discreet Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 3 minutes ago, Maude said: Buy for yourself, play for the audience. Absolutely. I would add 'play for the song', too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedee Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 24 minutes ago, discreet said: I still have a Peavey 160TNT combo! It genuinely sounds great and I'd gladly use it on a regular basis were it not for the fact it's bit noisy. Maybe I should get it fixed... They’re real workhorses and built like tanks. Was a shame that they didn’t have a built in DI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 41 minutes ago, discreet said: Absolutely. I would add 'play for the song', too. We yes, but apart from buy for yourself, play for the audience, play for the song, the aquaduct and sanitation, what have the Romans ever done for us? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 17 minutes ago, Deedee said: They’re real workhorses and built like tanks. Was a shame that they didn’t have a built in DI. I always carry a BDI-21, so not much of a hindrance. Most sound guys prefer to use their own DI boxes anyway. And IIRC, the TNT160 is really bloody loud for 160W. Maybe Peavey borrowed some 'Trace watts' for it. Now I want to drag the TNT160 out from under the stairs and check it out. I've given myself GAS for a combo I've already got! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 1 minute ago, Maude said: We yes, but apart from buy for yourself, play for the audience, play for the song, the aquaduct and sanitation, what have the Romans ever done for us? They brought peace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 (edited) On 08/11/2018 at 12:14, MacDaddy said: Does it matter for the punters? I think so, they may not know why 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' doesn't sound as good played on a normal 4 string - no drop D - but they will notice. Everything else being equal, i.e. if the band plays that song very close to the original, I'm not so sure they would notice... On 08/11/2018 at 12:14, MacDaddy said: Same as the metal solo's I needed a 2 octave neck for. The punters will hear the difference if they are played an octave lower. That's more understandable... a difference of an octave probably would be noticeable. Edited November 10, 2018 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 22 minutes ago, Maude said: Buy for yourself, play for the audience. I mostly agree with that. Of course we all buy gear for ourselves but very few of us are playing in a vacuum. Buying for yourself only is only a good idea if your opinion matches the rest of the band. I don't agree with the views expressed that ours is the only opinion that counts in all this. Turn up to a blues band sounding like JJ Burnell or Chris Squire and you're going to be an ex-bass player pretty quickly. This is why I think there are far more important factors involved than achieving the "sound in your head". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 27 minutes ago, chris_b said: Turn up to a blues band sounding like JJ Burnell or Chris Squire and you're going to be an ex-bass player pretty quickly. This is why I think there are far more important factors involved than achieving the "sound in your head". Quite, and in any case 'the sound in your head' is a chimera in most cases. It can't easily be translated, delineated, replicated, easily-achieved or even described. If it were, everyone would agree on what it was and it we would have found the combination of gear that can provide it ages ago! Enough of this, I'm off to find some more rocking-horse poo and hen's teeth... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgehouse Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 I don’t think it matters whether it matters or not.. We are all uniquely different - ultimately we want to be good (or better) bass players. Some of us will get there purely through talent, many through sheer hard work and practise. Some of us like the familiarity of an “old friend” bass, others like the thrill of new kit and different sounds. So it’s probably more about what inspires us to play, and play better. For some, the choice of gear won’t make a difference, for others, it will. And that will translate to how we sound when we play with others and for audiences. All they want is for the bass to sound “right”. For some of us that will require careful kit choices, for others not at all. Epsom, Newmarket, Ascot, Aintree.. etc etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 3 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said: We are all uniquely different - ultimately we want to be good (or better) bass players. Some of us will get there purely through talent, many through sheer hard work and practise. Some of us like the familiarity of an “old friend” bass, others like the thrill of new kit and different sounds. So you think I may finally have come to 'the end of gear'? Thank God, I can stop thinking about it! 3 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said: Epsom, Newmarket, Ascot, Aintree... etc. Yes yes, but which horse is good for metal?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgehouse Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 1 minute ago, discreet said: So you think I may finally have come to 'the end of gear'? Thank God, I can stop thinking about it! Yes yes, but which horse is good for metal?? A Trojan horse probably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 4 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said: A Trojan horse probably. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 9 hours ago, discreet said: Everything else being equal, i.e. if the band plays that song very close to the original, I'm not so sure they would notice... We're a 3 piece no keys. It's noticeable! ☺ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 28 minutes ago, MacDaddy said: We're a 3 piece no keys. It's noticeable! ☺ In that case, it's quite an ambitious choice of song... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 16 minutes ago, BassTractor said: . Totally agree. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgehouse Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 2 minutes ago, discreet said: Totally agree. Surely "Totally agree, period" ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12stringbassist Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 I think having the bass(es) that you need to do the gig and good quality, reliable gear is everything. Add that to being in the right band with people who you fit in with and who play well together... On the other hand, add in rubbish gear into the equation. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 28 minutes ago, 12stringbassist said: On the other hand, add in rubbish gear into the equation. What yould you call rubbish gear, though? Back in the day there were definitely rubbish basses and amps that just plain didn't work or were simply unplayable. Just as there were new cars which were undriveable and were rusty before they were delivered to the showroom. Where is the modern equivalent? That is, besides Rickenbacker and Kia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 A rubbish player can have all the fancy gear but sound awful. An exceptionally good player can make sound a cheap/basic gear jaw dropping. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedee Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 2 minutes ago, SH73 said: A rubbish player can have all the fancy gear but sound awful. An exceptionally good player can make sound a cheap/basic gear jaw dropping. Very true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 I think good reliable gear is helpful for on stage sound. I've used backlines that to me are not great but at the end of the day FOH sound was first class. Amp was DI'd. I've gone thru various gear and thought it was good. I recently took my Mesa Mpulse and PH212 cab into studio and the full band commented on how full sounding it was compared to the studio Aguilar SC500 head and 810 cab or their EBS head and 810 cab. Sound was very warm, rounded and just so nice. I find i play better and get into the songs more if my own sound is exactly what i like and want to hear. I'm more interested in having good reliable gear night after night that i don't need to worry about. That's why i soid my Ampeg SVT4 because of poor reliabilty altho i liked the tone from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Lord Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 On 08/11/2018 at 10:37, discreet said: So what do you think? Is the fact that you (and your band) can actually play more important than your choice of bass and amp? Relatively few people care about what paintbrushes Michelangelo used to paint the Sistine Chapel. And those 16th century brushes almost certainly won't have been as 'good' as stuff you can get now. But would they have made the results any better? I think he would have found a way to make a masterpiece regardless of what equipment he had. Give me the best brushes in the world, and you'll still get something an elephant could have done And we're not even in the realm of artistic masterpieces here, we're on about - for most of us - the sound of a bass guitar as heard by drunken people from across the room in a British pub. Of course a stinky poo hot band with cheap gear will blow away a bunch of guys with all the gear and no idea. As long as the stuff is fit for purpose. And especially nowadays when cnc assisted manufacturing can produce far better instruments for far less money than ever before. I think many blokes have something wired into them that makes them want to gather stuff. And to always be on the lookout for the next shiny thing. And the internet makes it possible to spend every free minute reading up on, watching videos of, discussing your next cool purchase. It's just blokes. I have no problem with it, unless talking about basses and looking at bass related stuff on the internet is something you do INSTEAD of playing them. The stuff I have now is probably the most expensive bass gear I've ever had, and I think it definitely sounds the best. But I doubt many audience members could distingush between any of the different setups I've had. The main reason for getting industry standard gear (i.e. stuff that professionals use), is that it's usually the most reliable, and (for amps and cabs, anyway) will sound great even when you turn it up LOUD 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 4 minutes ago, Bob Lord said: I think blokes have something wired into them that makes them want to gather stuff. Yes, whether it's eighteenth-century English drinking glasses, Japanese tin robot toys of the 50s and 60s or two-litre plastic bottles filled with our own urine, we do like to collect stuff - there's no doubt about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newfoundfreedom Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 I've had this discussion with my guitarist several times. His theory is, he sees himself as an average guitarist, so throwing loads of money at gear will make him sound better. My arguement is, that it would be imperceptible to 99 percent of the people listening. However, if he perceives himself as sounding better, then he will play better. Therefore, yes, expensive gear can make you sound / play better. But in my opinion it's mostly a placebo effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 On 08/11/2018 at 13:57, Paul S said: For me - and I am sure an awful lot of us on this forum - the words 'need' and 'want' are very different things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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