alexa3020

I tried them in the shop where I wasn't able to push the volume. My impressions were the ampeg cab was deeper/muddier sounding than the TC K210 I was testing at the same time. I could definitely hear the changes to Markbass EQ better with the TC cab. That said, I'm not sure what settings I had the horn on with the Ampeg cab. Pairing the Ampeg PF350 head with PF210 was a nice combination though.

I take it you prefer th ashdown though?

He plays bass on the title track(have you ever been to) electric ladyland. If I remember rightly they talk about on classic albums. It’s superb

The ashdown rm500 is another on my list, along with: little mark 3 Aguilar th500 Eich T500 gallien Krueger mb or mb fusion 500 or legacy. I tried the ashdown rootmaster, with the RM cabs. I got the impression the head was decent, but not convinced by the cabs. I’ll probably try the head with the barefaced cabs when it arrives. The head seems to get a huge amount of praise on here! i also tried the Aguilar th700 with a 112 Aguilar cab. Sounded great, but didn’t seem like it had enough volume. Might of been the cab, might of been that I wasn’t pushing it enough. It’s definitely been my favourite so far. But will the 500 be loud enough the little mark I liked, but wasn’t wowed by. I haven’t tried the eich or gk heads yet. However, the Ampeg is 25-60% cheaper than the other heads listed. tempting! It would leave me budget for some other toys.

I’m in the market for a new head to match my incoming new Barefaced 210s. i have a number of heads to try on my shortlist, and the ampeg pf500 is one of them. A quick search on most sites has the ampeg priced between £380 & 500, but on Amazon it’s £299 - a good price right? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ampeg-PF-500-Lightweight-Bass-Amplifier/dp/B004GXA6GK/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_2?dchild=1&keywords=p500+ampeg&qid=1599309272&sr=8-2-fkmr0 The seller for this amp is Polar (who I assume is polar audio). If you look on polars website they have the pf500 priced at £389. So what’s the deal with this head? Why is it cheaper on Amazon (I also think it’s cheaper on their eBay shop too). To be fair I’ve heard some bad things in terms of reliability with these heads. Could it be worth taking the risk at £300 - I presume it would come with a guarantee. i tried the pf350 and quite liked it. cheers Alex

Hi All, Just an update. I have spoken to Alex from Barefaced and after a few emails back and forth I have decided to go with the Barefaced 210S - Exciting! I have been told it will produce similar volume levels to my current 410 (which I don't have to push to keep up with the band). It also leaves me some budget to replace the TC BQ500 head, which will be the next dilemma! Thanks for the input everyone

I’m in Cambridgeshire, so Camden is the easiest of the shops you mention. thanks

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve seen Ashdown have released some ABM neo cabs and new rootmaster heads. I should be able to try these as my local music shops stock them. I quite liked the rootmaster head I tried

Dan Dare - sensible advice. I have been to a couple of shops to try and test some gear. Both poorly stocked because bass amps & cabs are ‘difficult to shift’. With regard to barefaced, I don’t think they are in shops. Tottenham court rd in London May be an option. The head will be updated either now or in the near future. nobatron, I could only find the Vanderkley 212 in Dorset

I’m about to hit go on a new cab. I’ve been thinking about this for over a month, going round in circles about which one to buy. I need help! first off I am having to do this without testing the cabs out first because I can’t find stock of the ones I’m interested in. my current gear is is Tc bq500 and ampeg 410 heres what’s in the running: 1. Barefaced (any suitable) big baby, big twin, super twin, super compact, 210. I like the story of Barefaced, and I like that Alex is on these forums. I think Im leaning towards the big baby, I just worry that it won’t be loud enough. I’d be happy to buy another amp to get some more wattage to it. Would I regret not getting the big twin? It’s the size and extra cost that’s holding me back at the moment. I honestly can’t see me playing any more big venues, probably mostly pubs and the odd outdoor festival. i have heard stories of peeling tolex - wich I guess would only affect the 10” cabs anyway. Can anyone confirm this is fixed? 2. Darkglass 212 - this is a nice looking cab, and budget wise is where I’d wanna be for a 212. My worry is there doesn’t seem to be a lot of people using them. The review from basstheworld.com got me interested 3.tc rs212 - again a nice looking cab. Hardly any stock, are they still in production? 4. Markbass 212 - cheapest and they make fairly decent gear. I could probably test this one. my reservations, particularly with the tc & markbass, is they won’t be an upgrade on what I’ve already got. I want that wow moment, can I really expect to get that from the barefaced? other cabs that have caught my attention are EBS, Bergantino, Vanderkley, Eich, but I really don’t know enough about them. Thanks in advance from a very confused bassist!

After some research, I’m thinking of the following cabs: 2 x orange obc12 - they look great but some people say they are cheaply made. Expensive markbass 212 New York. You don’t see many rock bands using markbass it’s 800w @ 4ohm - will my Tc bq500 be powerful enough as some people say you don’t get 500w output @ 4ohm - more like 300w TC Electronic RS212 Aesthetically my favourite, no stock anywhere at the moment - are they still in production? £580 on amazon who are awaiting stock. i really want a lightweight 2 x12 as I don’t think 2x10 will be man enough. 4x10 too bulky. purchase won’t be made till next month. Around £700 is budget and I want new. not sure if I’ll get a head. any comments on these would be really useful. Thanks

Good shout - I didn’t know coda was still going. is Tottenham Court Road in London still full of music shops?

I tried the Ashdown Rootmaster head. It’s quite a nice little amp, but probably not enough of an improvement on what I’ve got. Im not sure I rate the rootmaster cabs though - they’re quite punchy but no depth to the bass I plugged in an ashdown Abm 115 cab and it was too boomy. Both together were quite nice. i wonder if the 2x10 might be better as this seems like a pretty good deal. https://m.thomann.de/gb/ashdown_abm_210t_compact.htm I also tried the aguiar th700 with 1 db12 cab. Lovely sounding but i dont think a single cab was loud enough 2 cabs brings me way over budget. And that’s all I’ve been able to try so far. Need to find a shop in Cambridgeshire/Bedfordshire with better selections. thanks for everyone’s input so far. the search continues...

Appreciate the suggestions, I think I’m gonna just have to try a few out and then go with my gut & hope it works well in the band setting. If I can’t find anything I like I’ll just stick with the Hartke ampeg setup for gigs which I do like, and tc and gk for practices. Anyone experienced with the orange terror?

The rootmaster series is definitely an option. I started off with a mag210 which just wasn’t loud enough (300w), but I played through Abm series (500w) and that was great. thanks for the suggestions everyone

I’ve got some £20 ear plugs from Amazon. I guess your on about something a bit better? If we are doing our own sound, I don’t like using them as I can’t tell if I’m too loud or quiet.

I used an ampeg pf combo (I think) it was nice but it was 300w and just wasn’t loud enough perhaps the 500 or 800w versions would be good to try. I’ll check out the other 2 although they might be out of budget.

Thanks for the input so far. I realise that my first post is really not narrowing things down enough. my current gear is Hartke ha5500 or tc electronic bq500 my cabs are ampeg115 or gk212mbe Us p bass big muff pedal behringer bdi preamp (when using tc head only) the best combination is the Hartke & Ampeg, this is also really heavy too. The tc head and gk cabs are lightweight, but you do take a hit with the sound. I play in rock bands, one covers and one original. The drummer is loud in the originals band, so we are often at full whack and ears are ringing after practice. in terms of bass tones that I like in a rock setting, Colin greenwood springs to mind. He uses ampegs or ashdown (and sometimes a music man bass too). I don’t want a heavy amp. To be clear the budget would be for new head & cab. amps that spring to mind are mark bass & Aguilar, but I’d honestly be open to anything. in terms of eq I usually dial a nice tone and that’s it. I’ll then just use the tone control on the bass during a gig. I usually like to play clean, but occasionally kick in the big muff. apologies for the war and peace response!

I’m considering a new amp with a budget of up to £1000. This is a big purchase for me & I really don’t want to get it wrong. I can obviously test the amps in the shop and start dialling what I think are some really nice tones. My problem is when I get to the band environment they often don’t work, they just don’t sit right in the mix. so to sum up, I’ll not know if i like the amp until it’s used in the band environment. id be interested if anyone else has this problem & if so what’s the best thing to do?

It’s nice (for me!) to hear it was a struggle for someone else. it is a great tune. My other problem will be if I play it live my drummer will almost certainly play it faster too!

I’ve been playing bass a long time, and I just can’t manage the speed of this bass line. I am trying to build up to it slowly, but I can’t get it accurate enough to do it justice. would anyone else struggle with this? Or am I just lame?

I’ve been playing bass a long time, and I just can’t manage the speed of this bass line. I am trying to build up to it slowly, but I can’t get it accurate enough to do it justice. would anyone else struggle with this? Or am I just lame?

Ha! I tried a vulfpeck bassline the other day. Reckon I can report him for gbh!

Thanks for the tip Gaz, just downloaded the app. Looks like it work well.

Pineweasel, sounds like you took a similar approach to me which is reassuring. you’re right about respite on chorus, which is why I’m trying to make sure I can do a minute. Can you imagine trying to do 4 mins of 16th notes at that speed. ha! thats drummers for you.