Rich

[quote name='William James Easton' post='432860' date='Mar 12 2009, 08:54 PM']Do i think "forget it" sell up and give up[/quote] [size=7]NO![/size] You'd regret it. [quote name='bass_ferret' post='432875' date='Mar 12 2009, 09:00 PM']Why not do both? In lots of places the originals and pub covers bands are completely different venues/scene. Gte a pub covers going while you spend more time on the originals - then if the originals comes to nothing like it often does you still have the covers.[/quote] +1. A good covers band can be a lot of fun, especially with the right bandmates, and it keeps you from going rusty and your callouses from going soft

Thanks guys

A friend of a friend is considering buying a Yamaha BB 615, but he's after a 2nd opinion before splashing out the dosh. He's also tried Fender, Warwick, Ibanez and although the Yam is not the most expensive, for him it feels and sounds the best. I'm happy to tell him that the Yam is a great bass and that if it feels good to him then go ahead and do it, but another 2nd opinion would be good. He's worried that the BB, quote, "would be looked down upon by real bass players". Anybody got good or bad experiences of this bass or other BBs?

I like your part. It definitely helps the tune rather than hinders it. Without the dusty end bits it would be a bit boring TBH. If he doesn't like it, tell him to go away in short sharp jerky movements.

Ditto on the compressor. Next to useless. The rest of the amp makes up for it though. +1 for Watford Valves.

Didn't know it was on! ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH Oh well, at least I managed to catch Dennis Rollins last year

Oh dear, there goes the charabanc...

[list=1] [*][url="http://www.soul-destroyers.co.uk/"]Soul Destroyers[/url] - covers. Huge party band with big horns and stuff. A mixture of soul, pop and stupidity. A bit like the Commitments, only much [i]much[/i] sillier. [*][url="http://tambatoga.com/default.aspx"]Tamba[/url] - covers. Soul/funk/rockydiva stuff. Bbbbbbbig voice. [*][url="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=333264292"]Full Circle[/url] - originals. Unashamedly self-indulgent proggy fusion oddness in bizarre time signatures. [/list]

I boil my strings in water with a bit of washing up liquid in, as a degreaser and crap-remover -- like Ben said, watch out when it comes to the boil though, the suds go mental! After about 5 mins on a boil, I remove them and let them dry, before a quick wipe down with a rag with surgical spirit on it. Cleans them up like new and puts at least a couple of gig's worth of life back in them. I don't play all that hard, which helps. OK, so the strings I use (Warwick Reds) are pretty cheap anyway, but needs must in these turbulent times and all that.

I like 'em. Nice one. The playing cards and chips are a nice touch. I'm with Buzz, not sure about the lady's togs... almost makes it look like Shirley Bassey being backed by Busted Good effort all round though.

[quote name='Telebass' post='431752' date='Mar 11 2009, 06:13 PM']Also, it's patently not pre-CBS as claimed, even out of his own words - CBS took over in January 1965. There's this myth that all L-series instruments are pre-CBS, and it isn't even nearly true.[/quote] Aye, the owner is bacon up the wrong tree. There's more to this bass than meats the eye, I'd steak my reputation on it. [size=1]ouch. sorry, that was shocking.[/size]

[quote name='phatbass787' post='431725' date='Mar 11 2009, 05:47 PM']Ashdown is one of the biggest brands but still very independent and based on a farm in Essex which aside from making great amps is one of the reasons I like them so much, i think once a brand becomes owned by a big corperation it often loses all the things that made them great in the first place, eg SWR, great little company then Fender bought them and since then nothing, I just hope Ashdown stays independent and doesnt cave in to some foreign company![/quote] It's not necessarily 'foreign' companies that are the problem. SWR weren't bought by a foreign company. What you need to hope is that Ashdown doesn't cave in to some [i]crap[/i] company.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='430924' date='Mar 10 2009, 08:04 PM']...still, there's always [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-319086.html"]Talkbass[/url]. [/quote] That's interesting stuff. A bit off topic, but there's a fascinating SWR/Eden/Thunderfunk potted history on TB too. [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157829&highlight=Ivan+mike"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.p...light=Ivan+mike[/url] So what's this about a less-than-amicable split between Messrs. Epifani and Bergatino?

The AH1200 head is designed around two 600 watt output stages (the AH600 has one, obviously). Each stage is designed to work most efficiently with a load of 4 ohms, but the Trace cabs you're after are 8 ohms each. So with the two cabs, the AH1200 head will give you virtually no advantage over the AH600 head. I'd stick with the AH600 to be honest.

That's neat. I like the 'opened' indicator.

Customs officers have keys which allow them access to TSA locks. They don't have the keys to an ordinary padlock you've just bought from B&Q, which is why they would not hesitate to cut it off if they wanted access to the case. When you ask "Will a leather belt around the case be adequate security these days?", what sort of security are you talking about? Enough to stop the case coming open accidentally? Probably. Enough to stop someone either nicking your pride and joy or worse still, slipping something dodgy into the case? Absolutely not. At the end of the day it's your bass, your case, up to you really. If you don't want to put a new hasp on the case, don't. But don't expect a leather or elastic strap to keep you or it safe.

Padlocks are an absolute no-no if you're flying to/from/in the US, that's for certain. It's more and more the case in general these days too. The best bet is to use a [url="http://www.tripneeds.com/3dial-high-security-cable-tsa-lock-p-69.html"]TSA lock[/url]. These allow those awfully nice customs people to rummage around in your bag without having to smash it all open.

Firstly may I say, a European tour that's paying the bills [i]and[/i] you're getting free gear to use on it? Sounds awful. I'd far rather stay stuck here in this godforsaken grey office having the life slowly sucked out of me by the day to day grind Secondly, and back OT... the in-ear route sounds like a good idea. Having said that, there's always the "what if it goes wrong" problem. If you really can take Trace stuff for now't, I reckon the AH600-12 head and the 1015H (1x15+2x10) cab would make a good pairing. The amp and cab seem to be well matched. Good luck!

I loved my old GP12SMX preamp.