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sticker · 02-29-2008, 12:47 PM

Hello , I may hopefully soon secure a decent gig as a Bassist in a band , I've played "Studio Bass" for years on my own bits and bobs and last year bought one of them Squier Vintage modified Jazz Basses ... If I get the gig I'm going to need a Bass amp capable of doing pub gigs etc and a new/SH bass of a giggable nature .
The music is sort of Britpop/Powerpop stuff (Think Blur,Squeeze,Beatles basslines ish) and I'd probably have £500-£700 to spend .
My problem is that as a guitarist I know exactly what I want and know what makes a difference , what is a bargain etc , with Bass I haven't got a Scooby .
So your suggestions please .... oh it all has to look cool too

fretmeister · 02-29-2008, 02:04 PM

You can get LOADS of stuff for that!

You could just about get a used Mark Bass rig for that - £350 for a used Little Mark II head and same again for a used front ported 2x10 cab.

(That's what I'm using at the moment - sounds glorious)

Or a Hartke HA3500 350W head (new at about £300 from Thomann - but used at £150 ish) and a 4x10. too.

Head on over to Bass Chatt (basschat.co.uk) and have a look at the for sale bit. Always bargains around.

sticker · 02-29-2008, 04:12 PM

Cheers , I'll have a wander over to the deep side ...

Any other suggestions more than welcome !

Also any info on what the difference is with pickups would be good ie , what's the difference between a Fender Pbass style pick up , Jazz bass or Stingray type arrangement ?
Is one particular bass more suited to a specific style more than another ?
Ta.

fretmeister · 02-29-2008, 05:05 PM

The P bass has a very definitive sound - listen to anything by Queen. John Deacon's bass was always a P - sounds deep and full.

The Jazz is more versatile but generally not as thick a sound as a P. The stringray (and any other active bass TBH) sounds very different and more hi-fi.

I'm not a fan of fender basses really - but the S1 switching on the American Series J bass is supposed to give a very good P bass sound.

You cannot go wrong with a Yamaha bass they are very good indeed. Tim was selling one a little while ago - don't know if it went or not.

Beagle is a fan of Laney bass amps but I've never tried one myself.

Bang for buck I reckon Hartke is excellent - and despite them being relatively cheap there are loads of pro's using them. Jack Bruce even picked the HA3500 head and the very cheap paper cone 8x10 cab for the Cream reunion.

Word of warning though - their FANTASTIC 410XL cab weighs about as much as Jo Brand!

(This is why I swapped to Mark Bass - I can lift my cab over my head with 1 hand!)

sticker · 02-29-2008, 05:12 PM

That's more the kind of thing I'm after !
I love the look of the Mark Bass stuff but fear It would be out of my price league for the time being

wotnwhy · 03-01-2008, 02:14 PM

to be honest. the bass you have will more than suffice for the time being.

with your budget you'll do a lot better buying one very good rig rather than and ok bass and an ok rig.

as far as recomended makes go
Gallien Krueger
MarkBass
SWR
all make great quality, reliable, mid-range gear thats well worth a look. Check out the Basschat for sale forums for some great equipment
http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showforum=20

This Schroeder cab will be more than loud enough for ANYTHING you could throw at it (and i really mean that, from experience), but is very compact and light. A fantastic punchy sound, i really don't think you'd get better for the money
http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=14503

pair it with a 3 or 400 watt head from one of the makes above and you'll have a powerfull, deceptively small rig that will easily compete with a loud drummer and 2 half stacks

Professor SourTone · 03-11-2008, 12:48 PM

I'm sure this is a bit of a gimmick, but this makes me weep with desire

Ampeg micro SVT (2x10)

http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~...ro~ID~8681.asp

Bigger pic next to real SVT (and rubber microskirt) here

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b6...8/IMG_5477.jpg

sticker · 03-11-2008, 02:15 PM

Nice microskirt but the Ampeg stuff does nothing for me I'm afraid ...
Had my 1st audtition last week and played through the full size SVT and wasn't that impressed .

fretmeister · 03-12-2008, 01:13 PM

I don't like SVTs either.

The B series Ampegs are lovely though.

noisepolluter · 03-12-2008, 04:41 PM

I'd love to have a US jazz bass - especially with the S1 switching. If I was buying a bass again, that's what I'd go for, especially as there are still some 2007 ones knocking about at a discount.

I mustn't grumble though, the yamaha TRBII I've got is very nice.

02-29-2008, 12:47 PM	#1
sticker Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Hatfield , Jewel of the South Posts: 1,300	Bass Rig Advice -Thankyouplease! Hello , I may hopefully soon secure a decent gig as a Bassist in a band , I've played "Studio Bass" for years on my own bits and bobs and last year bought one of them Squier Vintage modified Jazz Basses ... If I get the gig I'm going to need a Bass amp capable of doing pub gigs etc and a new/SH bass of a giggable nature . The music is sort of Britpop/Powerpop stuff (Think Blur,Squeeze,Beatles basslines ish) and I'd probably have £500-£700 to spend . My problem is that as a guitarist I know exactly what I want and know what makes a difference , what is a bargain etc , with Bass I haven't got a Scooby . So your suggestions please .... oh it all has to look cool too

02-29-2008, 04:12 PM	#3
sticker Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Hatfield , Jewel of the South Posts: 1,300	Cheers , I'll have a wander over to the deep side ... Any other suggestions more than welcome ! Also any info on what the difference is with pickups would be good ie , what's the difference between a Fender Pbass style pick up , Jazz bass or Stingray type arrangement ? Is one particular bass more suited to a specific style more than another ? Ta. Last edited by sticker : 02-29-2008 at 04:25 PM.

03-01-2008, 02:14 PM	#6
wotnwhy Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Wales Posts: 7	to be honest. the bass you have will more than suffice for the time being. with your budget you'll do a lot better buying one very good rig rather than and ok bass and an ok rig. as far as recomended makes go Gallien Krueger MarkBass SWR all make great quality, reliable, mid-range gear thats well worth a look. Check out the Basschat for sale forums for some great equipment http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showforum=20 This Schroeder cab will be more than loud enough for ANYTHING you could throw at it (and i really mean that, from experience), but is very compact and light. A fantastic punchy sound, i really don't think you'd get better for the money http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=14503 pair it with a 3 or 400 watt head from one of the makes above and you'll have a powerfull, deceptively small rig that will easily compete with a loud drummer and 2 half stacks __________________ work this out

03-11-2008, 12:48 PM	#7
Professor SourTone Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 6,181	I'm sure this is a bit of a gimmick, but this makes me weep with desire Ampeg micro SVT (2x10) http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~...ro~ID~8681.asp Bigger pic next to real SVT (and rubber microskirt) here http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b6...8/IMG_5477.jpg __________________ "I like the rapid punch of solid-state for the bottom, and the rodent-gnawing distortion of the tubes on top," Cipollina said. Last edited by Professor SourTone : 03-11-2008 at 12:54 PM.

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02-29-2008, 05:12 PM	#5
sticker Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Hatfield , Jewel of the South Posts: 1,300	That's more the kind of thing I'm after ! I love the look of the Mark Bass stuff but fear It would be out of my price league for the time being

03-11-2008, 02:15 PM	#8
sticker Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Hatfield , Jewel of the South Posts: 1,300	Nice microskirt but the Ampeg stuff does nothing for me I'm afraid ... Had my 1st audtition last week and played through the full size SVT and wasn't that impressed .

03-12-2008, 04:41 PM	#10
noisepolluter Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,174	I'd love to have a US jazz bass - especially with the S1 switching. If I was buying a bass again, that's what I'd go for, especially as there are still some 2007 ones knocking about at a discount. I mustn't grumble though, the yamaha TRBII I've got is very nice.