gjones

I bought a Fender TV15 combo from them a few years ago. It was about £100 off the normal price so I thought I'd got a bargain. when it arrived it was clear that it was a demo model, as there was marks on the tweed covering. I was philosophical about it, as I had paid £600 for a £700 amp, the marks were superficial and it worked fine, so I didn't bother returning it. The problem I had with GAK, was that they hadn't made me aware that the amp was B stock on their web page. I would have been well within my rights to return it and ask for a new amp - if I felt inclined. Ever since that time I have been very wary of using GAK to buy new gear. I'd much prefer to use Thomann, as their customer service is excellent.

I tend to go with the singer. I play in a lot of trios, where the guitarist is also the singer. If they make a mistake I'll go with them.

It took me a long time to figure out it was the cab that was the most important element when playing live. Cheap instruments can be worked on but you can put a five grand bass through a dodgy cab and it will sound like you just picked it out of a skip. Don't skimp on the cab kids!

I bought a hydrive 112 which puts out 300 watts at 8 ohms. It is significantly quieter than both my Ashdown 115 and my Barefaced compact. The barefaced is significantly louder than either the Hartke, or the Ashdown.

The change in tone you can get with varying where you set your volume, is more apparent when recording than playing live,I feel.

Playing, with the new drummer in the band, makes me feel like the rhythm section is a train powering down the track. The old drummer was so lacking in groove,or any musical empathy, I felt like I was dragging a dead whale behind me, over a landscape littered with huge boulders.

A Wal MK 2 is the only bass that I have ever stopped and spun around, mid conversation, at a sound check in Whistlebinkies and went 'What the hell is that bass!'.

I never experience any woolliness from the Ashdowns I've owned. The Ashdown cans might be a bit undefined but the amps are fine.

This has got me thinking. I was asked to join a band recently and I didn't ask any of these questions. If the set list is sh*t but they make big bucks I can compromise. If the set list is great and the money is sh*t I can compromise. But if the set list is sh*t and so is the money......nah!

Japanese Squires had the truss access at the the neck but not 62 reissues. I suspect someone has added a Fender decal to a MIJ Squier.

I have a GK500 which I play with the gain at 12 and the master at 10. It doesn't get hot

I changed the neck on my Geddy Lee Jazz with a quite chunky Allparts neck. The sound was much deeper and rounder with the Allparts fitted.

Those are spiral saddles, usually seen on USA and Jap reissued basses, not Mexican ones. I had fitted one to a bass I owned and quickly replaced it with a bog standard Fender bridge. The trouble with mine was that the strings used to move around on the saddle while I was playing. I felt I need a saddle with a deeper groove, so the string would stay in place.. You can get a standard bridge, on ebay, for next to nothing.

If money is tight,invest in a decent cab. As I find the cab you use has more impact on your sound than the amp.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1473374273' post='3129691'] Don't see it makes any difference, not all classical pieces are 20 minute long epics, listen to classic FM sometime. Even if they are, they're usually in sections. [/quote] Sheet music has more than just the chords, harmonies and melodies, it also has indications of musical expression, [color=#252525][font=sans-serif]dynamic indications, such as forte or piano, phrasing, [/font][/color][color=#252525][font=sans-serif]differing qualities of timbre and articulation, color, intensity, energy and excitement. W[/font][/color]hich is useful when playing with a large orchestra and with little time for extended rehearsals. Classical, orchestral, music is meant to be played as the composer intended, with very little room for individual expression. This is why a professional, classical musician, needs sheet music and Nigel Bloggs, playing Oasis covers down The Pig and Whistle doesn't.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1473372922' post='3129671'] I'll be sure to tell my friend that. He's one of the bassists in the CBSO. [/quote] Ha, Ha we're talking 3 min pop songs not Wagner's The Ring Cycle

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1473361680' post='3129525'] Just checking my most recent set list... 53 songs. I take a music stand. [/quote] I bet you know those 53 songs like the back of your hand. Next time you gig, don't take the music stand. You'll astound yourself, with what an amazing memory you have. Live dangerously......you know you want to.

If you haven't memorised the songs, then you lack commitment. Unless you have Alzheimer's, or are depping, there's no excuse

Played at Edinburgh street party at Hogmanay a few years ago. They used to sell 250,000 tickets but reduced it to 80,000 for safety reasons. I don't know how many played in front of our stage? Quite a few.

This is a gig I did a while ago, with Sandy Tweeddale, at The Jazz Bar in Edinburgh. It was a basically a jam, with guys I don't usually play with, but actually sounds like we know what we're doing. Sandy's an excellent blues guitarist when he's sober (he wasn't) and a pretty decent one when he's drunk. The rest of the band are sober though, so we have no excuse when we cock it up. If you like Blues, I hope you'll enjoy it. [media]http://youtu.be/XWt-YD-G7to[/media]

I joined a band where the drummer was awful (never came to rehearsals, never practiced, was out of time, extremely limited technique) but was the singer's brother, so could not be sacked. The next band I joined had a shockingly bad drummer as well. Because I'd put up with such a duff drummer in my previous band, I wasn't prepared to go through the same with the new lot. I told the guitarist and singer that their drummer was rubbish and if they wanted me in the band, he'd have to go. They agreed he was pretty crap and sacked him. If he's bringing the band down, then he needs to go. Maybe it will be the motivation he needs to gets some lessons. As my profile picks says 'Yer only as good as yer drummer'.

I got myself a Fiesta red, Squier Vintage Vibe body, on ebay (£70), a Korean Jazz Bass neck (£60) and a Fender Custom Shop 'Custom 62' pickup (£100). And I now have a very nice P bass. I've been playing it, exclusively, over the last few gigs and the more I play it, the more I appreciate what a P bass can add to a band sound.

I play my Jazz bass through my gen 1 compact and I wouldn't call the sound clanky? It's definitely a pretty full, bassy, sound but with excellent definition. I have a J retro fitted to it so have a lot of options on the EQ front. My amp is a GKMB500. We sometime play pretty loud and the cab deals with everything I throw at it.

GK MB500 into a Gen1, Barefaced Compact. It's a great sound and very lightweight. Both my Jazz and Precision sound excellent through it. Edit: Oh and it's bloody loud!

I have a set of these in my precision as well. I played a gig, going straight into the desk, at The Blues Kitchen in Camden a few weeks ago. The sound through the monitors was pure Precision. I also played a gig, at the weekend, with just a vocal PA. So that meant I had a chance to hear the bass though my amp and cab. The sound had great authority and a lovely wide, stage filling sound. I've really fallen in love with my Precision since I fitted these pickups. My Jazz has been relegated to number 2 spot, for the time being.