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Hey Had a simmiliar problem when trying to find my first amp myself Too bad I had such a small budget I couldn't go ashdown, so I bought this piece of fail Hiwatt Definetly +1 for the Ashdown EB-180 - has ENOUGH sound for pratice (Damn better than my 10w amp + effect pedal preamp through an epicly bad, almost cardboardish sounding speaker). Not gonna suggest any other amps, just because nothing (Within this budget limit) can beat ashdown, especially when playing different genre music). Cheers, Fek.

Thanks guys for the replies I thought about it, re-worked the numbers, and decided to probably go with my original choice of the MAG300 + MAG410, and later on I might add a 1x15" in to the mix Altho, I am still going to concider the Hartke LH500 (Thanx dannybuoy). Cheers, Fek.

Thanks guys for the input I looked at the peavey - looks great, but sadly - I haven't seen a Peavey amp for sale within Lithuania (The only brands of amps I've seen are ashdown, hartke, eden, laney, yamaha, hiwatt and behringer. I think that's all. Sadly no GK or Aguilar for us). Also, if i find a reasonable product to buy, I would be willing to go to Poland or Germany to check it out (Any reason to travel is a good reason to travel) or order it off of thomann.de . Maybe I'll stick to just the 2x10" for a while, untill I can afford an ext. 1x15". Cheers, Fek.

Hey, I finally saved up some bucks, that I want to invest in a bass head and cab, since I'm very unsatisfied with my noobish practice amp. My budget is between 450-560 Euros (Amp and cab together). My current choice is an Ashdown MAG 300 head (Most likely, this is the amp that I'm gonna settle on at the end), and a MAG 4x10" cab. When I went to the store to check it out, I noticed that the amp's impendance is 4 ohms, and the cab's - 8 ohms. After looking that up on my physics book, I realized, that I would need a 4 ohm cab or 2x 8 ohm cabs to get the 300w of power. Since going 2x10" and 1x15" is out of the question because of my budget, I wanted to ask you guys, what would be the best choice that could go with the MAG300 (4x10" cab or another amp within 200 and 300w output would be nice IMO, without concidering going for used, since I'm looking at the worst case scenario, that I can't find a good used one). Thanx, Fek.

I contacted ashdown regarding the 2x10"`s capability of handling the full 307w of the MAG300. Yes, you need an extention cabinet. I would advise you to save up some cash and go either for MAG300 head + 2x10" + 1x15"; or MAG300 head + 4x10"; Or just the MAG C410T 300 combo, because the 4x10" can handle 450w (according to the ashdown web catalog).

When I was strolling through the music stores, I played MANY, and i don't mean 10, basses. I had a simmilair budget in my pocket. At first i wanted an ESP-LTD, but when I came across the Yamaha RBX375, my choice was instantanious. It was outstanding - great, punchy, low and very versitile sound, the body just screamed metal, in a good way (unlike B.C.Rich'es). Really worth concideration Also it sounds nice playing anything else

Well.. I'm 16 and I have been playing for over a year now. Although a year of experience might seem little, but I play at least for 2 hours every day. I saved up for my first rig - a sh*tty Encore PK40 (A p-bass copy, noise everywhere) + Hiwatt Maxwatt Hurricane (Cheapest one possible). After 9 months of that rig, i stacked it away at a pawn shop, and bought myself a 5-string Yamaha RBX375 and a Zoom B2. Currently saving up for a Ashdown MAG EVO II 300w head, 4x10" + 1x15" and then go start up a decent band, not "wannabie" kids who only play lead guitars.

Zoom is a sturdy little thing - i'm lovin' it, but the boss is complex and takes longer to switch patches

Zoom B2 - both for sure. Or B2.1U if you want to throw around money for the expression pedal and USB hub - both of which are getting mixed reviews (Mainly the driver support for the USB hub). I myself own a B2 for a year. It has a very handy stereo output for the times, when you can't play through ye olde big amp. The effect modeling is acceptable , but tricky at the start. Other than that perfect for the money

Well... Ever since my parents bought a stereo (in 2000, i think), i would save up my allowance and spend it on rock/metal CD's. I learned how to use the EQ, and all knobs except one were kept at "stock level", but the bass one would be pumped all the way to the max. I fell in love with the low end. Ever since then I wanted to learn bass :] I couldn't afford a bass/amp and my parents didn't think that I would learn at all, since my whole family is not very musical. At one point (2002 perhaps) they decided to let me go to classical guitar lessons, but come on - when you're ten and love sabbath/maiden/accept do you really want to play "happy birthday"? :] Didn't play anything for 5 years, until I decided to just go ahead without the fooling around. In half a year i saved up enough money to get myself a half decent 4string full scale bass and a 10w practice amp. Started learning by myself (Hail youtube/tabs), just to prove my point to my parents. That's basically how i got on the 5 string beast :]

Now that's messed up. Glad that all's well

Hey, I have a Zoom B2 for my bass, and from my experience to get a nice rock`y / black sabbath-like heavy, you should try a chorus/octave combo with a minimal amount of distortion - that gives off a very nice, clear sound.

Really love the progress... This should be one hell of a bass. Wouldn`t mind getting one of those. By the way, sorry for the n00bish question, but what`s the final tuning gonna be?

[quote name='escholl' post='288874' date='Sep 22 2008, 01:53 AM']have you seen the rbx775? it's basically that, a sexier version of the 375 and with a 35" scale.[/quote] Yes :] Nice bass to be honest. But I just loved the way the 375 felt, so I went with it, and put aside the remaining cash for an Ashdown. Don`t know why, but it just felt great, loved how the pickups had those grooves for the thumb. And the 2x price tag didn`t seem to be that better, to be worth it

For me, the perfect one would be quite simple: 2x Ashdown Klystron 1000 head, and for each one: * 2x Ashdown Neo 410h * 2x Ashdown Neo 115h Lemme put it this way, i <3 the Ashdown sound :] And for a bass... Well, my current one - Yamaha RBX-375 is a really neat one, really hard to diss - 5string, big badass humbuckers, really full rock/metal sound. For my perfect bass i would want something similar, but a 35" scale bass would be better. So the perfect bass for me: A Spector Legend 5 in matte black - hate the glossy black, due to fingerprinting, and the matte is a lot nicer. For effects: Either a ZOOM B9.1UT, or: *BOSS CH-1 CHORUS *BOSS ODB-3 BASS OVERDRIVE *DIGITECH WHAMMY 4 PEDAL *DUNLOP BASS Q CRYBABY

Simplest way obviously is three-finger galloping. If your a picker at heart, try alternating picking with a EXTRA light pick - it`s easier to alternate

I was messing around with my audio/video rig setup and i found that the best way to record was to arrange your amp/cab BEHIND the microphone/cam (The microphone/cam being faced opposite of the amp cab). This way you get a good clear sound, you can hear it properly whilst playing and you get a better sound in the video, rather than using the line-in (I used to use it w/ my zoom B2). But if you like you can just put it aside you, but facing away from the cam

Had the same problem with my old GYC cables. Switched to Klotz cables and I`ve haven`t heard anything from my amp, except the bass since.

I also am trying to darken up my fingerboard. My bass has a VERY light colored fretboard, but the bass itself is gloss black, so I`m trying to get the fretboard as dark as possible, without resorting to dye. PS. Dr.Dave, could you ask your buddy about the ingredients in that magical darkening polish. That stuff sounds interesting :]

At the beginning, when I wasn`t sure to pick or not to pick, i bought several types of picks to see if i find comfort in playing with any of them. Bought a stainless steel sharp-ended pick. I can honestly say, that metal picks only fit in Heavy Metal. They get that aggressive, straight, sharp tone effortlessly, really fits the bill if you fuzz up the signal a tad, you don`t need to, cause the pick takes care of the rest. PS. After trying out the picks, i decided that fingering is the best way to go

Piracy is inevitable. But when I can, I prefer to use open source stuff. So I personally suggest Audacity. I use it for instruments, vocal recording, and any other audio edition needs. And it works on linux

I`ve had the Hurricane 10w version of that, and it SUCKS A LOT. The feedback on this boy is so ridiculous, that half the time i use my Zoom B2`s stereo output instead of that. Seriously, this amp was seriously my worst purchase in the music section. The only good thing about it, is that it does not take up much space. I was better off spending some more cash (50eu more ;((( What a pity) and getting a Laney which had 30w output, or even an Ashdown. The only music that it sounds good is heavily distorted metal stuff

[quote name='deaver' post='259164' date='Aug 10 2008, 01:07 PM']Wife and 9 year old son inquired as to why I hadn't read the manual first but what do they know.[/quote] That`s the manly way to handle the setting up of anything electronic Glad someone stumbled onto this mistake before I got a chance

[quote name='Faithless' post='248704' date='Jul 27 2008, 01:52 AM']Well, I do not have problems at all with my 'muting' fingers so far.. What about 'deathy' metal - most of players use a pick [shame, isn't it? ], but, if I'd do 'deathy', I'd defo go for 3-finger tech with 'rest stroke system' instead of 2 + 'Jaco syst..' ... Just make sure, you do decent flowing, strength, and control outta them..[/quote] Ok Now about picks in extreme metal... Well.. It does not depend on the genre of the music, but more on weather you decided to pick or not to pick at the begining :]

Well... This technique is very effective while playing something fast-paced, like death metal, but requires a lot of practice, until you can play accurately enough not to pluck the string you are "resting" on