Kiwi

I have used a Mk 1 bass safe with a Levy double gig bag and it depends on the overall thickness of your basses. Anything with a radiussed top won't work so forget Warwicks, Spectors and anything semi hollow. Standard Fender type instruments with flat tops and hardware will just about be OK. The thinner the gig bag, the better for fit. Normally I go with a guitar and a headless/semi hollow bass in a double gig bag. But on one occasion I wrapped a reliced guitar in microfibre towels (which can be secured with velcro cable ties) with a bass in a gig bag and it worked out really well.

I think you're right about speaker tech progressing so much since the late 70's when biamped columns were so popular. I also think that PA systems have progressed too so that massive stacks aren't needed when there's adequate FOH power (and bi/triamping). Backline is less about filling the venue and more about hearing yourself clearly on stage. These days it tends to be more subtle - used to separate HF horns and tweeters from a 15" or 12" woofer in many combos. Or pedals with features like lo pass overdrive or chorus, or dual band compression.

Here's mine. No esoteric bass grunge just signal conditioning (EBS Microbass 2 preamp, FEA Labs dual band compression and Empress 3 band parametric eq), Future Impact bass synth and the Zoom handles modulation and delays.

If comedian Simon Munnery had a gig with him, they could bill themselves as Dunnery and Munnery. [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuPqAdZ2GIs[/media] Would probably be quite good.

I'm very interested to see where he goes with his new band. It's long over due. He's generally avoided more than four strings on the grounds that the E string doesn't sound as punchy but I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with 6 strings. Perhaps more of his tasty chordal stuff. Mark is a multi instrumentalist too - drums, guitar and bass mainly. Not sure about keys.

Would love to hear some sound clips - I'm curious to know how close it gets to a Warwick with that combo of woods.

Joyo have released a simulation amp called the Klonz which replicates the pre and power sections of something like 15 amps IIRC. No digital modelling involved apparently. The tech is licensed I believe and the amps are around £1500 which isn't cheap, particularly for Joyo.

Already on it. It doesn't help that much musically as much as I thought. Really good fretboard knowledge is needed to get the most out of it as has already been suggested. After five years, the B string still catches me out if I'm not paying attention. Really wish I was playing a 27" scale baritone guitar sometimes too as the 25" scale is a bit cramped for my fingers. Is there a Musicman Silhouette in my future...?

He gave a shout out for Cold Chisel - archetypal hard case Aussie pub rock band. They were a stalwart of my high school years. I hated them at the time.

I've had a bit of TE gear pass through my hands. It started with an AH250 series 6 head, then an MP-11 programmable graphic eq and a V8 amp. Currently have a hexavalve amp which I haven't yet played through. TE's a mixed bag - some great stuff and some stuff that is a bit...mmmkay. I didn't like any of the series 6 stuff they made but the SMX preamp was pretty good. The V8 was monstrous - so much low end it wasn't controllable with the onboard eq. The MP11 was a nice idea but could only be used in a mono, full range system. I would like to try an early MkIV head at some point and see whether it's like a PA amp for bass as I believe they were designed as. I'm hoping the hexavalve will be like the Mesa Boogie Bass 400 I used to own, but lighter. We'll see.

Hell yes. I was in a motown band once, that a couple of other basschatters have been in since, where I left because the drummer was too loud. We actually played tighter when he played with some restraint because we could hear the attack of each other's notes. But next song, he went back to beating 7 shades out of them...and he had hearing issues too. I left out of exasperation. I've played a couple of gigs in a resort/hotel conservatories and at the top of the Gherkin in London which all had the acoustics of a glass jar. We had to turn ourselves down just to stop the reverb washing the mix out.

Ibanez are good...or you could consider a Yamaha RGX - loads on ebay for around the £250 mark.

I think Jerry overplays as well but Nile is OK with it and has been for as long as Jerry has been in the band. So...meh...not worth getting one's panties in a bunch. I just tune out. They've been doing the same show (set list and song order) for nearly 8 years now. Nile tours his arse off every year.

[quote name='VAMPYRE 5' timestamp='1498160524' post='3322921'] Just bought an OPTIfet compressor new which arrived this week. WOW!! My initial thoughts; Fat and yet precise. Fast whilst subtly gracefull. Incredibly quiet output. Full squash of bottom-end is very consistent, vibrant & sustaining. EQ section is real helpful droping bass a bit so mid & top mainly trigger compression. [/quote] Is yours the dual band? I've been on their waiting list for one since November last year. Hopefully I'll get an email soon...