Gottastopbuyinggear

There are places on the web where you can buy foam cut to size in loads of different shapes - I've bought two pieces of a wedge shape so that I can angle my Markbass traveler 102 up at me a bit with one, and put the other on top of the cab the other way around so the head sits flat. An angled cab will have a more extreme slope but you could fix the foam wedge to a bit of thin plywood with another bit of ply at right angles at the front edge to hook over the cab front. If you see what I mean...

My questions would be whether your advert, and his response, were clear (and honest) about ability levels? Are you a complete novice, in which case it might be a bit odd that he replied, or are you a Jazz novice, which is a different thing? At the end of the day the honesty thing is important. If they're really good, and happy to play with people who aren't so good (and do so in a "nice" way) then great. My experience is of going for a try out with a band who I thought were probably a bit too good for me. I was honest about my experience and ability, and I think I gave a pretty good account of myself. They went with someone else, but said "no" to me in a pretty positive way, so all round a good experience. But even if they'd been knobs about it, who cares - you move on and find something/someone more appropriate, and they're still the knobs.

From my guitar playing past I have a Les Paul (2, if you include the copy), a Strat, Tele, 335, Ovation acoustic, a dozen or more pedals, and so on. Just a look at my username tells you I know how bad I can be. I bought a Jazz bass a few years back to mess around with, and then last year got more serious about playing bass rather than guitar. I bought a Precision recently, and I now play nothing else. Thus I appear to have 1 more bass than I need, and 1 more than I want. I'm assuming this phase will pass...

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1430863719' post='2765475'] No laughing at my code please. [/quote] I've not laughed at anyone's code since I saw someone implement a boolean using strings with "YES" and "NO" in, so I think you're quite safe! Thanks for posting that. It looks like you've used the same github sources as I have, and the important bits of the code look like mine, so I've obviously got some other problem. I need to go back and put some debugging output in to try and get a better idea of what's going on. Out of interest, which USB Host shield did you use - was it the Sparkfun one, the genuine Arduino one, or some other?

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1430233360' post='2759276'] I'm going to assemble my Arduino-based patch switcher for MS60-B and B3 - just sends a MIDI program change message to the USB port. [/quote] I spent a frustrating afternoon yesterday with an Arduino Uno and the Sparkfun USB Host shield trying, without any success, to get it to send MIDI program change messages to my MS60-B. I've previously built an Arduino based MIDI foot switch for controlling a Line6 POD XT, and there's lots of helpful material on the web about using the MIDI libraries, but there's precious little about MIDI over USB. I saw in another of your posts that you've managed this already - can you share what hardware you're using and which libraries, both for the USB host and drivers and for the MIDI over USB element?

I saw him, in 2006 I think, at the Birmingham NEC. Given his advancing years I thought I'd better take the opportunity to see him while I could, and the fact that he had Gary Moore as support was an added bonus. Who'd have though back then that he'd have outlived Moore...

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1430204305' post='2758787'] I will be taking my walking stick as I'm getting a bit doddery on my pins. [/quote] I remember seeing Eric Clapton at the RAH, probably about 25 years ago now. Went with a few mates, and a friend of a friend who I'd met a few times before. Sadly, by the time I bought my ticket I could only get one for right up in the gallery, where I knew the sound would be a bit suspect. The friend of a friend was a nice bloke, a little unsteady on his feet and always walked with a stick the few times I met him. He offered us a lift - we were travelling from Didcot. "Where are you going to park?" I asked - "Ah, don't worry about that", he said. The day arrived, we jumped in his car, drove up to London and parked in a disabled space right outside the RAH. I'd not noticed the disabled badge in his windscreen. That's handy, I thought. "Can one of you do me a favour and get my wheelchair out of the boot" he said... We did, and we helped wheel him to his perfect line of sight spot in the stalls where he enjoyed the show and afterward informed me that the view was brilliant and the sound excellent. I should add that he was genuinely registered disabled, so was enjoying one of the few benefits that comes with the territory.

I've played exactly the same pairing a few times recently, and I'm really impressed, albeit that I don't have a huge amount of experience to draw from for comparisons. I struggled with the eq for a while as it seemed to be very bass heavy, but ultimately stumbled on the same settings that I later read in a thread on Talk Bass are supposed to represent a true "flat" eq on the GK - 10:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 10:00 going from Bass to Treble. I'm really happy with the tone I got from my precision, although I struggled a bit with my Jazz, which I found was a bit boomy around the low A up to the next E, particularly when played on the E string. Having said that, I only tried the Jazz for a short time, and it was on a wooden stage which I don't think was helping. I was quite shocked at the amount of vibration coming through the floor from the low notes. My 102P cab also weighs just under 13Kg according to my scales, which is great for a one-trip-from-the-car situation.

On the off chance that anyone is interested, my shiny new luggage scales do confirm 13kg for the cab. No wonder it seems a lot lighter than the Ampeg.

Depending on the type and position of handles on your cab I'd suggest just passing the lead loosely round a handle once, and that should give enough protection from the head being pulled off the cab if you catch the lead. Regarding the vibration issue, you could just try a piece of foam - I've been using a short piece of 2" x 4" auralex foam to tilt a cab back, and have been putting a GK MB200 head on another piece of foam on top of the cab. There's no hint of it moving, despite it sloping back at an angle. Admittedly it's a rat fur covered cab, but even if it was tolex I don't think it would move, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't if the cab was flat on the floor. The advantage of this is nothing needs to get stuck or screwed in place.

I, too, would not be able to cope with the badly aligned bridge. Having said that, when I was shopping around for a precision recently I saw a brand new American standard with a bridge almost as badly aligned as that!

I use one of these for a hundred yards or so trip from the car to one of the places I play and it's been fine: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Einhell-Folding-Truck-90kg-Capacity/dp/B001GU6FYI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427866565&sr=8-1&keywords=Sack+trolley I have to use a bungee cord to secure the cab as the base is quite short, but I guess you'd do that for safety even with the Thomann one.

I had a go at alto saxophone a few years ago. I really enjoyed it, but gave up when I got to the point where I needed to put a lot of effort in to keep improving at a good rate, and couldn't really justify (or find, for that matter) the time. Plus it's a very loud instrument, so not necessarily the most popular thing with those you live with... What it really brought home to me, as a hobbyist, is why they tell you to learn scales when you learn such an instrument. I never before "got" that by learning a scale, and getting the fingering pattern embedded in your brain, you didn't have to think about sharps and flats for a piece in that key, as you just thought about the scale pattern and automatically played the right notes. I found that totally different for guitar (when I took classical guitar lessons as a kid) when it always seemed impossible to remember which notes were sharps or flats for a particular key as you didn't have to do anything other than move your hand up or down a few frets to play a scale in a different key. I think most people with some sort of musical background would be able to have a good crack at a wind instrument, and probably get quite quickly to a point where you can play quite a few reasonably good sounding pieces. Not sure with an electronic instrument, but with a traditional instrument at that point you may find you have to put a lot of effort in to really learning breath control to improve quality of tone, so lots of long note scales (one or two bars of each note at a steady tempo), sustained notes going from soft to loud and back again, etc. and that's what takes real dedication, both from you and from everyone else in the house! Edit: I'd missed jonesthebass' point about sax, but having kids who play clarinet, and a wife learning flute, I can confirm that the sax with it's octave key makes life really easy compared to some instruments. Of course, that is over simplifying a little, and there do seem to be about a dozen different fingerings for some notes.

Check out their album Be Yourself, some good stuff on there. I'm not sure where I first came across them, but pretty sure from a thread on here. Related are the Sound Stylistics, whose album Play Deep Funk is another one I think is great. I'm a late forties, blues, blues rock, heavy rock type bloke, and the whole funk thing passed me by in my youth. Got into playing bass last year, and now I'm buying stuff by these guys, Sly and The Family Stone,The Meters. Who'd a thought it... I really like the New Mastersounds stuff, though, and would love to find more bands like them.

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1427020795' post='2724693'] Yes, yes a million times YES! Unless you don't like ginger of course, or plain chocolate..... [/quote] Borders? Let's not get elitist. Remember not everyone wants or can afford the high end gear, and there are plenty of more affordable and good quality biscuits that would be perfectly palatable and satisfying for newbies just starting out on their journey.

I've just read it. Got me gassing for one...

Thanks for everyone's responses. I can now answer my own question as well, as I've taken the plunge and bought one. First impressions are great, although I've only played it on my own in the house so far. It sounds, to me, a lot better than my PF115 - I know it's going to be different from a tone point of view, but It feels more solidly put together, and there's not the slight resonance I feel from the Ampeg cab on certain lower notes. As to the original question, I was a little worried at first that 5Kg wouldn't make that much difference, but it really is hugely easier to carry. According to my bathroom scales it's 13Kg, but that does sound a bit optimistic - they're probably not that accurate at lower weights, and on top of that I've been training them to tell me I'm only twelve and a half stone...

[quote name='lonestar' timestamp='1426271103' post='2716484'] Sorry that's me confusing cabs v combos. Another senior moment. I was only thinking last night while rehearsing with a loud drummer how nicely a 102 cab would work under my combo. What were you thinking of sticking on top of your 102p if you go for it. [/quote] I'm using an Ampeg PF500 at the moment, through a PF115HE cab.

[quote name='Alex B' timestamp='1426144411' post='2714816'] I bought a new one from Thomann a couple of weeks ago. It does seem very light, but seeing this thread inspired me to get the luggage scales out - according to them it's not even 15kg, was showing just under 14kg. Maybe mine's made of cardboard or something... [/quote] Thanks for doing that. Are you happy with the cab? I know some people complain about the tweeters being hissy in these.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1426109975' post='2714630'] We've got a new one in the store. I think our scales go up to 20kg so we can weigh one for you tomorrow [/quote] That's a very kind offer - thanks!

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1426081143' post='2714137'] I used to have a pair of traveller 102P. I can't answer your question regarding weight but I will say that the shape/size and handle position made them very easy to carry if that helps. They sound good too. I've been considering a pair of NY 121 as a handy modular and affordable rig, now that the prices have dropped. Frank. [/quote] Yeah, the NY 121 is definitely another option I've been thinking about. Even easier to transport than the 2x10 I'd guess. [quote name='Wolverinebass' timestamp='1426102242' post='2714463'] I have an Italian one and it's 15kg. Unless they've changed the spec for the new ones it only has one handle on the right hand side. [/quote] Aha - I did a quick search on google images and the first one I found showing the left hand side showed a handle. I've taken another look, though, and it seems to be a badly labelled photo as the dimensions look all wrong. I suspect it's actually a 2x12 cab... [attachment=186102:timthumb.jpeg]

Following a recent (still current, in fact) run in with a bad back I'm looking around at lightweight cabs again. I quite fancy the Markbass Traveler 102P, which is still advertised everywhere as 15Kg, but I remember there was a thread on here mid last year saying the 102P had increased to 18Kg when production moved to Indonesia and the cab material changed. That info was posted by Marco himself, although some of his later posts in the thread could have been taken to suggest he was going to review that info, or even maybe review the cab material change. Has anyone on here actually bought a new one recently, and weighed it or compared it with something around the same weight? I'm currently using an Ampeg PF115, which is only just over 20Kg itself. I think 5Kg lighter, along with having the two side mounted handles, will make a fair bit of difference, but if it's only 2Kg less then it's not going to be worth it.

I'll add to the praise for ampmaker. I built the WF-55 the Christmas before last and it's a great sounding little amp. I found Barry to be extremely helpful when I emailed him about some of the possible modifications you can do, such as adding tone control, boost switches etc. I also bought the VVR kit, which means you can get some great driven tones at lower volume. Geetard tendencies coming out... I'm guessing from your comment about have equipment at work that you know what you're doing, but even so I'll echo the words of caution about the high voltages inside the chassis. In fact I found the power supply capacitors do discharge quite quickly in this amp, but you can never be too careful. If you were to go with that kit and add VVR as I did then I'd suggest building it completely stock first, so that you know it's working before you start doing any modifications.

Have you tried Hotcovers.co.uk? I got one for my Ampeg PF115 and it's pretty good - fairly tough and well padded.