Matt P

I've got one identical to the einhell one suggested (twice). mine is branded as Clarke (machine mart) and I stack both my cabs, my pedalboard and my amp bag on with a couple of bungees for peace of mind. it works a treat for the 200 yards or so that I need it for, it survived a festival as well although it took a while to hose all the mud off. Matt

definitely go the 5.3ohm option, if the budget will stretch to them I'd look at the neo celestion speakers, they're half the weight, about 2.5kg each instead of 5kg each for the ferrite one's you're currently looking at, I've used the 10 inch ones and they're pretty good. I bought mine from Lean Business. Mat

the P-bass would be my choice, if you swap the position of the d-g part of the p-pup then the MM can go in the sweet spot, the classic example is this [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/86953-pingray/page__hl__pingray"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/86953-pingray/page__hl__pingray[/url] I've been thinking of doing this for a while probably with sonic blue cv squire. Matt

we use the supplied PA and drums, the drummer brings his snares and cymbals, my rig is super light so I bring it along anyway (usually only one cab though) the guitarist is using a 1x12 combo so brings that along too (we had a dire 3 months while it was being repaired/upgraded, the first session after it returned was a joy!) we're lucky as the place we use has petty good PA and the drum kits are actually reasonable and have the skins replaced fairly regularly (more often than our drummer replaces the skins on his kit anyway!) Matt

as the owner of the F1 that will be up for test I'm interested in hearing the difference that the strings will make, all of my basses have flatwounds so I'm hoping that the flats+th500+midgets will sound the way I remember, I might even bring the u-bass as well! Matt

once I get my act together and reply to Conan's PM then i'll be trying this amp out with my cabs, and we can have a go at trying the preamp through the power section of my F1 as well to see if that is the issue, there's one shop local that has the TH500 in stock and is un by friendly guy so a trip over there to A/B it with band new amp might be possible as well. Mat

I find that I use my 5 string about 95% of the time whether I need the low b or not, I do have a couple of 4 strings and they do get used (especially the '77 P-Bass) I'd recommend trying a 5 string with a slimmer neck, the first choice for me would be an Ibanez SR505, the last one I played was super slick. and always remember that the optimum number of basses is S-1 (with S being the number that would cause the Break down of your normal life (partner walking out/house repossessed dog leaving you etc) Matt

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1426754517' post='2721483'] Used the TH500 again last night, and the result was much better So maybe the power supply is (at least part of) the problem? I still played the entire set with the gain set at zero. I find this perplexing!! Couldn't try the guitar lead as the amp only has speakon outputs. Couldn't try other cabs as I only had a speakon-speakon lead with me and all the other cabs had either jack or XLR inputs But maybe my ears are just getting used to the sound through this amp? It was still (what I would call) a bit distorted, but I'm starting to think that maybe this is just part of the characteristic tone of the amp. Some call it "warmth" or "vintage character" and so on - but I hear it as mild distortion! I'm still coming to the conclusion that this is not the amp for me... so anyone who is interested in one, form an orderly queue! [/quote] Me me me! I might offer the f1 as part of a trade if you are interested? Matt

I play in similar sized venues, and the guitarist and drummer are noisy so-and-so's but I've never had any issues being heard in fact at our last gig (new years eve so fairly raucous) I played the first set with just one midget plugged in, I only realised when I nipped on stage before the second set to check everything was ready to go. I'd say that a single supercompact will be all the cab you are likely to need, I only bought 2 midgets as I had permission from my wife and the space on the shelf was exactly the right size, plus they look awesome on stage, a mini stack of doom! Matt

I wasn't going to sign up as I have 2nd generation cabs but I will now, if Alex wants owns of older cab to join in then I'll join in, I'm always willing to show how amazing the cabs are. Matt

is there a barefaced owner near you? [url="http://barefacedbass.com/barefaced-map.htm"]http://barefacedbass.com/barefaced-map.htm[/url] i'd wager that a large proportion of barefaced owners are also Basschat members, there is also the 30 day free trial, if you don't like the cab or it's not delivering what you want you just send it back. Matt

a quick scan of the fender website and a google search and i can't find anything remotely similar except for a proper vintage one (i think this is modelled on a 64 Jazz) i'm not usually a fan of signature basses and i'm not U2's biggest fan but the combination of colour, blocks and tuners is very good to my eyes, luckily i discovered a while ago that i don't really like Jazz basses. Matt

the vintage one would be my pick i think, already has improved pickups (Wilkinson Vintage) and i'm a sucker for a natural finish,i'd definately buy one if i didn't already have a Mex Std Tele. Matt

If the secondhand big twin is still available then go and try it out, i think you might be surprised at how loud it will go, i use a pair of midgets and so far i've never been drowned out, i heard a single midget against a pair of marshall half stacks and it was clear as a bell! (i thought that there was a compact hooked up as well but it was being used as a stand) the modern bass cabs are so far ahead of what was available 10 years ago, you might be surprised at how small and light a rig you can have now. I will say that as much as i love my barefaced cabs, the TKS ones are very close in terms of sound quality, i was witness to a shootout between the 12" tks and the midgets at a bass bash and there was very little in it. Matt

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1425887628' post='2711716'] It was very simple really - I wanted more midrange in my tone and the LH500 couldn't give it to me! Other amps I have tried since have been able to provide the mids, but due to the way the controls work, finding a sound that I like and can use in a band situation is more difficult than I had anticipated... The Aggie (which I tried last night) has lots of potential, but (as I recall reading in someone else's post a while back), the interactivity of the controls is counter-intuitive and frustrating. What it shows (quite clearly!) is that there is no one "bass tone" and that each manufacturer of bass gear has different goals in mind and different ways of achieving them! As with other things in life, sometimes the journey is more enjoyable than the destination [/quote] Have you tried Markbass? if you wanted to test out my F1 then just give me a shout, and if all the knob twiddling with the TH500 doesn't work out then i'll swap it for a bundle of cash! Matt

i might have something suitable in my parts stash, i'll have a look when i get home. Matt

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1425472086' post='2707637'] Absolutely Matt! I know I am giving the impression of being a bit flighty and indecisive over this amp business, but I'm really not! I just feel a bit like a kid in a sweet shop at the moment... But yes - you can have first dibs! [/quote] thanks, i'm not going to hold my breath though, i've tried a th500/barefaced rig and it was epic, if i hadn't been broke i would have bought it on the spot! i think the chances of you not liking it are probably power than my chances of winning the lottery this weekend (which are very slim as i've never bought a ticket ) Matt

[quote name='obbm' timestamp='1425389037' post='2706762'] Small Soundcraft mixer, bass into one channel, PC or MP3 player into a stereo channel and a pair of headphones. Been doing this for years. Loudest thing is the tapping of my foot so I have to put it on a thick cushion to keep Mrs obbm happy. [/quote] this is almost exactly the setup i use, except that i could only afford a little behringer mixer, i've got it setup as a recording station as well, with a cheap behringer usb to phono box, then my monitor speakers connected to the main outputs, i have my bass into channel one, then 2/3 are a stereo pair for my tablet/cd/whatever i'm playing along to, and my metronome is plugged into 4/5. very easy to get it all balanced and i tend to pan the bass to one side and the music to the other so i can get better seperation. Matt

i know this is a hundred million to one chance, but if you don't like it then give me a call and i'll buy it off you! (Shy bairns get nowt!) Matt

i've got Roqsolid covers for my Midgets, mainly to keep them looking new, i never bothered before but i dug my old marshall combo out a while ago and it looks like it has been attacked by rats, and that's just from being loaded in and out of the car. i went for the extra padding and the speaker protection pocket, mainly for peace of mind. i voted that i don't have a cover for the amp but it does live in a laptop bag when it's not in use. Matt

see if the bass base will do you a trade in for the aguilar? he seemed to be open to trades when i spoke to him. Matt

any chance of some nice clear pictures? it might show up some more fasteners that you haven't noticed yet, i'm assuming that the amp section is mounted at the back of the combo? are thee any fixings on the front grille? you might be able to get the speaker out and hunt for the rattling problem from there? Matt

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1424422786' post='2696075'] Sorry, I'm re-posting (re-quoting) this again Purely because I haven't seen the pics of this bass for a few days now I am an addict, and I don't mind admitting it This bass is THE best looking bass I've ever seen I'm pretty sure I've even dreamed about it! lol There is no hope for me, is there? Cor! Just Cor!!!! [/quote] i get to see and hear this particular bass every week at my bass lesson, it doesn't help with my Gas for a Nice light-relic sonic blue P-bass! Matt

i've just been looking at the mids mod on the bdi21 and it seems to be within my technical ability, i might pick one up and mod it myself, if it goes well i'd be happy to mod one for you as well. they're cheap as chips and the extra components aren't expensive either. Matt

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1423653126' post='2687398'] Another amp has come to my attention: [url="http://www.swramps.com/en-GB/support/vintage.php/"]http://www.swramps.c...rt/vintage.php/[/url] There is a used one for sale on this very forum, and bang on budget! It would certainly seem to offer the mid-range control that I am after... but I have no experience of SWR gear. Opinions anyone? [/quote] i'm assuming that it's the SM-500 that you're looking at (the link goes to a page with a dozen or more amps but the SM-500 is the first one i find in the classifieds) i can't comment on the sm-500 but i had a SWR Headlite and it just lacked something for me, not enough punch, i bought the Markbass F1 and my bandmates really noticed the difference, we got to the end of the first song at the first parctice with it and they both commented on how much easier it was to hear me and how much better the mix was. i'm guessing that you're not too worried about how much the amp weighs then? Matt