JTUK

Generally, thicker string are more prone to going dead. Variety of reasons and some alluded to here but no easy way around it. I've only had one set of DR's not clean up on me and they weren't great out of the packet anyway so time to bin them for my purposes. Clean meths may help as the gunk that comes out of the winds has to be deposited somewhere and if the meths is old..it may will degrade as well. I give strings a clean over 24hrs and use a clean container as well. Overall DR's clean up the best, IME... as they don't have silk/cotton winds to fray and clog up the cleaning solution..I never try and submerge that part anyway... But if and E-string doesn't come up clean... then you have to decide how useable it is... You then have 2 choices..cheap but new strings more often..or buy seperates..at least that might save a few pennies on a new set..??

If your left hand is good...then there is nothing in the extra string there to worry it after a few weeks. You'll fret the wrong note and string a few times but expect that...and this is why you stick with a 5 in the initial stages. The right hand has a lot more development esp if you slap.. but with a decent spacing of 19mm ... this should be akin to a P-bass/MM and you need to get the accuracy up. A big no-no, IMV..is ragging the B'string on 8th notes..that is just a drone. Use tasefuly and don't overdo it. You may have your work cut out buying a 5 as a lot of B strings just don't cut it, IMO. String choice then becomes more crucial and you need a balanced B to sound like the rest of the strings..not so easy to find or certainly no gimme, IMO. but get past this..and never look back.

I really wouldn't be thinking I'd get 500watts of bass out of a 2x10. If you want to run that volume..you want to be thinking of 2x210..IMO.

Just tried a set of Ken Smiths.. ok, nothing special. Would rate then on a par with D'addarios SS XL pros. Still in the lead as far as I am concerned Super steps followed by Hi Beams..

Stick to what the manual suggests and don't mismatch cab impedances..

It depends..some are run by people who can't get to play anywhere else and some are run by a semi pro/pro who needs to gig on a quiet night. Just go along and see the lie of the land if you don't know whether you fancy it. If you wish you had bought your bass, then you'll know if it is for you. But..as is the nature of this drop-in land....just embrace the idea and go along and JFDI. The standard can be variable so you should at least have a good 12 bar up your sleeve..be it a shuffle or swinger. If people throw a few jazz turnarounds at you and you can hear and play them..then you hearing and busking skills will have moved up a notch. As Chris says..this is a step up from the bedroom but it is a step that has to be made at some point.. as you meet so many people this way..and as always..it is all about networking.

I've done short sea. It isn't the playing, it is everything else but the music... If you are dipping your toes in..take a short trip to see whether you like it.

[quote name='JPJ' post='1241531' date='May 23 2011, 01:12 PM']Yep Believe me, I've been tempted by a couple of these in the past. Would love to try one under the SM1500 in a gig situation.[/quote] One..?? try two..!!! That would be my large stage festival rig I'd consider the SM900 as a compromise and run it with my 210 and (maybe) 115 as my mini stage rig Hell of a lot of amps for the money they are going for SH..IMO. I think a valve stage pre is almost compulsory and this guys pretty much started this trend, IIRC.. Try and I might, I just can't sell my SM400. it would a be such a crime.

I'd have a NYC if I found one I liked. Probably wouldn't bother with a Metro

wow... SM1500 is a lot of amp. I use the SM400 and wouldn't want to use anymore to drive up the band volume. I can't use the bass anymore than 12 o'clock as that was an idiosyncrasy with that model and I get tons of bass from my 2 112's. In retrospect the 2x112 don't quite make the sound of the SWR115 and 210 and this has prompted me to going back to that config but with Aguilar cabs as I think they make them better than the newer SWR..IMO. I may just decide on 2x210 over a 115 and 210..but only for carry..I think the sound needs that heavy 115 The Goliath ll's were great though with PAS so if you think they are better with NEO delta's then I am glad that worked. I thought the Goli ll could be a bit nasally if you were too close, IIRC. I would still love a SWR610 though... and if it came with PAS that would suit me fine. So far, I am the only slightly negative voice I know about this particular conversion and it relates entirely to the sound although I am aware of NEO and non NEO arguments. It is all subjective.

Toto with Jeff. Anything with Richard Tee..?? But, with the right cailbre of players, you'd make a real feast out of a lot of seemingly unlikely positions.

Meet up with Harry to collect a cab which was MINT as described. Very easy transaction and very smooth...pics, e-mails, phone and meet, job done. We then talked bass and stuff for ages over a coffee. Top guy who really knows his gear and looks after it. Hope we met up soon Harry..give me a call anytime. P.S if this is a duplicate thread for Harry feedback, feel free to merge it. I did look but didn't find one. ta

Aston Martins..

[quote name='ziggydolphinboy' post='1239178' date='May 21 2011, 11:50 AM']dude whio on earth is that in youre profile picy? Jazz 5 needs work on .. nut, brigde saddles9mayb change to individual, neck bolts and little noisey on the electrics. was thinking of getting the sei 6 re-finished.[/quote] Her name is Esperanza

A very decent repray/re-fin on a £2000 plus bass makes a lot more sense than it would on a £500 bass seeing as the re-fin would cost almost all of that anyway.

I'd check out the dims of the 210's matched the 410 pretty closely...some 210's are not that deep so maybe those 2x210's might not add up to 1x410... It is a issue I have to consider with my latest 210... add another for a nice easy carry..or go for a 115. Can't decide. I am never going to use them seperate as I have that angle covered but the 115 is a weighty beast.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1235659' date='May 18 2011, 01:26 PM']£249...???? [/quote] I doubt that includes stripping down to wood and putting on a base to build on. If you change the colour, you'll probably need to do this. But then there is a reason why they can finish like they do. I'd have no trouble using them.

Basses should be played, IMO, so there is no point one sitting in a box all day, every day. If I can't take them to a gig, what do I want them for...? and a ding here and there can always be refurbed if it really really needs it.

I'd absolutely hate it.

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1237523' date='May 19 2011, 10:35 PM']After reading the Fender thread, Happy Jack's P bass thread & a couple of other threads, I thought I'd pose the question that the Mrs asked me last night whilst I was oiling my bass's body (the Mrs wouldn't let me rub Danish oil on her body, so it had to be)... What makes a high end bass worth the money & where's the difference to justify it over a good sub £1000 (or even a good sub £500) job? Is a £1300 Fender P 5 stringer as good as a £1300 Dingwall Combustion & is a £2k+ "copy" P bass from the likes of Overwater or Sadowsky any better than a Fender P & actually worth the difference? & why do I need another bass when I'm happy with my Ibby (other than wanting 5 strings & no frets)? ......[/quote] The ultimate decision will be down to you anyway. If you can't see, feel or hear the difference then don't go down that route. But just to say that are a fair few basses retailed in the high st over £1000 and you should put them down straight away, IMO. And there are so many no where near that price that you don't even have to pick up to know it isn't going to work. They just start off all wrong. A certain budget model turned up at our local music school the other day...which I managed to get a look at it and I can tell you that I was 150% on the money with my initial thoughts about it. I still laugh about that..!!!!!! But, having said that, it is how you get along with these things. I've played Smiths and Sadowsky's etc and thought they wanted way too much money for those particular items BUT they did sound great. If I found one I liked, I would buy one, for sure, though and they do ooze quality, IMO. I don't really think you can get someone else to justify why you should spend that money..you can either convince yourself or you can't.

[quote name='bassriff' post='1238208' date='May 20 2011, 02:22 PM']I love messing around with tone from classic Herbie Flowers to more modern Mark King. ----[/quote] Hear good things about Vanderkley, friend is very impressed so far with his single 12 and will add another for dispersion rather than volume as he says the cab does not lack that at all. But to have a cab that covers that range of sound ( KIng, Flowers)...you are going to have to have a horn, IMO.. and dial it down on the bass for the tone changes you seek..IMO.