synthaside

I've used the Markbass official option before ... however, in desperation the other day ...( couldn't find it )  I realised I'd been doing it all wrong as I already bring the perfect item to use to every gig.
A reel type extension lead,  one of these ... with a couple of plugs slotted into the top for extra width, 4 in our case as it was running my head  2 pedal boards and our floor wedge,  perfectly stable and kept it away from my clumsy feet .. i hook the front two feet of my markbass head over the front lipof the cab to avoid and slipping and it seems as sturdy as any "legged system".

Just make sure the turny bits poking out the front.




 

2 hours ago, Velarian said:

I have the older model and never experienced any issues.

 

Just shooting from the hip here, but have you tried any different headphones? I’m just wondering if Nu-x is using more power driving the headphones; maybe an impedance issue?

 

I’ve no idea what I’m talking about so please ignore me if I’m completely off target. 😉

This is indeed a thing ...   The rule is roughly,   higher impedance = more battery charge consumed for the same duration of listening with the same loudness   ... there are lots of other factors too, so the math's not totally accurate

Before you return it , try a different set of headphones, while they may not sound anywhere near as "good",  I'm using a pair of cheap gaming headset with mine as it has good bass response for all the explosions, I assume  I had it phone knocking around the holiday apartment as it's the headset for work team's calls. 

 I've played for multiple sessions on one charge; this is an original mighty plug rather than a pro,  It sounds like you have a choice to make...  quality of sound for session duration ...  or like perhaps duct tape a cheap USB powerbank to it  I'm assuming like mine it works while plugged in too.

multipost " sorry " please delete

wow ,  been a while since i heard this  .... Something about us  ..... this is one of the songs that made me fall in  love with the instrument as a beginner 😉 .... I must dig out the video laserdisc of that the discovery space opera " 
Daft punk's / misc french electronica is definitely my secret vice.

On 11/06/2025 at 14:14, Jakester said:

I often ask for a copy of their own electrical inspection certificates if asked for PAT records and you'd be surprised how often they can't provide them....

I will definitely be doing this in the future ... we got all of our gear tested for a birthday gig at a rugby club a bit back, not so much of an issue as our singer's husband works in Movie production in sound and lighting and  " borrowed a tester from work " which prints the certificate too 

Aforementioned rugby club literally pointed to a corner where the only wall plug showed obvious signs of being Burnt out ... we didnt dare use one ... instead ran a long cable from over near the DJ ... who moaned about it.
We also recently played a rehearsal space ... where i kept getting a mild electric shock through my mic into my lips ..   then venue swore up and down it was fine ... they came and checked it no shock ... when they touched the mic with a hand so clearly no issue.

Turns instruments have grounds and the fault was in the wall cicruit "  so as i played and sang bass i was shorting the PA and bass amp VIA MY LIPS dug about on the net as to what was happening
 a reddit post / article explaining the likely fault with enough detail they had it tested which failed hard.

We have " some discounted rehearsals " but im not sure i fancy it again ... 

No surprise really, its a combo of a couple of shipments a week and the fact it is / was pentecost ,  the annual tradition for all  Germans to take the time off to spend in their cars and sit in traffic on the way the coast ...

We spent it in Zeeland ... it rained and blusterd ... the entire time .... we then flew to Riga  just in time for the weather to improve massively, i hear from family it was 29C  .

Cheap an cheerful , it's a standard  mexican or us layout plate so there's loads lurking online 

On 23/05/2025 at 13:39, floFC said:

Thank you @synthaside! I reported the issue to Thomann and they refused to believe me (despite video) but eventually said they would send me a set of grub screws - because mine were sheared (they are not). So it doesn’t seem to be a common thing, but interested to hear what you find.

When you are reunited with the bass, can you post a picture with the black pickguard? I would like to see that!

Right finally back in the Baltics, life keeps getting in the way of relaxing abroad ... " bloody work"
Grabbed the Classic vibe, even future mrs synth, who definitely wasn't keen on the " antigua " has already stated that looks smart ... now ... grub screws seem "cheap but " normal to my cack handed eyes I'm afraid.

Black plate ... 
 

No evidence that I alco colour co-ordinated the strap ... COUGH

We use an Ios / Android App called  Timetree ,  it allows shared calenders , appoints etc and allows people to use their existing logins with social platforms to register so its got a very low barrier for adoption.
https://timetreeapp.com/intl/en

It is reliant on the band member booking out their time and not forgetting .... The free level works great for us , this combined with a whatsapp group and a bit of google docs for document sharing works well for us.

@floFC   I'll check my saddles  when I'm back in Riga in 2 weeks' time,  MY Anti CV P lives out there with my little Nux " amplug"  until our wedding gig  ( I treated myself) ho ho 

If anyone wants the patinated "Antigua" P scratchplate, it will shortly be up for dibs on the BC marketplace ( it is definitely 1 ply ). It's a standard 13-hole plate, so suitable for US or Mexican standards.
... I have swapped it for a nice 3 ply Black scratchplate to match the black blocks ... as double antigua was a bit much  I think it  looks fab now.

I second a used Markbass combo. While it's a little spendier, if you can find a deal on a CMD121 rather than a Blackline, you will find yourself more or less set for life. I used mine solo for rehearsals for years and smaller gigs, plus it has the guts to add a second cab for larger stages. It's super small and robust and versatile. at low volumes, the fan noise and horn hiss can be louder than the bass, which is great.

As tempting as it is to find a lower power alternative to make sure its portable anything that says its "100 Watts'"  for bass s in my experience is going to struggle at practice volumes to stay "Clean" usually with combo's these are paired with a cheaper speaker and the gain needed to bring up your volume will shape your tone, So going from bedroom levels  " to headroom" is going to be a struggle,  Last night,  I used one of the new Fender Rumble 100's   (new rehearsal room for us)  I't sounded  Dire .... I've used the larger ones before on shared stages happily but I've not been enough of a jerk to want to adjust their settings.

I'm sure I'm going to anger the folk who love them but I found it totally boomy,  undefined and saturated no matter what I did with the Eq, to get any volume to compete with the guitarists I needed to run the gain quite high and it was so bass heavy .... i ended up with its  eq controls with the bass totally cut and both low and high mid and treble and 70%,  perhaps this is because its designed with fender bass'es in mind which can be a bit more " mid focused" but it was an experience that made me wish i'd brought my markbass .

If you popped into Andertons, you must be localish to me ( west byfleet) you are welcome to come try them all out this weekend at mine, I'm not selling sorry   but the Mrs is away and I have a free weekend , I'm giggin up in town Friday evening ( forced to use their fender rumble and I'm not happy about it ) 

I own/use both the Markbass combo and the Little Mark head,  I have the NY121 cab to match and have used it exactly as you describe, but I also treated myself to the new Markbass MB58R 102 PURE  cab, which might be of interest to you as well.

Honestly...  to avoid doing this myself for a wedding gig in Riga and having to ship a bass, I've bought a cheap Harley Benton P  and got it shipped straight to Latvia by thomman, some less honest or more hard up folk than I might say you could use it then return it ...   under their no quibble 30 day policy.
https://www.thomann.co.uk/helpdesk_moneyback.html   Im either going to keep it too noodle at our flat  or  put it up on the local equivalent of Facebook Marketplace for half of what I've paid , as once I'd looked into the cost of  " luggage" costs their and back a case insurance and  package material it was getting pretty close in price.

I know this thread is ancient now but I fancy one of these ... did this go ?

1 hour ago, Twigman said:

I quite fancy a Schecter Corsair bass but my inability to find a suitable proper lightweight flightcase that would fit it put me off. Even Schecter couldn't point me in the right direction.

 

Perhaps a heavy-duty Gig bag for an acoustic bass would work ,  I use one for  for my semi hollow  ..... as for  a " lightweight flight case " I wouldn't expect such a thing to exist ... i want my flight case made of depleted Uranium and Foam .   I do have a  "rebadged"  hiscox  hard case  for my Status which is also semi hollow ....  https://hiscoxcases.com/products/large-peardrop-bass-guitar-hard-case-pro-ii-spec

I'm parting with my Harley Benton MP5MN in its stunning natural finish—a bass I bought to dive into the world of 5-string playing (or so I told myself when treating myself to a birthday gift!).

This beauty is in excellent, nearly new condition, though it has been sitting around "gathering dust." Now that I've unexpectedly added a Classic Vibe P in Antigua to my collection, it's time to make space.
These retail for around £320 at Thomann and offer a significant step up from the standard range, easily comparable to Classic Vibe or Sire models.

Full specs can be found here.    https://harleybenton.com/product/enhanced-mp-5mn-natural/
Collection Details:                       KT14  West Byfleet near Woking... I will consider meetups etc 

Possible trade bait                          I'd consider a POG or other interesting accessories but I'm good for basses and amps.

I'm in two bands,  a 6 piece and a 4 piece the 4 piece despite being a bit heavier and less "pub-friendly" has no issues getting gigs compared to the 6 which cant secure them for love nor money ... 
once the 3 guitarists have dragged their spaceship pedalboards out there's no pub left for the punters 😉

 

Hi, Folks a bit of a weird thing to ask, but someone in the Basschat community might know someone or be able to point me in the right direction, they may even be a lemonrock for Latvia  

I am fortunate enough to be getting married this year,  In August, to a Latvian who's been living in the UK since she was 8,  So while we've both spent a fair bit of time there our local knowledge and that of the music scene is non-existent. 
We are both pretty alternative and planning a small ( 45 people) wedding at an ethnographic centre about 45 minutes outside of Riga near Ādaži. 

We have a wedding planner helping us as our boots on the ground" and the venue is amazing.  https://gungas.lv/ but costs are as you can imagine already spiraling ... the moment the word wedding is used anywhere.

So the Ask, I am looking for help finding a Latvian-based band, to do alternative leaning covers, so punk/rock/emo/ classic-rock, or some help in finding local resources in and around Riga or Ādaži ( unlikely) Where we can hire PA gear, backline etc.
I'd also really love it if they would let my band and I come up and do a couple of numbers, (2G,1B, Drums and a vocalist ) I imagine we'd fly our own guitars out ....  but I'm under strict orders from the future Mrs Synth  "quite sensibly" that I'm needed elsewhere for much of the event so we definitely will not be the main attraction.

No offers of "we'll play for free" if you fly us, please ... The venue is at accommodation capacity, so much so that much of my family arent on the list. 

if its a 12 volt 2000mA from one of these 
https://www.thomann.co.uk/harley_benton_powerplant_iso_2_pro.htm

 you could try this , looks good and sturdy but priced accordingly.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KFD-Adapter-Negative-Controller-Amplifier/dp/B0DG5BCGF6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2YCU62AJ27Y2I&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.E9cQlm8WGOsNwifSGG_S3h_2-GsteqRJigcOPDcuO6hgw4O1Pg2mHutDWb-2M70pWEuN3gZ9x6kPP3oaHoSfL4aY29WhNStjzP5XlTf78BiszvF1H_uj_xqxMfOiSZgIQLsy0Fw4o_7ySri3YwrOUwcLvWzkq4g-CbrZAHcMO_DsJQrURyXY6IvWg6LLnY-3wEoQujERa1zYR1cJFLnFnlAmF-bqOJmJlMROs6NvCJE.euJn3vXTKjA6SNtJa00iWU9zPgy5cPxshdCiXX93h2I&dib_tag=se&keywords=12v+2000+mA+centre+negative&qid=1738247806&sprefix=12v+2000+ma+centre+negative%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-4

Do you mean one of these  https://www.thomann.co.uk/harley_benton_powerplant.htm

If so that's just a kettle lead also known as  IEC C13 and should be available very inexpensively on Amazon.

Can i make an alternative suggestion/pitch for the battery bank ones, buying the cheap Harley Benton pedal power bank, has led my pedal use/life to improve dramatically by not having to plug the damn things into the wall ...
no more horrid daisy chains  / Dirty power introducing noise into my pedal chain, has meant I can now stack effects and has essentially made my noise gate redundant...

They do two based on how big a battery you need, I've gotten the bigger one and it lasts a couple of months between charges .. I do 2 4 hour rehearsals a week and home practice in between.

and all it takes is to notice the light on 1 blip when I'm using it to chuck it on charge overnight, Via USb C.

 https://www.thomann.co.uk/harley_benton_powerplant_powerbank.htm  , https://www.thomann.co.uk/harley_benton_powerplant_powerbank_mk2.htm

12 hours ago, redbandit599 said:

Not sure if this has a thread - I did a search, but Gas gets mentioned a lot! 🙂

 

So, I was just doing a bit of home headphone practice and realised I have not once thought of changing my venerable Zoom B3 which has sat on my desk ready to go for years. I can' t think of many other things that I haven't changed or even thought of changing.

 

What have you got that's a permanent fixture to bass life? (BTW. I'm well aware you answers may instill GAS but let's risk it...)

Hilariously over Christmas I replaced my venerable zoom b3 with the 6 or so pedals and an ehx noise gate that are my favourite models from it .. I was sick of the noise it makes.  Bwizz / wheee soon as I turn on anything drive / fuzz and the built in gate steals all the dynamics when used.

I've done everything to try to solve this issue with the b3,  I even use battery power banks, now it's gone total silence I don't even need the gate. I can stack fuzz ,drive chorus compression and eq blessed silence until I play if course.

The Nux Mighty plug is what you need, it will allow you to stream  Bluetooth audio, from a phone or other Bluetooth source to it as a speaker, which routes straight into your headphones  
The smartphone app is excellent and free and used to control the settings including selecting amp sims and cabs the selection is below ."Yes" there are more options for "guitar" but the AGL and MLD are bass-dedicated.

Love it ..... i'd be popping a black scratchplate on it if I were getting one .... and I am now actively considering it

Hopefully, I will be a voice of Hope in a Sea of Woe...  Our new singer Auditioned 4 weeks ago, were getting up to speed for our first gig mid-October... 
Pinged an advert into the band's WhatsApp for a used Yamaha PA, a little 500-watt Yamaha PAS, (powered tops 250 a side)b, She was purely after advice from us Amp knowers/havers... if this was sufficient power-wise to keep up
with the drums and amps considering our drummer is also light-handed this should be more than fine if not we'd make the guitarist turn down  ( Too many Valves)

She pulled the trigger and intends to store it too, absolute result  so not every singer is clueless on this front. 

A second vote for eris 3.5s phenomenal All around powered desktop speakers .. I've used them for everything from pc use to cinema speakers for my projector  to small event speakers ... 

Amazing value for money