Bradwell

[quote name='Naetharu' timestamp='1449618285' post='2925354'] Just had a search and cannot find anything on those - seems Peavy don't make them any more? They do the 6505 mini-head that looks interesting however. Has anyone tried one of these? [/quote] Van Halen holds the 5150 trademark and Peavey re-badged the amp as a 6505 when the licencing deal ended in the mid 2000s. The 6505 or 6505+ can easily be picked up for around £500 second hand. I think the 5150 badged Peavey amps hold a bit more value but are still fairly common. There's also a 6534+ (which I own and love) same amp but runs on EL34 tubes, not a common variant of the amp though. All will be solidly built and versatile enough to cover most playing styles including high gain metal. I'd love to try the 6505 Mini Head but they don't seem too common in the UK, I'd also have reservations about how loud it can be played cleanly (20 watts distorted will still be ridiculously loud). Blackstar would be the other recommendation, can easily be picked up S/H, plenty of good reviews. Definitely go with a 2x12 cab and not a 4x12.

Wonderful bit of kit. Octave down + filter everything else out = pure sub. Met Tom from COG effects at the Midlands bass bash earlier this year too, fantastic bloke.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1443177490' post='2872816'] Peavey Classic 50 head - stunning value for money compared to Fender and chronically under appreciated. Nile Rodgers has a pair given to him by SRV back in the Lets Dance days. [/quote] Another vote for Peavey amps, not played a classic 50 myself but I'd say have a look at the 6505 too, easy enough to get hold of one second hand for £400-£500 as they're fairly common. Should leave plenty of budget for a decent 2x12 cab. I have the 6534+ (same amp using different power tubes and has seperate resonance/presence controls for both channels). Excellent reliability, fantastic clean sound and tonnes of gain for metal. Blackstar are well worth looking at too.

1) Make a fair effort to get along with your neighbours. 2) Play at a reasonable time of day and use common sense to dictate what volume you should be playing at. Wait until they're out if you want to crank it. 3) You have a right to play bass and the playing style should not be subject to other people's taste in music. 4) Soft furnishings and some consideration of room acoustics can help keep volume spill down, but everyone's housing situation will be different. I'm pretty lucky, the acoustics in my padded cell are great. I get along pretty well with my neighbours, but if they get argumentative I can always play some grindcore through my PA speakers to remind them not to start volume wars or arguments.

Depending on your situation you might be able to play around with where equipment is set up in the practice room or try tricks like running a strip of insulation tape along the underside of cymbals to reduce their sustain or drop the tension in the drum heads to lower the volume. Alright, it will affect the feel and there are limits to how quietly a drum kit can be played but surely it's worth trying during practice sessions. Having said that, a decent drummer will be able to play well at an appropriate volume at all times, same goes for the guitarist. Excess volume will make any problems with room acoustics more pronounced and therefore more difficult to attain a good balance. If you find that neither band-mate is willing to sort things out (making up excuses like 'I need the volume to get my gear sounding it's best') then walk away. Been in that situation before and decided I'd rather save my hearing.

Few months ago now, only just remembered to leave feedback. Sold my E-Bow to Li, no hassle transaction, lovely bloke. Cheers, Tom

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1436188631' post='2815705'] Guitarists are beginning to embrace modern technology more, things like the AxeFX, the new Line6 Helix, other modellers, and even older technology like PODs got/are getting a lot of attention and use. [/quote] I'd love to try an AxeFX as they get rave reviews, but given the price tag I'll stick with valve amps for playing my guitar. I think the technology of modelling amps is getting better all the time, but will take a while before it's genuinely competitive at a lower price point. Older Line 6 modelling amps just get lost in a band mix to my ears. [quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1436194059' post='2815811'] I'll tell you where guitarists are leaving us behind, and that's in low-wattage valve amps. I think a lot of manufacturers are cottoning on to the idea that most guitarists no longer have any use for a 100W valve head and a couple of 4x12s, and increasingly I've seen a rise in valve combos putting out 15W or less. [/quote] They're fantastic for home recording, but as a rock bassist I'd want high power handling if using it for gigs. The compromise I would go for would be a valve pre-amp with the options of either a ) inbuilt, low-wattage valve output stage or, b ) sending the pre-amp signal into an external power amp.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1436134792' post='2815322'] Check out Discogs. It's a bit disorienting at first but it's basically a gateway to lots of different sellers. Lots of "proper" record shops on there. [/quote] Another vote for Discogs, very comprehensive database, easy to buy and sell, fantastic for finding rarities.

COG T-65, features octave up, octave down and clean which can be set independently. Got one last month and love it. Having said that, not cheap and takes about 3 weeks from ordering for them to be built.

Used a Digitech Whammy to split the signals from my bass and feed two seperate rigs a couple of weeks ago. Dry signal into my Eden rig / octave up into my Peavey 6534 guitar amp set to ridiculously high gain. Loads of fun, sounded pretty good, way too much gear to fit in the car. Think rhythm guitarists in any band situation would be pretty upset if I played that set-up outside my own home anyway.

Rick Toone, have a look around his website http://www.ricktoone.com/2013/03/orchid-vintage-jazz.html Mostly builds electric guitars but there's some beautifully engineered components and wonderfully original carved shapes. Having said that, got some pieces of mahogany that would be excellent for a neck through headless bass that I've been thinking about... bloke in a shed and all.

I've done live recordings by taking feeds from several microphones into a mixer and then sending it into my USB interface as either a stereo or 4 channel mix. The Tascam US16x08 look pretty good if you need the flexibility of 8 channels. The more you can separate out the sources, the more they can be tweaked afterwards. However, that approach can get pretty expensive if you don't already have a mixer, interface, several microphones and stands etc. Stand-alone units like the zoom Q8 will require a fair amount of thought regarding room acoustics and setting up instruments to get a good quality sound recording, but would potentially be a lot easier and much less hassle.

Saw them in Manchester yesterday, enjoyed most of it as the sound quality at the Manchester Apollo was decent and there was a lot of familiar tunes from right across their career, great to hear American life, My name is Mud etc. Wasn't so keen on the chocolate factory part of the set, mostly it was too whimsical and bizarre for my tastes. Although there was some cracking xylophone & cello solos.

Gibson was recently (last couple of years) given the dubious title of worst company in the USA to work for, loads of horror stories about the CEO micromanaging everything, unrealistic targets, workers being laid off. Black Richlite and Ebanol are pretty similar materials and to the best of my knowledge just different trade names for a wood fibre & phenolic resin composite. Their fine was for both ebony and rosewood illegally imported from India & Madagascar. Personally I've never been a fan of either their guitars or basses, but some of their models over the last few years have been laughable, anybody see the holy explorer / holy v, dusk tiger or Zakk Wylde Moderne?

Much more relevant to guitarists - a tighter radius makes fretting chords easier whereas a larger (flatter) radius is better for playing lead solos with string bends and quick runs of individual notes. [quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1434664461' post='2801745'] a smaller radius might make some techniques easier, say because of the greater radius other strings not catching on fingers when not intentionally muting them. Does that make sense?. [/quote] I would have though string spacing has a greater effect on accidentally catching strings, recently found I can play slap a lot more cleanly on a P-width neck when compared to J-width. One technique that tighter radius (and a thin neck) will help with is fretting the low E string by hooking your thumb over the top of the fingerboard. I wouldn't get too hung up on it though, go with whatever feels most comfortable to play.