fretmeister

I swapped my TT4 pickups for EMG and for a long time I didn't have a preamp at all - just the active EMGs and the stuff that normally comes with them. The volumes and tone. It sounded very good. I only added an EMG preamp later because I was playing stages where I could be a long way from the amp or there were others in the way and I wanted to adjust from the bass. I did have a 5 string TT5 for a while and that had an East J-Retro in it with the stock pickups. I bought it used like that but I don't think it needed any wood modifications to make it fit. Sounded very good to me, I only sold it as the neck was too chunky for me.

I wasn't aware of those ones! Interesting.

The Headrush is nasty for bass. It's only entry level for guitar. A used Yamaha DXR10 would be a much better choice.

I wish they'd do a 45-105 as on the 45-100 set I find the 100 to be just a tiny bit too flexible for the way I play. EB Group flats used to be like that too 45-100 or 40-95, but they have finally released 45-105, so the E and A are just a little stiffer. They are spot on for me now. I suspect Joe Dart is part of the reason as his signature bass comes with 45-105 of those strings but were described as a "custom" set of strings at the time. They are now called the "Group 2.5" set. I used to buy the 45-100 and then buy a separate 105. Was a bit annoying money wise but they do last a long time. I've got a set incoming today as it happens. Then I'll have to put up with a few months of being too bright before they settle in and dull down a bit. After a year of playing they are about perfect. Bit more mids than a similarly worn in set of La Bella. A little less thumpy. Probably my favourite all rounder flat.

I fancied a change back to Mark Bass after years of going from Bergantino and then to Barefaced. I was a bit confused as to the differences between the new MB cabs with the P, Energy, and Pure options, but their people explained the differences and that as I really liked the older cabs the one to go for was the Energy as they have the same speakers in them. The new cab material is very interesting to look at and to touch. It's very light and the recessed handles are further towards the speaker edge of the cab so it's very well balanced when picked up. So, it's now at home with my Mark Bass AG1000 Andrew Gouche head and it sounds very nice. That amp is quite clean sounding - a little different to other MB heads and I'd like to try a Little Mark Tube head at some point, just for comparison. I just need a band now, having recently left my last one! I may have to get a cover for it though as the carpeted areas have already attracted attention from a sharp clawed furry ball of insanity...

I've had a stack of One10 cabs, then a Super Twin, then a stack with a One10T and a One10. I enjoyed them all and I thought they did different things well. However even with the vintage voiced One10 stuff there was something in the back of my mind that told me what I was hearing was too.... nice. As if the foibles / weaknesses / flaws of older cab designs had been swept away or at least minimised a lot. I'm all for advancement, we need more of that, but maybe after playing for nearly 40 years those flaws are part of my ideal bass tone. My favourite bass cab of all time is the Marshall VBC412. A stupidly heavy 400W 4ohm no tweeter 4x12 on wheels. 50kg / 110lb ish. I am never having another one (I used to run a pair!) for practical and strength reasons but I love them. The only time I've ever got close to replicating that sound is with Mark Bass gear and some slightly uncommon EQ-ing. And a chunk of compression as those Marshalls were not very efficient and compressed themselves! So as of this morning when I had a delivery I am now back in the Mark Bass camp. The irony is, over the last few years when I've seen a show or watched a live performance on YT and thought "wow - what a bass sound!!!" I have looked up and seen it's been a Mark Bass rig... and in every case the 2 cab stack has something obviously missing... a microphone! The cabs aren't mic'd up at all. Then the close ups show the DI coming out of the amp and going off to the PA. Smeg knows what they are doing with the di signal. Could just be a bit of compression, or it could be a massive mix of IRs and EQ as well. Whatever - unless I was close to the stage and directly in front of the cabs I wasn't hearing the cabs at all. Overall though I've been playing long enough to get a close enough sound with almost any gear as long as I've got a bass I like and a compressor.

Fender Flats definitely need more love. They are really nice, and not too expensive.

Currently having a break from bands after a busy 6 years, but Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder Shake a tail feather - Ray Charles Master of Puppets - Metallica Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson / Bruno Mars Forget Me Nots - Patrice Rushen

The Amps now have IR loaders in them. That’s quite a lot of an internal change!

I'd be all over them if they were vertical. Instead I'm looking at the Energy 2x10 instead.

Here's a playlist that had some of the tunes my Big Band were doing. It wasn't the full repertoire but there's about 30 on there. Almost all have bass parts, but if not Tuba works too. Sometimes I played the trombone parts instead for various sections if the boss thought it would work better. There's a few others that I need to upload myself that I did the video for with a pdf of the music and a backing track. I'll try and sort that out when I get a moment.

The Hal Leonard people put a lot on youtube. If you have a screen big enough / TV then you can read the bass part of the score and it will page flip. You can also slow it down while keeping pitch. I use them all the time for practice. Example - There's loads on there from beginner to about Grade 5 level. Plenty of big band interpretations of classic pop stuff. Nice variety for practice.

I've never tried the DR flats. I do like their rounds though.

Mind you - as expensive as electric bass strings can be - we are so lucky compared to our Double Bass playing friends. Rinat Ibragimov's string of choice.... https://www.thomann.co.uk/pirastro_eudoxa_kontrabasssaiten.htm?__cTr=0920827a-eab1-4693-a96a-ab4df40cce85 Thomann must have an offer on. They retail at over £1000

Why are Dogal's even more expensive? They make the Dunlops look cheap! Who knows? Perhaps the construction is unusual to the point that the manufacturing overhead is just a lot higher? Maybe the factory they are made in is in an expensive location? Fodera basses could be half price if they were built in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere rather than being in New York state. I really like them but I don't think they are necessarily superior to La Bella - they are quite different in feel and flexibility though. I find they suit different basses. I do find they play far nicer out of the packet though. I find La Bella to be quite grabby on the finger tips - especially when it's hot and I'm a bit sweaty. The Dunlops don't have that problem for me. Ultimately though - they've been around for donkeys years so if they are a high overhead item they are clearly selling enough of them at that price to make it worthwhile making them.

La Bellas are often £20 cheaper at Bass Direct than everywhere else. 760FS (45-105) flats are £65 at Strings Direct and £42 at Bass Direct! £23 difference! Strings Direct are taking the piss. Dunlop flats start at about £95 (RRP) and go up to about £120 for a 5 string set. I only buy them when I spot a blowout somewhere. Fortunately they do last donkeys - but so do the La Bellas.

This issue of NI and ROI confusion comes up a fair bit. I even had someone in my local post office ask me to fill in customs forms for something I was sending to NI! Anyway - customs charges would be the responsibility of the buyer, not the seller so he doesn't need to care either way. I'm wondering if the person is just getting cold feet about selling the bass at all.

I really like the Rotos, but with my nickel allergy they give me blisters after a couple of hours. It's most annoying. TI Flats are nickel too so I can't use them either anymore. I really must try some of the La Bella low tension ones at some point.

Different speakers and tweeters. The Energy ones use the same as the older cabs. The Pure use a new model and apparently is more modern.

Alan just bought my Barefaced One10T. Good all the way. Nice to meet you!

Flatwounds vary massively. Some are super bright, almost like roundwounds like the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats, and then at the other end you get the thuddy old fashioned tone of La Bella Deep Talking Flats. Everything else is somewhere in the middle. Apart from plastic / tape wound things which are different again. They also vary massively in tension. La Bellas are quite high tension, Thomastik TI Flats are super low tension and very flexible. La Bella also do a Low Tension string, but I haven't tried them. Some flats are ruinously expensive so trying a lot is not always practical. However you will find that people sell their old flatwounds on here so at least you can try a bunch that way. As per the last video in this post, Ed Friedland came from an upright background and though the La Bella Deep Talking Bass was what he was looking for. I'm a big fan of flats, and I have different ones on different basses. Shortscale Sandberg Lionel passive PJ: Fender Stainless flats. Then I have 2 shortscale Jim Deacon precisions - one has proper old La Bella Deep Talking Flats and the other has Dunlop Flats. Medium Scale Ibanez 5 string - Dunlop Flats Sandberg TT4 (active Jazz type) usually has Ernie Ball Group 2.5 flatwounds. From memory so you can listen to examples: La Bella Deep Talking Flats: Duck Dunn / James Jamerson. Both famously liked their strings very old to the point they would grease up new ones to remove any twang a new set had! Dunlop Flats: Michael League of Snarky Puppy is a fan. Very expensive though. Ernie Ball Group Flats (different from the Cobalts): Joe Dart of Vulfpeck / Fearless Flyers / The Ollam always has these on his passive stringray bass. Pino Palladino - Thomastik TI Flats are on his signature model. Also expensive. Comparison of La Bella Deep Talking Flats and their Low Tension alternative Dunlops, DR, Rotosound, and or course La Bella. Do note that the Rotosounds are a nickel alloy called Monel. It has a very high nickel content so if you have any sort of nickel allergy (as I do) then they are not the best choice. and finally - Ed Friedland talking about his favourite and that some of his La Bella's have been on for 20 years on his old green P bass near the end of the vid. As Ed says - he's an upright / DB player and he found the La Bella's to be just the thing he was looking for. Prices are all over the place. Stings Direct tend to be really expensive for many of them. Bass Direct is usually the cheapest for La Bella. Dunlops come up cheap on Amazon occasionally - stick some in your "Save for later" and keep an eye on the price. Everytime have a look everywhere for the best deal. Hope that helps a bit.

Up a gauge on what you are already using. They'll probably be a bit tight in Eb and just right in D.

There are 3 books in this series: https://www.basslinepublishing.com/product/the-bass-guitarists-guide-to-reading-music-beginner-level/ I found them very useful when learning to read music. I also bought a bunch of exam example pieces for Double Bass and Trombone and just ignored any mention of bows and slide position. Like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1860960340/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The secret about reading is to do little and often. You'll make far more progress doing 10 mins a day rather than 90 minutes in one sitting at the weekend. The brain needs the repetition to work - just like any other language. A difficulty in learning to read well is going back to older pieces that you already know - are you reading or remembering them? So books of short sight reading tests with dozens of example makes sure you are reading and not remembering. Good luck with your studies! Being able to read really does open up the instrument and gig opportunities. I didn't bother for years and then got a gig with a Big Band (20+ horns / reeds / piano / drums etc) and I was so out of my depth. I was the one who always said "I'll take the music home and have it nailed by next week" rather than being able to play it there. I didn't like being the odd one out! I did 6 years with that band and by the end got quite competent.... mostly in flat keys due to all the transposing instruments! I'm still rubbish at reading the sharp keys!