Hi there to one and all in the Stick world. Having lurked on the fringe for a couple of years, I've finally decided to take the plunge and pursue the "dream." The dream in question is a Rosewood 10-string with PASV-4 & MIDI. Having always used light gauge strings as a guitarist, this is my choice for starters, however I'm hoping someone can help shed some light on the following questions...

Strings: Given that I've only ever been a guitarist & keyboardist - but have always wanted to get into bass - how do light gauge strings fare on the bass side? For those of you out there using them, are you satisfied, or should I consider a heavier gauge for the bass strings?

Pre-Amp/Amp/Processors/Effects: I've considered the Roland VG-99, but for now I think that's getting a bit ahead of myself (although I've specified MIDI in order to "future-proof" it for later if I change my mind). Nevertheless any advice on pre-amp/effects processors would be appreciated. I mentioned Marshall amps in my title, for the fact that - as a guitarist - I have always loved the warm, valve-based sound that only a Marshall can deliver. Is anyone using Marshall gear with their Stick and, if so, how does it measure up? On this note, my tastes lean toward artists like Eric Clapton, John Mayer & other blues/rock/R'n'B players, and I would love to explore this style further with a Stick. However, as already mentioned, the creative possibilities from a bassist's perspective have got me very excited too, but with no bass playing experience, could anyone recommend a good bass amp set-up?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice. I eagerly await being overloaded with a flood of information.

I recently got rid of my Marshall amps that I was using for Stick.I had a Super Lead that I changed to a Super Bass and a 1974x combo that was my lead amp. I tried out a Mesa Roadster and a Walk a bout bass amp and was able to ditch all of my overdrive and fuzz pedals for lead. The Mesa amps,in my opinion make all the sounds needed.
The VG-99 would be great if you ran it into a tube power amp (Mesa) .

I would be glad to answer any questions about Marshalls,Mesa ,VG-88s and Sticks.

Can't help you with the Marshalls specifically, but I have a pretty good handle on what makes a nice bass rig.



This is my rig for bass and Stick.

On the left: Seymour Duncan KTG-1 tube guitar preamp into a Peavey Classic Series 120 tube power amp (4x 6L6GC.) The cabinet is a generic guitar 4x12, nice and midrangey.

On the right: Ampeg SVT-II tube bass amp (6 x 6550A.) The cab is an Ampeg SVT-1540HE, which is basically an SVT fridge cab but with a 15" in the bottom instead of 4x10". It also has a horn, which I don't use.

I run into the SVT and then use its line out to feed the "guitar" rig. The guitar rig runs dirty almost all the time (I play thrash metal...) and the SVT is mostly clean. It gets a little grind but it's subtle.

Total weight of this rig? No idea. Heavy, though. It just about fills up my station wagon!

I don't run it in stereo, since my Stick is in Dual Bass Reciprocal I'm just playing all bass. It works great and the extra dispersion from the 4x12" cab makes it easy for me to hear myself on stage even when I'm not turned up very loud.

We have a gig Saturday in Raleigh, NC, and I MAY be playing my Stick on a couple of tunes. It'll come down to how well I do at practice with it.

I have the Russian tube top SOVTEK Mig-60 with two Marshall Lead Series cabinets. This amp typically duplicates the classic "plexi" sound. I use it for practicing with a clean sound in my living room with the PASV4 set to send both bass and melody side through the same output. My main rig is a laptop with a good audio interface, because that makes it more convenient to bring the Stick and use it at concerts (each output integrating unique electronics). I'm very happy with how the PASV4 sounds by a plain line input with some treble cut off.