JTUK

I know exactly what suits my style and what sounds I am wanting to hear. Which comes first doesn't really matter, I get to the same place. This makes picking a bass quite easy so after that all I really need to do is be able to play it. I'll pick up a bass and put it down in an instant if I know it isn't going to work. You can tweak it but you need to be sure it can do what you want. The problem comes when you don't know what you are really after. That tends to mean you'll be forever swapping basses and chasing the 'one'. I have 3 core sounds and styles and have 2 basses that cover them. They are both super J5's as it happens. They sound really nice to me passive and I use the active options sparingly, and in effect a slight boost of what they give passively. Our band is known for a good sound and a lot of that is where I put the bass, IMHO... I wont be cutting thru the mix so much as being the foundations... ( I wonder why people want to cut thru as this implies fighting a wall of sound of instruments that the bass should be no where near i tersm of frequencies.) Too many bands have too narrow a spectrum of a 'mix'...boxy, almost. The bass that will under pin the band will have a nice round bottom end...but not too bassey. I don't like the sound to 'thump' as you need sustain on all those low notes. You have to set the bass up to sing...but also accept that too many basses just aren't going to be very capable of that... Your amp stack should compliment the bass, not fundemenatlly change it as that is going to lead you to be chasing shadows.. swapping basses, pickups, cabs amps etc etc etc ........................

I do think the Subs and Sterlings are laughable efforts, tbh. Cheap and cheerful tho..

Well, my example would be that the bass doesn't sound big enough down beliow and doesn't suppprt the band at all... and when they slap, you wouldn't know/hear it unless you watched the guy actually doing that...?? Now with the EQ on them.. ( +15 db of bass and +-12.15 of treble, iirc ) how on earth do you get all that... but they all seem to..!!!!! But my early MM... probably the most solid neck I've ever had and went to a really low action. In that sense, bombproof.

[quote name='Cameronj279' timestamp='1408488572' post='2530774'] I was having a eerily similar conversation with someone earlier. We both came to the conclusion that we loved the tone but hated how clunky they felt to play. The body and neck of them are just too big for my liking. But at the same time, I find a jazz bass to be a bit too big! [/quote] I loved everything about my early MM ...but the sound. I brought it as was going through a LJ phase and it was my staple for a good few years. I came to hate it and swapped out the pickup and went passive ..which helped massively I sold it when I went to 5's and knew there was no going back, but for a mass product 'block of wood', it was rock solid. Now, when I see and hear a MM in a band... they tend to get it all wrong, IMO. At the time of my MM..which was probably early 80's it was certainly a better bass build-wise that almost anything else around, upto a certain price point, and certainly equivalent Fenders of that time, IME. I've never been struck on the EB version and whilst I did consider a 5 in the early nineties that was mostly because they were one of the few mass produced makers at the time available in the U.K. The others being Yamaha and maybe Warwick...who weren't that big a builder anyway. So, I went Custom...

If the bass is a looker and worth it, I regard that as a great price for what it achieved.

Depends if you think if you can get away with a farty middley bass noise that sits along side the other instruments... and you really shouldn't... or you want the bass to support the band sound. This is why so many bands put out subs in their P.A so you can get a depth to the sound, which small boxey set-ups just can't do. They may put out a level of volume but not really the sound the bass players wants to really hear and certainly not the audience. Always, the context is key so these combos might just about work at quiet gigs but bass reproduction is hard work to achieve and if you want a cab to go louder, you take away the things that kills it, which is bass. Only the player can really tell if it is working for him, in terms of the compromise they have put on themselves which tends to be light and small enough as possible. I doubt you'll get too many real compliments on the sound though...

Not sure about getting something out of a speaker that isn't there.. If you take frequencies that can be produced from the unit... a chassis that works upto 2khz is going to be bass orientated. I think most bass players should be able to hear that... against one that can put out 4.5khz level, for example. Depends what you expect or want sound-wise.

To me, artistic type people, and I would say people who write songs come into that sort of category can be clueless at business and you need to have a bit of a plan. You also need to find what motivates people to play and a few of the solid motives are ego, money and 'respect'. Without one of them, you will probably come across a lot of people who will just waste your time. I know this is a much banged drum but personally I find money the best thing to base the enterprise around as maybe more people dance to that tune. You need to find the 'drivers' for the people you meet and those drivers need to be tangible. Some dope-head who can't get himself together is not going to be a core band mate you can rely on. So, players need to have transport and gear and the wherewithall to pay for rehearsals. Then you need to be thinking about getting paid gigs or at least expenses. Most gigs worth doing always often have an angle to get expenses. Music costs money so that is always a factor. Around here, startup and original bands can actually 'promote' their own gigs with a few pubs IF they recognise they have to bring people in to buy drinks. These bands may not be that good... but if they can get 50 people in between 2 or 3 acts then the LL, on a down night will likely love them and even give them their own slot. This very thing happened the other day in a local music pub and the LL gave them £80 or so and they were made up. They had a really good night and they were buzzing from it. It was good to see and also a bit of a life-lesson to see how the real, maybe 'f***-up' world tends to work. So, get 'pro'-minded people in who are keen and will be able to do what they commit to... and spot who the complete wasters are.

Talking about touring costs and wages. Friend drove trucks for a International act and they had a fund to pay the 'charges; to get the tour convoy over certain borders. 3 crossings cost them $150,000 and I asked him what would happen if they weren't 'met'. He said the tour would stop dead in its tracks for days until released and you couldn't have all the crew on payroll sitting around as that would cost far more. So, not paying was just NOT an option. Funny thing was, that the convoy all carneted up went through a Swiss border, for example, in minutes. There were 42 trucks. BIG money.

I wouldn't have thought it was that far out. Top player, top grossing band. Back in the 90's people could buy a house off a major tour with a MAJOR act. Buy Porshces with cash... but those days seem to have gone.

Well, some makers make great amps but not cabs..and some cab makers don't even make amps. The rig isn't for me, but as a rock rig, I'd say GK tops, with a GK 210 and GK 115 was more than decent. If you insist on matched, you are ruling out TKS, Vanderkly and Bergantino..? If I was in the market, I'd go TH500 with TKS112x2 with horns and hope to come in under £1200. That would be my lightweight rig....and if I had more money I'd consider Berg CN112x2 with the same TH amp. IF...IF, I were more confident of their amps, I'd also consider for a rock gig, the Ampeg VF500/800 and PF cabs. This was such a sexy littte shop set-up sound but I would be wary if it could amp up as well...which is my main beef with Markbass as well, IME.

At that price point you are right to think that smaller speakers might not be able to cope very well. They may wind up to produce some sort of sound ...but will it be a useable bass sound at any sort of band volume. This is why 115's are popular, they are capable enough as a one speaker solution to a lot of people ears, so I would look to double up your speaker config at some point. I would think that a 4x8 would be a great little rig, but you have to be reasonable what you expect it to do...and besides that would be way above what you want to pay..?? As a compromise...and bearing in mind I don't know your sound or playing, I'd go 210 combo which might get pretty loud and look, at some later point, to put another 210 or even a 115 underneath..

[indent=1]I'd be thinking about a matched 210 that will stack well.... but if you are a combo then that means the[/indent] [indent=1]115 will sit on the top which doesn't make a lot of sense to me.[/indent] [indent=1]I find typical 10" cabs will get out there quicker, and therefore you do hear their range better but[/indent] [indent=1]then they will also sit higher in the stack 9/10, IMO.[/indent] [indent=1]Looking at the picture, I am not sure if you can stack that well as it could be pretty unstable,...?? but[/indent] [indent=1]if you can, putting a 210 on the bottom or a 115 isn't going to make a lot of difference, IMO.[/indent] [indent=1]This is the limiting form of the combo config..[/indent]

Possibly be on a retainer as well. No idea what those gigs pay but I doubt it would be the salaries of yesteryear but probably still more than decent. More than currrent chart acts paying £150 a gig these days

I have a friend in the States who is into his 60's and he finds the amount of time he is expected to play for really tough. I think he says they do 4x45 and 1x 60min.... FFS..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will only do 2 x 1 hrs max and admire guys playing well into their 60's If they are good enough, they are old enough.

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1408459849' post='2530393'] From what I remember, the band let Charlie choose who he wanted and he picked Darryl Jones. That was 1993! [/quote] Sounds about right... At that level they can all play, it is more about chemistry etc etc

We play anything from 25th birthdays to 60th's... We do ok... we get enough gigs, we don't want anymore. If the young dudes want to take us on...good luck..!!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1408372297' post='2529526'] Nominal diameter of a driver tells you nothing about tone - i.e. a 15" driver is not necessarily 'bassier' than a 12" driver and a 10" driver is not necessarily 'punchier' than a 12" driver. And so on. [/quote] And again, this is where it gets misleading or confusing as not all makers think the same. They may well design their cabs with a certain bias...so as far as they go..all of their range may well adhere to larger the chassis, the bassier they sound. You may as well..to all intents and purposes 'expect' bigger is bassier to be true because often they are. The fact that they needn't be so, is not normally a convention people always deviate from. 10's aren't used in subs mostly because ..?? and 18's aren't used anywhere else because..? So, it isn't wrong to assume 15's are typically bassier than 12's, 10's or 8 because this is mostly the thinking of the majority of cab makers anyway. It is simpler that way... but not gospel either.

I've tried most after being a commited DR user for nigh on 20 years. I think the quality of strings is down to the quality of metal used and it is here that I noticed quite a variable, IMO. I now use custom Newtones as they aren't super bright but are spikey and clean enough. I noticed these don't degrade sound-wise so quickly as super bright strings so they are consistant enough for me, longer.

I get Sims to make me one from the template I provide. A decent tort/pearloid type plate for a 5st would cost around £65 upwards.

See, this is where it gets very discerning and one man's discerning is another man's whatever.. FWIW... I think 2x210 is enough for a lot of stages... providing they are decent 10''s.. I used to like TC stuff in a shop but have gone off the idea now as I think the sound will be too processed for my tastes. If you like them, then go with them. A TC210 should pair well with a TC 212 and the only misgivings I'd have about TC as a whole is they may rely on too much processing and mapping to get their results. If this doesn't matter to you because you like their sound and weight, the choice is between a 212 and another 210.. Theoretically the 212 may be a tad bassier within the stack but can you hear that difference..do you need that 'difference'? The fact that you pair up cabs will make it sound sound bassier than a single cab to your ear...

[quote name='Skinnyman' timestamp='1408365876' post='2529410'] We're using one kit for all the bands along with one bass head and cab as onstage monitor for the bass. Guitars will use their own amps or, ideally, just a pedal board that can DI to the board. Thanks for all the input, guys. The point about an RCD is a good one as is the comment about having a sub or two. Which brings up a question I asked in a different thread. My amp has a stereo sub out which is actually full frequency. I know that if I send that to a sub with a crossover, that will filter out the mids and highs. But do I need another crossover to the mains that will filter out the lows? [/quote] It depends on the tops... decent active ones have options to roll off the bass at a couple of default frequencies.. like 100-120hz but will feed thru the subs first and if matched they will roll off the top around that range.... so full range but nothing less that roll off point. This helps the tops drive harder as you aren't going to be putting hefty bass into working the woofer part of the top. Passive cabs need to be controlled by the cross-over which is basically a split signal determined by a frequency cross-over point. I'd ignore anything else and control through that dedicated signal crossover and then drive the tops and subs independently. You'll need 2 amps to do this IF you want to retain a stereo mix

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1408357171' post='2529231'] I'd rather they didn't click on the "Going" button in the first place, but I'm probably being far too old school about it all. [/quote] ha ha damned if they do, damned if they don't.. Nothing worse than a FB event with '2 going'..??? I have my rele's in Australia 'invited' and they always reply 'going' and that 'looks' good... Lo and behold, they've turned up twice

FB is a short cut to actually doing the rounds and getting your name about.... but now, with the demise of so many venues it is difficult to know where the music scene is in any one town these days so you can see why FB is useful. Thats is why we stick to the 2 most popular pubs in any town that will have their own 'regulars' so we can add 20 or so to their 20-30 or so and you'll have a resonable night and the place makes its money. Beer in music pubs is £3.50 upwards a pint round here and there are so many other alternatives that it is hard to get people out. One pub does 3 nights..and probably only pays bands on two, so he is delighted if all 3 are successful..but you will probably find one of those days is a turnover day for the beer and is subsidised by the other 2, hopefully. I am of the opinion that bands that rely a LOT on FB tend to get their mates along at the start and play to packed pubs but these thin out pretty soon if you don't pick up more people ... as people can't and don't wnat to turn up everytime.

Leds are lighter and probably cheaper to run over a period of time, plus you don't get into power situations as they draw next to nothng. The downside, IMO is that they can be weak in lighting and cameramen HATE them for this reason. No heat given off and that is a plus in confined spaces. The gear up for sale may not be bad but bands that need a little lighting down want to carry that stuff anymore and that is probably why it seems cheap. We throw up a single tower of 4 LED's in 5 minutes and it doesn't much matter what you plug them into..any spare socket will do, pretty much, whereas CANS may need a seperate power run on its own circuit which is not the thing pubs really cater for..especially these days when pub music is provided by all and sundry on a whim. When we get involved in outside gigs, the biggest factor/concern is the power run NOT for the P.A but for the lights as they can't be LEDS for that sort of work, IMO.