Muzz

Yes, I do. Ner ner ner...

Well, as an ex-Ampeg owner, my Markbass and Sansamp do the job. All the tone, a fraction of the weight. I'd say IMHO, but that doesn't seem to be where this thread's at...so that's a definite. Anyone who disagrees is clearly kidding themselves...

The fact that old Fenders are worth multiples times their original value seemingly regardless of quality or useability means that it's Fender all the way. The market dictates these things, and the market for Fenders is very much bigger than the market for any boutique brand. Fender is an iconic brand, and it's a sad fact that a significant proportion of the people who spend a lot of money on iconic instruments have their actual playability and quality fairly low on their priority list.

The fact that old Fenders are worth multiples times their original value seemingly regardless of quality or useability means that it's Fender all the way. The market dictates these things, and the market for Fenders is very much bigger than the market for any boutique brand. Fender is an iconic brand, and it's a sad fact that a significant proportion of the people who spend a lot of money on iconic instruments have their actual playability and quality fairly low on their priority list.

Yep, I have an acoustic foam pad I use all the time with my 1515L, and this kills the boom and tightens up the bottom end a treat. Oooer missus. It cost relatively beggar all, and makes a massive amount of difference. I used it with my MB 410 too, and it was great with that.

Sounds Great down Heald Green way are well worth checking out, too - Mark Bass. TC stuff in stock, etc.

Naah, tho I have been in on the odd occasion. There aren't many music shops left in Manchester these days, so you might've seen me in one of them.

Hi Mate, If by your local shop you mean PMT, bear in mind they've got a 4003 in there for an eye-watering £1999, so they're not exactly cheap. It does look very nice, though, and, like folk round here who know more than me, I've never heard of or seen a Tribute 1500. It's certainly worth a look, anyway. Muzz

[quote name='GremlinAndy' post='920713' date='Aug 10 2010, 03:07 PM']The other day I used my 2 1515L's stacked on their side, to create as close to a vertical stack as Schro's allow do, with their 2nd angled speaker, and they were truly astounding for the rock music I was playing (Thumb bass through a Sans Amp for the grind.) The sound was awesome and I had more room for volume than you can even imagine. For dirty rock they were better than my 2x 21012L's which have more clear top end (The 1515L's have no tweeter in them but for the rock stuff, they sounded great) I personally reccommend Schroeder (I also own an Epi 310, and 212, which are FANTASTIC cabs, but for volume, size and weight, the Schro's win easily (It's hard to imagine they contain *2* 15's because they aren't any bigger than most 1x15's and are smaller than some compact 15's)) But you should try them out before you buy. As has been stated on here often, your preferred tone is very personal thing.[/quote] Oh my Lord - [i]2[/i] x 1515Ls? I thought I had enough headroom to kill small animals with one...are they 8 ohm or 4? What are you driving them with? +about a zillion on their rock credentials, size, and weight - I even had the guitarist offering to carry mine from the van at the last gig...

OK, so I've got my sound the way I like it, in the smallest possible rig I could get - a one-trip combination of Schroeder 1515L, LMIII and Sansamp BDDI. However, the Sansamp is on all the time, and I've jokingly said it may as well be nailed onto the amp, it's such an integral part of the sound I like. I'm all for simplicity these days, though, which has led me to consider if the LMIII/Sansamp could be replaced with a single unit, thus reducing cables/boxes/setup and general faffage. I'm thinking LMTube or Rocker, but I have no experience of either of these amps. Other manufacturers' offerings could be considered, tho I tried a RH450 and didn't really get on with it - the drive just didn't sound warm or 'organic' enough. Could have been the TC 210 cab, tho. I don't use a ton of drive, just enough to give some tubey warmth and a little breakup. Anyone got any experience of the above?

Very sad news indeed. My condolences to all who knew him.

Went for £637 - I'd say the resale prices were pretty healthy...

A [i]fretless[/i] ZZB? Wow, never, ever seen one of those. Presumably defretted by Delberthot? Difficult to see the target audience for a pointy fretless, tho in EBay-speak this makes it ULTRA RARE!!!!! I had a ZZB Custom (the half-black half-white one) back in the day, and it was a lark, but a fretless one? Hmmmmm. Any pics?

I've mentioned this before, but my go-to bass these days (in my avatar pic) is a modded Chinese SX with a MM neck and Schaller bridge. Fantastic bass, stands me at about £200. My other kit (inc my MM Ray) stay on their stands. If I hadn't tried it, I would have laughed you out of the room for suggesting this situation a while ago. It's done wonders for my GAS.

Oh, and on the looks front - a mate of mine (non-musician) ruined the Corvette (and a few others) for me by pointing at the top horn the first time he saw it and saying (in front of a crowd): "That looks too much like a nob for me..."

The Roland Micro Bass DX combo does hatfuls of stuff, like mp3 in, headphones out. Plus it has lots of extras like metronome, slightly cheesy but useful drum patterns, effects (Chorus, Reverb, even T-Wah!), etc. It's a great practice tool.

Another Marmite thing, I think - I've never played a fretted one I ultimately liked (and I've had a few), tho the fretless Corvette Std I have is a fantastic bass, and the best fretless I've ever played: seems to be so much [i]nearer[/i] the wood than other fretlesses. It's an older one, neck will be Ovangkol, but I think the board's Ebony, Ash body. A keeper. The build quality of every one I've played has been, well, German: very, very well engineered. New prices are bananas compared to s/h, but then I guess that's true of a lot of kit these days (new Stingray for £1350, anyone?).

All of the above from NJE, except with my Schroeder 1515L, it's a single 40lb cab which, with a LMIII, will go stupidly loud - 500w into 4 ohms. It'll certainly swamp our drummer, who don't half hit 'em when he's in the mood. It's been a revelation, coming from biiiig old stacks in the past. So the answer from where I'm standing is a stack (but one smaller than most combos), and stuff the laws of physics...

Here's a thought - what about the Schroeder 1515L? Same size and weight as the 1212L, but more bottom end. Lots of low mid punch, but IME, shifts it down the frequency scale, too. Definitely a single cab solution - it'll go cataclysmically loud. Works for me. Depends on how set you are on 12s, tho. Oh, and there's no tweeter.

OK, I'll be the first mildly dissenting voice - I've had a lot of basses over the last few years since returning to playing more, and couple of boutique basses (Overwater and GB) in the lineup, and I've found that it really does depend on what works for you feel, response and soundwise. I found I could admire the workmanship and finish of the boutique basses as objects, but the sound in my head (which is, I'd venture, what we're ALL after from a bass/rig) I couldn't get from them. I've come in a huge circle back to basics, and what I want from an instrument means the bass I play more than any is a Frankenfender which stands me at £200. It makes me play better than the £2k+ basses I've played. But that's just what works for me - something else may work for you. I don't buy in to the 'a more expensive bass will raise your playing game' ethos, but I do believe a 'better' bass will make you raise your playing game. The definition of 'better' in this context is everything. I'd say that the whole question is entirely subjective, and the best thing the OP could do is, yes, save up an amount of money which might afford you a boutique bass, but in the meantime try EVERYTHING you can, even multiples of the same instrument if mass-produced - I know a bassist who's said to me "Oh, I don't like <insert bass name here> : I played one and it was dog" - which is IME piffle, what he didn't take into account is there are huge variations even at the high end of mass-production. Bottom line is, if you don't know exactly what works for you (and it took me YEARS to find out), keep looking - everywhere.

Betcha I can get 6 Alembics onto the top of the For Sale thread in ten minutes...