mcgraham

Honestly, I think that looks pretty darn cool! The front looks very vintage'd, except for the scratch plate which looks brand-spanking new. The back is good... but less convincing, as I can't envisage how you'd get such perfect wear marks around the bottom near the control area. All in all, I'd say a good job

+1 Si. I reckon if I had to pick something other than what I already have, I'd go for the IP310. I'd love a cab of that size just so I can sit on the thing. Alas... my IP stack will have to suffice for now.

Woah! The G-Force is[i] ridiculous[/i]! I'm absolutely boggled by how many effects and options there are in there. The G Major isn't bad, and isn't that expensive either... but man, that G-Force is something else.

I know. There's so much to choose from. I find the difficulty is separating the true product from the marketing surrounding them. Also, whilst there is a lot of choice, ultimately a lot of the feature sets are the same across different manufacturers - they are just subtly different combinations. I elected to go down the route of getting a rig that sounds great absolutely flat and as 'genuine' a representation of my bass as possible, and then I can go about adjusting things on the outboard side. That way if something doesn't sound quite right, or if I'm not quite happy with my sound, I've eliminated one of the variables from the chain. It's then easier to identify what isn't doing the job.

Ah. I can see why the responses were so varied. Unfortunately, if you really don't know what you are objectively looking for, I reckon you just need to get yourself along to somewhere with a reasonable stock of amplification and try some stuff out with your own bass. Bass Direct is great for checking these sorts of things out. Mark is also very knowledgable about bass gear and PA alike, so he will certainly be able to give you some no-nonsense advice about what would suit your style and your pocket. Mark

Oh... I don't like the sound of this...

Thanks Dood! I have a couple of different tones I like that I achieve using my preamp, but I have to adjust my eq between these on the fly when playing live - not ideal. I'm not too fussed about effects as it was primarily to shift tones using eq, but I imagine once I establish some nice eq patches, I'd end up adding some subtle effects to benefit them. How are the TC Elec G-Force or G-Major at that sort of thing?

Anyone know of any eq/preamps that you can program eq and pre settings into and use a footswitch to move between? I imagine something like a POD is a good option but I was wondering what else there was out there. Mark

If you've got something you're reasonably happy with then there shouldn't really be any rush. I suggest just read and learn in the interim, try and figure out what might suit you so that you are reasonably certain about what you at least want to try, or even buy if it came up at the right price on BC or the like. Out of interest, what are you looking for?

Incidentally, as a comic anecdote, I play with one singer who defaults to 'can you please turn down you're still too loud' when I'm not even coming through the monitor or the PA (this is on an acoustic guitar by the way). They're always very polite but so incredibly frustrating.

I've sung with singers like this. It's one thing to say you can't hear yourself, it's another to say that everyone else is too loud and 'can you turn down so I can hear myself better'. I'm not saying this is necessarily the case here, just that this irritates me no end, as the gear/setup/other musicians are not the problem - they are! Some questions: How far away from the mic is the singer? What's his mic technique like? How close is the mic positioned to other gear? Is there a floor monitor as well that could be bleeding in? How much of the rest of the band mix is coming through his monitor feed?

Update: My q-Jays started behaving oddly this morning. Used them fine last night on the way home from the gym. Got up this morning, plugged them in and everything's gone weird! The overall volume has decreased, left earphone sounds like it's underwater compared to the right and distorting weirdly, and the top end is muted overall making the bass seem overwhelming. The Jays website indicate that volume imbalances and distortions will most likely be due to the filters getting clogged - I will change them when I get home. My only concern is that this seemed like a sudden overnight change, which leaves me unconvinced that they could've just [i]suddenly [/i]become clogged overnight. Hmmm... won't be impressed if it's something more serious than this.

Sweeeet. I love the trans black style finish. Really simple but elegant and classy at the same time. Simplicity with elegance is clearly the way to go with custom basses at the moment.

Did I miss something? I'm guessing it's something pretty and from Scotland? I'll find your thread and check it out!

Here's some shots of the back and the beautifully carved heel for you to feast your eyes on [attachment=39460:Zoid_33_...less__7_.jpg] [attachment=39461:Zoid_33_...less__8_.jpg] [attachment=39462:Zoid_33_...ess__10_.jpg] Remember that this is a chambered body, extra deep (60mm), with a cutaway to access a 3 octave fretboard... and they still made it look absolutely stunning!

Umm... anytime now? Basically, they're just finishing everything up. As I mentioned, they are restringing with slightly higher gauge strings because they feel this will contribute to and enhance the overall sound of the bass (which I was contemplating doing for tonal reasons anyway, seeing as I won't ever be bending on this bass). Once they've made sure everything is as it should be, the bass will be shipped! This should be by Jan 10 (give or take). I'm pleased it's happening in January rather than over the Christmas peak - makes it less likely that the bass will be sat in a cold shipping port for a long period of time.

+1 That's something a lot of people forget about - the signal chain starts with the bass. If your bass doesn't have a good fundamental sound (I'm referring to the 'tone'), then you're in a bad starting position and you may be frustrated that you don't get a good sound from your total setup. A lot of people (I'd say) don't really know what their bass actually sounds like. Try plugging into a PA desk through reference monitors or headphones and listen to how it sounds... also try playing along to a backing track to hear how it sits in the mix. You'll hear a better representation of what your bass actually sounds like before it hits an amp and cab. EDIT: That last paragraph was a general 'one can do this' suggestion rather than being directed at anyone that has posted in this thread

*gasp* New colour Berg logo?! I simply must have it! </talkbass fanboy impression>

That could be a problem yes... I tend to spend quite a while deciding what I want, and then I bide my time til it turns up. The second hand market doesn't favour the impatient.

I had actually resigned myself to never getting one, but then a mint second hand IP cab came up on for the same moola that I'd paid for my Schroeder 1210L and Acoustic Image Clarus... no brainer really! Few months later the EX112 came up for sale at less than what I paid for my Schroeder 1210L on its own... yet another no-brainer. Result? Complete Berg IP rig for (I believe) less than half price... not to mention covers for both! God bless Bass Chat...

That was more or less the number one thing that appealled to me about the IP concept. bass + active cab... done! I couldn't stomach the RRP and brand new retail price through.

[quote]Absolutely! I love looking for and playing new gear - just a shame my 'pocket' isn't quote deep enough to hang on to all my favourites[/quote] +1 Although I've found my favourite rig in my Bergantino IP/EX stack. It sounds phenomenally huge when coupled together, puts out beautiful tone and fills even massive venues (I did a wedding gig at the Albert Hall in Nottingham and anyone who's been in there will know it's blooming huge venue - the stack positively filled the place without even getting anywhere near half volume). Sadly, I'm in love with In-ear monitoring at the moment and find this is a better solution than lugging amps around when I have PA support.