gypsymoth

aahh, so you take as much exception to the inference that you might play like a "wuss" as others might take to the suggestion that they play "too aggressively". I don't much care how anyone chooses to play, but it surprizes me when others decide what might be too aggressive or too wussy for someone else.

"too" it depends on what you want as to whether it is too much - or not enough. obviously aggressive playing doesn't suit mimicing tuba sounds.

"plaAYING TOO AGGRESSIVELY" well, that would be a matter of opinion - maybe if you are not breaking them, it means you (and me currently) are playing like a wuss!

I used to break em regular, they start to unwind at the bridge - and then kapow. I am playing less exhuberantly now - which is maybe too bad or maybe good.

when I was a kid and wanted to learn to play bass, those in the know advised my parents that a bass was stupid, and that I should have a guitar instead. so that is what I had.

that excalibur is very nice - not weird for the sake of being weird. those little round pickups make sense - again iely not weird just for the sake of it.

get it. if it is too loud - or not loud enough - adjust the number of speakers. I have not owned one, but have heard them. quality stuff, big partride transformers like a sound city/hiwatt, 4x88's, what's not to like?

depending on the model, they can be very good, but lack the image, so are usually a relative bargain. I've known some people who have really liked them.

four: vox custom (quite like an SB1000) alembic 5 veillette citron 8 veillette citron - picked it up to do a fretless conversion that hasn't happened. I'd be pleased with myself - except in the last couple years I've added four guitars, so they now outnumber the basses by 1. to be fair, one is a bo diddleyesque travel piece using a salvaged neck, and one is an el cheapo for visiting kids to mess about on without causing me concerns.

that's pretty funny that a PA co would say "unsuitable", as bass DI'd to the PA is pretty common. but you wouldn't need the full spectrum of a PA, unless you are after cymbal frequency harmonics. plenty of speakers will handle either task quite well - as mentioned the cabs are the "issue" - and less of an issue than amp & speaker choice - which is likely why tradition, appearance, and convenience are bigger issues for most.

five hiwatt 200's. c'mon, feel the noize

cool - and congrats. it's quite a revelation to suddenly be able to do this stuff and have it blast over the internet. "cut, paste, and phase shift" well it looks like you've got a good start on the technical aspects - my advice is to avoid the temptation to get carried away with it. use only as absolutely necessary and as a last resort. but I am a primitive.

conveniently located auto problems are good carma - and should (as you noted) be veiwed as good luck, not bad

same here - I won't have a guitar or bass with a hard edge or pretty binding. and why should I? conform to the instrument? gimme a break. get one of those heavy metal studded wristbands and let the stupid thing know who has to conform to who.

+1 on bogart/appice rockette morton & drumbo

btw, a spare tire is generally considered more convenient than a spare car, and those borrowing cars because they don't have a spare shouldn't be complaining about the smokey smell of daddy's rescue vehicle. that WAS condescending

just trying to reword much of what was previously written but seemed to leave the poster still confused - simply because ( I think) the poster was starting at zero and there is a lot that goes into this. if others had first written exactly what I had written, chances are I'd have said "let's try this again" and written what the others had said. no reflection intended on anyone - not even the poster, as nobody is born knowing this stuff, and any one explanation - short of a multi chapter book - is going to leave stuff out.

let's try this again. your cab & speakers don't "put out" watts, they put out volume. the more watts that are put into them, the more volume they put out ....until you get up around their maximum rating, when they will cease generatingf additional volume and start generating distortion. as noted previously, too much of this is a bad thing as the speakers can fail, which in turn can cause they amp to fail as well. adding another cabinet will make you louder, as there are more speakers. a higher rated (max watts) will not make you louder - unless your prior amplifier didn't put out anywhere near the cabinets maximum rating, and the new one does. solid state/transistor amps put out more power at lower ohms (see the back of the amp for lowest allowable load), while tube amps with impedance selectors put out pretty much the same watts regardless of ohms. (owners of antique fenders need not protest the general concept). if you want to be louder, add speakers as they are generally cheaper than amps. if your 280 watts is peak, your rms is about half that, typically adequate, but many/most rock bass players prefer amps around 200 rms in tube amps, more for solid state. and, as previously mentioned, a second cab typically halves your impedance, so if you are using solid state, your power doubles when you add the cabinet - which was going to make you louder anyway. pay attention to all labels/warnings/stickers/etc on your amps & cabs as they supercede any general info given here, especially while you are in the learning stages. it is best not to learn by quickly buying or destroying expensive stuff.

hey Paul, you have to do stuff to make the link work - I don't remember exactly what the stuff was ....

avoid anyone who refers to themselves as an artist rather than a musician, bass player, guitarist etc. aside from other issues, they would likely be just as pleased with themselves id they were doing comedy or magic or strip shows, and would still think of themselves as an artist. play what you want, why you want to, and don't spend your time worrying about such things.

the distributor will usually not sell below full retail, because they will piss off their customers - the shops. they, of course, want to sell as close to retail as they can, and not incur any carrying costs, which cut into their profit. it wouls appear to be a clever (or not so) ruse by this retailer to get you to pay in advance (perhaps only partially), and they get to use your money for awhile - at the same time keeping prices high because demand exceeds supply, which may not be true, but if they can convince their customer of that ...

a writing player, which means when I do solo stuff, it may appear like I'm a busy bass player as I have to to what the instruments not there would be doing. less busy (and much more sloppy) now that I'm doing guitar & drums too, but still not of the rock solid variety. most guitar players don't seem to like playing with me - and a lot of drummers don't either. not a problem - I have no interest in going ac/dc-ish covers.

the dennis dunaway project has a myspace as well. they removed me from their friends after I commented on a half dozen bulletins in as many hours

sounds good from here. yea strange snare sound - and it works maybe because you have an overall good drum sound.

technique? instrument? there's the problem - most guitarists (maybe most people) view the bass as a boom boom thump thump device.