stewblack

Ok then folks, let's have it. Favourite flat brand, size etc and why.

Thanks guys, interesting stuff. Despite the levity in the way I posed my question the difference between the flats and the round has raised serious considerations for me. As I've only recently returned to playing I have some pretty tatty old strings on a couple of instruments and am going to need to replace them. Sadly I don't know what make the flats I am using were as it was some time back I bought them. They definitely play differently after a couple of weeks of playing. No question. They were almost sticky when I started but are now as smooth and sleek as a Meerkat's smooth and sleek parts.

I have to be careful being a recovering addict so I watch out when I see danger signs. GAS is the only exception. Can't control it I'm afraid. A while back I fitted flats to a semi acoustic bass just because I wanted to try them out. As time passed I picked it up in an increasingly desultory and infrequent fashion, finding the strings unlovely in the extreme. Uncomfortable, unresponsive, lumpen brutes which had an effect not dissimilar to that an olive has on my mouth; they sucked the joy from living. Then I read here that you need to play them in a bit so I resolved to learn a bunch of songs using only the flat strung semi. I reasoned that as the instrument was so hard to play, the fast twiddly bits would therefore be a doddle when I tried them on a bass slung with proper strings. But a weird thing has happened. After a couple of weeks learning the songs I duly retrieved my Stingray with it's normal roundwounds and recoiled in horror at the fizzy, twangy, brittle sound and strings so weedy and thin it was like playing a six string guitar. Now I don't feel I'm playing a real instrument unless I'm playing my lovely warm, gentle flats. I even have the tone knob turned off on the guitar to minimise any residual nastiness from the upper frequencies. Are these things addictive? Will I ever enjoy the twang and sizzle of skinny round strings again? Is there help?

Simon went out of his way to deliver an amp and two cabs to me, despite being far from home. Got lost ( my poor directions), lost phone signal, ended up in horrendous traffic but was the nicest guy you could hope to meet. Helpful, reliable, honest and true - have no fear either buying or selling from this guy.

Ha! Just the head, I'm only getting the head fixed. Hmmm. Wonder how TE will sound through a couple of MB cabs....

Been lurking and loving this thread. Used to have this TE combo years ago. It lived in my bar as the resident bass amp. It got used at jam sessions and as back up for visiting bands. I lost count of the number of bassists who went off to find their own TE combo after using it. Promoted instant love. No one believed the wattage back then either! My most recent TE head blew up at a gig and took down the electrics in the venue too, leaving a drunken drummer pounding away in the dark unaware we were all suddenly silent. This thread has me gassing to get it up and running again. I'm buying a MarkBass rig because of my broken shoulder and dodgy back but a bit of TE goodness every now and then is food for the soul 😎

Just a quickie to reiterate what a top man Obbm is. Buy with confidence and above all buy the best most longest lasting cables you will ever use. My latest purchase is a thing of beauty and perfect function.

Hi Marc, NYE was amazing. Loved every minute, currently learning songs for another audition and so happy to be back doing what I do best. Thank you for your kind words.

Thank you. I struggle on, sometimes it's all we can do

Hi guys good to see you both. Thanks OBBM - I shall be using your cables of course!

Thank you!

Hurts doesn't it?

Cheers!

Thought as I'd been away so long I ought to start at the intro page. I'm Stew, North East Somerset bass player of many years standing. Gave up a few years back after mountain bike accident trashed my left shoulder. Also got fed up playing with drunken musicians! Decided to dip the toe back in and after nearly despairing of finding a band have landed a couple of dep spots beginning with a covers band on New Years Eve. Learned 40 songs for the gig and had a rehearsal to find out where they differ from the originals and all is set for the big night. First gig in a few years and I'm looking forward to it. Solved the shoulder problem by the addition of two extra strap buttons to my bass, and two short straps attached to a wide weight lifter's belt. No pressure on the destroyed rotator cuff and assorted painful tendons. Works like a charm but takes some getting used to as the bass is static in relation to my body and I hadn't realised the subtle movements one makes while playing. Anyhoo that's me. I shall be asking some questions on the appropriate pages with reference to small amps and cabs, as at my age, and having lost the nice big car in my recent marriage bust up, I need to consider back and neck problems and limited boot space. If you remember me then hello again if not, it's nice to meet you.

Would you know whereabouts in S Wales are they based?

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1459064327' post='3013172'] in a word, No jmb seems to me to be choc full of pretence and self obsession as LDTF says, in respect of on line small ads, let the bands come to you - otherwise go out to them, go check out the local bands who you like and could see yourself playing for and get your name and experience 'known' facebook seems a reasonable option for groups advertising for musicians, also check out local websites to you that might be live music gig listings but also have forum boards or other sections - until recently we had a local website called kentgigs - youd think at first glance that it was just a gig listing website, but delve into it and it was a massive resource for local musicians including a small ads listing for kent musicians which always seemed infinitely preferable to anything up on JMB [/quote] Thank you for your response to my OP. Back in the day I was part of a vibrant small town music scene with links to Bath and Bristol but my contacts have moved on, given up, venues are gone, and so it goes. I had contacts in Portsmouth which has a phenomenal live music scene with many pubs and clubs and other venues attracting lively crowds and I used to commute the two hours to do gigs in a Pompey based band quite happily but I don't fancy the traffic and sleeping in lay-bys any more - age does come with certain compromises. I shall advertise myself as suggested and try to find a jam night in one of the nearby cities.

[quote name='4stringslow' timestamp='1458741055' post='3010381'] I meant it as an answer to the 'too old?' question, as in clearly there is no age issue to playing in a band. As for actually finding a band, that's a completely different matter and even if you had been in the Stones I'm sure there would still be bands that thought you were too old [/quote] Ah I see. Sorry the title of the post is misleading, it's really all about my problems even getting an audition because of age. I do appreciate that being old is no handicap to actually being in a band.