Paul S

Can only endorse what Rob says about the pictures - I bought his 210 cab and it looks so much nicer in the flesh than it did in the pictures - and it was the older of the two cabs as well. This guy obviously looks after his gear.

I am certainly NOT having second thoughts about having chosen the 210 over the supercharged 115. Absolutely none at all. Not one. Hmm, hmm, not me. Top of the range speaker in the pro series cab PLUS a cover, for the price of a new MAG?....

Having discovered the joys of skinny Jazz necks I like the sound of the MM Sterling - gonna give one of those a try as soon as I see one.

Somewhere on here in the archives is the advice that you should go and get a lesson, using the bass they have got, before actually shelling out your hard earned on an intrument of your own. One lesson should tell you whether you'd get on with it on not. Struck me as very sensible and is exactly what I would do if the day came I fancied trying an upright.

When I was trying out stuff in PMT in Southend mid December they wheeled out an Ashdown combo that they were calling a MAG115 EVO III 300. It was an advance tester for a new range - or some other such thing - styled in the same vein as the ABM range with vinyl covering (ie not carpet), chrome corners, cream piping round the front grille. But the main thing was that it was lightweight and smaller compared to the EVOII - it had a handle in the centre of the top, rather than side handles. I think it was around £330 though.

It was nice but, in the end, I preferred the sound of the 210.

You didn't see me spit in it then?

Thank you sir!

Had the pleasure of doing business with Rob today - after he patiently weathered by barrage of pestering PMs and a last minute wavering between two of the items he was selling. A gentleman. And I am now the proud owner of an Ashdown ABM 210T cab that is a darn site nicer that he made it out to be. I am a happy chap - thanks Rob.

The guy on this Gary Moore set does here - is he famous? (and I don't mean the fat git in the flashy coat)




Wow! i got the embedded sceeeny thing to work!

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='373020' date='Jan 7 2009, 01:10 PM']I can't see this thread even as a debate. You use whatever technique you're comfortable with to make the sound you want to make - the more techniques the merrier.[/quote]

I think that is my view on it, though I am at a bit of a disadvantage. Having migrated from guitar to bass I use a pick for most stuff but, increasingly, trying to use my fingers for the more mellow stuff. Also been practising for some of the funky stuff that seems to want finger not pick but struggling to get an accurate speed going. For example, I can play this with a pick but no way with just fingers -



Edit - still not got the hang of embedding links either!

[url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dxaczoeNtgE&feature=related"]I shoulda loved ya[/url]

does this just take time and practise, same as everything else?

What a totally fantastic getsure and great idea. I would love to join the party and will send a PM as soon as I have finished typing this.

Next question - what sticker?

All we need is someone to do the same with a fretless .....

+1

Mentioned it on here somewhere but I saw them during the Live and Dangerous tour - totally awesome. The most charismatic front man I have EVER seen. Frist time I saw a laser as well, wrote the words 'Thin Lizzy' in mid air then spun it round. Real Star Wars effects in those days!

No slouch with the bass, either.

'Anyone out here tonight got any Irish in them? Any of the girls want a bit more Irish in them?' (from memory, maybe not word perfect...)

From one Essex boy to another - PMT Music in Southend stock a Stagg-a-like called EastCoast or something - it was under £200 when I last looked! And in a range of colours. Of course, if you don't like Staggs, you won't like this, but at least it is £100-odd cheaper.

As a relative newcomer to the exciting world of bass guitars, the advice that was given to me was 'play the guitars and let your hands, ears and heart make the decision' Forget everything else.

Is it worth the money? If, for you, it feels like everything you wanted in a bass, then - yes it is. Every single penny. Nothing else is really important. It is only money, after all, and you will easily get more of that eventually. Pass on the old Ray and you'll always dwell on it as a lost opportunity.

If eventually it doesn't work out then, well, at least you had a go. Sell it, save up some more dosh, then get another one. But it may just be your life partner here! If you don't get it you will never know! There's nothing worse than regret over a missed chance 'cos there's no-one to blame but yourself!

I am learning the bassline in Narada Michael Walden's 'I Shoulda Loved Ya'. Just because I like it.

So it is. Oops.

Ta.

Roger Glover has to be up there for me - he has such a marvellously intellectual side to his playing as well as the 'direct for the bollocks' stuff.

Uriah Heep's original, the late Gary Thain, also?

Thanks everyone - the usual sound advice. Literally, it seems. I'll pester those good folk in PMT in the new year and come back with my thoughts. If not a new cab. I also emailed Ashdown and I'll see what their reply is regarding the 'official' position of mixing the ranges.

In my ignorance my main concern was that the amp wouldn't be powerful enough to drive the bigger ABM cab but it seems this isn't an issue.

Chris b you make a very good point I hadn't considered at all but, yes, it would be a first step towards and upgrade, if ever the day came for one of those!

Thanks all.

Great here, innit!

I have an Ashdown MAG 210T 300 EVO II combo and, at some point, would like to add an extension cab.

As I am not much of a risk taker it seems sensible to me to get an Ashdown cab to ensure compatability - I intend to get myself down to PMT in Southend to try the MAG 115 and MAG 210 and see which I prefer. As someone pointed out in one of my previous, seemingly endless posts about cabs, it is most likely I would prefer the sound of the 210 cab as I chose that in the first place but, I guess, my ears will judge it.

However, to finally get the the point, occasionally - and currently in the for sale forum - the ABM series cabs turn up secondhand for about the same cash, maybe a little more, than a new MAG cab would be.

These are rated at 350W, I think, which is a good deal higher than I need - would my combo drive it sufficiently?

Are there any other differences - better build quality etc?

Are there any advantages/disadvantages in getting an ABM cab as opposed to a MAG cab?

There is a value for money/peice of mind pay off perhaps. Any thoughts and wisdom gratefully accepted!

Ah, I see - thanks.

Basschat Wiki - didn't know that existed - looks like something to lose an hour or so browsing through. Can't see a link to it anywhere, or am I going blind?

My daily idiot question - can someone please explain what this 'biamp' thing is, please? In words of one syllable or less, and from the beginning.

Ta.

You know I am deeply suspicious of all this.

AM1 claims to have been playing bass for just a few weeks. And claims, in other threads (remember - all doctors are c*nts!) that practising for more than just a little while causes wrist pain.

Yet here we have someone also claiming to be attending a rehearsal for which they are attempting to learn a whole list of tunes by pracitising many hours a day. Wish I could have been that proficient after just a few weeks!

So AM1 claims they have had a bass for just a few weeks but already asking advice about the choice between a Warwick and a Fender? How does anyone know they will get on with playing the bass after such a short time, let alone start splashing out on some top end prices?

There's an awful lot of contradictions going on.

Also - I have been a member of all sorts of forums on a wide range of subjects for a number of years and have never encountered anyone who has caused so much irritation within just a few days of joining just by their bad attitude.

Frankly I don't believe anything he/she writes is the truth and that AM1 has no other agenda here than to cause trouble. I reckon the best thing to do is completely ignore AM1 and eventually they will go and bother another forum somewhere else.

Thanks Steve. Played on it's own it sounds even more wrong than mine but you are absolutely spot on.

Got to be the whole essence of disco in one tune.

Hi All

This is doing my head in. I have played it and played it until even my cat can play it. But not me. I've got all the rest down ok - the verses, chorus, bridge - but that *&*%ing intro always sounds wrong to me.

My best so far is

DD
CC
A#A#
GG
FF
DD
C#C#
B... and into the verseC

Is that right? Sounds awful. Especially the last bit. Is this nature's way of telling me I need to learn to read music/tabs?

Why the hell couldn't they run down from C?!

Ta

I love music, always have. When I was a teenager, back in the early 70s, I bought a series of electric/acoustic 6 sting guitars and messed about for a few years, but never seriously. Then life moved on, all the guitars went.

About 5 years ago reached my mid-40s and got that yearning to do something (you all know how it is, guys). Decided it would be cool to pick up the pieces of the old days again and re-learn an instrument - this time bass. So I bought a cheap Peavey kit, played it every day for a month then it gathered dust in the corner.

About a year ago I decided to get a bit more serious, practiced like mad, bought a better bass and amp, practised some more, auditioned for a few bands, got involved with current lot and have started gigging for the first time in my life at 51. Now got even better kit and practise even more.

Have to say it feels like the small piece of my soul that has been missing all these years has finally dropped into place. I love every second of being involved in making music and playing the bass and would say it is one of the most satisfying things I have ever done.

I know nothing about bass guitars and recently wanted to get a new one - I had no preconceptions, no budget except that I wanted to pay as little as possible. The Squier range seemed, in theory, to be exactly what I was looking for - I really didn't give a toss about what was on the headstock - and that blonde Squier 70s re-issue looked sexy as hell sitting on the rack.

I spent hours and hours playing everything on the wall in PMT music in Southend, which is quite a lot. Various Squier/Fender Pand Jazz - MIM, MIJ, MIA and Jaguar - loads, really.

Maybe I have expensive fingers but the only (Fender-type) guitars that 'felt' right - good tight build quality, heavy duty bling, good tone, playable necks, tone et al, were from mid range Fender upwards. None of the MIM felt good. Some of the MIJ stuff was good. Heck, I bought a MIJ Jaguar. The one that felt most comfortable, but not for me just yet, was the MIA Jazz.

Not one of the Squiers cut it, frankly, and I was really disappointed after everything I had read. Maybe I was just unlucky and they only had 'Friday Afternoon At The End of a sh*tty Week' basses there. But I tried.

Talking about the overdubs etc on Live and Dangerous - I was listening to Scott thingy being interviewed fairly recently (Planet Rock one night?) and he said that 'Southbound' wasn't actually ever part of the live set - they recorded it 'as live' at the venue as a sound check and included it in the album. Didn't know that before, either.