Truckstop

£105?! Eh? But it has no 'hoopla'! I'd happily pay through the nose for something with hoopla, but without? Forget about it. Seriously though, looks well useful and ultra useable. Asking the missus for some gear funds right now Truckstop

God, my computer nearly imploded under the weight of all the photos that confirm that this is a 42 year old bass(!) Looks like a faker to me, hope no-one gets ripped off here! I couldn't give any real reasons why, it just doesn't look right. I dunno, headstock looks too new, hardware looks too new? Truckstop

I use LaBella Supersteps on the Blazer and Labella Stainless Steels on the ESH. TBH, I'm just trialling the Supersteps at the moment. They're nice, but I don't think they're worth the extra money over the stainless steels. Truckstop

MBX cabs are awesome. Loads of punch and ultra-lightweight. Seeing as you'll only be putting 110w maximum through it it'll swallow it all up and never sound overworked. I do wish GK'd do a vintage styled version ofthe MBX/MBE range though; not keen on the silver grille. Though I suppose it's easy enough to paint black if one cares that much. Truckstop

+1 on the SGC Nanyo Bass Collections. They're so lightweight and easy to play. Personally, I'd upgrade the pickups and/or the preamp but ergonomically they can't be beat. That said, I did find that the five strings have really wide necks and massive string spacing? 19mm if I remember correctly? 4 strings felt a dream, but the 5er a little uncomfortable for the left hand. Truckstop

I was listening to some Aretha Franklin the other day and was struck by how prominent and how tasteful the bass in 'Border Song (Holy Moses)' is. Anyone know how played it? Kaye, Jamerson? Truckstop

I'm confused as to what the OP's current rig is. Something about a 4ohm 2x10, a Neo 2x12 and a 500w amp? Pretty sure that's the makings of an awesome rig already! Whatever you buy, make sure that you pay attention to the ohmage of your cabs. A 500w amp normally means it'll deliver something like 300/350w into a single 8ohm cab. In the instance of a combo the speaker will already be 8ohm. In order to get all the juice out of the amp, you need an 8ohm cab. In laymans terms, the 500w from the amp will be split evenly between each speaker/cab. As I'm confused as to what gear you actually have, I'll refrain from adding advice about what cabs you should buy. Personal preferences are GK RBH cabs and Aguilar cabs. Truckstop

I honestly think this guy needs some help. Those are the sorts of rantings one associates with severe narcissistic and paranoid personality disorders. Truckstop

I find using a volume pedal the most intuitive way of changing ones volume while playing. With a little bid of practice to become accustomed to the sweep, you'll find it so much easier. You'll just need to make sure to bring the volume back up to the right level before you start another song! I used a Fender Volume pedal for years, sold it, then bought another one because I hadn't realised how much I used it! I like the Fender ones because they're shiny and also have a consistent sweep; that have a satisfyingly stiff action too. Truckstop

Well that's very sexy indeed! Nicest ACG I think I've seen! Truckstop

Not very easy at all. Get a power sander with plenty of spare sheets of 60 grit paper. You'll just have to do as best you can with the edges. Personally, having done it before, I think I'd rather die before trying it again. Truckstop

Yeah it was ok for me cos I bought 2 gigbags and some stands and other miscellany so postage ended up being pretty good. Truckstop

Just thought some of you might find this useful. So, I don't really have a need for hardcases; I find most of them ill-fitting, heavy, unwieldy and unattractive. Instantly put off iGiG and Mono etc by the price I came across the Thomann premium range while looking at other sh*t on their site. http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_premium_gigbag_e_bass_br.htm Now, I've used plenty of Thomann brand stuff before and 9 times out of ten it's excellent value for money and in many cases punching well above weight. I was hoping that these gigbags would be of the same pith and vinegar the rest of the Thomann stuff is made of. First impressions: Looks to be pretty good quality leather(ex); vibrant tan colour, sexy discreet pockets, heavy duty zips, plenty of padding and surprisingly lightweight. Use: Initially I thought I'd ordered the guitar version by accident because it looked a little small; actually fits my basses perfectly. The ESH is a pretty big bass and the gigbag swallows it up perfectly. No room to manoeuvre at all, a lovely snug fit! The neck brace is well designed as it accommodates a five string comfortably as well as a standard four. So I guess I can comfortably say that it fits Precisions and Jazzes ! Pockets: I managed to cram 3x10m cables, 3xregular size pedals, two bass books,folder,power supply, set of strings, a multitool and a spare shirt in all the pockets. Awesome. Value for money: Well, I bought two at €28 (£23?) each and I could not be happier. Really heavy duty, perfect fit, great classic looks (leather(ex) strap's a nice touch), plenty of padding and loads of storage. Hope you find this useful! Will get some pics up soon! Truckstop

I had the following: Powered mixer powering 4x passive speakers (2 subs, 2 tops) for FOH Then Ran two powered monitors with one passive monitor each off two 'Aux-outs' from the mixer (total of four monitors; drums, guitar, vox and keys). There's all sorts of combinations you can go for but essentially auxiliary outputs are your friend for monitors. A guy I know uses a passive mixer with a 2k power amp for FOH and a smaller 500w power amp for the (passive) monitors. Problem being you can't change the monitor mix. Just buy loads of any old sh*t and see what sticks. Truckstop

Cool! I already have a few.... Truckstop

Surprised no-one's mentioned the Behringer BDI-21 yet! It's based on a Sansamp (which in itself is an Ampeg SVT clone) and will surely 'sweeten' your tone up. It'll add a touch of tube grind and you can tweak the treble to get a nice 'click'. Got a blend control too so you can mix it with your clean signal to taste. Recommended as it's so cheap; brand new delivered you'll be looking at +/- £30 and even cheaper on eBay. The only reason they're so cheap is because the housing's not incredibly strong/wellbuilt. Do you have any bassists/songs you want to emulate? That'd help us massively with providing suggestions for you. Also, what is your current rig? Truckstop

Could do even better with those flathead cables from Planet Waves! Even so, well done!! Truckstop

Matarazzo/Materazzi(?) make one for £50 if I remember correctly. I was looking for one a while back and found them...decided on two singles in the end. Truckstop

Speaker sizes do not have an inherent sound quality. Cab design and EQ does! 10" speakers can sometimes have a better bass response than 15's; all depends on cab design, speaker design and how the power is delivered. You don't necessarily need a Gramma Pad, but they're worth having. Try a gigbag folded in half, or a pillow/cushion first to see if that makes any difference. If it does, then it's clear that a Gramma Pad is the way to go! Secondly, experiement with your EQ. Bump the mids and kill the bass a little. Might sound a little tinny or clangy initially but you'll soon get used to being able to hear yourself and don't worry, there'll still be plenty of the bass frequencies making their way to the audience if if you can't hear them clearly yourself. Another solution could be to find a way to elevate the combo and point it towards your head. I'm not keen on this method because I think it's important for the source of the sound to have a good connection with the floor for the benefit of the FOH; in short it'll be better for you because you can hear yourself, but the audience won't hear a decent bass sound because the floor and walls carry a lot of the lower frequencies for you. Hope this helps! Truckstop

I like onstage volume to be as quiet as possible. Even in pubs, I like to have everything through the PA. I have a couple of small subs and a couple of decent tops. I use two small 10" PA speakers on amp stands for monitors; one at each side of the stage area pointing into the middle. Everyone can hear everything perfectly and the volume's kept in check. A few venues want us back mainly because we're nice and quiet; we don't drown the place out and give people headaches! I find listening to an overly loud band very very tiring indeed. Back to OP, yes it can be done and it makes sense. Buy a small decent combo (there's a GK MB115 for £200 in the for sale section; ideal for home and live use) and then spend another £200 on half decent PA subs (although ive seen subs go for -£100 on ebay recently) Peavey are probably best for the money. You can get good power amps for about £100 and just sort yourself out a crossover and you're ready to rock! Truckstop Truckstop

I have a 4 and a 5. I would never ever go to a gig without a spare, it's unprofessional in my opinion! Yeah it's highly unlikely you'll need to use it, but the possibility is there. It'dake more sense to have a spare 5er, but I don't need more than 2 basses and I could never get rid of the blazer; I love it too much! Truckstop