spacey

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1417516936' post='2621131']
Oh dear, those backing vocals are way off!!
[/quote]

Oh dear, just listened, hope they were a mates rates band...

The bigger kit they have and the worse it seems to get.
Best drummer I ever played along with had one Tom kit and two cymbals buy boy could he play it.

There is no problem, other than nobody will be buying any.
Only a problem for Marshall.

I dont need to do anything, the sound guy does what I say and puts a Mic on the cab if I ask for one.
I am the artiste he is the servant hired to do a job .

Some irony in there, but you get the jist...
On the other hand, it must be the climate change in the air, because this poor bass sound is only a new thing, any gig veteran will soon tell you back in the 80's 90's and even 2000's the bass sound was never an issue, the issue is more laziness and excuses than room dynamics.

This was emphasised watching Mani from Roses out front sound checking, he made that sound guy get his sound, it took some doing and at one point it looked like thay might have to find a new sound guy as he started preaching about bits of paper proving he was an expert, but eventually, using a bass drum Mic and not a DI and lots of huffing and blowing, crack, out came his classic unmistakable bass sound from the PA. Let me tell ya, you would have paid just to hear it.

The argument that the sound mixer guy is the authority on the bass sound, is well laughable.
They always start, we prefer a DI, I bet you do, over done, raw sound of the bass, same sound as everyone else gets every gig, job done, shut up your just the bass player...
Try this with the guitarist and he will wrap a les paul round a few nuts.

Your tone is pretty much stable at all venues from the amp, gig in gig out, that basic sound you spent years crafting travels with you.
To let some lazy mixer bloke just stick the bass straight in to the desk, yeah thats coming through, next, well you will get the sound you deserve.
That will be, same as everyone else gets, every gig, which as we can gather listening to the actual real experts on bass sound "the bass players" is a complete rubbish dull mid scooped out of the mix tone.

Two sides to this, one shifting the keys of the who songs down would be a pain as his voice well lets put it kindly, its gone.
Then again, the pictures presuming the crowd helped out would help put the price and fame of your band up in the booking stakes.
So yes, a win win.

[quote name='taunton-hobbit' timestamp='1417470466' post='2620790']
As far as I'm aware (this came from a reliable source) Marshall shift about a million quids worth of kit a year, so I have a suspicion that they don't actually give a sh*t.........

[/quote]

If this is a reliable source as you claim, I can not see them lasting that long at all in todays market with such a old school "British" attitude attitude.
As I said they are a non entity in bass rig sales, probably because as you mentioned, they dont give a ****.
Thats half of the potential band amplifier market lost to competition.
Guitar wise, they are also dropping out of the race to companies that are listening to customers.
I think you summed it up perfectly if thats an insider, they just don't give a **** that they are losing out the market share.

Somewhere else... other companies that do give a **** are listening to customers and putting effort in to making what customers are asking them to produce.
Hence we now have 500 Watt+ bass rigs that not only work and sound great but fit in the boot of a Corsa or small hatchback with the bass and lead/effect bag.
My own deep feelings is one of somewhat sadness that they have got themselves in to such a mess that they are now a last option for bass amplifiers.

Try getting it off the floor, when cabs sit on the deck they ambient the floor, this absorbs the energy from the cab in to the floorboards, lifting the cab on a crate or some casters can give you back that stolen power.

The rubber on those budget stands will mark lacquered necks so mask it off.

Bass players have had their bollox cut off by sound engineers to make it easy for sound engineers.
Just DI the bass straight in the desk, where there is no compression and very poor limited EQ.
All that drive and warmth you spent years creating as your sound is gone from your showcase of the big gig.

If they tried this with guitarists they would be a riot, it is our own fault, make them mic up the amp, insist, demand to have your sound, compare it, get on his back until its done and they might just start to take us seriously.
Same in studios, just DI and we will use the warbilater to cut all the mid and you out of the mix, again those yesteryear iconic sounds were mic up cabs.
DI has its place, but getting your sound to be replicated elsewhere is never going to happen with a bass DI straight in to a desk.
Make them go fetch a mic, just like they have to for the guitar.

We are seeing a rather silly price spike in second hand bass prices ?
Any one agree, second hand guitar prices have plummeted the last few months but basses have risen.
A correction must be well over due now.

Where its a factor is staying in business.
Orange, Aguilar. Mark bass TC and plenty of others flying out of shops to bass players.
Marshall, nowhere to be seen, nobody really even bothers stocking them.

Now they have the Chinese links, but like anything British (Rover cars) they just can not get in to the 21st century.
Time has stopped and what should be a premium brand is now a range of out of date old school bass amps that really would be better scrapped, get some fresh blood and I have said this before, utilise tube drive pre-amp technology and wire it to a class D power amp and get back in the game.
Re-design the cabs, dump celestion speakers and use eminence top range, make smaller stuff, 1x12, 2x12, 2x10, make it all fit together and line up.

A real shame that they are no longer a option in the bass market, they need to have a coach trip out and go see and play the competitions amps and come back to the drawing board, but don't only see them, load them in and out of the types of cars musicians have, see how necessity now drives what we buy, gone are the days of band vans, it's what you can carry now in your car.

Had a VBA, yes they sound OK, pretty much a very one trick amp, but you need a spare head at all times, that and they are a two man lift if cased and total nightmare if cold in a warm room.

Transistor wise, again, one trick amps, one sound and thats it.
They are always years behind the competition.
These days of Mark Bass and TC, agulia ect.., where are they in bass amps ?
Nowhere is the answer, nostalgia of yesteryear.

Had one and to be honest the binding gets right on your nerves, well it did me, digs in your arm and I soon realised why they scooped the corner off the jazz bass.

This born out of playing in bands with turnips.
How often do you see ads, must not be in another band, OK how often can you play you ask them.
No more than twice a month, Saturdays as well , OK so the other 3 weekends are off and you want someone to sit at home and do nothing for 2/3 weekends of the month and every friday so you get to pick when YOU want to gig.
Yeah mate...
Thats not a band, its your hobby and you want other people to help you achieve it.
These bands always end up with crap bass players.....

Pity they just can not make a bass amp.
No matter what they do they always cock it up.

Hurt, Johnny Cash. - Nice inch Nails.
Thats what you call a cover.....

Tragic.
I often wonder if Ziggy Stardust album would have been the hit it was without the input of those genius basslines.

Were these screen printed logos ? if so thats quite hard to fake, the logo does not look wateslided

It does have an odd "relic job" look about it, lacquer in particular.
The pots can be salvaged from Old TV's and radios of all things.

The fascination with packing the largest power output from the smallest box has not helped.
Flown line array leave very little lower mid punch for the bass to sit.
Sub this, sub that, but a bass guitar is not a sub bass instrument and trying to make it one leaves that dull rumble so many describe.
The present favoured system of line array is just useless at getting a clean bass guitar sound, yes its easy to set up and easy to install, but PA firms need to listen to concert goers, most agree, the PA gear is utter crap at the present time, a good sound is a thing of the past, they knew how to do it in the old days, but here we are with the "bees knees" of flow array systems and we have absolutely terrible out front sound.

The dolphin deal Its the BC range cabs, cheap drivers, not that clever to be honest, nearly jumped out of my skin when I thought it was rs4x10 x 2 + bh 500 for £549, but sadly its the inferior driver bc cabs, which I dont rate.

The bass has become an instrument that just gets ignored, in recording, in shops, in general.
I am amazed how many shops are willing to pee of 1/4 of potential customers by not taking the instrument seriously.
That is 25% of your sales walking out the door.

Not really that much for bass players so far.
Anyone found any real bargains...

Made in China by people with a gun in their back.
Would you worry about how long it will last or just getting the lid on and getting your quota done for the day...