casapete

I always use bronzewounds on my Washburn AB. Usually Elites though had some Adamas strings off ebay which were great too. I just like the overall tone that bronze gives, so never felt the need to change really.

Thats great Jake, much appreciated. Am having a band meeting to discuss this tomorrow (Sat), so before this would be brill. Many thanks, Pete.

Had an enquiry to do a gig in Frankfurt later on this year. Was just wondering if anyone had used any rental companies they could recommend over there? We'll be needing a PA (say 2k, nothing massive) and some backline / drums / keyboards, and just want to price the job up without driving our kit over there etc - so much easier for us to fly and use rented stuff. Any help / advice gratefully received, cheers!

[quote name='Beedster' post='1283705' date='Jun 27 2011, 09:07 AM']Might be a daft question and probably covered elsewhere, but why did Plan B's bassist have the logo of his bass taped over, was he otherwise in breach of an endorsement deal or something?[/quote] FWIW maybe it was some kind of thing about/against Fender, as the guitarist with the 335 was using a Fender amp (poss a 65 Twin Reissue) with the logo blanked off on the speaker cloth and also on the front panel. Strange.......

I had two! First one was in frost (maybe arctic?)white, with gold hardware . Great bass, although the finish was not particularly durable ,and chipped/cracked quite easily as I remember. Most s/h ones I've seen have appeared like this. Sounded good though (active eq etc) despite having a ravenous appetite for Duracells. It helped to unplug when not playing as I believe the jack activated the battery etc. I actually had the actives modified to extend battery life, which helped tremendously. One of those basses I wish I'd hung on to. Second one was the Deluxe, which was the mahogany finish again with the dreaded gold hardware. Instead of the usual PJ pickups, this had a Precision type pickup along with a rear humbucking type, and also had a mid control too IIRC. Didnt like this one as much as the first (sounded a bit dull, and a bit heavier weight too), so sold it fairly soon after. Gold hardware was standard on both models, although later versions (which kinda morphed into the Mexican made Zone) did feature chrome which to my eyes was a lot better. Most common finish was brown/yellow sunburst, with charcoal/black metallic, white and red being other options. I seem to also remember seeing some foto flame models, often in a rather unusual purple!! As far as I can remember all Precision Lytes were made in Japan.

'Howzat' by Sherbert? (sounds a bit crickety though?...) Other Aussie stuff you may want to consider - Icehouse Little River Band Savage Garden Keith Urban

Belter - get it bought. And don't worry about the 3eq thing, they're ace too.

Big +1 for uncoiling all the mains extension cables before using. Also trace the path of the extensions making sure they run okay - we once found the supply going through a stream! Soundwise some marquees seem to deaden the sound onstage, yet from the audience (and often outside too!) it's okay. (Get a mate to advise you on this?) Also with no stage watch out for drunken revellers putting drinks on your gear / dancing with drinks / knocking speaker stands / grabbing the mic etc etc. Regarding crib sheets/dots blowing away, I keep a few clothes pegs (wooden spring type) in my gig bag - work fine! Despite all this though, it's great playing at outside do's, and they can lead to more of the same if you do a good job.

Welcome - another yellowbelly.! Pete (Hull !!)

Hi Zac - another Hull bassist, great! There's not many of us on here, but its quality rather than quantity mate! Cheers Pete.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1245111' date='May 26 2011, 05:51 AM']James Corden in something funny? I s'pose there's a first time for everything[/quote] Crikey, tough crowd! Guess I'm the only one who thinks 'Gavin and Stacey' is one of the best British TV comedies ever made?

Bruce Springsteen - the chance to play in one of the best bands in the world, and alongside the great Max Weinberg too would be amazing. Stones too - great songs / band etc. Could probably do that dep without a run through...

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1232812' date='May 16 2011, 10:43 AM']Yes, Brian Wilson was a disappointment. Poor harmonies...something just sounded really 'off'.[/quote] Whilst I agree that Brian's performance was at times off key, I thought the band did a great job of helping out with the complex arrangements. Seen them a few times now, and think they're one of the best set of musicians I've ever witnessed - they are all multi-instrumentalists and all sing too. Lets not also forget that Brian is pushing 70, and has survived an abusive childhood,years of drug abuse and long periods of mental illness. IMO he wrote some of the best songs of the last century, and judging by the studio audience's reaction on Later the songs still stand. ( Also after witnessing some doubtful performances recently on the show, I'd be curious to see how those artists currently in their twenties manage to sound in another 40 or more years when they're struggling to sing in tune now. Rant over, sorry!)

I've tried a few, and always come back to Elites Phosphor Bronze on my Washburn. Sound fine, never had a duffer and last a long time.

A band I used to work with carried a Crate Powerblock as a spare. Tiny amp that at a push could be used for bass/guitar/keys/monitors etc. Also had an old Peavey XR600 mixer amp before that which did the same. Believe the FX box sized Electro Harmonix amp (44 Magnum?) is a handy bit of kit, although not massively loud into a minimum 8 ohm load. Useful for guitarists though? I carry a Behringer BD121 DI box as mentioned above - have n't had to use it yet thank god. If so, would be crank up the monitor and off we go. As lojo says in post#6, can't understand why people carry 2 basses and only one amp....?

Mrs CP has actually banned me from going on ebay when I'm a little tired and emotional..........

Was briefly in PMT in Leeds today, noticed a nice looking honeyburst Stingray4 HH with a maple neck - not sure if new or mint s/h though. Priced at £1099, which (if new) is a good deal I reckon? Just thought maybe worth a mention if anyone is looking - I've no connection with the shop etc... Cheers.

[quote name='hairyhaw' post='1213140' date='Apr 27 2011, 09:06 PM']I've used Rotobass a few times when I've been skint - they're about 12 quid a set at my local shop. They really weren't too bad IMO. [url="http://www.rotosound.com/roto_bass.php"]Linky[/url] Not a huge amount of choice in gauge but the most common are well covered.[/quote] +1 for the Rotobass Used these when my local shop had run out of my usual D'Addarios, and they were pretty good too. (This is coming from a confirmed non Rotosound person!) An excellent budget choice IMO.

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1206374' date='Apr 20 2011, 08:25 PM']Whistle test was brilliant, I used to love those old thirties cartoons they used to have when they didn't have live bands.... And the Otway performance of Cheryl's going home, remains one of my most watched youtube vids, brilliant! Mind you, I'm still lamenting the passing of "something else" and the brilliant Tony Wilson, now there was a live music programme! I only ever watch Later if Richard Thompson is one, which he seems to be every other series. [url="http://youtu.be/G8C-BwAbAdc"]Otway OGWT[/url][/quote] Lets not forget in our dewy eyed reminiscing that a lot of (mainly the earlier) OGWT editions were not live performances. Often the more 'rock' bands mimed in the studio, with just the lead vocal being live - anyone remember Alice Cooper, NY Dolls etc? Also seem to remember The Tube having bands mime occasionally. Later with Jools does seem to be predominantly still a 'live' show, with just the occasional bit of 'fairydust' being added ( come on down Cee Lo Green etc), so credit where it's due etc......

I'm in a country band, The Fork Handles. Its a 4 piece - me on bass plus guitar,piano and drums - we all sing too. We play every (ok most) Thursdays at The Railway in Cottingham (just north of Hull), and regularly get a good crowd, say 80 people plus each week. Its all covers, ranging from classic stuff like Merle Haggard, George Jones and Willie Nelson right through to more recent tunes by The Eagles, Joe Ely, Mavericks, George Strait & Brad Paisley etc. I love country stuff (not all of it by any means though) -favourite artists are Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Steve Earle and Alison Krauss. The band got together as a bunch of friends who all just fancied playing some country stuff -we're all in other bands too. I like the challenge of playing simple but effective bass lines (which is pretty much all I can do really!) that support great songs. I do get a bit hacked off when people (often musos?) dismiss the genre without giving it a proper listen. Guess it's an easy target sometimes, but there's a lot of great stuff out there,just needs finding.

Had mine for years, never needed anything doing to it. Great sounding amp, loud, light (ok not by Markbass standards, but easy to carry at around 20lbs) and works well with all my cabs - 4x10, 1x15, 2x15 EV (rocks with that) and also Barefaced Compact. A lot of hire companies (especially in the US) use these as an alternative to SVT's. They don't sound the same, but do sound great - not bad for a 30 year old tranny amp design.