jonnybass

Part of me philosphically uses it to remind myself that basses are for playing for me...and that I dont like the Wal V shaped neck...as a Mick Karn fanboy I had lusted after them for a few years, then that afternoon, and I spend about an hour with it I was cured of Wal related GAS...although I did think, could i buy it and just rip out the pickups electronics??

There are loads of playable basses now at very low price points, as well if you go second hand and not fashionable you can still get a bargain. If you want a US made name brand bass, its not going to be cheap...ever. On the Wal story I went round three music shops with about £300-£500 to spend on a bass in the early 90's...in that afternoon I played a 76 Precision, a white Ricky 4001, a Wal Mk1 all for £500-£600 Mostly becausse none were fashionable then and a musicman stingray 5(Which was slightly higher than my budget)...The fender was a dog and weighed more than a small planet, the Wal had the hard V neck that I really hate/hated and I couldnt get a good sound or comfy playing position on the Ricky...I borrowed a £100 from my parents and got the Musicman...occasionally regret it to this day purely for the resale value, have to remind myself the reason I was buying a bass was my bass at the time had an unfixable neck and so I had no usable bass for the 3 bands I was gigging with. Sold the Stingray for a profit a few years later, but no where near as much as I would have got for any of the others. Jonny

@Kateplaysbass I roughly use it how you plan too for the covers band. However, I found I didnt need a slightly different clean sound or dirty sound for every song so I have a "clean" patch, a "dirty" patch, an Octave patch, synth patch, etc, and I just make sure they are easily accessible during the set. The cobination of touch screen and acutal buttons I find really useful. For my original band I tend to use it more in memory mode where i have a pedal board set up (roughly the same as I did before I got muliteffects) I find this easier when we are coming up with new songs/parts/arrangements, we havent gigged since I got it but I think I'll end up setting up patches to match the set for that as mid gig its so much easier to just click one footswitch Jonny

Birlliant, totally nailing it. As a Rush fan for longer than I remember I'd happily go and see these guys. Bass tone is totally nailed (IMO) Jonny

Absolute stunner

Exactly what rooms need

That is beautiful, I love the colour choice with the fingerboard wood. I have owned an ACG recurve 5 string for a few years its only 34inch scale but the B string feels great. The 35inch must make if feel thunderous. Enjoy dude jonny

Zoom b6 I use it exactly for this. I have scenes with vintage amps, modern amps. effects and no effects, built in tuner that mutes when it tunes, DI out, two inputs with level controls. Really easy to use in a gig scenario like you described. Jonny

With the exception of accessories (straps, strings and cables) my only purchase this year has been a Zoom b6. Loving it though by far my best purchase of 2023. Jonny

I think it looks great, I don’t have £27k to spend on a bass, if I did would I buy it? Maybe if it played and sounded great. All power to whoever buys it. Hope they get loads of enjoyment out of it. jonny

This is what swung me towards the B6, ultimately its not as flexible as the HX stomp (limited slots, no parrallel chains etc) but to unpack and plug in at a gig then adjust during soundcheck or create a new sound during a practice really quickly I think its terrific. I'm sure GAS will kick in and I'll buy a stomp too... Jonny

I've been using the zoom b6 for around 6 months now. Played a couple of gigs with it, fabulous box if you are looking for easy to use straightforward muliteffects for your bass. Sounds are fab, take a bit of tweaking at gig volume but two inputs, with variable levels, DI out (with four DI models) on top of the good amp sims and available effects I cant think of a band gig situation where this wont meet my needs. Jonny

Depends where central is, but Chris McIntyre in Edinburgh is terrific for all guitar repairing needs.

Looks like it will be good for Metal

Thats terrific Kevin. Well played and very tasteful music too.

LIstened once, theres allot going on, will see how it fairs after another few listens. Jonny

and another...

It depends on the band/music for me. For standard covers i use a 5. For originals i use a 5 and for any vintage covers gigs I use a 4. Switching between them isnt a problem now, but I've played 5s on and off for 30 years. Getting a good tight B string is very important, so construction of the 5 has to be of a good level. Jonny

Hi I am trying to work out an option for selling etickets for our band gigs, it looks like Eventbrite do it, but id love to hear any real world experience from basschatters out there. Jonny

Cheers Rich, I tried Elixirs when they first came out (im that old) but really didnt like the feel, although the more I think about it, I was playing two-three times a week and loving Labella Hard Rockin steels on my basses then. I may take another look at these. Jonny

Thank you, I'll investigate. I notice Warwick do a Red or Black label. Do you have any experience on the differences? Jonny

It all depends on the bass Im using and how often. My Fretless got a brand new set of Thomastiks in 2018, I think they were around £40, still going strong and no need to change them. My four string jazz which is doing the most work at the moment, gets a set of Ernie ball hybrid slinky's (£19.99) every 6-8 weeks depending on gigs and weather. Not found a suitable set for my Sire V7 five string, its currently strung with my spare fairly fresh (March) Newtone 5 string Platinums (£40 odd quid including delivery) which i use for the ACG. I haven't gigged with the ACG since June last year, so just ordered a set of Newtones for it, but when gigging regularly they get changed every 3 months. Anyone recommend a decent 5 string set for the Sire? They need to be roundwound, Nickel, 45 to at least 130 standard Long scale? I prefer flexibility link Hybrid slinky's and Newtones...Preferably under £30 Do D'Addario do a set that meets this? Only tried a flatwound set a few years ago and didnt like them... Jonny