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If touching the side panel stops the vibration and there's nothing obviously loose externally then I'd be inclined to slide the amp chassis out just a little and try again (keeping you fingers out of the amp of course!). I had a similar issue on a combo many years ago and ended up fixing it by pushing a scrap of foam between the amp chassis and the casing before screwing it back together. It's all a bit hit and miss I'm afraid as it's mechanical instead of electronic noise.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1181480' date='Mar 29 2011, 09:42 PM']They do tend to feed back if you don't cover the sound hole with your hand between songs but other than that they are cool.[/quote] I used to have the same problem and was advised to buy a soundhole feedback suppressor. Still get a feedback problem from time to time but nowhere near as bad as it was.

[quote name='Heathy' post='1181345' date='Mar 29 2011, 08:28 PM']I generally find myself stage left, but it can be a pain in more complicated numbers as you are looking away from the rest of the band.[/quote] Being stage left makes it easier for the rest of the band to see what I'm doing if they start doubting what they should be doing.

[quote name='Marvin' post='1181270' date='Mar 29 2011, 07:59 PM']Generally if there is a stage, just best to stand on it somewhere.[/quote] Beware of the trapdoor...

Give us some specifics about cabs (and their impedances) and the amp head you are using and we should be able to give you a definitive answer.

We always set up the same. Drummer in the middle. Vocals centre stage at the front. Guitarists either side of the vocals. Bass always stage left.

Try unscrewing the two screws that hold the top handle in place - looking at pics of the combo and the stand alone amp head I suspect that those two screws may go through the combo casing and into the amp chassis.

[quote name='martindupras' post='1180333' date='Mar 29 2011, 01:10 AM']Also: fretwire size v. radius: discuss. I'll have to think this through but my intuition tells me if you're going for flat and a low action, then it would make more sense to have small fretwire. I'm sure there's a flaw in that logic, though. - martin[/quote] If you think about what the action of fretting a note does - all you're doing is pushing the string against the fret. The height of the fret on a quality instrument should be high enough to prevent the string from 'fretting' against the fingerboard and low enough that the string doesn't go sharp because it's being stretched excessively on its journey to the fingerboard. The width of the frets makes no difference to the action, that's something that falls into the 'setup' phase.

[quote name='martindupras' post='1180307' date='Mar 29 2011, 12:27 AM']When you say unbalanced, do you mean the headstock will be too light? I can understand why a heavy headstock isn't particular desirable (gravity and all that), but I don't quite get why it should be unbalanced with light tuners?[/quote] Yes. The 'ideal' balance for a bass is that it stays put without the head dropping down because the headstock is too heavy. Conversely, if the headstock is too light then it's going to have a tendency to lift up - don't forget that the ultralite tuners are a lot lighter than the standard ones that the design of the instrument was designed to be balanced with. I'm no luthier (hell, I can't even put up shelves without using blutak!) but I'm sure your luthier will have a trick or three up his sleeve to provide compensation for the lighter headstock weight. Point I was making is that it's best to mention that to him before he starts building your bass so he can put in whatever adjustments he decides are needed as he goes instead of trying to put workarounds in later.

[quote name='martindupras' post='1180292' date='Mar 29 2011, 12:02 AM']1) nut material: I've been recommended brass. I'm not keen on the look of brass, but in order of importance I care about (1) sound, (2) playability, (3) looks. Opinions on a brass nut? 2) fretwire: I've never really thought about fretwire size on basses. (On guitars, I have.) I care a lot about a low action and good intonation so my intuition says go for as low and wide as you can. Once again, opinions? (If that makes any difference I use stainless steel .045-.135 strings, they do wear the frets out a bit.) 3) Tuners: this'll be a 3+2 headstock. Can anyone think of a good reason why I shouldn't choose HipShot Ultralites? I like the look of them, the reviews are good, and they are light and small. What am I trading off?[/quote] Brass nuts were popular back in the 80's but the fascination seems to have died off a little over the years. They give a slightly brighter tone and supposedly more sustain. If you decide you want a brass nut but don't like it's bright appearance then ask for it to be unlacquered, it'll soon dull down. The choice of fretwire is always a bit of a trade off; wider frets will last longer but narrow frets have 'better' intonation. As long as the frets are stoned down and capped to a sensible height then a low action can be obtained regardless of width. If you're considering the ultralites then mention it to the luthier sooner rather than later or else you'll end up with an unbalanced bass.

I had an endorsement a couple of years back. 3 points and a £60 fine...

[quote name='Linus27' post='1180090' date='Mar 28 2011, 09:30 PM']I've joined an acoustic band and at the moment I am playing my Fender Precision. To fit in with the image of also playing an acoustic looking instrument and maybe to do something different, I kind of fancy getting an acoustic bass, probably a Washburn AB10. I'll still play through an amp though. Anyone do this and have any thought of playing acoustic bass especially live? Does it work or just a gimmick and better to stick with an electric bass? Plus, does anyone tried flats on their acoustic bass and does it work and sound ok?[/quote] I have an acoustic bass guitar that I use if pushed but have to admit I don't really enjoy playing it very much. My feeling is that as it's pretty useless unless you have it plugged into an amp so I may as well just play a natural coloured (i.e. wood finish instead of painted) electric bass and have done with it. I play in a lot of acoustic/folk type acts and am really getting some really positive feedback (and a stupid amount of work) using an EUB.

[quote name='daz' post='1179836' date='Mar 28 2011, 06:25 PM']I can just make out the name on the amps at the back. [b]Engl.[/b] never heard of them are they any good ? No come to think of it i have heard of them i just know n othing about them.[/quote] German company, make guitar amps but no bass gear. Our guitarists both use ENGL combos and reckon they're the biz...

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1179407' date='Mar 28 2011, 01:02 PM']There was a thread on here discussing this. Apparently Thomann's were doing this but ive not heard any news on it yet. This must have been at least a year or so ago 9probably longer) so it probably didn't happen. EDIT: Here it is [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=21773&hl=thomann"]Thomann's in the UK thread[/url][/quote] I'd be wary of opening up a European distribution centre on an island if it was my business... Their tracking system showed that the longest part of the three day journey my parcel took from Germany to my doorstep was once it had reached the UK!

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1179448' date='Mar 28 2011, 01:29 PM']I've ordered a few bits off Thomann, they've always been good service but I refuse to use them any more because I don't feel what they do is right.[/quote] Obviously price comes into the buying decision, but the thing that really makes them stand out for me is that with the thousands of orders a day that they must process, they seem to have a consistantly good level of customer service. Compare that to an online store in the UK who process a few dozen orders a day and can't manage to do that...

[quote name='RichardH' post='1179402' date='Mar 28 2011, 12:59 PM']Yeah, it's tricky - save decent songs for an encore that you might not get, or dig out some old crap you've not practiced for ages and leave a bad impression - either way you're stuffed.[/quote] I'm of the opinion that the last song is the one that people will remember so it's well worth saving a real good one for the encore.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1179344' date='Mar 28 2011, 12:10 PM']I know this is an old thread but i just wanted to post about Thomanns CS. We brought a LED light off them end of Jan this year. It cost £45 inc postage. It seems to have developed a fault so i emailed them yesterday to see what can be done. As its outside the 30 days send it back period we were going to weigh up the pros and cons of having to send it to Germany. I got a email this morning form Thomanns saying they are trying out a new returns system and would i like to participate in it. The email also contained a PDF with a prepaid label and all i need to do is pack it up and take it to the post office. I must say thats pretty good service. I think the total postage (both ways, twice) must come close to the cost of the light.[/quote] Gotta say, if Thomann were to open up a UK operation and keep those sort of standards up then there'd be a lot of very worried UK online retailers trying to raise their game...

[quote name='watchman' post='1179066' date='Mar 28 2011, 03:51 AM']That was very funny [/quote] One does one's best with what little one has...

We have just one song put aside for an encore and it only gets played if there's an obvious demand for it. The OP has my vote - nothing worse than contrived encores!

[quote name='stevie' post='1178961' date='Mar 27 2011, 11:07 PM']They are definitely not being specific. I've just got myself a 450 Classic and it only has one Speakon out. Even if they had put a resistor in line (I assume you're joking) it would be in line with everybody's cabinets - not just TC's own. So, will it handle a 2.7 ohm load, or are TC cabs not 8-ohms? Or is TC not saying?[/quote] No I meant inside the TC cab itself, not the head. It wouldn't necessarily be something as crude as I described - could be a xover of some description - anything to just raise the impedance on the loop out socket by a couple of ohms. EDIT: As you're looking for a definitive answer to base a purchase on, the best thing to do would be to ask TC and get it 'direct from the horses mouth'.

[quote name='stevie' post='1178909' date='Mar 27 2011, 10:29 PM']What is the lowest impedance the TC Electronic 450 amp can handle? I know what the official line is, but has TC actually explained why the amp is OK with 3 of their 8-ohm cabs?[/quote] They are a bit vague aren't they? As they're only using 2P Speakons I can only guess that using the loop outs on the back of the TC cabs puts a whapping great resistor in line to bring the impedance back up.

[quote name='keeponehandloose' post='1178807' date='Mar 27 2011, 09:28 PM']Played a private party last night and the DJ went through the band PA system. About half way through the night the tops on the Pa began to smoke accompanied by the burning smell of plastic -not good. The DJ was plugged into the desk via 2 track inputs(phono) from his mixer line outs. Is it possible that could have caused the crossovers in the tops to melt?[/quote] Very unlikely. It sounds more likely that your power amp has burnt them out.

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1178811' date='Mar 27 2011, 09:30 PM']Do they still do those curries in little boxes? They were ace, I loved 'em! [/quote] Yes they do! ...smartar*e...

[quote name='kingofthestuntmen' post='1178766' date='Mar 27 2011, 09:08 PM']The best Vester resource on the net appears to be down right now - [url="http://www.vesterfansite.nl/"]http://www.vesterfansite.nl/[/url] - Anyone know if it's been like this for a while..?[/quote] Looks like it disappeared back in 2009.

Fender have bought out a limited edition Ryder bass?