Rayman

Very pleased indeed with the new (used) 10” speaker. It’s a like for like Celestion BL10 - 70, used but tested by the seller, the only real difference is the yellow painted cone which looks very cool. The horn, a Stageline HT30 is head and shoulders above the previous plastic job in terms of quality, so I’m delighted really. I did however have to rout out the hole with my Dremel in order to get it in. A great range of tones, plenty of low end for laid back grooves here in the flat. Noticeably the clipping seems to have gone until you push the gain up hard, so no surprise there. Was it just a loose speaker after all that? Vibrating maybe? It’s possible, as I see absolutely nothing wrong with the old speaker. Either way, I’ve ended up with a great home practice amp.

I was there on Thursday. A lot of Algam stock on the shelves. They’re going to need a bigger warehouse to accommodate all the new equipment. Bass amps will still play an important role, but there’s a lot of other irons in fires by the looks of things.

Well I hope you obliged!

Absolutely. Something else I need to organise is some kind of stand or box or something to stand the rig on.

I ran out of space ages ago for sneaking stuff in past Mrs Rayman, so, now I’ve got a storage unit in town 😉.

I played guitar for years through a couple of different bass amps, no problem. In fact when I went back to a Fender Princeton guitar amp, it sounded thin to me. It took a while to re adjust. You might not get that high end sparkle, but you a lovely warm tone. Decades ago, probably 4, my brother bought a Vox combo from Rhythm House music in Stockport to play lead/rhythm guitar through. He used it for years. It always did have a warm tone to it. Turned out it was a bass amp.

Thanks indeed for all of that. Primarily I want loud but portable. So the TC and the two 1x12 Hartkes appeals a lot. However is that going to match the grunt of the Ashdown head, 2x10 and 1x15? I dunno. We’re not talking stadiums here, it’s mostly rock/metal nights in small/medium venues. I Want to make a decision on if I’m sticking with Ashdown, or going small and portable with the TC and a couple of more portable cabs.

Thanks for that. Just to clarify, I’m looking at 2x 1x12s

I like the idea of a couple of portable 2x12s, I just don’t know if they’re up to it?

Most of the gigs I’m DI’d yes. So obviously this kind of negates the need for a ‘big rig’. But on Saturday, onstage, the TC + 410 was a bit lost. It sounded fine out front I’m sure, but onstage the sound, for me, was lacking, which effects how I play. However, we also do gigs where we don’t have DI, so I need to have that covered too.

I’ve never been an amp guy. I find them far less exciting than basses. However I really want to get my rig sorted. I’ve been using a TC D class head into a TC 4x10 for gigs (original heavy rock, Thunderbird bass). The TC sounds fine, but it’s not amazing. I have an Ashdown ABM 500 combo, which I love, especially on top of the ABM 1x15 cab, but it’s too heavy and cumbersome. We live in an upstairs flat and I’m not getting any younger. So I bought an ABM 500 head, a 2x10 cab and the 1x15 cab, which I haven’t tested live yet, but I feel like this rig is still pretty bulky. Someone I know is selling a couple of Hartke Hidrive 1x12 cabs. Super light and portable and very reasonably priced. Will those 2 Hartke cabs work with the TC head for hard rock? Will they have enough clout?

Mrs Rayman was treated to a Chicken Korma from the local curry house that particular night.

And finally…. a set of Guild knobs, courtesy of our friends at Ali Express. They’re surprisingly great, fit perfectly, and only £7.50 for 4. Finished 👍🏻

I’m sure you’re absolutely right. Mrs Rayman rolled her eyes and said… “what are you doing now!?!” I don’t really know what I’m doing tbh, but it’s fun anyway. Of course there may be nothing wrong with the speakers, it could be something electrical, but I’ll have to see what happens once the replacement speakers are in.

I bought this on the bay for not a lot, and, although it works technically, it also farts/clips at only half volume and a quarter gain. I’m not expecting anything amazing, as it’s just for home practice, but would like it to sound good? You know? So I took the amp out, cleaned and vacced it out, lubed the pots too. All looks nice in there now. However it still sounded flappy and not so great. So Out came the Celestion BL10-70 and a new (used-eBay) one ordered. There’s probably nothing wrong with it, but I can’t help myself, I do love tinkering. The tweeter, is an embarrassing little piece of plastic. I understand these Le Son things are also in Markbass amps, which can’t be good, it looks very poor quality. So a Stageline HT-30 has also been ordered. Fun times. I have to confess, I love messing about with fixing stuff, basses and amps and whatever else comes my way. I’ll let you know what happens next.

Good one in Salford on Saturday, a couple of really excellent bands on the bill before us too, it was a fun night. There was one hilarious incident, I fell off the stage during soundcheck and totally wrecked my knee 🤦🏻‍♂️. So it was just a case of standing there during the gig, without any of the usual waving of basses in the air. Probably a good thing.

Soz

Ditto

Update….. The final touches are almost done. The Zero fret it came to me with, was pointless. It was some random, brass coloured fret, that had been stuck on there, very badly. It was also too small, and didn’t actually do anything. So I’ve fitted a jumbo fret and cut the nut down so that the strings sit nicely on it. I can actually tune the bass now. Speaking of tuners…. I hated the ones that came on it. So having found some 60s Teisco elephant ear tuners in the states, I bought those and chucked them on today and as I really hate the closed backs, I’ve converted them to open gears so that’s almost it…… I’m just waiting for a Teisco headstock badge to arrive from the US, and that will finally be that.

Sunn Mustang

I worked on one for a mate once. It was in pretty poor shape, but we got it up and running, and continued to use it for a while before moving it on. I wasn’t a massive fan of it tbh, but they’re pretty collectible now.

Ashdown ABM500 head and cabs or the ABM combo for gigs, or a TCBQ500 and 4x10, all dependant on the venue. So not massive no, but way more than I want for home noodling, although Mrs Rayman does enjoy the low end vibrations of a Gibson Thunderbird through the full Ashdown rig. I could, get a 1x10 something or other cab for the TC to go into, but it’s not what I’m after. I just want a little combo.

Ok so…. I’ve made two bids on the bay that will end in the next couple of days. A Roland micro cube and a Laney R1, so we’ll see. If I miss out there, I’ll think again.

Thanks all for the great responses…… trouble is, now I don’t know exactly what actually want anymore! I’m not after anything giggable, I have all that covered. This is purely home only, noodling along to music on the TV or Spotify. So, no massive bottom end required, but equally I don’t want something that sounds like I’m playing through a transistor radio (one for the kids). Primary function is small but sounds decent, but also doesn’t break the bank.

Yeah you see the odd one or two pop up occasionally, but more often than not it’ll be the Indonesian version as you say. Great bass, and great guitars too. I had an M75T guitar many years ago which was really fantastic too.