Greg Edwards69

Hmmm, maybe. It seems (to me at least) that bass players have been quite late to jump on the modelling bandwagon. I know a number of guitarists who've been using modelling amps since their infancy, as well as modelling guitars. They were doing that whilst were was busy exploring lightweight amps. It appears to be only the last 2 or 3 years that so many bass players have dived down the modelling rabbit hole (pretty much since the Helix and HX Stomp arrived on the scene).

It seems that more and more guitarists and bass players are going down the modelling route with either IEM or frfr backline, myself included. Is is the same as a real amp cooking behind you? No, it's not. But it's a darn sight easier to load in and out, and set up. Not to mention tailoring the sound for the room - I certainly feel less like I'm fighting the venue's acoustics with this setup. Sure, a real amp has a certain 'je ne said quoi', but how many average punters would be able to tell the difference? Do they even care. (Maybe if it's a multi-band line up and you have a direct A-B comparison, but if you're the only band playing, I doubt the average Joe would audibly notice it's not a real amp. EDIT: I meant to add.... It's a bit like mp3 over CD, or bluetooth instead of physical cables. Yes the quality difference is subtly noticeable, but the benefits vastly outweigh the disadvantages, IMO. But that's just me. As ever, YMMV. Dave_bass5 makes a good point regarding IEM and going direct to the PA. It's great for bigger gig if everything is in the PA and there's little sound coming of the stage. But in a smaller, intimate venue such as a pub, where people get within spitting distance, you need something to fill the void behind and between the PA speakers. Small combos or FRFR speakers are incredible these days and perfect for this situation. I've just picked up a headrush frfr-108 mainly for home and rehearsals. Tried it last night as rehearsal and we were all blown away. Power and low end that belies it's size. It would easily fill out a stage with PA support.

Actually had this from a punter (I paraphrase). "Why have you got all those pedals, you're a bass player, you don't need any? Norman Wattroy doesn't need them." "I'm not Norman Wattroy, and he doesn't play Muse songs in his set" PS, All those pedals - about 6 stomp boxes on a pedal train jnr!

I was thinking the same. This thread would have been locked and deleted days ago for breaching their rules. They literally have a "no insulting ugly bass" rule (which even includes artificial relicing).

Oi, I resemble that remark.

Is it meant to be strung like that. It just looks all kind of wrong and confusing.

I came here to say something similar. Sire’s headstock design just seems unrefined. It’s as if they took a hacksaw to a blank paddle and said “that’ll do”. That said, the headstock isn’t stopping me trying one. They just don’t make one in the configuration at the price point I want.

I have the 2020 50s CV P bass and I love it. Finish is excellent, the neck is pretty much perfect and sounds great. The truss rod did need a little coaxing at first to get the setup to my desired specs, but I’m happy with it now. The only issue I do have is with the tuners. They feel a little stiff and the baseplate is a non-standard affair. I.e. there’s no drop in replacement that I can find. AFAIK they use the same model for all Squier basses at the moment. I was hoping to get a hipshot xtender that would drop straight in without drilling. But seeing as any replacement with need drilling, It looks like I’ll likely end up replacing all the tuners with Ultralites and be done with it.

Just seen that too: “Land or buildings where the primary use is not the performance of live music (e.g. a restaurant or public house) should not be considered a live music performance venue.” https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-planning-update-on-cultural-venues-and-holiday-parks--2

I think the message is too vague to make an informed decision. I will wait for an update to the written guidelines. I didn't see Bojo's addres, but it seems to me the message is more geared towards professional performances in "proper" entertainment venues such as seated theatres and auditoriums. I think weekend warrior pub gigs are at the bottom of the list for the time being. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53442172

Many typical amp’s treble and bass eq controls are shelving type. Thus, the treble control will affect everything above the eq centre equally, and likewise, the bass control will affect everything below the eq centre. Each will also affect the frequencies on the other side of the eq centre to a lesser degree. Imagine a slope followed by a plateau on an eq graph. Markbass used to publish eq curves in the owner’s manual, it might be worth looking up. However, they are not in the pdf manual for the Little Marcus head on their website, but I’ve just looked up the manual for the LM2 I used to use, and the treble and bass controls appears to be more like a “bell” type as opposed to shelving. Usually, this means the eq centre will be affected the most, and frequencies either side will be affected equally to a lesser degree - imagine a bump or trough on a flat eq graph. Markbass appear to have designed a more specific curve for the bass and treble controls on this particular circuit. You should also take into account the type of speaker you’re using. A tweeter-less cab doesn’t usually put out much above 5khz, and most typical bass cabs drop off below 50hz This is a generalisation, there are other eq circuits that behave in different ways.

TBH, about the only sort of rehearsal space I'd be happy in at the moment would be semi open space, such as a barn or marquee. It's been shown that droplets can spread much further than 2m. It's not so bad in the shops were people are constantly moving, but I wouldn't feel comfortable spending 4 hours with people singing, and spreading droplets even at the minimum distance of 2m, even if they are all close friends. A Covid-specific risk assessment would however, make a big difference. Anyway, the government is yet to publish guidance on rehearsals for bands and other artforms, so it's all rather a moot point at the moment.

Hah! I've read that section multiple times but somehow missed that bit! Thank you.

The guidance puts paid to any gigs, indoors or outdoors. Part of the guidance is to reduce the risk of infection caused by people raising their voices, as this increased the chance of droplets/aerosols being spread. This can happen indoors or outdoors. I also feel this affects rehearsals too. Singing involved sustained, raised voices. I'm not comfortable with the idea of sharing a grubby rehearsal room with 5 other people all from different households for 4 hours.

I've been thinking the same lately. Something small enough for home use and rehearsals that's easy to carry, and only being the big speaker when I need it. I've been looking at the Trace Elliot Elf combos and the Phil Jones combos. Unfortunately though, I don't have the spare GAS tokens.

A further port thought. Is a bottom port viable, like on the barefaced one10, or is the power amp in the way? https://barefacedbass.com/product-range/one10.htm

I stand corrected. I thought I had read it elsewhere, I know they used to use Wilkinson pickups along with the current Wilkinson hardware. Regardless, I’ve still only heard positive things about these basses

Add the Harley Benton JB-75MN series to your list. They get a lot of love in the bass world and consistently good reviews with a quality that belies the price. With the Wilkinson hardware (pickups rebadged to Roswell) I cant understand how they manage to turn a profit! They come in blacks natural and sunburst https://m.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jb_75mn_black_vintage_series.htm?o=19&search=1588154335 PS, if you fancy something slightly different, they now make a sandberg California inspired “enhanced” jazz bass (and a P option) with a MM pickup at the bridge. https://m.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_enhanced_mj_4mn_natural.htm?o=8&search=1588709550

Or even cheaper and older, the line6 x3 live. Guitar and bass amp models and effects. There’s also the m series pedals (m5, m9 and m13). No amp models but a big mix of guitar and bass effects.

I have the Blackstar Core ID Beam. It has a couple of bass amp models (modern and vintage), compression and a few bass optimised drive effects, not to mention bluetooth for jamming along with. One of the acoustic models is actually completely flat, which is quite handy if I want to hook my Helix up to it for more in depth home practice. Only issue I have is to properly edit patched and tweak eq settings you need to hook it up to a computer via usb which is a PITA. Plus, blackstar appear to run about a year or so behind MacOS releases and the software isn't guaranteed to run properly if you regularly updated you mac. By the time they pull their collective finger out and release an updated, their still a macos release or too behind. If you're running windows, you'll have no such issues. PS, I'm rather smitten by those new mini beatle stack, although they are rather larger than you're looking for. That said, I'm tempted to trade my blackstar in for a vox adio air BS. Looks like a more user friendly practice amp than my blackstar.

I’ve been thinking the same. I use the 112 which I’m happy with, but it’s still a large fairly heavy unit to lug to rehearsals and too big to practice at home with. the volume shouldn’t be an issue, I’m more concerned about the low end cut off. The 112 is flat down to around 53hz ish, then rolls off to around 46hz. The cut off on the 108 is a bit higher, flat down to 62hz and rolls off down to 52hz. it may br okay at reasonable volume, but may struggle at the very low end when cranked up. I think the only way is to try one and find out. ps, these units are rated 2000w peak, 1000 continuous. Volume wise, in real works terms, it behaves similar to a 350-500w bass combo, which for many of us is smoke power.

What did you try it with? I use the 112 with the Helix and it’s plenty loud keeps up with my fairly hard hitting drummer no problem. He even used the second channel for his Roland drum trigger device and the volume matches the acoustic kit.

Just saying, and it's no excuse for the lack of enforcement of quiet periods, but complimentary earplugs were offered at the reception desk. Crappy industrial foam ones, but they were offered. I guess we should be thankful. The older combined music shows featured keyboard and drum manufacturers too. Those drummers can be noisy buggers, and they don't come with headphones!

I quite enjoyed it and appreciated that the bass show and guitar show were joined as I attended with the two guitarists from my band and met my brother there who is also a guitarist. And to be quite fair, there’s a lot of crossover between the two instruments in terms of both technology and manufacturers who cater to both. It was the first one I’ve been to for about 10 years and I do feel a little disappointed by the size of the show (last couple I went to were at the excel, and a couple at Wembley before that and one at Birmingham. These were much bigger events. Even the major manufacturer stands were significantly smaller than I expected, and a few notable absences (Yamaha, Line 6, Boss/Roland, Gibson, PMT, Andertons). I wonder if there’s a reason for this? That said, we all went without any particular GAS preconceptions and just wanted a day out looking at some of the latest gear, we wasn’t disappointed. There’s was a few things I haven’t had the opportunity to see, hear or touch in the flesh and most of them were there. Had a brief chat with Alex @ barefaced and spoke about the gap in the market for a bass focused active frfr speaker, definitely tempted to get a one10 now, I couldn’t believer the tone, depth and volume coming out of a seemingly empty shoebox. Finally got to try a Dingwall. I completely get the appeal of the multi scale neck, feels quite natural. The diminutive Jackson Minion bass is rather tempting as a fun little living room instrument, even as a cool little backup bass. I was also quite wowed by the new Vox Starstream Bass. Beautiful piece of engineering, feels great in the hands and lightweight. I also need to convince the wife that the mini super beetle bass amp and cab would be a nice addition to the living room. My guitarist friends were quite wowed with the shergold guitars, as was I. Fantastic sounding and feeling guitars at a perfect price point. We had high hopes for Jamie Humphries AmpliTube ‘Brian May’ demo - shame the sound system was dreadful. Fianally, John Wheatcroft’s jazz guitar session was very informative, even for us bass players. I took some useful tools away from his session that could apply to any instrument and genre. So yes, a good day out, but I hanker for the days of the bigger music show!

You forgot one... "We really love it when you get as close to the band as possible, especially if you have a beer in your hand and you trip over the power cables, knock mic stands over and fall on one of the pedalboards." Oh, and. "yes, those speakers we bought are just for you to put your drinks on, don't worry about spilling anything onto them".