Delberthot

Very good sounding, easy to operate amps. None of your 30 band active eq nonsense. The inherent sound is so good that I have most settings around the flat position.

Also just back from playing a local pub. We played really well tonight. Me and the drummer were really tight. I've been taking a fan to gigs for years but not always to cool myself down. Mainly used to stop my fingers sticking to the strings when I'm playing fast. Anyway it was the second gig with the TI flats on the bass and it was phenomenal. Sounds exactly what I believe a SCPB should. They should be worn in nicely when I transfer them to my new Warmoth '54 that's in the process of being made for me.

I was in the same boat as you a couple of years ago. I went from a Hartke HA5500 to a GK 700RB II as well and missed the compressor. I bought a Tapco Squeez rackmount compressor. Not too expensive and really liked it. I found I could go from the 'is it doing anything' to squished up to the max. Since I've gone for the single coil P bass sound I find I don't need it so its sitting in my other rack ready to go up for sale in the next few days.

+1 on the Gotoh 201. I have one on my Gold '54 Warmoth P bass. My new ye olde stylee '54 will have one as well, cunningly hidden by a bridge cover. I really like them. sustain for days and they feel solid.

I had TI flats on my Ibanez SR1006. What a sound! Not to mention that the skinny neck and slippery strings made playing a breeze.

One thing I don't think has been covered is that when you soundcheck, play exactly like you will play the gig: hard/soft/fingerstyle/plectrum etc. No point in giving it some Mark King 'giggidy, giggidy,gigidy, goo' if you're playing rock. One thing I used to do was, even though I have a rack tuner, I used to sit in the wings with a small tuner just to check before I went on in case I was miles out. for some reason, its a bass player's wont to take 2 or 3 of everything with them. I used to take a large sports bag bursting at the seams. Thing was that I rarely had to use any of it but it definitely comes in handy - especially when one of my leads started cutting out mid gig last weekend. chances are you will be nervous but don't worry about it, everyone is and once the nerves go you'll enjoy it even more.

I have another. One night I was playing in a pub and then was off to a club with a bird. The guitarist asked if i could let them have a shot of my bass. Nothing special, just a Bass Collection SB405. Left it with them and went to said club. Only found out a few years later that the bass player with Snow Patrol had been the one using my bass which would've been interesting since he's left handed and I'm not.

Common ones are: Can you do any Celine Dion or Shania Twain, Man I feel Like a woman? (our singer is male) or Punter:Can you play "insert obscure song here"? Us: No, We don't know it Punter: C'mon its easy Us: If you sing it we'll back you At which point they disappear or "I used to be in a band you know" and the classic: "can you put something good 'on'"? We actually had the bride's father come up to us at the end of the night and try to pay us with a credit card once

As someone said before, strings are the most important part of the bass. I have been playing for years 21 and have developed a certain style so the balance of tension and feel are critical for me to be able to play the way I want to. This is why I use Optima gold strings 45, 60, 80, 100. They are my perfect gauge and have the taughtest G string without being overly stiff but then again, someone else trying my bass might find them too high tension for their style. £45 on evilbay but £18 from thomann. I've had mine on since last December and have no plans for changing them either. They're not superbright but they are perfect for helping get my sound. Unfortunately, finding the right string for you can be very time consuming and expensive. Even if you find the right sounding one, it may not be the ideal gauge for you.

Okay. I'm in pain after tonight's gig. Began with the 12 but something told me to use the Warmoth for the rest of the night. Glad I did. I just went for it too much last night and that coupled with the fact that I haven't done a Fri/Sat gigging in ages has resulted with me having a huge blood blister on my middle finger of my right hand. A smaller blister on my thumb and really sore index and ring fingers. Me blister's throbbing something terrible. Wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't been playing long but I've been playing now for 21 years. Oh well, better recuperate for next weekend's gigs

People will generally tell you to go for whatever they have. I personally think that you should ignore them and get a Schroeder 1212L Its small, light and powerful. I can comfortably use mine as a monitor one night and have it going out front without a PA the next. I didn't go and try one, I took the chance and ordered it directly with Jorg. Its the best cab i have ever owned and it replaced 2 Ashdown ABM115s. It will never give you the deep rumbling bass that you get with bigger cabs but I wanted a clear sounding cab and this is exactly what I got.

Just home from tonight's gig in Dunfermline. Bit of a carry in but managed to blag the guitarists trolley for the PA power amps that I bring as well as my own stuff. Had a nice big area to play in for a change. no stage but I prefer not to have one as I find that you can interact with the audience. Stages tend to be us and them gigs where we're up here and the crowd are down there. First song was 'more than words' by Extreme. Not bad, I've had to learn a lot worse. I used my acoustic bass for the first time for this song which sounded good but fed back when I got anywhere near my cab. I would invest in one of those covers that goes over the soundhole but it is oval and I've never seen one that shape before. What made a big difference tonight is that a few days ago our drummer had the snip so couldn't carry his kit in case he did himself some damage. He brought his Yamaha electronic kit which is one of the good ones but still nowhere near his usual Premier Signia kit. As a result, everything sounded completely different due to only really being able to hear his drums coming through the PA. Everything went well and as usual I used the Gold Warmoth. I actually had a brainwave tonight. I would really like to get a 12 string warmoth bass made but they don't do them so I had this idea about getting a neck made with a paddle headstock and doing the work myself. I only need to find out a way to modify an 8 string bridge to cope with 12 strings as I don't believe that such a thing exists. Going to change the strings tomorrow as they are beginning to sound really dead but they have been on for 7 months so I can't complain. Playing tomorrow night with the rock band so I took it a bit easier than normal tonight as the 12 string can take it out of your fingers after a while as I play it fingerstyle.

Sound Control in glasgow has one for £2200 It looks similar to the 20th anniversary one that i used to have without a scratchplate.

The choice of using a Schroeder 1212L was because of a couple of things: Its light so I can carry it with one hand Its small so I can easily get in the car. Its punchy and powerrful enough to go from being my monitor one nght to using it out front at a pub gig. It is the best sounding cab i have ever owned. I suppose you could say that there is snobbery value in it to say that I am not using one of the regular run of the mill cabs but have dared to wander past Ampeg/Peavey/etc. I believe that I am using something much better than any of these mass produced items having tried many of them beforehand and never been satisfied ith the sound/weight/efficiency Another reason that I believe that most musicians use Fender/peavey/etc is that they are the tried and tested companies. Much like somene will go for a Fender or a Gibson guitar rather than something they have never head of before. Its generally only people like us who are members of forums and interested in new and different products and a very small number of others who will generally go out on a limb and try these 'exotic' items. I believe that the vast majority of musicians have no interest in trying anything other than their mass manufactured gear. The proof lies in going to see other bands. I've never been to a gig and seen anyone with a Schroeder cab, in fact I've never met anyone with a GK amp either.

There's probably a good deal of info on here already but the cheapest way to do it would be spray paint from halfords or somewhere like that. If you want to be a bit fancy and take a walk on the wild side there's a manchester guitar tech who does mail order for nitro in the old Fender and Gibby colours but you have to be very careful with that stuff. The most important thing to remember is to make sure that you take your time and spend as long as possible preparing the surface first

On both my '51 reissues I used Ernie Ball nickel hybrid slinkies but the strings for me on my '54 warmoth are gold Optimas. I also have an SD quarter pounder and it is the blx. I also always have it set with volume slightly backed off to avoid distortion but tone control fully open.

It could only be the Warmoth '54 sparkly number for me. It balances perfectly, the neck is perfect, it sounds perfect and it feels perfect but i couldn't have bought it without trying a good 30-40 other basses out to find out what i wanted. I love the look of regular precisions but always hated the sound and the single coil pickup is such a good sounding pickup. Also always helps to have the right amp and cab and the combination of the bass, the 700RB II and the Schroeder 1212L is perfection as far as I am concerned. I only wish that Warmoth made a 12 string bass neck and bridge and I'd have one of those as well.

I can beat all of these. I emailed the guy at Hartke about a set of rack ears when I had my HA5500. He sent me a pair gratis but they didn't seem to fit particularly easy. When I emailed him about it he said that they were definitely the right ones as they had been taken off one of the amps that Jack Bruce had used during the Albert Hall reunion gigs.

Do it online and Parcelforce will collect it from you. i had to do that when my local Citylink depot closed down and didn't have time to go to the new one. Just enter the dimensions and rough weight and Bob's your auntie's live in lover.

That reminds me about a night that our drummer was at a karaoke and wanted to sing that Police song. You know the one that has something about 'sending out an SOS' in the lyrics. Told the guy there what it was that he wanted and he ended up having to sing "SOS" by ABBA. A Couple of Whitesnake ones to avoid - "here I go again (on my own)" and the classic "Would I lie to you? (just to get in your pants)" Many people think that Nilsson's "Without You" and Bon Jovi's "Always" are first dance numbers. Listen to the lyrics people, they are about women leaving their men. One to avoid putting on a CD for the break would be "smack my bitch up" by the Prodigy.

I played 5ers for years then decided to try a 6. I enjoyed it and ended up going through 3 really good ones. In the end I went back to a 4 string because a 5 or 6 string is NOT essential for the music that I play. :brow: I now only play 4s or 12vers and have no interest in 5ers or 6ers. If you can afford it, go for the 6. even if it doesn't work out, at least you tried. If it does then you could save up to buy a higher end one in the future.

I've been playing with the same guys in a function band for nearly 12 years now. The fact is that we enjoy playing whether it be Frank Sinatra, Chris de Bleurgh, the Fratellis or Abba. We never play Robbie Williams cos its the general concensus that he's pissoir unless we're asked to do it. Like someone before mentioned, the majority of the audience pay little attention to what you play which allows me to get a couple of slap solos in "Brown Eyed Girl" An interesting fact is that 9 out of 10 first dances for weddings that we are asked to learn are utter rubbish. Its pretty much a case of money for old rope. we enjoy ourselves and get paid a decent amount of money to do so. I enjoy this band as much as my pub covers band even though I make a fraction of the money in the pub band

Not desparately difficult but I've been sitting learning "Let There Be Rock" by AC/DC on my 12 string bass. total killer of a key to play it in.

I'd say go for it. Try it and see how you get on. If you find that you cannot live with it, tell your friend and ask if he'd mind if you sold it and offer him some of the profit. I've had 3 4003s, a 4000 and 2 japcrap copies. They are really beautiful basses but I find them very uncomfortable. After the end of one gig I thought I'd developed arthritis just because it was so uncomfortable but at least I can say that I've tried to use one or rather 6. One thing that I also found bad about them is that none of the real ones I've owned were finished like a bass of that price should be. My Midnight blue one had to eventually go back because of colour bleed onto the white binding. Anyway, to get back on track, just go for it. If you can afford to buy it and you've always wanted one then do it. I, personally have owned most of the basses I have always wanted to own at one point without ever ending up out of pocket by buying carefully. I would hate to look back and think about a bass that I could've had but didn't take when i had the chance.

I only play 4 and 12 string basses now but when I did play 6 string ones, I really liked Ibanez. The one I had was an SR1006. This was a made in Japan one. I had also considered the SR506 and BTB406 which I believe are made in Korea. The thing I loved about the bass was the slim body and neck. It was never any effort to play. I had a set of TI flats on it and it sounded fantastic. If i could find a 4 string version I would have it in a minute but they are pretty thin on the ground. I also had a Yamaha TRB6 but the neck was like an ironing board - very wide. I could never get a good sound out of the C string. My first one was a Washburn XB126. Ideal as a first bass to get to grips with the 6 stringer. If you have been looking at the Peavey grind, check out the Harley Benson on thomann's website as it is very similar. Looks like it could be made at the same factory with a few small differences. Being absolutely honest, there aren't any really bad basses being made anymore. Any bass will be playable with a good setup. I've played £50 basses live alongside £2000 basses before. My main 12 string cost me £175 and my other one was £80 and I play these most weekends. In fact, check my signature. It doesn't sound like I have much in the way of quality basses but after extensive research - testing out over 50 basses, these are the ones I have chosen as being the best for me