sirmuppet

I ended up getting a used Smooth Hound on Ebay for £40. Sounds excellent. I changed amp the same time I got it so can't say if there was a tonal difference but it sounds like a good bass so I can't complain. 

It really depends on the instrument. Last bass I bought cost £1200 but import fee's took it to just shy of £1500. I'd been waiting for years for this bass to be released and it was one of 350. They will make more but judging by the preorder of the next colour it may be in a very reduced qty. Most I've spent on a new bass was £1800 and that was for the USA 60th anniversary Jazz bass. I'd spend that again as I think it's an excellent bass. I did spend £2300 a few years ago on my acoustic. Again a rare Bryan Adams signature model and being a fan and really likeing the guitar I bought it. That said the non signature model was £400 cheaper, had no electrics, ugly headstock (In my opinion), no binding and was a natural wood colour. For the extra I got the signature, a bridge and goose neck pickup combo, binding on the fretboard, nicer headstock and vintage sunburst finish. I'd have paid the extra 400 just for all that without the name attached.  

Really I guess it depends on what it is and circumstances at the time but I'd buy any of the above again had I not the first time. Then again if something cheaper or more expensive came up I liked thenif I could afford it I would. 

42 minutes ago, Muppet said:

 It's lovely - covered it off a bit on this thread.

 

 

Nice. Just had a read through there. 

21 minutes ago, Muppet said:

 

The EQ settings have a significant impact on the input level and therefore the needle. Boosting anything will mean you having to back off your input which is what it sounds like you have to do.  You could always cut instead of boost if it's an issue?

 

And there's no way around the compressor. It's the same on my EVO V. I asked Dave Green about it and he said it was normal!  

Nice, you have the evo V? How does it compare to the IV?

38 minutes ago, BassAdder60 said:

The compressor is the weakness of the amp I feel, it drops volume too much but apart from that it works. I never use it.

The ABM head has some interesting design features such as input levels influenced by the EQ and the drive settings.

I often have “ Red Needle” anxiety when digging in and playing loud !!

I think Ashdown could remove the compressor and the Sub control and instead put an onboard tuner or two stage drive control ( footswitchable ) that would be a great amp even better

TBH the sub control I'm actually using, albiet sparingly. I think a valve driven drive channel with active EQ as a second channel (Just like the Super Bassman) would be a killer feature but would need a blend option to retain from killing the bottom end. Onboard tuner would also be cool but I'd settle for a mute switch on the foot control that would still allow me to use the tuner out from the amp. 

I get what you say about the needle. I'm using a USA standard P bass from 2014 with the standard custom shop 60's pickup. It's passive and completley unmodded yet it peaks at 9 o'clock. That said I still get a huge amount of volume and the tone is to die for, just not the settings you'd expect to have which throws you at first. 

8 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

I too play a PBass and the treble control is subtle depending on cabs and strings etc ( I play with a pick ) 

I tend to use / boost the 1.3 KHz slider as my true treble boost 

The rotary treble is 7 KHz so without a tweeter I doubt you would hear a change or perhaps the hiss ! 

 

 

Cool. Was worried it was broken but at the first gig I played with it I as sure it did something. Being that it wasn't my cab this time and what you're all saying it's likely it's just the combination. 

Cheers for putting my mind at rest all 😀

It's funny the difference in settings. I have my input at about 9 o'clock with the 350hz boosted to about 75% and the treble dial dimed. Rest of the settings are very similar. Though that volume drop when switching the compressor on is my only complaint, any way around that or is it just what it is?

6 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yes I’ve found this, the 5Khz slider seems to have much more effect on the sound than the actual Treble control. Admittedly I’m using a Precision, which isn’t chock full of highs, plus I switch off tweeters on cabs so maybe these are factors? What bass & cabs were you using?

I too was using a Precision. It wasn't my cab, it was the one in the rehearsal room. Some kind of Hartke 8x10. Felt like the treble dial wasn't doing anything at all. TBH I didn't try the sliders at that end. Will try and get another go with my cab before my next gig. That is a Fender Neo 410 and the tweeter on that can get bright if you want it. The sound was fantastic though. Sat in the mix so well. Really loving this amp. Glad to be back with an Ashdown after so long. 

Question to the ABM 600 owners. Was at rehearsal tonight and tried using the EQ on my amp. The treble dial when turned didn't seem to much at all. Is this normal?

16 hours ago, gary mac said:

Thank you for the recommendation @Grangur

 

@sirmuppet pm me some close up photos of the frets if possible. 

Will do. It may be tomorrow or Friday before I can get some decent time to do so. Thanks.

13 hours ago, Grangur said:

Most bass necks can take a few fret levels before they come to need a re-fret. I've seen a Fender neck that was leveled down to the frets having very little height.

My guess is the person who did it didn't do a particularly good job. 

If I were you I'd ask @gary mac

He's a great guy and would be happy to do you a good job at a sensible rate.

Not sure where "green hill zone" is, but I guess its near Hertfordshire 😜 

I'm afaird I don't know @gary mac but I'd certainly be open to discussing options and what he could do with him. I'm up in Scotland but could get the bass anywhere for it to be fixed. 

Looks like a highway one to me. In addition to the mentioned mods it looks to have a regular bridge rather than the badass. 

Here's a question for you guys. Have any of you replace the preamp valve in your ABM 600? If so then what did you replace it with and what was the resulting difference from the stock tube? Thanks.

1 hour ago, Paul S said:

Actually I do have one issue with the transmitter for my WL-50 - I have a bass with a recessed output jack and it won't fit in tightly enough to engage, the shoulders hit the dish of the recessed bit.  That's just one bass in an embarrassingly long line of basses  And, frankly, the fault of the bass, not the transmitter.  

TBH if I were using a bug type I'd probably do what I did when I owned a Smooth Hound and use a patch cable with a female to female adaptor and strap mount the bug. 

Dunlop Tortex .73 for me, preferably in pitch black. They last about 5-10 songs before I chuck them. In fact I play a game where when they're done I aim them at the singers hand bag and try and get them in there. Took her a while to notice but she has a fair collection now 😆.

3 minutes ago, Matt P said:

I started with a Line6 G30, never had any issues with it, leant it out to a friend for some Christmas shows and they pestered me to sell it, at the same time a G50 popped up in the classifieds at a great price so i sold the G30 and bought the G50

 

I haven't had any issues with the G50 either, i used it at church quite a lot and they are using the Line6 wireless Mics (5 of them) and there were no issues (just find a free channel and off you go).

 

I briefly borrowed a smooth Hound system and just couldn't get on with it, I really don't like the bug style transmitters and the fix using a coupler and a cable didn't work for me either.

 

Line 6 do sell the transmitter separately, but they seem to be out of stock. A cheaper option might be to buy another secondhand set and put the spare receiver in the cupboard as a spare (or sell it to someone that has 2 different pedalboards and wants another receiver.)

 

Matt

That's actually not a bad shout. I'm going to hang off until the after Christmas sales and see if there's any bargains. Seems the majority suggest Line 6 without any issues. Do you need to manually select the frequency or does it search and find the best free ones?

4 hours ago, fleabag said:

After owning the Xvive set, and them refusing to charge up after a poxy 2 years, and of course they're sealed so the batteries cant be replaced ( clever eh ? ) , i  decided to go for quality and bought the Line 6 Relay G75 kit.

 

Outstanding.  That's if you can find one.  They seem to be in short supply right now.

 

https://www.andertons.co.uk/line-6-wireless-guitar-offer

Just had a look at that. Looks good but according to Bax music they're discontinued. So might have to wait and see. 

2 minutes ago, T-Bay said:

Due to my lack of gigs at present, I would let mine go if you get stuck for one.

I could be interested in that. I'll PM you.

So I used to use a wireless system a few years back, not that long ago really. It was a Smooth Hound system that I used. Never had any issues with it. Alas I ended up going back to a cable due to being a band that meant movement was restricted. Now I'm looking to get another system. I've emailed and kept an eye on Smooth Hound but nothing. I need a system that's relaible, won't cut out and that I can easily buy a second transmitter for. The last one seems to be an issue for some systems. 

My guitarist uses a Line 6 of some sort. It's a bug style that plugs direct into the jack and also charges when it's popped into the base station. So I wouldn't want anything the would cause issue with that. 

Any suggestions?

I was just about to come on and ask a question about wireless systems as I too haven't had any replies from Smooth Hound and am lost at an alternative. 

22 minutes ago, chris7273 said:

 

I would rather consider its actual value (400 ? 500 ? ) ... Then the refret makes sense if you like the bass enough to play it for the next twenty years 🙂 

True. I do like the bass a lot even if it is the heaviest one I've ever played. It's not my go do but I do still play and at times gig it. 

9 hours ago, moley6knipe said:

Does it need a full refret? I’ve only played one bass long enough to refret, and that only needed the bottom 7 doing. My local guy (Jon Haire, Peterborough, genius) charges by the fret, suspect others probably do as well.

That's a fair point. It might not. I'll need to look when I get in how bad it is further down.

42 minutes ago, T-Bay said:

Seems a shame when you would have been happy to keep it as well. It’s hard to see how this makes financial sense to them.

True. I'm sure they have some sort of plan.

So to any one who may want to know in future. Fender requested the bass back which I knew they would. I did offer to buy it from them, they considered this but when they saw the damage they said it was too severe to be sold. I got my replacement pretty much when I expected it. As to what happens to that bass I'm not sure. It is back with Fender UK. They may use it for parts I guess or just sell it as is since it was Fender USA that said it was too damaged. If anyone comes across a pink Fender jaguar serial number mx22173539 then remove and check the G string tuner on the back and make sure it was fixed in some way. Cheers for all the replies. 

11 minutes ago, Machines said:

 

You're not wrong 😆

I'll chime in on this since I own a few Fenders. 

It's my go to brand of bass. Most music stores carry them and you pretty much know what you're getting. Spare parts are easy to get hold of. If you're buying blind online then resale will be better than on most other brands. If you find the model that speaks to you and you're happy to part with the cash then yeah it's worth it.

Recently I bought a MIM jaguar for just over £1400. As crazy as it sounds stay with me on this. I'd been following particular bass player and they have custom made Jaguars. For years I wanted one in bright pink but alas no signature model and no bass in this colour. Then after he was getting pestered time again again asking if Fender would release a signature model he went to Fender and asked how many he'd have to order to have them made. Answer was a minimum of 50. I missed out on the first run but got one in the second. Had to buy it from the states so shipping and import on top came to a little over £1400. On paper, it seems mental but to me I have a great playing bass that I've wanted for a long time, something a little rare and it means something to me. So to me, it's worth it. That's just one example of a Fender I own. I mean my USA standard cost me £999 brand new and that was my go to since I got it in 2017. That was worth it and has paid for itself time and again in gigs I've played with it. 

If something from Fender came up that I wanted and I felt I could part with the cash for it, sure I'd say it was worth it but to someone else that might not be the case. So it's very much an individual opinion.