Japhet

Using a Keeley Bassist at the moment which I like. Best pedal I ever had was the TC Electronics Nova Dynamics which was a fantastic pedal. Needed a 12w supply and was just a bit too big for my board but I wish I still had it. It could do anything well.

Used to play with a sax player/pillock who would routinely tread all over my pedal board - ended up not bothering to use pedals. More recently a totally whizzed woman on a hen night fell over and sat on my pedal board engaging the tuner/mute in the process and I couldn't get her off it for a couple of minutes. Also had a PA desk/amp pack up pre gig due to a loose ribbon connector. Had no time to look at it then so the vocals went through my backup bass head which sounded OK and saved the day.

How about the original Mission Impossible theme in 5/4 I believe.

On the rare occasions I've played stuff like this I used 3 fingers (Index, Middle and Ring) but I always found it easier to play in reverse order (Ring, Middle Index) which ironed out a timing issue with the ring finger.

I think any valve head pushed to break up point will be too loud for home use. I'll chuck in one idea though which may be shot down in flames by those who know about such things though - how about a cab with a high Ohmage driver in it?

Loved my Peavey MkIV head. That thing took so much abuse and never missed a beat. Felt like it had a big lump of concrete in one end though. Happy Days.

Any advice on where to get them would be handy too.

Anybody got any recommendations for good earplugs? Something suitable for fairly loud pub gigs. Ta.

I acknowledged years ago that the average punter has no interest in my sound, and the thousands I've spent on stuff I like the sound of is primarily for me and a small minority who have any interest in bass. I once had a punter ask the band 'What does the bass do?', so to answer his question I sat out the first half of the next song (and got a huge round of applause when I started plaaying again). I also don't pay much attention to trying to replicate other people's playing or sound. I very rarely play through FOH, so if it sounds OK to me on stage and the balance is right, that's what you get.

Another vote for the Solid Gold Beta. I have one as an 'always on' pedal. I use a Tritonlab JFet later in the chain for brighter drive and it's a killer pedal.

Should have kept your Streamliner.

53% . Never heard of half of the options and guessed a couple that I got right as well.

Same situation for me. I have everything I want and way more than I need. I should shift some stuff really but I love all of it.

I think it's important to identify how you yourself learn. I know that I'm a visual learner and that I remember what I've seen and how things look. If I need to remember a song or a structure or whatever, I find it very helpful to print it out using different fonts, text sizes, colours etc, as opposed to just information on a page.

Funny the Shuttlemax gets a mention. When I sold my old Trace head I replaced it with a Genz Streamliner which has (to my ears) a very 'Trace' type sound to it.

The SMX is the pick of the heads in my opinion. Cabs and combos generally feel like they're full of concrete so I'd go for a head and a different make of cab.

Guitarist in my band had a cab failure once. With a quick swap around he had my Ashdown 4x8 and I used the 15 on its' own. Sounded very good actually and made his Strat sound much fatter. The Gibson Les Paul through it was a huge sound.

Brother Strut next up at Bury St Edmunds on Friday, then Hall and Oates at the O2 on Saturday.

When I had to change the preamp valve in my old Trace head I got one from Watford Valves. They couldn't have been more helpful and explained what each different valve would do to the sound and character of the amp. I can't remember what I ended up buying, but it did exactly what they said it would do and gave more clean headroom than its' predecessor.

Always loved this song. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQpO_kl_6S0[/media] Willie Weeks on bass. In fact, the whole album is a masterclass in what not to play and how less is more.

If I was in the market I'd definitely be looking at the latest incarnations of Amps I currently own. Eich and the Genzler Magellan would be high on my 'want to try' list.

Normal Amps are generally configured in 2 sections, namely the Pre Amp and the Power Amp. The power amp is the part that amplifies the signal and it's output power is denoted as Wattage. The Pre Amp is all the other gubbins that goes on before the signal is amplified as in Tone controls, Amp simulations, Compression etc.. Some amps have very basic Pre stages and others have very advanced ones with all sorts of whistles and bells. You can also get Pre Amp effects pedals or stand alone units which do the same thing and can be used with any sort of amplifier to shape the signal before it is amplified.

A single 2x12, 4 Ohm, Neo drivers is where I went for a solution. Your 40 Watt valve head should be more than capable of delivering through one of these (but I think 4Ohm is important to get more/full power unless it will do 2 Ohms).