ambient

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1506887204' post='3381839'] [size=2] [/size][size=2]Not everyone plays at as low volume as you prefer. [/size] [/quote] I only play low for my stuff, it depends on the gig. This afternoon's jazz gig the guy likes it loud.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1506886403' post='3381827'] I know sound is subjective but I have messed about with one of those and they aren't in the same league as a decent TE set up. For a beginner or 'school' they are fine (and I understand that is why they made a cheaper version) but they don't compare at all well with Markbass's usual offerings in my experience. As for the cab, it's not about volume, it's about where you place them as backline and also the different responses on a 15" and 2x10". Last gig I played my TE was on less than 4 on input and one click under 2 on output but I still took the cab. It's all down to personal choice but I know where my money would go (and did go). [/quote] Beginner? I think you'd hate my Phil Jones combo.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1506882486' post='3381772'] ... but the Markbass costs £800..! [/quote] [quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1506882883' post='3381777'] Yup and my TE has wheels! If they can find a Markbass combo and cab for anywhere near the £175 I paid for mine I would genuinely be interested but can't see it happening anytime soon. [/quote] The Jeff Berlin players school is a 1x15, and costs a little over the OPs figure, but can be bought for less used on here or eBay. Why would you need a cab? They're already plenty loud enough. In fact I only paid £350 for my CMD121P from a guy on here last year.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1506877492' post='3381721'] As for having a car, not sure pretty much any combo and cab would be transportable by bus or tube so having a car is a given really. They are cheap because they have fell out of fashion and aren't the 'new big thing' anymore. [/quote] My Markbass 1x12 went all over the country with me on the train. Given that the Trace 115 combo weighs 35kg or 75lbs, whereas the Markbass 112 weighs 11kgs, I know what I'd rather be carrying about.

A Markbass combo is perfect for just about anything. Re the Trace Elliot suggestions. There's a reason they can be had cheap. They're fine if you've got a plenty of room at home, a car and help both at home to load the thing in to and out of your car, and at the gig to unload and load it back in. They weigh loads, something like the equivalent of four Markbass combos.

I always get wherever I'm playing ridiculously early too. I hate being late or having to rush. I like to set up, then relax with a coffee, I don't drink, never have. Sitting on my own with a hot black coffee is for me perfect relaxation.

Probably sounds stupid, but I meditate the night before, and just prior to playing, just focusing on the gig, the playing etc. I'm mostly doing solo or duo bass gigs at the moment so nowhere really to hide as it were, it seems to work.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1506717446' post='3380720'] What's the other out of interest? [/quote] A 7 string, my only bass.

PJB Double 4. It's gigable too.

I'm probably going to be the only person to vote 'other' .

ACS are pretty good.

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1506342346' post='3378026'] Anathema on Saturday, never heard of 'em, mates got me a ticket... [/quote] They're really good.

Like others have said, try as many as you can. People make a lot of fuss about string spacing, for me at least it is not really a consideration. More important is the construction and quality of the wood. Yamaha build amazing instruments, as do Ibanez. Every Fender 5 string I've played have always left me a bit urgh. I once owned a USA 5 string Marcus Miller bass that was pretty awful. I'd save a little more and buy a used Overwater, or maybe try one of their budget models, which are really excellent for the price.

[quote name='la bam' timestamp='1506601822' post='3379852'] I think a lot of the aura and appeal of classic gear is it was directly telated to iconic bands, iconic music and an iconic time. All the classics from that era were played on that equipment and all our heroes used it. Todays music has very little in icons and iconic gear. Im not sure what todays youth will look back on and yearn for music wise? A laptop? A piece of software? A generic midi synth? [/quote] I think also, there's so much more gear around nowadays. Guys I like seem to have a different endorsement every other year.

There's a regular event held in Birmingham called the Seventh wave festival. They seem to hold 3 events a year. I saw Richard Barbieri in June, that was brilliant. His last few albums have featured Percy Jones on bass, he played some isolated tracks Percy's playing. This weekend there's an amazing singer called Tim Bowness, he used to be in a project called no man with Steven Wilson. He's playing Saturday evening with Colin Edwin from Porcupine tree. Tickets were only £7 at the weekend, regular price is just £14 anyway. Sunday there's an event featuring two guys from the BBC radiophonic workshop.

I often enter these things. I regularly get competitions emailed to me from TC Electronic, I always enter. After all, some will win, it won't be you if you don't enter.

I expect the main difference would have been the weight, especially with amplification. Quality might have been better too, we seem to have reached a point in time whereby we throw stuff away rather than get it repaired.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1506531352' post='3379404'] Shared Google calendar (everybody has a smartphone these days) [/quote] I know a few people who don't, and one who doesn't even have the internet at home.

My main jazz band is an ensemble, 3 bassists, 2 drummers, 3 keyboard players, a couple of singers, 3 sax players, 2 guitar players and a few deps. Everyone is allocated a number of gigs through a 3 month period, these are sent around on a programme, with the date, venue and crosses by the name of each musician to show what they're doing. This is updated as new gigs come in. It works well, and is quite simple to operate, even for such a large ensemble.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1506444191' post='3378808'] Sorry mate, can't agree with you on this. In my main band (Junkyard Dogs) the majority of gigs are got by me & Silvia working our tits off. The band's availability calendar is the 'Free' tab on the Lemonrock site: [url="https://www.lemonrock.com/junkyarddogs?page=diary"]https://www.lemonroc...dogs?page=diary[/url] All we ask the rest of the band is that they keep us informed through that page which dates the band is ALL available to play. If two visits, several pints, and some not very good over-priced food has finally got us to the point where the landlady has opened the her Event Diary and offered us dates, I am NOT about to say: "[i]Well give me a bunch of dates and I'll check which ones we can play, I'll maybe get back to you tomorrow[/i]." The only people who ever think that situation is acceptable are those who never bother to get gigs but leave it all to someone else. Harsh, but true. [/quote] I tell people when I'm not available, wouldn't that generally be easier? I should think there are fewer un-free days than free.