Adrenochrome

I agree with TKenrick on this. Some riffs sound a LOT better on the bass played against a pedalled low C, especially if the guitarist has written them that way.

I'm not one for impulsive purchases or sales, so probably the only thing I shouldn't have sold was my 80s Squier Jazz. That neck was something else...

Some good shouts there. Devin Townsend is ferociously talented at many aspects of making and recording music. He hasn't always hit the mark but I'm convinced he's one of the most talented musicians I've seen or heard. I'd say Prince was up there also.

Peavey Cirrus.

Yes, as above, you need a good sound source. My home hifi is a basic Cambridge amp with Gale gold mini-monitors that I've had for 20 years. The bass sounds super accurate through that fairly basic system with no sub.

It sounds like thje new neck has a similar scale length but is sat too far away from the bridge due to extra high frets. You may have to move the bridge towards the neck to compensate but then the pups, pickguard etc would be all nearer the bridge.

I recently got a TC Electronics K212 to use with mine (downsized from a Warwick 4x10 & Hartke HA3500 rig). It's done one gig, and all good and loud so far, with another gig this weekend. At the end of September I'm playing a big room at a sports and social club with decent PA support. I'm sure the 2x12 will be enough.

I don’t own any equipment or instruments worth more than ~300 quid used. To me they are tools to do a job, and as such I never panic at potential damage. Plus, you can never pick which venues damge coud occur – at one of the nicest venues I’ve played a drunken punter fell into my gear destroying a stand and putting a few dings in my bass. She was having a great time dancing and singing, and it was just an accident, however predicatable. [size=2]If I collected instruments, or had something expensive to record with for instance it might be different. If I did, I doubt the music I was making would sound much different or better ;-)[/size]

Can you glue or strap any bits of your hand that need it? Painkillers? Sit on a stool to take some weight of your fretting hand? Get help loading in/out?

Good call Les. There are other symbls you could use, Lone Stars, NOLA fleur-de-lys (although used by Down and Crowbar) for example.

I had a HA3500 for years, played gigs from 2-2000 people and loved it. I only changed to a smaller & lighter amp recently to match my downsizing of main gigging cab (4x10 > 2x12).

For this kind of music I'm a big fan of singing feedback buidling tension for 20 seconds or so, and then all in together loud. Might not work for everyone though. I've also done a variation on this with a drone note on the bass kept going by flange/chorus etc.

...because I now have an Orange/TC Electronics rig that is much smaller, lighter, and as loud as an equivalent affordable TE rig. TE gear I've borrowed before has been good, and a little TE Boxer 30 combo is my preferred backline for my acoustic gigs.

I started off fingers only and it took a few years to be decent with a pick. It's a good weapon to have in your armoury but not absolutely essential if it just isn't working for you.

Ah, fair enough. I actually did a similar thing once when playing a sleepy sunday afternoon wmc gig with small vocal PA. I used one cab as backline/monitoring (in the normal front-facing position), and the other cab right at the front of the stage. Even with the 'quieter' cab at the front of the stage and a sensible level from my amp, it was still too much bass guitar for the blue rinsers ;-)

You are basically running your own PA sub at the front of the stage. Why not use a single cab pointed at the band, at a reasonable volume level, and let the sound man do the front of house.

Lots to think about - including that a long upper horn on a 34" scale bass can make the stretch to reach the first fret quite easy. Light, ergonomic basses can be had in various scale lengths.

I've gone with Hot Covers for mine.

A couple of people have posted about heavier tone. I though a heavier guage string (all else being equal) generally gave a brighter tone?

40-100 for standard tuning, 45-105 half step down, 50-110 full step down (which also covered drop-C okay). All 34" scale. My short scale has 50-110 in standard for playability. To be honest I've used 45-100 in standard tuning with no problem at all.

For what it's worth people have submitted proper tax returns from doing weekend warrior pub gigs, and with all the deductable stuff the taxman ended up owing them. Taxman eventually said don't bother.

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1499813115' post='3333866'] ... how so many musicians can scam their way through gigs. It is illegal, after all... [/quote] What scam are you referring to?

Again, sorry to bring this back up. I gigged my new (to me) rig on Saturday - an OTB into a TC Electronics K212. Fantastic light, compact and loud rig.The gain was a bit uncontrollable and the dirty sound was quite bass heavy. The soundman struggled with the hot DI. I use a distorted sound but need it to be controllable and a bit more fizzy and less woolly. Any ideas for a valve swap? How about 5751 JJ valves?

Outstanding result after your efforts there! I'm particularly impressed by the condition of the binding underneath. If you can get the bridge sorted, rock the sh1t out of it, it doesn't look like a museum piece

Even though you will be borrowing an amp from your band, if you are going to shell out for a new amp, it might be worth considering getting something that you could gig with if the need arose. Maybe something like a 100-200 watt combo with a 12", 15" or couple of 10" drivers in? That way you would be covered if you didn't like the band's amp, or it was unreliable, or you had some other change of gigging circumstances.