Ed_S

I would say that the thing which makes me sound 'like me' on most instruments is my playing style rather than an innate tone, and if I sound fundamentally different on a given instrument it's because it actively forces me to modify my playing style, usually by feeling physically awkward in some way. If somebody associates me - as our lead guitarist does - with a specific tone, I'm inclined to believe it's because that's what they generally hear in combination with my playing style at the point where they're best placed to recall it. Years of rehearsals playing the same genre of songs on broadly the same bass and amp in the same corner of the same room with the same number of people in it who are also playing broadly the same instruments and standing in the same places, for instance. I dial in a suitable tone for the room and genre within the bounds dictated by the gear. The ideal is that I leave the settings mostly flat, bring up the master until the sound tech tells me to stop, then play.

At this point I can usually get a sound that will suffice from all but the most knackered of gear, though most of the time I'm not altogether sure what MY sound even is - it's probably fairly generic to be honest. Our lead guitarist once said the sound he most associates with me is "a P bass on full, played through a Markbass with the filters off and EQ off", so by rights I should be able to get somewhere close to that through just about anything! I agree that expensive gear won't instantly or magically make you a better player, but even if it's just that a more expensive instrument draws you in and makes you pick it up and practice, and owning it gives you a bit of swagger on stage so you look like you're confident and having fun, then I'd say it's still kinda played a part. If you get the same kick out of having found something equally pleasingly and inviting but inexpensive, or if the music is reward enough on its own, then more power to your savings account! You absolutely can find an amazing tone from a £100 bass, especially if you have the time and means to go hunting extensively, but in terms of just ordering one I'd generally fancy my chances of avoiding the duff one in a small pile of £1K instruments more than just happening upon one of the exceptional examples in a big pile of £100 ones.

Yup, I used to do the false-economy shuffle; want the nice one but buy a mid-range model instead, spend enough on upgrades to get worryingly close to the value of the one I actually wanted, realise that it didn't hit the spot because it wasn't the one that I actually wanted... but at the same time not be able to bring myself to unpick what I'd created, so trade it in as-is at a massive loss... repeat. I often wonder whether some of those instruments are still doing the rounds, because most of them were actually pretty good to begin with and I sure didn't skimp on the futile overspend. Never seen any of them out and about, though. These days I buy the one that I actually want and leave the spec alone as much as possible.

I’ve gone for a fairly boring 3m straight to silent straight to test the water.

Cheers - must admit it's not a brand I'd heard of! Looks like there's a company selling on Amazon that constructs with, amongst other things, Gotham GAC-1 Ultra Pro cable and Neutrik ends. I might give one of theirs a try just to get a feel for it. That's interesting - the silent jack that I had fail on me was actually bought recently (well.. if we just forget that the last two years are a thing - maybe 2018) and all the ones that I have from back when they were a new product are still alright. I guess there's no accounting for luck and you can never know the age of the stock a company is using to make their products, though. I do like the sound of that LLX... and it seems that Amazon will also send me a Sommer made with LLX and Neutriks. So that's £70 on two cables that I don't really need and had no intention of buying this morning! All in the interest of science. 🙂

I bought my Jake L4p+ off the shelf from BD and at that time, in Fender terms, it was basically like paying MIJ level money for a MIA quality bass with weight relief and a custom pickup combination - didn't have to think very long about buying it. It's not absolutely flawlessly perfect if you just want to sit and stare at it, but it feels and sounds great to play.

I started off with a Klotz KIK cable which was thrown in with my first bass twenty-odd years ago and rather spoiled me when it came to ubiquitous brands of the time like Planet Waves, as they just never felt particularly good by comparison. I tried Monster cables on the recommendation of a friend - they're reassuringly expensive, feel solid and work just fine but are too thick and inflexible to be truly comfortable on stage. Can't say I ever noticed any issues with the plugs being oversized or anything like that, though. Then just so as not to leave without buying anything, I picked up some ClearTone cables from the Award-Session stand on the way out of a guitar show in Pudsey. Those three cables have done countless rehearsals and gigs over the years since, never causing me any problems at all. In short, a well assembled combination of Van Damme cable and Neutrik jacks is very hard to beat as far as I'm concerned, but I've also never had any problems with Klotz, Cordial and Sommer cables, as well as Switchcraft jacks. I have had one Neutrik silent right-angle jack go bad on me, but it has moving parts so I guess you have to accept that increased likelihood of failure is the price you pay for the extra feature. I'm always game for trying to find even-more-flexible cable - can you recommend any specific brands / products?

I was doing alright until the other day when I managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by buying an Xotic Bass RC Boost pedal. Boost pedals seem to be a 'thing' at the moment so I figured I'd get involved; the RC was on end-of-line anyway and then a voucher turned up, so you know.. why not?! Turns out the answer to "why not" is "because the only useful thing it did was underline how much I liked what I'd already got when I turned it off". I can't be bothered with the faff of returning it and I don't do private sales, so that's another one for the back of the cupboard until next mass-trade-in-day. To balance things out, my best of the year is a Fender USA Pro Jazz 5 (new, but original Pro, not Pro II) which, although it immediately needed a Hipshot A bridge buying because the one it comes with had sharp grub screws sticking out of it and I'm not a fan of avoidable hand injuries, I've really enjoyed getting to know. Reviews indicated that some people didn't like the pickups very much, but I think they sound really good.

I owned an ABM600 for a while but it just couldn't compete with what I already had; the ABM1000 is still where it's at for me and is on a very short list of kit I've never even considered moving on. I really wanted to be able to justify a pair of neo 4x8 cabs for it when they came out, but I just couldn't spare the space so it has to make do with my Barefaced bits.

I got my G30 when they were very first released and it’s still going strong - never caused me any problems and the battery door and belt clip are still attached (and I do use the clip, not a pouch). I bought a spare pack just in case but I’ve never needed it. Both guitarists in the band bought them, and one of them converted the bassist in his tribute band; thus far I’ve not witnessed any issues or heard of any regrets that aren’t cheap-battery related. I admit, I wish there were more channels available, but for the price I really can’t fault it as a system. I bought a smoothhound a while back as they were getting good reviews on here, but I didn’t get on with it at all.

Great little amps - especially at that price. I used mine for most if not all of our gigs from the end of 2017 until things dried up at the end of 2019, and I dare say I’ll still be using it when things get back up and running for us - whenever that is. I have bigger and ‘better’ amps, but I just couldn’t beat that one for sheer convenience. Usually just ran it into whatever cab the venue provided, and to say they were mostly cheap old 410s that had seen better days, there was always enough power output and a useable sound to be had.

Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro are my personal favourites for bass practice and tracking. I also use AKG K702 for mastering and they’re not quite as good for bass, though very light and comfy.

I’m personally yet to have any problems with them. My last order arrived a couple of weeks ago and the time before was only back in April; both arrived really well packaged with no delays (and plenty of automated email updates) and no hidden charges. I last needed to return anything to them back in mid-2018 but it was a problem-free experience at that point. Shame if they aren’t managing to give everyone the same treatment as some of their deals can be very keen.

I had my LM800 head in my CMD121P combo for a while and the heads swapped over/back just fine. This might have changed in recent times, but when I did it, the procedure was... - remove the 4 long screws from the back of the combo to let you push the combo-head out (can need a good push from underneath - they're in fairly tight) - remove the top from the new amp head. - remove 4 or so screws from two short strips of metal that are attached to either side of the combo-head and screw these back onto the new amp head in the same place (these strips have the holes in them which line up with the long screws from the back of the combo - be careful to note which way round they went or move them over one at a time, as mine weren't perfectly symmetrical so had a 'right way' for all the screw holes to line back up - yours may be different, of course) - slide the new amp into the combo (again, can need a good push, and I used one of the longer screws as a 'feeler' to know when it was in far enough - the screw dips into the hole in the converter strip) - put all 4 long screws back in, being careful not to strip the thread in the converters as the metal is fairly soft (slowly back the screw up anticlockwise until it 'bumps' to let you know it's at the start of the thread before driving it home) At that point I actually put the LM800's top on the ComboHead2 and used it as a standalone amp for a while - all the holes were there and lined up, but they weren't all 'tapped' as some had never had a screw through them, so I took the top back off and hoovered any stray bits of metal away once I'd fitted it for the first time. I use Markbass gear and am pretty much resigned to the idea that if any of it breaks out of warranty I'll either chuck it away or do some donor surgery as above. That said, I do wonder whether the whole 'right to repair' thing that was being discussed a while back means that you could potentially ask for a quote for a main board and change it yourself now?

I’ve always played both as and when required and would say I’m equally proficient in both styles, but irrespective of whether fingers would be most suitable I’ll always switch to pick when my finger ends are feeling like if I go for any longer I’ll injure them. I know some people take blisters as badges of office but I find no joy in having them so make sure that all sounds I’d normally achieve with fingers I can also get a workable version of with a pick. Maybe that gets me a guest membership to the club.

Had mixed experiences, myself. I'm sure I'll have forgotten a few bits but.. TO800 Overdrive is a great TS copy. XM8500 Mic is great as a cheap talkback - possibly more but I don't sing. FBQ1502 EQ is really handy for the dedicated sub out. PM1 Belt Pack is alright. MIC2200 Preamp was alright. MDX2600 Compressor was alright. DI100 DI Box is alright but noisy when phantom powered. RX1202FX Mixer was alright but noisy and susceptible to interference. Xenyx 502 Mixer was alright but the knobs went oddly discoloured for no apparent reason. FBQ2496 Feedback Destroyer was actually quite good.. but would occasionally go nuts! BDI21 Preamp was uninspiring and the switch felt crunchy. FBQ100 Shark Feedback Destroyer was poor. SU9920 Sonic Ultramizer was poor. TU300 Tuner is poor. MDX2200 Compressor died. Bought used - good condition. Xenyx 2222 Mixer died. Bought used - reasonable condition. Bass V-Amp Pro died. Bought used - mint condition. DI20 DI Box died. Bought new. On the whole mostly alright, some really useful bits, a few definite misses and a few total losses. I don't have any issue at all with using their gear, but I've found that the more complex bits that try to cram in loads of value-added features are very easy to forget how to operate if I'm not using them particularly often, and the manuals aren't always that helpful to get back up to speed. To that end I made a decision to avoid anything of theirs that doesn't have a dedicated, labelled dial or button for every feature it offers, and buy something else that just does the thing I need. No holding this while turning that and pressing the other until the light blinks 2 and a half times, thanks. I feel exactly the same way about Zoom gear as well, so it's not a unique situation by any means. To answer the original question about why the used stuff fails to sell... well in my case I would only buy new Behringer kit now because everything I've bought used so far has died!

Light weight, decent build quality and some evidence of it actually having been engineered instead of just stuck together from parts that hit the target price. Then recommendations from BC and from friends in bands, and occasionally personal experience of hearing that brand or range at a gig. Then aesthetics and price, either of which could veto something outright no matter how well specified or highly recommended it is.

I keep thinking about buying another Orange TB as I've never had quite the same sound and feel from another amp as I did with that - it had a bit of a 'bounce' to it, if that makes any sense at all?! Sadly mine was one of the original v1s with the dodgy power board, so when it blew up at a gig I lost confidence in it, got it repaired under warranty and moved it on to try something else. I had the matching isobaric 2x12 cabinet at the time, and it never sounded anywhere near as crisp with that absolute boat-anchor of a cab as it did with my Barefaced Super12. I still have the S12, so I keep wondering whether to try and get the magic back... or just leave it in the past and remember it fondly. I've never had an Aguilar TH but I have a Mesa D800 and tbh it's a bit vanilla - seems well made and sounds loud and clear, but to my ears it kinda lacks personality. I've never had a Darkglass, but since they look like the old Mac Mini and every one I've ever heard has been made to sound like a road drill, I'm not overly tempted to go there any time soon!

I enjoy buying bits of new gear, so over the last 20 years I've had matched Hartke, Ashdown, Orange and Markbass rigs, as well as mixed rigs comprised of all the above plus TC, GK, SWR, Fender, Trace, Ampeg, Peavey, Mesa, Eden, Barefaced, etc. The advent of small amp heads made it significantly easier to keep the revolving door turning, but swapping the cabs to match every time would have been an expensive pain in the behind, so I kept those I was happy with and haven't felt the need to change them in a good few years. There have been a few real stand-out rigs, some of which have matched (Markbass LMII and 104HR) whilst others have been mixed (Orange TB500 and BF Super12). Similarly some real disappointments which have matched (Ashdown ABM500 and ABM410) and been mixed (Markbass F1 and Ampeg 410HE). To that end, I think it's probably alright to say that listening to a matched rig is the best way of hearing an amp how the manufacturer intended it to sound, but whether or not that's the best sound the amp is capable of producing for your personal tastes is an entirely different question. What matters most to me these days is that gear is capable, reliable, and as lightweight and ergonomic as possible, so I think accepting that everything might not be from the same manufacturer is fairly fundamental. Also, there's nothing as lightweight as a cab you've not had to bring, so being acceptant of any reasonable speaker size/quantity/configuration and confident in the ability of my amp head to drive it in a suitable manner has likewise been beneficial!

I always think the Veyron heads look fun - it’s like they went for ‘make it look like a Streamliner’ but inadvertently ended up at ‘make it look like a Technics mini hifi component’! 🙂 I ended up playing most of my gigs in 2019 on a 300W@4ohm micro head and any old cab that happened to be at the venue when I got there, so I’m sure the Technics would be loud enough.

I’m not an electrician, but one at work told me never to do that in commercial premises unless I was absolutely sure that both circuits were on the same phase. I got the feeling that he thought it was a pretty bad idea even then, but apparently if they aren’t and there’s a fault between two bits of kit on different phases, the jolt you’re risking hurts considerably more. Same guy also told me that if you think you might get a zap from something you’re about to touch then keep one hand in your pocket (cue the music) and touch it with the back of your other hand so that if it turns out to be live, your arm naturally pulls away as your muscles contract due to the shock, and you don’t grab onto it when your fingers clench at the same time. Interesting bloke to chat to 🙂

I can recommend taking a £200 punt on an Ibanez GSR200B - mine is 2.85kg (just below 6lb 5oz says google) and it's a compact and comfy shape, has a standard long scale and normal-feeling nut width, balances well, has good fretwork, decent hardware where it matters, functional electronics (the 'dynamix' pup covers feel plasticky but the soldering is neat and it sounds like a bass) and the 'phat' active eq knob that everybody hates is actually alright if you use it more like salt instead of gravy. The factory strings are of course tragic, the finish is uninspiring brown, and the knobs are plastic ...but they work and they're lighter than metal ones! Sandberg SLs are also good, but ironically heavier at 3kg and certainly not £200 new just to get out of a hole.

Personally I'd always go in straight away with my own take on the songs, because doing anything else would be presenting something at audition that I wasn't willing to continue doing if hired. I'd eventually end up doing my own thing because that's me; that's what I do as a bassist - I play the instrument, not individual songs or lines. Far better in my opinion that the prospective band gets the opportunity to decide whether or not 'what I do' is right for them before hiring me instead of having to deal with it later when I've inevitably reverted to form. If you're willing to not only play the original lines at audition, but then also continue to play them as a member of the band and maybe even continue in that style when writing lines for new material... go for it! If you're considering playing the written/recorded material as-is and then 'putting your stamp' on the new stuff, consider that if your take on their existing material wasn't going to excite them, then your take on their new material possibly won't either, and you could end up stuck being their old bassist instead of their new one.

I used Allianz years ago for my violin when I used to play. Had to claim for a bow that got damaged and they were fine about replacing it - just needed a decent repairer to assess it and say it was beyond economical repair. I've used MusicGuard on-and-off for bass gear and PLI but fortunately haven't had to make a claim yet. I did ring them up when it came to this year's renewal and remove the gear from the policy just leaving the PLI (since gear doing nothing and going nowhere is adequately covered on the house insurance) and that was a perfectly friendly and efficient conversation which resulted in the right things happening, so no red flags.

Can't un-see that now.. but good call!