Iain

Found the transition pretty simple and the string weight/tension does feel more comfortable and the sound punchier. I seem to be able to get the tone of 'digging in' with less effort. It's worth trying a few as the neck profiles vary so the right one will depend on what you want. I knew I wanted the flattened-C profile rather than the very thick D on the Thumb 5 I had before. I tried out a couple and the Z3 I bought was exactly what I wanted.

[quote name='gingerfish' timestamp='1421079266' post='2656899'] Dingwall is currently sat on the back seat of my car waiting for my work day to end. Will get some shots and report back after some tinkering in a couple of days. [/quote] Awesome - looking forwards to the NBD post!

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1420839564' post='2654220'] This is my favourite bit of fretless playing at the moment. [media]http://youtu.be/oHO-CKfxvH0[/media] [/quote] I was going to dig out the White Room clip from that gig... [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCc00pX_pFA[/media]

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1420500151' post='2650152'] Not yellow enough for me... Gorgeous bass that Z3 though, mate. Congrats! [/quote] The yellow and green NG2s do look really awesome. Happy with the Z3 though unsurprisingly!

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1420499335' post='2650136'] So, who is expecting to get their hands on theirs this week from Bass Direct? [/quote] I decided not to wait (by a week) and got this instead:

YYZ is something I aspire to play well one day. I find it's impossible to pick a favourite - you can list some then someone will say "yeah, but what about..." and you kick yourself. There isn't an album without merit - there are touches of genius everywhere. Subdivisions is a track I look forwards to every tour for example - great lyrics and the mood of the song always gets to me.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1420385545' post='2648631']Natural Science probably sums them up for me. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7W0Nm8iHwk"]https://www.youtube....h?v=u7W0Nm8iHwk[/url] [/quote] It's be Xanadu for me from the earlier stuff... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEuOoMprDqg Love the 2 minute intro! I'm a big fan of their last album, Seven Cities of Gold is a cracker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juwbCxpfmaY or the Anarchist... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y3Fc3iuF5c

[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1420234311' post='2647097'] A friend of mine in the states has recently had this custom blue bass made. [/quote] That's very very nice.

I've got the blues too:

[quote name='Chrismanbass' timestamp='1420123035' post='2645795'] Yep owned two 2x10 traveller cabs one italian one indonesian. next to each other i could hear a significant difference (maybe my ears are racist i hate italians ) but in all seriousness for me there was a lot more presence with the italian cab, and some of the felt started peeling off the indonesian cab after about 6 months of use i sold it to a friend a little while ago as for the gigs i was doing i only needed one but hey like i said just my opinion sounds like some people have had more time with both than me [/quote] Might be 'just' your opinion but it's valid - thanks for the answer! I wonder if early Indonesian stuff wasn't up to spec? Wouldn't be the first time things manufactured weren't made to the expected spec and things have to be sorted out with the manufacturer. I've not had any QC issues with my gear (which I assume is Indonesian) and molan's post was certainly interesting!

[quote name='Chrismanbass' timestamp='1420048255' post='2645209']i've owned both types of cabs and theres no comparison imho in sound and build quality[/quote] Did you back-to-back the sound comparison of the two types of cabs? Same room, same bass, same amp? Having read some of Marco's comments I can't see a reason this should be the case - certainly not to the extent of 'no comparison'. A thread from the start of last year indicates this should not be the case: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/226964-markbass-all-made-in-indonesia-now-and-heavy/page__view__findpost__p__2364926 I've not had the chance to do a back-to-back test but my Indonesian gear sounds great and has been faultless.

Started the year with my old Washburn Chicago series and a trans red Musicman Sterling 4H... In: ESP 205SM Out: ESP205SM, Sterling 4H In: Warwick Thumb 5BO Out: Warwick 5BO In: Dingwall Z3 Got the ESP to see how I got on with 5-string basses, we got on well so I achieved a long term dream to own a Thumb which means the Sterling had to go too. Found out that the neck profile on the Thumb and neck-drop were just not my bag Bass Direct had a stunning Dingwall Z3 come in over the holidays and a new job meant I could afford it... Fantastic end to the year. I suspect I won't be needing anything else.

[quote name='Danthearsonist327' timestamp='1419981004' post='2644660'] Considering a traveler 102p atop a traveller 151p (both 8 ohm obv). Weighing in at about 15kg each!! Me likey the sound of that! Does anybody have any experience with these cabs? I have read very good things and also imagine that other brands cabs probably won't compliment the rocker head sound quite as well, however I also read that in a live situation they lack enough power to be heard, is this true? Or is their more than enough power to gig with in this rig? Also a bit of a noob question: I've never had to use speakon cables with my last rig, but on the back of the rocker there is one speakon cable labelled speaker cable (duh) and one cable caballed class 2 wiring which looks like a regular jack, but I believe both cabs have exclusively speakon ports in the rear.. what gives with that? I guess I'll just have 1 speakon to speakon and one speakon to Jack? Cheers in advance [/quote] I run Traveller cabs - 121H and 151P - I generally turn the Piezo tweeter off on the 15 and just run with the highs from the horn in the 12". Together the sound is both stunning and powerful. The 121H is enough for most gigs to be honest though, a pair of them would meet almost anything head-on. The annoying side of the 15 for me is it's anout 1/4 inch too big to fit into my car boot (Audi A5) but the 121 goes in easily! The Speakon connectors on the cabs will be dual - the centre is a jack socket, same as the rear of the amp if it's like my Big Bang head.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1420042309' post='2645119'] Mcnach, these top level guys are the very best, they know that and have to believe that or they'd never get there... or stay there as there are so many other guys after the jobs.[/quote] What about the players in successful bands that do use it in their live rig? It's not cut and dried and it's not about sloppy technique or sub-standard musicians. [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1420042309' post='2645119'] Engrs will add it for their purposes which is overall band sound... FOH or studio mix-down. I don't use it for that reason, but then I am not a big FX person either. and I thnk I can get my sound out there without it. No engr asks me for my signal to be compressed at source and I take pride in that. As I said, what they do with the signal isn't my call.[/quote] If I ever play a gig big enough to have FoH I'll probably ask the engineer what he wants from me... I'm not cocky enough to think I know enough to lay down the law. As things stand the sound our of my cabs is what the crowd get and that works fine too for the small gigs I play. To my ear the sound is better with a little compression - it's pretty subtle though and it wouldn't hurt me if it wasn't there but my FX unit has a pretty good modelling in place so I make use of it. I'm fairly certain there is not 100% right answer as it situationally dependent.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1420020412' post='2644826'] And.... the first post I saw was his post 14 which really really didn't deserve chasing him away... So well done.... bravo..!! No wonder no one in the business takes this place seriously... [/quote] 'tis the nature of forums. I've been a regular on a number of high-traffic discussion sites as user and mod and it's a tendency for long-term/high post-count people to form a closed-shop full of in jokes and very quick to go for the kill when they sense weakness. Something like a cross between a playground and the Serengeti. On this thread there are some interestingly polarised views and we've had a pro give an opinion. Quite bluntly but not insultingly. I would say that there are many examples of pros who compress and those that don't, quite probably depends as much on genre as anything else. I've noticed that live rock and metal tend to use compression, usually light-touch. Horses for courses! I don't use it when playing lighter bluesier stuff, I use a little (slow attack, fast release, low ratio) for rock and punk. Works for me but I'm average at best so maybe it covers poor technique!

[quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1419935202' post='2644025']A couple of my cabs have tweeters, but I usually either turn them partly down or even dial them out[/quote] I run a Markbass setup and have the piezo tweeter off on the 15" cab and the horn tweeter mid-way on the 12". Gives about the right balance for my taste. Much depends on the room thoughand I've decided that trying to get it perfect is useless(ish) - places we play tend to sound markedly different early in the evening to later when full of drunk people.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1419943882' post='2644142'] I think they're finger-holes to make the removal and replacement of the cover very easy. No screws, clips or latches... this is how battery covers should be, imho! [/quote] Spot on - I did wonder if the cover would come off too easily but the magnets are really string so no chance of it coming off accidentally. Bit more time with it today (Xanadu, One ['tallica,played badly] & Sweet child) and it's getting more and more intuitive to play...

[quote name='CHW' timestamp='1419857059' post='2643213']I also recently spent some time jamming with a guy who is a session player[/quote] Played with a session drummer that's played and recorded with a big list of top UK artists and he blew me away and I played better next to him than I'd normally have alongside a drummer of similar skill to me. Damn nice chap too.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1419887459' post='2643701'] I'm guessing that's an easy-access magnetic battery cover. [/quote] It is indeed - 2 x PP9s!

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1419886482' post='2643681'] We must have just missed each other! I was in today buying a jazz bass [/quote] cool, what did you end up with? I've always fancied a Jazz (my first bass was a really cheap Jazz copy) - there were a lot of stunning basses in there. I'd struggle not to empty the racks if the bank balance allowed.

I went along with my Thumb bass in hand knowing exactly what I wanted feel-wise. I wanted a flatter, less D-shaped neck and not too neck-heavy - something I found I couldn't live with on the Warwick. Had a go on this and the AB2 they have in, I also had a chat about the inbound NG2s. The pre-amp on the NG2 sounds reight up my street but the Glockenlang on this is fantastic along with the various pickup options I've a feeling this is a 'bass for life'. Under dimmer lighting it's not quite so 'in your face' and takes on a purplish tinge. Just run through the set list for a gig at the end of Jan and, so far, haven't had any issues adjusting to the frets and the balance of feeling across the strings is a little freaky - it's so even. I'll have the opportunity to re-learn a few pieces now I don't have to switch position so much to keep an even tone...

Took a trip down the M6 (and M42/M40) ro Bass Direct today and came back with a used Z3! Wow, what a bass - I'm grinning from ear-to-ear. Pics nicked from their site until I get round to taking some of my own...

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1419677386' post='2641781']so why did you stop playing for 15 years? maybe other things got in the way? I think a lot of us found bringing up a family the main priority in life between youth and middle age, gone way off topic here[/quote] Major change of stuff following a break-up. Took a while to sort myself out, ended up in London and career/business got in the way. Looking back it would have been a great opportunity to be in a band but my priorities were different - no kids though.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1419594433' post='2641093']or lack the single mindedness and commitment that seems to come with youth[/quote] Odd, I log more hours practise now than at any time since first picking up a bass at 16. I'm 43 now and hadn't played for 15 years until summer 2013 and I'm better now than I was in my mid 20s with ~10 years casual playing behind me. Conversely I do need help dressing - apparently knitwear isn't appropriate for a rock gig, who knew?

The 'need a spare' is also a great excuse to buy yourself more toys...