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I have a middle of the range Tokai 335 copy. Guitarist in my band has a Gibson 335. I daren't let him try my Tokai as I think it’ll just depress him.

After much trying out and research, I’ve finally sorted out my small rig. It’s unbelievable that this little lot ( Aguilar AG 700 and a Barefaced One 10) can produce the sounds that it does in such a lightweight package. Rehearsal tomorrow night should be fun!

Thank goodness you're here to save us, @prowla! Actually, while you're on, I've just snapped up The Mona Lisa for a great price. I'm SO chuffed.

1. What makes owners of Mesa gear like it so much. (general question about Mesa gear ie build quality, support and availability) - Sound, build quality, character. I have more compliments about my sound when using Mesa gear than any other. 2. What is it that made you pick that particular amp over others. (in respect to other Mesa amps or cabs and maybe in respect to other manufacturers gear) The 400+ is iconic. There's a reason it's one of the default models on Logic Pro X. It gives me a sound I absolutely love. Bass = 3, Treble = 3, MIddle = 10. I have a Walkabout Scout 12 too and use that with it's own 1x12 combo or with a BF TWO10. Both have very similar flavour sounds and cut through the mix. The 400+ is used either through a BF Big Twin 2 or a SIX10. 3. Is there a favoured set up that majority of owners prefer or would prefer. Not particularly. I change mine depending on the venue, my mood, whatever. 4. Can you describe briefly your preferred tone (ie, warm, mellow, mid-punch, heavy bottom end, high top end are just some things i can think off). A middy clank not unlike Duff McKagan, a thumping P-bass with flats depending on the song. Both the 400+ and the Walkabout get me where I need to be. Once you've learned how to quickly adjust teh knobs on the go, it's not an issue. 5. what bass do you generally use with it. (just to give me an idea of whether your bass is passive, active or has a deciding influence on how your tone might sound) Yamaha BB2024x, Valenti P-bass, G&L2500 6. Finally what Mesa gear would you recommend for a Mesa Virgin like myself playing mostly classic rock with a Jazz bass but occasionally depping for other music genres doing pup / club material. A Walkabout Scout or a Walkabout with a quality 210 would probably serve you well. The DI on Mesa gear is weird. You have to be aware that if you change the master volume setting it will affect the signal out so if you tweak up your volume on stage the desk is going to get a hotter signal. Worth mentioning to a soundman just in case. My 400+ measured the power output at approximately 245W clean and 350W maximum when clipping as done by MJW Amps during a service. Transients could well be higher. It's not stupidly powerful but it is loud through a good cab. As a comparison, my MJW Taranis 200 (4 x KT88) is 253 clean and 544 fully clipped.

Just in case you haven't heard this...

Awaiting for mine.

Trace Elliot Series 6 Type 7215 GP7 1X15 300W Combo Back in the day, I was one of the few bass players who didn't use a Trace Elliot rig. When I saw them on sale at that time (late 80s/early 90s) they seemed quite expensive and I got the impression they were solely for Mark King-alikes who favoured the now-infamous slapping style that was all over the place then… In short, it was a hairdresser’s amp and not suitable for muscular Ampeg men such as myself. So I didn't ever have the Trace experience. In the intervening years, I've explored pretty much every other brand and every possible format of bass amp and cab with varying degrees of satisfaction. But then I saw more and more threads about old Trace gear, both here and elsewhere and was intrigued… …mainly because some threads insisted Trace gear sounded terrible, Trace owners wore waistcoats and looked at themselves in the mirror a lot, Trace was a one-trick pony and the gear was incredibly heavy because it was full of concrete. Others praised Trace to the skies, citing a big sound, a huge variety of tones not available elsewhere and claiming lifelong allegiance to the cause. Some very polarised views, then… but they can’t both be right, can they? This cognitive dissonance will not stand! So when I saw a Trace combo up for sale on BC, I thought ‘why not?’ It can only be terrible. Or great. I’ll find out. Got the combo home and plugged in my Jazz Bass - it sounded terrible. So I fiddled with the EQ for a while and it was better, but not great. After quite a bit of fiddling and button-pressing and bone-headed persistence, I got some acceptable results, but there was an overall baked-in aspect to the sound I couldn't seem to get rid of, a sort of Marcus-type twangy vibe. I fiddled for a bit longer (fnarr), upped the input gain quite a bit, then loaded a play-along CD into my Linn system which I set at near-battle levels, to see what the combo would do in concert, as it were - and suddenly there it was - without changing anything, the tone was at once lush, muscular and taut - and without the twang, or rather it was still there, but it now served to make the notes articulate and present, without being in any way offensive. Nice tight bottom end, too - I eased down the 50hz slider somewhat to avoid speaker stress, raised the 100Hz a db or two and all was good. Very good. It is a big, chunky sound that puts a stupid grin on your face. I strongly suspect it will be a cracking live amp. Trace obviously made gear that was meant to be taken out into the world and gigged with a band, not used solo in a bedroom. Tip: Leave the Mid Pre Shape button alone and avoid the ‘smiley face’ EQ curve. A word on LOUD: According to physics, a watt is a watt is a watt, but any layman will tell you that valve watts seem louder than solid state watts. I can tell you that Trace SS watts seem louder than, er… other SS watts. And by some margin. I need to do a lot more research, but apparently this 7215 combo delivers around 180-200 watts into its internal speaker which provides an 8 ohm load. There is an additional output socket on the rear of the combo to allow an additional 8 ohm cab to be used. It will then produce the full 300 Trace watts into 4 ohms, which must be truly seismic. All GP7 combos use custom Celestion drivers, it says here. In use, it comes on at least as 'loud' as a regular 500W @ 4 ohms Class 'D' amp and that’s without using an extension cab. I can’t imagine ever needing one - the combo on its own is punishingly loud and must have been astonishing back in the day, largely because it’s astonishing now. It is also built like a tank and the spec of this one puts it at a scrotum-busting 35kg - however I don’t think it’s genuinely that heavy, as it’s a do-able two-handed lift into my hatchback. Lift with your legs, lift with your legs… huppp. Having said that, I wouldn't like to carry it very far… Barefaced it is not. I now keep a folding sack truck in the car. And a truss. So there you have it. As you know, I've been on the gear merry-go-round for decades. Could it be that if I had bought this combo in 1993 I wouldn't have needed anything else and could have put an end to amp and cab GAS right there and then, saving myself a fortune in the process? We’ll never know. Will I now recommend that you madly rush out and buy up loads of old Trace gear? I will not. Because I don’t want the price to go up. You probably wouldn't like it, anyway…

Hey Basschat, I've just started properly recording this bass and loving the bite from it! Anyone else here using a P-elite and want to share some photos/videos?? Cheers, Bill.

All the better to hold the headstock on with

Nice one!! That's the one I've settled on. Pretty basic but there's only a couple of songs I need to transpose to learn and the free basic version does enough for me!

I heard one of those narrower combos a few years ago, and even with a Wal going into it , it sounded nowhere near as good as the larger combo with the twin ports. May have been the lower powered one though.

Funnily enough I love a thru-neck too and got a passive PJ 5-string built by Jon Shuker a couple of years back with a set neck option. Pretty much a Fender 70’s Jazz style with MOP blocks on the neck. Got a similar styled “active” 5-string from him too but that has Wizard Humbucker pickups instead of the PJ. Both cracking basses & cant beat that thru-neck feel.

I love the possibilities you have in the Helix to play around with the order of effects. Tried putting a multi repeat delay into a reverb and then a filter. Gives this lovely washy ambient sound. Wonderful piece of gear.

LH500 good too. Cheaper and really simple front panel.

@dmccombe7 the Taranis is currently a one off 😉. It’s essentially the same power section as a Matamp GT200 or Orange AD200 but with two channels each with its own style preamp circuit and EQ. One EQ is a Fender style EQ and the other is the Baxendale-James type. The channels are clean/driven vintage-ish and the other is driven modern to absolute filth with a switch that gives Ch2 two different characters. It also has power switching options where it can go to half power across all four Kt88s or can be switched to run on two valves or can run on half power to two KT88s. Handy for recording at sensible volumes while caning the big tubes for that bottle-warmth. It has a voice selector switch that gives it four distinctly different characters, one of which is great for guitars. It’s all way over the top but is incredibly versatile and it cost about the same as a GT200. I think the intention is that MJW will make a much more straightforward Taranis if anyone wants one. Mine was like an experimental (mental?) venture.

It’s ok, he phoned me 30 minutes after we agreed to meet (he did text to say he’d be late) and said “I’m here, where are you?!” He was in the wrong car park. So I’m not shocked it eluded him.

Thanks Sean for your fantastic descriptions. Gives me a general idea of how you use your set up and how that differs slightly from my preferred tone. Thanks for that. One other thing MJW Taranis ? Never heard of them but just googled and they look tidy but not knowing enough about them i wouldn't buy one without trying it first. Dave

Not again, please.

Mr Button did Series 6 to SMX / 12 band I believe, and Ashdown for the first 10 years or so I think

[I know Ashdowns can stand a lot of signal on the input stage, but is there any advantage in a high input level on a Trace? Is it better to whack up the master and control the volume level with the input, or vice-versa,? Or neither?] I think it depends on what sort of sound you are after, I like a clean sound through the amp and the low input works well for that. But to be honest I don’t think I have ever managed to ‘push’ the amp yet. I could dial the input up to get the led on but there’s no point. One thing I notice on mine is that if I wat to use it for practice I have to drop the input more than the output as the output has less effect on the overall volume.

I'm a fan of the Trace Elliot sound but not the weight, so I use a TE head with light weight cabs, agree with everything Discreet says, Trace watts are a lot louder the D class watts and the preshape buttons are seductive when playing on you own but in a band situation a no no, I just cut the 50 and 60Hz sliders (GP12) to get rid of boom, but I do use a bass drive sim which does take out some mid range honk and have the input on full, the red light might flash very occasionally but that's it

Love that! Great job

You wouldn't need to on a Musicman, they come fitted with one to save you doing it, lol.

I've just acquired a Yammy BB1025 which I hope is going to scratch my P bass itch for the near term - I've decided to forgo my 'perfect' combination of including a neck through in favour of getting a tried and tested and much loved bass - it does seem that getting something in a finish that I'd like means going bespoke and potentially paying 2 to 3 times what my Yammy has just cost or alternatively having to wait for a hen's tooth to surface! Shame your SR1206 is being wasted. I'm about to change the string set up on mine to be: EADGBE i.e. an octave down from a normal six string electric, with the ability to play chords and solo riffs that such a set up should more easily allow. I wonder if that might make for an interesting set up for you also to get another dimension / use out of the Ibby? Just a thought!

"I need to introduce a duck..." That's a quote to remember. That's also a very respectable looking instrument.

+1 I agree that this seems to be more tremolo than chorus. Zoom MS-60B will get you a fair way down the line with either, and won't break the bank.

Theyre the same type of bass principle as Ashdown - sound bland on their own but great in a band scenario (which is what theyre made for).

I guess we need to consider the Trace 1x10 that’s just come out, I’m planning to get one this year, haven’t tried yet though

The TC Electronics MojoMojo at lower gain does a great vintage mid rich drive sound that will give you a similar vintage driven bass tone (without the wobble) and can also be picked up for less than £50 new. Might be worth a look if you don't fancy lugging about a monster all valve amp. I hadn't thought of a Leslie speaker, but now it's been mentioned it's so obvious

There`s a thickness & thud to that sound that just doesn`t seem to be around nowadays.

Move to Corona. Wait a mo, that's cause the QC was crap at the old factory

Sounds really good! I'm also in 2 bands and a weekend warrior, (but a whole year younger ) and we will hopefully be getting around 2/3 the number of gigs your two bands are getting in 2018, so not quite in your established league yet. Be interested in swapping notes with you at some point!

Sounds like fuzz and chorus to me. On my board I'd use the Chowney Fuzzster and EHX Bass Clone (neither of which are expensive).

We gig this one and I just dig in with my valve pre amp peadal and valve rig and it doesn't sound right to my ears, I think the cheapest option would be a fuzz pedal, something like an MXR bass fuzz deluxe, but I can't really justify it for one number, I hear there was a lesley speaker involved, and a pick, someone recommends a digitech ventura vibe as well, there's some stuff here https://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/836166-john-paul-jones-studio-sound.html and here

That's what I tell the missus.

I don't know about that. Mass produced bolt-on instruments often have shims in place during initial set-up at the factory. If you were handcrafting each instrument making sure it matched its neck, no, you wouldn't expect a shim in the end. But those instruments would not sell for the price they currently sell if they required the extra attention. A shim, that you cannot even tell is there unless you remove the neck and look, is not exactly a sign of a poor instrument, to me. But... I have a feeling of deja-vu

Andy, thanks so much for posting this. A radius jig is next on my list of things to build, once I finish the two work tables, the work bench, wood rack....oh and the unfinished guitar and bass that keep on looking at me making me feel guilty. But sanding radii is pretty much my least favourite part of a build, so I shall be re-visiting this thread shortly, compass and stubby pencil in hand.....

Got one on order with the new SL-2

Agreed, it does sound like you have a duff one - I'm with Osiris on this one. You're very welcome to borrow mine - PM me if you do and I'll post it across to you.

Mine turned up half an hour ago, quick tune up and straplocks on balances nicely on a Comfort Strapp. I ordered a case with it, the headstock just about fits, which I suppose is just enough really.

I think they should reissue this: For a laugh.

Lets kick this off then Mmmmm....mushrooms

Yeah the burnt ash is a beauty! I saw the body in the flesh when I was down a few months ago! I was very tempted to go the same route for my next bass. But I wanted a light coloured bass. I’m going with a walnut body, Italian sycamore top wood, sycamore neck and fingerboard, with a walnut scratch plate. Chris and Al are great guys, who are masters of their craft! I don’t think I will ever buy an instrument from another company.

The procedure is on page 23 of the manual that you can download from the link Mudpup posted. You'll need a USB cable with the right ends.

here you go https://www.zoom-na.com/products/guitar-bass-effects/multistomp/zoom-ms-60b-multistomp-bass-pedal#downloads

It sounds like thhe crappy bass was the issue, rather than the B string - but if you don't need it, you don't need it 😀

Do 'best of' albums count? If so 'Steppin Out - the Best of Joe Jackson' would be in my top 3. Made In Japan, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath would be the other 2.