Musicman20

Nice gear, very very pricey but I bet the tone is great.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1361978371' post='1993954'] ....anyway - how do these cabs sound in real life? Anyone? [/quote] Bingo! Anyone? I for one am very happy this isn't me involved in an online dispute. From my rock n roll perspective, I just hope it sounds good and performs well, that is all I care about.

That P bass does sound awful! The Jazz/Ray/Bongo sound lovely. Cool vid.

I realise this is getting quite heated haha! For me, it could quite possibly be a mis-aligned bridge. I've seen it a few times, and it also means the string don't align over the pups properly. Fender aren't known for taking a lot of attention to detail. These problems do happen. Unless its glaringly obvious that it is merely down to setup, I wouldn't waste time/money get it set up. I've never once took a bass to get it setup. I barely tweak my basses, but luckily most are EBMM's with the superior truss rod wheel adjustor. This sounds like more than a setup problem.

Sounds great Lozz! I have been very careful with buying recently, and despite looking, I still haven't found the 'right' American Standard 2012 Precision. I am definitely going to go with Olympic White though, despite some of the other colours being cheaper at some stages of the year. I tried a Charcoal Frost 2012 and it played and sounded awful. I don't think it had been looked after though. As soon as there is some kind of offer or rebate, I'll be picking up a 2012/13 P bass. I'm still unsure whether to stick with rosewood or get a maple to have a slightly different feel.

Hmm. I'm not sure this is the best route for MB. They seemed to target the mid-high end audience, and I think personally having a budget line just weakens the brand a little. Probably good for their business, but IMO, they should stick with making what they do, and keep it all in Italy.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1361788797' post='1990686'] If you're not happy now, any niggle will only get worse as time passes and you'll wish you had done something about it. [/quote] Agreed. I am annoyingly aware of errors with instruments, so I woulde exchange it. I have seen plenty of Fender's with the string alignment out, and Laklands, but there are plenty that are right as well. For £650+, you have a right to have an instrument that is spot on. If a CV Squier can get it right, so should this.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1361732460' post='1990063'] Fender guitars seem to work very well with Orange amps - the sharpness of the Fender tamed by the warmth of the Orange. Gibsons can work well, but they need a bit more working on, as it can sludge a bit. [/quote] Yeah, I took some advice on the gear matching. Everyone seemed to agree that the Orange tone works very well with a Tele. If I were to get another guitar, it would be a USA Strat. I'd love an SG but the Fender single coil tone works well for me.

Words cannot describe how good this combination sounds. After spending years 'following' the ideas of guitarists in bands, I've decided enough is enough, the music I want to play is in my head, so I need to get better on six string. All I really want to do is right songs, record the ideas, and then perhaps take up rhythm in a band later down the line. I'm alright, but I want to get better. So, although my heart lies with bass playing, I've been spending time with my guitar setup. Why does it seem like guitarists have it 'easy' in a sense? Quality guitar, few nice pedals, decent tube amp, done. Maybe I hit it off right with the guitar gear I have, but its the tone I've wanted from a guitar for a long time. Plus, the TC Electronics Nova Reverb sounds SUPERB. I love how the Orange amp reacts to ever so slight differences in how hard you play the guitar. It goes from shimmery cleans (although not Fender clean, less sterile) to a great rock warmth, and all in between. One tone knob for each channel!

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1361730204' post='1990005'] Gareth, just been looking at the spec/prices for the MB200. All looks good and at £195 even more affordable. Only has one speakon socket but I'm guessing I could daisy chain my two MB 2 x 10"s. Well I now have three amps to think about [/quote] Ay! Agreed...its a great time to be on the hunt for gear. Plenty of great amps.

[quote name='Phil-osopher10' timestamp='1361706915' post='1989450'] Hey musicman20, What makes you think that it is a beginners amp in comparison to the other two? [/quote] From the marketing it seems they are aiming these at beginners, as Markbass didn't previously have a low price option. Now it appears they have.

I think your best bet for a backup would be a GK MB200 or TC BH250. This Markbass amp seems like a real beginners amp to me.

[quote name='danhkr' timestamp='1361623044' post='1988396'] Hey if it aint broke... [/quote] The LM3 could have many improvements made, not sound wise, but the limiter needs improving, the low mid needs lowering, etc etc.

[quote name='jaydentaku' timestamp='1361535132' post='1987069'] So, TNT were woefully bad, but once they finally collected it on Friday, it was with Orange on Monday, fixed Tuesday and with me on Wednesday. He put a new PSU unit in there, a new bulb and new screws as they had been chewed up. All free, it wasn't even discussed. [/quote] That is stunning service. Half the reason I went with Orange is because they are easy to deal with and respond/sort out repairs quickly. You wouldn't get that with other manufacturers, apart from perhaps Genz...but as they are through Fender UK, I doubt they would repair out of warranty gear for free.

[quote name='Stan_da_man' timestamp='1361473067' post='1986337'] Guessing you haven't tried a BFM cab then... [/quote] No...and to be honest from the descriptions I don't think they would suit my goals unfortunately.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1361463243' post='1986087'] Nearly, but not quite! It's Class T, so it has some of the Class D benefits, but it also has an all-important (IMO) toroidal transformer supplying the power... and no fancy-pants power management circuit. [/quote] Ah makes sense!

I didn't know this until yesterday, but apparently even the AG500 has a Class D poweramp...!

My viewing of a few recenty shows the differences in every level of Fender: MIM 70s Jazz - Beautiful finish, good matching of grain between the pieces of body wood, excellent binding and blocks, flawless neck pocket, superb fit and finish throughout. MIA RI 60s Jazz - This bass looked cobbled together, patchy paintwork, rough neck joint, one pickup looked like it was a few mm out of line, generally disappointing. Didn't feel great when I played it. About £1000 more than the above. MIM RW Nate Mendal P Bass - As with the MIM 70s Jazz, superb build, and lightweight. Again, £1000 cheap than the RI 60s Jazz. Weird.

It's a tough one. Huge mass production, so there are some 'bad' ones around that looked cobbled together. For the recent MIA prices, I would expect a lot. I have two very good MIA Fenders, (2009, 2011), but I've played many bad Fenders. It doesn't put me off, it just makes it hard to buy one. If you can, try before you buy.

Hi all After recently realising my brain is fit to burst with ideas, I've decided to record for my own purposes for potential bands in the future. Probably just basic guitar, decent bass, with a click track. Nothing special. My guitar rig sounds stunning, and I realise it would be better to mic it up. Bass can go through the back of my amps, or mic'd up if it sounds better. I don't want loads of bells and whistles. I just want a decent quality, with easy use. I also probably need advice on a decent mic or two..maybe one for bass/guitar and one for vocals at some point. Can you please suggest a decent Audio Interface to go with a pretty decent iMac? Nothing flashy or ridiculous, just good quality. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know.

Surely they are more clued up to realise this is a very very niche product?! Where is the LM4 or an improved F500?

[quote name='thumbo' timestamp='1361194048' post='1982465'] I think this is a realistic stance. I started playing music and making music because it's enjoyable for many reasons - particularly the pleasure I get from writing new stuff and performing live and the social life that goes with it. You don't need to be earning money out of it to achieve those things. I've always had a job or some other focus that I'd consider a career, music is the part that keeps me sane (kind of [size=4] ).[/size] [/quote] Same here. Career is work. Music is for fun and stress relief, and because its just briliant all round. I wouldn't like it to start feeling like a job. But, we are all different Personally, being in a well known band would be 'it' for me, especially if it meant earning a proper living off it. Again, we are all different. I was bought up listening to bands who probably are associated with a rock star lifestyle, so that is where my goal would lie. I

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1361190436' post='1982392'] If it makes me enough money to live on, i don't mind not "truly making it". [/quote] That's great, and I'm glad some are able to do it. When I mean 'make it', from my point of view, I wouldn't want to be a session musician or teacher if I was in music as a career. I'd want to be in a large sucessful band, that I'd written music for to some extent. Childhood dream, probably shared by millions!

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1361189801' post='1982378'] Ultimately, the genie is out of the bottle with regards to file sharing - illegal or not. And it goes way beyond music to include films, video games, eBooks, software, etc. This situation is nigh impossible to reverse. Files can be encrypted, people can be taken to court, but the market for illegal downloads will always find a way of setting up shop somewhere else. So... while it makes for an interesting debate, it's also a moot point. Nothing can really be done about it; the 'good old days' pre-file sharing are dead and gone (goodbye to the fuzzy nostalgia of illegally copying albums tape-to-tape... ). Morally-speaking, obtaining stuff that has a price tag without paying for it is theft - I think we can all agree on that. But illegally downloading music is so accessible and widespread that I'm sure for many people it doesn't [i]feel[/i] like a crime. I mean, I don't imagine it requires the same mindset as that of a shoplifter, although the deed itself is comparable. But like I said, the genie is out of the bottle and he/she* certainly isn't going to be put back there in a hurry [*genies operate an equal opportunities policy these days]. If you're a musician, a manager, a label, a distributor or anyone else wanting to earn money from the food chain of the music industry, then you need to adapt or, well, not literally 'die' but become insolvent. Or at least struggle. Or find another career. And yes, this sucks. It's culled off many of the independent labels that used to populate the building where I work; it's hit the pockets of the major labels that are cutting studio time and taking less risks with signings; etc. But that's just the way things are now. Live shows and selling 'direct-to-fans' are often cited as being the only viable business models remaining in the industry. I don't know enough about it to say whether that's the case. But it appears that digital music has leveled the playing field for artists to adopt a more DIY-approach in ways that would never have been possible when music was distributed solely on vinyl, tape or CD. Or rather - it's created opportunities beyond the once Holy Grail of getting signed to a label, which in the past was pretty much the only option available to new bands. Silver linings, and all that... [/quote] Great post, and this summarises my views as well. It's unfortunately the way things are. I no longer enjoy my music as much as I used to, because I don't spend the time listening to it like I should. E.g., you can buy a CD fior £5.00 or less, or the mp3s for less. When I bought many many CD's, I used to pay £10+, and REALLY enjoy taking it home and listening to it properly. Now, I feel like everything is so watered down, I barely get excited about a band or artist. Anyone can release music, just be using something like Soundcloud. Easy way to get your work out there. I would also put this to those who make money/a living from any type of covers band: Is it fair to the original artist that you are using THEIR songs to make YOUR money? Same priniciple...if you ask me. I wouldn't dream about trying to make a career of being a musician. Far too unstable, and barely anyone truely makes it.

How much?!