Japhet

Genz Streamliner heads are very cheap used now and would fit the bill if you can find one.

Do you rehearse at gig volume?

Playing in pubs there will always be constraints. In my experience, an un-miked drumkit is plenty loud enough and levels get set accordingly. A bit of kick drum through the PA can help. Good sound separation only happens when band members listen to each other and are sympathetic. As stated before, if you don't have a sound man out front I can't see the point in all going through the PA and it seems like a bit of a modern fad. We normally get a couple of our trusted punters to give us a bit of input as to what the sound is like out front.

Thanks for the input Howie - I'll give the shielding a whirl.

I'm using a Lakland Skyline 55-01 and during gigs if I turn towards my amp it starts to buzz. Turning bass to Passive reduces it somewhat. Have read that these basses have a noisy preamp and I'm considering putting a John East one in it. Anyone got any thoughts? Should I put some shielding in the cavity and if so what should I use? All the leads are good by the way.

Green River is a favourite of mine.

Noisy little thing that makes thousands of sounds with a few of them actually being usable. Has a footswitch with it to trigger patches and operate wah and stuff like that. Too complicated for me but would presumably be comprehensible to some. £100 plus postage.

Currently listening to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers new one, Hypnotic Eye. Stonking stuff and highly recommended if you like TP.

Was going to say Schroeder too.

I've got the 1820 too. Used to gig with it. It had casters on the bottom so wheeled around nicely. I could tip it up and slide it in the back of my Subaru Legacy so no issues there. Sounded huge as well - felt like somebody kicking you n the calves when you stood in front of it. It now lives permanently in the rehearsal room.

+1 for Sweet Home Alabama. I want to beat it to death with a stick but it just won't die!

I bought the combo in the pics and have a vertically stacked 2x12 to match. Fantastic cabs and very pleasing on the eye too. Feather light as well.

From your description of the tone you're after I'd recommend a Genz Benz Streamliner. These have a very 'old school' vibe about them with a big, fat sound and a very usable EQ. Pair up with a 2x12 cab and you'll be flying my friend.

I use a Tecamp (Black Jag) head with an older TechSoundsystems 2x12 cab and it sounds fantastic (to my ears). In the past I've used some Markbass stuff and always found it a bit bland I suppose. Not knocking their stuff at all because it obviously works for some. I think there's a head to head between a MB and a Tecamp combo on Youtube somewhere which would be worth a look.

For my money I'd go with Tecamp.

We do Pressure and Time by The Rival Sons. Good one to play.

Time keeping is number one for me. I hate having to push stuff along or try to reign it in because it forces me to play quick or slow. Being solid comes second - hate it when they can't come back in on time from a fill. Love playing with a solid drummer though. Very liberating.

Headroom? In previous bands I used to have to drive amps pretty hard (sometimes flat out) to be heard. I now use amps of around 500-600 watts which keep up effortlessly with 2 loud guitarists and a gorilla on drums.

These are such great basses for the money. Fantastic neck, punchy sound, active or passive. I'd be all over this like a rabid dog if I didn't already have one the same. Bargaintastic!

I'd put the envelope filter before the compressor since it works off the dynamics of the note played. I'd have the tuner first in the chain. Presumably you want the DI to have all of the effects fed into it so have it last. Fuzz and octave after the compressor. (Sits back and waits to be corrected )

'You don't know what you're missing' type bump for a top notch bit of kit. (IMO blows Markbass out of the water).

Forgot I had this type bump.

Decent turn out on Friday with a lively crowd who went for it (quite spectacularly in some cases). Polar opposite on Saturday in a deserted pub, presumably since England were taking on the might of Honduras prior to the Football onslaught in the coming weeks.

Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed
Some Haircut 100 stuff (can't remember song names but they were fun)

There's a cracking Tecamp 2x12 combo in the For Sale section.