martin8708

Owned four Markbass amps and numerous MB cabs, personally I think the amps are great , everything pretty much flat on the EQ and filters turned to zero. The cabs are a bit woolly or muddy , but hook up a MB amp to a Berg or Vanderkley cab , and the sound is very clear and detailed ( will show up all the bum notes ) , providing you have a decent bass to start with .

Torn - by Natalie Imbruglia
Great live version on youtube to jam along with . ( hope the rest of the band dont find out )

Find a guitarist who can play bass , or visa versa , this will give the band more flexibilty when you need to do the 6 stringy bits .

Sticking my head above the parapet , I find my LittleMark Tube 800 works well with the old P-Bass and has plenty of power in reserve .
The tube adds warmth , but no real fuzz, which is fine for my needs .
But then again , I like Markbass amps .

I have one of these cabs , they are the bee's knee's .
Very loud and incredibly clear , easily stands it's own against over - enthusiastic guitarists .
Well recommended.

Old Yamaha FG's are made of great woods , and go for far less than they should on the second hand market.
I also like the older Ovations , once the benchmark of Electro-acoustics used by Cat Stevens ,Paul Simon and Brian May.
Another good make is Larrivee, the basic models are great value ,as the money is spent on the woods rather than the decoration.

Ah, welcome to the world of band politics .
There is more cloak and dagger stuff in bands than the CIA and KGB combined.
Open talking helps , but being in a band can be a bit like being in a dysfunctional relationship, you never know what surprise lurks around the corner.

Hey , I would much rather play Tainted love ( Imelda May or Scorpions ) than some of the other stuff in our set list ,, being in a band is about having fun and watching people enjoy themselves . You never know , you may grow to love the song , it's definitely not worth quitting the band , unless you really detest the whole set list .
All the best , Martin.

Enjoy the space in the music , hopefully the remaining guitarist is a strong rhythm guitarist rather than a widdly twiddly lead guitarist , this will fill out the songs , but will allow all the instruments to be heard .
Guitar solo's can always be dropped , the audience are more interested in the singing along with the band , rather than analysing the solo during the lead break .

Still at the Bass Gallery ?? I assume this is collection from London only ?
Rainy Jubilee day bump.

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1338890466' post='1680485']
I had this same problem, the bands I was in broke up and I was left as a bedroom player. I soon got bored of bass playing/transcribing in my room so I switched to classical & electric guitar and just never got tired of it - if I did join a new band i'd still want to be a bass or rhythm guitar player but for now there's no going back, i'm enjoying my new toys
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Same as myself ,at the moment , playing bass by yourself is pretty boring when not in a band situation , but the classical guitar certainly gets a workout when I am " in between bands "
I'll definitely keep the bass gear , as I always live in hope of getting back into a band .
I also find there is a lot of cross over learning , applying ideas from guitar to bass , etc .

I have never felt guilty about owning more than one bass or guitar , currently about 7 Precisions and 5 Strats and 3 acoustics .
I rarely go down the pub, don't smoke , my car is a rust bucket , I just prefer to spend my money on my guitars .
They all get played , some just have to wait a bit longer to get taken out the case .
And I just like collecting them .

I've been through this topic a few times now , and note the definite division of Pro-fridge users and those who condemn them as an extinct dinosaur . As they have been around for 40 years , and are still being made by Orange , Mesa , Ashdown ,not to mention Ampeg , surely there must be an inherent correctness about the design , just like a Stratocaster or VW Beatle or Landrover .
I have been looking at the Classic Fridge cab with interest , does the sealed cabinet design have a distinctive sound of its own , or can the sound be replicated by a smaller modern cab . There is definitely the psychological boost of having that big ole speaker behind you ,and even playing them at lower volumes must give a full sounding bass ???

I agree with BB3000, the more you play , the more you use the " tools of the trade " and the less you think of changing them .
The more free time I have , the more I drift towards the For Sale sections ( just out of curiousity , of course ) and the next thing you know, a new bass or amp arrives on your doorstep .
Its definately true that the Devil finds work for idle hands .

People offering low-ball offers and even people "agreeing " to buy your amp /guitar seems to be commonplace now ,even in the hallowed halls of Basschat . An agreement by e-mail does get your hopes up , but it is meaningless until the money is in the bank and the buyer has the bass or amp in his hands .
If the offer comes from a well established Basschatter , you are onto a good thing , but you can normally get a feeling from the profile of the prospective customer as to whether they are serious or not . As an internet forum , the net is cast very wide over a huge bass-playing audience , and some of them may take "window shopping " a bit too far by agreeing to buy the item without having the intention or the money to pay for it ( happens on e-bay all the time )
The clues tend to be in the language/content /attitude in the PM's sent from the prospective buyer .
Sometimes other things can happen , I was set on buying a cab , until I had a accident in the kitchen where I severely burnt my hand . so I could not drive / work /play bass for weeks ,but obviously let the seller know what had happened .
Playing Devils Advocate , perhaps we should all agree that to buy something we should have the funds available there and then and not rely upon the sale of our own goods to fund this purchase .

Sunny Sunday morning bump , with new price .

I have owned a 57 Re-issue in black for the last 10 years , and 95% of my playing /gigging/ reheasals are done on this bass .
This is also my "cheapest " bass as I have a few Custom Shop + Vintage P's at home , but I always pick up the 57 RI as it just seems to feel right . It is one of the early 80's re-issues , and once I got the action/neck sorted to how I like it , I rarely play anything else . The bass is now starting to feel very worn in and comfortable , I once did 3 gigs in a day with this bass , and the only thing that hurt was my feet .
I think some basses are like wine , cheap ones go off with age , where a good one with good woods and nitro finish will improve the more it is played . If it is an early model with a nice light weight , I dont think you will be dissappointed ,
You will have to put the hours in setting it up and playing it in , but they do just get better + better .

I have heard the hippies and flower power people stripped the finish off their guitars for a more natural look. I have three pre-CBS Fenders that have fell foul of the Nitromoors /heatgun . (bought them that way ) . Jimmy Coppolo also mentions this "hippy - era " and has started building natural finish basses .
The American vintage market considers a stripped or Re-fin instrument to be approx half the value of a 100% original instrument , but I suppose it will depend if it was a rare custom colour or just a plain old TSB .

I am away from 23rd April to 30th April , so I will be unable to answer PM's till beginning of May .
Cheers
Martin

I have bought two basses of Clarky , a 74 Fender Jazz and more recently his Alleva Coppolo 5 string .
Great guy to deal with and was even going to send the second bass before I had paid him , very trusting + honest guy .
This HAS to be the most exotic bass on the Island ( Better than a 6 string WAL ? ) )
Many thanks again
Martin.

The amp is as new .
I'll have to look into postage costs to Dublin .
Thanks for your interest .
Martin.

Price Reduction Bump.

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No interest from me

[quote name='janmaat' timestamp='1334046853' post='1609921']
Played guitar in a punk performance band in Berlin. Chatted up a girl with big tits to do the bass part. Got up at her place went and bought a bass for her to use. Was a cool project. She moved back to Swizerland for rehab. Everyone eventually left, but the bass. This was later smashed by some arab kids in a squat in Paris, re-assembled, and sold in London. I miss it, it was a great bass.
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You could sell this story to Luc Besson , it would make a great black + white film

Totally non-musical till 16 years old , I went to party where every-one was totally pissed and this knob was larking around with his dad's steel string acoustic guitar pretending to be Rick Parfitt from the Quo , he promptly fell over and snapped the headstock off the guitar , which did not please his Dad too much . I rescued the broken guitar from the rubbish bin and repaired the headstock and taught myself guitar from Russ Shiptons books .
At first year Uni , met a real talented guitarist who was looking for a bass player , so I sold the battered acoustic giutar and pooled all my savings and bought a BB1200 from Yamaha Musicland ( that was the only bass in the shop , and i remember it was in the clearance sale, none of the sales assistance were really interested in it ( or me ) , I suspect they just wanted shot of it (and me )
Interestingly , the first song we learnt as a band was also " New Years Day " Thanks Adam and the Edge for getting us interested .
Still play acoustic guitar for pleasure and to work out new songs , and to relax with a beer after work .