elom

Well to celebrate my 38th birthday I will be playing my first ever public gig. It's at the Famous Old Barrel in Exmouth on Saturday 16th June. If there are any westcountry bassists who'd care to lend some moral support you'll be very welcome. I'll even buy you a pint. Rock & Indie Covers.

[quote name='nixonuk' post='11353' date='Jun 3 2007, 11:55 AM']I will give the Peavey Max 126 a look over on your advice though.[/quote] I have this too and its a great little amp for home practice. Surprisingly good sound for something so small and cheap. Also the ability to plug in headphones and CD/Ipod is very useful.

The classic first bass dilemma is that you get much more for your money by going second hand but, being inexperienced, you need the opportunity to sit down and try a few different styles of bass to see which you prefer. If you need the 3/4 scale then obviously your options are limited but have a look at [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/short_scale_basses.html"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/short_scale_basses.html[/url] You don't mention what you want the amp to do. Is it solely for home practice? for rehearsing with? or for gigging? You can get up and running with a reasonable quality cheap bass and 'bedroom' amp for surprisingly little money. So for £300 you have the chance to get a nice set-up that will last you some time (until GAS sets in!) If I was spending your money for you then I'd say a safe bet was the Squier Bronco and a Roland CB-30 Bass Cube. However your best option is to take your time, get around as many shops as you can and see what feels right for you. The best of luck with your bass playing mate.

Okay, that's good enough for me. I'll get one in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for all your help.

It seems to me that what we are discussing is a bass equivalent of [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs"]Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs[/url] In that mode I would suggest that the most basic/primitive 'need' is Master The Basics - not to screw it up, not to play bum notes or lose your place - just don't be noticeably bad! I'm now just about comfortable with that and am thinking about expanding my skills and repertoire a little. However I have neither the time, dedication or talent to be a top-notch bass player. I like being in a band - it's fun, recreation. There was a point at the end of our gig last Sunday when there were four of us on stage pogoing like demons playing basic stuff but with Cheshire cat grins on our stupid faces and I just thought "I bloody love this". That was good enough for me!

[quote name='Willl' post='9445' date='May 30 2007, 08:34 PM']The biggest kick I get from playing is to see a crowd really enjoying themselves, regardless of whether I think I'm playing something worthy or fancy.[/quote] +1 to that. Welcome to the boards

Keith Wilkinson of Squeeze put down some pretty good lines but never got much recognition.

[quote name='mr pablo' post='6828' date='May 25 2007, 09:40 PM']Lorne from bw/bt if he's about here is the bc rich master i beleive[/quote] He has surfaced on basschat I believe... I too have gas for one of these but my internet trawl could only unearth one in Scotland which was not too practical for me to try. [Repeat mantra: I do not need more basses, I do need more practice...]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='6270' date='May 25 2007, 08:28 AM']Nice one Elom. I see you're in Devon ... if you find yourself up in London ping me an e-mail, my 325 is about to be joined by a 320 and you're welcome to have a play on them if you're interested.[/quote] They do allow us bumpkins into the metropolis on rare occasions so I may take you up on that kind offer at some point! Thanks

I refer the honourable gentleman to the previous answer [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=74"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=74[/url]

welcome to basschat. You must have either started breeding young or pay your kids a LOT of pocket money if your daughter bought you a bass! (I'm also 37 but my daughters, 4 & 6, have not yet bought me any musical instruments - I must speak to them about this....) As long as you enjoy your bass playing not much else matters IMHO. enjoy the forum, elom

Hey SMB, you are at one with basschat. sweeeeeeeeeeeeet

Thanks for researching all this. I bought a Bass Collection Speakeasy last year. It's my main bass and I'm extremely pleased with it. I knew that there had been various different incarnations but hadn't been able to find anything more until your excellent post. Knowing how good my Speakeasy is you've made me really curious to try one of the 'top end' Bass Collections now! If the attachment works, then attached is a pdf review of the Speakeasy which will hopefully be a useful addition to this thread. [attachment=264:1599.pdf]

Phatmonkey, we care, tell us the details oh wise web wizard.

Welcome back. Can I just say that its a pleasure to read a post from someone who so clearly loves their instrument and playing music. I know that we all do (or we wouldn't be here) but its just refereshing to see such undiluted enthusiasm.

Hello all, I've been gasing for some time for a [url="http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/b21u/"]Zoom B2.1u[/url] and next month I should be in a position to buy one. (I've had to hold back on the bass gear acquisition front for a while to keep the peace) On the face of it this unit almost looks too good to be true. A multi-effects, amp modeling, tuner, DI box, recording unit for just £85? I've not had the opportunity to try one out and I wondered if anyone here has got one or tried one? I'd be interested in your comments. It doesn't need to be top end pro quality, just good enough to do a job in a pub rock band. Many thanks, Elom

Elite Stadiums but I've not really tried many brands. Loads of people raved about how good the [url="http://www.ekmpowershop2.com/ekmps/shops/roberts/index.asp?function=DISPLAYCAT&catid=10"]Roberts strings[/url] were for the money so I might give them a try.

We can call it sardinesandwich.com for all I care, just so long as we don't change it again!

Nice looking bass man. But what a great photo, superb lighting.

[quote name='BeLow' post='2961' date='May 20 2007, 05:01 PM']Top job - we told you that you could do it - well done.[/quote] Yes, you did. And even though I've never actually met any of you and you're just a bunch of strange names and amusing avatars, your encouragement really helped. I appreciate it.

Well, it is done. As this was cup final day I think it's okay to slip into John Motsam mode and declare it a game of two halves. The first set was a real struggle. We'd chosen a simple song to start (Girl from Mars) and that went fine. However when it finished I realised that I was really shaking. As the set progressed I was getting more and more tense and the fingers on my left hand started to acquire rigor mortis. I had to simplify a few lines because I literally couldn't move my fingers and I fluffed stuff more than once. However for the last couple of songs it eased up a bit. During the break:[list=1] [*]Lots of people came up and (surprisingly) said how good it was sounding - that helped a lot [*]I had a pint - that helped a lot [*]Our drummer pointed out that I could stop worrying about not having played live for 20 years now because I just had. I now had official permission to relax. [/list] The second set we just tore it up. No sign of rigor mortis, my feet were no longer velcroed to the floor and I was actually enjoying it. People got up on the dancefloor and it turned into a party. The second set had a few of our potentially dodgy songs but we sailed through them and when we made mistakes (the drummer starting a different song to everyone else, singer launching into a chorus in the middle of a guitar solo) we adjusted in a beat and I think that we were the only ones who noticed. We finished with I Predict a Riot to a dancefloor full of people singing along and it felt bloody fantastic! Afterwards everyone was really supportive and positive and we felt that we'd done alright. Sure we made mistakes, we were always going to, but we started every song together and finished every song together and I think that's all we could have asked for. One of the people there was a local landlord and he's agreed to book us so we took that as a good sign. Someone came up to me afterwards and said "I just loved the way you did that Aerosmith song - it was fantastic". I said "Great, glad you enjoyed it". I didn't mention that we didn't play any Aerosmith..... So to sum up, I was really surprised at just how nervous I was and how it affected my playing. BUT, I got through it and ended up having a great time and I know that I wont have to go through that next time. Next gig is on Sunday..... bring it on! elom

Thanks guys (& gals). Feeling a little bit more relaxed about it today. I wont forget to smile ( ) - good advice that!

Other: Bass Collection Speakeasy [attachment=115:B1.jpg]

In my (limited) experience a good set-up and a new set of strings often works wonders. Try that, see how you get on and you can always replace bits of hardware gradually over time too if you thin kit's necessary.

You may remember a thread from a previous bass forum entitled "Gigging, A Beginner's Guide" that I started and numerous people chipped in with all sorts of good advice. Well the time has come, there are no more excuses, tomorrow night (Sat) I have my first gig since June 1987. Back then it was the end of 'A' levels party and I was turning 18. Now age 37 and turning grey it's a gig for family and friends. There is actually one song that's the same from both sets "She Sells Sanctuary" - a bassline even I can't fluff! I'm really excited but petrified at the same time. At least it should be a friendly crowd who'll give us the benefit of the doubt. I just need to be confident, focussed, only have the one beer, don't wince when I cock it up and try to enjoy it. The reason why I picked up the bass again after 17 years was so that I could gig again so I shouldn't be moaning about it! It will be fine, it will be fine, it will be fine, it will be fine.... but I think I'll invest in some brown trousers anyway. elom