bungle

Sorry to bump up an old thread, but I'd like to add another positive comment about Orange. I recently bought an Orange Bass Terror, and the strap on the carry bag broke. A quick email and they sent me out a replacement, no questions and no bother. Top customer service.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='1335371' date='Aug 10 2011, 05:53 PM']Indeed. But it does what he is intending and as long as the total minimum load isn't below 4 ohms it's fine. I did this a few times with mine, and I would say there is little to no volume difference so seems rather pointless endeavour. To lower the output to "practice" levels you'll succeed better in using smaller cabs. Could try the bass volume. Also the EQ knobs are each volumes so you could turn them down. Also the volume does go anti clockwise.[/quote] I didn't think of knocking back all 3 eq knobs, I might give this a try. I do intend to get a 1x10/1x12/small 2x10 to cover this sort of thing (and give me a more portable rig), but all I've got at the moment is a 4x10". I can get it at the right volume, but as I said, tiny adjustments are needed and it can be quite fiddly. If it doesn't make a great deal of difference I won't bother. Thanks for the advice all.

I'm wondering if it's ok to run an 8 ohm cab with the amp's impedance switch at 4 ohms? Will it just work like a normal 4 Ohm amp, which gives out less power when presented with an 8 ohm load? I guess I'm interested to know if this might be a better way to run the amp for quiet practices - the amp is so loud it can be a PITA trying to very very gently turn the volume knob!

I've found Allianz Musical Instrument insurance to be reasonable. Never had experience of claiming from them yet (and touch wood I won't have to!)

[quote name='secretsquirrel' post='1243424' date='May 24 2011, 08:43 PM']IMHO you could do no worse than taking a look @ the BH500/210 rig from TC Electronics and it also will fit your budget easily even brand new. you could always add another cab later for the full oomph. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrtVa0oQk1Q"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrtVa0oQk1Q[/url] I've just picked one up as a back up to my Staccato and it's absolutely awesome! Not as lightweight as the RH stuff but half the price and not at all heavy really in fact its definately sooooo much lighter than the Ashdown stuff you mentioned earlier. Don't forget with all the extras like spectracomp and tubetune and you probably won't need to use the other pedals either so less to carry! Mark @ Bass Direct also says it's the best bang for the buck too [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/BH500+Cabinets.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...0+Cabinets.html[/url] Hope this helps[/quote] That youtube video is one of the best run throughs of a bit of gear I've seen online, and the tone of the thing is totally in the ball park I'm looking for. It's not super light but looks like it'll be a ton easier to cart around than my Ashdown. Looks like gear4music in York have some so I might have a jaunt up and give it a try. I take it BH500 + 1 2x10 will be plenty loud? I can't see on the specs what it puts out at 8 Ohms.

What sort of cabs should I be looking at then? As I said, a barefaced appeals as they are light and seem well designed. What else is out there that is worth looking at? I have no idea when it comes to cabs really.

I won a bit of cash playing bingo* last week, and am contemplating splashing out on a new rig. I reckon I've got about £600-£700 to spend. Current set up is: Fender Jaguar bass -> Behringer DC9 compressor -> Digitech Bad Monkey for occassional extra grit -> Aphex Bass Exciter -> Ashdown MAG300 210 combo. I play in an indie rock band. I tend to play with a pick and set the amp up with quite an aggressive sort of sound and a touch of grit. I find that while the Ashdown is along the right lines in terms of sound, it can lack a bit in punch and sound a touch woolly, especially in some rooms. It's also bloody heavy, and quite awkward to carry up the steps to our practice room. I would like separates I think. Cab wise, I'm pretty unsure what configuration to go for. The gigs we play aren't massive - the biggest rooms we play would probably hold 2-300 and I'd be DI'd anyway - but I want to buy something that'll do me for a long time to come and will be plenty loud for whatever might come around. I can't see me ever needing 2 4x10s or a 4x10 and a 1x15, but I can see the attraction of a pair of 2x10s or a 2x10 and a 1x15. Although I didn't mind an ABM I once played, I fancy something other than an Ashdown, for a change. I intend to buy s/h. Things that are on my radar currently are: Heads: Orange Bass Terror - I'm worried this is going to be [i]too[/i] drivey. Has the bonus of being light and looking cool as. Hartke HA3500 - I played through one of these at a recent gig with shared backline and it was quite punchy and nice. It's only 240W at 8Ohms though. Plus it's got a gazillion buttons and sliders. Hartke LH500 - The simplicity of this appeals, worried it'll be too clean. Markbass stuff - Not sure if this stuff is too hifi for my needs. TC Electronic stuff - This is probably out of my price range. Cabwise, Hartke and Ashdown stuff seems reasonably priced. Ideally I'd like a Barefaced Compact but I doubt that would come in budget unless I scrimped on the head. Otherwise I have not much of an idea. I guess I'm looking for recommendations and general advice/things to think about. I live in Leeds, so I can go to PMT to check some stuff out (with the intention of then trying to find it s/h), but they only have Orange, Ashdown and Trace stuff last time I looked. If there are any other music shops with in a short drive that I don't know about I'd welcome the tip off. Cheers, Andy * Not a regular escapade of mine, it was a friend's birthday.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1237553' date='May 19 2011, 10:51 PM']What's right with Leeds? I grew up in Wakefield and I live in York now, I expect I know Leeds as well as anybody.[/quote] I've grown up in Leeds and studied at the Uni. It's not a bad city at all, the student areas are reasonable, there's plenty going on, the city centre is decent. As places to go to study and to live, there are much worse around! I just find it a bit bizarre that you hate it enough to suggest people stay away from it.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1235000' date='May 17 2011, 10:13 PM']Only trouble with Leeds college of music is having to live in or near Leeds. I agree it produces some good grads though.[/quote] And what exactly is wrong with Leeds?!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1235168' date='May 18 2011, 07:26 AM']I didn't realise they stuck out, I'm back to the Doc's pro plugs now then as I can keep them in until I'm in the van on the way home without them being seen as they are clear and fit flush, They work too [/quote] I've never got on with my ER-20s and am interested in trying some Doc's. How did you figure out what size you were before ordering? Or did you just guess?

Mine is fine unless the amp/PA is plugged into somewhere where there is a dodgy power supply, and then it tends to hum like crazy. Got someone to shield it a while back which has helped somewhat but it's still an annoyance. I am used to passive instruments, and I find the active pre-amp useful for the occasional bass or treble boost rather than being on all the time. I like the passive sound enough anyway. I'm willing to put up with the occasional noise in odd circumstances it because I love the thing; it looks great, it has a really great sound that fits with the band and I really enjoy playing it. Maybe I'll get someone to have another look at the shielding at some point!

[quote name='Dave Vader' post='1213509' date='Apr 28 2011, 09:03 AM']go to stringsdirect and try their Legacy strings, used to be about £7 a set, and they were every bit as good as rotosounds. Make of that what you will [/quote] +1 I bought a set to put on my Sue Ryder (didn't want to buy a set of strings that cost 50% of what the bass did....) and I've been impressed.

I have been paying the £10 a month for about a year now, and I think it's pretty decent value for what it is. I listen to far more music in a month on it than I could buy online/on CD for that much, and being able to download stuff to my iPhone is brilliant. Additionally, I will often buy albums that I've spotified a lot and really enjoy. Well worth the price of a pint a week I think. It does pay artists sod all though: Having said that, someone on another forum I read put it like this, which makes more sense: [quote]What I get from Spotify is it is formulated exactly like a pay to listen commercial radio; 30,000 streams sounds like a lot, and £6.31 sounds like sod all, but on radio terms if your song got played on say XFM once in a month 30,000 people might hear it (albeit all at once) and you'd get around £6.31 for that play. It costs nothing for the listener apart from being targeted for ads, which you can choose not to have by paying a "Licence fee" and you get no adverts, which sounds familiar too.[/quote]

In a room that small you probably don't need anything other than the vocals coming through the PA, and it's probably more a case of it being unnecessary and soundmen not bothering rather than a policy against DI'ing basses. I have played in plenty of Leeds venues, some have decided to DI my bass, some haven't. As long as it sounds decent out front I don't really care if it gets DI'd.

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='1171530' date='Mar 21 2011, 11:21 PM']1mm Dunlop big blue triangles. I've tried shed loads of different picks. I'm a full time picker.[/quote] These are my weapon of choice. Tiny bit of flex, large surface area, and they just don't break [quote name='dave.c' post='1171940' date='Mar 22 2011, 11:49 AM']I used the big Gibson Heavy black picks for many years but the last batch that I got started breaking up on me so I have now switched to Herco Silver 0.75 or the Snarling Dogs Brain picks 1.0 that come in a handy tin and I find have the best grip to them as I usually find picks spin round between my fingers.[/quote] I found the black Gibson triangles broke on me too, and I don't pick particularly hard. The ultex Tris that yorick mentions are pretty good as well. I do find that I much prefer the big triangles with not much flex for bass, and when I pick up one of those things with six skinny strings I much prefer the normal sized ones with a fair bit of flex.

Got mine late last week (Navy/RW) and finally got a chance to restring it and have a play around with it last night. I am pleasantly surprised at how playable it is, everything feels solid and it looks decently put together. It sounds quite bright and nice unplugged too. I've tweaked the action and the truss rod, and the neck now just has a tiny touch of relief. It's still a little high at the dusty end - might it need a shim? The strings it came with were really horrific, and ridiculously light. I think the A string I put on was pretty much the same gauge as the E string I took off! It actually sounds like a bass now.. The thing with the ferrules on the back being too small is a bit silly, but not a big deal when you can string through the bridge. I don't think I'm arsed enough about the prospect of string-thru to go to the effort of buying bigger ferrules and widening out the holes. I gave it a quick go plugged into my Toneport. It seemed to be a bit lacking in bass but had plenty of punch. Could be the crappy headphones, will have to give it a whirl through an amp and then decide if it can be remedied by pick-up adjustment or whether an upgrade is in order. Tempted to either pimp it with a go faster stripe or maybe look into relicing it somehow. When I ordered there was just Navy and Red left, wondering if I should have gone down the Red/Tort PG/Relic'ed vibe instead. I bought it because my current back-up bass (Yamaha RBX270) is a bit too RAWK looking. For £60 I think this'll be a decent back up to the Jag and will fit in with the band. Bargain.

I've got a black one that I've had for about 3 years now I think. I've kept mine stock in terms of bridge and pickups. The electronics really aren't complicated at all. I really like the tone of it, I tend not to bother with the active EQ and have both pick-ups on and in series for quite an agressive sound. It sounds especially good played with a pick this way. I think most, if not all (some of them are a bit older...) the recordings on my band's [url="http://www.myspace.com/lastofthesirens"]myspace[/url] were played with it if having a listen helps you figure out better what they sound like.

I have an EB-180. It was my first bass amp and I gigged plenty over a 2-3 year period with little bother. I found it to be very reliable, and have no complaints, I just replaced it because I fancied something bigger. It competed well enough at small gigs against a noisy drummer and two 50W fender guitar amps, but it needed DIing at anything bigger. If you really are competing against 300W (!) guitar amps you'll struggle, but I'm assuming that's a typo for 30W?! I still have the amp and keep meaning to shift it, if you're anywhere near Leeds then we could work something out? £120? I have some pictures somewhere.... FWIW, you might be better off looking at the F/S section on here for a budget combo - if you've got £300 to spend you're money will go much further than buying new.

Bought a Digitech Bad Monkey from Nick. First time I've bought on the Basschat marketplace and it was a pain-free experience. Prompt communications and delivery!

I've picked up what I think is a bargain, a MAG 210 300w combo for £150 s/h. It's in pretty decent condition. I have a few questions: 1) It's been rewired to 4 ohms internally, rather than 8. Obviously this means it's using the full 300w all the time (potentially good), but I can't use an extension cab (potentially bad, but I don't currently have one anyway). Do people have this sort of thing done often or is it unusual? Does anyone know what wattage it would be at 8 ohms, the manual I've browsed online doesn't say. 2) I also notice that it doesn't have the usual blue ashdown drivers, is this a sign they are replacements, or are some older ashdowns fitted with different drivers? Could this be connected to the rewiring to 4 ohms? 3) Reading on here, lots of people seem to like to put their 2x10s vertically rather than horizontally. Will I be alright turning the combo on it's side for this? 4) Was it a bargain? Cheers, Andy

[quote name='Andy Blowers' post='726925' date='Jan 27 2010, 09:34 PM'] No one feeling the old girls?[/quote] That is absolutely beautiful. Stunning. Whenever people bang on about the "PC brigade" etc I am always reminded of this Stewart Lee rant: [url="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stewart_Lee#On_political_correctness"]http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stewart_Lee#O...cal_correctness[/url]