MichaelDean

I've gigged with a thumbpick before. When in a hip-hop covers band we ran it like a DJ set with smooth transitions between songs. If you want to switch from fingers to pick and don't have time to pick one up, it's really great. Ready to go whenever! 

I used Dunlop thumbpicks. Didn't go for fingerpicks too though!

I love gigging too. I didn't even want to read the other thread.

I've had people sit down on the manky floor at The Louisiana to listen to my band. And I've had everyone in the place dancing with another. Plus, at great personal expense, did a tour of Japan with one band. Haven't ever done travelling like that before. All different, but all fun!

7 hours ago, Chaddy said:

https://ashdownmusic.com/products/aaa-ampkit

I am proven wrong! Although it doesn't look like you can easily integrate that with a DAW. And I've got an Android phone, so can't use it on the go. 

I'm still always surprised/annoyed that there isn't any modelled versions of Ashdown amps in anything. I know they're not massive in the states, but some pretty well known bands' bassists are endorsees of Ashdown. But everyone seems to be always chasing that Ampeg tone in software. Or there will be a token Trace Elliot model. 

I prefer the look of the Telebacker they do, but Retrovibe also do a strat conversion:

https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-t30-strat-bass-30-6-short-scale-metallic-blue-gorgeous/

Not the same model, but my first bass 21 years ago was an Aslin Dane jazz bass copy. It was a nice instrument and well put together. Very heavy though and helped me decide that Jazzes aren't my thing. 

I'm sure that if the nut is alright, this ought to be a good player. 

Just now, molan said:

I can’t play them 😱

 

I’m a ‘thumb on the neck pickup’ player and the MM pickup positioning always catches me out 🤦‍♂️

Get an HH model. Sorted! 😜

11 hours ago, TheLowDown said:

The JPs(both 4 and 5 string) are passive, and JJs(ditto) are active.

 

I'm really fond of that JP. I much prefer passive over active and P and PJ over JJ.

Ah, their product description is wrong then!

@mcnachisn't it passive? On the Thomann website it says "volume, balance, tone"...

@lewiswhitebass how is the new cab?

Good choice!

I have a folding sack truck I got from Aldi a couple of years ago. Only bought it as a proof of concept, but it's holding up well and I can get my pedalboard, cab and head on it in one go (it's rated for 100kg)! Just stick a bass on my back and it's a one trip load in 👍 Don't know why I didn't do it sooner!

3 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Is there such a thing as a Mustang that doesn't have neck dive?

Almost every review I've read / watched seems to mention it.

 

I'm wondering if I should just keep saving up for a Lionel.

My 76 'stang balances fine and has contours. If you can find a vintage one it would probably be more expensive than a Lionel right now though!

On 18/04/2022 at 13:21, paul_5 said:

Or just count 9/16ths! 😄

Reminds me of a drummer my brother used to play with. Couldn't play in a tempo that couldn't be easily divided into a minute as he was attempting to count the bpm in his head 😅 Needless to say he was not very good at keeping time! Lovely bloke though.

9 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

But I’ll bet it sounds great, Michael

You're darn right it does!

Ooooh, nice! I love my 2x12!

I also found Paul really nice. Even went down to the shop to try one out before buying (and before them relocating to Cornwall). 

The purple went really well with the PF500 I had at the time. Doesn't go quite so well with the ABM 600. 

I've got three basses quickly available round the house. A Mustang, a Revelation p bass and a 5 string Dingwall. I've spent enough time with each scale length for it to not really make much difference when picking any of them up. In my experience, it's all about practice and I've spent years at a time with each one being my main scale length. But I think frets help me know where I'm going. Like I bump over enough to know that I've gone from 3rd to 7th fret, etc. Not sure how I'd cope with a fretless!

There aren't enough purple basses!

Looks like they arrived quietly on the Thomann website... 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jp_55op_white.htm

In JJ, PJ and 4/5 string in various colours. 

Uuuuh.... We expanded it a bit to 90s RnB as well.

Deception - Blackalicious

Can I Kick It? - A Tribe Called Quest

Regulate - Warren G

No Diggity - Blackstreet

Still DRE - Dr Dre

OPP - Naughty by Nature

Express Yourself - NWA

Gs & Hustlas - Snoop Dogg

Family Affair - Mary J Blige

Jump Around - House of Pain (this was generally the encore)

We ran it like a DJ set with songs flowing into one another and no breaks. Lineup was drums, bass, guitar, sax, decks, keys w/vox, female vox and a rapper.

The main issue we had was trying to get someone to rap. A lot of MCs don't want to be "spitting someone else's verses". We were the most white middle class hip-hop band ever! But it was really fun and if you get the right venue, everyone knows the songs and sings along.

Just reliving my hip-hop cover band days and going through an old playlist on Spotify at work today.

A lot of those 90s hip hop songs are really fun because they're just old funk stuff. We ended up playing my work's Christmas party one year with the theme of "luck". I spray painted and bejewelled a horseshoe that I wore for the gig.

Ooooof! I may have had to have a strong talk with my wife if I'd seen that!

If you're using them, test the level of any pedals/patches during soundcheck. Neither you, the rest of the band or the sound guy want the surprise enormous synth! Well, maybe you do, but no-one else does!

Plus you may need to tweak the effect slightly to fit the room. It's not just amps that suffer from a bad sounding room or a boomy stage. 

On tour, need to pay for parking and can't rely on apps? Get a band change kitty together. Don't be the only sucker that cares and then get a ticket when you can't get enough together because everyone else is asleep and you're uncertain of the availability of a cash point/somewhere to get change. 

If you're on tour and driving an unfamiliar vehicle, make sure you know what type of fuel to put in it. A drummer once put petrol in my diesel car while I was driving the van that he couldn't drive because he didn't bring both parts of his driving licence to the rental place. Same tour as the parking issue 🤬

I may be a little bitter about a couple of things!

@Owen I've got an eBay alert set up for them. They really don't come up often and the last one I saw went for around £350/400.

Bah! The silver sparkle paint is why it's a cool bass!

I don't like nut widths under 40mm.

What I really hate though, is the screw holes left after someone has fitted pickup covers, regretted it when they actually wanted to play the darn thing and then took them off again. It's a constant reminder of someone's bad decision! I've been thinking about saving up for a Limelight as long as he can do it without those holes that he puts on every single one...