Krysbass

I bought a new 5-string ReBop DLX in 2015, which was around the time the DLX model was being discontinued in favour of the MM.  Possibly connected to the run-out of the DLX, mine came fitted with EMG DC active pickups instead of the more usual HZ pickups. 

I still love the sound and feel of this bass, but it did feel a little neck-heavy, so I fitted a set of Gotoh lightweight machineheads.  A bit pricey, but worth it as they have made a noticeable improvement in the balance.

My '84 Westone Thunder III - owned from new in '85 but modded in 2018 with Bartolini pickups and 3 band active electronics.

Another good sounding 2x10" front ported cab, (though sadly discontinued) is a Yamaha BBT210S.  I used a couple of these for some years as my gigging rig.  However, they are 4 ohm impedance, which may not suit everyone. 

On 21/05/2024 at 13:50, Angel said:

I've seen a few over the years and to me it's just a fun gig (If you like the music). I don't care how accurate everything is, it's just the vibe I like. Most punters won't have a clue how close to the originals the music is. 

Agreed.

Besides, some original bands often use different arrangements of their own songs when playing live.  For example, Simple Minds have been doing this since their 80s peak.

Longest owned (and oldest) is my Westone Thunder III.  Built in '84, bought it new in '85, then modded it in 2018 with Bartolini electronics & pickups and Gotoh lightweight machine heads.  Still played regularly.

Jose bought a multi-effects unit from me and despite an unexpected issue on my side, was an absolute pleasure to deal with, both in speedy payment and in our communications.

A top bloke to do business with in complete confidence.

Chris 

Craig bought my amp and cabs - top bloke, and great to deal with.

Thanks, Craig and good to meet you.

Chris

This class D amp has 2 separate power amps/outputs, each delivering up to 250 watt RMS into a 4 ohm cab – so total 500 watts RMS with 2 x 4 ohm cabs connected.   There is no facility to bridge the outputs.

In full working order, though some of the front panel EQ buttons need a firmer push to register.

As with many examples of this amp, it does emit a feint high-pitched whine in operation, but this is inaudible when playing.

As can be seen in the photo – it’s complete with original packaging and documentation and the following items:

·       Metal Ashdown Labs outer case (I removed the amp from this, as it helps with cooling)

·       Soft carrying case, strap to fit outer case and metal lugs to attach strap.

·       19” rack ears.

Given the low asking price - I’d rather that prospective purchasers try this before purchasing to minimise any complications.  Payment either cash or by bank transfer with funds cleared before collection.

£90 each, or £160 for the pair, or near offers welcome (as I'd like to reclaim the small amount of floorspace these occupy!)

• 2x10" + adjustable tweeter
• 4 ohm impedance
• 250 watts RMS power handling
• Weight: Approx. 21kg./46lbs. 5oz. each.
• Size: 59.5x40.3x36.3cms

Front-ported cabs, carpet-covered plywood construction, 2 x carrying handles, OEM fitted with Eminence drivers. 

I unbolted the Yamaha badges from the grilles, but they can easily be re-attached.

I've owned these cabs from new and treated them with care. Only a very small patch of the carpet covering has worn away on a corner of one cab from transporting it in the boot of my car (see photo).

Courier delivery not possible, due to difficulty finding suitable packaging, but happy to meet up/deliver within 25 miles of Northwich, Cheshire.  Payment either cash or by bank transfer with funds cleared before collection or delivery.

Thanks for looking!

Sold my amp to Hoff - top bloke, everything went well and I would be happy to deal with him again.

Cheers, Hoff and good to meet you.

Chris 

Withdrawing from sale as a complete rig, as the Little Giant 1000 amp has now been sold separately.

I will be re-listing the remaining items.

There are too many songs to list that I'm utterly bored with, because they have long been played to death on radio and elsewhere.

But only two songs spring to mind that I hate with such a passion that they compel me to switch stations or turn them off when they are played:

• There Must be an Angel (playing with my heart) - Eurythmics
• Winner Takes it All - Abba

School music lessons, whether learning to read music and play recorder in class or later, individual lessons on saxophone then clarinet, only helped me in terms of making playing a musical instrument seem less daunting than might otherwise have been the case.  It was much later, when I was 19 and at Polytechnic that I took up bass guitar.

I didn't stick with saxophone or clarinet at school and even back then, I found it easier and more satisfying to play songs by ear, from memory rather than read sheet music.

And that's how I've played bass ever since - no sheet music, tab or any kind of written notes.  An approach likely to have its limitations if I'd wanted to play bass professionally, but no problem at all in over 40 years as an enthusiastic amateur.

Price for whole rig reduced to £300.

I bought this new for a specific project that sadly ran its course 3 years later.  So, it's little used and complete with the original packaging, documents, power-supply, and USB cable.

I found it easier to run the B3 from rechargeable AA batteries, rather than have to find a spare mains socket on stage for the power-supply - so the power supply is unused and in its original box.

There are some marks on the underside of the unit, as shown in the photo, but the unit is otherwise unmarked and in full working order.

Collection from Northwich CW8 or UK delivery for £10.

As I haven’t gigged since 2019 and no sign of this changing, I’m selling my trusty bass rig.

• Main amp = Ashdown Little Giant 1000 (2 x 500 watt RMS into 4 ohm cabs)
• Backup Amp = Ashdown Superfly 500 (2 x 250 watt RMS into 4 ohm cabs)
• Two x Yamaha BBT210S, 2x10” 4-ohm cabs rated 250 watts RMS. Approx. 21kg. each.

The front-ported cabs are carpet-covered plywood construction and are OEM fitted with Eminence drivers.  (I removed the Yamaha badges from the grilles for a cleaner look, but the badges can be easily re-attached if a new owner prefers).

I've owned everything in this rig from new and it has been treated with care, with all items in full working order – only a very small patch of the carpet covering has  worn away on one of the cabs from transporting it in the boot of my car (see photo).

The Little Giant 1000 being twice the rated RMS of the cabs means the amp  has never had to work hard and without overpowering the speakers, moderate volumes have been enough to be clearly heard within a loud band.  I often used just one cab at rehearsals and smaller gigs – so this is a versatile, modular, and powerful rig that takes up a tiny amount of floor space if the cabs are stacked “portrait”.

Quality Proel/Neutrik (Cleartone branded) speaker cables included as is the original packaging, documentation and rack ears for both amps.  The additional metal outer casing for the Superfly is also included - I removed it as the amp was more portable and ran cooler without it. I also have a couple of small aluminium flight-cases I used to carry each of the amps and all my cables, so I’m happy to include these cases if bought as a complete rig.

Whilst I’d prefer to sell this as a complete rig, the prices for individual components are as follows:

·   Ashdown Little Giant 1000 = £80.00

·   Ashdown Superfly 500 = £50.00

·   Yamaha BBT210S = £100.00 each

·   Speaker cables and flight cases extra = £5.00 each.

Delivery is unlikely to be practical for the cabs due to difficulty in getting suitable packaging, but UK delivery at buyer's expense may be possible on the other items.

Please let me know if you need to see any more photos and I will upload them. - Similarly, let me know if I have missed anything or if you have any questions.  Thanks for looking.

As has been said - 4 to 5 songs maximum.

I've found in the past where more songs were agreed, I'd turn up at rehearsal with all of them pretty much nailed, but not everyone else had.  So, when it came down to it, there were perhaps as few as 2 or 3 of the agreed list of songs that everyone was ready to go on.

But worst of all, a keyboarder that once crossed my path had an annoying habit of coming to rehearsal having worked on none of the agreed songs.  Yes, none. 

Instead, he'd been busy indulging himself by learning a few of his personal favourite songs, (that weren't on the band's playlist, that never would be, and therefore that no-one else had worked on).  He would then demonstrate these songs while the rest of us just looked on in bemusement. He didn't last long.

A bit of a list, I'm afraid...🥴

Scratchplates - especially plastic

Maple or any other light coloured fretboards

Opaque paint finishes (the wood-grain must be visible)

Sunburst or any other 'burst finishes 

Bent-bit-of-metal bridges

String trees on headstocks

Strings that splay out too much above the nut, due to the headstock design

Visible pole pieces on pickups

3+1 or 4+1 tuner arrangement on headstocks

Headless basses

Relic'd basses

I've found this list helpful when GASing or choosing a new bass as, unsurprisingly, it quickly thins out the field of possible contenders.😂

For many years (and having initially only heard this song in the distinctly non-hi-fi sound quality of AM radio) - I thought the line in The Police's 'Message in a Bottle' was 'A year has passed since I broke my nose'.🙄

And I must admit that until fairly recently, I kept hearing a line in Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger' as 'the last known survivor dunks his bread in the night'.  🫣

(Of course, it's 'stalks his prey in the night')

Still using my Little Giant 1000 as my main amp, with a Superfly 500 as backup.

They both work well with my two Yamaha 2 X 10" 4 ohm cabs and although the cabs are rated at only 250 watts RMS each, I've never had any problems with the Little Giant overpowering the cabs, as there's plenty of volume on tap without needing to take things to extremes. I just use my ears😋

By the way, I've never witnessed the built-in cooling fan on the Little Giant running other than briefly at startup, so my solution to the legendary heat generated by both these amps and keep them reliable (so far) has been to place them on top of a laptop computer cooling pad.  The fans in the cooling pad are illuminated too, which looks pretty cool and I just power the cooling pad from an old phone charger.

I've upgraded to Gotoh tuning heads on all my basses, and went for the lightweight versions on my Spector ReBop 5 and my '84 Westone Thunder III. 

After owning the Westone from new, I also replaced the original pickups and electronics in that bass with Bartolini pickups and 3-band eq.   I did that in 2018 to give more modern functionality for a predominantly 80s themed band I had going at the time, as the original controls were rather idiosyncratic and hard to get some tones out of.   Since doing those mods, I've been playing the Westone more than my other 4 basses put together. 

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

It's the whole "going to something you don't really want to be at, in order to be seen to be there" thing that really has me scratching my head.

Agreed - and that too often manifests itself as people constantly squeezing past everyone in their row of seats during the performance to go to and from the bar ( and presumably therefore, the toilets).

I find this as puzzling as it is annoying, as, although I enjoy an alcoholic drink (or 3) as much as anyone, I prefer not to experience a gig through an alcohol-fuelled haze.  Apart from anything else, ticket prices now are so high that the last thing I want to do is miss even a couple of minutes of the performance I've paid for.

Simple Minds - Once Upon a Time. (featuring late, great John Giblin on bass)

Mariah Carey's cover of Without You.

Too many notes.😧