gjones

I played my first music, in front of punters, for over two years last night. It looked like it might never happen, as the singer of my main band had some serious health issues over lockdown, but she's feeling much better now and ready to Rock n Roll again. I'd been rehearsing with other bands but they're not quite ready to gig yet (if it ever happens). It was great to get up and turn everything up to 10 (well actually the gain was probably on about 2). We ended up playing everything about 3 times it's correct normal speed (I think the drummer was a bit nervous).

That's sad to hear. I have played dodgy gigs, to dodgy audiences, with a dodgy band, playing dodgy music and it's no fun. But playing a good gig, with an enthusiastic audience and a good band is definitely an uplifting experience. Since this covid malarky started I've been rehearsing endlessly with new bands but haven't had the chance to play any gigs. But my old band is getting together tonight and we'll be getting up to play a few songs tonight at a venue we used to play at pre covid. I cannot wait!!!!!

I have a Barefaced Compact cab (15 inch speaker) which is the original model they made, and a Super Compact (12 inch speaker). The Compact can get very loud with a 500 watt GK MB500 head through it, the Super Compact can't quite compete with a loud rock drummer when paired with the GK MB500. I ended up buying the 800 watt version of the same amp, so that I could drown out my heavy hitting drummer. I've owned both TC Electronic cabs and Ashdown ABMs and both of those started to fart out when the volume got loud. I've never heard the tiniest fart from my Barefaced cabs, however loud things get.

I wonder if you put lighter strings on it whether it would sound like a Strat?

First look up the specifications of your PC's motherboard to check whats the maximum RAM it can take. Then take the RAM card out and check the type of RAM your card has. I upgraded the RAM in my laptop, bought the wrong type of card in error and it wouldn't fit the slot. Yes I believe you can double up the RAM, or remove the old card and fit a new upgraded one of a larger capacity (if your board can take the larger amount). I also cleaned the fan, so the laptop was cooled properly, and that made a big difference to the performance.

I own an old school Ashdown ABM 500 evo III. I rehearse in a place that has an Ashdown RM 800 as a bass amp. It sounds great through an Ashdown 410. I decided to compare it to my old Ashdown head and frankly, the RM 800 sounded marginally better.

Hmmmmm.......

If you buy basses that never see the light of day but you buy them as an investment i.e. you'd make a profit if you ever sold them, I don't see a problem with that. If it's a hobby, you can afford it and they bring you joy, then I don't see a problem with that. If its a compulsion, you lose money every time you buy a bass and the ownership of them brings you no joy, then it's time to stop.

Is that really the sound he was looking for? It sounds a bit like a duck.... quack, quack. His old Mexican Jazz sounded fine to me.

I bought a John East Retro from John but when I received it I noticed it had no earth wire attached. John asked me to return it and he'd attached the earth and got it back to me in less than a week. If you manage to contact him I'm sure he'll come up with a solution.

It seems to be a 'Thing' to recreate Beatles albums onstage, especially The White album. Some friends of mine put something together that they toured.

I thought I only had 10 basses, it turns out I have 12. How did that happen?

When I first joined Basschat, in 2009, I had one bass. That didn't last long.

Real purty

I was sold the L2500 with a set of old Fender strings on it and I liked the sound. I've just recently changed them to Ernie Balls and the sound has changed but has only got clearer. I've got a rehearsal on Thursday so I'll test it out then. I can always put the old strings back on if I prefer them.

Context is everything. For blues or country, I would go for the Precision. For funk or rock I'd go for the Stingray.

Pointy headstocks. I got rid of a really nice sounding and playing Charvel, because it had a pointy headstock. Guitarist was afraid I'd take his eye out.

I'm sitting in my living room with my bass. I'm going through my bands setlist and I'm plugged into my Markbass CMD 121P, which is sitting next to me on the sofa. it makes a great home practice amp, as it's small and light but it is extremely gig worthy and can keep up with a loud drummer (you can also plug in an extension cab for added oomph if needed). I've never heard a bad word against them, which i why I bought one.

I have had the same experience. I bought a G&L L2500 for £350 from a member of Basschat, as I decided it would be useful for one of my bands to have a 5 string, and I was blown away at how versatile the bass is. I recorded with it too and you can get an amazingly fat yet defined sound from it. I try to justify a reason to bring my other more expensive basses to my gigs and rehearsals but I've run out of excuses. I could easily get rid of them all and just use the G&L for everything.

Well my Japanese Jazz, with a John East J-Retro is the perfect sounding and playing bass for me. It's also extremely versatile. While my other basses have their attractions and none of them are duffers, my Jazz is the one that can do it all and gets a 10 out of 10. Now if it was a 5 string, it would get an 11 out of 10.

I've played the Thunderbird, it had a BIG sound, which was very round and bassy, and I really liked it. The neck felt really long. It was a weird optical illusion, due to the fact I'm used to basses with upper horns and the Thunderbird doesn't have one.

I have the same gauge set on my Precision and they sound great.

The seller says the pickup is quiet. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that the action is so incredibly high?