Matt P

I thought that might be the case, what iem are they? Matt

you'll need to find someone who's very skilled with a soldering iron, the wires in the cables that i've dealt with have been hair fine and enamel coated so they're a pain to solder. but it is possible, go for a good quality replacement plug, i'm a fan of the Neutrik ones (the right angled 3.5mm stereo is my favorite as it has good cable strain relief and is solidly made. Matt

I've been put off shopping in the Newcastle branch of GuitarGuitar, the customer service has always been pretty poor in my experience, it just seems to be that branch though! sounds live and windows have always seemed more helpful. Matt

i'm going to agree with CamdenRob, i'd just put a decent set of standard strings (130-25 ish i'd guess) and tune it BEADGC, this should give you all the options you will need, anything below a low B is going to drop off the bottom of most bass amp/cabs anyway and sticking to a "regualr" tuning will make life easier if you ever need to use it in another band or swap over to a 4 or 5 string (playing a spare or a friends bass) the only thing to watch out for is that the xb76 is slightly longer scale at 35.5" so make sure that whatever strings you go for are long enough. most "long scale" strings should fit but worth double checking before you buy, some manufacturers quote the length from ball end to taper and i know that Strings Direct have the info in the descriptions. [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/strings-c1/bass-guitar-strings-sets-c34#t96:page1:infscr1171:t172:t173"]http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/strings-c1/bass-guitar-strings-sets-c34#t96:page1:infscr1171:t172:t173[/url] Matt

have you tried Manchester Guitar Tech? he can mix nitrocellulose to order but i think there's a minimum order size for custom colours [url="http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/"]http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/[/url] matt

I found that the best device for holding the plug solid while soldering it was a 2" cube offcut of wood, screwed to an offcut of laminate flooring, i've drilled 1/4" holes into the block and just slot the plug into that to hold it while soldering, as a bonus the offcut of flooting acts as a cover for whatever surface i'm working on! Matt

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1403790620' post='2486433'] I didn't get on with the micros I tried. MESA Walkabout for me. A little bit heavier than a micro, bit not much. [/quote] having heard the walkabout then i'd say that it's probably the perfect head, unfortunately they are pretty rare and the people who've got them are reluctant to sell (for good reason!) and i'm not sure that you could get one for £450. the Aguilar Th500 might be the next best thing. a few have been popping up in the classifieds recently. Matt

I've been lucky enough to deal with Howard on a number of occasions, wishing him a speedy recovery! he's one of the pillars of the North east bass Community. M

[quote name='bonzodog' timestamp='1403610047' post='2484375'] I think this is a good point. If a guitarists amp fails and he cant afford to buy a new one or have it repaired then the band cant gig. Therefore should the band step in to pay for a new amp from gig money? [/quote] i'd guess that in a different band then loaning the money out of the kitty to pay for a hire amp or to fund a replacement would be a good idea, if the gigs are regular and bringing in money then it could be deducted from the guitarists cut until it was paid back, our band is a bit different because we have a running tab between us for other stuff (i think the drummer owes me for some snare wires and a couple of skins that i picked up a while ago, i can't remember if he paid me or what they cost so it's written off) Matt Edit - Monckyman got there before me!

in our band we split the cash up with a set amount to each member and then the rest goes into the kitty, but we're a group consisting of 3 very close friends (the drummer was my best man and the guitarist/vocalist is my fishing and drinking buddy) the PA is spilit between us as and when we've managed to find stuff and had a few quid in our pockets. as far as our own kit goes everone buys their own stuff, our overheads are pretty low so no-one minds, we're in it for the sheer pleasure of getting a pub full of people dancing, any money that comes our way is a bonus. the band kitty is in an account in my name but that's only because i was the one who had time to go and open an account, the cash from our last gig is going to pay for the repairs to our guitarists amp, we had to almost force him to take the money as he's a bit skint at the moment (self employed gardener so seasonal cash flow) if he pays it back then that's great, if not then we don't care, having his amp working is the main thing. Matt

i found that the key to cutting through the mix was the middle of the frequency band, from the picture it looks like your amp is set quite flat but the eq pedal is set to a smily curve (cutting the mids) try changing it to a frowny curve, i use the same eq pedal and have it set like that to act as a boost to help me cut through more on certain songs, abit of mid boost can work wonders. Matt

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1403255034' post='2481134'] How many 5ers? [/quote] ooh i forgot the 5ers! a sonic blue 5 string P-bass would be awesome! is there any indication of prices (just a vauge idea would be enough, to the nearest 100 quid maybe? ) Matt

yeah i know about the problems of big magnets and damaging delicate electrical equipment, (and i have a trashed computer screen to prove it!) i was going to make a metal screening plate to go across the back of the tablet and probably space it as far off the back as i can (i'm a design engineer by day so knocking up some kind of safe mount won't be a problem) I'll look up the app on play when i get home tonight, would be good to get this up and running for future gigs.

I've not found anything yet but i'm looking to use my android tablet for the same purose, with a footswitch for page turning, my plan was to hang it off the back of the PA speaker so i could use it as a prompt and a setlist, if anyone has found a bluetooth footswitch that isn't huge (and plastic) then i'd be interested, something about the size of a pair of mxr pedals would be perfect (before i try and build one myself) Matt

i must be in a minority! i use a pair of midgets, i chose them over a super 12 as i find it marginally easier to move 2 smaller cabs and a lot of the time a single midget is enough (i have been known to take both and only plug one of them in!) i can't really compare to a super 12 as i haven't heard one, but the 2 midget stack is marginally taller. a compact/midget stack was a thought until i measured the allocated space in the house and it wouldn't fit (the midgets live on a shelf behind a curtain in the spare room, the shelf was big enough for one compact, or one super 12 or a pair of midgets but not a midget and a compact) so far i have never run out of clout. if i started havng problems being heard it won't be because of my rig! if anyone in the north east wants to try out the midget stack then i'm always happy to oblige. Matt

ooh, i'm watching this with interest, i think i have the exact same speaker sitting in a box at home, i bought it with the intention of making a cab but then read up on cab building and bottled it. i could still do with a tiny cab for home practice so if you come up with something that works i might have to finally give it a go. Matt

I'd recommend a freshman, really good for the money and available in shops so you can try before you buy, I have a friend who's main guitar is a 70's fylde but his 12 string is a freshman, the quality is stunning, the last one I tried didn't have a price on and after playing it I guessed at about 400, the actual price was about 180, and it was a full electro with a good preamp. Another option might be an aria sandpiper but these are quite a bit more expensive, as are Mayson, both around the 400 mark but excellent guitars. Matt

another sonic Blue P for me, with a 1.75 neck, and seeing as we're allowed 2 choices i'll have a matching jazz with the 1.5 neck and blocks and binding! are these budget or premium priced? Matt

if you can find a mid/late 90's tanglewood chicago (cs range) then that might suit, they were much better built back then and should fit easily into your price bracket, i've got a cs-2 (i think) and it's a lovely guitar, very nicely made and sounds fantastic, i paid 220 for it about 4 years ago. the new ones are a totally different breed, the quality is not as high, i think that they retailed at about 400 quid back in the 90's (i have a hazy recollection of a cranes advert in about 98 that had them all listed). i have memories of a memphis single cutaway model as well. Matt

Mint or pearl for me, not usually a fan of pearl but it looks great the photo above.

i'm quite a fan of the epiphone les paul juniors i have/had one (it's currently in my friends posession but i think i still officially own it) mine is a sunburst one and was pretty good straight out of the box but being a mod freak i ended up replacing the bridge, tuners, pots and pickup. it started out as a fairly decent budget guitar but it's a monster now! watch out for the string spacing though, it's actually closer to a fender than a gibson (52mm at the bridge) it caught me out when i was buying a pickup. i've actually got a seymour duncan jb and a new bridge sitting in a box waiting for another cheap lp jr to pop up locally so i can mod another. Matt

i've got a csb 300 at home (the defretted one that Benebass mentioned in the other thread), i could have a check of the electrics when i get in tonight, i think it's probably the same as the RSB that Bloodaxe has shown above. Matt

i had an Epiphone g400 for a while but never really got on with it as it was too neck heavy, it was a well built guitar and sounded and looked excellent but the neck dive was too much for me and I sold it and went over to the Vintage V100. But if ypou had an SG before and loved it then i'd guess that the epiphone would be perfect, Matt

some good options have already been suggested, i have a similar setup to the one you are trying to achieve, a mex fender tele standard and a mid 90's tanglewood chicago (es335 semi copy) the chicago only cost me 220 quid and it's a beaut, i did have a vintage brand les paul as well but i had to sell it to make way for my p-bass, it's currently with a friend but i hope to buy it back as soon as i can find space in the house for it as it was a fantastic guitar (and it only cost me 90 quid at cash converters!) i've yet to play a bad vintage guitar! Matt

[indent=1]i'm a total Newtone Fanboy, the heritage strings are the finest i've ever used, i was a d'addario user for many years then went over to DR which were better than the D'addario but the newtone heritage are the finest i've come across, i use the 12's and buy them 10 sets at a time, i've been known to give them away to friends as well and most of them convert over as well.[/indent] [indent=1]If they're good enough for Gordon Giltrap then they're good enough for me. as a bonus when you buy them in bulk they work out less than buying D'addario/rotosound/whatever at a shop (if my local shop stocked newtone then i'd buy them there, i have asked and he's looking into stocking them)[/indent] [indent=1]Matt[/indent]