ThomBassmonkey

£2-300 is pretty much the norm. For private gigs you can get away with charging a bit more, depending on how good you are and what the event is. Weddings are generally great payers, as are things like new year's eve parties (though you've just missed that).

If you were to buy a Fender, you know what you'd be getting (give or take the odd QC mishap). Same goes for any mass produced bass. If you were to buy a custom, the chances are that a) it's a collection of parts that you've never heard together and it's built to someone else's specs, not yours. That's before you even think about handbuilt basses (as most customs are) varying hugely in quality.

I don't know how many people are aware of this, but it's an awards ceremony that is held down in London for generally unsigned and small-ish bands (Ginger Wildheart's crept in there this year but previously it's only been for small artists) and me and my band have been nominated for a few things! I know it's cheeky, but if any of you get a chance, would you mind nipping over to http://www.purerawk.com/awards/vote-now/ and dropping James Warner Prophecies a vote if you have a couple of spare minutes? It's obviously nice to win awards and although it's a relatively small affair, they're often watched by bigger names, our gigs with Ginger last year were a result of us playing the last awards. We also won Nix's (who's the main organiser of the awards) Album of 2012 with Things Change so fingers crossed we're in the running for some stuff! We're nominated for Bassist of the Year (pretty chuffed with this one!), Album of the Year and Video of the Year. If you're lost for other guys to vote for, JD and the FDCs, Blacklist Saints and Ginger are all fine artists that I wouldn't hesitate to suggest you check out. Cheers guys.

Get a screwdriver and score lines into your picks, that should give you more grip. I always do it with smooth plecs and it helps a lot.

I just bought a Polytune! I opened it and the screen was glued on lop-sided so it went straight back, the new one seems ok. I've just tuned my bass with it. I'll put it through it's paces properly on Weds and Fri at a rehearsal and gig.

Sorry, I won't be selling the DTR. That'll stay in the rack for the odd occasion I bring the whole thing out. I'm kinda leaning towards the Polytune at the moment. Mainly due to price and reputation.

So my right arm is about straight. I've played with my bass very low and fairly high and this about suits me. It did used to be a bit higher but I had tendonitis in my wrist a few years back and if I try and play for long periods now, my wrist would start to sieze up. It's not done it in a few years but I don't see the point risking it when this way is comfy anyway.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1357401384' post='1922141'] Boss TU2 or 3. [/quote] I don't like the Boss tuners. In my experience they've been horribly inaccurate (my bass has been more out of tune after using the tuner than before on more than one occasion) and difficult to tune with. The guitarist in my band has one and I never like using it. The previous ones I've used have all been the same. I don't know if the TU3 is better, but the TU2 has put me right off them.

Sorry, I'm sure this has been done before but I thought I'd start up a new thread specific to me! I've been without a decent tuner for far too long, my DTR is in a rack with the head I very rarely use any more and the clip on ones aren't reliable enough in loud environments on a B (and often the E) string. I'm looking for a pedal tuner, rugged as it WILL get thrown about at some point, as accurate as possible as I do setups sometimes, something that can be seen on as many stages as possible (both dark and sunny), chromatic and true bypass. The ones that have caught my eye (and I've seen recommended a lot) are the TC Polytune, SR Turbo Tuner and Korg Pitch Black. Has anyone used all, any or any others and have any recommendations? Thanks very much!

[quote name='basslondon' timestamp='1356989657' post='1916210'] Because then i would be able to sell my 5 string status knowing i could get a sound like that from a Precision. with flatwounds. [/quote] But then what about the people that want to get the P with flatwounds sound? Surely in this age there's enough choice of bass that you can get what you want from looks, playability and sound.

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1356962960' post='1915666'] Hmmm therein lies a problem - I've seen more poor (well let's say challenged or limited) players playing Fenders than anything else. You could say that should be the case statistically because Fenders are probably the most popular of the name makes currently. However I know that many hobbyist players (particularly in my age range, where money is available to spend) are probably at beginner level and buy them because of the name/brand kudos etc etc. [/quote] In my experience, people who take bass seriously enough to practice and improve themselves to a good standard are more likely to have taken an interest in the instruments they play. Fenders are the main big name associated with basses so I guess a lot of people who are lazy will get one because that's what they think is good without doing a lot of research. Someone who really takes bass seriously will make sure they get an instrument that suits them (for whatever reason, image, style, sound etc) which will at least lead them to look at other basses. Of course there are great bassists that will play whatever people give them and there are great bassists that have looked at all the options and picked a Fender, but with Fender being the "default" choice for a good instrument by the great unwashed, I don't think it's any great teller for how good someone actually is.

I think some people are getting caught up in the looks of the instrument. The thread is (or was, I've not read the last few pages, just this one) about string number. Of course a BC would look odd at a smooth jazz gig but that's irrespective of how many strings it has. A 4 would look just as out of place as a 5+. I play Ray 5s, IMO they would suit for any gig I could imagine, both aesthetically and tonally. If someone turned me down for a gig purely because they're 5 strings, I'd be laughing my ass out the door.

Distortion comes from the pre-amp, people prefer valves for this as they distort warmly rather than solid state, which can do some nasty things when distorted (though I've never had any problems with my 2001RB that sounds beautiful when overdriven.) If you have a full valve amp, the power section will be valve too, some people prefer this as it can change the tone in a way they like. For me, the preamp is for tone shaping and the power amp is mainly for amplifying the signal. In your case, is there any reason you can't crank the pre-amp and turn down the power section on your hybrid amps? A solid state amp should sound similar at any volume. If you're using distortion, maybe you like the sound of your speakers distorted, though you won't be able to replicate that at lower volumes whatever you do with the speakers you have.

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1356049503' post='1906354'] I have the 1001RB II and two Ashdown ABM410s but only ever need one. Absolutely love the sound. Very dirty when I dig in and cuts through like an extremely cutty thingy. You can pick them up for less than £200 second hand and I believe you could run 4 of these if you happen to playing the O2 [/quote]` Actually, the GK 2001RB-II goes to 2Ohms per channel if you run it unbridged, so that's 8 8 Ohm cabs total.

It depends what sound you're after. I have a 2001RB-II and it sounds great with either my 410RBHs or my NEO212s. If you get a cab that can handle low ends well, you'll be sorted with that set-up for any kind of music IMO. Obviously, price, weight etc are possibly all factors.

Keep playing with the EQ, try putting everything on 5 then moving one dial at a time too see what they do. If you still can't find something you like, you could try a compressor, they can help with definition and punch. Most important thing is that you will find you sound different in a mix to solo. Don't EQ yourself on your own then get disheartened if you don't sound as good in a mix. Get your band to jam and play with the EQ then.

Any where the bassist sings. Queen springs to mind too.

Started off a bassist and although I've taught guitar, I'll always mainly be a bassist. I find bass dull as a solo instrument so I enjoy guitar in that context but there's nothing like sitting in the groove in a band situation on bass so it'll always be my main passion.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1353776959' post='1878407'] I have seen them twice since he went to Acoustic, both times he was still using his full GK rig [/quote] It doesn't surprise me. The ray into GK is definitely his tone, his modulus was designed around a ray from what I've heard but he won't get an amp that sounds like a GK easily.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1353753177' post='1878062'] As always with these things the cabs on stage are mostly for the players monitoring as somewhere all them boxes need to come through the pa for people 30, 000 deep to be able to hear anyway. Flea has 7 cabs on stage totaling 19 drivers and 4 horns yet one tiny Mic on one of the 10 inch drivers, he is also galliens biggest name player but has no heads on show, just cabs. [/quote] In the video it says that both cabs are mic'd as well as a DI from the preamp. It's possible that it goes through the preamp mainly for the sake of DIing it rather than any benefits for the tone. Also Flea is with Acoustic now. He was using 3 2001RBs into 3 410RBH and 3 115RBH when he was with GK. The reason the heads weren't on the cabs (they were on show often, just next to the cabs) was just for ease I suspect. They're all racked so there's no point in taking them out to put on top of the cabs.

Basically a pre-amp is the tone shaping part of your amp. Sometimes amps don't do quite what you want, you can use a preamp in front to change it a bit. Things like PODs and other effects are preamps.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1353508928' post='1875385'] GK are just too grainey in tone and struggle from the word go. [/quote] That's the first time I've ever heard that. I've used most of GK's stuff and I've never found it lacking or grainey. They've been consistently fat and loud sounding. Which amp was it you used?

Hey! if I were looking at 4 string fenders for your budget, I'd be checking out the japanese ones. Usually around £400 second hand and generally thought of to be as good/better when compared to the US models. Also check out Sandberg. They do some great Fender style basses and second hand are around £650.

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1352466733' post='1863441'] I'd never have the brass neck to ask for something for free. If you love the gear that much then support the company and pay up. If you got signed then use some of the money you'll earn. [/quote] While you're right, there's other stuff you can do to support a company. I've had an email thanking me for supporting GK on here for example. I'd like to echo the sentiment about only being endorsed by gear you like. Once you're endorsed by someone, you're tied to them (even if only morally). If you're only after a discount then you don't deserve any kind of help from them. They should be showing you encouragement by giving you your benefits while you help them by staying loyal and showing that you support them by using their gear.

I started on a 4 then moved to 6, now on 5s. In my opinion, if you can play a 5 string comfortably, then why bother with a 4? There's nothing you can play on a 4 that you can't play on a 5. If you don't get on with a 5 string neck then of course you should stick to 4s but if you don't mind then playing a 4 is just limiting yourself IMO. Even if you don't use the extra notes on a 5, there's no negatives to having them there just in case.