casapete

I'm a pro player, have been for approx. 25 years now. My main band is a tribute band that tours UK theatres, 'The ELO Experience'. I usually perform around 80 gigs a year with them. I'm also in two other regular setups - a country rock band called 'The Fork Handles' (I know...) and also an acoustic duo with a weekly pub residency. Throw in some deps and function gigs as and when and there it is. In terms of getting the gigs, my main band has built up enough of a reputation over 10 years for theatres to know what's what. Our frontman handles all enquiries and organises the schedule. The other stuff I do is fairly local, and again, we've been doing it a while and we're all quite well known in the area, which helps a lot.

Just found this - anyone on here seen / tried one? All ply construction, carbon fibre reinforced neck / short scale etc. https://www.tonkbros.com/collections/short-scale-acoustic-basses/products/tonk-bros-parlour-bass-guitar-trashed-black Made in UK, retail for £499.

Yup, good call. The Rumble 500 2x10 combo weighs in around 36lbs, and they do sound great.

No experience of the Reidmar although they seem to be well liked on here. For me, the Gallien Krueger MB amps work very well, and are very loud for their ratings. I have an 800, but the 500 would have still been enough I think. Cab wise, the Barefaced range is ideal for you. As FinnDave says, a Super Compact would do the job perfectly, and weighs around 22lbs so your back will thank you very time you use it.

There appear to be many scam adverts on Craigslist, especially in the London area. Some vintage prices are ridiculously low, so tread carefully. Couple of original 60’s Jazz basses on there at the moment for just over £2k for example. If it’s too good to be true then it probably is....

As the OP referred to needing more volume than a Trace AH300, the 1001RB is probably the safest bet. Headroom a go-go , and growl using the boost control. Great amps and as mentioned, not silly heavy either.

More at http://www.simpatyrecords.com/PDF/10561_72_basic_performer.pdf

Found this on t'interweb which may be of use? • Connecting and starting-up Check to ensure that the mains voltage at your location corresponds to what is permitted for operating the BASIC PERFORMER. You will find the necessary information on the rear side under “Dest.” (country of destination) and “AC-voltage”. Before switching the amp on, the “Master” and “Return” controls should be turned to the zero position (as far left as they will go) and all other controls to middle position. Then make all necessary cable connections (mains, instrument and/or microphone). Now you can switch on your BASIC PERFORMER with the power switch on the rear of the amp. The green power indicator shows that the amp is operational. • Level control You can use the “Line/Mic”-switch, the “Pad”-switch and the “Gain”-control to adjust the various pickup systems and signal sources to the BASIC PERFORMER. The “Clip”-indicator shows that the input signal is too high. You should then reduce the “Gain”control or the “Volume”-control on your signal source to ensure distortion-free reproduction. You can now set the desired overall volume with the “Master”controls. If youconnect a footswitch with the “FSMaster”-socket on the rear if the BASIC PERFORMER, you can change between “Solo”- and “Ensemble”master while you are playing. With the “Channel Mute”-switches you can mute each channel seperately if necessary. • Notch filter A notch filter subjects frequencies of a certain frequency-band (in this case between 30 and 400 Hz) to severe reduction (- 14 dB) in a very narrow band (quality 2). This helps to reduce feedback and other annoying resonances. The special properties of the notch filter can also be used to modify the sound. • Compressor All our amplifiers are dynamically controlled. The supplementary compressor can only be switched off completely or switched to one channel. In addition to its function as a dedicated bass effect-device, it can be used to compensate differences in dynamic range between various signal-sources or to give dynamic support to the voice.

Just thought I'd give anyone looking for new speaker drivers a heads up following an email I just received. It's from Lean Business Audio, and they have some Celestion bass units reduced, and some others too. Examples include http://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/celestion-bn15300s-8ohm-neo-magnet-bass-guitar-speaker-15-rrp-£12000-p-3113.html http://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/celestion-bn15400s-4ohm-neo-magnet-bass-guitar-speaker-15-rrp-£15000-p-3114.html ( I have no connections with the company by the way! )

You’re right - just amended mine. Cheers.

I've used the 'power amp in' of a bass amp before in similar circumstances with no problem. As I remember, the amp's controls were bypassed, the power amp being full on with the overall output being controlled from the mixer. Only got a mono feed though in my case, so the mono / stereo thing needs to be taken into account for you.

Fabulous player, and a lovely fella too.

OLD spoilsport, please

Not quite, according to this. https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/sep/29/seasick-steve-session-musician-ramblin-man-book

Forgot to add my favourite gig of the year was the Reload 80's Festival in Norfolk in September. Great lineup including The Christians who were mega, as were Odyssey.

Around 150 this year, of which probably 80 with my main band, and 70 being pub residencies / deps / functions etc. Slightly less than usual maybe, but 2018 looking okay so far despite losing one of my monthly pub gigs.

Good call - save some poor kid wasting his hard earned cash over Christmas. Cheers.

Mmmm, Vintage V96 MM style bass anyone? £600? Thought not...... https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/ernie-ball-music-man-bass/1280248962

And there was me innocently thinking Ampeg may have being trying to be thoughtful by putting a speakon and a jack speaker output on their amps to cater for people who are still using older cabinets because they can't afford newer versions.....

I had exactly the same setup for a while, and loved it. Amp was £100, cab £70 IIRC. Only thing was the Peavey weighed more than the van that transported it I think..... Used it with a Jap Squier Precision which cost around £120, so a proper rig for less than £300. Gigged this for ages, and sold everything at least for what I paid for it too! Probably a big mistake though but the dreaded GAS had struck me badly.

Excellent post with some very valid points.

Time for a Satnav Blue? 🙂

Motown Chartbuster Vol 3 (silver cover) is a classic compilation. Hearing this when I was in my early teens was a lightbulb moment for me. To be honest, all the Motown Chartbusters albums are great, although if you're just discovering this stuff the 'Motown Gold' triple cd is a great place to start, but beware - you'll get hooked.

Same for me, lighter gear has been a godsend really. Wish it had come a bit sooner for me, but better late than never. I'm coming up 60, still touring and (just) making a living from playing bass. Done around 150 gigs this year, all over the UK and local pub stuff as well. I find the worst time for me is if there are any gaps in my schedule - a week or more off and I really feel it on my next gig. Hands / arms and mainly lower back start letting me know I'm not 25 any more. Can't see me stopping any time soon though, it's what I do

Advice from Fender on using guitar leads for speaker connections - If you use an instrument cable as a speaker cable, you’re probably OK at low signal levels. At high signal levels, though, trouble brews—all that amp power attempts to flow through the instrument cable’s too-small conductor. The unhappy result is that a lot of amp power is converted to heat and never even reaches the speakers. You get reduced speaker output, some probable distortion and, in extreme situations, heat-induced cable or cable connector failure. And you definitely don’t want your amp overheating. Rest of the article here - http://www2.fender.com/experience/tech-talk/instrument-cables-speaker-cables-arent-interchangeable/