Norris

Remember to go to the loo before you go on

I agree that often the distributors have a lot to do with it. A mate of mine stopped selling a lot of new stuff and moved into the second hand market because the distributors wanted him to sell X amount of stuff a month or he couldn't get any stock at all.

The last bass I bought in a shop was around 1995 and I took the day to travel to Birmingham. I bought it from The Bass Place, which only stocked bass gear. Needless to say it closed down many years ago. It would seem that bass gear is not commercially viable to stock in any quantity, especially without an online presence (and then the need to price match the profits away), and as fewer shops do so that trickle of sales dries up.

I'd be tempted to go for a passive for your first bass - one less thing to get to grips with. Personally I prefer them. The key thing is to find a neck profile you are comfortable with. They range from matchsticks to baseball bats and everything in between. As long as everything else checks out (straight neck, level frets, electrics all working, etc.) you'll be fine. Oh, and the colour - very important choice! Have fun and don't feel pressured

I wouldn't describe the Rumble 500 combo as a practice amp Try one - you'll be surprised at the sonic weight it delivers Edit: It's also very competitively priced

First of all, don't try to find one this weekend. Go and try everything in the shop but take away the pressure of "this weekend" and take your time about it. If your budget for the bass is £400 you'll be able to get a cracking starter bass for that - probably a lot better than most of us started with. You have plenty of time to choose. If you do find YOUR bass this weekend then that's fantastic. Find the one you fall in love with.

I think the key to depping is being able to learn songs quickly, and the structure of the song is as important as the actual notes. You will build a repertoire the more deps you do, which will depend on which bands you play with.

I never go on TB. Fun sponges (i.e. people who soak up any sense of fun, humour and enjoyment) I don't bother with RR either for the same reason. Sod 'em and just enjoy your new toy

Can't you get some sort of external eq so you don't have to chop the bass?

The only burst I own is my MIM Jazz fretless. I've never particularly been a fan of bursts but am seriously considering a blue burst telecaster (guitar) as my first scratch build

Primrose would look good with mint

I am happy with what I've got. However GAS is rising for doing my own scratch build...

The BB circuit has arrived from Prostheta. Just waiting for the pickup now

I gigged mine for the first time last night since fitting Prosteels. It sounded immense through the Rumble 500 combo. The old strings were really old and knackered. I usually use EB Slinkys, but the Prosteels had Ric clank in buckets when I wanted it. I think I'm a convert. Let us know how you get on when you gig it. (And there - is your thread firmly dragged back on topic? )

That looks gorgeous ezbass. Hope it sounds as good as it looks

EQ chain is: Bright > Vintage > O/D > Contour > EQ

I had a few minutes so... Bass: +/- 15dB @ 80Hz Low mid: +/- 12dB @ 280Hz High mid: +/- 12dB @ 1.2kHz Treble: +/- 15dB @ 10kHz Bright: +13dB @ 10kHz Contour: +1dB @ 80Hz, -13dB @ 670Hz, +2dB @ 8kHz Vintage: dynamic compression (-9dB max) with low pass (-6dB/oct) @ 400Hz

I'll have a look at my manual tomorrow and let you know. I've got to dash out straight after work in my "weekend warrior" guise

The volume was at about 9 o'clock (about 3/10) too

That's ok - it keeps bobbing near the top of the list

You can contact him through his website. He responded to me within 24 hours

And I'll admit my ignorance, as any knowledge I have has been gained in the last couple of weeks since discovering that the pickup had died. And I owe a lot of that to Prostheta - thanks!

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1431615543' post='2773263'] No, which pickup. [/quote] The MB-1 from Rautia Guitars Edit: If you mean neck or bridge, the mk1 SB-1000 is single pickup. Later ones had two.

I didn't get the footswitch. Again the overdrive is very usable especially in a band situation. Overall I'm very impressed with the sounds available, especially for the price. Real valves would probably sound better to you, but I very much doubt it any of the audience would notice the difference.

The Rumble 500 is big enough for my needs without an extension cab. It is loud. The tone controls produce very usable sounds. The vintage switch makes a big difference and sounds very convincing (to my ears anyway) Edit: I've not tried it with a faker but the real thing sounds sweet