Krysbass

My '84 Westone Thunder III, bought new in '85..... [attachment=5512:WTIIIall.JPG] Still love the sound - especially with the p'ups switched out of phase. The thru-neck played a big part in my decision to buy and if I'm honest it was mostly for aesthetic reasons. But then, back in the era this bass is from thru-necks were a bit rarer than now.

I bought a Superfly 500 a few weeks ago - mine also has a high-pitched whine in one of the outputs (the other one is OK). The only way to lose the whine is to turn off the tweeter, which is something you shouldn't have to do. I'm putting up with mine for now, but will probably look at sending it back before the warranty expires - definitely will if the "good" output starts whining. I have to say that in terms of features and tone (apart from the unwanted noises) the Superfly is a superb idea - it's just a shame it seems to have been so poorly executed. In view of the problems, I'm wondering if Ashdown are losing interest in their Superfly gear, because even though a number of stores seem to have the more powerful Superfly 1000 for sale, the Ashdown website still only mentions the 500??

First saw L42 at the Royal Court in Liverpool on the "Standing in the Light" tour - ticket cost something like £3.50! I was only probably 5 metres from the stage and so could see what MK was doing and was utterly blown away. After "World Machine" came out L42 got too popular for frustrated muso's like me to get close enough to the action, so just wondering if the venues nowadays have got nice and small again? (BTW - still got the '80's bass and a MkIII 2.0 Capri in cold-storage in the garage, but sadly not enough hair left to re-grow the obligatory mullet)

[quote name='cetera' post='127650' date='Jan 25 2008, 11:53 AM']I really like Richard Jones of The Feeling.... He looks cool, plays some nicely crafted, melodic basslines.... and controls the stage with constant prowling and boundless energy....[/quote] +1 The Feeling may not push any musical frontiers, but I bought their first album mainly because Richard Jones has some brilliant basslines. Some great songs too.

As you'll need something loud, highly portable and inexpensive, this could be another job for the Line 6 Lowdown Studio 110, which does 75 watts from a 12" cube. I recently sold mine to help finance a mini-rig, but if you look out for a secondhand one it should fall well within your budget. Even new it should only set you back about £175 or less. I used mine at a few band rehearsals and it was loud enough for me to hear myself over electronic drums through a p.a., 2 guitars and a vocalist. Hope this helps.

I've just bought a Superfly and went for a Yamaha BBT210-S 2x10 cab. This is 4 ohm, rated at 250 watts RMS, and only weighs 21kg. However, it's a discontinued model. I bought mine ex-dem from Rose Morris and I think they still have another one in stock..... Hope this helps

Sold my Line 6 combo to Hamster. Really good to deal with - I'd never sold anything using my Paypal account before and appreciated his guidance! Highly recommended.

Been playing bass on/off since about 1982. I went straight to bass (ie, I'm not a reformed guitarist who learned the error of his ways!) because from the moment I discovered the sound a solo bass guitar made (might have been on Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells") I really wanted to play this instrument. Besides, I had a cousin who played guitar and he always seemed to be breaking strings and learning chords - both of which were way too much hassle. I dabbled with a band back in the 80's but only got into another band in November 07, having only picked up my bass again a couple of years ago, after a break of maybe 15 years. Whilst I have to say that being in a band has done wonders for my playing, it's not the only thing I enjoy about playing bass. Even without a band, it's still a challenge and a means of relaxation. Referring back to the original post, I'm also in a fairly stressful job, about 30 miles from home, so bass playing has become a great escape from this. I guess I'm lucky too that the band I'm in only rehearses 1 night a week and as we all have day jobs and families, if/when the gigs start, we've agreed to keep it to 1-2 per month maximum.

....and one more vote for the Line 6 Studio 110. I've used mine successfully (ie, able to hear myself OK) at a few band rehearsals. It's a great little amp (though I might have to sell mine in the near future due to having given in to the temptation of Christmas G.A.S. and ordered myself an Ashdown Superfly mini-rig).

The Tramp was made by "Ohm" I seem to recall and they made some other good quality stuff. I wanted one of their larger combos, having heard one in use at a small jazz/rock gig where the bassist was playing a fretless and a Chapman Stick through one - I think it would have been a 1x15. Never got round to buying one though and I can only guess that Ohm must have either gone belly-up or been swallowed by a competitor?

First bass, (1981), was a secondhand short-scale sort of Precision copy thingy. Body was later discovered to be made of plywood and having played it acoustically for a few months, the single pickup was later discovered not to work. I got hold of some copper wire, opened it up and re-wound it myself - worked fine after that. Can't have been that bad a bass, because I stuck with it and got my first "proper" bass a couple of years later - a Westone Thunder 1A, natural finish

[quote name='paul h' post='106934' date='Dec 20 2007, 10:26 AM']Can't somebody get Mr. Thomas down to an internet cafe and join him up to BassChat? He was obviously a big inspiration to a lot of us of a certain age. I for one would like to say thanks and shake his e-hand! p.[/quote] +1

...and another 2 = [b]899[/b]

[Also Gary Willis and his book on fingerboard harmony is also superb shows you how to play basslines in one position without shifting by harmonically openung up the fingerboard, [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fingerboard-Harmony-Bass-Gary-Willis/dp/0793560438/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197394276&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fingerboard-Harmon...4276&sr=1-1[/url] +1

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='101261' date='Dec 8 2007, 09:39 AM']I understand what you mean by this - and I'm pleased the Trace was replaced - but imho at the top of my shortlist would be he one where posts say ' dropped it down a lift shaft and it still worked fine'.[/quote] Trace actually did something along these lines as a PR exercise to highlight the build quality of their new range a few months ago. They dropped one of their amps from the end of a crane and apparently it still worked OK. Though I guess the outside would have been pretty mashed up. Hope they didn't try this on Boy Thunder's original 715X, hence the state it arrived back in. That's maybe taking quality control a bit far?! Anyway, it's good to hear that all is well with the replacement 715X. My shortlist is still very much open. I came to the not very useful conclusion yesterday that I really need a Markbass CMD 121H, but for about £200 less than the normal price. As I've probably got more chance of winning the lottery (which I don't do), the search continues!

[quote name='Boy Thunder' post='100616' date='Dec 7 2007, 01:08 AM']To be honest... John_the_bass... ^^^^^ up there... helped me unload it from my van then we went to the pub... I've not checked it at all yet.... I'll give it a thrang in the morning and if all goes well then I'll be well happy... If not then it'll be straight back to the shop and my ashdown will take its place at the gig... Embers still glowing.... [/quote] Hope your new 715X is OK. The basic 715 happens to be fairly near the top of a shortlist of combos I'm currently GASing for. I have to say that story has moved it a little higher. There are a few manufacturers whose products have a worse reputation for going wrong than Trace Elliott, but I guess it's how far they'll go to put matters right that counts.

[quote name='largo' post='100864' date='Dec 7 2007, 02:18 PM']I've been looking at the Phil Jones Bass Flightcase for just this, pricey though ![/quote] The PJB Flightcase actually isn't much bigger than the Line 6 110 I'm currently using and I've been considering it myself as a possible replacement for this, for use in both rehearsals and gigs as it has more power and can still be hooked up to the pa. The fact that 2 of the 4 speakers are angled upwards would certainly get round having to put my Line 6 on top of a bar stool so I can hear myself over the rest of the band! My only concern is that its 4 x 5" speakers in the PJB Flightcase only have about the same combined surface area as the 1x10" speaker in the Line 6, so I'm wondering how much low-end it would actually deliver on its own before running out of steam?

I have the Line 6 studio 110 and am using it in our weekly rehearsals where it initially got a few envious comments from our guitarists since it's smaller and more portable than their combos! I need to hear myself clearly (or my playing goes to pieces) and to do this I perch the Line 6 on top of a bar stool angled upwards. However, I also found that in "Clean" mode (my preferred sound) I had to roll off quite a bit of bass to stop the speaker "pharting" itself into oblivion at the required volume (over 2 guitarists an electronic drum kit and a vocalist). To get the low end back again, I hooked it up to the pa. Have to add that I'm currently looking to buy a more powerful amp for gigs, but the Line 6 will continue to be used for rehearsals. It depends how important it is that you hear what you're playing, but I'd guess that anything rated at 30 watts or less is going to struggle, unless the rest of the band can turn down.