Muzz

The business methods of Mr Hall aside, I love the look of Rics, the newer walnut ones especially. I had a 4001 decades ago, my first 'proper' bass (Jetglo, all Geddy Lee's fault ) for several years. If you've played one you love, and it feels and sounds right, then just buy the thing. I'd play it first, though: for my 50th a couple of years ago I bought a brand new walnut 4003, and sent it back (thank Buddha for GAK's returns policy) the next day. Rose tinted spectacles about the playing ergonomics, (yep, right inner arm, and that pointless (if lovely) bridge pickup surround) and tone-wise, after I'd A-B'd it with the basses I have, it just didn't compete. The very very bottom line, though, was it simply wasn't good enough for a £1600 (at the time) bass. QC issues aplenty. I very likely got a duff one, but at that price point duff ones shouldn't leave the factory. I was gutted. It did look lovely, though - if was a rich man I'd have kept it and hung it on the wall, but my basses earn their living

Having been through an awful lot (10+) of heads over the last few years, there's been very very few, Class D or not, which haven't cut it in loud bands. It's true that the new generation of Class D power modules (the giveaway's usually '800w') found in newer small heads seem to have more to them than the first generation, but there's dozens of heads which, with a decent cab (or two) will compete with a single guitarist. I use both a small Genzler Magellan and a bigger Mesa Walkabout with loud bands (one of which has TWO guitarists with 100w Marshalls and 412s) and either of them will win... You'll kind of struggle to go wrong with your budget if you buy secondhand, and you can always move it on and try another...worked for me...

[quote name='Burrito' timestamp='1497093101' post='3315798'] Do you have any links? I'd heard nothing quite fits right on the Gibsons if you go down that route. I'd love to be able to prove that wrong. [/quote] Here's the link for the ones I've used (the rings are on there, too). Obviously, you'll need to make some exact measurements, and yeah, some minor modding might be required. Mine have got Dingwall pickups underneath. I'd looked at some EMG 'buckers which fit, too... Mine are in an Epi TBird body, so I was happy to mod, but if I'd spent the money on a Gibson, I might not be inclined to go cheap... [url="http://www.crazyparts.de/pickup-making-parts/pickupcovers/misc/gibson-thunderbird-pu-cover-chrome.php"]http://www.crazypart...over-chrome.php[/url]

I know (and it's taken me a lot of faffing to get here ), but the OP was after some controversial confessions, and that's mine. While I'm in the confessional...I didn't mind the RH450, either - I thought it was a good amp, with a feature set (presets, compressor, tuner) which no-one else has matched all of yet... I feel better for that

[quote name='Yukimajou' timestamp='1496943608' post='3314921'] Does anyone know if you can successfully get the plastic cover off the Epi T'Bird pickups? I think they really don't do the bass any justice and uncovered pups would look so much better, I can't afford the chrome or nickel replacements as they are more expesive that the guitar was. I will however, get a set of chrome toppe knobs as again the black ones look like crap. [/quote] You can buy the chrome pickup covers and rings on the net. They're not that expensive (£10-15 or so, IIRC)

I didn't like the Aggy Tonehammer. At all. There, I've said it...

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1496911743' post='3314597'] One I've used before with folk who get the hump - 'How would you like it if I come down to your office on Monday and start shouting at you while you're trying to work?' [/quote] Billy Connolly phrased this one rather well, and we've nicked it before now: "Don't tell me how to do my job. Do I come to your work and tell you how to sweep up?"

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1496839302' post='3314201'] This might surprise you but..... For good honest and transparent tone, a simple straight forward eq section and the versatility of a foot-switchable warm and usable drive channel, I highly recommend the Genzler Magellan. It'll do everything from clean mid scooped sounds to warm, classic mid rich drive - not full bore distortion but everything from vintage warmth to a subtle overdrive, all perfectly usable for an always on sound. Simple to use and quick and easy to dial great sounds into. And it's at the lower end of the price range compared to many of its peers too. [/quote] Saved me a fairly long-winded post...yup, my favourite, from a list that includes a lot of the usual suspects (Class Ds were MB LMIII, LMTube and F1, TC RH450 and 450 Classic, Aggie Tonehammer 500, Streamliner (honourable 2nd place), GK500 and Fusion, Genz Shuttle 900...bigger ones were Ashdown 550 Spyder and ABM500, Mesa M-Pulse 360, Tech21 Landmark, OTB and...erm...I forget... ) I also have a very soft spot for my Walkabout - it's 'only' 300w (tho through a Super Twin it'll easily keep up with two JCM/412 geetards) and it doesn't quite scrape in at 13lbs, but I love what it does when driven. Two different heads, which I use for different bands and sounds. Both very very good at what they do.

I use Elixirs and D'Addario NYXLs: the Elixirs are coated, but the new version of the coating is much less noticeable than the earlier versions, doesn't shed (and I play 85% with a pick) and they stay bright for a very very long time. Well worth it. The NYXLs aren't coated, but again, they last a long long time compared to most other strings. I used to use DRs, but since I tried the newer Elixirs and NYXLs, I haven't gone back.

I thought the girl sang very well - Somewhere Over The Rainbow is an iconic song, she sang it in a style which I personally don't like, but is nevertheless a modern and popular style, and in those terms performed it very very well. She's certainly got a voice. To compare a girl singing live under those circumstances, at the climax of a very emotion day for her, with canonical versions is churlish in the extreme. There are many great versions of the song recorded but none, I'd suggest, in those circumstances.

Bought a Smooth Hound wireless from Jack - not only a simple, straightforward transaction, he also went the extra mile (and beyond!) to resolve a small issue, when he could easily have not done. Definitely one of the good guys on here! Cheers fella

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1496644732' post='3312830'] This, pointing out your plugs/in-ears. Usually works. [/quote] This has been an unexpected bonus of moving to in-ears - it saved me from pissed punters three times last weekend... Although the best one was the hammered girl at a Rugby Club do, who did the clicky-finger thing in front of me during a Foo Fighters song, got annoyed when I didn't instantly devote all my attention to her, then demanded Abba. I politely declined with a "Sorry, we don't do any Abba" to have her point at the Mac on the mixer (we run Mainstage) and insist "No, play Abba." This we repeated this exchange three times until it was clear she wasn't going to understand we weren't some sort of iPod, so I said "Fine, yeah", and she went away. I told our singer, and he introduced the next song with "Not a lot of people know this, but the next one was originally recorded by Abba. This is Rosanna, as covered by Toto..."

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1496424205' post='3311368'] Be interested in which of the MB 121 combos you were using? The only one I'd be a little hesitant in using in a gig situation (without an extension cab) would be the CMD 121p, but the 121 H or 121 AC (especially the latter with its 500W stand alone capacity) should easily deliver the goods in a pub / club venue. [/quote] Woefully late on this one, but yeah, it was the 121p - it sounded uncomfortably farty pretty soon. But then, as I mentioned, I had 3 x Berg 112s, and never gigged with just one...

If you're after a 2ohm small head, give the Genzler Magellan a look, too - they have the same switch (and I'm guessing much of the power amp section will be the same, too), and they're a versatile amp. I used mine with 2 x and 3 x 8 ohm Berg 112s (tho I don't have the cabs any more - in fact I don't use it much now we've gone in-ears/PA/modelling) and a couple of times I forgot to flip the switch. I emailed Genzler the first time in a bit of a panic, and Jeff replied to the effect that it wasn't a great idea, but would probably not do a lot of harm. I'd done whole loud gigs with it in the wrong position, so it can't the end of the world...

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1496420752' post='3311328'] I hope a 112 is up to the job, i've recently ordered a Super Compact to use as an alternative to my Super Twin at smaller gigs. [/quote] Given that in my other band I run a Super Twin up against two JCM100/4x12 guitards, and it easily holds its own (without PA), if there was one 12 (other than the BB2) I'd have confidence in to deliver in a lot of circumstances, it'd be a Super Compact...

[quote name='Trueno' timestamp='1496420704' post='3311327'] I was fine with my MB 121 combo. I even sold a 15" extension cab as I never used it. But I was usually DI'd through a chuffing big PA. [/quote] Yup, that's the key - I didn't have much PA support - it's a question of how much of what...the function band I'm in have dispensed with backline altogether, so I'm 100% through the PA/in-ears...

I tried a MB 121 combo on its own for a gig, and found it wasn't up to the job. On the other hand, I've played an RAF hangar with a BF BB2 and a Streamliner and it was fine power-wise...YMMV, IMHO, etc, etc. I think you'll find it's a very relative question...

Just remembered (which is more than I did at the time) the joys of flicking a D-tuner down for a song...and then forgetting to flick it back up again for the next one...

We don't rehearse much in the function band (at all over the last few years), but that's just what works for us - we all know each other and every song inside out before we play it for the first time. Since we dropped down to a trio, though, there's been some reworking of the set and new songs, so we've actually had a couple of rehearsals recently. The bottom line, though, is does the band sound good? [quote name='project_c' timestamp='1496232035' post='3309720'] So do I stay with this band? It can be fun, and we all get on, but if the band sounds crap in front of an audience (which it often does) I want nothing to do with it. [/quote] It clearly doesn't, so something needs to change, whether it's the rehearsal schedule or the band, I dunno...

How did you guess?

Played a song not long ago that the singer/guitard uses a capo for. We started, and it was terribly apparent from the word go that one of us was half a step out. He kept shouting "In D!", which is correct, and what i was playing. Unfortunately, his acoustic doesn't have front dots, and with the lights I couldn't see properly, so it took me a verse to work out it definitely wasn't my tuning, and he'd put his capo in the wrong position...D flat it is then...

Dunno about the Eich, but my 300w Walkabout through a Super Twin will happily keep up with two JCM100/412 half-stacked guitards and a monster drummer in a full-on Rawk band without the Master going past ten o'clock... One thing I do notice, tho you'll probably never crank it that hard, is the Eichs are 600w RMS handling, and you're looking at an 800w Subway...as I say, you'll probably never drive them hard enough for that to be an issue...

Played a wedding in the New Forest Friday night, the Best Man wanted to get up with us (he was a harmonica player who 'just happened'to have his harp with him) for a couple of numbers...we agreed, and one of the numbers he called was MS. He turned out to be a very very good singer and player...a great version resulted. All good Oh, and I did four gigs over the weekend, and played SHA...four times...and enjoyed every single one...

A couple, for different reasons: one's an Irish pub in Manchester City centre - it's a long narrow building, the space at the back is just where they've moved the tables and benches to either side to give a very small amount of space. The kicker is the bogs are at the back, just behind you, so you have to leave a walkspace right up the middle through the band (drummer to one side). We did it one Paddy's Day as a trio, and it was...colourful: we went on about five, and most of the punters had been in since eleven, there was a bloke selling packets of meat out of a Tesco bag, and despite having a fairly long Irish set, we were constantly moaned at for not knowing 'My Grandmother's Pig From Tralee' or some other obscure request. One bloke went for a slash seven times in the first set...I started counting after his third visit. As he stumbled through us for the seventh time, our singer told everyone we'd be donating some of the fee to the Prostate Awareness charities...not a titter... The other is a wedding 'venue' up on the tops North of Manchester - it's basically a converted barn: straw in the floor, you can see outside through the gaps in the walls - and their db meter is on the stage, set to Gnat's Fart. Our drummer, a girl on this occasion, not a big hitter, hit her snare once, just as she'd set up, and off it went. OK, brushes, then...woop, the kick set it off, too. This is without any of us plugged in. It was freezing bloody cold (they had two of those jet heaters on the floor) and overall a miserable experience. Oh, and the Social club we played in Scunthorpe, the gig venue is upstairs, a tortuous route up (and bizarrely down) too many flights of stairs, a crowd like Burton's window. Worst bit is the pub below turns into a club later on, so getting out was a nightmare, picking past the bodies littering the stairs, and through a crowd of complete arseholes outside... I've never actually minded playing dives as such, never really had too much mither. I probably spent too much time in them as a kid... Weddings can be a bit lairy, mostly with drunk bridesmaids under the impression that they're Beyonce, but again, yer actual fisticuffs is rare IME...