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What's your gigging rig? Maybe a 1x10 version of one of your cabs with your existing head? I use my 2x10 combo for home, rehearsal & gigging with, that way I have the same sound everywhere (makes sense).

Could Active pickups be designed for passive basses that have enough room to squeeze a battery in there to power them, but not enough room to fit active circuitry? To change the battery in the Ibby, I had to take the backplate off (4 screws).

It depends on how many folk are in your band. You could go for a bit of overdrive & a low pass filter with a pedal to open it up if there's only one guitarist, maybe even a little slow thick chorus on those slow blues numbers? At the end of the day, only You know the answer. Now go & have fun playing with effects.

It would put out "up to" 250 watts to each cab, but it should be fine. I would stick the 200w cab on top of the 400w so you can hear if the amp ever needs to be backed off. Why not get 2 of the same cab? Makes more sense.

If you're always using PA & playing covers where the bass blends in to the point of no one knowing it's there, then anything as a stage monitor is all you need. Whether it be that Behringer or just an active wedge. If you play venues where you need your own rig to provide the low end, that's when things can start to get interesting. Whether it be going for a rock tone, something for DnB or anything else, there's a whole load of rigs to choose from at all prices. First thing you need to do is stop thinking like a guitarist! Do you think like a drummer when you go to play keys? It's about finding the gear that's gonna move things the way you want them to. As you're going through PA, then you'd probably be wiser spending your money on Basses and FX. Personally, I like that my rig allows me to deter the guitarist from becoming too loud with his AC30 or Marshall 1/2 stack (I don't get what the interest in these things are when you can do it all with decent pedals & keep a sensible volume) & it's nice to have the lows available if there's no adequate PA.

Cheers Al, I'll take a look at the active ones. I'm probably gonna add it into my black box.

Al, your pedals look awesome. I'd love to spend some time learning about electronics & how to properly read a schematic, but everytime I start googling things I just get overwhelmed! I know how to wire up lights & lighting systems & how to solder fairly decently, but I just can't get any further. I'm wanting to make a simple version of a LPF, is it as simple as getting a 100k pot & a 0.047uf capacitor & wiring it like a bass' tone control? Still haven't made my "footlight" yet, haven't gotten hold of a bit of perspex but I have everything else.

Why do you want to make it a 4Ω cab? You most likely wont notice any difference in volume unless your amp is a 2Ω job. If so, sell your cab & get a 4Ω (or add another 8Ω cab)

Vinegar will get rid of the majority of the stickers & goo.

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1334905115' post='1623128'] I get the feeling that amp makers have started to realise this and are moving away from that design philosophy (TC Electronic and GenzBenz being cases in point). [/quote] One company who might have labelled their inputs more accordingly was Carlsbro. On my old Cobra head it said "Low Gain" & "High Gain" as opposed to the usual "Passive" & "Active".

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1334873951' post='1622883'] so, for example, if you're having a chat with a bunch of people it's possible to close your eyes and still be able to point to each person very accurately. [/quote] Unless like me, you're deaf & don't know when anyone is talking until they hit you!

Having looked at some schematics, I found that Fender appear to use 250k pots for passive & 100k pots for active (all they do is tap a 9v battery into the signal). I've kept my pick ups at the same height as they was when it had active circuits. It's actually working better with the moog stuff! I wish it woulda broke 2 years ago!!!

His site appears to be down.

Have you got a DAW on your computer (such as Reaper, Garageband, Cubase, etc)? If so, load an audio file (.wav). Now when you look at it, it's jiggedy up & down & all over the shop (whether that be a single instrument or Metallica with a 40 piece orchestra). This is what is converted to audio & pushed out by the speaker. You don't look at the file & see loads of instruments, you see something like this... & that's what the speaker sees as well.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1334778080' post='1621234'] if you are getting a signal with active pickups not being powered they aren't active pickups. [/quote] Could it be an active bass with passive pick ups? It's an Ibanez SR1000 from 1989. I like the idea of not having to worry about flat batteries, but it's only ever been an issue once in it's life as an active instrument.

Well I was about to play my bass on Thursday, plugged it in and........... Nothing! Tried plugging it into the amp direct with a few different leads & still nowt. So I thought "Must be the battery". Nope. Band practice over then. Opened it up the next day & discovered a power wire off. Took the electronics out to solder it back together & another wire popped off! Soldered them on & another 3 popped off! Soldered them on & another couple fell off (it is a 20 odd year old bass, but c'mon!). Put it all back together &...... Nothing! Went over everything to check it was all correct (using reference photos that I took last year before stripping the bass) & all was fine. After many hours of messing about I've ended up buying 2 new pots & a capacitor & wiring the bass up as passive. Funny thing is, it doesn't seem any quieter than it did as an active bass. Need to test this at volume of course, but at home... I always thought that an active bass gave a MUCH hotter signal than passive. Could it be because I'm using active pick ups? I'm not powering them (I was gonna power it Fender stylee). Now I have an extra hole on the body from where the EQ switch was, but I have a plan! I've ordered a 100k pot & some other goodies from Maplin & gonna make it a control knob for the Moogs. So if I want, I can have it so I can add funky auto wah when I'm not using the exp pedal to control cutoff on the LPF or control the LFO rate on the Bass Murf. Will let you know how I get on with that one too.

Different sized capacitor too maybe?

If you've got a decent sense of timing & able to play for an hour or two at home along to your fave rock compilation, then your own confidence is the only thing that could hold you back (or not having the gear ). The majority of the pub ain't gonna notice the odd mistake (that includes the rest of the band too) unless you do something bad.

I have one of those combos you're talking about. The 2x10. However, it only looks like that if you have it sitting horizontally. Mine sits vertically, so looks even funnier!

I got my pedalboard/case from Spider Engineering (I think they're known as Flightcase Warehouse). They make flightcases to your size, so if you wanted to go the same style of route where teh board is part of the lid (rather than a wedge that you lift out) then might be worth checking them out. [url="http://www.spider-engineering.co.uk/music/index.asp?groupID=2400"]Here's the webby.[/url] They do quite a lot of other useful stuff too.

If you're looking for a good filter & don't mind spending a little more, then look at the moog MF101 & get an expression pedal for it.

If they was made in the UK, then I could understand (to an extent, as we usually make crap). But it's probably made in China, therefore you're not really buying British! Markbass is Italian & made in Italy. If you can get an LM & a Barefaced cab, I can't see you needing anything else amp/cab wise for some time.

If it's an 8Ω cab, then you can add another 8Ω cab. If it's a 4Ω cab, then no. I'm with Phil & Dirk re: 2x10s.

I've got the Boss CE-2 on my board (not the CE-2B) & it does a fine job. Have a look at the new Akai pedals. They make an analogue delay for £59!

[quote name='bass24' timestamp='1334396645' post='1615553'] Purpose built flats/apartments will have concrete floors on all levels to comply with fire regs etc. [/quote] Not all Mine's an old stone built Victorian apartment with wooden beams & a couple of layers of wooden planks.