NHM

The Musicmaster is a great bass to play and it sounds as good as anything I've heard (a bit subjective, I know). I've made a couple of essential (and reversable) upgrades - the pickup is a Curtis Novak, and locking compensated saddles - otherwise pure Californian '71.

Here's my #1 Fender rig: Bassman 500, Rumble 2x10, Rumble 1x15, Musicmaster, tuner and HPF out of shot:

two gigs a month is ideal for me. I'm more interested in the difficulty of travel / parking / get in as I find most pubs (where we do pretty much all our work) are much of a muchness. That said, our gig last Sunday was at one of the loveliest pubs in Kent with the worst travel & parking I've encountered.

That's bad news. Hope you get it all back undamaged and the scumbags who did it are caught. I will keep an eye open down this neck of the woods.

looking at the specs for this unit, I wouldn't rely on it for a two-setter down the pub, when the quoted battery life is only '2-3 hours'.

I bought a Marshall 50w head and 4x12 from a bloke in a pub in Willenhall (the Brown Jug at Lane Head, if you know the area) in about 1973/4, he claimed he was Noddy Holder's roadie and they had been given a load of new stuff by management so the old gear was being sold off. I never checked out if the story was true, but it was decent and well worn gear and the story suited me to believe it. My first amp & cab, it lasted me a fair few years before I foresaw back-knack.

what strings are you using? It could be a simple as changing to a different set.

that's great, thanks for posting this.

I've one of these basses too. It is great to play and probably worth spending on if the sounds available improve as a result. The stock pickup options are humbucker/single as far as I know, but there isn't a massive sound difference when you're strings are flats. I'd be interested to know if there are easy mods that can improve the sounds available, to upgrade this from a great bass to a 'first choice of the rack' for gigs.

Is there a difference from an insurance perspective on whether you are driving to a paid gig or unpaid - e.g. an 'open mic'?

Oh I thought this thread was going to be about Nadine Dorries

going back to the gig bag question, I've got a Gretsch Junior Jet bag which is a very good quality bag. It fits my Musicmonster, LPJT doublecut and, perhaps not surprisingly, my GJJ.

well worth a listen. She's so imaginative, creating distinctive bass lines that add so much to the songs whilst remaining a team player.

On a slightly different point I played at an outdoor urban festival a few weekends ago, a council/community event, where the FOH sound was well balanced and appropriately loud except there was virtually no 'low end' in the mix. I wondered whether the sound company had been told by the client to minimise the likelihood of annoying neighbours by filtering out any sounds that might carry any distance.

I picked up a cab, an ebay purchase, at 2pm yesterday and drove straight to a gig, loaded in at 3.45, soundcheck at 4.30 and started the first set at 5. And the new cab sounded great! I'm sure others could beat a three hour 'purchase to gig' turn-round, but I was pretty chuffed by my experience.

The 'A' string snapping at the beginning of a new year's eve function and not having a spare. Smacking my headstock into a conga player's forehead leaving him with a nasty cut.

I do enough gigs to make the 'hobby' pay for itself, and have decent gear and great memories as a result. I've always done band stuff in parallel with a full time job.

Fender flats are great for country rock, and not too expensive.

I've done it too, perhaps post the results of your survey here? How about a follow up survey on strings?

I use one for classic rock covers, normally with an extension cab - but I think it would be fine on its own (and we are a pretty loud band).

I agree it isn't a prerequisite, but I said it's a help which I stand by.

Hi I'm just home from a morning rehearsal where the Vong just did its stuff without complaint or adjustment, just helping me get a great sound for classic rock covers, whilst taking an unwanted load off the amp and speakers.