bootros

On and off played in the same originals ska/2-Tone/reggae band for 20 something years (family and work got in the way on occasion).  Love it.  A big part of my upbringing as 2-Tone was the sound of the council estate way back when, after 77 punk had lost its flavour.  Had the pleasure of meeting, supporting and playing with plenty of heroes from the 2-Tone era but these days I listen more and more to '69 era Reggae.  You can't go far wrong with a copy of Trojan's sampler Tighten Up Volume 2 and then just follow your nose from there.  

I'm a simple soul:

1990 Fender Precision Plus

Hohner B2A for backup

Ashdown MAG300 + 115 MAG extension cab

Zoom G3X if I need to supply a DI or if (very rarely) modulation effects are needed 

I've got an old Hohner B2A - can anyone identify the build year from the serial number (8615052)?  Thanks.

I play in a ska (plus a bit of reggae band) and use an old Ashdown setup.  The 'old-fashioned' tone that some bemoan suits it perfectly with my P-bass.  As others have said though, shouldn't really need huge stage volumes, the PA should do the heavy lifting.

I've only just started using Ashdown amps and am more than happy with the sound I get with my Precision, seems to suit it perfectly well and the character of the bass comes through clearly. The best thing is the used prices. I guess many are not happy with the weight, fair enough, but I'm not fussed and am picking up bargains here and there. Just got a home use only - super clean - 300 1x15 combo and, from another seller, super clean 1x15 extension cab for a total price of £120. Both on Ebay, both collection only due to the weight which makes it a buyers market if you can be patient enough to wait for a local seller.

Sorry, not for sale. It does everything I need and has been a faithful workhorse all these year. I did lose it once - we played a mini festival at a pub on the outskirts of Burton and I was distracted by the attentions of a young lady after the set had finished. I got back to the fully packed van after a while to much moaning from the other band members, unfortunately unknown to me they didn't put my bass in the van. All the gear went into storage as we were taking a break for a month or so whilst work took over. When the gear came out of storage I realised it was missing, phoned the venue but they hadn't seen it. Fast forward a year, the pub owner decided to move on and put the pub up for sale, whilst clearing out he found the bass in a store cupboard. Luckily for me (incredibly luckily) he called the event organiser,, this chap had a vague recollection that we were chasing a lost bass and called one of us to go get it.

It sold for £178 in the end.

I've put a 50 quid start on it, will see where it goes.

Sorry to revive an ancient thread. I'm putting this amp on ebay over the weekend however I'd be interested in a swap for something larger - 100w plus. I don't care if amp/cab or combo or if scruffy, as long as the amp functions as it should.

Still got mine, bought new in the late 80s from Humbucker in Leicester.

I'm pretty sure this was the last version, all the others I've seen for sale have a slightly different control layout. Mine's paired up with a Warwick 15" cab now (£50 from ebay!) and I'm pleased as punch. Cheap and cheerful but it does the job.

My BLX SMC 150 with horn:

[url="http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f116/wilfyboy/?action=view&current=DSCF1061.jpg"][/url]

Why not buy a P/J bass with a jazz neck? Assuming something like this exists.

These don't come up for sale very often. It's a P/J - not easy to see in the photos.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-US-Fender-Precision-Bass-Plus-Blueburst-hardcase-/270622458027?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-US-Fender-Preci...ents_Guitars_CV[/url]

This might be old news but I only recently saw it for the first time. This is part 1 of 9 from a Primus gig in 2008.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4qC2qtOgkw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4qC2qtOgkw[/url]

[quote name='TheFear' post='909687' date='Jul 29 2010, 09:50 PM']thats what my old band used to do, scooter rallies etc, been into scooter since i was a kid, but the scene is getting really boring at the moment, all the bands are covering the same songs, do something different, get the obscure album tracks in there, oh and dont forget to get some rolling stones stuff in there[/quote]

I hear ya! The scooter scene has become too mod-centric and is disappearing up its own rectum in a fit of retro nostalgia. As much as I love my scoots the rally scene as you say is tired and full of people who only want to listen to covers/tribute bands. A few of the more decent rallies are starting to have a policy of new/original bands only, which will hopefully freshen things up.

There are quite a few of these about but they do tend to clog up scooter rallies and not so much out in the real world. Except for Jam tribute bands, they were ten-a-penny but have probably lost there appeal for a while as there were so many.

Cheers,

Bootros (non-Mod Lambretta rider)

[quote name='andyjingram' post='896585' date='Jul 16 2010, 02:49 PM']I would say so! That's an interesting little amp there by the way. What model is it?[/quote]
It's a Marshall 3505 Bass Micro Stack, I bought it in about '89 and recently rescued it from my loft only to shove it back up there for (most likely) a few more years.

I suppose my Fender Precision Plus would have counted as a super P back in the late 80s/early 90s; fine tune Schaller bridge, P/J pickups, TBX pre-amp and extended upper horn. I like it anyway.

[url="http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f116/wilfyboy/?action=view&current=DSCF1046-1.jpg"][/url]

Or get a flightcase/box for the 2x10 and stand it on top of that for gigs.

Cheers for that.

I need a couple of simple black pickup rings for my Hohner B2A, the pickups are the EMG humbucker type not P/J. Any ideas where I can get these from? I've tried to search for Hohner parts online but have drawn a blank. I think they are the same size as guitar humbuckers but these seem to be sold in pairs of different heights and slanted whereas I just want flat ones.

Does that make sense?

[quote name='vmaxblues' post='863407' date='Jun 10 2010, 03:58 PM']Anyone want one? How about a nice B2A for a mere £100 + P&P (Hijacking thread)[/quote]

PM sent!

I've lent my amps/cabs and borrowed others on many occasions during multiple band type events - mainly punk/reggae/ska mini festivals. For this type of gig life is so much simpler if the bass gear and majority of the drums are shared. I know that a change over between bands should only take 10 mins but it rarely does and the gig goes a bit dry if each band has to sound check in full. Bear in mind these types of gigs rarely have fantastic sound engineers that can successfully tailor the sound on the fly.

Any loan of gear is based on the understanding that if it is misused you may well see me onstage either unplugging you or turning a few knobs and if any abuse continues then said bass player will be exiting stage left with my foot up his/her backside. No negotiating. Horses for courses though, the types of gig you play should help inform your choice of amp and the risks involved.