Nickthebass

That would be me

Hi there ... bass player looking for a new project. Live and recording experience drop me a line if you want to know more or hear some recordings. Nick

And another

Do you have a sound in your head that you're going for? I'd add a Markbass SA450 / LM3 and a the Genz Benz Streamliner 900 to your list (there's also a 600 watt version). IMO the Streamliner does the best impression of a valve head of any solid state amp out there plus it fits in a shoulder bag and weighs about 5lbs. (Pretty damn cheap as well for what you get.)

Hey there ... I'm a bass player looking to get into something new and interesting. Sounds like this might be up my street. I'll drop you a text. Cheers, Nick

In the past I've played a bit of everything from function gigs to blues, jazz, pop, funk and drum'n'bass. I'm a Motown fan so anything that even smells like soul, r'n'b or funk gets a big but I'd also list Seth Lakeman, Squarepusher, Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains alongside The Four Tops and Otis Redding as influences and stuff I listen to. Basically I'm up for playing in pretty much anything so if you're looking for a bass player for your pop, folk, funk, hip hop, dance, blues, soul, rock, metal, country or whatever else covers / originals band then drop me a line. Should probably also add ... own gear, transport and living in the city centre. Cheers, Nick

I have to say I wasn't that impressed by Mogwai. To me the tunes sounded very samey. I was really into it for about half an hour and then I got bored. Didn't like the mix much either ... there was one tune towards the end that had some sequenced bass in the last few bars. When that dropped in I realised quite how empty and toppy the mix was. (I'm going to assume that they want it that way.) I've seen one or two comments along the lines of "no atmosphere" or "the crowd were rubbish"...didn't really see the band make much of an attempt to interact with the audience, bass player seemed pretty bored!!! Surely we've all seen and played enough gigs to realise that the band has to meet the audience half way and at least acknowledge the fact that there are a bunch of other people standing in the room. Glad I've seen them 'cos I wanted to understand what they were about but I wouldn't bother seeing them again and certainly not at damn near 20 a pop. Bring on Maceo Parker @ The Lemon Tree And by the way ... walking out a gig because of a football scarf???!?!? o_O I knew there was a reason why I prefer watching rugby.

Are you still looking to sell this or have I missed the boat?

This cab is now sold. Cheers, Nick

Huw, Would you take 100? Drop me an email to nickthebass@gmail.com

BUMP --- this is an awesome cab. All the rig you'll ever need and it'll go in the back of a car with ease.

In short this is the industry standard 4x10 cabinet. Massive full range response, punch and control. This is the 4ohm model so it's going to allow your amp to push out more power giving you more headroom and volume. This is a true one cabinet solution to pretty much any situation that doesn't involve enormous rooms (when you're running through the PA anyway). In style terms it's very flexible, I've done everything from rock,blues and jazz to drum'n'bass, pop and funk with this cab. It's in good condition aside from lacking the casters. Check out the SWR website if you want detailed specs SWR - STEP UP!?. Also there are loads of reviews of this cab at Harmony Central and the Bass Gear Review Archive. These retail in the UK at 800-1,000 but I'd be looking for around 400. Either reply here or drop me an email to nickthebass@gmail.com if you've got any questions. Thanks, Nick

Going back to the Gallery will give me an excuse to go and see my folks. Martin and his guys to very very good work. When I've got the coin I'm gonna blow it all on a headless Sei 5 string I think Can you drop me a PM with the name of your guy in Aberdeen? Cheers

What head did you get in the end?

How much do you want to spend? I'm gonna be a totally dissenting voice and recommend one of these Tonebone Bassbone - introduction Built like a tank...onboard EQ and an effects loop if you want it...awesome sound you're looking at around about 200 for one of these. Or about 170 for one of these Sansamp Bass Driver DI :: Bass Effects & Processors :: Bass :: Electro Music. Alot of people use them purely as distortion pedals because they've got a great valve overdrive sound. Not sure how they do it given that I don't think there's a valve anywhere inside. Either one of these will be pretty much all the DI box you will ever need. They're gonna be more expensive than the Behringers but you get alot more for your money IMO. Either way let us know what you went with in the end.

BUMP ----- Any news on what you bought in the end?

Another vote for a Squire from me but as a curve ball get her a Squire Jazz bass...the world needs more bass players Like some people here I started with a Squire and I still have it. Make sure she helps to choose it though. It's got to feel nice to play because that will only encourage a young'un to play more. TBH though you're lucky buying now...the quality of entry level guitars has come on sooooo much in the last 10 years.

Recording gigs can be a little hit and miss in quality terms. If you're taking a feed from the desk remember you're getting the signal that is being sent to the speakers not necessarily what is coming out of them. The signal you're recording has been processed to sound good in that room. I recorded live with a big band once and we sounded great from the back of the room with the front of house going but listening at home it sounded like a jazz trio in a bathroom with a band of a thousand kazoos. That was purely because we had recorded the sound from the desk and it would only ever sound good in that room. If you can get some good quality mics you might be better off recording some of the room sound and at least mixing it with the desk signal. If you've got the cash to throw at some location recording I'd think about finding a venue you like and hiring the room for a day when they don't have a gig on or something like that. I've done that a couple of times and it worked really well. More space than in most small studios plus normally it feels nice.

I totally understand the position...didn't realise why there was a lack of a bloke to recommend though....sorry. The fact that your guy said in the shop that they hadn't found anyone you trusted in town was a plus point from a customer service point of view. It was just a bit of a shock. I've been lucky to have two or three good repair people near me until now. On the upside it gives me an excuse to explore Scotland or go and see my mates in Newcastle.

Good shout on the EBS multicomp.

Aberdeen newbie here but I thought I'd dive in on this... Bought a Markbass SA450 head and an Epifani UL112 cab recently. I can now load in on my own in one trip. Soon to be buying an early 80s Jazz bass off a mate as well.

If I was only allowed one pedal ever it would still probably be the Boss OC2. It sounds good pretty much no matter what you do and you can do alot with it. Lots of amazing early 90s / late 80s fretless stuff plus I'm pretty sure the guy from 311 has one and uses it for some of their dub tunes. I made some brutal d'n'b noises with mine as well. Oh yeah...meant to say...generally don't bother with compressor pedals. They don't tend to be that great quality-wise. For something a bit whacky I'm still selling hard for the Boss bass synth, but I've heard good things about the Digitech synth as well. What sort of budget are you looking at?

I agree totally on the lack of decent basses in Aberdeen. It was a bit of a shock to the system given that I've just moved up from London and there are a few places that sell nothing but basses!!! More of a shock was the lack of a decent luthier / repair bloke. The guy in the shop in the merchant's quarter said they send everything off to some bloke in Glasgow (I think). Might have to start planning trips down to Newcastle if I need stuff fixed.

My advice would be (generally speaking) stay clear of multi FX pedals. The only real exceptions I think would be the Line 6 stuff (Pod as well as stuff like the FM4 filter modeller). Can't comment on the Boss multi FX as I haven't tried it. If it was me I'd buy them either a Boss OC2 (not made any more but you should get one on eBay for less than 100. These are classic octavers and sound amazing doing anything from Stevie Wonder funk to metal to dub and drum'n'bass...awesome in a slightly out of tune way. If you want something with a few more nobs go for a Boss SYB5 bass synth...hours of fun making crazy noises or an Electroharmonix Bass Micro Synth. Most of the FX fun I've had has been taking pedals and gluing them together in a random order rather than playing with one big multi fx box. Also there's nothing better than turning up to a gig and have more pedals that then guitar player

Thought I'd give this a bump as I'm now moved up here and getting bored of not playing. Anyone know anyone who needs a bass player?