Boneless

Just to be safe, I wasn't questioning anyone's taste It's just that short-scale basses always seem a bit more "bland", compared to long scale ones. To me, anyway.

But what is, really, the appeal of a short scale? I have never found a short scale with the right string tension, and the lower strings tend to sound muddy and without much clarity (the only exception maybe being the Danos, since they are so bright and jangly). I understand some may appreciate the punchiness of a short scale, but I don't really get it I'm not criticizing, but what do short scale enthusiasts actually like of short scales? (By the way, I have a medium scale and I hate it ).

There's the Epiphone Rumblekat as well (don't know if they make it still), the Allen Woody signature bass. Or, a Dano. Or a semiacoustic hollowbody (as in, completely hollow-bodied, without the centerblock or what's it called). If you have a look around, there's plenty of them

[quote]cheaper builds that sound as good but might not have the durability.[/quote] Thing is, it's not really a proven fact (although it may be true), and sometimes the components used in an amplifier are, in fact, the weakest link (for example, caps and such, in old heads, it's not uncommon to have to change them after 20 or so many years). You may have a better build, but the amp WILL need servicing sooner or later anyway. Considering that with cheaper builds you are saving on the initial investment, commercially speaking, it's the wisest thing anyway. I personally think that the most important thing in anything isn't the way it's put together, but the quality of the components in it. IMHO.

I wouldn't worry too much. The only thing that actually seems to have gone down in quality is tubes (since there is no need for high-quality valves anymore, back in the days they were used for everything, even for military purposes, today they're only used in the music amplification industry, virtually). Amps with PCBs, handwired amps, etc. aren't necessarily one better than the other, it all depends on the quality of the building process and quality check. You wouldn't say that a completely handmade bass is better than one made with a CNC, right?

I'd like to say, though, that phase cancellation is not always bad. That's what happens, if I remember correctly, when you have two pickups/coils on a bass. Take a Jazz Bass for example, or a humbucker as well, for that matter. The tone is simply "different", not necessarily better or worse.

Remember that you have 200W of (generally) CLEAN power. The RMS value refers to the head's output with 1% (I think) THD (in other words, distortion). This means that, when overdriving the head, you will have actually MORE power, and since I don't think you are looking for an "hi-fi" sort of tone, you won't mind some overdrive, will you? Don't worry, you will have plenty of power at your disposal. I actually think that 200W is THE perfect power for a tube amp. Enough power to get a clean tone in a quieter mix, and easy enough to overdrive.

Being in the UK, I'd even try a Marshall VBA400. It's quite cheap, and I guess you'll be able to find it in many shops quite easily. 400W though means it's going to be a bit hard to get it to overdrive Then you may not like it, it's another kind of sound, compared to the Ampeg, but I'd give it a go anyway, no harm in trying it

There was a guy on the italian bass forum who actually did Parallel Universe with his fingers Anyway, yeah, it's done with a pick. If you can't actually withstand playing for so long (it may be painful for your wrists it will for mine, most certainly ), try making small pauses while letting the note ring every now and then, the band won't notice it... much and the audience certainly won't Thoughts of a dying atheist is simple as well, if you think it's a bit fast you may try to do it with a pick as well (roll off the tone a bit to lose a bit of the attack and make everything a bit smoother, also try out more picks to see which one works best for you to get less attack as possible). I don't know the other two, I'm sorry, but they're fairly easy (not exactly piece of cake, I'd have problems probably playing them properly, but nothing you can't master with some practice), so don't worry

Heh, I bet nobody of you has an OLD Little Mark (when it weighed in the region of 12-13kg and it was bright yellow) As soon as I can I'll make a photo of it Anyway, it's strange for me to read "porn" next to "MarkBass" it must be one of the less "unpornful" brands around

I like music, with or without bass. But I feel like there must be an instrument doing the "low" stuff, be it an octaved guitar, a synthesizer, a tuba, farts, or whatever Electro-pop-new wave wouldn't have been the same without synth bass

Great work, really. Your work is inspiring, and makes me wanna do it (then I think about it, and I just remember that I'd probably make a piece of sh*t ). For the binding, I'd make the binding for the headstock as well, or no binding at all PS: f***in' hell! That's a pretty smashed up face!

Is it? I thought they'd install a 4 ohm driver in the combo... Well, I didn't really crank up the volume, and I didn't really check the specs, and you can't really notice the difference between 90 and 150W, unless in a (loud) band... *laughs nervously* Anyway, the combo's head on my Ashdown ABM 414 was sublime. And it could easily be heard against a loud drummer and a heavily distorted Marshall JCM800/900 (don't remember) + 4x12.

It's supposed to be quite heavy, though... not exactly portable. The smallest things that come to mind are - Markbass Micro/MiniMark (depending on how much power you need) - Gallien-Krueger MB150 combo - Markbass MiniCMD12P My choice would be among the latter two, a Minimark or a Micromark, as cute and surprising may they be, they're damn expensive The GK combo is 150W power, while the Markbass is 300W. I don't remember if the MB combo can power an additional cab, the Markbass surely can though, bringing the power up to 500W RMS. Tonewise, though, the Markbass is less refined, maybe warmer and with an effective tone that sits perfectly in the mix... amazing how these combos can be heard, and clearly, even in the very crowded or loud ensembles, and they perform surprisingly well - considering their size, obviously - even in the open, course, it's not a standalone for all kinds of gig, it still is a medium-small combo, no miracles. But then again, I don't really dig the tone of this combo, I'd choose it if you're looking at a simple, powerful, small backup amp* that will cover your needs from rehearsals to small gigs, and you have a better way to get your sound when you really need it (for example, recording purposes, or for gigs in nice venues where you're confident your tone will be properly heard), and you are willing to compromise a little on tone (IMHO, of course). I prefer the GK for the tone, but bear in mind, it is only 150W RMS, and it costs the same as the MarkBass MiniCMD combo (I can see the price is justified, honestly, a great little combo, but you have to be prepared to pay the amount of cash). If I had the money, I'd get this, even just for recording purposes (the tone is really, really nice, although I'd probably opt for the head + cab rig). IMFO, of course *: actually, I know many people who have this combo as their main amp, I think you can do better, I think the MB cabinets aren't at the same level as the heads, but then again, it's just MY opinion.

As a Markbass owner, I'd say that, while the heads are really nice, the cabs don't live up to the expectations.

Traynor YBA-200 with a Behringer cab. Seriously, I have terrible GAS for a Hiwatt Custom 200. But, alas, I will never be able to afford one

...what?

Yeah, but the Sansamp is like, five times the price of a BDI And, BTW, always keep the receipt, ESPECIALLY with a Behringer. Of course, if you find a good 2nd-hand deal for a Sansamp, and you're still willing to spend at least three times the price of a BDI... I'd suggest a Hartke VXL, actually. Does a very similar job, it's sturdy, and it's cheap (you might find it 2nd-hand at just a tenner or two over the price of a new BDI).

Anyway, running two "lines" is useful indeed: you might have a distorted signal through, let's say, a vintage-style 2x12"-4x12"-2x15" with no tweeter (if you have the space, or the will to do it ), for a fatter and smoother distorsion, and a clean signal through a pointy and aggressive cab (such as a modern 4x10" with lots of treble), this way, you will have both warmth and a strong attack, as well as deep lows. Maybe even using two preamps, or amps altogether... That is, if you don't have any phasing issues... but the point is you can try

[Italian fraternity mode ON] Toh, pure tu qua [/mode OFF] Anyway, folks, he's just too modest, too stupidly modest A great bass player (check out his videos and Myspace... erm, the two links in his signature, they're really worth a look) and great English as well, sometimes even better than mine (and I am half-English - my mother's from Middlesbrough - as well! Shame on me *puts bag over his head* ). Really, he always underestimates himself, but considering he is completely self-taught (right, biro?) he is really surprisingly good. Even if he wasn't self-taught, I'd say the same thing A great asset for the forum

You would need a stereo power amp.

Naaaah. Just buy another BDI21 (actually, if you kept the receipt, it's just a matter of having it replaced ). Once you find a working one, it won't let you down that easily I just want to say again: mine was dropped and a bass fell on top of it, and it still works, although a pot needs repair. A friend of mine has been using a BDI for the past two years without a single issue. And many others, as well. If I had the need for a BDI21, I would buy another one straightaway. By the way, you have to remember that all electrical items have a 2-year-warranty in the EU Don't throw away the receipt. Anyway, try a Zoom B2 as well, it costs more, but it has a Sansamp emulation which is supposed to be very good (I tried it superficially, since I don't have the need for such a thing, but it seemed quite good, although this kind of effect needs extensive tweaking ), I don't like how the setup works (it feels "crippled", especially on the delays), but the general quality of the effects seemed satisfactory.

You know what you should do? Start raving about it on the forums, then in a couple of months, gracefully put it for sale somewhere Just joking

As with all super-cheap stuff, you are bound to experience reliability issues. But the real problem isn't in the build quality itself (although low, it still will work decently), but in the quality check. In the cheap stuff, they tend to skip the QC phase altogether (or only do a quick, superficial test), so it's all down to luck, really. I've had a BDI21 which has worked fine for over a year, then a pot (quite vital, unfortunately... the Drive pot) stopped working, and to repair it would cost more than it's worth (considering the hassle). I must say, though, the pedal has been: - dropped - hit by a falling bass - powered for a short while with a wrong power supply and it still kept on working. The other problem with Behringer stuff is that you can't try them beforehand. Besides this, they CAN sound pretty decent, really. The phaser's quite nice, the EQ I remember it being adequate, choruses and flangers are quite usable, if not "refined".