Russ

I know Mike Walsh from Zoot has been tooling up to start making graphite necks again. He did them back when he first started out, when they were still called Iceni. I'm not sure if they're just going to be for his own basses, or if he'll be doing aftermarket ones too. Klos are also selling graphite replacement necks = they're not cheap though. https://klosguitars.com/collections/bass-necks

Are there any other bands on the bill who you could get in touch with, and who could either hook you up with local backline rental, or just let you use their gear? You could bring your own stuff, but you're going to run into the post-Brexit carnet issue, where it might be cheaper to just hire backline there rather than paying customs fees for your own gear.

Definitely noticeable at a loud band rehearsal though, when you have a guitarist playing through a 100W Mesa and an enthusiastic drummer. I had to dial it almost all the way up to keep up. When you get that close to the top of the dial, you can literally hear and feel the headroom disappearing, especially on Class D amps - there's a strange limiting thing that seems to happen that doesn't sound like other types of amp.

Ampeg - love the tone. Love the heritage. Hate the unreliability. Had a couple of SVT-3s back in the day, and they sounded amazing and were basically bulletproof. Got an SVT-7 about 11 years ago which also sounded amazing, but died in the middle of the first song at a gig. Got it fixed, but I was spooked at that point and sold it on. I dabbled with Ampeg again a couple of years back - got hold of a Portaflex 800, and, again, sounded great, but kept cutting out at a gig. It didn't completely die like the SVT-7, but that was enough for me to send it back. Like many, I've been tempted by the Venture series, and hoping that, under the new Yamaha regime, they'd have solved the reliability issues. Did a gig just before Xmas with a band whose bassist had just bought the V3 earlier that week, and it crapped out during the third song. He ended up finishing the set with my Ashdown RM-800. I really wish they'd sort their issues out. Ampeg are legendary, and these issues have eroded their reputation to the point where anyone who has researched them are staying away.

CRABCORE!

Nuno at Lusithand put out a video the other day of a bass with a pair of Turner pickups and his new updated NFP Mk2 circuit, doing the Wal thing. I think it absolutely nails the tone. What do you think?

I think the Simon Gallup bass and the Robert Smith guitar are the nicest things they make. Thought about picking up one of the Robert Smith baritones a while back, but the price was offputting. I would quite like to have a go on the Berthoud bass though, especially the 6-string when it comes out. I don't like how Schecter have changed all their branding to fit a "metal" aesthetic - the gothic font logo, etc. The old logo was far classier and much less tied into a genre.

G&L make excellent basses, even the inexpensive ones are great, with a sound of their own. I think their problem is visibility - there's very few pros that you see playing them out there. It's a bit like the issues Yamaha has, but more so. Those who know, know, but you've mostly not heard of them. When you buy into a brand, you feel like you're going to be joining a club of likeminded players, and there really aren't that many big names you could say you're in that club with when you play the likes of G&L, and most of the players on their endorsers page are probably better known for playing other brands.

My band was called Earthbound - there's at least a dozen other Earthbounds out there, so we rather unimaginatively renamed ourselves Earthbound AD. It was either that or The Earthbound Four, but we decided against it in case we decided to go back to being a five-piece.

You're right, should be 2.67ohms. Just took another look at the manual. It will only put out 500W into 4ohms.

Currently got the 1x12" combo, and had a Unity 700 head for a little while. The combo is nice - solid, big sound, lots of tonal options and a great EQ. It's a nice thing to have sitting below my desk. Downsides - cloth grille (my cats have destroyed it and I can't get a replacement). Little switches are fiddly - some more solid switches, or big pushbuttons would work better. So yeah, overall, not a bad little amp. The Unity 700 head - maybe a bit less complimentary about this one. The 700W power rating is misleading - it only outputs that much power into 2ohms, so unless you're running two 4ohm cabs, it feels very underpowered. Lots of tonal options again (the "response" control is excellent), but it's still got those nasty fiddly little switches, and the controls for the built-in effects are hidden at the back of the amp. No standby switch. Only a single Speakon out on the back, which is weird if it'll only deliver its maximum power into two cabs. Plus, it's also kinda big - most Class D heads are quite a lot smaller. At least it comes with a nice branded gig bag. I really hope Blackstar roll out an updated range of Unity gear - tonally it's great and very versatile. It's just got some annoying little shortcomings that should be relatively easy to address. It also doesn't seem like they've gone out of their way to promote the range - I haven't seen many players using it, and none of the usual bass Youtube crowd seem to use it (let's face it, you need them on board to promote gear now, in the absence of bass magazines) so I'm not sure how successful the range has been for them. Maybe there's an opportunity there for one of our number with a bit of a public profile to approach Blackstar and look into being an endorser? And there's definitely room in the market for a rock-oriented range of bass gear - look how well Darkglass have done.

This might be the most audacious piece of thread necromancy ever - nearly 17 years old. Anyway, are Catch-O-Matic stands still available anywhere? A quick Google doesn't turn up much other than a few used ones here and there. I had a couple of them back in the day, and I'd like to get a couple more!

I think custom SD pickups are the default for new FB/FU basses right now, and I've seen SD Basslines pickups on older models. I think the ones they use now have plain black plastic covers, so that is likely to be what we're looking at here. Initially, the standard pickups were Lane Poors, followed by Bartolinis after LP shut up shop, but they've always given buyers the option of others.

How did you find the Unity in terms of overall volume? I really enjoyed its sound and the variety of tones available, but it felt very anaemic in terms of output. From what I understand, you can only get the full 700W at 2 ohms.

I've mentioned this bass on here before, and it's never shown up again. No idea if it even still exists! But, back in 1996, I desperately wanted a Sei but couldn't afford one. So I bought a through-neck body from Brandoni for £200 and took it to Chris McIntyre, back when he worked at The Gallery, and he transformed it into this lovely beast: I loved that bass, it got me through some difficult times. Ended up selling it back in 2001 when I desperately needed the money. I sold it at Notting Hill Music Exchange, never to be seen again. I'd love to be reunited with it if it's still out there somewhere. I wouldn't mind getting that old Mesa/Boogie rig back too, although I doubt my back would be too grateful...

He's not a great player, but he's a big supporter of the bass "scene", and especially small custom luthiers. Here's a nice pic of him with Marek from Stradi at the NAMM show the other week: As was mentioned, he's friends with Les Claypool, and has a custom Carl Thompson and a Pachyderm. He's also got multiple vintage Fenders.

Not really a band, to be fair. Two singers, one of whom occasionally played guitar. But then we're getting into that whole difference between "band" and "vocal group"...

That’s part of the “mystique”. On one hand, Paul could have made an absolute fortune if he decided to introduce an import range to fulfil demand, but that might devalue their brand, and dilute some of that mystique and rarity value that Ian and Pete spent so long building up before him. Personally, I think they should do a Spector-style approach - yes, have an import range, but that would still be high-end, maybe made in Central/Eastern Europe. Cheaper and with higher availability than the UK-built instruments, but still built to a quality that wouldn’t impact their brand.

It also coincided with Tool’s Aenima coming out, and everyone wanting Justin Chancellor’s bass tone. All of a sudden, the nerdy British studio musicians’ tool of choice became the coolest bass with the most coveted tone in the world. With only Pete involved in building Wals at the time, it was impossible for him to keep up with demand for new basses, and so the prices of used models went stratospheric. Then he retired, and sadly passed away. Before Paul Herman picked up the reins a couple of years later, there were no new Wals to be had at all, which added to their scarcity value.

I'd forgotten how heavy old Trace gear was. I was in my local music shop the other day and they had an old BLX-80 sitting there. I always remembered those being louder and bassier than they had any right to be. Then I went to move it so I could plug it in... holy crap. The thing weighed more than my Barefaced BT2, and it's only a 1x10". They do still sound great though.

A Modulus is like a scientific instrument for producing sound. They're fantastic in almost every way. The only problem is that they're boat anchors - never played a Modulus that weighed less than 10lbs and my ageing back would not approve! They do offer a lightweight option on the Funk Unlimited basses now using something called Rev-o-lite, which is some kind of composite material, but I've not had the chance to try one. Personally, when it comes to composite instruments, I'm looking forward to trying out the new Aristides range. They're not graphite, but, by all accounts, the material they use (something they call "arium") is equally solid and just as resistant to climate/humidy differences.

They're not out in the US yet. They usually show up on Sweetwater or Zzounds' websites before they're released with the option to pre-order, but they're not up there yet. Another couple of months, I reckon.

I dislike the guy intensely. But, when it comes to the music business, he does know what he's on about, since Oasis did start very much at the grassroots level and work their way up. The problem is, they started back in the 90s when the old music business model still applied - the whole grassroots > get management > get signed > put out album on CD > tour > get lots of press coverage > repeat cycle. I'm not sure many people of his generation have acknowledged or adapted to the new reality of this streaming world. I'd be more inclined to listen to some of the younger musicians who have succeeded in the current environment.

There's always been "scenes" - groups of people who'd listen to certain genres of music, dress a certain way and have interests and personal/political beliefs in common with other people in that scene. Thinking metalheads, goths, indie kids, teddy boys, skinheads, New Romantics, punks, beatniks, mods, rockers, etc. They still exist, but one side effect of the whole streaming revolution is that, for people who actually listen to music instead of using it as audio wallpaper, they seem to have broader tastes these days. A lot of kids listen to a bit of everything and don't feel the need to partition themselves into a "scene". Anything from metal to R&B, to West End showtunes, to video game music. They just pick and choose what they like, and this extends beyond music, to fashion, etc too. This is a good thing since it means many of the prejudices that some of us faced for our taste in music is fading, but it does kinda dilute the influence a "scene" can have on attracting its own audience, and hence how many die-hard fans they can sell stuff to.

From what I understand, the "Transporter" range used cheaper, less sturdy speakers compared to the speakers in the XL range, and the Transporter speakers were the ones used in my old combo. I got them replaced for free too, but after a while I just got too annoyed with it breaking and sold it on. When Hartkes work properly, they sound great - they have punch and clarity like nothing else, and a ton of bottom end too. I just wish Larry would pay a bit more attention to QC for the stuff that carries his name. I also find the branding rather garish - huge logos and ugly colour schemes, although not quite up there with Markbass in that regard.