BassBod

Yep - my old SWR amps just about got away with it, but with increasing power comes more risk. Keep it very low, variable etc but it’s just a good idea (especially with double bass and piezo pickups).

Yep, that’s the one I was thinking of 😎

Warwick make one...looks like an old Sony hifi 😜

I rate the PJB’s as well. Very comfy, great sound..but not the toughest of designs. They are also sold a lot cheaper as Edifier H850’s. My other favourites are the MEars by Meters/Ashdown. Fantastic sound, about £40.

What stood out for me was the combo wasn’t sitting on the floor, but stacked on top of other amps, but it still had some authority to it’s sound. I’d usually expect any small combo to sound a bit thin if it wasn’t on the ground. I use small amps/cabs a lot - they are always on the ground 😜

I briefly heard the 1x12” version in PMT Brizzle - I was impressed, plenty of depth but also nice and clear. It’s on my watch out for list 😜

I liked mine, but the “drive” side of it defeated me. It seemed to me like a Sansamp that I could never unplug! I love Sansamps, but I use them sparingly, and know where the off switch is. I think experimenting with your bass/cab is the only way. But I also thinks it’s fair to say none of the micro amps will do the full “heft” of an older amp like the Eden. Now, I’ll go sit in the corner...😳

Bags is bags...everyone has theirs 😎

Yep, I’m there Sunday eve with Kevin Brown..😎

Best gig I ever saw JB fronting Norman Beaker’s band, with a few extras...Band on the Wall, Dec 1984. I spent the next few years hunting out his solo work, which was almost impossible outside of secondhand shops 😳. Stigwood really stiffed him!

Another easy fix is just carry a small passive (transformer) DI box and run from the line out or effects send jack. Radial Stage Bug SB-2 is my current option, £40 from the For Sales on here. Saved me from Behringer boxes more than a few times 😳

It’s probably fine. A DI usually runs into a mic preamp on the desk, which is designed to accept a very low level signal, and then be boosted up at the desk. Unfortunately there isn’t really an industry standard for DI outs from amps, so there are many that put out a much hotter signal (why some amps have options for output level at the DI, and many desks have pads to reduce hot signals or switch between mic and line levels). I’d guess the engineer hadn’t come across a mic level output in a long time..and was expecting a much hotter signal. I’ve been using an old AH150 a lot over the last couple of years - it’s got an old style transformer DI, mic level. No issues, except once where I was told it was noisy and quiet. Put a passive DI on the effects send and it was fine..but my guess was the engineer found the mic/line selector button while I set up the new DI 😜 and kept quiet..

One day I’ll put them all in the same room...

It’s a good problem to have 😎

Soundmagic E10 are good, but my current favs are the Meters MEars sold by Ashdown. I think they're £40 at the moment, but look out for weekend specials etc Really good sound.

From memory, the Redhead runs into a 4ohm internal load, and can be run without its own speakers. It will run down to 2ohms..but it’s not a good idea..it will get very hot and has no active cooling fan. When you use an 8ohm extension cab, it produces less output than the 4ohm internal speakers..so it’s not that useful. The best extension cab would be a 4ohm Goliath jnr 2x10 but I’d be careful about it getting too hot.

Even though I’m generally careful, working as a musician makes it inevitable that some gear gets left in vehicles, sometimes overnight. I always take instruments into hotels..but moving amps at 3am..no way.

Very sad to hear this. Loved the style of his basses, although I only ever got to play one of the Blen EUBs. It was great..

I’m not keen on driving different spec cabs - I’ve found it’s a variable, and results can be hard to predict from room to room. I’m running one or two TKS S112’s most of the time, with old SWR or Trace heads. Easy to load, plenty of volume. One cab is a bit light on the lowest frequencies, but both cabs together has everything I need (tweeters down most the way). The only thing is rear porting - have to be careful not to place cabs right up to a wall, as it can reduce the bass response a bit.

I’ve only ever had problems with a Sansamp twice in over 20 years - both times it was “digital switching” interference from lighting systems, the earth lift reduced it, but not enough. Both times I put a passive DI after the Sansamp and problem gone.

Over many years of run around gigging, I’ve found a lot of engineers who don’t want to use the DI on amps - many reasons given, usually to do with level (too high/low) or noise. I now use two approaches, depending on gig and circumstances. First a passive DI run from the effects send of an amp ( no noise, transformer islolation and my preamp settings). Second I’ll use a Sansamp - recognised and respected, never had anyone object to it.

Yep, LS2 or Sansamp Deluxe/VT with two inputs and memory. The emulation and eq can be used very sparingly, if desired.

Nothing but observation and using the stuff. The 8” drivers in the Baby Blue combo started as Bag End (Eminence made) but moved on to Celestions...and possibly another driver later, can’t remember. I’m sure this was due to cost and supply - there weren’t that many options in the early 90’s. The first versions (Bag End) would have been the original spec/concept for the cab design. But I suspect the move to Celestions was also due in part to manufacturing the 8x8 cabs...that’s a lot of component supply, so a slightly inferior driver makes sense, if that’s the one that can be sourced in quantity reliably. I’ve changed the Bag End speakers in my Baby Blue to modern Eminence Beta’s. The sound is pretty much the same, maybe a hint less lows...but nothing significant. I don’t worry about stressing them. The only trade off has been the available impedance of the speakers- it now runs into a 4 ohm internal load, so adding a second cab isn’t possible. The SWR concept was studio monitor sound, they didn’t high pass the extreme low end of their amps (although there are limiter circuits). It’s easy to stress speakers by boosting the low end and playing loud.

Another thought - SWR used Celestions in later versions of the Baby Blue 2x8” combo - they never seemed that robust, as a lot of used amps have damaged drivers. I would very tempted to use Eminence Beta’s or similar, even if I had to convert the cab to work as two 4x8”s with separate inputs.