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Yep there's so much admin! 😅 Okay that's a good point, thanks! I guess it's all in the communication - if it's not clear where money is going and why, totally understand the frustration. In my view the responsibility is on organisers to be clear with this stuff, otherwise the void gets filled with assumed intentions and it can get messy pretty quick for everyone, even if everything is actually fine. But we can always ask for clarification, and if everything's above-board and communicated well, no scheming going on, we can just say yes or no? Shame on these venues/events that use 'charity' to their own end though, that sucks.

This where I get lost off... It may well be the Mk1 with no mid control but the HX has dozens of ways of adding/subtracting mids while using the Tech 21 block. Surely if the core tone is right, then anything else is just embellishment as you'd get by tweaking EQ from the bass through to an amp or desk?

It was just a case of sorting out the stops and the accents.

Absolutely. I am normally more reserved with my views but got a bit carried away thinking about battles for the stereo in the Sixth Form block 35yrs ago. That is literally how little it meant! I always say, you put yourself out there and they either get you, or they don’t. I kind of had that one answered for me!

@SteveXFR Was there not also some story about a lawnmower engine saving their arse ? I reckon they're just about done. Not too many 40 stone 40-somethings harbour easy rider illusions never mind can afford it 🤣

Just thought I'd add a bit more to this, in case anyone else encounters something similar. I was using the Spark Neo for a bit of practice today and there was a noticeable amount of white noise coming through. When I put my hand on the transmitter, it stopped. A short extension lead moving the transmitter away from the bass and towards me also stopped it. Then I swapped bass to another active bass, and that also stopped it. Can't see anything wrong with the shielding on that bass (Antoniotsai with aftermarket Bart pickups and Delano Sonar preamp), I'll just stick to not using it with the Spark.

Let us know how the decision goes, Nige. All the best.

The HX version is a Mk1 without a mid control. And as always - models of the same thing but on a different modelling platform sound different due to different approaches to the task.

Thanks for the replies people. What would you recommend in a similar price bracket to the Fenders but not quite so stiff then?

ah, I just saw you are selling. I already have one and love it. The temptation for another is very high but I'm not gigging at all at the moment so all it would do is annoy my lovely wife. I haven't quite reached the stage of joining a band just to justify buying more gear!

I found the babicz disapointing - it felt like it was transmitting too much energy into the body and was sucking the life out. Personally I like the high mass bridges like the badass II or the Fnder other people in the thread are talking about. The standard BBOT has a charm as well

I had the same rig for a while. I really liked both cabs alone but never together. My 102P was a combo so I kept that bit and sold the 15.

Just an observation but if this is the 'digital' version of the Tech 21 DI bass driver type thing, is it not already modelled in the Helix/Stomp units? It may well be getting produced by the originator of that tone but at the end of the day it is just software/capture/modelling?

We do key changes and then detune a semitone for most songs to suit the singers. It can make it quite difficult to reproduce the original bass lines on a 4 string in some cases. That said we are not trying to be a tribute act, so I don't always stick exactly to the bass line unless it's a really integral part of the song. It would be hard to recognise, e.g: How Long, Keep on Running, I Gotta Get Out of This Place, if you didn't play the original bass line. We also have a lead guitarist who is obsessed with tempo, so we end up playing everything around 10 beats faster than the original. He accelerates during the set as well. Its pretty impressive that he manages to get the solos for Sultans of Swing and Come Up and See Me right, while playing them significantly faster than the originals, Lol! I saw a band locally where the bassist didn't play the original bass line to How Long, in fact the only thing that was the same were the words. It took me most of the song to realise what they were paying. Personally I think that is a step too far. There is room for interpretation but fundamentally changing a song seems either wrong, or lazy.

We Built This City - Starship

Pretty much any two cabs together will sound better than either alone. The only way to know if Cab A plus Cab B is better than 2xCab A or 2xCab B is to try all three combinations side by side. That's not an option for most.

Is it up there with the nitro vs poly paint tone debate?

I like the look of that, and $299 seems a decent price that'd hopefully translate to about that in £. seing as a $ is £0.74 and I suppose there are import costs. Tough, simple and looks like it can do all the things you really need for gigs: Tuner, compression, drive, EQ, line and XLR out, fx loop, simple to access presets, and some nice to have extras like filter, IRs, Chorus (I wonder if it can do other modulation effects or delays?), midi. I suppose the key thing will be if it sounds good though. I'm not against digital, but there is a big variation between a good digital overdrive and a bad one.