whynot

Thanks everyone. A few good ideas here and even the led strip is a reasonable price but probably looking for a cheap and simple solution such as the marker mentioned. Jakesbass... after 30 years of playing thats not a problem for a 34" scale (even though most of my basses in recent years have had leds (for the fun factor of course)), and I rarely look at the neck on most gigs apart from a starting position, or some dodgy high end playing. I'm already getting use to the 36" scale but so easy to go on autopilot sometimes.

For gigging, the side dots on my Clover are not that clear. A bit off-white and small would be the best way to descibe them. Would not usually be an issue but being 36" scale and alternating on some gigs between that and the jazz means I sometimes need to take a little more notice of those dots than I normally would. So any ideas for making them brighter. Should point out the neck and board are graphite/phenolic. I may look into leds sometime in the future as the bass is a stayer but that will be a long way if it ever happens.

I use to do a lot of social club gigs years back and took a girlfriend to see me depping with a dodgy band in Dartford. When she said would I still be doing this when I'm 60 I new it was over. My wife is very supportive and knows what its all about so no issues. The only time I get a vibe is when I gig abroad, and come back with a tan.

When I first owned a TD650 I was using two Ashdown Mini 4x8s and sounded great. Not the lightest of small cabs but compact so reasonably easy to transport. I found using just one for club gigs was fine. Epifani 310UL, EBS Neo 2x12 plus Tech Soundsystem cabs all work well with the 650 I found.

There should be two allen key type bolts on the top of the combo near the front. Unscrew those, unplug the speaker cable and ease the unit out of the front by gently pushing the rear of the head forward. Make sure you put some kind of suitable cover on top being using with another cab. I did this a couple of times with my 2x10 combo when I needed to drive a larger cab. Forgot to say, if you try to order, Markbass will not provide a new top cover without serial number so come up with a good excuse as to why you want to use the the amp outside of the combo and you may be able to order something direct.

I think visually the colour is spot on for this design. I've been using a RH450 for 4-5 months now and very happy with it but would love to hear what they have done soundwise with this version. Not sure they can justify the extra £200 price tag, presuming it's in full production. TC are not daft and appear to be very proactive with this bass range so I would think there will be a more powerful addition out sometime in the future, although the 450 is well loud enough for my needs.

I have small hands (I think) and would never have considered a 35" scale as a regular gigging bass, but the bass in my avatar is 36" and a 5 string, and I find that pretty easy to play. I think it's partly down to the neck profile and postion of the neck to your body as to whether it will cause you playing issues, but the difference when stretching on the lower frets is obvious compared to a 34", a 35" maybe not so much.

My favorite live album is The Who 'Live at Leeds'. Pretty sure no post recording on that as sounds just like them at any gig around that period, but could be wrong.

Have heard the odd thing on the radio over the years, but the biggest buzz I can remember was when our band had album of the week on a German national radio station. We were on tour over there at the time so hearing one of our songs every hour while cruising the autobahn was pretty exciting.

Don't have a copy but would like to say Chucho is a top player. I saw him do a jazz gig with a handful of people in the audience several years before he did Eurythmics, Townsend etc and I remember thinking there was something special about his playing then. Use to ride a motorbike around London with fretted and fretless Steinbergers over his shoulder IIRC.

I've been using a variety of micro amps over recent years plus cabs in the 40lb weight bracket and have had no problem with anything going walkies, thats been on all different types of stages. I can see where your coming from though in that if you cab is too light and the stage is hollow or not level there could very well be movement.

I also suffer from Sciatica. Comes on for a couple of days maybe once every 6 months for some reason or other. Only advise I can give is definately go lightweight as I know with me heavy gear can aggrevate the condition, just a case of finding the right cab(s), but the options are numeous. Also when carrying don't twist the up part of the body at the same time. If you do want to stay with a 4x12 then keep an eye out for a used Neo Tech Soundsystems 4x12, ND412 the model I think. Possibly the lightest 4x12 out there.

For monitoring issues as well as a very versatile rig I would consider the TC RH450 + RS212 and RS210. Too much info to list here so worth checking out the TC website. Also prices have come down a little since first introduced.