dmccombe7

As a hobby bass player i tend to forget that your work can come and go and not consistent. I guess that's one the downsides of being a professional musician. Over the years i assumed bass companies would be throwing their kit at you to advertise it 😀 I know it certainly made me buy my Peavey Mk4 head because i saw you using them. Twin channel with Graphic EQ section. Great amp but very heavy. I even went down the route of splitting my amp signals to different cabs based on things you were trying back in 80's. You have a lot to answer for. 😂 The overall sound you had on Ready and Willing was the perfect bass sound for me. Dave

@neilmurraybass Now that was worth asking the question. I couldn't have asked for more detail in an answer. Many thanks for sharing your bass story with us Neil. Have to say i did find it funny when you mentioned you couldn't afford new basses in 70's as i always think of you being in successful bands getting well paid but i guess we all start somewhere. 😂 Sounds like you enjoyed experimenting with your basses and equipment and its always fascinated me reading about you splitting your pick ups into separate amps. Many thanks for the PM and the full detailed story above and hopefully we'll see you back on BC more often. Perhaps you could start a new topic for us listing all your basses and what mods you did to each. Could make for an interesting read. Thanks again Dave

This is the one for me but think its more a vintage colour without the Vintage switch option. Failing this it would be a standard black one.

Having that option at flick of a switch to go vintage is a big plus i reckon. Dave

Been a while since watching the VID clip on Ric bass and couldn't remember how the switch worked. I prefer the modern Ric sound altho the vintage sound would work well in many bands especially mine where i cover 70's Glam Rock where some bassists used a Ric. Would maybe give me a better choice of tones than a Jazz. To be fair i use a Sandberg VM4 in this band and it works really well. I still love the look of the Ric plus its passive and takes away the risk of electronics failure or battery down. VM4 still works in passive mode without battery. Dave

Think for me the Jazz was a more overall "mellow" tone than the Ric.. I prefer the more modern tone you get from the switch on the new Rics. If that had been on them years ago i might have kept mine. Dave

Think my views on tone are from an era when i was moving from Prog Rock into more Jazz Rock and the Jazz just suited what i was doing at the time. The Ric was fine for the Prog bands but i just couldn't get the sound i had in my head for the Jazz Rock bands. Over the years i've just preferred Jazz tone to anything else and i keep going back to them and that spans a 40+ yr of playing. From memory the Ric was a good bass to play and i don't recall any issues with playability. When i had the Ric i think i might have been in the full ON brigade during my Prog days and probably didn't experiment enough with the bass altho i only had it for about a year max. I do love the look of them. Dave

Me with the Jazz i bought 😂

If you can afford it and you have the notion for a bass that suits the band you are in and your style of playing then i would say go for it. They are great basses and the new ones with the switch mode can give you a more modern tone if and when required. I quite fancy one too and once things pick up i might give one another try before buying. I had one in 80's and altho nice to play it was very limited in tone. Just didn't suit what i was doing at the time and sold it on i think i bought a Jazz bass after it. Its the one bass i never had a pic off. All white one too. Dave

Nah he's got a sense of humour so he'll be fine with a bit of joking i'm sure. On a serious note tho a bass that learns your tone and automatically adjusts to suit every venue might be a good thing. Dave

OP did ask for personal opinions and viewpoints. Think he's getting it now. 😂 Dave 😂

I currently run a Mesa Mpulse 600 thru a Mesa Powerhouse 212 cab and it has that warmth of tone plus it seems to have a depth of tone that other amps i've tried don't seem to have. That's just my experience tho. I've tried the Berg AE112 cabs (2off lightweight cabs) and found they lacked something that i could never put my finger on it. I currently have a Berg HT322 cab but hat's a beast and a half with a 12" with 2x10's and a horn. It doesn't lack depth but its a lot sharper more modern tone than my Mesa cab which isn't bad for a cab that's now quite dated. I've never tried the Barefaced cabs but many on BC love them. Tried the Vanderkeley in Bass Direct when i was down and they sounded similar to my Berg AE112 cabs. My intention is to go for the Mesa lightweight gear. WD800 tube pre with class D and then into the lightweight subway cabs. Try youtubing them to get an idea for tone but they aint cheap by any means. I had an Ampeg SVT4 Pro and it was good apart from the weight but not like my Mesa head. I've tried the EBS HD360 head thru Ampeg 8x10 cabs in studio and i really like them for fretted basses. For me i would go down the tube pre-amp with some form of power stage. The tube pre gives that added warmth that always sounds nice in a fretless. Another nice rig i tried last year was the new Orange Terror 500 thru the new 112 cabs and that sounded big and warm too. Some of the new lightweight class D amps i find are too clinical for my tastes so be careful what you look at there. Not sure whether this helped or not. More a wish list for me 😂 Dave

Do you have a budget set aside for this bass rig. ? Do you want to go lightweight or does weight not matter. ? What did Mick Karn use if he was an influence for you. Obviously the WAL bass probably had a fair impact on his sound but i'm no expert on him. If looking at something modern would you prefer the warmth of tubes or a combination of tube pre-amp and whatever type of power stage. ? What bass are you using ? All of these questions might help us advise what might fit your requirements. Personally my fretless sounds good thru any amp i've used it with whether that be Class D, SS or my current Mesa rig (my Mesa rig is quite heavy but they do lightweight gear but generally expensive even 2nd hand) Why not listen to some fretless players and then do a youtube rig rundown on their gear see if that leads you anywhere. Def try the local shops if possible. Dave

That might be the way to go as nothing beats the build quality of a Sandberg IMHO Dave

That's maybe why i would go for a Fender P than the VS4. Not sure how the passive VS4 might fair against a Fender P I have a sound in my head from a Fender P bass and was hoping the passive VS4 might have the same tone. Dave

That makes sense and i can understand and appreciate why she now wants it back. So hope she gets it. Its actually quite a touching story now that i've heard the background. Dave

Excellent choice. Had forgotten about it. Don't think it was originally written as a Xmas song but it fits the time of year so well. Dave

Perhaps he sold it because he was ill and not able to play anymore. I guess we'll never know and it will be one of life's little mysteries. Dave

Think i'd be inclined to sell it back for no profit but i did ask myself why she wants it back if he had already decided to sell it anyway. Curious. Dave

Sorry guys but had to share this one to cheer you all up on Xmas day. https://fb.watch/29TP2RWgO1/

Love playing Jim Lea bassline to that song. Some really nice wee runs in it. Have fun and hopefully we'll see some pics or vids on here. All the best and i am not jealous in any way at all........honest i really am not jealous at all.........I SAID NOT AT ALL. Just kidding of course..............no i'm not. Dave🎅

Must admit i don't find him that extreme. i think he was grossly over-played when he first came out and it put me off Simply Red back then but some songs i just like. Would never buy them tho. I like the Greg Lake song too. So many great Xmas songs that i have them on a playlist just ready for Xmas day including all the old classics like Dean Martin and Bing Crosby thru to Slade and Roy Wood but then again i just love Xmas. I know that's sad for someone my age who doesn't have kids but i guess i've just never grown up. 😂🎅 Dave