Matt P

if i'd seen that bass in a shop i'd have not given it a second look and assumed it was a B-grade instrument. I'm not surprised with the reaction from GuitarGuitar in Newcastle, I've given up even going in (and it's now the only music shop in the city centre) on the few occasions i've popped in, every time with the intention of buying something the attitude of the staff has been awful, on one occasion i went in looking for an acoustic amp, with a 2k guitar in my hand and a budget up to 1k and they just seemed to have no interest in helping me at all. the Newcastle shop seems to be an exception for guitarguitar, the reports i've heard about their other shops have usually been pretty favourable, at some point i'm going to go and try the Edinburgh and Glasgow stores. Matt

I had a RBX765a as my only bass when i was starting out about 20 years ago, It was certainly gig suitable and I played many gigs and a huge number of church services with it before i moved on to other instruments, i believe its still being played in church by the friend i traded it to. I even did a recording session with it and was complimented on it's tone by the engineer. The RBX range is a bit overlooked in my opinion, they're good instruments, well made with decent pickups and hardware and they sell for very low prices secondhand ( i think mine was £120 from a friend). people seem to gravitate to the Ibanez SR range instead which seems to have better availability. I would happily gig with one again. Matt

until about 10 years ago my go-to was a Marshall AS50, bought when they first came out, they do work really well as on-stage monitoring as well as having a very good Di output for feeding the desk/PA. I've found that on-stage monitors and IEM's have got better recently though so slimming my kit down to just a Di/multi fx unit makes load in/out so much easier (one guitar case and a bag) I still own the AS50 and have even used it as a mini PA for very small rooms, the Acoustic cube is as a personal monitor really, it can be screwed onto a mic stand to get it up to ear level so the volume can be very low. when i'm playing with the band i'm often doubling on u-bass or EUB as well so using the provided monitors is so much easier than carrying amps (i've also just built a combined board that i can plug both instruments intro, with 2 eq pedals, A/B pedal then tuner and a single radial Di at the end (one feed to the PA trhat can then be set flat with all the volume and tone shaping done at the pedalboard.) when i'm playing in church it's just the T-Rex Soulmate Acoustic required ( we use IEM's) and this fits into a bag with a couple of cables etc. Matt

if you want a really cheap option the i've got a couple of the Behringer ADi 21 pedals in my pedal stash and i'd be willing to part with one cheap, I've swapped over to the Studiospares EQ/di units and the Behringer's aren't being used anymore. (the studiospares unit would also be a good shout if you can find one but since they were discontinued the supply seems to have dried up as everyone is holding on to them.) Matt

i play a fair amount of acoustic (i started as a guitarist) my go-to solution is a T-rex Soul mate acoustic, it gives me tuner, eq, chorus, reverb, delay and a looper in a single unit. I mainly use the tuner and the reverb, it's also got feedback rejection and a boost function (very useful when swapping to fingerpicking from plectrum) I do own a little trace acoustic cube for when i don't have foldback but I've not needed it much. they're not a cheap item but i know that there is one for sale locally to you (and me) by a basschat member on facebook. I've lent mine out and they went out and bought one for themself. I'm running a very nice guitar (£3.5k) into it with a good quality pickup and onboard preamp (AER) and the Di output from the t-rex is excellent. if you want to try mine out let me know. I can PM you the sellers name if you can't find it. Matt Edit - ive just re-read your original post and i'd missed the part about budget, the t-rex will run you somewhere around the 300-350 mark, even used, I've also put together mini acoustic pedalboards for the guitarist to use in our band (we often both play acoustic at the same time). the Micro board is Tuner - eq - chorus - reverb - Di, mostly with tc electronic and ENO pedals and a radial Di at the end, I'll see if i can get a photo tonight. with some canny shopping around this should be a bit cheaper but possibly not that much cheaper when all the parts are taken into consideration, again i'd be happy enough to bring kit over for you (and the guitarist) to test and play with.

I managed to snag one of these today on my way home from work, they were with the Christmas decorations. Matt

back when i used stainless roundwounds on my 5 string i pretty much stuck to DR Fat beams ( Marcus Miller signature version of the Hi-Beams I think), they seemed to settle fairly quickly and then had a very long life after that. I'm now mainly a flats p[layer and have GHS precision flats on the 34" scale 5 string, previously i used Chromes which felt and sounded excellent on that bass. I would keep an eye on the classifieds and see what turns up to try, there are many sets of new and nearly new strings being offered there. another option might be to try Newtone strings, they offer a few different construction types and any gauges you might ever need, the prices are very reasonable as well, I had a set of stainless roundwounds made for my 5 string short scale and they're fantastic and were cheaper than many of the big name brands (the tiny number that actually make a 5 string short scale set) Matt

Just bought a bass from Chris, a most effortless process, arrived very quickly and expertly packaged. thanks again Chris Matt

This is my solution, the end shelf is supported on the right hand end by the IVAR shelving and has a solid connection back to the wall on the left, there's also a pair of support beams running left to right, this was mainly because the gap was longer than the standard shelf would be, the shelving actually runs the whole length of the room and is flush against the far wall, putting in the fixed shelf on the end gave me one extra case-width (so 2 extra spaces) The radiator is set to almost off and i have a remote thermometer in the end part of the shelving to keep an eye on heat. At some point we will be moving and i've got plans for an extended version of this shelving with space for more cases as the current setup doesn't accommodate all of them. It's fairly obvious which brand of cases i favour! the standard 80cm width shelves are actually 80cm between uprights, not quite enough space for 6 Hiscox cases but slimmer cases should fit 6 across, this would give space for 12 cases in an overall width of 89.5cm, you'd need at least 2.6m floor to ceiling though Matt

I'm using the Ikea Ivar shelving system, slightly modified and securely bolted to the wall, If i can make the room look presentable i'll get a photo. I'm currently up to 20-odd instruments, with hard cases for most of them (not all basses though and uke cases are much easier to store) being able to store vertical makes them easy to get to, usually i have a few instruments out on hangers/stands and the rest are safe in their cases ready to go out for gigs etc. i've got shelves to hold boxes for leads etc in there as well. Matt

for anyone looking for a Radial Stagebug, one has popped up in the Classifieds HERE, I have no affiliation to the seller but they have a good reputation on here. I was tempted but I think i 3 radial di boxes is enough for now. Matt

If you shop around a bit you should be able to find the radial ProDi or a stagebug SB2 secondhand, that's what I did, managed to get a pro and 2 stagebugs used for the well under price of a new JDi (i think about £50 each?) the build of another pedalboard means i'm on the lookout for another SB2 as well Matt

I've just had my mk4 serviced by Martin @Stoneham they might have some useful information? Matt

i'm a klotz fan, bought some ready made ones 20-odd years ago and they lasted very well, i'm now making my own with Klotz AC110 and Neutrik plugs, I've got a few made with Van Damme as well and it's up there for quality (and more flexible than the AC110) the suggestion for using @Chienmortbb is a good one, they have taken over from obbm for custom made leads (my speaker cables are all obbm-made) for XLR I would suggest Lynx, I've had a few from them when i've needed something i've not had the supplies to make myself and they've been top notch. @Owen's question about coiling and storage is an important one, even the best cable hasn't got a chance if it's not properly looked after, and I've had cheap cables last very well with careful handling. Matt

i've owned 2 fretless basses in the past but never used them live, the first was/is a Aria cardinal medium scale that a previous owner had de-fretted, I never used it so i had the frets put back in, (i've still got this one as it's a YOB bass and i really like it), the second was a squier fretless jazz that i took as a trade for an amp, It never left the house so i traded it for a squier mustang. at some point i'm sure i'll buy another fretless but it will probably not get used and be sold on (i'll not learn!) Matt