Minininjarob

I had seen them but it’s a long way from me in Yorkshire.

I went to PMT in Leeds - very helpful there - and tried out a few sub £400 combos. I found out the one I tried when I first went in was a very expensive Ashdown which might have explained why it sounded good but to be fair I was so excited with buying anything I was a bit blinded. I was underwhelmed with the Ampeg sound, just a bit unexiting really, and the volume on the one I tried wasn’t great despite a decent size driver. Tried an Ashdown Studio 12 and I wasn’t that impressed. It was ok but that was it. Also it was really hard to see where the level knobs were on them as they were so shiny. Weird I know but it bothered me. The staff said they were getting a lot back faulty too which is a shame. The Fender Rumble 40 was excellent, such a great open sound, punchy and clear. Controls were a joy to use too. So that’s what I would choose if the 2nd hand option doesn’t work out but I’d probably look for one 2nd hand as they are expensive new.

I couldn’t have hoped for a better response, thanks so much for the detailed advice. I don’t think I’ll be moving it around too much to start with so if the sound is ok for me I reckon I’ll go for it if the price is right. I’ve been pretty underwhelmed at the combo amps I’ve been looking at in the shops under £300 so if this is pretty cheap then it’ll be well worth it I think.

That looks amazing!!

Where did you get those from? I really like them.

Well I’m going to give it a try, thanks for the help. Are TE Amos generally decent quality?

A close friend of mine is a sound engineer and he said when he went through Uni his teachers drilled into him that his ears needed to be protected from day one so even as a student he had custom in-ears made, it’s rare I see him not wearing some sort of ear protection!! I will certainly be wearing some form of ear protection as soon as I get a bigger amp than the little practice one I have now.

That’s interesting as his bass is always pretty obvious in the mix. I tried a thicker pick and I found doing fast alternate picking is much harder with one, I can see why FM likes a very thin pick as it doesn’t get caught on the strings. Probably my lack of skill doesn’t help but it seems to make sense. I’ll get a pack of .73 as well to try.

Hi all, I have the opportunity to try out this combo - Trace Elliot GP7 SM combo amp and extension cab. I don’t know much about amps - this is my first one - but a friend is selling it and I can try it out first. Condition wise it will be perfect as I know he really looks after stuff 100%. Are they reliable? Easy to fix? As far as sound goes I like the punk sound but want to try and play a bit of everything so I’m not wedded to anything in particular. Any experience of this one? I have to say it looks flipping awesome.

I’ve just started out and I went shopping for a guitar at Rich Tone in Sheffield and they had some Fat Mike picks - had to buy them as I love NOFX. They are very thin (o.6) but I like them, but they aren’t cheap. But they are pink. 😂 I do have a single .9 Dunlop pick which has a knurled grip on it (not sure what they are called as it came in a variety pack) and I’m going to get some thinner ones of those as they feel really secure to hold.

Thanks that’s helpful, I don’t know much about them so that is important info!

I have a PB as my first instrument - got this week - and I was thinking the same thing that the knobs aren’t great to use. Could do with some sort of marker on them so I set them a little easier. Anyone recommend some nice ones?

It’s very nice indeed - if you haven’t seen the colour in person I reckon it’s gorgeous. When I saw one I knew I had to have it.

Oh no what have I started?? 😂😂

Now that’s smart thinking. I can see how this might become a problem. 😂😂

Bought my first bass and borrowing a little Fender amp which is pretty useless and worn out so I need to get my own. I’ve tried Fender Rumbles, they seem good, a MarkBass I tried didn’t really float my boat but an Ashdown combo I tried (I don’t think it was a new one) sounded amazing but their new ones are different to the one I tried in a shop (must have been 2nd hand). Thing is I am not sure what size of amp to go for. The perfect sound for me would be Mike Dirnt (Greenday) - clean and sharp. I don’t want something massive but weight isn’t an issue really as I won’t be carrying it round many places. I want something with some kick that I could maybe use in a local gig but also ok at home. What sort of driver size should I be looking at? 12? 15? Amps? Bare minimum is XLR output and headphone/line in connections. I do know some electronics and have a friend who rents out back line equipment who can repair amps so 2nd hand doesn’t scare me but I don’t want to buy something unreliable. Any advice gladly received!!

I going to concentrate on learning to play this one first. But I admit that another PB to match in another colour would be nice…… you know like a different outfit. 😂😂😂

In cycling it’s the “+1 formula” as in (ideal amount of bikes) = (current amount of bikes) +1. 😀

GAS?

Well after all that talk about getting from a local shop I noticed Fender had them for £729 with 10% off first order so got one delivered for £650. Got it yesterday and it sounds amazing!!! That saving will pay for the accessories from a local shop instead - I couldn’t pass that price up. Oooh it’s flipping gorgeous and it sounds amazing!!! Sorry about the state of the bed but that’s where it’s living now!

I have to admit I’ve been looking at bigger and bigger amp setups but I know they’ll all be too loud at home BUT I’m wondering how much I care…. 😂😂😂 It’s chuffing addictive turning even my little practice amp up and really going for it. I was trying a couple in some shops and thought it was very amusing that there was a few people hunched over Strats twiddling away (what are they playing??) and there’s me stood up with a big amp connected in and turned up making the excuse the salesman that “I really need to hear it properly”. LOL. If anyone has a spare Ashdown combo for sale let me know….. 😂😂

Thanks - I have enjoyed Scott’s Bass lessons on YouTube but I would prefer something free. I’ve been having a chat with a bass player friend and he was explaining scales to me so I’d better get started on them 😂😂

I’d love to be one and be the opposite to most peoples experiences. Find out what the kids want to do and encourage and enable them, rather than belittle and insult them.

All through my teenage years I wanted to play a guitar, could never afford one and I didn’t know anyone who played or even have any music shops nearby. School music lessons put me off and never mentioned guitars anyway, I never understood why so many school aged people picked up violins. 😂 Well done to anyone making a living out of music, you’re living my dream (well you never know I might do one day, picking up a bass for the first time at 46!).