Al Krow

One more to add to Bilbo's list: Gerald Veasley

Chris - 100% agree that an hpf would a nice addition to any amp. There are a few on the market that already provide and it seems to add a lot e.g. Mesa D800+ vs Mesa D800 (no hpf). But my question here was much more that if compression makes such an important difference to bass tone in a band mix - and I've no issue with that assumption being challenged - why don't bass manufacturers do something at least rudimentary in the form of a one knob compressor on the on-board bass pre-amp on the bass itself. (I'm not talking about the actual amps here). It would set their basses apart and potentially give them a marketing edge. You've seen a LOT of bass players over the years, I'm sure, and if 99% are not using compression pedals that is an interesting fact which I will mentally note. The active BC'ers who comment on compression all tend to be compression pedal users but they aren't necessarily representative of bass players more generally.

Yup, I was. And apparently it's been a question that's been on far greater bass minds than my own - haha!

Yeah, fair. I do generally try to avoid Swindon... 😄 We were in Beaconsfield, and their idea of the "wrong sort" is somewhat different to what I'm used to. Lol! Funniest for me was sitting next to one punter, who asked me what I thought of the band and totally couldn't get her head around the fact that I might be in it! Lol Mk2!

Blimey gov - I need to find out the name of your establishment! I got home at 3am having dropped our singer off at her place first!

I have to be: I had such high hopes for Finn Dave on this thread... 😂

So did you finish and pack up at 11.59pm then? And when did you get paid for the gig? 😁

At last this thread is saving me money rather than potentially costing an arm and several legs 😂 That's enabled me to take a DB751 off my wish list amps as we speak. I do believe you've just saved me £1,500 (used)!

Now there's a thought! 😂

Two pedals sold. An unsolicited offer for my poshest bass (I'm not going to accept!). 4 paid gigs for Jan (if I'm allowed to include NYE in that number), all helping build up the kitty for 2021 nicely No GAS in sight. Next BIG danger on the horizon...NAMM 2020

Very nice analogy btw - IMO fits Chris B's hpf suggestion even better! And with an hpf, when the boominess is gone from your stage set, they would both notice and care!

Haha Quilly - that topic was the first 300 posts on this thread!!

Haha Chris - you're very welcome to disagree with the assumption! And if the assumption is indeed incorrect or not one that bass manufacturers buy into, then that would obviously be a good reason for them not bothering to include a one knob compressor in the pre-amp.

See you then! 😊 Oh except if I last this year, I'm not going to be signing up next year for sure. One year in / one year out and all that 😁

I've just checked the string spacing on all my basses and 18mm seems to be the widest. The one that took me a little by surprise (as I'd not bothered to previously check) was my Spector Euro 5LX which has a 17mm string spacing - narrower than I was expecting, particularly as it's a 35" scale. So if you're a fan of narrower string spacing, Woody, then maybe worth checking out a Spector at some point, if you've not done already: they're a great bass! - particularly the Euro range. Are fan fret a pain in the derriere to play on the low B string? Another good reason, other than a whole different set of muscle memory, for me to avoid then!

Dredging up an old thread simply 'cos I've got a Q that's bugging me! Assuming that compression is a valuable additional tool to improving sound, then: Why don't bass manufacturers incorporate a compressor into their on-board preamps? If it noticeably improves sound then you would have thought that some bright spark somewhere would have had the gumption to include - and at the very least to give them a bit of a marketing edge? I get that budget bass manufacturers won't want to bother, but there are plenty of basses in the £750k+ price range and a comp circuit shouldn't cost more than £25 to add I would have thought?

I'll probably wait until they do a boring non-burst finish for the 1505 (or its successor) range! Besides I'm on the wagon for 2020 - hehe! (And it'll be the normal fret version not fan fret - leave that sort of fan-cy stuff for the dingbats and Dingwalls of this world!)

I don't mind the 16.5mm at all per se (in fact it's very comfortable); it's more the transition from 18mm on the most of my herd to my Ibbys. The GWB is a very different animal and also what I am using it for. For a start it's a 6 string and secondly the string spacing does not taper in the same way as a normal bass from bridge to nut; there is a much gentler taper. This makes it ideal for my intended use which is as a Bass VI for chordal playing and classical pieces.

You've summarised the position very well Paul, although it's more a left hand issue for me. In my case I've an 1825 which I will be tentatively looking to move on / trade up to the EHB 1505. Short clip from AMS; reason for sharing is that although it on has about 15 seconds of bass playing on it you can immediately hear the Nord growl which reflects what I get on my 1825 and is very much the Ibanez "sound" I'm after. @Woodinblack are you mainly just playing Ibanez SRs?

+1 ^^ I'm particularly attracted to having a consistent string 18mm spacing across all my 5 string basses, in an Ibanez that also has Nord pups. Whilst I undoubtedly find 16.5mm very comfortable to play (but I appreciate that's not true for everyone); from a muscle memory perspective, for me, having a more uniform string spacing will be welcome.

Excellent news. And once again you and other Sandberg owners are being singularly unhelpful on this thread 😁

Blimey @FinnDave that honeymoon period didn't last long at all did it? 😁

Dua Lipa - definitely getting a lot of thumbs up on this thread. I'm a fan of CP's Attention (I love the bass tone on that track) and actually suggested to my bandmates this morning! We've had Wrecking Ball in the set for quite a while now, probs cos it's a 2013 track 😉 Not surprisingly Sheeran and George Ezra coming up in band discussion too.

I think 'word on the street' is that the typical modern pop star is a solo artist with a social media presence. It's now much more about the individual than the band. Which completely ties in with what you're finding and the paucity of stand-out covers tracks from the past 5 years.