msb

My main gigging bass …

Pretty easy to guess what this might be …

Stingrays used to have a nice chunky Pbass style neck. Don’t know about recent ones.

With any clean amp you can add a gain stage , and tart it up. Not so easy the other way around.

We don’t have a high density population , few of the major tours come down this way , we’re way off in a corner of the continent. We do have an unusual number of bars for the population. So we don’t have many local musicians living here making big incomes , most are at best around sustenance levels. But we do have a lot of players. Most are working musicians rather than rock stars.

And the preamp , Monique Here powered by a Demeter Minnie , 800 watts.

There are amps that do not have any EQ , like this M Series amp by Jule. But they are designed to be used with a preamp with EQ . Like Monique. Someday I hope to run one of those rigs.

Some amps are relatively transparent though , others have more distinct character. My Forte sound is largely determined by the bass I’m playing. More so than some other amps I have. There are many that use a power amp with a completely separate front end /preamp. edit The Forte does not suck the vintage out of passive basses , if you want to add an additional gain stage you can simply add the pedal or preamp of your choice , I run mine just as it is. It possesses some serious slam , and I find the EQ on the Forte almost surgical when it comes down to dialling things in.

A transparent amp allows different basses to sound different , instead of running everything through a baked in sound. I went from a GenzBenz Streamliner 900 to a Bergantino Forte. The Benz has a three tube preamp , and does warm and tubey , or you can make it fairly clean however the Forte is a simple clean platform with some serious slam. With the Forte the individual character of different basses comes through much stronger. Two very different amps and I’ve gone for the Forte for gigs. I also have SWR , GK , and Darkglass amps. The SWR and GK have distinct personality , the Darkglass is a chameleon.

Bridget Kearney is one of my heroes. I just love her playing. She’s not that big a girl , but she gets around on that upright. And those things are a misery to lug around.

Smanth , if you’re concerned about instrument size and weight have a look at smaller , lighter instruments. I’m mostly a short scale user now , and don’t miss playing the old classics at all. My Longhorn weighs next to nothing , sounds great , and is fun to play. I have around a dozen short scales. None of them are all that heavy. And they’re all easy to play. Same with amps and cabs. You can easily find modern gear that is not all that heavy , and has some serious slam. Heck , I used to haul an Ampeg fridge around. No more. I’m just a blue collar musician , I load the car , drive it downtown , unload , set it up , and take it home when the gig is over. I smile every time I pick up one of my cabs. They also sound a lot better than the old heavy stuff used to.

I’m six feet , with average sized hands , and I prefer short scale basses. I also like modern cabs and amps. My stuff is not terribly large or heavy, but it can slam with absolute authority. My heaviest cab is around twenty five pounds.

I bought a Trib L2500 when they first were released , they were originally made in Korea. I’m really a four string short scale guy , but I was impressed with the versatility of the L2500. Still have it , and years later it’s almost unplayed. No dings , scratches or real signs of use.

I hope the rebound was successful …

Gender has absolutely nothing to do with musical ability. … simple