Howdy folks...

[manghu67]

Just wanted to do the obligatory intro.

Hey there!

About me:

I'm DJ Urbanovsky. I'm a custom knifemaker. I like guns, cigars, scotch, scary rock music, and of course, the bass.

I've been playing strings since 1992. Started out as a guitarist, then transitioned to bass in 1997, built up a sweet rig, then foolishly transitioned back to guitar in 2001 and sold all my bass gear. Yeah, I know, stupid. Took a hiatus from bands in 2005 to focus on building my custom knife business. During the course of said hiatus, I began feeling more and more fed up with the state of most modern rock music and the scene here in Omaha, and the itch has been building to get back in the game and start writing music again.

Then it happened...

Last month, I got a phone call from one of my good friends. It went something like this: "I played Mick our album. He really likes your bass work. We're forming a band. I'm playing drums. Mick is playing guitars. You're playing a bass." I said "I am? I'm a guitarist now. I don't even OWN a bass!" He said "You're a bass player and you're playing bass." I said "Ok."

So the search for gear has begun again. I'm pretty excited about it, even though I'm starting over from scratch. In the process now of putting together a rig that's powerful enough to get me by while I sock away funds for the big daddy big guns. So far there's the head, a Peavey Max 450 which I got a crazy deal on. Now on the hunt for a 410 or two, Maybe one 410 and a 115. And then I have to figure out what bass. The choices these days are staggering, but at least now there's Craigslist...

Hope that's good enough for an introduction.

[Muzoid]

Welcome...Enjoy!

Although you might find a dream-bass on Craigslist, you should beware of what gets posted there....just check out some of the Craigslist horror stories here at TB.

If I were in your position, I would maybe look into Squier, they are a decent bass...cheap (new), upgradable etc...that way you don't get in too deep, since the future of the band is yet to be known.

...or of course check out your local pawn shops....

...and especially when it comes to cabs, buyer beware....I would never buy a cab that I haven't fully checked out first as so much can go wrong with them.

[manghu67]

Thanks, buddy! Looking forward to hanging out and re-educating myself.

Honestly, I'm not even sure what my dream bass is these days, but I know I'll figure it out. I'd rather spend a little more for something special out the gate that I'm not going to outgrow as fast.

The band will probably work out - I've known these guys a long time. But if it doesn't - when you miss the bus, there's always another bus coming along.

Pawnshops are on the shopping list.

Everything on Craigslist is caveat emptor, in my opinion. I don't buy anything off of CL without thoroughly ringing it out first, especially musical gear.

I have never, ever had a cab, new or used, that didn't cause me headaches. A Genzbenz 12 that repeatedly ate speakers. Same with a Peavey 1820 - thank god for the replaceable basket on that 18. An Ampeg 410HLF that turned the cap to ash...

[Muzoid]

So cool....my rig is a customized 1820...I made it into 2 separate cabs, a 2-10 and a 1-18

I bought it from a pawn shop 10 years ago and it is still kickin great....I have the Peavey Mark IV head as well....love it.

I've not met too many that had the 1820's

I hope you find what works for you bass and amp wise.

[manghu67]

Aside from the speaker issues, the only thing I didn't like about my 1820 was the weight. But it was built like a tank. I was almost sad to see it go when I got the Ampeg rig.

My only gripe with Peavey stuff is that to my ear, it's not as "musical" as some of the higher end stuff. But with it's robustness and price point, it's a great value, especially if you can find good second hand pieces. I got my head for $150. Hard to beat $.50 a watt at 4 ohms.

I actually had a line on another 1820 for $50 up here. He said one of the 10s was bad in it, but they've got replaceable baskets. I figured worst case, if I had to replace all the baskets, I'd have a great cab for around $250. And if it was a crossover issue, I could solder one of those up for cheap.

As far as the bass itself goes, I'm keeping my eyes open for a deal on a Thunderbird, USA Fender, Spector, or Zon over the next couple of months. In the meantime, I'll hit the pawnshops and used music stores to find something to fill the void.

[Muzoid]

For me, the 1820 was a quick purchase...I was in a band playing a small combo amp, and on the other site of the stage was a mountain of guitar rig - hahaha, so I wanted something large to balance out the stage.

I drove a leased Sunfire GT at the time, and only because of the seat latch, it wouldn't fit into the back seat (and hacking it off was not an option)

I had a buddy do a design with some software, and got some nice Baltic Birch, and spent a weekend with my tools...covered it with black trunk liner, got flat black corners and basically kept the guts the same, adding a jumper between the 2 cabs. The guitarist worked at a steel plant and a case of beer bought me expanded metal face-plates.

In my own personal opinion, it was quite a nice upgrade in sound, seems like the dimensions and ports my bud designed worked in my favor...as well on smaller gigs/rehearsals, I can just bring the 2-10", or the 1-18"

Also...you might want to look through the For Sale section here at TB...I've seen some excellent deals on great basses....if it's a Jazz you are looking for in the Fender category, I keep hearing wonderful things about the Geddy Signature model.

[manghu67]

I ended up going with a 412, which is awesome and loud, but it's stupid big. Been keeping an eye on the for sale section for some Aguilar DB210s. Portability would be nice.