want a 5 string bass guitar

I've always fancied one of these: http://www.guitarport.com/overview.html

...but I dont know if they do a bass version.

 

Never even heard of Ashdown, apart from the forest...

I personally rate Marshall and Ampeg as the best, especially for gigs, wot with having excellent amounts of power (my Marshall's 2x300w, and that's Marshall watts..), and being very robust.
I found Trace Elliots and their ilk to have too many fiddly slidey controls - i.e. just the sort of thing that will break off in the back of a Transit van, plus they always seemed to spend more on their green lights than on amp circuits!
The really expensive bass amps are only any use for studio work, being very clean, but you've normally got to spend loads getting a decent flight case for it - i.e. MesaBoogie and the like..

And as for bass effects, I use a "full range guitar effects" unit - a rackmount Yamaha FX7700 which cost me £150 ex-dem, not bad for a fully midi-programmable box with 200 fx in it..

 

As far as I can tell the guitar port is simply a USB soundcard with a Hi-Z input for guitars/bass. The cleverness is all in the software which adds the distortion effects... which half the time you wouldn't be using on a bass anyway! Well I like to play clean most of the time so..

If you have a computer with a decent with a soundcard which is plugged into good speakers all you need is this http://www.studiospares.com/mac/pro...&txtDescription=di box&SearchProductGroup=&p=

If you want distortion effects, the best one IMO is Izotope Trash.
http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/trash/

 

Tenson,

Its a LOT more than that.

If you have broadband go to the Line 6 website and follow the demo.

 

I can't seem to get to the Line 6 page at the moment but I would think in rory's case a Line 6 Bass Pod would be perfect. No computer needed, just plug into the hi-fi.

 

CHRIST - Leonard - thanks for reminding me - I KNEW there was a major reason I wasn't sad to see the Carlsbro go - all those damn sliders - yuk.

These Marshall watts - valve or SS? Price??

I use one of those Zoom bass effects (506??) pedals - chromatic tuner, headphone amp, octaver, and loads of stuff - still can't figure out most of it mind you!

 

Dom!
I'm afraid my Marshall (SS btw) is a Jubilee, and a bit like Rocking Horse Sh*te to get hold of...
However, Peavey make some very good value bass gear - the sort of thing that sounds like a live bass should, rather than that somehow annoying Carlsboro sound.
And Zoom are great effects - I only bought my Yamaha over the Zoom because it was rackmounted, and would fit into the flight case the Marshall's in, and it had much more capability, and it was cheaper being last year's (well that's 1995 now!) model..
Oh, and must recommend Warwick's entry-level strings.. They're only about £8 a 4 string set, that's significantly less than anyone else, and they're better than Rotosounds.. The best, btw, are Smith (check THIS or Labella but at over £30 a set should be..

 

He he - think you hit the nail on the head re Carlsboro - I only got that one as it was ex-dem and dirt cheap. Only 100 watts though...

Yey! :banana: :banana: My mate Vince (mr Trace Elliot/Yamaha) recommended them - it's a good little unit!

Sh1t! Bought some Rotosounds a few months back - will look out Warwick's - any particular name, or just go for the under-a-tenner set then?

 

They're in a green pack - can't remember the exact name. Darned good value though...

And this is the amp you want, to go with this cab. 8 ten inch speakers provides quite a lot of bass, and a bad back (I know, I used to have one!)

 

i've been recommended some Laney bass amps but you haven't mentioned them? Any views?

 

Laney are OK as well - I'd put them on a par with the lower Peavey gear, and they've been going for years..
Definitely good value - GAK have got THIS ONE at £315, not bad for a 300w combo without annoying slider controls!

 

Leonard - those amps are LUSH but far superior to my, err, "playing" non-ability! I used to have use of Laney amps in Reading's Alleycat practice rooms though - very nice amps. What about Hiwatt???

BTW - I dunno about Peavey bass, but know about Peavey colouration on vocals; here's a sad fact - I'd only heard a few Peavey PA rigs, but when you first see the dodgy wedding band from the first wedding in, err, "Four weddings and a funeral", I knew instantly that it was a Peavey rig. A few seconds later - I was proved right!!! He he he...

 

incidentally, i bucked up courage to play bass through my soundcards mic in and it works perfectly!! haven't played it through my precious speakers though- just going through the Sennheiser 565s for now .Cheers

 

Guitars will work on the mic input but as it is designed for a different impedance load it will not sound as it should. This may not be too obvious on a bass guitar but on a lead it is more noticeable. If you guitar has a high output it probably wont make as much difference either.

My friend recorded some rhythm guitar pieces through his mic input and although it works there is less definition, detail and bite. Which was great for that recording

 

I wouldn't want to keep running bass through mic input, it might not break instantly but I wouldn't like to try it over time though I spose it depends on whether your really bothered about it.
I have a little marshall practice guitar amp which is bust after someone played bass through it. Not that I care as it sounded broken to start with.

 

Hiwatt are another grand old British make (at least I think they're British!)...
They were like a slightly cheaper version of ORANGE - you can't be a prog rock bassist without one of these!
You can actually buy an Orange 20w practice bass combo for less than £80!

 

Sorry for the thread hijack, but while the attention of those knowlegable in this area is here....

My brother's just picked up a Marshall MG-100DFX. He's only paid £60 for it. It's harldy been used, and just been sat about in a friends studio. Looks as new, and sounds good. However, the master volume is playing up. When turning it, it'll make some nasty crunchy/clicky/poppy/crackley noises. It's fine when left in place, but makes the noise when actually being adjusted.

Any ideas?

 

Give the pot a sqirt of contact cleaner and move it about a lot. If that doesn't work buy a new one from Maplin.