M@23

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1464812352' post='3062878'] I think heft has much to do with cabs. I gigged an SVT Pro II and had way more heft from my Purple Chilli neo 115 than I ever did from my Ampeg 610. The best combo is old school valve with new school cabs. [/quote] That's my findings too. I get so much more from my Vanderkley than any cab I've used before. It's not just volume. The sound is just effortlessly bigger and more present. That is with a 900 Tecamp Puma, especially.

Angled. All my cables are angled one end and straight the other, as I liked having the option depending on which bass I was playing. Now I just have the one bass which takes an angled plugs better; I'll go double angled next time I buy cables.

I've had mine for two years and not used it once on a gig! It's the backup option which hopefully I'll never need. Did use it once for recording and it did a surprisingly decent job!

What's a 'CD'?! My advice would be to network. Go to gigs, speak to other bands and bar staff and landlords and agents. Send emails, Facebook messages and make phonecalls. There are no shortcuts. Just got to muck in and do some legwork. Until you've done enough gigs and built a decent reputation anyway. Edited to say, put together a showreel/promo vid, get it on YouTube and pin it to your FB page.

I like only having one gigging bass. It's been that way for over a year now. No deciding which to take, no more cases cluttering up the spare room. Don't get me wrong, it is fun having different instruments to play with. But, i do enjoy just having one bass that I know inside out and that gets well used.

Wonder how much it'd cost to bring one over. Some look quite nice. Didn't Bass Gear car ry Carvin stuff for a while?

I just sold my Fusion Urban and miss not having a decent gig bag. I moved it on as I thought the Sadowsky case would suffice. The Sadowsky case is very light and offers good protection, but has little storage and I miss not being able to wear it on my back. Might have to get another gig bag after all...

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1464455552' post='3059622'] Don't know how that compares but I've played a few Am Deluxes and I think for the money now.. £950-1100 is ok... not fantastic but ok... but a CS will set you back around £2800 iirc... and for that price they get slaughtered by the likes of Martin P... If I compare my 10 yr old CS to a Sei, the CS is a plank.. I get that MP is an exceptional builder but even so..!!! Just my 2p [/quote] I cant speak for the CS stuff, but... When I got my Sadowsky I played it back to back against Elites, Mayones and Lakland Skylines. The Sadowsky was a step up in every regard, but it should be for at least £500 more. It was the only bass where everything was perfect. The only real thing with the Elite was that the neck pocket wasn't that clean. Otherwise, it was really well put together and just came down to personal preferences. The neck was too slim for me, the sound wasn't what I was after etc. The Mayones was very well built too. It was seriously heavy and had awful neck dive though, but with the Aguilar electronics sounded absolutely fantastic. Maybe it's a price point thing, there will always be compromises somewhere.

[quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1464454652' post='3059613'] ... [/quote] That's a beauty. I read a bit about the single coils. I love the Metros pickups, they're not very traditional jazz, but that's not what I was after. I think you do get a bit of that back, the more vintage tones as you found with the NYC.

Looks a very tidy little set up. The Epifani is a cool looking thing. Not seen one of those before.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1464213163' post='3057706'] Sadowsky basses really come to life in a live gigging situation. If you like it in he shop and t home just wait until you hear it with the band at volume [/quote] Cheers Barrie. Gigged it last night. It's great. The low notes below E are fantastic and I found myself using them more than I have with other basses! It's such a joy to play. Loved the VTC too, found myself using that more than I initially thought. You're right though, it just had its place in the mix. Our guitarist used a beautiful old Strat - and the whole band sounded better than it has before. Everything sat in its own space. The Sadowsky pre is outrageous, and the whole instrument is so responsive to how you play.

A few weeks later here, but... Tony bought one of my TKS cabs. Very easy transaction. Quick payment great comms and was very patient... The parcel didn't arrive when I said it would. It was a case of Parcelfarce striking again. Really nice guy, deal with confidence.

Rob bought my TKS cab. Such a pleasant guy to deal with. Great communications throughout, paid straight away and made the whole transaction very easy. Deal with confidence here.

Norm just bought a Fusion gig bag from me. Great guy to deal with, really quick to make payment, good comms and a very nice guy. Deal with confidence here.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1464299931' post='3058366'] Huge mass production is inevitably going to knock out some bad instruments. [/quote] Exactly. Fender are so popular that just by the sheer amount of them out there you are more likely to come across a bad one than any other brand. I tried a new Elite Jazz V yesterday, it was great. The neck pocket wasn't 100% perfect but the frets and finish were very good; and it sounded and felt really nice. Plus the low B was better than any Fender I've played before.

I gigged one, when I broke my leg and couldn't cart my own rig to gigs! I borrowed this off the guitarist. It was a 120XL I believe. It was good, used it without PA at two smaller gigs and with PA support on NYE at a big function. I did have to push it hard, they're not cheap and if you don't need the effects you can probably find a more suitable combo for gigging without PA support. For acoustic bands it'd be OK but did struggle against even a small kit played with brushes.

[quote name='AustinArto' timestamp='1464300928' post='3058371'] Never played covers. Do you think I'd get something out of it? I suppose the hard part would be finding a band that didn't play music I hate. [/quote] Deoends on the tyoe of covers you do, but generally I think it does help you improve you as a player. Some lines you have to play as they were written, so you need a good ear, and to be able to switch between techniques like pick/fingers/slap. Plus, your singer won't be able to sing everything in its original key so you'll need to be able to transpose on the fly. It is a completely different game to originals.

I had a 2012 Jazz, it was really nice. Looked great in white/rosewood and sounded great. I recorded a full album with it and the producer opted to use it over his '77. It had a very deep and dark tone to it. The only issue I had was it had absolutely zero shielding from Fender, so was very noisy.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1464169171' post='3057055'] I'm using a Puma 300 with mine, and it's brilliant. [/quote] I've no experience of how they match with One10 but as a Puma user, was also going to recommend one.

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' timestamp='1464206474' post='3057618'] Nice one Matt. And Happy 30th too [/quote] Thanks mate. Hope you're well.

[quote name='LZD56' timestamp='1464206298' post='3057617'] Very nice indeed! Every day is a good day to treat yourself [/quote] To a much need amp, maybe?! 😜

[quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1464201564' post='3057549'] Haha! I literally did the same thing a few weeks ago! Congratulations man. I bought a five string NYC from Bass Direct for my 'I'm turning 30' moment. I bought it about a month ago but haven't played it yet as it was delivered to Orkney and I'm in Glasgow until Saturday. I've had a 4 string Metro for over six years now. Great bass. [/quote] Oh cool. What finish did you go for? The Fender and Mayones I compared it to were nice, but it just felt like the Sadowsky was the finished product. The build quality and attention to detail is ace.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1464200729' post='3057533'] 1: that is lovely. 2: Anyone aged 40 or under who says "now or never" needs beating with their lovely new bass. Smeg I feel old. [/quote] Haha. Thanks. What I mean is, I can only justify it with the wife because of the 'event' of turning 30. I will, however, try play the same card on my 40th and indeed 50th...