Have we all become wimps or is it a sign of an ageing population

[DiMarco]

Everything in the seventies was better!
Glory days. Just sayin'.

Nothing wrong with a bit of sentiment though.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='DiMarco' timestamp='1463298104' post='3050176']
Everything in the seventies was better!
Glory days. Just sayin'.

Nothing wrong with a bit of sentiment though.
[/quote]

Almost everthing. Kipper ties, huge collars, and flares just didn`t quite make it.

[paul_5]

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1463270111' post='3050126']
Also, ever noticed that an awful lot of pro players with road crew still
favour heavy valve/ big cab rigs? Just sayin....
[/quote]

I would do too if someone else was carrying it for me; mostly for the novelty value.

[JTUK]

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1463270111' post='3050126']
Fair enough. I get the need to make things lighter for the gigging player.
Just saying that for guys who remember lugging SVT rigs etc for years,
even the' mid-weight' set ups are a godsend.
Also, ever noticed that an awful lot of pro players with road crew still
favour heavy valve/ big cab rigs? Just sayin....
[/quote]

Well, no, if you have crew, then the only consideration is what does it sound like.
If I know the gig is a awkward load-in, common sense says you'll make provision for that.
It can be way easier rolling wheeled heavy cases off a truck and over ramps corridors straight onto a stage
than it can be trying to squeeze a bulky but light cab through a packed pub, down a few steps and into the
car across the car park.


So, what we are saying is that lightweight gear is predominately for your weekend warriors..
as the vast majority of bass players would go for sound over all else, if they had the wherewithal and back-up
for that 'indulgence'.

[discreet]

[quote name='DiMarco' timestamp='1463298104' post='3050176']Everything in the seventies was better!
[/quote]

Historically it was. Highest wages and best working conditions in real terms. UK population happiest it's been before or since. I was able to leave school and go straight into a job that paid enough for me to leave home and be independent. Happy days.

[zbd1960]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1463301011' post='3050199']
Almost everthing. Kipper ties, huge collars, and flares just didn`t quite make it.
[/quote] I was a teen in the 70s and I loathed the so-called fashion of the day.

I agree with the realtive wealth comment - I left school with A levels and got a reasonable job, which then led to better opportunities.

I think there is some truth in the aging aspect - more of us who are older are invovled in stuff than was probably the case 40 years ago

Edited May 15, 2016 by zbd1960

[discreet]

[quote name='zbd1960' timestamp='1463302324' post='3050223']
I was a teen in the 70s and I loathed the so-called fashion of the day.
[/quote]

Not our finest moment, but at least we didn't think it was a good idea to appear in public with our trousers down around our arses. Ha! Ha!

[odysseus]

Anyone who's ever had back issues will tell you how it can affect your quality of life. Why take the risk when you can get a great sound out of light gear?

[taunton-hobbit]

Chris Squires mum used to have a home production line of Paisley kipper ties, everyone in Harrow bought them from Rave boutique (I think) in Station Road.........

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1463270111' post='3050126']
... an awful lot of pro players with road crew still favour heavy valve/ big cab rigs? Just sayin....
[/quote]

[EssentialTension]

[Muzz]

I had an SVT and a fridge back in the day, because that was what you aspired to in the the genre I was playing (see pics above), but these days I use lighter, smaller kit because it sounds better and makes life easier. Why wouldn't I?

Without wanting to join in on the 'well every bass player I know does this thing that supports my argument' Hoohah, I suspect if every bass player in the country was aware of all the options, things might be different.

Oh, and anyone who judges themselves against the size/bulk of another player's rig (especially on the wimp/manliness scale) needs to have a good long look at themselves...

[Painy]

Over the years I've owned and used Laney, Marshall, Trace, Ashdown, Hartke, Line6 and Ampeg. All have been old fashioned heavyweight amps and cabs and some have been monstrous rigs by pub band standards which have towered over me on stage (okay I'm only 5'8" but still).
My current Aguilar rig (AG500, 2 X DB112) is more middle weight than light weight really but compared to my last Ampeg rig which included a 96lb combo plus extension cab, it practically floats into the venue on its own.
None of that would matter if it sounded like someone else's iPod on a bus but I'm currently enjoying the best sound I've ever had from this little rig and it's at least as loud as the loudest of my old amps too.
Basses though I genuinely prefer to have a bit of weight. Had a Korean made Spector once which weighed about 7lb and I hated how flimsy it felt like it was made of balsa wood.

[discreet]

OK then, to answer the question in the OP (even though it needs a question mark):

Yes, I have become a wimp.
Yes, it is a sign of ageing.

Happy now?

[chris_b]

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1463270111' post='3050126']
ever noticed that an awful lot of pro players with road crew still
favour heavy valve/ big cab rigs?
[/quote]
If I was touring I'd also get an SVT and 810 cab because if anything went wrong on the road I could easily hire the same rig and maintain my sound. I could fly to the other side of the world and hire the same rig.

My heaviest piece of gear by far these days is my accessories case. I need to review my need for stands and plug boards.

[chris_b]

The 70's was a great time.

Everything was still possible.

[discreet]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1463309188' post='3050306']
The 70's was a great time. Everything was still possible.
[/quote]

Totally agree, but I wonder how much of that feeling was about being young and idealistic, yet to have one's spirit crushed by the relentless machinations of life on this benighted rock? I think generally as one gets older, one's options become far fewer and the decisions (good or bad) one made while young come home to roost. Especially the ones that seemed unimportant at the time.

Edited May 15, 2016 by discreet

[Lozz196]

One of the things I`ve found is getting a lightweight amp and lightweight cab, then putting a good preamp/DI pedal in the equation really helps get that - dare I say the word - heft into the sound. Chucking in my Sansamp, set flat, really beefs up the sound. Sure I`m probably ending up with the same sound as a valve amp and big heavy made speaker but that`s the point, it`s the sound I want, but in a rig I can actually move/carry. I`m usually one of the last to embrace technology, but my back/shoulder has dictated that I needed to on this point.

[Japhet]

My old Trace cabs had a lot of heft - at least that's the noise I used to make when I picked them up.

[discreet]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1463310496' post='3050320']
One of the things I`ve found is getting a lightweight amp and lightweight cab, then putting a good preamp/DI pedal in the equation really helps get that - dare I say the word - heft into the sound.
[/quote]

+1 Even something as affordable as a BDI-21 can make a huge difference to an otherwise, er... 'unremarkable' micro amp.

[DGBass]

When I think about the heavyweight gear I carried around early 80's & 90's, I am glad there are now so many options for high power lightweight setups. Maybe age (and back/shoulder pain from years of carrying hefty rigs) brings a certain wisdom! For me that says nowadays I can be easily heard at the back of the venue even if what I am playing through can't be seen from the back of the venue. I dont think thats wimping out

[zbd1960]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1463303641' post='3050236']
Not our finest moment, but at least we didn't think it was a good idea to appear in public with our trousers down around our arses. Ha! Ha!
[/quote] True

[Kex]

[quote name='zbd1960' timestamp='1463334550' post='3050558']
True
[/quote]

Just googled it, lots of sound clips, and its only twenty squid!!! Incredible - if people can make a stand alone pedal for that why are manufacturers not all incorporating the technology !

[JTUK]

[quote name='Kex' timestamp='1463336855' post='3050591']
Just googled it, lots of sound clips, and its only twenty squid!!! Incredible - if people can make a stand alone pedal for that why are manufacturers not all incorporating the technology !
[/quote]



Nice one

[casapete]

[quote name='Kex' timestamp='1463336855' post='3050591']
Just googled it, lots of sound clips, and its only twenty squid!!! Incredible - if people can make a stand alone pedal for that why are manufacturers not all incorporating the technology !
[/quote] +1
It would annoy me somewhat after spending 500 odd quid on a micro amp to then have to buy a separate pedal to make it sound proper.