Mudpup

If it's standard pub songs you would probably know 20 of them already. And I suppose the potential for further gigs with the same band comes into play as well - if it's likely a one off you would be less inclined to put too much effort in. We had 2 dep guitarists and a singer that we used regularly (they probably did about 8 gigs a year each with us) and over a few years they gradually picked up the whole set. They really became valued extended members of the band, never needed to buy a drink and came out for a free curry at Christmas. We also learned a few songs off their wish list.

I'm thinking the bass may be the culprit here. That BF cab will put out pretty much exactly what you put in and it doesn't have a tweeter so shouldn't be too clangy. The MarkBass head can definitely do warm bassy traditional sounds. I'm not too sure about the TC head as I've never heard one. You've also come from an Ashdown amp which is really good at old school gooey sounds so you'll be kind of used to that - they're nowhere near as clear and exposing as the BF cab. But you've got 2 active basses which are both pretty modern sounding and it sounds like you want an old school 50s, 60s, 70s sound. They'll both struggle to get there I think. See if you can borrow a P bass or passive single pickup bass of some sort without new strings on it, turn the tone down and see if that gets you closer.

Yeh, I believe it may be more recent versions that don't have it. They don't help themselves with all the renaming - I'm sure someone further up the food chain thinks it's funny

My old SB14 had the switch

I've had both the USA and the SB14. The SB14 gets you 90% of the way there in terms of both sound and feel. The finish of the neck isn't quite so premium but the dimensions are pretty much the same. It has cheaper tuners. The USA sounded a touch fatter and just a bit more 'grown up' I would say. The top end was sweeter and it had a bit more booty. All the non USA Sterling stuff I've had was a good approximation but when you play them next to the USA ones they come up a tiny bit lacking sonically (I've had a few 2 and 3 band USA Stingrays along with a USA Sterling and also a USA S.U.B, SB14 and Ray34 - The USA S.U.B was miles better than any Far Eastern ones) If you're thinking of upgrading the pickups and preamp you're going to take it further away from the classic Sterling sound unless you find a genuine USA set of electrics somewhere. I think most people would stick a Nordstrand pickup in there. Bearing in mind an SB14 is probably about half the price of a USA Sterling on the used market (£600ish against £1200ish?) and is so close I would probably just leave it alone and stick with it. A £600 extra spend doesnt stack up to a 10% improvement in my books. Although having said that you'll probably always wonder what you're missing.....

Maybe the guilty ones should have a sweep. Fiver a ticket and winner takes all. They can use it to buy some gear and immediately get binned from the 2026 event.

A lady friend interested in dating a bass player? You need to at least make it feasible bait.

Fret markers are wonky..... ☺️😉

It would be ironic if the new bass player was on here reading this post and keeping his head down 😉

Strike me off the list for I have sinned big time...... Just snuck in before the start on NYE with a MarkBass 5 string Gloxy, a GR800 head and a GR AT212 cab and was hopeful of making it to the finish. Fast forward 5 months and they've all been moved on and replaced with a Spector Pulse 5 string with an LHZ preamp, a Bugera Veyron amp and an LFSys Monaco cab. Next year is a dead cert win.....

Designer cab and designer mongrel!!!! Great to meet you Simon 😊

Just bought an LFSys Monaco cab from Stevie. Expectations were surpassed in every area!!!!

Simon bought a cab from me today. He drove down to collect it, arrived on time and it was a really easy transaction. Great comms throughout the process. Lovely chap and highly recommended!

If you visit the house tomorrow I have 2 amps that fit the spec that you can try out. They aren't for sale but you can check them out....

😂 They are off the hook good as a band aren't they! The bass player just makes me want to give up.....effortlessly cool too. Only certain people can rock flares and tank tops.

Total bargain and a great seller...

The chap who bought the Cort has it listed for sale on here now i think.....He's local to me. Ah just saw he's sold it already

As luck would have it I just happen to have a Spector Pulse 2 with the LHZ Hazlab clone preamp sitting in the front room and we're overdue a visit....I'll bring it over 🙂 In fact I'll bring all 3 active basses over for you if you want - so thats a German Warwick Proline and my trusty old Zon. They're all different flavours of awesome activeness. Add a Cort A4 Plus to your list as well - stunning bass for the money

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That's interesting...I thought it was just me. I went from Schaller locks on all basses to just the normal buttons and rubber washers on everything and they all felt more comfortable on the strap. You wouldn't think it would make much difference would you? It seemed to change the pressure points over my shoulder and tuck the bass back into me a bit. That's on all 3 - a Spector Pulse 2, a Warwick Proline and a Zon Sonus

Gary Mac is your man. He's in Hoddesdon