NJE

Did a stormer of a gig at the 21 club in Cheltenham last night. Weather stayed pretty good so we were on a tiny piece of decking outsid. The drummer brought his full big kit and frame so took up most of the floor space so I ended up balanced on a 6" wide piece of stepped decking for the whole gig. Apart from that, brilliant crowd and we played pretty well, few fumbles and the guitarist managed to not stomp on his gain during sweet child o mine so played teh whole thing with a slight blues drive, but it was a good night and a free bar.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1335634248' post='1634100'] Yes, all hail the Gorgonites... oh hang on... doesn't matter. [/quote] I thought of the exact same thing when I found it, quite liked that film.....

I picked up my Stingray last week in the cold light of day (usually only comes out at night) and realised the frets were looking a bit sad and green around the edges and the rosewood board had accumulated a bit of gunk. I had a look around on the internet to see the best way of cleaning frets, and was getting my head around taping the board off and using wire wool. Then I found a post about Gorgomyte so I went on the website and had a read. It all sounded a bit too good to be true but, some youtube videos helped convince me it was worth a try. So I placed the order 5 days ago and it arrived all the way from the US of A this morning and I immediately set about stripping the strings off the stingray. Long story story short this stuff is incredibly good, just a small piece of the impregnated cloth needed and a quick wipe all along the neck then some harder rubbing on the frets. What came off was amazing, and when I buffed the frets and board with a bit of old t-shirt the whole neck was gleaming but no funny residue, no funny smells, just shiny new frets and healthy looking rosewood. I highly recommend everyone getting some and just giving your neck a good clean when you next change your strings. Its made it feel lovely under hand when playing and given the bass a new lease of life, definately worth doing if the bass hasnt had a Best bit is, its cheap! I bought 3 packs for £27 including delivery. What I didnt realise was you only need a tiny square to do one neck and one sheet will do the bass about 20 times. I probably have enough to cover all 4 of my guitars for the next 10 years, may even offer to do some friends guitars I have so much. Go get some....

I have had my Reidmar a few weeks now and I am really loving it. Last night my Drummer even commented how much more alive my bass and cab sounded with the Reidmar compared to my old Markbass. I hate to say it because it was a genuinely solid and good amp but my old Markbass LM2 just doesnt even compare to the EBS. One thing I would like to see from EBS though.....a proper case or bag for it! every other amp company makes a case for their small heads.

I play in a typical covers band playing a mix of material like Katy Perry, Kings of Leon, Sister Sledge etc, you know the kind of stuff, nothing out of the norm. And there in lies the problem..... There are now so many bands trying to do the wedding/function band thing playing all the same kind of songs, and I am starting to wonder if there is a way to make it fresh and make a break from the typical. Have any of you out there done the covers or the function work but put an usual twist on it, like mix up arrangemnets of songs or play with an unusual band lineup? Does it work? Anything that distances your band from the "Disco/funk party bands" and the "lets all wear black shirts and white ties" lot? Interested to hear your thoughts... Yours faithfully 'dissolutioned', Cheltenham.

I have so much GAS for one of these at the moment, has anyone here bought one yet? I desperately need to go and play one but always feel guilty about wasting Marks time at bass direct if I havent got the money to buy one....dear lord what can I find to sell.

[quote name='Matte_black' timestamp='1331302148' post='1571054'] NJE - keeping the volume knobs at the same level doesn't make the amps work at the same level. Some heads have most of the volume in the first half of the knob rotation while others are more "progressive". Did you compare it with a LM2 (500w)? [/quote] Yes I am very aware that most amp makers use a volume control which gives the illusion of more power by delivering more sound earlier as you turn and then have no increase in volume. I didnt have a thorough comparison between the both amps but I can draw some basic comparisons after using them both at volume. 1. When I increased the volume past half way on my LM2 not a lot happened apart from me losing definition and the amp starting to get woolly and distorted, most of the 'usable' volume was up to half way. 2. When I increase the volume of the EBS past half way it does get louder but less so as you keep turning, BUT the amp stays loud and defined and the volume is 'usable' 4. The EBS is louder at quarter volume and half volume than the Markbass. 3. With volume at half way on both amps the EBS is louder and clearer, past half way and the LM2 would get louder but start to break up and lose low end clarity whereas the EBS doesn't. The LM2 may well be louder if you turn it right up but that distorted, muddy sound was useless. What the EBS can do is go louder and retain a usable tone and that makes it a better more powerful useful amp to me.

[quote name='Matte_black' timestamp='1331246926' post='1570413'] Anybody compared the Reidmar with another mini-head and can comment about the price and the power? For example: is it more powerful than a LM250? Is it made "better" than the other chinese amps (MB200, Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0, Mibass 220 etc.)? [/quote] I had a MarkBass LM2 and only last night had my first proper band rehearsal with the Reidmar. I was very sceptical about the volume but the Reidmar is significantly louder than the LM2. I usually ran the LM2 at 11 - 12 o clock to keep up with the band and last night the reidmar was at 9 o clock. Its cleaner and seems to keep the full range of tone whereas the MarkBass seemed to limit the bottom end and lack definition in the top. Construction wise I would say the MarkBass would ever so slightly beat the reidmar, it just felt a little more solid and 'drop proof' but the Reidmar is incredibly well made and just sounds incredible. One song into practice and my drummer said "already sounds way better". [quote name='woodyratm' timestamp='1331299065' post='1570973'] I actually tested this today. Great little amp - was going through a classic line 112. Would still be curious how it would handle a gig. £399 and £200 odd for the single cab. Would be nice having such a nice setup. [/quote] Volume wise the Reidmar will be more than adequate for most gigs in my opinion, my band are loud at practice and as I said above it was handling it easily. Personally a classic line 112 would not be anywhere near enough for my needs but it depends on what kind of gigs you are doing and if you have PA support. I fancy one for home practice but I would suggest two of them to run the head at 4ohm (two new ones for sale on here for £400) and that will give you a nice rig I reckon.

No worries, I can't see anyone not liking the Neo 410, its just superb. Quick question to all you Reidmar users, is the Bright control supposed to be subtle? I notice very little difference between min and max. Maybe its because I'm using it very quietly at home, perhaps it will open up more when I get to practice. Cheers.

I was very privileged to play a fellow basschatters Sei Jazz yesterday and I havent been able to get it out of my head since. I had some Sadowsky GAS after trying on in Newcastle last week but that just vanished as soon as I saw kjb's Sei yesterday. I cant see any sensible reason why anyone would pick a Sadowsky Metro over a Sei which often go for less secondhand than a new or even used Metro. I have to have one now, so I am starting to save and once I am part of the way there my Stingray 5 is going. Until then i shall continue to flick through this thread endlessly. Let me know if any Sei owners want to sell a 5 string Jazz...

The Neo 410 is a beast of a cab, I use it for a covers band so I play pop, soul, rock, bit of everything and its just a case of tweaking the eq a bit depending on what your playing. My precision sounds lovely with the Reidmar and the cab but when I first plugged the Reidmar in, my Stingray needed the top end taming even with eq set flat on the bass as the Neo can get very 'sparkly' in the highs with the tweeter up high (I had it very high with the MarkBass) I am not a slap player of any kind just in case you thought I might have a tendancy towards that kind of sound, but I like a well defined clear top end and the amp and cab deliver in the bucket load. I just like clean amps and cabs and it does a lovely fingerstyle tone and roll the treble off and the tweeter a little, and you have more of a traditional sound and thump, but still incredibly clear. Lots of low end grunt (takes my 5 string without flinching)and a very punchy mid range so you will cut through incredibly well. With a bit of experimenting I would say this cab will do whatever you need, its just very transparent IMO. I would get a Neo 410 or 212 even if you dont get a Fafner, its sounds superb with the Reidmar so far, just need to see what it is like at practice now but cant see myself being dissapointed.

Got a Reidmar today, traded with a basschatter for my Markbass LM2 and so far I am a very happy boy. I was very sceptical about its output but it is VERY loud, I need to wait to get to practice this week and give it a full run but initially it is monsterous. Great tone and just what I was after, clean, clear plenty of welly to it and it sounds great with my Neo 4x10. I am ever so slightly dissapointed with the build, it's very solid but the speakon connector is getting stuck and doesnt have a good solid click like the LM2, but on the whole it is a great little amp and considering its cost, it is a steal and sounds a lot better than the LM2 to my ears. I cant see this going anywhere unless my band gets some big work and I get tempted by a HD350 so I can get another cab and go to 2 ohms. Well done EBS is all I can say! I really hope they develop smaller heads now as I would love to see a Swedish built head of this size (or smaller) that will run down to 2ohms so that we have the choice or running two of the top of the range EBS cabs. I think they missed a trick there but for a first effort this still beats every small bass head I have played.