Marc S

Hi Keefaz, firat of all.... welcome to BassChat, and welcome to the wonderful world of bass playing Re your need for an amp, of course, you don't necessarily NEED one as such. However, you may turn up at a gig where there's no PA, or where the PA isn't working In the past, PA owners and Sound tech guys were frequently not happy at bass guitars being plugged into their kit - something about a bass possibly damaging their speakers This tends to be less of a problem these days, as more PA's seem to be capable of handling bass and keyboards... but you never know So I think it's good practice to have some amp kit... You may find some bargains on here, particularly among the older gear - because it tends to be heavy, whereas there's a lot of modern lightweight options around nowadays As has been said, without knowing too much about the band you're in, and crucially, without hearing them (even bands covering the same material can differ a lot) what bass will give you the best sound is a tricky question... The good old stable, the Precision Bass is so often cited as being able to "cut through" most mixes and music, and by and large, this is true - depending on amps, venue, and other musicians playing etc. Your Squier may indeed be able to cut it, but perhaps the amp you're using is under-rated, compared to the other musicians? Or, just as likely, they could maybe turn down a tad? Not knowing which Squier you have (they can vary hugely, depending on when & where built, as much as the particular model) - it may even be that your bass isn't set up properly, or the pickups are too distant from the strings... (PS. Also, don't adjust them so they're too close!). It may be that a simple upgrading of the pickups to something more powerful is an option that could save you money? Some used pickups on here, or I'd recommend looking at Entwistle PBXN or JBXN (Precision and Jazz versions) are cheap and very powerful for passive pickups. You could also look at buying an active bass (with battery powered pickups & electrics) - but some of the older amps can struggle with the signal from active basses, if your gain is set high.... The most important factor when choosing a bass, is how comfortable is it to play? Consider neck thickness, body & neck position - is that low F too much of a struggle to reach? Does it hurt your wrists when stretching? Is the bass too heavy? etc. They do vary so much in terms of playability as much as sound (possibly more so?) - so try as many as you can. Pop to your local shop and explain your situation - say that you're new to bass, and want to find the most comfortable one to play. Try a few used ones - are there any for sale on here that are situated near you? Is there a local bass bash event coming up soon near you? We're a friendly bunch, and many BC'ers are happy to let you try their bass A lot of guitarists (and some bassists) like short scale basses. These are 30" scale lengths, as opposed to the usual 34" scale of a normal, full scale bass. Perhaps try one out for size / comfort? Squier do a rather nice Jaguar SS, with a P and a J pickup. They're pretty reasonably priced, and even cheaper 2nd hand. Also, re DI / Preamp pedals. Once you have your comfortable bass - a D.I. Pedal or an EQ pedal can help sculpt your sound. The Sansamp has already justifiably been mentioned, but there's a cheaper option - Behringer do a nice Pre-amp pedal, with some nice tonal and boosting options. OK it isn't in the same league as the Sansamp, but at under 30 quid it's pretty good value. Sorry, that's a lot more for you to think about, and I've only scratched the surface of some topics. But get yourself a bass you're comfortable with - that makes learning a lot easier If you're comfortable with that Squier, maybe think about upgrading the pickups? Most of all, best of luck mate

I'd go with hiring a bass, I think. Alternatively, You could also consider getting yourself an Eminence folding EUB I had one of these, and as they have a small acoustic / chambered body, they sound very DB-like, with some EQ'ing. The added advantage, is that the folding version packs away into a Golf Case The idea behind this, is that Airlines are apparently "golfer friendly" - so taking anything in a golf club case on a plane, you get a heavily discounted rate.... The golf flight case is a sturdy hard case, with wheels on one end, so it's easy to lug around (though it's not heavy anyway really) plus, your bass packs away inside an additional padded soft case. So it's pretty well protected inside a strong case and well padded gigbag (which also doubles up as a softcase / gigbag for when you don't need the hard case) When you return, you could then sell the Eminence for pretty much what you paid for it..... Just another thought....

There's also the option of this - the Fishman bass power-chord pedal I bought one on here second-hand. I've used it in a cover band I play in. We lost our keyboard player a while back, and had some gigs already booked - so I wanted to "fill" the sound a bit more As others have said, this isn't necessarily the best approach / ethos, but in this particular band, the singer / guitarist mainly plays and acoustic guitar I found the pedal worked quite well, and gave another "dimension" to the sound - of course, it can't "replace" the keys and that shouldn't be the aim but when used at the right times, it did add something to the overall sound of a 3 piece band.... https://www.fishman.com/products/series/fx/fission-bass-powerchord-fx-pedal/

Looks quite different, and really nifty. I recently heard a small handbuilt ukulele, made by some chap not too far from me It had a really tiny, shallow body, but I was amazed at how loud it was, considering this.... Wish someone local stocked these Motu Ukes - I'm intrigued as to how they sound now Cheers for the heads up Andy

I know you say you're not a fan of Markbass cabs But I own a MB 2x10 traveller. It's crazily lightweight - even lighter than some cabs that are physically smaller than it And it sounds much bigger than you'd expect. You might also want to look at Epifani Cabs. I've got a 1x10UL and it's superb. These days, my rig consists of a couple of heads and 3 different cabs. I like to keep the rig as lightweight and portable as possible, yet with the ability to be as flexible as possible - depending on the band I'm playing with and / or the size of the venue... Definitely look at a MB 2x10 traveller - remember, it will sound different, depending on what head you use it with Use it with the head of your choice, and it may surprise you. Good luck with your search

Lots of good advice in several of the replies here. However, without actually hearing the band live, it's tricky to say exactly what the problem is... Osiris is right in his advice here though, I've played and heard a few pedals that somehow seem to take some of the low end out of the bass sound Also, there have been many occasions (depending on venue and the rest of the band mix...) where adding more of the low end makes the bass sound "muddy" or indistinct. I find that boosting the low mids is often the solution. Perhaps try a Pre-amp pedal? Good luck anyhow - a bit of experimentation will help

Happy NBD. That looks absolutely lovely In fact..... all 3 of those P's look rather nice You don't need them all, do you?

I wouldn't have thought there would be a resonance problem, using thin card - at least by the time the neck bolts are done up tightly, it should all be solid... If you really want to use wood, you could try a model shop. They sometimes sell really thin pieces of ply or balsa Good model shops will also sell A4 sheets of plastic-card. You can get plastic-card in several different thicknesses, from very thin to mm's thick. A thin one should suffice, and you can even glue / laminate several pieces together, if you needed to. It's easy to cut and shape, with a Stanley knife

NB. As you have Silver Slaps on the bass, are you intending to play slap style DB? Usually, slap DB players tend to have a higher action anyway - but your action still sounds quite high to me

Also, don't forget that you don't want the sound-post falling over! When you are taking the tension out of the strings, to remove the bridge - put the bass on its' back.... If the sound-post falls over, you need a special tool to retrieve it, or pay a luthier to do so BTW. I think it might be a good time to fit an adjustable bridge - this will help you decide what action is best / easier for you and adjust the bridge to suit your playing, which will no doubt evolve as you improve

Thanks for posting that link TorVic I enjoyed reading that

I've fancied trying a Maruszczyk Jake for some time now. Sadly, not had chance..... Any owners on here able to comment on how much they sound like a typical Precision? Or how the difference in pickup position affects their P tone? good luck in your search foxyFuze Everyone should have at least one P in their armoury - that's all I can say (keeping it down to just one is my problem lol)

Really like that cherry burst colour on the P bass

As Lozz and Lewis say, the benefits of the Fender Roadworn series lie in the quality of their build, sound and feel. Somehow, Fender have managed to create a series of instruments that feel as though they've been around for years, and played for the same amount of time. They're definitely a step up from the MIM Classic series (though these are also great basses). Personally, I also say that there's something quite liberating about gigging a bass that already has a few knocks & dings. I've gigged expensive mint or near mint condition basses, and I'm always a bit nervy - in case of being the first one to scratch or bump the bass.... I've often told a story of a singer tripping over a wire and bringing a cymbal & stand down on a mint condition Rick I once owned. Very next time I took it out to a gig (different band) I had a similar incident, and decided it was too good (and expensive) to risk damage. Of course, there are those who quite rightly say, it's a working instrument, and it's going to pick up knocks along the way - but I just don't want to be the first to do this, or make another band member feel guilty about an accident.... I've owned a couple of Fender Roadworn basses, and they've knocked spots off US Fenders I've owned. IMO, they're superb instruments. I wasn't particularly a fan of reliced / roadworn basses before - but the RW's have opened my eyes. The fact that you're not over cautious or living on tenterhooks about whether your bass gets a bump or not is just the icing on the cake for me. Re the pickup position - I'm not sure just how much difference the position of the added J pickup makes, but I love the configuration. I've got a P/J and a straight P, and the P/J just gives me the flexibility I want. P sound with as much (or little) Jazz burble as I want, whenever I want it.....