BassBomber414

Solo , I can't really advise you on these two amps as I haven't heard them.You are really looking at a 'no-man's world' of combo amps - a bit 'overkill' for home and not big enough to play in a band.I have a Fender Rumble 15 for home practice and that has been really good for the money.What I would say is that 100w is not much in a Bass amp which tend to need a lot more watts than a guitar amp for the same volume and if you are playing with any sort of band with acoustic drums you are going to be drowned out.If you are buying for practice only/gigs without drums then an amp with a reputation for very fine tone is the SWR Working Pro 10 - on the same website as your other SWR.This is a very light compact combo.I would also council caution at buying a combo with a single 15" speaker at this level You will tend to get more definition / punch with a 10" speaker and it will still reproduce the lows you need.I read this same advice , before I went and bought my Warwick CL Neo 1x15" 250w and then found it to be very true. My advice would be for home practice/quiet gigs, a light, quality 10" combo and for playing with a band with drums at least 250 watts and a 2x10" or buy a head and speakers. Everyone will give you different advice and for a good concensus put Harmony Central in Google and check out the hundreds of user reviews on the site.

Well, there's covers bands and covers bands.I wouldn't want to play in any band where I was not 'into' the music.. I don't care about money, it's about the music.I'm in a three piece power trio playing mostly blues based classic rock.We play Cream,Pink Floyd, Free,Joe Bonnamassa,Neil Young , Robin Trower, Rory Gallagher and ZZ Top.A lot of the old stuff sounds awsome played with modern kit.Way ,way better than some of the old recordings.Sometimes the band really clicks and we really fly up to a higher place and that 'buzz' is what I play for. Our aim is to play an unusual set of covers, mostly of album numbers and play them hard and tight with real attention to detail. I think that there is some difference between a band that takes another artist's material and takes it onwards and upwards,or trys to play it better or in a different style and the band that is percieved as just a pop 'covers band'.

Easily the best I've tried with my amps are my son's Sennheiser HD 25-1's . These are DJ/Pro monitoring cans, not cheap but handle bass and crucially, high volumes ,very well.In the DJ industry and broadcasting these are almost standard issue.Every part is repairable /replaceable. [url="http://www.sennheiser.co.uk/uk/icm.nsf/root/products_sennheiser_headphones_dj_502188"]http://www.sennheiser.co.uk/uk/icm.nsf/roo...hones_dj_502188[/url] Buy carefully , there are counterfeit ones on the market.The SP versions are much cheaper but I cannot comment on these , as I've not heard them

[quote name='Beefy' post='210412' date='Jun 1 2008, 10:06 AM']I came stupidly close to splashing out on one of these yesterday. I was in Music Ground in Leeds for ages. I will get one at some point but I just cant justify the £1000 price tag at the moment. Hopefully a few second hand ones will pop up over the next 6 months or so?[/quote] Beefy - these are generaly now £769 on the net and , for example ,Andertons where you can try them out and buy at the net price.They've only been out since Jan 08 but some retailers seem to still have the first batch stock at the first issue price which was 900+.

[attachment=9191:FENDER_A...H_FR_MET.jpg] I'm watching this thread with great interest as I fancy the American Standard Jazz Bass in Charcoal Frost Met with Maple neck. Anyone else tried one ?

[quote name='hughcanbefound' post='208611' date='May 29 2008, 08:36 AM']Thank you very much everyone. Just a couple more questions: how much does a bass cost to set up? How easy is it to change pickups? Average cost for all four strings to be replace? -H[/quote] Should be set up pretty close when you buy it. My Yamaha came with detailed instructions and a truss rod tool. I made a very minor adjustment after a few months which took 10 seconds and a small screwdriver.Pass on the pick-ups. BB414 strings are Yamaha's own medium light stainless steel which are well regarded but hard to find in U.K. £10 a set from Thomann. Postage is £6 however many sets you buy.

It's clear that you fancy the Natural BB614 and if that was a bad choice lots of Basschatters would have told you so at the drop of a hat ! Fact is, it would be a very good choice, Yamaha instruments are generally great value and sound very good for their price. You are never going to find out exactly what suits you until you play a while anyway ;the fact that you have a positive vibe for this particular guitar means you will want to pick it up and play it and that is a good thing. One last word of advice - if you go down the 'internet sale' route it may be an advantage to buy all your gear in 'one go' as sellers often charge a standard fee for delivery , however many items there are.Those £10 fees add up. The internet rate for a BB614 is £249 not £300.

Sam With regard to the BB414 and BB614 , I'm a BB 414 owner. If you are ever going to play in a band get the 614 - you need the extra knob which blends the two different sounds from the Precision and Jazz pick ups. The 414 has a three way selector switch which won't give you the fine control you need to 'cut into' the band sound. If that doesn't mean much to you now - it will later ,when you play with a drummer. The below link is a good comparison article. [url="http://www.bassplayer.com/article/yamaha-bb414-bb614/may-05/8554"]http://www.bassplayer.com/article/yamaha-b...614/may-05/8554[/url] If you are interested in a 614 the Pewter BB614 on the forum for £150 looks a good option. You don't have to buy an amp at this stage,a Zoom B2 effects unit (£49 GAK) gives you sound effects and a bank of drum patterns and a headphone output. It takes batteries or runs on the mains.Very portable and great sound via headphones. If you buy an Amp - make sure you have an input for your your MP3 player for playing along and a headphone output.A very good sounding one with plenty of output is the Fender Rumble 15 - about £69 from GAK.

I was offered Bassman slot in a new band at 52. Never picked up a bass before. The drummer is in his sixties and was a session drummer in the 1960's ! Admittedly ,the guitarist is just a fuzz nutted kid ,but will be a grandfather in June. Feel any better ?

Weapongraderock Silentsilvermissile Starfighter

All this politics and bitchin' in bands........... Just like Hollyoaks , but with way uglier people.

I always tune up using a Zoom B2 pedal which is very effective and then the guitarist tunes to me. We found an old ZZ Top track recently that was recorded a semi-tone sharp. Mistake ? Or did the engineer 'liven up' the track by speeding it up ? No electronic tuners in '68 !

The music industry is constantly changing.Prior to the mid sixties the money was in song writing ,publishing sheet music and selling on copyrights to other bands.For example Bob Dylan was originally given a contract because his recording company wanted to recycle his songs to other acts on the same label like Peter Paul and Mary . The Beatles, originally a covers band , lead the way by later writing much of their own material. After Sgt Pepper bands increasingly headed for the studio to make more complex music. Initially the new multi tracked music was rarely reproduced faithfully live,if it was played live at all.So we arrive at Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield and the era of studio recording domination.Many of the established Supergroups only played 'live' to promote a new album. The music industry has had a fantastic run, especially with the rip - off prices of CD's in the UK and the massive back cataloging of albums that took place after CDs. I originally bought a double album - Space Ritual - Hawkwind (1973) on vinyl,then on 8 track,then on vinyl again (scratched), then on CDs. Now I've got it on my computer , ipod , DAB radio with SD card.Will I ever buy another copy ? No.Never. Income from recording will go direct to bands from legal downloading on initial publication.CDs will continue to be pressed and continue to decline in sales.Live performances will , once again , provide big name groups with significant income.I was offered £1,500 in readies for my £75 Cream R.A.H. ticket in 2005. All of a sudden Led Zep reform, not a coincidence. Smaller bands are playing live , running their own web sites,marketing mechandise ,podcasting , recording and mixing their own original and excellent music in home studios and selling CDs- a good example is The Pineapple Thief from Yeovil - check the site out. [url="http://www.pineapplethief.com/"]http://www.pineapplethief.com/[/url]

Some very convincing and valid statements made on this topic,in support of all sorts of bass theory , as a result - I've spent the last week working through the Studybass site , in particular working through all the chords. Of course ,I discovered the formal names of a lot of things I was already doing. But I have to admit ,it HAS been very helpful, I found myself discovering the bass lines of lots of songs , just doing the excercises. So you guys are right , I was wrong .

Of course , once you've learnt all these tedious scales, it seems to be the 'in thing' to play them all as fast as possible , in a jazzy style , with enough improvisation to fool believers into thinking you are very talented. And if you really want to bore the arse off people you can film yourself and put it on You Tube, with the other 50,000 who have learnt their scales. Or you COULD play from the soul. My advice, Miss Penguin, don't bother , some of the best players don't read or know any theory whatsoever. Rant over, sorry.

[attachment=6590:esp_surv...ard__nat.jpg] Thanks folks , identified as an ESP Surveyor-5 Standard in Natural Maple, not to be confused with the cheap LTD versions.

Did anyone catch what gear Carmine Rojas used in his recent U.K. tour with Joe Bonnamassa ? I was too far back to see, sounded very solid. (For anyone who does not know -Carmine Rojas is the Bassist on Bowie's Let's Dance)