Linus27

Thanks so far for the help everyone. I have got the offer of an Ashdown 300Mag bass amp and 4 x 10 at a very good price. Should I go for it or hold out and get a Harke 3500 amp??

If you really are not sure about the move then a Stagg is an ideal instrument to get. For just over a couple of hundred pounds you get an excellent EUB to start out on and if its not for you, then your easily sell it. If you love EUB then it will stand you in good sted until you fancy an upgrade.

Heres one as posted in the other thread, [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M_SIv5zPCQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M_SIv5zPCQ[/url]

I recorded once with a fretless Washburn and it was superb. The studio had one and as we were staying at the studio for 3 months, it was always by my side. It belong to one of the guys is Asia but he would not sell me it :(

Thanks for the advice nottswarwick.

OldGit I was looking at maybe between £300 and £400 and I think this will be for used gear. At the moment, top of my list is the Hartke 3500. I just can't decide if I should go for a Hartke 1 x 15 or a Hartke 4 x 10. I am tempted to go for the 1 x 15 as I like more a driving bigger sound and if I need more treble then I can get a 2 x 10 later on.

Thanks JD1, will keep you updated and look forward to hearing your progress.

Thanks for all the info everyone. Found it very helpful. However, I am a little surprised at something. You all seem to be saying that the Ashdown MAG-C115-300 will only be giving out about 180 watts. I was of the understanding that it gives out 307 watts. Is it only giving out 180 watts because its running at 8 Ohms on its own and if I connect another speaker to it then it goes up to the 307 watts running at 4 Ohms?? Can someone just set this straight for me as if this is correct then I am not going for this. If so, then I might as well go for either a Hartke 3500 or Hartke 5000 through either a Hartke VX410 4 x 10 or a VX115 1 x 15.

Who was the big stocky american with blonde hair that worked at the Bass Centre in the late 90's when it was at Wapping??? Is that Nick or Alex or somebody else??

This thread is a bit of a worry. I was looking at getting an Ashdown Mag Combo but I am really not sure now if its worth the risk.

I am a bit confused here with amp ratings and ohms etc. If I buy a 1 x 15 which has a Power Handling of 300 Watts @ 8 Ohms what sort of power am I going to get out of this Little Giant 350?? 350W or half?? If I buy 1 x 15 which has a Power Handling of 300 Watts @ 8 Ohms what sort of power am I going to get out of this Little Giant 1000?? 500W or half?? Will these amps work with a 1 x 15 which has a Power Handling of 300 Watts @ 8 Ohms?? Also, am I right in thinking that if I buy a 1 x15 which has a Power Handling of 300 Watts @ 8 Ohms, and I buy a 300 watt amp head, I am only going to get about 150 watts out of it as it will be running at 8 Ohms?? Sorry if a bit obvious, not bought an amp for about 10 years and everything has gone a bit fuzzy in my head :)

Hi JD1, I am also very new to double bass so I will share my experience from being a self taught electric player for 20 years to then moving over to upright. For the record, I am learning on a Stagg Electric Upright and having lessons from jakesbass. I have had two lessons so far and only been playing for maybe a few months. My biggest problem I have had has been the strength in my left hand (fretting hand) or lack of especially fretting the E string. String tension, technique and the different approach were all factors. Looking back, I could maybe only play along to 1 song but now, with practise and being shown how to correctly use the fretting hand, I feel I am getting there. I still have a long way to go and my hand still gets tired but when it does, thats when I know to stop and rest. jakesbass has been teaching me scales (no former musical training) and this really helps with building strength, especially as he says its taking me away from my comfort zone which it is. On one hand it's an easy practise to do and rewarding when you do it well but on the other hand it means you can focus on intonation, fretting correctly and getting used to techniques whilst building up hand strength. For me, I found this has really helped, not only from a musical learning tool but also for developing my left hand technique. It also gets you thinking what notes to play where. What I mean by this is I was never a fan of playing open D and G strings on an electric bass and would certainly use the A string a lot more than moving up to the D and E. With double bass I have totally changed my approach to this. I have had to really. As for my right hand, I am a little confused by this. Having always played with a plectrum and never with fingers, one of my biggest worries was not having the strength in my fingers. I tried before playing with fingers on an electric but after a few fast songs, my whole right hand would go numb and would go dead. Maybe because I played guitar punk pop When I first went to see jakesbass, it was obvious that not only was I plucking (sure thats the wrong terminology) the upright incorrectly but the difference in what could be achived in terms on power and what I was achieving was like night and day. However, once shown I seemed to make this change with little problem and it seems very natural. Whats odd is I can now play along to my old bands album with fingers on an electric bass with no problem. I can't really comment of how to hold the double bass as mine is an electric upright and I just did what felt natural which was support it against my left knee whilst my leg is slightly bent. The one thing I had to adjust was the height as I had it to low. I would really recommend lessons as the double bass is such a different instrument to the electric bass. I wanted lessons as I wanted to make sure I was starting out the correct way and not pick up any bad habits early on. I have enough of those already from playing electric bass Lessons have really helped me. One other thing, when you go back to an electric bass after playing double, your be amazed at how much easier it is to use your left hand. Hope thats helped you a little from another total novice

I have had a fair few basses over the year (Not as many as some of you nutters here) with some good ones and some not so good ones. The best I have had are a Fender 1977 Precision which sounded superb. A Musicman Stingray which had a beautiful neck and feel. A 1973 Fender Telecaster bass which was fat and solid. An ESP 400 Series which is such a lovely, friendly, easy to play jazz bass. A few other pretty decent ones also over the years by Fender, Status and Bass Collection. However, do you know what I think is the best bass I have ever played. My Squire Vintage Modifed Fretless Jazz. Not only has it got a neck on it that feels smooth and equals the Musicman, but the tone and punch is amazing. It just sounds and plays superb and its the best bass I have ever owned. plus it looks fantastic. Just thought I would share this as I am pretty surprised at this.

[quote name='gary mac' post='164495' date='Mar 27 2008, 02:29 PM']I always do it, after learning the embarassing way, I also take the other end of the lead around/through the side handle on my combo.[/quote] I do both of these, also from learning the hard way from both ends. Guitar end I pull tight so you don't see a big loop so to avoid any dodgy Eric Clapton muso type comments :) Amp end I also pull tight as possible. Nothing worse than walking across the stage a little to far to find you have pulled the lead out of the amp. :)

[quote name='mic mac moe' post='163354' date='Mar 25 2008, 08:19 PM'] Mike!! Are you still there? I tried one of these in a shop in Blackpool.Seemed pretty good.Don't know much about EUB's or the steam bass for that matter,but on its own merits,I would spend on it.And thats a big deal for me,as I swore I wouldn't have anything else with Stagg on it.Had loads of crap stuff including drumsticks etc and the rubbish I've had to repair for my students................[/quote] Do you mean me Mic Mac Moe???

Tom, Well worth going for some lessons. Has opened my eyes to a lot and I can't wait for the next one. Just don't do what I did on Sunday which is cut your first finger open so you get a nice big cut right across the top where you would normally fret. Thats what I have done and have not been able to play for 3 days