Truckstop

Ah, I see! Linking them in parallel (option 2) is better than series (option 1) purely for the reason that if one of your cabs were to break or one of your leads were to fail, you'd still have some noise coming out of the other cab. Won't offer any other benefits in terms of volume or sound. Truckstop

Switching the cabs to 4ohms (and using both of the them) will force the head to providing a 2ohm load which is not good. I don't think the LH500 goes down to 2ohms. You could use one cab at 4ohms or you can use both of them at 8ohms. Both of these configurations will get all of the 500w the head provides. Using one of the cabs at 8ohms will use maybe 300w from the head. To reiterate: 1 x 8ohm cab is safe and will use about half of the heads power 2 x 8ohm cabs is safe and will use all of the heads power 1 x 4ohm cab is safe and will use all of the wads power 2 x 4ohm cabs is not safe and should not be tried. So, with the configuration you're currently using you are already using the head to it's maximum potential. Switching the cabs to 4ohms will do nothing and will probably break your head or the cabs. Truckstop

I have a B-105 and I actually feel the string spacing is actually a little wide. My old Yamaha RBX775 felt narrower. Should say though that the neck is extremely shallow making it a pretty speedy instrument! The F-105 I had has the same neck profile so I'm assuming it's a thing that all LTD basses have. Truckstop Edit: I'm actually selling my B-105 at the moment for £175 plus delivery. It's literally as new and comes with original packaging etc. GAK has them for £289. Get in touch if you think you might be interested.

I'm after a GK MB200 if you wouldn't mind? Cheers Alex

I do a lot of work for a party band and we have the whole set on track. Extra percussion, key parts, brass, synths, backing vocals, everything! It sounds huge! This way you can also time the sets to the second. Even the chatting parts in-between songs are to a click. The only person that needs to worry about the click is the drummer. If he's in time, then the band is in time. It helps a four-piece band sound like a 10 piece and also helps when it comes to sharing out the money! Can't see the point in just doing it for one or two songs, may as well design a whole set to a click. Truckstop

Well I know I would choose ESH: They look awesome. Incredible build quality. I like the way that the body shapes can look outrageous, but they've kept the woods and colours fairly conservative. They sound incredible. ESH piezo circuit sounds like a DB. No-one else uses them. Ergonomically sound; no dive, nice and light, comfortable on the strap or sitting position. For a handmade bass, good value for money. To buy new, you need to go to Mark at Bassdirect. And he's awesome. Truckstop

Holiday Parks are great fun. All the staff are good fun and welcoming and often have decent rigs and technicians. I've done a couple of summer tours of Pontins and get regular work at Bunn Leisure in Selsey. Normally the crowd will be made up of young parents with young children and older people. Your standard up-to-date pop will go down very well (Black Eyed Peas, Girls Aloud, One Direction, Katy Perry etc). Maybe slightly more clubby stuff (Pitbull, LMFAO, Beyonce, new Maroon 5, Katy B, Jessie J) is worth a run out. I found that rock music tends to kill the vibe because people (read: kids) can't dance to it. The idea is to keep the kids happy because then the parents will put more money behind the bar. Even Queen and the Beatles I've never felt went down very well. A few novelty songs will work; Bob the Builder, King of the Swingers etc. Anyway, as someone mentioned, you really need to run this thing like clockwork. Your sets need to be exactly 45 minutes long/60 minutes long. You need to be soundchecked by 6 o'clock and you need to be professionally turned out in uniform or dress code (that is if you're looking for repeat work!). You need to provide the sound/lights engineer with a stage plan and a setplan so they can plan stage washes and displays etc. But most of all you need to have fun. Don't treat holiday park gigs like a function or a pub gig. You're there strictly to keep people buying drinks and you do that by getting ladies and kids dancing. They don't want incredible musicianship or artistic credibility; they want good tunes, performed well. Truckstop

I know it's unfashionable, but Peavey stuff is awesome. See if you can find a TKO or TNT combo over 250w. Yeah they look a bit 80's and clunky, but loud as hell and sound just fine. That'll keep you going for ages! And you'll have change for a nice set of decent strings Out of those on the list, I would also go for the Trace. Same as Peavey; excellent build quality, sounds great and will just keep on going! Truckstop

Artec Big Dots is a great tuner. Cost me £27 5 years ago and it's been going strong ever since. Tracks the B harmonic just fine. One annoying thing is that the power supply socket is on the side of the pedal rather than the top which makes it difficult to arrange on a pedal board sometimes! But perfectly robust, well built and looks great on stage. Alternatively, clip on tuners are pretty decent and cheap but obviously don't mute the instrument. Truckstop

James, if you're looking for sexy valve sound, you should PM Mr. Foxen (Oli) and see what he's got lying around for sale! Oli's a great tech too and all of his amps are practically guaranteed to be in the best condition possible. Alex

No, launch parties are nearly always tragic. Spend another year giving away your music, build a local fanbase and then have a party to celebrate how well you're doing and to reward your fans for getting involved with your band. A launch party gig should always comprise of about 80% new music. Get gigging, build your back-catalog, get an album recorded under your own steam and then release it properly. An EP launch does nothing for anybody. By all means arrange a party for your fans, but don't dress it up as anything other than that! Truckstop

I like smooth rounds but don't like Nickels. LaBella Stainless Steels fit the bill perfectly! For steels they're not terribly bright but they still have a pleasing 'click-zing' to them. They keep their sound for a long time (I change them every 8 months) and they're relatively cheap, just over £20. Also, black silk is sexy. Truckstop

Just wait and eventually someone with the right contacts will sort you out big time. I remember a couple of years ago I was really struggling to find any work when a chance meeting with a Welshman ended up with me now getting as much live work as I can be bothered to take on. I would say that the whole idea of 'session work' (I'm assuming you mean studio work?) is not as financially or professionally rewarding as live dep work. It can be quite boring, the money's not amazing, you'll probably have to get yourself there and back for free, and, in my opinion, it's harder to get in with the right people and get repeat work. In a live band situation, you can integrate yourself with the band and you can impress in more ways than just your playing (charisma, stage presence etc). In a studio environment everything you do is scrutinised and it's very difficult to play exactly what is needed. Truckstop

I've got a couple of Stagg ones and they're fine for home use and occasional gigging. I certainly wouldn't take them on tour or trust them to hold much weight or anything expensive! For that you need to get a Warwick Rockcase or a Spider case. Truckstop

Cheers mate, I'll give it a go! Alex

Love a bit of grind and death. I played in a death cover band for a while but we gave up because it's really really hard to learn the songs! We did stuff like Decapitated, Cannibal Corpse, Dimmu Borgir and Napalm Death. Great fun! My playing style's matured now and I've got selfish these days. I don't want to be buried under drums, vocals and guitars anymore! Still love putting some December Wolves on though! Truckstop

Hello all, One of my BB425x's has developed a crackle when I play it. I've checked my leads, amp, effects and cabs and it's definitely coming from the bass. It doesn't crackle any more or less when I shake the bass about when the notes are ringing and it's also accompanied by intermittent irregular volume drops. Almost like it's on the verge of cutting out completely. The issue literally appeared overnight, the bass has had a sheltered existence (no bangs or drops) and it's always kept in a bag when it's not being used. The pup switch and the knobs still as responsive as ever and the crackle is still there regardless of whichever pup or combination of pups I'm using. Anyone else ever experienced such a thing with a 424/425? Cheers Alex

Ha ha I love the photo of it on the bed Truckstop

I do dep work for a couple of party bands and I don't read. Luckily, all the ones I work for play off a click with loads of other parts on track (keys, percussion, backing vox etc). They send me the click tracks and I learn the set off those. For the record, I charge £90 a night plus expenses which I think is fair. 30 pence a mile travel and I ask for food and drink too. I also ask to be compensated if i have to buy clothes to fit their image. I think if I asked for more I wouldn't get as much work. Truckstop

You are all wrong, keep your eyes peeled for a second hand Yamaha BB424 or 424x. They are literally the balls! Actually, any of the BB series look great, sound like P's and have great necks. In between a jazz and P I think. Loads can be got for less than £200. Truckstop