hairychris

The bassists of my previous 2 bands, plus current band* where I'm not in that role, have all owned SVT 8x10s. I've gone the lightweight route because I've had enough of lugging the bloody things around and I wasn't even using them! * Am trying to talk him into lightweight too. Only problem is that the drummer doesn't believe in "less is more" when it comes to kit either.

I'm running CGCFA on a Sub. Quite a lot of tension on the high A with a 0.045. I imagine that you'll want something quite a bit thinner which may mean a new nut required.

I have the following on my pedalboard: Little Bear Rattack (£30 new from ebay) - 3-mode RAT clone. Well made, too. Absolutely filthy. EHX Bass Muff (£30 used from ebay) - I use as a gain/bass booster. Fairly transparent as long as you don't go OTT. 9 of Swords Twin Earth Deluxe (£50ish new) - Goes from usable to OTT glitched/bitcrushed mayhem. Nicely built as well. This makes 3 different flavours of dirt for less than the price of many single fuzz pedals. I use a Boss Line Selector so that I also run a clean path and blend in the dirt. Nine of Swords is definitely worth a look. A one-man operation who has some pretty evil pedals in his inventory!

Had a fun gig on Saturday (5 band metal-esque bill at the new 12 Bar in London). First run out in 6 months so was more of an experiment with new tunes. Seemed to work out OK! The only problem is that doing the whole "get home at 6:30am" thing kills me now.

2 different beasts, IMO. My amp/cab/pedalboard lives at rehearsal studio, at home I run into an old Boss digital recorder with amp sims & a desk with monitors. Ditto with guitar. My home set-up is for the technical side of playing. I don't care, ultimately, what the tone is. Do I need it to learn the notes or write riffs? Nope. I am also in a flat with volume constraints. My live/studio set-up is for work with the band. There's 2 guitars, vocals and a drummer to deal with, plus effects for texture when required. From having played guitar in bands for many years I am well aware that what sounds good in isolation often sucks in a band situation, and what works in a band situation often sounds a bit off on it's own.

[quote name='mingsta' timestamp='1439625059' post='2844411'] While I'm a compulsive window shopper and always stop by, I always find the experience massively underwhelming. Props to wunjo bass who have some decent stuff and friendly helpful staff. Not bothered about the rest of it. I much, much prefer places like Andertons in Guildford or guitar guitar in Epsom nowadays. I was at Andertons a few days ago and got that kid in a candy shop feeling. [/quote] I went out to Anderton's to look for a Tele last year. I didn't end up buying one, but the staff there were great and set me up in their expensive guitar cave to A/B the ones that I was interested in. Lots of great stuff in there, and the experience meant that I spent a chunk of cash with them later in the year on a synth rather than go to someone else.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1439740007' post='2845371'] Yes the amp is back and working perfectly again, the detected fault from the engineer was: [b][i]"Traced fault to short circuit capacitor on the +15v line. Replaced capacitor, checked and tested"[/i][/b] [color=#ff0000][b]Cost £107.55[/b][/color] I want to train as an amp repairman now! How much does a capacitor cost in Maplin? £1.50 to £2.50? Do the maths. I am just glad I got it back and I don't have to look for another or a replacement, and I am not blaming the repair shop because it's all to do with their hourly rates and stuff, (part and labor... blah blah) but I am wondering what it would have costed me if say the the mother board had gone or a transformer? Gee! [/quote] A lot, I imagine! I blew the output transformer on a guitar head about 10 years back and it wasn't particularly cheap to fix (a dude with a workshop out in Chiswick as I was living in W London at the time, unsure if he's still there). The problem with class D amps is that a lot of faults that are repairable in traditional amps are either impossible, or a complete arse to do (eg if surface-mounted components blow as they are *tiny*). More traditional amps are, theoretically, repairable if you can wield a soldering iron without hurting yourself but you still need to know how to track down the issue, work out what to replace, source the parts, own the right tools, etc. Also, from what I have worked out, amp builders/repair men are a funny breed. Definitely interesting characters!

WRT metal, I play in a band with an Engl Poweball into 4x12, Orange TH30 into 2x12, and a caveman on drums. Tuning is drop-C. I use a GK MB800 into a Barefaced Compact (Gen 2 1x15). At 8 ohms the amp throws out 500w, and the combination is insanely loud and clean. We don't rehearse quietly and I am running at 10% volume, if that. I can also pick up that rig with one finger. I've not tried a Gen 3 BF with the 12 inch drivers so can't comment there. Class D seems to work OK for me. It's true that tube amps have a something that the digital amps don't, but I haven't quite put my finger on it, and to be honest it doesn't really worry me in the context of the band as it is primarily guitar-driven.

[quote name='stephaniet17' timestamp='1439311335' post='2841806'] Ooh indeed! Hoping to go and see this if I can. It's like it was meant to be... [/quote] Cool! Good luck, welcome (in advance) to the SUB club. Edit: This is a dating site for musicians & gear, not forum. Didn't you know that?

Cool. Probably lucky too! Ah. I was going to suggest [url="http://jpfamps.com/"]http://jpfamps.com/[/url] on Denmark Street as you're London-based but a bit late on the train. He's a tube specialist but has done Class D amps, plus charges very reasonable rates. Edit: He's serviced or repaired 2 guitar heads for me, haven't had my lightweight long enough to blow up/need fixing.

I have nothing to do with this but oooooooh: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/267595-usa-sub-2-band-4-string/

I'm definitely used to cabinet and drum kit sharing. I've played a lot of low-budget shows with 15 minute gaps between sets that makes full kit changeover difficult. I'm happy sharing my own cab/s if asked in advance, but amps and other stuff? Nope...

I wanted a Stingray after playing a friend's. Picked up a USA Sub 5 on here for a very reasonable price and it's great. It has the full US electronics (2-band EQ), and although I prefer an unfinished neck, plays nicely. Definitely look out for one of those. You won't lose money on it if you try it out and find that you don't get on with it.

Me too. The minimal talent that I have goes straight out of the window in music stores. I'm pretty sure that it's chronic indecision that does it!

I go to JPF Amps (at Angel Music) for amp services & repairs. He knows his stuff and is very reasonably priced. It's been years since I bought anything other than cables or a gig bag on Denmark Street.

I'm single so yes.... But, going on past form, yes - music (gig/club/mutual music-freak friends/etc) has been involved in meeting n-1 ex-girlfriends. And as for her? Well, I had a "my work here is done" moment when I received a text reading "Meshuggah time!" from said young lady...

[quote name='amnesia' timestamp='1437733884' post='2828575'] I do find the fan fret Dingwalls slightly more awkward on a strap than a parallel fret instrument, but then I play with my bass fairly low. I'm finding octaves slightly challenging on the NG2 because of the strap length. The easy option is to raise the bass - but vain as I am thats not happening! On my knee playing fan frets is a doddle. With practice swapping between fan and parallel frets isn't a problem. My biggest issue is the NG2 is my first serious jump to 5 strings - so to add the fan frets aswell makes it more of a culture shock. I have adapted my style somewhat when using the NG2, and have moved some phrases to other positions (ie higher string with lower fret positions) As longtimefred said to me "A B string to make people's poo fall out" makes up for it though! [/quote] Having tried out FF guitars, as opposed to basses, they aren't suited to "low-slinging" either. With your fretting elbow extended it messes the hand angles up. The jump to an extra low string also confused the hell out of me on guitar (although I tune my 5 string bass with an extra high string)! Would definitely be interested in giving a FF bass a go if there was one that sounded like a EBMM.

If he's a good mate then you should be able to call him on his bell-endery. Repeatedly.

In 1986, aged 14, I discovered Metallica. Things went downhill from that point!

As someone, for one reason or another (mainly linked to being a late starter), that was never really an option I'd say try it. It may not work out but you never know!

I have used one of these for years. Quiet and can more than handle hungry digital pedals. http://www.diago.co.uk/pedal-power/diago-powerstation.html I think that they do a smaller one too.

Just the one, and a cab...

Grew up in Havant.... don't hate me. Still have family there & in Portsmouth. And hello! Another guitarist playing more bass than guitar here.

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1435819582' post='2812621'] Firstly I'd always use a modelling amp through a guitar cab since while (IMO) modelers can do a pretty much perfect job of simulating the amp, the speaker is a trickier beast. Secondly get a good sound is very dependent on using the right model for the job with the right settings and avoiding the temptation to use the gazillion effects that most of them have. Specifically its generally better to use a lower gain model and drive it hard because many of the "high gain" models have too much pre-amp distortion and too little power amp distortion dialled into the model and its the latter that provides the "something around the mids" you mention. [/quote] I agree with you, but the guys from the OP were DI-ing and the chap I responded to implied the same (I think!). Adding a power amp and a cab also somewhat knocks potability! Oh, and I am still not convinced by this setup either. EDIT: Back to the original question, monitoring is always going to be a massive problem if you run DI into FoH without monitors. Either add monitors (ahem) or run amps on stage. Your 2nd point is absolutely true with amps and pedals as well, but modellers seem to really bring out the worst in people. I have heard far too many guitarists with utterly crap sound because they OD on the gain or distortion. Hell, that was me at one point too... but once I got better gear I also learned how to use it more efficiently, heh. It's the difference between a bedroom and a band tone methinks.