simonlittle

I use one of the MB58R heads (basically the same thing) with a MB58R 102 Energy cab (8ohm) for most of my gigs. Always sounds great with electric or upright bass. Loads of volume and sounds fantastic. Have used it with big bands and barely turned it up halfway. I do have a second cab (a 104 Energy) in case I need a bigger setup but I’ve never actually needed it so far. It’s a really good combination and ridiculously lightweight…

In all honesty it looks like it’s in great condition for a bass that’s nearly 60 years old. Any bass that hasn’t been touched for a long time will be in need of a setup at least but at that price you’ve really got nothing to lose.

Definitely.

Who needs second and fourth gear anyway?

I think it would be worth having a conversation with the insurer to check that any claim would be valid with such a valuation. In the event that a claim had to be made they could easily look up the original cost of the bass and discover it’s well under the stated valuation and refuse to pay out the full amount. Having said that you’d obviously be paying a higher premium for a higher valued instrument so it’d be in their interest in the short term to accept it. I’d just want to be 100% sure they understand the stated valuation is to replace it for a current model of a similar level as Fender don’t produce them anymore.

Absolutely love Panthalassa! Played it to death when it came out. Glad I’m not the only one 😉

I’ve transported my Sandberg TM all over the place in both a bog-standard Fender hard shell case and a Tourtech Pro Series hard shell case. Fits great in either.

Sounds great Chad 👍

This looks incredible. Could easily replace a few individual pedals straight away. Those presets programmed by IMA are worth the price of admission alone; from the sounds in the demo he’s nailed 8 of the most immediately useful bass synth tones you’d be looking to achieve. Can’t wait to get my hands on one. Thanks for sharing 👍

I had a Sandberg TM4 with a pau ferro fingerboard. lt felt very similar to rosewood to be honest. The bass had a lovely rich tone; not sure how much of that was the fingerboard but it certainly sounded warmer than a very similar bass I had with a rosewood board.

Bought a couple of books from Ian. Super easy to deal with and he sent them over really quickly. Always a pleasure!

Looks like a California II TT4 Passive to me. Lovely looking bass 👍

Same here. It’s very infectious.

I’d definitely recommend checking out his album Ventura from a couple of years ago. Some great tunes and obviously some incredible playing too.

Wow that’s fantastic. Thanks for sharing 👍

You can also get good punchy electric tone out of a U-Bass if you really go for it with the right hand. This took a bit of practice…

I’ve never needed to. On occasions where the bass feels like it might kick off I can usually sort that by dialling out a bit of low mids on the amp. Plus I rarely have the bass coming out of my monitor, especially on a big festival stage. I’ve found that can be a recipe for disaster.

I’ve also had people turn their nose up at the suggestion, but in general they get over it once they hear it in context. Some people can’t seem to get over the look of it though…

Like a lot of upright bass players I have a David Gage Realist pickup on my bass and play the majority of my upright gigs through a Markbass head and 210 cab. I’m not familiar with the J-tone pickup but I’ve rarely had feedback issues with the Realist. I also regularly play the same bass through a big Ashdown rig with a 6x10 cab with no problems, plus it’s been through a bunch of festival hire rigs (usually Ampeg SVTs and big 8x10/4x10 cabs), again no problem. It always helps to have a bit of distance between the cab and the bass to avoid feedback issues, more so as the volume levels go up. The only times I’ve had an issue have been when I’m right on top of the amp as you mentioned, or when playing a hire bass with a crappy pickup.

They weight virtually nothing. I’ve done a bunch of gigs on a Kala U Bass over the years and you barely notice you’re wearing it. It’s worth adding a strap button at the base of the neck if it doesn’t have one (neither of mine did) so you don’t have to hold it like a regular ukulele. Sound wise you’ll be fine for most styles I reckon. They’re surprisingly versatile.

I reckon it’s best to start out on a proper acoustic upright if you can. The shape of the body is such a huge part of learning the muscle memory

I’d definitely agree with everyone else here that buying a cheap bass is probably the best move. Always worth spending a few quid to get it checked over and set up nicely once you’ve got it to make sure you don’t pick up bad habits or hurt yourself because the bass is a bit wonky. Cheaper basses often pop up on Facebook Marketplace so worth keeping an eye on there too.