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@thumbo I've recorded some Luce X DCX clips... will put them up in the next few days. I think that's going to be a popular combo!

Recording? Ewwwwwww, no. I use a wireless when practicing at home, when practicing with a band and when gigging. In fact the only time I don't use a wireless is when recording. It's not so much the 1% difference in sound, it's the latency and the (admittedly very slim) chance of a drop out.

Good recommendations all, thanks. I'll update the thread for posterity when I get something.

Thank you for doing this, very insightful with the blind taste test! For the P with flats it was very close for me between the Noble and Luce, I think they sound remarkably similar in the first round through my Audio Technica headphones. Both have a well-rounded sound that appeals. In round 3, the Mantle stood out to me for little more with that sparkle in the highs. So overall, not a clear cut one for me at all, they all sound nice and ultimately I feel like I'm splitting hairs. However, I am very impressed by the Luce. I will probably pull the trigger on one of these at some point because I can imagine it being an absolute gem when paired with other preamps that are taking a tone-shaping role. Intrigued to hear what it would be like adding some warmth to the harshness of my Rusty Box, or some valve goodness after a DCX Bass.

I've got a Sonicake Pocket Master and very much like it with an SVT NAM profile I've loaded on to it and a bit of an EQ tweak. You can do all of the editing on the device itself (except NAM loading), or you can use the app. I do more practicing because I've got it. Combine it with a cheap wireless unit and then you've just got the headphone cable going to you. I've also got a Valeton GP-5, which is a great little thing too. No battery, so it needs power and you can't edit on the device itself, you need to use the app. That's where the GP-50 is a better bet for practice as you can edit on the device and it has a battery. I like the Mesa amp sim on my GP-5. I also think I'm going to put my GP-5 on my pedalboard so that I can have it on the spare output from my Boss GX-100 to use as an amp sim and headphone amp for practice when I want to use the whole shebang but not wake my daughter. (Yes, the GX-100 has amp sims built in, but I go out to my amp for gigs, don't want duplicate patches with an amp sim at the end just for practice) I have had a Mooer Prime P1 and it was the worst bit of gear I've ever purchased. I didn't like any of the sounds in it and I spent so long trying to find something half decent that I didn't practice. Then I'd turn it off being somewhat happy with the sound, but the next time I turned it on I would start the tone search again. With my Pocket Master and GP-5, I plug in and play.

I bought a camera from Tom and it was a great experience throughout, packed and posted the same day and arrived in perfect condition. thanks Matt

The Harley Benton Precision kit showed up yesterday and... although it clearly says P-Style on the box there was a jazz bass inside! Thomann have responded quickly and they're going to check the rest of their stock and get back to me. I did have a glance at the body and neck of the jazz kit, and I'm pretty impressed with the bones.

He is based in Yorkshire and we have spoken before about both coming up!

I would like to see those Jbbas again.

WinISD will calculate rectangular ports. I've done it the old fashioned way in the past - make a port that looks right (about ¼ to ⅓ driver diameter) and make a cardboard tube(s) and adjust the length until you get a sound you are happy with.

The Spellbinder we have in stock weighs 3.4kg so light as a feather

I think you are right here, it's very sad that AI is creating electronic music that most people think sounds 'real'. The genie is out the bottle now, and people who are desperate for clicks on social media will be in a race to the bottom to use it. There is a whole generation of people who live on social media and will do anything to get those clicks. Witness people blowing up Ferraris or doing other stupid 'stunts' to get attention. Perhaps the "Dog and Duck" will be the centre of the fightback for real music, but I somehow doubt it. On the plus side, both my daughters love live music and want to go to gigs, they then buy the music for the band or singer, they love the live element of it all. Whilst they may be in a minority, most of their friends seem to be the same, and they will continue to keep going to gigs so long as the price is right (apologies for the pun). They have introduced me to new music, though I have to say that Kneecap is not my idea of a good time, but I can't imagine I'm their target audience

Unfortunately, I think you might be right. At least that's what it feels like to me as someone who has spent 30 years making electronic music. There is software that suggests chords progressions, song structure and drum patterns, Reason has just been bought by an AI company. Or can fully go with something like Suno. On quitting digital music, Daft Punk said 'the last thing they'd want to be now (with AI music) is Robots'. One of them went on to hand write an orchestra score for a ballet. A bit like being a digital visual artist but now AI can do it it'll kills off the need for humans doing that stuff and the market/rarity/value of digital art decreases, but AI won't replace hand painted oil portraits. Along with Daft Punk, one of my favourite electronic producers is Jamie xx, I think he does innovative stuff that's still accessible and more than most he has a signature sound, but a comment on one of his latest releases was 'sounds like AI'. If people think his stuff sounds like AI there's no hope for someone like me to not! I'm thinking there will be push-back in listening trends, AI will be great at personalising music (e.g. linked to mood/time of day, where you are in a marathon and heartbeat etc) but people will want to see real people perform live music with instruments.