ianrendall

16 minutes ago, Japhet said:

It's really advisible to give bare metal a light coat of etch primer before top coating. The acid in the etch primer bites into the metal and the top coat then has something secure to fix to. Without etch primer you may well find that the heat and cooling of the amp casing in particular makes the top coat flake off easier. Most paint sticks to bare metal for a while and Hammerite is OK, but there's no substitute for a proper job. If the Hammerite doesn't work, don't try to paint over it or it will be a proper mess. It will need to come right off and start again.

Yes, I forgot to add I used a primer first. 

It seems that modern retail chemical paint removers are useless, especially on what I think is powder coat. A few coats softened the paint enough for me to wire wheel it back to bare metal. A rub down afterwards with wire wool and white spirit, then a few light coats of Hammerite satin spray and it’s good as new

Indeed it is! GK amps have taught me that the bass EQ control isn’t the be all and end all, especially with a P bass. The flat settings sounds mint with a P, which incidentally are not 12 o clock!

Trace watts are the opposite of Bugera watts. 

Yes, the good thing about my GK is that the beat up portion is completely removable, so no worries about spraying unwanted areas. I would probably do a chemical strip with a wire wool rub down to key the surface. The original paint seems quite thick so an overspray might show the lumps and bumps. I’m thinking a metal primer followed by several thin layers of a satin hammerite spray? I realise I may not need a primer, but the truth is, I love doing little jobs like this as I get a real sense of satisfaction, so I like to drag it out  

Who remembers the video game Bioshock? This amp wouldn’t look out of place in Rapture. 

Just got hold of a GK 700RB. It’s in pretty good nick electronically but the top cover casing is pretty beat up (it’s nearly 20 years old). I’d like to strip it and respray it. Stripping it isn’t a problem, but what would you, the great BC unwashed, suggest regarding surface prep and paint to use? I’m not too worried about replicating the original factory finish, just want to make it look a bit neater.

Mk1 700RB arrived today. It’s a beast. Nothing more I can say really.

The best era for 5 string jazzers imo. 

20 minutes ago, bassbiscuits said:

Barry Manilow "Copacabana" = dreadful song, cool bass playing.

The 1994 London cast recording has some fabulous playing and great tone on it. 

Yes I believe from their BBC 6 Music show in 2009. It’s actually a sample. Here’s the original. Gary King on bass.

4 hours ago, Davy said:

A great piece of bass amplification history here.

If I didn't already have the 300w version of this then I'd be very interested. The only thing I wish my amp is the UV light as they look great!

IMO these amps are much louder than their Class D equivalents if you don't mind the extra weight and size.

GLWTS.

Louder is the word. I’m only putting it through a single 12” 8ohm and the volume isn’t even on 2!

I’ll just leave this here. 

But you might get lucky...

Don’t work too hard, otherwise....

2 minutes ago, Teebs said:

But would a Fender P smell be more authentic and represent the quintessence of the bass guitar, rather than say, a Gibson, a Yamaha or a Hofner?

Gibsons smell like stale beer, Yamahas smell like new cars and Hofners smell of pipe tobacco. Fenders smell of leather bound books and rich mahogany. 

When I originally mentioned P and J basses in the original post I didn’t mean specifically Fender as a company but rather the ‘type’ of bass - the design rather than the brand.

Which leads me to wonder what would have happened if it wasn’t Fender that popularised the bass guitar, but BC Rich. Would the dominating body shape of basses be spiky and pointy as the norm? Jamerson with a Warlock....hmm..

8 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

I gave you a sensible response! (And a picture)

Yes you did. But I feel it may be time for me to hang up the bass. I’m clearly too daft to write what I thought was an interesting topic without thinking through every pedantic comment that may come up. Maybe I should have said 1957, or mentioned Rickenbacker, maybe even Hofner, but I assumed people might get the general idea as to what I was interested in discussing. Oh well. Live and learn I suppose 😁

There I go again. I give up.. 🤐

Ok so, we as bassists can all agree that the granddaddy of basses is the P Bass, like it or not. And I assume that we can all agree that the three most recognisable basses in terms of sound are the P, the J and the Stingray.

So what if another came first? If the J or Ray came in 1951 instead of the P would they be the benchmark? Is the P’s success down to it just being the first?

1 hour ago, EBS_freak said:

MB200 as a preamp, yes, just use the line out or the direct out into your chosen speaker cab. You won’t have any speaker emulation - but some people actually prefer that with bass. I for one!

As for the Headrush 112, I have no experience. It is primarily designed for the guitar market so it may not have enough headroom in the lows - but I’m just speculating. Going with a PA speaker is always a good shout though - as they are designed for multi use, whether it be FRFR cabs or Djs pumping out loads of bass.

Have a look at some of the tried and tested examples above but I’m guessing you are ideally looking for something around the 300 pound mark?

I’m not fully sure of budget yet. When I’m mulling over things like this I usually start from the lowest price point and work my way up. 

On one hand I’m already set with portability with my BF Midget and MB200, but on the other, the idea of being able to emulate all sorts of tonal options in uncoloured fidelity does appeal to me. I’m not one for fiddling with digital multi fx trickery with buttons and screen as I find it too distracting so the Two Notes LeBass looks ideal.

Also, I rarely if ever DI out, but other members of the band do (20 piece big band). Could I take a feed FROM the desk and use the FRFR as my amp AND as a monitor for myself and the drummer? Our band are short of monitors and this would be a great benefit. 

1 minute ago, Dood said:

Hey Ian, We're all a big fam' here and we all have 'those days'. It's cool, we're good. I do know how you feel though. I am a nightmare, probably the worst especially when it comes to a potential big purchase. I want answers dammit lol It is so bad these days that it took me three days to choose a screen protector for my 'phone to make sure it was the best for the money. I'm not even joking. The annoying thing is..... I haven't even bought one yet! 

 

This^

I do agonise over every pretty much everything, including potential purchases and even stupid things like a leaking gutter - especially if I can’t fix it there and then - to the point of anxiety.

Anxiety that just gets me down and snappy. Thank you for understanding 🍺

All I need to know is if the Headrush 112 is any good for the money and can I use my MB200 as a preamp from the line out until I can get an amp sim fx thingy. 

Sorry all. Not having a good time of it at the moment. Just a bit sensitive. 

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