lemmywinks

Artecs are popular because they are a complete unit which includes pots so you don't have to completely disassemble your existing preamp and loom. They're also pretty nice sounding IMO, I have one in my old Cort and you can't get a bad sound out of it. I think the MKI pickups are quite low output so may be better suited to a replacement preamp than going purely passive, won't cost you anything to try it though I suppose!

Seriously have a look at Artec SE3 preamp, minimal soldering and they will improve the bass massively for £30. They're a full unit with pots and easy fit connectors, if you're looking to improve the sound of the bass significantly without throwing a ton of money at it then you could do far worse IME. http://artecsound.com/pickups/electronics/se3.html http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ARTEC-SE3-Bass-Guitar-electronics-board-Genuine-Artec/350864811568?hash=item51b12c2630:g:T9gAAOxyBvZTTQD9 The voicing of the 3 band eq is much more musical than the licensed Bartolini that comes stock, the bass control is set to 80hz for a start which is far more useful. Cort seem to like slapping a licensed brand name on what are probably all in-house parts, the no-name preamp in my old (Cort Factory) Ibanez was suspiciously identical to the Bart MKI preamp in my Cort B5, they use a Markbass branded preamp now which is probably the same thing. Those lic Ultralites are great though.

There was a cheap Hipshot 6 string bridge for sale on here a week or so back I think. EDIT: Schaller one here:

Does yours have the Bartolini MKI pickups and pre? If so try just upgrading the preamp, I think that's the weak point on these and the licensed Bart pickups are actually quite nice. I had the B5 and I always found the frequency points odd, the bass being too low/boomy and the treble too spiky. Some people wired these passive and noticed an improvement so.... Cort B series are great bang for buck and are great candidates for upgrades - licensed Ultralites, chunky bridge, nice woods. I would keep an eye out in the classifieds here for a suitable preamp, usually some bargains If you wait a while. maybe get a cheap Artec to tide you over?

Ringo comes back and says, “George, can you play it back for me one more time?” So George did, and Ringo says, “That didn’t sound so bad.” And I said, “Yeah, motherf****r because it ain’t you.” Great guy, though.

We have a quiet on stage sound, the drummer is a former pro who plays at a nice volume and the guitarist does our sound most of the time so there's no cranked "I need volume to get my tone" valve amps in there either. If I needed anything more then I would have gone for the RCF like CameronJ has. Our PA cabs are a pair of RCF 735s and they kick bass out for fun on their own, we went a year before buying matching subs. The small size and versatility of the QSC won out in the end as well as a mint used one popping up at the right time.

I can tell you my dreams of killing rock'n'roll were lying in the gutter until I found that crossover setting. My load in is now a bass gigbag and the QSC, one trip with a free hand to make rude gestures at the keyboard player

So the QSC K10.2 has arrived. Got it home and plugged the bass in via the FIshman Pro Platinum and the result was, well.... a bit wet. No low end at all and no amount of adjustment on the Fishman or the Sire eq could dial any in, set it to bass amp mode and the best I could get was a mid range honky bass sound - not good. Also the volume seemed way down from what I was expecting and was far less than my Markbass rig, tried it my Behringer BDDI and the result was the same, could get a little more volume by cranking the level but it was still in the realm of a budget practice amp. I was starting to think you lot gig exclusively in libraries and went to pick my daughter up from school a bit gutted that I'd blown £600 on a posh vocal monitor. Then I went into the settings and saw it had the crossover set to 125hz so everything below that was missing, it must have been reset to factory settings. Turned this off and it sounds absolutely fantastic, no shortage of low end at all and the volume is way more than I need. Amazing to hear such a big sound from a little 10" wedge like that, combined with the Fishman it sounds fat and very smooth so I now have a big smile on my face. So if you get the QSC remember to not be an idiot and check the crossover settings!

As an aside has anybody tried the Valeton Dapper into a standalone monitor? I'm planning on just using my Fishman Platinum Pro EQ which has everything I need and nothing I don't (I sometimes think Fishman designed it specifically for me!) but the Valeton looks like a cheap compact backup option.

My QSC K10.2 should be here today.

This has been my experience of jam nights too, even the ones that start off with the best of intentions are ruined when the usual suspects start turning up and start fretfapping . Awful musicians playing awful music, no thanks.

You're probably much better than you think you are.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Epiphone-Tobias-Toby-Deluxe-IV-Electric-Bass/263483912821?hash=item3d58dd7275:g:-qEAAOSwCMtae3u3 One of the cheapo modern Tobias range, nothing to do with the originals or the Korean budget versions but still worth £70 all day long.

£112 here: https://www.alangregory.co.uk/music/Pro_Tec_Contego_Bass_Guitar_Gig_Bag_Black.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA5OrTBRBlEiwAXXhT6PI03UXg84eYWU6OTWt1ovkrw0Un_-iuHmxv3q_C1G06kEFK8lpNIBoClEAQAvD_BwE £110 on Thomann too. I remember when they shout up from being about £60 a few years ago, was about to buy one at the time.

Bought mine on a whim and used it purely as a DI on a couple of gigs, sound guy thought the DI sounded great. Can't complain for the price, still keep it in my gigbag in case of equipment failure. Everyone should have one of these on them at all times IMO!

Gator Pro Go, they're about £110 online. I got lucky and won a new one on eBay for £70 but I'd happily pay full price after using it. They're a bit hefty compared to a standard gigbag but are exremely well made with loads of storage and excellent protection. Handy rain cover, laptop pocket and velcro cable loops too. Premium quality of the fancy brands without the price tag IMO.

Obviously the seller is a BCer!

I have the same bass too, the stock tuners are serviceable and are no worse than any other modern budget machine heads - which is to say that they do the job just fine and keep the bass in tune for long enough with the odd mid gig micro adjustment. I recently replaced mine with Schallers (bargain off here) and they are much better, absolutely rock solid with no play and keep the bass in tune for an entire gig. Swapping the tuners out is pretty much the final step into making this the ultimate budget working bass for me - nice low B, great preamp, great neck with wide spacing and ultra stable, if it was a couple of lb lighter it'd be perfect!

Good price seeing as it has Schallers fitted, all those Sires need is better tuners. If the case comes with it then it's a total steal as it's the Fender ABS case I think which are about £150.

Nice one thanks.

Which type did you use? They seem to to acrylic, alcohol and oil based dye.

I used one (Die Hard branded) when I gigged with two Corts as they were about 6-7lb each, was no problem and the gigbag I used had a zip off backpack compartment too for keeping leads in. When I bought a much heavier gigging bass it became a bit cumbersome and inconvenient so stopped using it, so you're probably ok if you have two lightweight instruments.

Our drummer (considerably older than the rest of us) got rid of his drum rack when we called it his zimmer frame. It was either that or a bath rail.