gjones

[quote name='chuggs' timestamp='1357674105' post='1926559'] Hi, New on here! Unlike many of my contemporaries my mid life crisis has has lead me down the road of playing Bass rather than purchasing a ludicrously quick motorbike, or Fanny magnet 2 seater sports car (Which i would only wrap around a tree anyway!) Having played in my late teens and early twenties i have re-connected with my old bass playing self after a break of 20 years, and hooked up with fellow musicians with a similar outlook and tastes. We play mainly Rock, Guns n Roses, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC etc etc. We throw in some newer stuff aswell, Killers, Kings of Leon etc. As the band is going quite well i feel that i need a new bass rig that will compliment our style and offer me more of a pro sound. I currently play a Rick 4003 (My main bass) and a Fender (USA Built) precision through a "Laney G300" Head coupled with a matching 2 x 10 Cab sitting on top of a 1 x 15 cab. The rig is an ebay special and i reckon is 18 years old. It is in great condition for its age and their is absolutely nothing wrong with it; however i am in the market to take my sound up a notch and have been contemplating the following: Ampeg SVT 450H and 6x 10 Ashdown abm 500 and 6x10 TC electronic RH450 and matching 4 x 10 Has anyone on here any experience of the above three? all the best Chuggs [/quote] Welcome. Speaking from experience Ampeg are good for the rockier side of things. Their valve amps and SVT classic 410 cabs are fantastic. TC Electronic are very loud (personally I could never get the sound I wanted with mine) but make sure you go for the higher range cabinet the RS 410 as the cheaper BC range seems to have difficulty dealing with lots of watts. I do like Ashdown as they provide me with the sound I hear in my head. Very loud and easy to dial in a full, bluesy, rocky tone. I've had 3 of their amps (including the ABM 500),so you could say I'm a bit of a fan.

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1357663927' post='1926296'] Not really sure who, other than the folks in a retirement home, would want to listen to those songs. I would pass on that. [/quote] Retirement home gigs are an expanding market!

There's a bit of a debate about breaking speakers in on basschat. Some speakers, it seems, need time to loosen up when they are brand new. They may seem a bit light on the bass end for the first few gigs and you may have to add more bottom end than you may have done in the past with your previous setup. As they loosen up, over time, they tend to get bassier. You don't have to hold back as the louder and longer you play through them the better.

That sound reminds me of my old P/J bass. A bass with a P and J pickup is great for a fat sound but with the ability to blend a little J pickup to give a bit more attack than your average P bass.

[quote name='jackers' timestamp='1357527129' post='1924086'] wow, that looks tempting. If only it wouldn't ruin my back.... [/quote] Whaddayamean! It's only NINE STONE FOUR POUNDS!

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1357493960' post='1923497'] Ummmmmmm. THey are MUCH cheaper than the Am std series. To my mind that's a good thing going for it. [/quote] But why are they so much cheaper I wonder where the savings been made? Are they just Mexican parts assembled in The US? If that's the case why not call them Mexican specials? There's some very good guitars being made in Mexico: Roadworns, Geddy Lees, Marcus Millers, Classic 60 and 70s. I had a classic player strat made in Mexico with US custom shop parts which was better made than an American standard. This smacks of marketing.BUT being a Fender fan I hope they sell a few. Fenders share offer fell flat last year and their last published profit was just over a million dollars which is not much for such a iconic worldwide company. Below is a report about Fender going through hard times From the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/business/fender-aims-to-stay-plugged-in-amid-changing-music-trends.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

When you're buying secondhand, how do you know whether the MIA bass you're buying is an American Special or an American Standard? Looking at the specs the only visible difference would be the bridge and the tuners. At least the HW 1 had a specific selling point with the nitro finish and the posiflex. Other than they are 'assembled in the good old USA' this model doesn't have much going for it really.

I'm not worthy. I think I should just shrivel up and die.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1357401588' post='1922146'] yes [/quote] Aha

Theory is great but you don't need to know any to be a good musician. I know people with zero knowledge on theory who are fantastic musicians and I know people with degrees in music (and one who was the head of jazz at a prestigious UK music college) who I wouldn't want in my band. As long as you have feel, can groove, enjoy making music and love your instrument you can call yourself a musician.

[quote name='Gary1964' timestamp='1356942553' post='1915311'] Hi and thanks for your replies here is a link to photos [media]http://www.flickr.com/photos/gary1964/sets/72157632392542846/[/media] [/quote] Have you inserted the jackplug into a speaker output yet? It connects the amp to the speaker. It will be very quiet (ie silent) until you do.

I recently had a speaker delivered by Blue Aran they used DPD parcels and they were exellent. They gave me a 1hr slot for next day delivery. I thoroughly recommend them.

Probably a Jazz bass with a John East preamp in it. I know when I had one in my Jazz there wasn't much it wasn't capable of.

[quote name='Nibody' timestamp='1357054409' post='1916834'] Im flying out to Dublin Thursday Morning for the "Vibe for Philo". Anyone from here going this year? [/quote] Are you playing in a tribute band? I had a friend from Edinburgh who played at 'Vibe for Philo' in a tribute band called 'Black Rose'. He said he really enjoyed it. Funny thing was at the end of his set a guy came up to him and said 'fantastic set I thought you were brilliant! Do you boys have any CDs I can buy?' My friend said looked at him amazed that anybody could be so stupid and said 'Yes, go to a record shop, and you'll find us under the name of Thin Lizzy.'

Crikey that's some 'sonic spectrum' you have to fill if a 8x10 can't do the trick. What kind of music do you play. I'm assuming it isn't chamber music.

After having just the one bass and one combo for years.............I discovered basschat. I then went through a buying frenzy, over about 2 years, where I bought 9 basses, 4 amps and 4 different cabs. It was fun while it lasted but I have now reduced the stable back to one bass and one amp/cab. I learned a lot in that 2 years about what I wanted/needed from my bass and amp sound and I've distilled that down to what I own now.

Dimmer switches and other electrical equipment in a room can cause buzzing when you have single coil pickups. When the buzz comes switch everything in the room off, one by one, until you find the cause.

I always get quite decent service in shops but maybe it's because I act like I mean business (even if I'm skint). I assume the shop staff can spot a tyre kicking timewaster as soon as they come into the shop and their hearts sink if they ask to play a bass or guitar. Act like you mean business (and possibly mention an inheritance) and you'll have them crawling all over you.

[quote name='Gary1964' timestamp='1356895632' post='1914894'] Hi everyone, I have just acquired This Ashdown ABM-C115-300 bass combo and i am trying to find a copy of the manual & tech specs, I have looked online and found one, but the picture of the controls are different in respect that mine has 2 input's 1 high, 1 low. In the manual it shows 1 input with 2 switches, I also have a cable coming out of the back with a jack plug on it and I would like to know what it's for. If any one can help I will be very grateful. Cheeers. I will post photo's when able only for some unknown reason it wont let me upload [/quote] I suspect the cable with the jackplug is connected to the internal speaker of the combo like on the Ashdown EB 150 combo I used to have.

What sounds good to us may not sound good to you. But as far as general advice is concerned Ashdown Mag 600 amps are very loud and have a decent sound but don't sound good through Ashdown Mag speakers (as they tend to fart out once the volume starts to build). As far as speakers are concerned after owning a barefaced compact, an Ashdown Classic ABM 1x15 and a TC electronic 2x10 I've come to the conclusion that an Ampeg SVT 410HE beats them all for loudness and general rocktasticness.

Makes me think the action was set a mite to low if room temp has had an effect on the neck. I used to have a really low action on my geddy lee jazz but because it was such a slim neck the slightest temp change caused notes to choke and strings to rattle. I ended up raising the action a couple of mm which didn't really effect the playability but stopped me having to carry an allen key everywhere with me in case my strings started rattling at a gig in a hot room.

[quote name='giblett123' timestamp='1356806920' post='1913887'] Not sure but I think hipshot and babicz are both £70+, will check out gotoh now, I can't find a badass 3 for sale anywhere. [/quote] Try the stratosphere on ebay. American company who take basses to bits and sell the parts. They've got some nice bridges at cheap prices and sometimes have badasses too [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-STRATosphere/_i.html?rt=nc&_nkw=bass+bridge&_sid=105525814&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_sop=2&_sc=1"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/The-STRATosphere/_i.html?rt=nc&_nkw=bass+bridge&_sid=105525814&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_sop=2&_sc=1[/url]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1356730283' post='1913094'] I would look for a good condition used post 2008 American Standard , and the Basschat For Sale section is where I would look for it . Apart from being great basses , the added bonus would be that if for whatever reason you wanted rid , you could get your money back out of it with little or no depreciation . [/quote] Yup! That's what I'd do. And it will keep it's value too. The others will be worth a 3rd less than what you bought them new for as soon as you step out of the shop.

[quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1356709148' post='1912754'] I wondered if anyone would mention Noel He is my hero! Not the best but that is why I like him. [/quote] He never touched the bass again after Hendrix gave him the heave ho. He preferred guitar.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1356709068' post='1912751'] Cannot believe these comments about Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding . They were an integral part of the sound of Hendrixs records and made a huge contribution to the enduring legacy of Hendrixs music . Noel took to playing the bass like a natural and played better than most other bassists of the era , and Mitch Mitchells agile drumming style acted as a foil to Hendrixs histrionics on the guitar . [/quote] Well there wasn't exactly a queue around the block to sign them up to play in other bands once Hendrix gave them the boot.