Tripehound

I've got a US-made one I bought in (ummm) about 1983. Grover machine heads, DiMarzio pups, Badass bridge etc. Very very 'roadworn' - as in covered in scratches and nicks - but structurally sound and still plays and sounds terrific. Still use it at practice occasionally and my son did some YouTube cover vids using it which he tells me attracted several enquiries as to 'what was that bass dude?' - or however it is youngsters address each other these days. He's threatened to kill me if I sell it but I do sometime wonder if it's worth anything.

Hello from the Nottingham/Derby border folks (a little like the England/Scotland border but with a longer history of violence). First time poster here and already after free advice..... I play in a six piece band doing a right old mix of stuff - from originals to pub-pleasing Stones/Mott/T.Rex/etc - with vocals/guitar/sax/keyboards/drums and me. We started out earnestly playing mostly our own earnest prog-new wave material (think Talking Heads/Bill Nelson but not anywhere near as good) to three-parts empty 'rock' venues before we discovered the joys of seeing people singing along and occaisionally dancing to more accessible material on the local pub scene. Only took 25 years for us to realise that...... Anyway - the inevitable gear question. I have a nice collection of guitars - a Jazz Deluxe, a Line 6 Variax bass, an ancient S.D. Curlee and current favourite, a Hofner violin. So far so good. But like so many other musicians I meet, I spent next to nothing on my (current) amp - a Fender Rumble 100 bought off eBay for 60 or so squids. Half the sound gets a tenth of the overall investment. Don't get me wrong - it's a decent amp, nice sound, relatively light to shift, headphone socket etc - but a) I think it's underpowered for gigging (fine in rehearsal) and I could get a better tone. Saving, flogging unused gear and gig money has brought the kitty up to £800 and it's time to make a move for a serious piece of kit. Criteria are:- 1) Must fit in back of Fiat Punto with seats down 2) Hold it's own in a band of this size with PA support a rarity - but let's be honest we're mostly talking pubs here 3) Must be easy to shift (goodbye fond dreams of Ampeg 8 x 10) 4) Must provide top notch tone - I like warmth but also a bit of top end definition I'm very attracted by the Fender Bassman TV but wonder whether I have unrealistic expectations having only seen YouTube stuff. Other contenders seem to be the Ampeg PF fliptop and the Micro VR setups - but I'd welcome any advice or suggestions.....