DTB

I forgot my current studio set up is Tube Preamp straight into mixer then power amp and Mordaunt Short Hifi speakers or Genelec monitors. fine for studio volume.

That’s the thing right there! How many people have an expensive instrument that sucks but don’t realise or refuse to accept that it’s crap because it was pricey. “It can’t be crap because it cost me a zillion bucks!!” I was guilty of that and a luthier pointed it out to me and I took the instrument back and got my money back.

I think once you’re in to the £300-£400 bracket, you then have to spend considerably more to get not much gain in sound/tone/feel. I used to play acoustic guitar as my main instrument. I had a few nice examples all of which I’ve since sold. Two that stand out were an LA8 by Yamaha, and the Clapton signature model by Martin. The Yam was a fine fine instrument. Build quality was faultless. Sound was superb. The Martin was just a little better. Not 3 times the price better, but better nonetheless. Same with Saxophone. Yamaha alto I had was fantastic, the Albright sig model was just a little better and again 3x the price. Once you get past the absolute budget option then any increase in performance comes at a massive price increase I think, and once it is in the mix at a noisy gig then not a single person including the person playing it would hear that slight improvement in tone. Imho.

I tried all sorts of set ups in the past which were mainly driven by the need Not to lug around too much gear. ultimately the best sound I ever got was through a Trace Elliot 4x10 cab with hf powered by proper bass amp head. The pa speaker option sounded ok but I always preferred the tight and fast sound of the 4x10. It was always the cab that made the most difference to the feel I think, and nothing got that great punch and clarity of the 4x10. It is hard putting it into words but back to back testing at a couple of venues really showed the difference. If I had to put a rig together now it would be the little tube amp preamp I use now, together with a class ab power amp of around 600 watt and 2 2x10 cabs, one each side of the stage. Like I say I tried all sorts of rigs in search of tone and then portability. If pa speakers or full range or whatever were best for bass then why would we have manufacturers spending lots on developing bass cabs etc etc, I’m not saying the op is wrong, and the rig they have may well sound better than anything I’ve ever plugged in to but from my own fairly extensive experience I’d go bass cab everytime even if nothing else in the signal chain was meant for bass.

My dad always did this. He’d setup and always play the same pentatonic lic in G. I do the same most days but in B across 4 octaves lol. He played in a 20 piece big band on a Wednesday evening and I used to go along as a youngster before joining on trumpet and heard one of the other guys say, “Roys here!!!” when dad played his thing as they were all getting set up. Happy Days.

Bit off topic so sorry in advance but I found midnight train to Georgia to have a similar bass line to that the op describes. i will have a look at the abba stuff and then probably have to issue a retraction to say that the above track is nothing like it lol.

Crikey, can I have a snort or shot of whatever Guy is on, he has SO much energy and enthusiasm, absolutely love him, funny too. Thanks for posting the vid. 👍

Absolutely love this post. I am an emotional wreck most of the time and reading posts like this take the pressure off me just a little. Thank you for sharing. The Hills Are Alive………….

My dad was a pro musician playing bass and played with cleo lane amongst others he also ran a driving school to keep him going when needed lol. He had a massive vinyl collection and a quadraphonic hi-fi that my mum was too scared to touch. The records ranged from Bert Camfort to Deep Purple and he had a hammond drawbar organ in lounge which he belted out all sorts of instrumental versions of songs in the (1970s) charts. Like the op Dire Straits was an early influence but all sorts really. There was always music on and I loved it. We always argued about the timing of the riff on Black is Black when he played it on keys. I still say he played it wrong. RIP.

I am having a sh!t day today but that zingy boomy thing really made me smile.

I don’t sell on ebay much anymore but when I did I always had a standard paragraph I used to paste at the bottom of the description which included; I wont end the auction early for a cash buyer - it’s collection only - no buy it now deals - I don’t want to swap it for your speedboat or other unwanted sh!t etc etc. Always got questions about delivery or other stuff that was clearly stated in the listing. people are stooooopid.

They come on their own. If they had a transmitter as well to plug in to a headphone output that would be a real bargain.

Me too, I bought my powerchair from a local retailer rather than buy from an online retailer, but even though it was marketed as UK company, it’s made in China.

Child labour stitched up if you didn’t already know beats were no better than £30 ‘phones you’re stupid Wish I hadn’t bothered now. Jezzaboy, you are very welcome.

No.

Fed up with our second pair of Beats falling apart and the ear cups shedding material straight after warranty running out I bought a pair of Silvercrest over ear headphones from Lidl for £29. Expecting them to be just okay at best and they are superb. Easily as good as any other bluetooth headphones I’ve owned. They are also rechargeable so no batteries to mess about with and unbelievably they have very good noise cancellation which can be switched on or off. They also have a cable facility should you prefer plugging in and the slight increase in fidelity that brings. So if anyone is looking for a cheap but excellent pair of headphones then head to Lidl. I’m going back to buy another couple of pairs, one for wife to replace her beats and a pair to leave in the bunker.

My Jaco rep came with rounds and it’s what the manufacturer recommends. They are chewing up the fingerboard a little bit though, but it’s not that bad and I don’t like flats.

Hey Mr Linus, probably should pm you with this but not wanting to hijack the thread could you recommend a six string fretless, if not it’ll be the Ibanez 5 headless you mentioned that will stay on my list of wants.

I was stuck between basses recently and needed to do some recording and all I had was my Jaco Jazz so I used that and that was the beginning of using it a lot more. I learnt Sledgehammer the other day just because it was fretless it was a quick 5 minutes I grabbed before cooking dinner and thought I really must play more fretless, warning, you will end up liking it more than fretted.

We need one of those - “Tick all the boxes with ……” checks to make sure Basso isn’t an AI entity sent to destroy us all.

I am curious for your view, given your obvious strong opinion on fretless, as to whether you consider lined fretless to be true fretless or whether you are strictly non lined player?

DPD are my courier of choice. I know all three of the delivery drivers that do my address route by name and even go out to the High Street in my wheel chair to meet them if the app says I’m next on the schedule. They know I’m disabled and make a point of bringing my stuff to my door if I’m not out to meet them rather than leaving stuff in my alley like some other couriers do. Stuff is a nice word. Stuff stuff stuff.

Bored now…..

I wish I knew what I know now, when I was younger oh (all together now) I wish………. lmfao

Epic post.