Funky Dunky

I'm so drawn to the Aguilar TH350 though. I love all their stuff, it sounds incredible to my ears. Only problem is, you can't get them in Scotland and God knows how far South I would have to go to get a shot of one. Plus, I couldn't possibly stretch to an Aguilar cab as well as a head, so what in the name of Jeebus kind of cab do I match an Aguilar head to without compromising it immensely? Buying the Aguilar head would leave me £300 for a 2x10 cab, and I'm not up for buying any old cab just to fit budget. The agony!!

Hartke LH500 head.....hmmmm.......not bad at all.

https://youtu.be/jCnC0n4txgA Dunno how much help that will be but it"s a Genz, a Promethean and a TC for tonal comparisons. That video has a part two as well. But, like the man says, maybe rethink your choice of cab if you're rocking a 5-string.

Delbert, that's a good point. A very good point. It"s a marriage of components, some basses/pickups/electronics may couple better with certain amps than others. A worthwhile consideration. Frash - what you got for a cab these days?

Dude I didn't know you were rocking a Markbass!! What did you use at SXSW? And what's been your favourite backline thus far?

The Ashdown Rootmaster is growing on me. Can't wait to try some of these out. Unfortunately I don't think I'll get to test the Markbass without a long road trip first. I like the Aguilar, but which 2x10 to pair it with?? Buying the head would leave me around £300-£350 for a cabinet.

TC ruled out. Too artificial-sounding for my tastes.

I should say, the Aguilar and the Eden are my faves from YouTube demos at the moment, followed by the Ashdown. I haven't heard the Hartke or the Markbass yet but will have a squizz later.

After much digging, consideration and listening to the advice of my BC brethren, with budget in mind, I have drawn up a shortlist of amp heads I want to try: Aguilar TH350 Ashdown Rootmaster RMMAG 420 Eden E300 Fender Rumble 500 V3 Hartke H3500 Markbass LM250 TC Electronic BH550 Thoughts?

[quote name='MrWalker' timestamp='1430462653' post='2761567'] Go to a good music store. Bring your bass. Test the amps they have in your price range. Bring home the one you think sounds best. I have a few amps, in various price ranges. Genz Benz Shuttle 6 and a few cabs to vary between, a Yorkville Sound Bloc80,a Roland Cube 30, a Phil Jones double 4.... I still sound like me on all amps, for the most part. So go in there and let your ears do the job. Sorry if I didn't shed light on your struggle to understand the ohms and the valves and tubes and what not. :-) after 35 years of playing I have limited knowledge of these things myself. I bought amps more out of necessity than lust. I needed an amp with more power or a smaller one to fit in my girlfriend's tiny apartment. Etc. Just bring your wishlist, your bass and your ears to the test room. That's what counts. [/quote] My kind of logic. That's exactly what I should do. Simple. Instead of going in thinking I should have this make or that, try everything and let the ears judge. Thanks :-)

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1430461471' post='2761561'] Actually, reading this lot it becomes obvious that what you need is all of it. A rig for each gig. That in turn would justify and validate having a bass for each gig. Your enormous collection of bass gear will then require that you buy a mansion to store it all in. Works for me. [/quote] I like this guy.

Not quite the same scenario as the OP ( I really sympathise mate, I would be going mad by now) but sometimes if I can't play bass I don't cope so well mentally. If I get that need to play and cannot, I get very irritable. I would liken it to an addict needing a hit - there is a physiological reaction. I get twitchy and on occasions I have felt almost angry. I work 12 hour shifts so this frustration is not uncommon, sadly. I cope by doing finger exercises, tapping 1-2-3-4 4--3-2-1- 1-3-2-4 4-2-3-1 over and over and over again, or stretching my fingers and doing various different workouts. I try to come up with riffs in my head. I google stuff about bassists, basses, amps.....I visit basschat, or I go on YouTube. I should probably be fired from my job. I am that obsessed. Years ago my mate, a guitarist, damaged tendons in his picking arm, so he put a hairband over the nut of his axe and L/H legato'd everything for 3 months. Made him a hell of a player.

The Euphonic Audio stuff is reeeeeally hard to come by. There's a Wizzy on eBay for £349 but it's a 200w combo. Looks impressive, mind you.

Ah yes, I read that about the Ampegs in YouTube comments and it was off-putting. The accusations were that because of the lowish price point, cheap materials had been used and it was a common problem. Interesting about the Fender/Genz situation. I'm even more tempted now!

Been swotting up on your suggestions, chaps, and the Fender Rumble 500 has the lead (badump-tsh!) at the minute in terms of price and features. I can't find anywhere around with one in stock, unfortunately, they all seem to stock the smaller Rumbles but not the big daddy. Andertons have them for £480 - seems like a bargain for what this amp has to offer. Is it really only 36lbs? The Ampeg PF has bags of appeal, and it's a really smart set up but I will need to play one. The videos on YouTube seemed a little bit thin and toppy-sounding for my taste but maybe some judicious knob-twiddling (matron!) could dial that out. The Ashdown isn't bad either. I will play all of these if I can and make up my own mind. Oh, and I've seen people drawing comparisons between the Fender Rumble and Genz Benz. Do they share circuitry or components?

Major envy! I dunno why, but I actually thought that bass came with the '63 pickup as standard. If you have a way to let us hear this wond'rous beast now that you have modded her, please post a clip! Congrats, she's beautiful!

[quote name='vsmith1' timestamp='1430301108' post='2759934'] [*]Thoroughly agree with washing hands - and stay away from eating crisps, nuts, etc. all of that salt, oils on the strings don't do them any good. [/list] [/quote] Ed Friedland (aka The Bass Whisperer) just reviewed the new DR Pure Blues and he talked about "The Fried Chicken test" :-D

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1430306826' post='2760029']Beware of buying more than you need! [/quote] Good point.

[quote name='ColinB' timestamp='1430298248' post='2759895'] You might want to read [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/261020-ncombod-fender-rumble-500-v3-combo/"]this[/url], it sounds like just what you're looking for. [/quote] Hmmmmmm...........interesting. I will definitely have to try one of those. Guys, you've given me sound advice (badump-tsh!) and lots to consider. I will make the trip to Glasgow and test everything I can get my hands on. I think there's even a trip over the border on the cards to try some of the amps which I can't trace up 'ere. The Fender combo and Hartke heads have certainly whet my appetite. I would prefer a head and cab combo but wasn't sure if I could afford quality. Matching a head to cab sounds like another minefield.

Thank you, this is great feedback (badump-tsh!) I am learning already! I have much research to do. I will keep my eyes peeled for the next Bass Bash, too.

I will research the PJB Bass Buddy and Barefaced Midget. From your description it sounds like that combination offers a versatility which would suit me. Thanks.

I dunno, there's a guy called Pertybass on youtube uses a Markbass and his tones all sound woody and warm, but as you say it's all about ears and perception. I'm buying an amp because I need an amp! I'm looking at where I am and where I hope to be in the future and was simply looking for pointers from people who knew amps from their own experience. I hoped maybe somebody could match me up based on the parameters I've offered above. I know it's probably vague but I'm just looking for help. I play fingerstyle, mostly funk and disco but not Jamerson flatwound. Vintage may be the wrong term to use as it might imply 50s/60s tone to some people. I'm not rocking flatwound strings or anything, but nor am I using fuzz or high gain modern distorted sounds. I did say amps are a minefield, and you can see why. I know the sounds I like from hearing other bassists, and they use Markbass, Genz Benz, Aguilar......all pretty pricey amps, but the Markbass appeals going by what I've heard so I wondered if there was a combo that fits the bill in terms of expansion to smaller gigs.

Apologies if this gets long-winded. I posted a 'recommend an amp' thread here a few months ago, and I appreciate all the input (badump-tsh) from forum members who made recommendations. I like to do PUH-LENTY of research well ahead of time before making a purchase, but here's the thing: I'm no further forward. Why? Well, read on.... 1) I still don't know what's right for me. My experience of amps and live performance is minimal. I've only played a handful of smallish gigs, and so while I can read and read about amps, tweeters, speakers, ohms and what have you, I still have a fairly limited understanding of what it all means in context and of course, how it sounds. 2) I have a relatively firm idea of what I want - or, what I THINK I want. a. I want an amp which will have a great, balanced sound - clear lows, defined mids and highs. I want the tone to be warm. I prefer vintage tones. I want my sound to be woody and well-lubricated. b. At the moment, I'm not in a band. I only play at home. For that reason, a headphone jack would be handy. c. I would like the amp to be sufficient if I do start gigging. At least enough poke to play in bars and functions. And obviously fairly light and portable. So do I go combo or head and cab? Do I go valve or solid state? I've read that a good valve amp can make a cheap bass sound killer, can a good solid state do the same? Speakers: where do I begin? Do I want 1x10? 1x12? 2x10? 2x12? What are the advantages and disadvantages? What IS a tweeter? Why do I want one, or not one? A lot of the amps I'm interested in are not available in my neck of the woods (Ayrshire). For example, I'm very interested in Markbass, but I can't get trying them out. They do several amps in my price range and the consensus is that they make fabulous amps. I'm limited to YouTube for listening to them, and what I hear sounds good, but I want to hear what MY basses sound like through a Markbass amp. For that reason, I'm limited to whatever the local shops stock if I want to hear my basses through any kind of amp. A question about Markbass, to the Markbass users/afficionados: as per my criteria above, which Markbass amps fit the bill? Feel free also to recommend other amps that you think would suit me. I'm looking to spend an absolute max of £700, and not cash so unfortunately a second hand bargain would have to pass me by. I saw a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 and Focus cab on eBay for £499 and my wee heart shattered because I would love a Genz Benz, that strikes me as a heck of a price but I'm not Frankie Flush. Thanks for reading.

[quote name='anaxcrosswords' timestamp='1430256090' post='2759656'] A nice tip for making dead strings come back to life – no taking them off and boiling them! Loosen them so they’re quite flappy without actually dangling. Give them several tugs, the way you would when fitting new ones. Re-tighten to normal tuning. Some of that sounds fnarr fnarr but, believe me, it works. [/quote] Yep this can extend string life and bring back a bit of thr brightness. MarloweDK does it in a video, I tried it on an old Jim Deacon bass which hadn't had new strings in over ten years. The amount of crud that came off them was disgusting, but yes, it really did breathe new life into the strings.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1430244360' post='2759478'] Yeah, they'd be in and around the same price as the DR's. Worth doing some research on them. Seemingly they are hand made by just three people in a small factory in Brooklyn. http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=fodera+nickels&_from=R40&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xfodera+nickels+45-105.TRS0&_nkw=fodera+nickels+45-105&_sacat=0 [/quote] Thanks for posting that link. After reading about the Foderas, I navigated and found DR Sunbeams for £20 delivered! Happy days!