Today I have been mostly....

[NJE]

After a few months of ups and downs with bands (mentioned in another thread) I have found myself needing some more power in the amp department. Normally my set up would have been fine but my drummer has a set up like Mike Portnoy from Dream Theatre (well not any more) and I have a keys player and a mic'd up 3 piece brass section to contend with.

So without thinking too hard I headed up to Bass Direct this morning to sample the latest delights Mark has to offer. I played a few bits and pieces and have finally settled on a MarkBass Little Mark II and a EBS Neo 410. Simply massive sounding and LOUD! I have had an EBS cab before and loved it, crystal clear and tight, sometimes a little too clean so the addition of the MarkBass balances things out a little. Watch out brass section!

The bonus of going up was trying out some of the best basses out there at the moment. I have played the Nordys and Roscoe's before and both are amazing in every way so just tried a few I had never played before and I was massively suprised by what I played.

1. First thing I saw was a Elrick Platinum 5 string singlecut. It was stunning in every way, B string was clear and tight and the whole bass was so well balanced. Simply one of the nicest basses I have ever played and the first singlecut. To be honest I thought I would really notice the extra bulk of the singlecut but it made no difference to playing and might have helped its fantastic resonance. I think mark is getting in their Jazz inspired basses and i cant wait to try one, Elrick firmly on the list and I usually only like more traditional designs.

2. Sadowsky Metro. Wasnt expecting much for some reason but a very nice bass, nice neck, fantatstic build and resonant, something that I look for in a bass. Generally a fantastic bass and very playable and one of teh nicest Jazz style basses I have played.

3. Alleva Coppolo. Sadly very dissapointing, after a lot of the hype I have read i really wanted this to be the best bass ever. Each to their own of course and everyones opinion and playing is different but I found the sadowsky more comfortable to play and thought it sounded better and had a bit more 'life' to it. Stunning build a looks amazing but did nothing in my hands.

Anyway an excellent morning (the amazing bacon baguette from the cafe next door to Bass Direct helped) and Mark couldn't have been more hospitable. I bought secondhand gear which I doubt Mark makes much on, but he was happy to talk and chat, and I was treated like I was spending 10x the ammount.

Once again an amazing experience at Bass Direct and massive thanks to Mark, once again showing how shops, not just music shops, should be run.