Paul S

Thanks all. Seems to be a general consensus that the older gear is the stuff to look out for. If, indeed, I decide I can't live without it. Redstriper - no idea, I am afraid, but I'll ask the guy when we go there again next week. Alexharvey - yes, I had a little peek myself - but with my eyes closed. There is a full rig on Fleabay as well... again, not that I am looking.... but, yes, I will do that exact thing next week - hire the rig again and mix and match the elements of mine with it to see if I can narrow down what gives the sound - the head or the cab. Stevie - a heavy head is fine, it's those monster cabs I worry about. Nick - that is what was so cool - the eq was flat. I think there were a couple of buttons pushed in, no idea what they did, but there was no fiddling on my part. Plugged in and Wow! Exactly how I imagined I should sound. Keep 'em coming guys! So how much is a 6 month old, gigged once Mag C210 EVO II 300 combo plus slighly older but good nick ABM 210 ext cab worth these days?.... not enough, I fear.

Hi all Due to a lower back incident this week I hired a rig from the rehearsal studios last night when we all met up for a practice. It was a Trace Elliot AH150 with a massive 15" TE cab and speaker, but one the guy made up himself (ex-TE techie, or something) Anyway, the sound blew me away (almost literally) - with the gain set low (my preferred tone) it delivered a totally limpid clear yet massively rich lower end - completely unlike my Ashdown setup (listed below somewhere - and which I was relatively happy with... until last night ) Questions - Are all Trace Elliots created equal - I've read lots about 'old' vs 'new' - does it make that much difference? Are there any particular series/models that are the gems to be sought out? Any particular head/cabinet combinations that are more compatible than others? And do they all weigh as much as small hotel? The Ashdown stuff isn't exactly lightweight but I suspect this takes the tape. Ta. Quick edit - I did a search, btw, but thought it would be less confusing for me (easily done) to have it all on one thread. Well, assuming anyone posts anything.

Ok, saw them last night in Basildon. I am not a hard core fan, never have been really, but feared that they wouldn't be worth watching without Ian Dury. How wrong can I have been, they were brilliant. Norman Watt Roy - respect! He's rather good.

I came into bass via guitar so using a pick has always been the most natural for me. I am trying to practice using fingers - especially for those slower or quieter tunes that seem to need a more muted sound. But no way can I play 16ths finger style accurately and I struggle to get the same control over what I am playing when compared to the subtleties of using a pick. Yet, anyway. Finger players always talk about how versatile a sound you can get - using the tips of your fingers, playing near the bridge or neck - whatever. I believe pick playing is just as versatile - just different. I remember when I first took up bass reading an interview with Roger Glover (pick playing bassist with Deep Purple) and was amazed to read him talking about different techniques. One example stuck - when playing 'Black Night' he paddles the low E using the fat end of the pick and with a good degree of palm muting (something much easier with pick playing, I think) to obtain a particular type of backgound noise. It works!

I keep pluggin 'em 'cos I love mine - what about a Jaguar? CIJ, same neck as a jazz, smaller body, full range of tones from active OR passive circuits.

[quote name='evilLordJuju' post='461756' date='Apr 14 2009, 01:56 AM']heres a track. Check it for funkiness [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0GMv_UMc9Y"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0GMv_UMc9Y[/url][/quote] That is phenomenal! Never heard it before. Thanks for posting the link.

[quote name='Buzz' post='460497' date='Apr 12 2009, 12:13 PM'][url="http://www.auroraproject.co.uk/"]http://www.auroraproject.co.uk/[/url] Aurora project will do them, sadly they've not been getting mentioned enough on here recently.[/quote] That's the same company as TMT - an offshoot, I think.

I'm seeing them two nights before in Basildon. Not for free, though

[url="http://www.auroraproject.co.uk/scratchplate.htm"]TMT Music[/url] list clear single ply in their site. I bought a black/white/black 3 ply from them for my black jaguar and it was fine. I suppose I could call it a Fender Panther now.

This Steve Lukather cover of Hendrix's 'Freedom' is pretty damned funky.

I used [url="http://tmtmusic.co.uk/home.htm"]TMT Music[/url] when I changed the scratch plate on my jaguar from cream/black/cream to black/white/black - sent them a tracing with the order. It looks the business now - [attachment=23429:jaguarblacksp1.jpg]

Don't they say 'you have no choice in growing old - but you don't have to grow up'? I'm 51, started gigging last year for the first time and am looking forward to many years of fun ahead. Our band is called 'Still The Thrill' for that reason.

My dad died in Australia when on holiday some years back. When I had his stuff sent home the HMC&I sent me a huge bill for VAT and import duty. I kid you not. I had to pay it then go through all sorts of crap to get the money back.

I used them a week or so back for some strap locks and they were ace.

[quote name='AM1' post='451054' date='Apr 1 2009, 01:15 AM']but I believe it's similar to Tascam, which I have,[/quote] If it is the Tascam MP3 BT1 it has a metronome function in it.

Jeff Berlin is one of my style icons, do you mind... Something about the way he wears his trousers, I think... One person's cool is another person's naff. It would be a boring old world if we all liked the same stuff.

I had a series of lower back issues and had a few sessions with a sports' injury specialist. He told me about a set of muscles I had never heard about - transverse abdominus (TVA) - that run underneath the front set of ab muscles and wrap around the centre of the body, anchoring into the lower back. He considers these to be one of the most important muscle groups you can exercise, affecting posture and pretty much everything you do, but are largely neglected which can, if you are prone to back issues, lead to problems. Certainly since being made aware of this and doing the exercises until the right posture becomes second nature I have had far fewer problems. It wouldn't hurt to make a few enquiries. A few weeks ago I bought a Hohner B2A from a fellow Basschatter (Hi Steve) and am currently in evangelical mode about it. It is [i]incredibly[/i] comfortable to wear (with a slight mod to move the front strap button to somewhere sensible) and lightweight. I can hold it up by one finger when it is in it's case at arm's length (engaging the TVA first, of course) which, coupled with the Liliputian proportions, make it so easily portable. But, more importantly, it plays like an absolute dream - a [i]really[/i] comfy, fast neck. And the active preamp give a great growly tone - it certainly punches way above it's weight. Aesthetically you love 'em or hate 'em - personally I think the economy of the design is actually effortlessly cool and will seek out the Hohner G3T (6 string equivalent) for when I want to noodle about with such a thing.

Watford? Bloody northerners. Anything further north than Chelmsford makes you a northerner in my book.