SimonK

...so is anyone still in? I'm already thinking about next year as having (unexpectedly) acquired essentially an entire new rig this year (plus a bunch of cabs), physical space may limit my GAS next year!

...although it would be interesting to try to work out how much of that was to do with set-up and amp settings given the US made Stingrays are certainly towards the mid to higher quality end of instruments. I've certainly saved a lot of money in the past by trying to optimise what I already have rather than switch to something entirely new - which is totally against the philosophy of our consumerist society! However, despite the above, I don't think there is any substitution for actually playing instruments, as while quality control is allegedly getting better, some instruments just have that "thing" and it may be that rather than going for model/brand etc. on advice of everyone here, just playing a bunch of instruments within your price point might be the best way to find a good one.

...dare I say "the best sounding (thunderous) low B" may have more to do with the amp and then the set up of the bass?

Hi Alan, I'm also on the south coast but from the other side of Portsmouth! If you are playing in church you might like this thread:

Not sure if this counts as a rookie error (or maybe saved by a pro?) but many years ago I played at a rather posh end of year school concert for my old school, in an acoustic guitar duet with an old guitar teacher called Simon James (who was one of the founding members of the band "Acoustic Alchemy" if anyone remembers them). The whole concert had gone very well so in a fit of enthusiasm the school music teacher invited all the musicians to come up on stage with their instruments for an impromptu finale. As I went to go up Simon motioned at me to sit down and said we would sit this one out. Sure enough it was an embarrassing disaster that fortunately we had no part of!

Saw Spinal Tap 2 is coming out soon and missed this quote previously: Derek, on playing in a Christian rock band: "Same three chords, basically. They just take a slightly different position towards the supreme evil one."

The amount of times I forget to check the settings on my pedals haven't been knocked in transit... Although my favourite(?) rookie error was in one of my first bands as an 18 year old having just got my licence - of course we squeezed three lads, two amps, a bass, a guitar and most of a drum kit in a rover metro... and of course we knocked the exhaust off on the first bump we drove over!

+1 for my electronic guru friend who showed me he has it marked in his calendar (although isn't on this forum) - he may bring along a couple of his home made amps if anyone wants a look.

This - and also I view my HPF as protecting amps/speakers, or at least improving their longevity.

...I played Sunday morning services a few times the morning after the old Cutting Edge (aka Delirious) events back in the late 90s early '00s and we used the whole stage rig including smoke machines just because we could... and yes it's not quite the same on a Sunday morning!! (in danger of name dropping @mowf (who is on this forum) used to play with Martin Smith on the Saturday nights)

I was thinking of getting one because they are in all the videos from the big churches, but then discovered a combination of my fuzz, octave pedal and chorus gave a similar effect without having to spend any extra money! I felt all satisfied that I was equipped to make that sound, but then only ended up using it once in a six month period, so ended up taking the pedals off my board again! Out of interest do you have a load of songs where you have a need for it? My experience of church is that 95% of the time a simple punchy bass tone is all that is needed!

I don't miss calculating that my entire PA was 2000/240 = 8.33 amps so fine in most single sockets, while the 12 not particularly great stage lights were 12000/240 = 50 amps meaning working out how to distribute them across different circuits every frigging time... and that's before we even worrying about gels, burned out bulbs, general fire hazard... so no I don't miss that!!

...that there is a list of kit that I need to have owned (or at least gigged) for at least some period of my life in order to feel psychologically complete. Currently something along the lines of the below, and actually it seems I am almost there! Fender P bass ❌ Rickenbacker ❌ Year of birth bass ✅ Fender J bass ✅ MM Stingray ✅ Fretless ✅ Five String ✅ 8x10 cab ✅ 4x10 cab ✅ 1x18 cab ✅ Trace Elliot amp ✅ GK amp ✅ Ampeg SVT ✅ Fender Bassman ✅ Fuzz pedal ✅ Octaver ✅ Envelope Filter ✅

I'm not much into lights either but do realise they are important for a performance. Life got much easier when things moved to low wattage LEDs as before that I had to spend more time thinking about power than anything else! I've got a handful of these that we keep on a fairly static/slowly changing colour to light the band https://www.thomannmusic.com/stairville_led_flood_panel_150_40.htm ...and then a couple of these set to sense/change with the beat, albeit they've had more use in my daughters bedroom for disco lighting! https://www.thomannmusic.com/stairville_stage_tri_led_bundle_complete.htm Cheap, cheerful, but fine for small gigs especially as powered off a couple standard extension leads and pack down pretty small.

Hercules three way for me - here it is with both guitars and basses (one arm folded down as only two basses that day.

ooh new bass sound to aspire to. Not quite sure why this came up in my watchlist but I like it!

Missed this thread previously - fretted & fretless - my main two basses for the last twenty years!

...was just thinking about why it's more a problem with a traditional piano sound, and listening again to the opening recording I think the attack on the piano sound is much shorter than for the bass (and guitars for that matter) meaning that although they are in time with each other, you hear the piano first on the chords and hence lose the distinctiveness of the bass. It might be that a compressor with a softer/slower attack on the piano could help a bit as well.

Yes a problem I've also had over the years especially playing in church/gospel bands where the lineup changes weekly. Keyboardists who play a lot on their own get used to playing all the basslines with their left hand so stopping them doing this in a band situation is a challenge. I generally position myself so I can see their left hand, and notice that the "better" keyboardists still do use their left hand but generally only playing root notes on the chord changes (often as octaves with pinky & thumb). Thus said the issue is most acute when they use a traditional piano sound (as in the OP recording). If they use a Fender Rhodes or Hammond or strings patch it's not so bad.

I've definitely switched the cheap DI box with my own once the sound engineer is too far away to notice, and then back again when the set finishes 🤫 !

I'm tempted to put a TE cab in the raffle just in the hope that whoever wins it came by public transport... 🙂

Just to manage expectations - as I am getting excited about this already - is there any reason why I can't pack my car with cabs and other random bass kit I have collected over the years, and then just comment on the day that I am open to offers should anyone else want to buy any of it from me? Note I am not a business, just someone whose bass collection has got a little bit out of control and this could be a good opportunity to pass some bits of it on to others without faffing with ebay/postage?

Get the bass that makes you smile when you look at it, not the one that makes you wish you got the other! ...or do what the rest of us do and buy both 🙂 (borrowing money if necessary), accepting that it's a disease with no cure!

...at this point I can't help but post my "practicing at home rig" which only cost me £150 (granted the amp was broken but it was only a single transistor that needed replacing) and now it works fine. The crazy thing is if you go second hand there is no need to think small!

...at which point I would smile sweetly, crank my Trace Elliot stack, and tell the sound engineer(?) that the bass needed to be heard front of house and I would happily turn down when he took my post-DI signal...