JPJ

So for years I’ve been lugging around a flight case full of spare everything (leads, fuses, gender benders, etc) and I’ve come to the realisation that I don’t need that much stuff with me (one spare of everything is enough). So I am looking to get a soft bag style gig bag to carry a normal amount of stuff that has plenty of pockets. A quick internet search shows a massive range of options (and prices) so I thought I’d ask you knowledgeable folk for your suggestions. Fire away!

Thanks everyone for the comments - I’ve pulled the trigger on the XVive U4 from GuitarGuitar and it should be with me tomorrow (Friday). I’ve got a few weeks before my first gig using my PA rig so time to play around and get things set up properly.

Used to use the 1x15 at a long gone rehearsal space up here about twelve years ago. Could never quite get it to 'cut through' loud drums and two guitars and the tone always felt 'soft' to me. Also heavier than a heavy thing.

Like the OP, I've owned all manner of rigs (predominantly SWR based) that were so heavy that they came with their own gravitational fields (see the SWR SM1500 I have for sale on here). Probably the best cab I played through was a Goliath Snr 6x10, an impractical beast that I could only just about manage to lift into/out of the van. Like chris_b, I used to own a Hiwatt 4x12 that was a two-strong men lift and only rated at 200w. I now gig with a 400w 1x15 neo equipped Ashdown combo and a matching neo equipped 1x15 extension, both of which are a one-hand lift. I'm sure that with at least one of my bands we will be ampless within a year. Progress and age maybe go hand-in-hand 😉

After another gig hemmed into the corner of a gig with a crash cymbal immediately behind my right ear, I think it’s time I moved to IEM’s. I’ve been dabbling with some ZX10’s and an old T-Bone UHF set but the T-Bone has been commandeered by our singer, and I’m being sorely tempted by the X-Vive both in terms of price and form factor. Having read the comments about interference, I was wondering whether anyone on here has real live gigging experience of using the U4’s with the Behringer X-Air XR18?

4ft by 2.5ft would be a bloody luxury at some of my gigs 😂 Isn’t there a version of the drummers ‘butt kicker’ that hangs off your bass strap that does a similar thing?

Or reverse the panning and confuse the hell out of your audience 😂

So like the OP, I’ve shlepped mammoth bass rigs around for years, but as the years advance, I’ve had to scale back and now mainly gig a 1x15 Neo equipped combo with support from a matching 1x15 Neo extension cab. I’m on the cusp of going down the IEM route (almost inevitable with one band) but have held off mainly because as well as being the bassist, I’m also the sound engineer and it’s just more to set up and dial in before each gig. That said, last weekend I played a gig at a small social club. Upstairs room, probably 150 capacity. I took the combo and extension cab. Small stage so I was stood right in front of my ‘stack’ so much so that I could feel the air movement from the port in the combo on the back of my arm. IEM’s may indeed be the future but I think I’ll miss the physicality of the sound coming from a bass rig.

I’m a huge Thumpinator fan. Cleans up the sound without ‘changing’ the sound if you know what I mean. Mines the last pedal on my board before my amp, and I use it with electric bass, fretless bass, EUB, and acoustic bass.

Picked up a late cancellation at the world famous Trillians in Newcastle upon Tyne, and managed to fill the place with friends, family and likeminded lovers of southern rock. Safe to say our best gig of the year so far 😎

Tonight’s rig at the legendary Trillians Newcastle upon Tyne 😎

I’d use a sharp razor blade to take the loose flaking lacquer off and then leave it alone to age nicely.

I have a BTB sitting here doing nothing along with the mid-range stack. I could be persuaded to part with them as a set.

You have a couple of options - just keep adding layers of nitro until you can sand flat, or strip the nitro and either sand the body further (I normally go to 600 grit before paint, sometimes 1000 grit if the grain is really open) or use a high-build primer.

Thanks for the encouragement. The bow took a lot of rosin to get going but it sure makes a beautiful noise on the NXT, almost choral.

Well my ‘cheap’ Thomann bow and Pops rosin arrived today, so here we go into a brave new world 😎

I get great results just sticking my Zoom H4n Pro in the middle of the room (assuming you rehearse “in the round”). No mics on drums, no faffing about recording off the desk. If it’s only for personal playback then this should be a much better and simpler option than trying to take what is essentially your FOH sound off your mixing desk.

21 drivers per side 😮 do you need extra large ears?

Hope you have got this resolved, but in case not, looking at the second picture it ‘looks’ like the nut has cracked or been repaired? As this is on the E string side, it ‘could’ be the cause of the weakened sound.

So I’ll just keep adding comments here to document my experiences with the NS NXT. When I purchased my NXT it came from a classical player, and had what you might call a reasonably high action (11mm on the E at the fingerboard end). I struggled on with this convincing myself I just needed to up my left hand strength, but last weekend, and after much internet research I decided I needed to lower the action. I’ve taken it down quite a bit (7mm on the E at fingerboard end) and it’s a revelation. The string tension at the higher setting made the NXT very ‘trebly’ and almost microphonic (hand noise very prominent in the mix), but lowering the action has cured this, and made the NXT so much more ‘fun’ to play without impacting on the sound.

Yes, same connection as the bridge ground wire in KiOgon’s wiring diagram (‘black wires’)