chris_b

2 basses, 2 amps, 1 or 2 112 cabs, leads, 2 sets of moulded ear plugs, sometimes a trolley. . . . that's it.

My first car was a Morris 1000 Traveller. I had a Marshall 100 watt amp and 412 which fitted neatly in the back. Since the 80's it's been Volvo's. I have a V60 these days and can fit me and the drummer with all our gear and have room for a third person.

I had the same problem. I didn't see it as a faff, just necessary maintenance. If the wax is getting in the way then the moulds might not fit as well as they should. Olive oil is a good wax softener. It's cheaper and just as effective as proprietary medications.

If you have front of house available then your 20 watt combo might work, but only if you have good monitors. Without FOH my minimum would be 500 watts and 1 or 2 112 cabs.

How long do you need?

Why are Tabs always wrong? Because the people who write them don't know what they are doing.

I had one of those. What did I know, I was 17! It wasn't a great sound, wasn't particularly loud and lacked any definition. No handles on the cab, yet another UK design triumph!

I had 2 Two10's, fantastic sound, but I sold them to focus on the BF 112's. A different sort of fabulous, but the same level of fantastic all the same. @Wilvies8184 if your amp supports 2.67 ohms, you can add a One10 for a great 310 rig.

Separates are easier to transport, carry and upgrade. 500 - 800 watts will cover any volume requirement. 2 good 112's or 210's should cover different gigging requirements. Buying used will be more cost effective. What's your budget?

I'd expect those strings to fit. I always go for the heaviest gauge strings I can find. More meat as @Lozz196 says.

What can't the band hear you? If they can't hear you, why should they care whether you are there or not!! Sort your gear out and make the bass integral to the sound of the band.

Not since I was 16.

I've just got back from gigging my Aguilar AG700 and Barefaced SM and BB2 cabs in a very loud blues rock trio. So far the AG700 has seen off an 800 watt Thunderfunk, a Subway D800, a Quilter BB800 and a Bergantino Forte HP. These are all fantastic amps but after real life comparisons on gigs, I decided I preferred the sound of the AG700. I play an active 5 string Jazz bass and my Barefaced cabs are just ticking over. So far I haven't felt the need for an HPF. I also own a TH500. Aguilar just make amps that sound the best to me.

I don't think it got as far as court, but Led Zeppelin had to pay Willie Dixon a lot of money for Whole Lotta Love, which plagiarises his song You Need Love.

I buy the best sounding basses I can find. In the last 20 years, the 5 basses that made it to #1 status have all been in the £1k - £2k range. I have been trying to find cheaper basses (I have too much money tied up in gear) but I'm not finding any cheap basses that are even close to knocking my current basses off their perch. YMMV

Barefaced make a lot of noise for your watts. I use 2 in a blues trio and I easily keep up with the guitarist and his Twin Reverb. One Super Compact would be very good for your sound, even with a 200 watt amp.

Or you can look at it from the other direction. . . . We have to work at sounding the best we can sound. Some of the top players only play either flats or rounds, not both. A good bassist will use the gear that makes the sound he wants to make. Many of these guys don't follow the music but make the music fit around them.

I did a direct comparison with Happy Jack's Lull bass and his sounded better! I finally tracked down the difference. . . . his bass had flats, mine had rounds. As soon as I put a set of GHS flats on my bass I got that nice, big, warm thump. I hadn't used flats since the early 70's and my current set of TI's are now on my PJ5 for good.

5 string Danelectro Long Horn bass.

Does ageism count? I've been discriminated against many times on account of my age. I guess that if the main objective to being in a band is to have a larf with their mates, then they're going to want potential "drinking partners" to apply. Proper musicians probably wouldn't be bothered, unless there were image considerations. Who gets the invite, or not, to an audition is hardly a matter for the law. I really don't care who is in the band, men or women, as long as they pull their weight. The only thing that puts me off is smokers and people who can't be bothered to wash! Now I'll probably be told off for discriminating against the smelly!

I've got 2 and love them. IMO a PJ is always a P, but with extra tone shaping options. I've got TI flats on my Mike Lull PJ5 and a piece of foam under the strings. I've been playing this bass for 10 years, as I say, I love it.

I have no idea what gridcore is, but the bottom line for playing anything is have confidence in yourself and your ability. You can do it. I did play with one guy who wrote everything down and preferred it played exactly as written. That was easy. I also played with other songwriters and when I asked what they wanted for the bass lines, they said, "Play it your way." One said, "I hear the whole song until the band plays it, then everything changes and improves." I just told them if they heard anything they didn't like to tell me and I'd change it. There are many ways of working.

Yes. Yes. Yes!

Several times I've lent over, after the first number, and told the keys player, "There's only one bass player in this band and it's not you!". With a smile, of course.

Fortunately I don't play with guitarists who are sitting in my frequency range. . . my beef is always with electric piano players who think they are the only bass instrument on stage. Most will change if I ask nicely, but there are a couple where I just have to alter my bass lines in certain songs to get away from them!!