Sean

@dmccombe7 the Taranis is currently a one off 😉. It’s essentially the same power section as a Matamp GT200 or Orange AD200 but with two channels each with its own style preamp circuit and EQ. One EQ is a Fender style EQ and the other is the Baxendale-James type. The channels are clean/driven vintage-ish and the other is driven modern to absolute filth with a switch that gives Ch2 two different characters. It also has power switching options where it can go to half power across all four Kt88s or can be switched to run on two valves or can run on half power to two KT88s. Handy for recording at sensible volumes while caning the big tubes for that bottle-warmth. It has a voice selector switch that gives it four distinctly different characters, one of which is great for guitars. It’s all way over the top but is incredibly versatile and it cost about the same as a GT200. I think the intention is that MJW will make a much more straightforward Taranis if anyone wants one. Mine was like an experimental (mental?) venture.

Actually there’s no choice of pre or post. There’s an explanation for it in the manual for either the WB or the 400+.

I’ve just been on the Mesa site for the first time in years. Wow! They’ve stripped the bass range back massively! I understand them ditching things like the Titan V12, Big Block 750 etc but surely not having a bass combo is a gap? A combo with a D-800 that slides out to replace the Walkabout Scout seems like an obvious one. Do combos really only appeal to the low end and mid range of the market?

1. What makes owners of Mesa gear like it so much. (general question about Mesa gear ie build quality, support and availability) - Sound, build quality, character. I have more compliments about my sound when using Mesa gear than any other. 2. What is it that made you pick that particular amp over others. (in respect to other Mesa amps or cabs and maybe in respect to other manufacturers gear) The 400+ is iconic. There's a reason it's one of the default models on Logic Pro X. It gives me a sound I absolutely love. Bass = 3, Treble = 3, MIddle = 10. I have a Walkabout Scout 12 too and use that with it's own 1x12 combo or with a BF TWO10. Both have very similar flavour sounds and cut through the mix. The 400+ is used either through a BF Big Twin 2 or a SIX10. 3. Is there a favoured set up that majority of owners prefer or would prefer. Not particularly. I change mine depending on the venue, my mood, whatever. 4. Can you describe briefly your preferred tone (ie, warm, mellow, mid-punch, heavy bottom end, high top end are just some things i can think off). A middy clank not unlike Duff McKagan, a thumping P-bass with flats depending on the song. Both the 400+ and the Walkabout get me where I need to be. Once you've learned how to quickly adjust teh knobs on the go, it's not an issue. 5. what bass do you generally use with it. (just to give me an idea of whether your bass is passive, active or has a deciding influence on how your tone might sound) Yamaha BB2024x, Valenti P-bass, G&L2500 6. Finally what Mesa gear would you recommend for a Mesa Virgin like myself playing mostly classic rock with a Jazz bass but occasionally depping for other music genres doing pup / club material. A Walkabout Scout or a Walkabout with a quality 210 would probably serve you well. The DI on Mesa gear is weird. You have to be aware that if you change the master volume setting it will affect the signal out so if you tweak up your volume on stage the desk is going to get a hotter signal. Worth mentioning to a soundman just in case. My 400+ measured the power output at approximately 245W clean and 350W maximum when clipping as done by MJW Amps during a service. Transients could well be higher. It's not stupidly powerful but it is loud through a good cab. As a comparison, my MJW Taranis 200 (4 x KT88) is 253 clean and 544 fully clipped.

Any ideas what these are? Roundwound, dark green silks, coloured balls, probably D’Adarrio but what kind?

It's two sockets or carrying an extra adaptor. I think a Behringer BDI21 and a daisy-chain off the One Spot is a fairly cheap option here. The DC5 is similar money to my T-Rex fuel tank on gigging board. Before I wore glasses (2016) one of the "Should have gone to Specsavers" moments I had was plugging an MXR M80 DI into an 18v supply. That was an expensive afternoon's recording session

I had a BFR for a short time and sold it on. The Sansamp, Comp and Tuner are excellent. The OctaFilter is a waste of space for me. It would have been better to have a more conventional envelope filter and independent fuzz effect. The other irritation I had was that the knobs kept coming off. Check out the Valeton Bass Dapper. Chorus (superior to the BFR, it’s a Boss CE clone) and Comp are good, build quality is impressive however the amp section seems to add too much colour but it’s EQ section is excellent for a non-sweepable type. The filter is a BassBalls clone and is more useable than the BFR but if you don’t like the distinctive quack of the B.B. it’s annoying. The Dapper has an effects loop and would be easy to add to an existing board whereas the BFR doesn’t. BFR and the Bass Dapper both score a very differently derived 6/10 from me. Hopefully both companies will get it closer to what’s right next time. Overall the concept of these effects strips is very attractive and I prefer them to programmable multi-effects especially since in both cases, SA and Valeton, they have an integral XLR/DI out unlike the Zoom B3n and new Boss unit. The disappointments of the strips has brought me on to building a four pedal board for rehearsals and small gigs where my main board is too cumbersome.

I’ve got a Pedaltrain Nano that I bought from a guitarist in Work. It’s 14” long and will take the DHA, my TC SpectraComp mini pedal, TC PolyTune mini and a standard size chorus pedal. There’s no room underneath like on the large PedalTrain boards to fit a power supply unless I get cunning with some spacers and longer machine screws and adapt the feet. Time to investigate a hack I think.

Bit of a cry for help with a pedalboard snag. Now then, I have a couple of well loved pedals that run on 12v and when they're on my big pedal board that's not a problem as I have a T-Rex Chameleon that does all the voltages I need. I'm putting together a small pedalboard (4 pedals) and wanted to use a One-Spot and daisy chain the power. The big problem here is that the DHA VT1 pedal I have doesn't sound anywhere as good at 9v. I decided to start looking for a solution and found this: http://www.godlyke.com/power-all/godlyke-power-all-accessories/iso-pump-voltage-converter $40 from the USA. Hmm, s bit steep but it's a solution. Postage is $48.50 plus there'll be the tax stuff meaning it'll be about £100 by the time it's landed. My last holiday didn't cost that much and I knew exactly what I was getting. There's no magic in that iso-pump device so does anyone know of some equivalent available cheap in the UK or a very simple 9v-12v conversion solution for one pedal?

That's a crackin' elevator pitch

Once you become familiar with G&L switches you can make the changes instinctively - I do. The L2000/2500 with those MFD pickups is astounding! It’s really Basszilla through my big rig. I have a mod on mine that does the inner single coils in parallel, it gives a Faux ‘Ray sound on top of all the other fantastic combinations. The 3-band East Pre-amp mod helps with the shaping too. G&L MFDs cut through the mix too.

Here’s a BB1100S for peanuts from a fabulous retailer... http://greatbritishbasslounge.com/product/yamaha-bb1100s/ It’s the owner’s bass and comes with an excellent pedigree. You can spend the leftover money buying me a thank you gift 😉

Obliterated by so many cover bands in so many pubs that just don’t get it 😩

I totally get this. I’ve been a bassist/guitarist/singer longer than I’ve been an engineer, Product Manager or anything else (other than the biological stuff obviously).

Exactly. I like a bit of a concept but reasonably loose. There’s a Gloucestershire band called Masterplan, it plays Britpop; Oasis, Blur, Pulp, The Who, The Kinks, The Jam, Supergrass, Ocean Colour Scene. Definitely a strong thread there. It gives a framework that would mean no AC/DC, no ABBA and makes getting a setlist sorted a bit easier. It’s miles away from Tribute but very focused and gives customers a real sense of what they’re getting. I’d be more likely to get off my backside and go and see a covers band if I knew what I was getting. Does anyone here have a similar themed band!

I do. It’s a BIG list of tick boxes but ultimately it adds up to satisfaction and a feeling that you’ve made some good music. The tick box list is a lot of what we’ve covered already, good people, good gigs, productive rehearsals etc. There’s compromise in every band but what I’ve found as I’ve got older is that every band is better than the last one because I keep learning from mistakes and short-comings. Over the past few months of not gigging I’ve had time to reflect on what I want the next band to be and I have a very solid vision. The guitarist and drummer are the pick of the litter in all ways and the singer is a professional actress/singer and seems very promising. I even have a vision of us playing at the Kings Head Theatre Pub in Islington. I’ve never played there but it’s a great venue with a great atmosphere. Q. What did I learn from the last band? A1. 4kW PA is way too much for a pub/bar band. We were too loud. It was the singer’s and he sorted the sound. My bass was DI’d everywhere even though I have Big valve amps through 6x10 or 8x10!! A2. Be choosy with venues and don’t be afraid to stand your ground for the few you want. Most of the time it earns you respect especially if you’re a damn good band and the punters love you. A3. The Fleece in Bristol is a fantastic venue when full and delivers a massive buzz when you get it right.

Most bands that I've been in over the years have had some sort of theme, gimmick or genre that has made communicating or marketing that band as a product fairly straightforward. For example I've been in a Blues Brothers tribute band (very defined), a pop, disco and soul function band (less specific but easy to sell or describe to anyone including potential punters), a 1980s Classic/Arena Rock Cover band (GNR, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Starship, ACDC). All of these are dead easy to describe when someone asks, "what kind of stuff do you play, mate?". I've always believed that as a busy successful covers band you're there to provide entertainment for the punters of your customer i.e. please the landlord by giving his punters entertainment they enjoy drinking to or pleasing the bride and groom by playing music the majority of guests know or can dance to. There are many variations on this theme but the basics are the same, keep the punters happy. I'm currently putting a female-fronted rock/pop covers band together and our current song suggestion list appears so random that I cannot get my head round what kind of band this is going to be or how to approach venues with an elevator pitch. For me there needs to be a thread that runs through the all material and at the moment we have Highway Star, What's the Frequency Kenneth?, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Video Killed the Radio Star, Who Knew and Jesus He Knows Me on the rehearsal list. These were ideas put forward by the guys in the band to see how we gelled initially. A few questions really from all this: For those of you that are in non-tribute or non-specific covers bands, how do you describe what you do to potential paying customers/venues? Or to random people asking, "what kind of stuff do you play, mate?"? On what criteria do you choose songs that get added to the set lists? Does it matter to you? I'd appreciate any advice as I'm struggling with this one...

I've played in bands for 30+ years and I started at 14. My most recent regular gigging band did its last gig in August. The singer moved away (job relocation) ~150 miles and consequently the logistics of gigging and rehearsals just became impractical for him. We decided to call it a day and the one guitarist took the opportunity to get out because he had health issues that made playing painful for him. Following the last gig, the other guitarist and I took the opportunity to set up an Aerosmith tribute band and we were lucky enough to find a fabulous drummer and second guitarist but just couldn't find a Steven Tyler. Auditions were interesting and we met some excellent singers, just no one to fill the role to the level needed for a good working tribute act. It's been frustrating and I've missed gigging a lot. Gigging for me has always been the payoff for the effort put in, it's the drug that just hasn't been there and at the moment doesn't look like it's coming back soon. In a couple of weeks I'm going to a rehearsal with the (healthy) guitarist and drummer from the band that broke up in August and we're adding a female vocalist that is fantastic. This will be a four piece (bass/drums/guitar/vocal) cover band of classic pop/rock songs but we've not yet worked out a theme or what our schtick is yet. We had a brief run through four songs a couple of months ago and it all came together quickly. The chemistry between me, the drummer and guitarist was still there and evident and the singer fitted in. There were no transport, noodling, boozing, attitude or lateness issues. If this band gets to gigging, which I have no doubts it will, it'll be a few months before we get there but it'll come as relief to get some normality back and to carry on doing what I've always done.

All good answers so far but does it have a name?

No problems here. Great comms very much appreciated. Another Basschat winner.

@Dazed I suggest a chat to Martin at http://www.mjwamps.com/ He can give you exactly what you want with driving the power section really hard at volumes you can’t hear in the next room. Not only will he build a bass-specific small amp, he can also fit PowerScaling to any amp you buy off the shelf. Top bloke, very approachable and does he ever know his stuff...

I heard from a source that was very close to it that Ashdown all-valve amps were sub-contracted out to another UK builder. Any truth in that?