Sparky Mark

Once Level 42 and Brit Funk came along a whole new side to bass playing opened up to me. Mark King was a huge influence and I saw L42 a couple of times in the early 80s and a couple of times more recently. First time being at the Ace in 83 which was brilliant; Jaydee and Trace Elliot was a perfect match. I've got a Jaydee on order right now to scratch that itch from my early fandom. Although I was a fan of Yes I never saw them in their heyday but managed to catch Chris a year or so before he passed; he was still amazing.

When I look back at those tickets I now realise how lucky I was and how much I was inspired by Geddy, Phil Lynott, Michael Anthony, Jimmy Bain, Steve Harris, John McCoy and Neil Murray to persevere with the most enduring passion of my life. I've never been inclined to have tattoos, but if I ever did, something paying testament to those formative experiences would be top of the list and none better than Rush' Hemispheres. Awsome.

I was 16 years old and had just started listening to Rush based on a mate's recommendation. I enjoyed all the earlier albums but didn't have massive expectations for the gig. Went with a group of friends and were in the circle about mid stage. It was the first time I'd seen such amazing lighting effects (maybe lasers?) and was totally knocked backwards by the musicianship of NP, AL and Geddy. G was using his black Rick and Moog Taurus pedals which also impressed me a lot. Hemispheres is still my favourite album due to the way it transports me back to that night, plus I still noodle Trees now and again. The support was another Canadian band called Max Webster who were pretty good too - bought their 12" single Paradise Skies later that week. I saw a few classic bands back when teenagers could afford to attend gigs and bands made money from record sales not extortionate ticket prices. (Ticket on the far right was The Scorpions just after MS had joined UFO).

Welcome back. Whilst clearing my parents' house I came across some of my teenage gig tickets and programmes. One of which was:- Brilliant memories.

Lee replied to my TC Electronic pedal wanted post with an excellent offer. Pedal arrived in quick time and packed brilliantly. Thoroughly reliable Basschatter. Thanks Lee.

Agreed, but there have been instances where some amplifiers don't actually achieve their advertised continuous outputs when tested. Of course the output test method is critical so I wonder whether some amp manufacturers publish numbers that are just as unlikely to be achievable in the real world as automotive manufacturers' advertised fuel efficiency figures?

In the real world I'm not at all surprised that the ABM600 outperforms many amps with higher advertised outputs. The ABM600 is probably running with extremely low % THD at its rated output whereas many amps are now rated at relatively high %THD. When I owned an ABM600 it was much more powerful than my 800 watt head. I believe Ashdown when it states its peak power of 1200 watts whilst others might struggle to produce peak levels even 20% above their published continuous outputs.

I had the same feeling about my LH1000; if you can get on with the passive tone stack it's great, unfortunately I couldn't and still have my mid 90s mosfet 3500.

I'm not sure all the happy owners of LH500 and LH1000 will totally agree with that statement. Stu was shown in front of HA7000 heads in the adverts back then.

Likewise and for full disclosure I have two Fender artist models. The first is a Mexico Reggie Hamilton jazz bass that I bought when I was looking for a PJ configuration and had no idea who RH was. It's the best Fender PJ that I've owned or played to date. The actual signature is tiny and practically invisible on the rear of the headstock. The second is a CS Pino that I bought when I wanted a USA fiesta red P with rosewood board. I would've happliy bought a USA standard model if one was available, but there wasn't. Other than his early work with Paul Young on his fretless Stingray I have no hightened interest in Pino's playing. If the instrument has the features I am looking for, any endorsement is purely coincidental. I'm kinda sceptical that many players actually believe it'll transform their playing abilities but might just encourage them to practice a lttle more if they are a fan.

Some BCers say they wouldn't want to own an artist/signature bass. Why is that please?

Yes, the middle pickup has more definition than the plummy neck pickup.

I bought both versions of the Ignition to help narrow down which pickup configuration I might prefer if I ever go for a German model. I much preferred the 61 both ergonomically and tonally. Both pups are usable on their own and together whilst the 62 bridge pup lacks too much bottom end for me.

You'll see on these EQ graphs that there is a fair amount of overlap on the hi mid and hi controls which work on more than just the stated centre frequencies. I doubt I'd hear any difference with my tweeterless cabs if the hi control only worked at 10k Hz.

Exactly right. We start with Squier and end up with Custom Shop or the real real pre CBS Fenders. The cheap models are a decent introduction to see whether the design is for you, then you pays your money and takes your choice.

Great score, congratulations. I saw that at BD for a really good price but I managed to resist. The Markbass proprietary 1000 watt power amps are amazing by all accounts; you won't be lacking any heft for sure. Those graphic EQ frequencies are the same as on the Momark 7 band module which are fine, but on a gig I tend to end up with an almost flat profile. I reckon you'll notice more of a difference between the SS and 12ax7 preamps at volume on a gig. I really really hope you continue to like it so it doesn't appear on here anytime soon!

I think the HA7000 was only produced in the days when mosfets were used in the power amps. I've still got my HA3500 from the 90's and it sounds better to my ears than the newer bipolar transistor model.