markorbit

For the first time in my life I had the same thought as I decided I finally ought to own a T-Bird late last year (I'm 47). I kept wondering 'But hang on, aren't they a young rockers thing?'. Then I remembered Entwistle. You can make any bass work if you approach it right. Crikey, my last few gigs were with my trusty Steinberger L2. I say make your own vibe and do your own thing. Play with confidence and you'll make it work.

[quote name='bassmansky' timestamp='1246212114' post='526927'] i guess jj burnel of the stranglers does'nt own a wooly jumper then [/quote] JJ tends not to use the ABM style VU Ashdowns that are mainly referred to here - he favours the 12 band graphic models that resemble the Trace Elliots. Basically a black Mark King model with a few tweaks. Sounds very much 'Live at Leeds'. Personally I've also struggled to get my sound out of an ABM-style Ashdown but sometimes I hear someone else playing one and I think it sounds great. I think the last [i]great [/i]British bass amplifier was the Trace GP12SMX. I'm always impressed when I plug that in (pre-shape OFF there too). If only the could make one that weighed 5kg.

I like phenolic/composite fingerboards and I favour a warm tone. I've had 'cold' basses with maple, rosewood and graphie boards.... What I love about the phenolic fingerboard is how refined and consistant the sound is. I generally prefer flatwound strings with them as I think they compliment each other well. I have a Status S2 Classic and original Steinberger at the moment. I did a quick recording session of all my basses the other day. The Precision with Status graphite neck and Labellas beat the rest. Refined smooth tone. Great for fingerstyle and even Motown. The Pino with the same strings was waaaay more upper middy for that Gang Of Four thing. Quite surpring really. Could be the Fralin pickups being the difference aswell of course. If I was still a pick player it may be different but I wouldn't dismiss a phenolic neck.

From my own experience I can confirm that Lakland have GREAT customer service.

MIne arrived today from Dv247. Echo the comments about the slim neck, it seems slimmer than the last Epis I picked up. MIght take a little getting used too, I wish it wasn't quite as slim. Again the recessed trim around the headstock is quite dark which is a shame as it's one of the 'features' of the T-Bird headstock. The Sunburst is quite gorgeous though and it plays well, perhaps a little buzzy on the 1st few frets but now it's tuned to pitch I'll wait and see what happens, It's lighter than all my Ps including the Pino. Knobs are black top hats not the amber ones. I'm between amps at the moment but will give it a shot before too long. There's something about these 50s/60s designs that have appeal akin to an automobile (yes the guy who designed the 'Bird was an auto designer). Especially the solid colours with chrome hardware - the burst/black less so but it's still totally classy. I can't put it down, that's a good early sign.

Most bassists are replacable except the ones who front the band but no bands would be 'the same' without their original bass player. The Smiths do fall into this category IMO - the contribution of Rourke/Joyce as a rhythm section is understated. Over time (as original bands from my era have split and reformed) I've come to realise that Joe Public really doesn't care that much who is backing the singer...!!

Etienne bought one of my Berg EX112ERs... then returned swiftly after for the other! Real pleasure to deal with. Hope you enjoy your new stack. thanks Mark

Been looking to try one myself for years if only to check out that power amp overdrive thing it has. If that works well then great. Even a decent youtube demo video would be nice but there's nothing useful. The fact that Ampeg aren't pushing the amp with demos would worry me. It seems overly expensive. Maybe the money is in the 2500 watts,