Muzz

I had a Roland Micro Cube for a good while - not giggable, but great for in the house - MP3 in, headphones out, tuner, loads of sounds and effects, even a drum machine. Can run off batteries, too. Corking amp.

Yep, all good - well explained and not patronizing at all. I suspect Chrissie has issues...

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1390674066' post='2348247'] That depends on what your local is like. Down my local i doubt if anyone would even notice. [/quote] I wouldn't like to try and carry a tray of drinks across the room in your local then... The Soul Train Line Dance is one of my best pick-me-ups: it's impossible to be morose watching any of them...

Fascinated by this. Thanks for the effort.

Jim Dunlop Nylon 88s here...for about the last 35 years, tried and tested

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1390240868' post='2343045'] I have now owned and sold 3 stingrays, I still love the look of the bass I just don't get on with them....maybe if I found the right one...... noooooo see I still want one [/quote] This. Exactly this. And the one about a 4001, too...

The Schroeder 1212, 1210 and 1515s are a good match with the LM heads. I had a LMIII and a 1515, and a friend gigged a LMIII and a 1212, both are great for rock/punk tones, tho I found I needed a Sansamp pedal to put some SVT-like aggression into the amp. The cabs are just the job, though.

Mine's a keeper - I love the string tension, the light weight, the spread of sounds with just a passive four-way switch and a tone control, and I switch between mine and my regular 34" basses all the time and never notice. The only time I notice the frets is if I'm doing a lot of work down the first three frets (that nut-to-first-fret on the E is a loong way ) or if I'm right up in the nosebleed frets - 15 and up for me. If you do a lot of chordal stuff over fret 15 you might have to readjust your technique a little, but otherwise it's all positive for me. I only play a 4, I'd imagine the 5s make even more sense - I've played a Dingwall 5, and the B was fantastic, but 5s aren't for me. The build quality is second to none, I've never had to go anywhere near the truss rod (and I'm a fiddler) and the attention to detail is superb. Oh, and Sheldon Dingwall is a gent who has given me some top quality customer service in the past (there's a thread on here about it somewhere). If you can get down to Bass Direct, Mark has the largest collection in the world, and if you don't like them after a visit there, you never will. Was that a bit gushy?

Not that I'm aware of - there used to be a dealer on the South Coast somewhere, but they closed. I got mine from Sweden. Edit: there you go: SHX, that was the one I was thinking of. Also, they don't make (AFAIK) the smaller angled-baffle cabs like the original 1210L any more - they've gone a more 'traditional' shape.

Having spoken to a chap who works for Fender last night, apparently the corporate plan is to "integrate the Genz technology into a new range of Fender amps." How well that'll work remains to be seen.

The Roland amps are very good, but usage seems to be more focused on them for home/rehearsal use (I had a Micro Cube for ages which was very good) rather than as gigging combos. I also had the DBass 115 and 15 extension cab, and they were really good amps, but they seem to be terminally unfashionable as gig backline, which is a bit of a mystery, because I found mine to be great (it was stolen, otherwise I might still have it). The Genz stuff is amazingly cheap right now because of the Fender buyout, if you were ever going to do it, now would be the time. I use a Streamliner, which I love.

I've always taken a spare bass to gigs although, as Jack says, the times I've been forced to switch have been almost nonexistent compared to the number of gigs. One of the bands I play in has a different feel from one set to another (first set's poppier, second set when everyone's giddy gets rockier), so I'll play one bass for each set - Dingwall for the poppier set, Thunderland for the rockier. If I'm tired, though, the 7.5lb Dingwall will get used all night. If I'm honest, I can get very very similar sounds from each one, so it's more about look and playability - the first set has a couple of slappy songs in, which is easier on the Dingwall. I try not to switch basses within a set, though.

Oh my Lord...that is gorgeous...shame it'll be an absolute fortune...

Done, 56,000+ now. I've played Night and Day, been to many gigs there, it's a great venue.

I use DRs all the time, in fact I'm waiting a 'shipment' of half a dozen sets from the States. I prefer Nickels to SS generally, but this will be the first time I'll have tried their coated strings, too. I use Nickel Lo-Riders and Sunbeams, I prefer the nickels slightly rounder sound - the SS are a bit harsh-sounding for me.

"If you're thinking...playing Superstition or Play That Funky Music then think again... the market has changed and people don't want the old school approach...These days people want cool songs by cool bands such as The Foo Fighters, The Killers, Jessie J, Kings of Leon and even Biffy Clyro." Into the Hall Of Fame, song lists, what's on there? The first nine bands in the list all do Twist And Shout... Brilliant.

I'd narrow it down to 2 points: 1. Play what the song needs, not what you'd like to put in there. 2. Just because you can, doesn't mean you have to.