perfect when I move my jaw. We made the mould as I was biting on something keeping the ear canals open but it clearly wasn't perfect. They work. However, I started using the Isolate plugs and I prefer them. They shouldn't be that nice, being just a plug of foam and some metal... but I like the attenuation they give me and I can hear everything I need to hear very clearly. They're just around £30.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ and ~ oh, and some ' ' ' ' ' ' ' too.

although... they dropped the ~ from the N... the 'real' Spanish name would have been Ibáñez

Thank you! It irritated me terribly for years... then I found other stuff to be annoyed at. Like bad spelling.

good to know! I have heard other similarly promising comments about them...

Ouch!!! I had seen the 'event' but not what happened to the guitar. I was hoping it had survived with some severe 'relic' marks... but... it looks pretty dead to me

Great work! Your band must have paid part of my salary at some point. (no, we haven't got a cure yet... but we keep learning, thank you!)

I don't know, the Classic 50 Precisions look pretty cool...

I'm not sure it's really 'high' end, but it's the tallest I've got right now if I stack them that way I borrowed a D800 for a few days, and I much prefer the D800+. I found the D800 was a bit too dark by default and turning treble up didn't quite fix it. The D800+ has a bright switch with is permanently on in mine (and no, I don't go for a very bright tone at all). Then there's the semiparametric lo/hi mids, which is nice, and especially the HPF. The RCF sounds like a nice solution, to be honest. But I'm *very* happy with the Mesa/BF combination, especially as I do play a few gigs where I don't use PA support. Live clips... ha! No... nothing using this... in fact we don't have any recent clips at all. We're due to record our third album this year but we still haven't booked the studio and knowing us... it might not happen. But our trumpet player is moving to CHINA in August, so we should really record something. Anyway, we plan to record a gig on May 12th. Nothing too fancy, just getting the separate tracks from the desk for audio and having a few cameras around. It's at a venue where I generally use their stuff (Orange Terror 500 head and matching 410). I will use my head this time, but not bother with the BF cabs as I'll just be DI, so no much point. So, in short... no, no clips yet and no plans for any proper ones showing the Mesa/BF combination... but there will be some clips at least. I bet I'll make 5 mistakes per song this time. Still, the beauty of playing originals: I can always say I meant it that way

Of course! And that's what I did too. I was merely anticipating the almost inevitable "on this threads everybody just suggests what they use" Like you say, there's a reason why people arrive at what they use. If I thought that my previous rig was better... it would not be my PREVIOUS rig

Have you considered Labella White Nylon tapewounds? They're not cheap... but they last forever (almost). They're unlike other tapewounds. They are pretty bright but balanced, and strong low mids and tight bottom end. It means they can be used for stuff you'd normally use roundwounds for and will sound good in the band. Very sweet slap tone too (just not the ultra bright Marcus Miller style tone). Of course, you can tame the top end, and then you get into 'old school territory', with strong low mids still, so lots of fat but with definition. They're also very flexible... you can bend strings like crazy. You'll probably have to turn your truss rod a *tiny* little bit. My favourite string these days if I don't want straight up roundwounds. I always found flats very nice but a little limited... and tapewounds usually were not much better. The white nylons changed all that. Very versatile string.

I do like them. Sunbeams or the stainless steel Fat Beams for me. I like their flexibility, they're easy to bend, and have sweet low mids... The Fat Beams are pretty bright to start with, but the Sunbeams lack that extra zing and they're perfect from day 1, for me. I used to use D'Addario EXL170s but I much prefer the Sunbeams.

The white nylons are brilliant. Unlike most other tapewounds, they do bright sounds as well as the more 'thumpy' ones if you want them to and their low mids are just right. very tight and defined bottom end. I love them. Their copper version is even better on the low mids, I think, although their colour can look a bit weird on some basses. Either the standard white nylons or the copper version would be my choice.

Predictably, most people recommend what they own because they're happy with it... I'm no different: Mesa D800+ and a pair of Barefaced Two10 vertically. Chances are you will not really feel the need for a 610 combination, although it would definitely be a sweet sounding solution if you got a Four10 plus a Two10. The Mesa is super versatile, and that adjustable HPF is fantastic. The Two10 cabs are pretty portable yet they move a lot of air together and sound really good. I have tried quite a few different things over the past years but I was never "at home" until I came to this.

I guess you must have been hungry when you typed the title of this thread...

I'd just replace the string(s)... but make sure the band plays a song while you do that without bass. THEN when you come in, everybody will realise that YOU, THE BASS PLAYER, is the most important member of the band

I'm saying that a good drummer can play loud and can play quietly, and a drummer that can only play loud is just not a very good drummer. Hitting the right bits in time is only part of the game, you have to hit them with the right amount of force for the situation. Dynamics. They exist.