Dan Dare

The possible variation in drive unit makers' product ranges may well be "massive". However, once you eliminate products that are unsuitable, for whatever reason, the number left won't be great. We're talking about higher end bass cab manufacturers here. They will select from the small number of suitable, proven units offered by the "pretty short list of OEM driver manufacturers". They'd be daft not to. It would be commercially risky to go too far out on a limb or use something untried or that that may not be up to the job. It's difficult to build a good reputation and very easy to lose it. Custom/special order units? How will they differ greatly from standard offerings, given that a drive unit has relatively few key components - basket/frame, cone, coil/motor, magnet and terminals - and the best materials to use to make those components are well known and established? Drive unit manufacturers are not going to deliberately offer top-line products that are not as good as they can make them (they have reputations to protect, too). Once again, we are discussing flagship drivers - Kappalites, Faital Pros, etc - used by companies such as Vanderkley, Bergantino, you and others catering for the high end of the market. So we can discount those that employ cost-cut materials and other factors that render them unfit (or less fit) for purpose. I appreciate that you have a living to make, but I find it difficult to believe that there is "literally nothing on the market" like the drivers you use. I'm sure they are of excellent quality and as good as you have found it possible to source, but "unique"?

Me too. I'm pretty happy with what I have. Being ancient, I've worked up to the point where I've got the stuff I like. I guess if money was no object, I'd look for a really nice vintage P bass, but that would be about it.

Storm is my local. They're very good.

Very true. Most of the better quality cabs use the same or similar drivers from the likes of Eminence and Faital. There are not that many high volume drive unit manufacturers in the world. The taste of the cabinet designer leads to (often minor) variations, but the differences are rarely night and day. The same applies to amps, where so many use the same ICE or Hypex modules and what you hear are the designer's preferences in the preamp.

It's worth whatever a willing buyer will pay. I'd put it on eBay and see what the market decides.

Know what you mean. I loved my old Bassman and Trace heads and Ampeg cabs and, whilst what I have now is light, powerful and clean as a whistle (like you, I've gone class D/hi-fi), it doesn't seem to quite have the effortless quality of the old rig. I may be viewing the past through rose tinted spec's, of course... Decent used Trace heads do turn up quite regularly on eBay, etc, so that could be one option. Ashdown has to be worth looking at as a more modern, easily obtainable alternative and of course, Mark Gooday ran Trace before starting Ashdown, so there's a connection and similarity of approach. They're also excellent with backup/repairs. I'd look for a decent used Ashdown head and try it with your cabs as a starter. If it doesn't work out, you can always sell it on. I've often wondered about doing the same, although I've gone over completely to the dark side and use PJB cabs, so maybe even that wouldn't work. I did pick up a massive old Ashdown 1x15 cab last year with a blown driver, which I replaced and it sounded fat and warm and very nice. However, it was a nightmare getting it up the narrow stairs to my first and second floor flat, so I moved it on. So much gear, so little time.

Find a local school or youth group that could use it?

That chrome and body is mighty shiny for a 30 year old instrument. I think Max is dead right.

If you use steel wool, make sure you stick masking tape all over the pickups first. Other wise, they will be covered in a "fur" of steel fragments that you'll NEVER remove completely.

Perhaps, as your instrument has a zero fret, the walls of the nut slots should be higher.

There's no alternative if you want to find THAT SOUND other than heading for a well -stocked shop, spending some time running through the alternatives and being willing to spend what it takes. We're all different and acting on any of our preferences could set you on that endless, long and rocky road of buying and moving stuff on. That way madness lies. Better to get it right from the outset. I spent several hours at Bass Direct a few years back (do it on a weekday when they're not busy and you can take your time) and have not felt the need to upgrade since. No doubt I will one day or if something breaks, but for now, I no longer have the urge to look for new toys. Have a look at the amount of stuff in the Market Place that's described as 'home use only', 'still in the box', etc, etc. I'd wager it's practically all been bought by people who thought it would be the key to nirvana (I'm not referring to older or inexpensive kit, but to the current, pro level stuff) when they got it.

I think Bill's absolutely right. If you get a large enough PA cab to give you the low end you need, it will probably be as large as or even larger than your bass rig, so nothing gained. I also find that putting my bass through a PA results in a clean, but rather characterless sound, no doubt because I'm used to the baked in tone of bass rigs (they all have that, even when set supposedly 'flat').

But some are more equal than others.

I'm trying out some Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats at the moment. I got a 5 string and fancied a brighter sound, but didn't like the rounds it came with. I'm pleased with the Cobalts so far. Plenty bright enough, without that zing/clang I hate. I wouldn't replace the La Bellas on my P bass with them - they're far too bright - but they do the job on the 5. Worth a punt on a set?

This is a very good point. He sounds honest, too. I agree with others who say the most important thing, given equivalent ability, is how well you get on personally.

I suspect the singer is feeling threatened by Andy's efforts and the quantity of them. Saying "the riffs are all great, but they sound like you’ve already developed them...” is equivalent to, "I didn't write this and there's no space in it for me to put in my four penn'orth and take some credit". The fact that he reportedly likes to change established material for no good reason supports that, as does criticising others' efforts whilst contributing nothing of his own. Attempting to work with insecure people is always a recipe for disaster, in my experience.

Ah yes. The sort of tat that's aimed at family/friends of a musician who are wondering what to get them for Christmas/birthday.

The rate of pay is inversely proportional to how much fun you have.

Know what you mean. I went for a ride on the Mid Hants steam railway yesterday (I love a bit of steam and coal smoke). News items about steam locos, suggestions for other similar places to visit, etc popped up on the feed on my phone whilst I was there. Do they track where you are and your movement (in this case, along the line - presumably, your movement from mobile mast to mobile mast gives that away), work out that you must be on the railway and send you stuff accordingly? That is sinister.

I stand corrected. Didn't realise that.

It's worth remembering that pickups are not microphones (with the possible exception of those which have become microphonic with age - perhaps that explains the claimed 'airy' sound of those ancient Strats and similar). This applies especially to modern pickups, which are usually potted/sealed and are pretty well immune to vibration as a result. If you tap your finger on the pickup of an old P bass or similar, you will often hear a pop through the speaker. If you do the same to something like a Bartolini or an EMG, you won't hear one (or if you do, it will be tiny). Pickups don't "listen" in the way that a microphone or our ears do (which is by sensing physical vibrations/movement of the air). They detect the movement of the strings within a magnetic field (cast by the magnets of the pickup) and convert that into a minute electrical signal. It's similar to the way a stylus on an analogue record player works. The grooves on the record cause the stylus, which is attached to a thin rod of aluminium, boron, etc to move. The other end of the rod is attached to either a small magnet which moves within the field created by a miniature coil (moving magnet cartridges) or a small coil which moves within the field created by miniature magnets (moving coil cartridges). Again, this creates a minute electrical signal. It's logical that everything in the construction of an instrument, including materials used, will affect the way in which a string will vibrate. However, the contribution of the material, assuming it is of similar density/rigidity, is really not worth worrying about. Construction - through neck or bolted, etc - and especially the integrity of the construction is the thing that really has an effect, together with electronics - pickup, preamp, etc. Obviously, an instrument made of balsa (if it could be done in a way that wouldn't cause it to collapse under the tension of the strings) will not have the same structural integrity as one made of hardwoods. However, the difference between hardwoods of similar rigidity/density is so small as to be insignificant.

I find it hilarious that eBay (and many other organisations) send you advertisements or promotions for something you've just bought. I know their algorithms track you and do it automatically, but it's a bit pointless. "Just bought a new Aston Martin, sir? Why not have a look at these and see if you fancy another?"

It depends, as others say. I play in several different line-ups. If, for example, someone wants my function band to play a wedding or similar, we are going to expect our normal rates of pay. With pubs/clubs, if a venue is small and will be seriously affected by the rules affecting how many customers it can fit in, then we're prepared to be flexible, especially if they have been good to us in the past. Some pals and I have a Monday night residency in a little local (or we will when/if it re-opens). We've discussed this and are quite happy to play there for nowt when it re-opens as it's a nice pub and the guv'nor is a sound bloke, who doesn't let us pay for our drinks and it's half a mile down the road. We're all ageing/retired/ex-pros, who like to get together to play what we want, so it suits us. It helps that we're all older and financially secure, so don't need to earn at every opportunity.

If all else fails...