Happy Jack

I've been an afficianado of 1970s WEM combos for many years but my on-going de-clutter requires me to cut down to just a single unit (a Clubman, since you ask) which means that these two lovely things are now on the market. Both are 50-year-old combos that have lived a life so, although they are both in very good condition for their age, neither is pristine or as-new. The Dominator (on the right) is deffo in better cosmetic nick than the Westminster (on the left) but both work perfectly and exactly as their maker intended. Both sound excellent regardless of what you plug through them - bass, guitar, keys, Mongolian nose-flute. WEM DOMINATOR 25, late 70s, £600. Arguably one of the finest products of the British valve-amp industry, the Dominator was always in the running for nearly 20 years straight. Read all about it here: https://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/britamps/watkins/dominator/dom19.html Often described as a 15W amp, this was in fact more nearly 17W (which is why Mo Foster chose that as his title: https://www.amazon.co.uk/17-Watts-British-Musicians-Sanctuary/dp/1860741827). Mine is the truly wonderful Dominator 25, which is also a truly wonderful piece of Marketing tosh. The '25' was neither 25W nor did it sport a 25" speaker ... it was uprated from the standard Fane 12" speaker on a Dommie to a 15" Celestion to make it sound even better for bass. The '25' thing was the WEM Marketing Dept's equivalent of, "yeh, but this goes to 11". Twin inputs means you can plug in two different instruments simultaneously, or come up with all sorts of weird bi-amping scenarios to puzzle your guitarist with. All original and unmolested. So what does it sound like? Well none of Zoom's excellent product range can really capture just how good this sounds in the studio (or live), let alone the gorgeous, creamy valve break-up at very sensible volumes. If you want to experience that then you'll need to come to Harrow and plug in your own bass. But here's a crude approximation ... Maya into Dominator.mp3 Any excuse to show off my God-like abilities on bass, eh? Shafty into Dominator.mp3 WEM WESTMINSTER, 19777/78, £400. The Dominator was top of the range and not everyone could afford one, so the Westminster was always the better seller and went through far more cosmetic 're-fresh' experiences. Mine was a very short-lived variant in terms of looks, only being made for two years. Read about it here: https://www.vintagehofner.co.uk/britamps/watkins/westminster/west13.html Still twin input for all those pub-rock gigs back when that was a new thing, usually starting just after the stripper had finished. Notice the economy measure of a single set of controls, though. Side-mounted carry handle is very practical. Again, all original and unmolested. If I could play guitar then I'd have used that for these sound clips - the Westminster handles bass perfectly well but it's always going to come off second-best when compared to the Dominator 25. Shafty into Westminster.mp3 Put a guitar through this, though, especially something over towards the Les Paul end, and it's something else. Maya into Westminster.mp3

I should probably have mentioned that it comes with the original Owner's Manual.

This cab isn't just for DB but it's enough of a boutique DB item that it's worth posting the link to the sale thread here too.

So here's a game I play roughly once a year. I list a whole bunch of kit for sale (really not wanting to sell any of it you understand) and once a couple have actually sold 😩 I let the remaining listings slide down below the radar. Until the next time. I'm not selling because I'm desperate for the money, and if I was John Entwistle then I'd just keep the lot and have an ever-expanding collection, but the reality is that almost all my gigs are with PA support so my Crazy 8 is perfectly adequate as a stage monitor. Common sense says that this gorgeous cab should get back out in circulation. I have no interest at all in trades. Replacing a cab that doesn't get used with a different cab that won't get used seems like a complete waste of time and effort. On the other hand, much of my amplification is pretty non-standard or left-field and therefore hard to price, so I'm not absolutely wedded to the figure stated. I'm in Harrow HA1, close to Sudbury Hill on the Piccadilly Line, and I gig regularly throughout Beds, Bucks, Herts & Middx, with occasional forays into Surrey. Pickup in person is always preferable to despatch (from home, or a mutually-convenient pub, or at one one of my gigs), but I've had nothing but good experiences with DPD so if you live more than - say - 50 miles from Harrow then that's an option. Here's something pretty exotic. It sounds great with electric bass (particularly fretless) and quite outstanding with DB. It's not pristine. It's played enough gigs to pick up some scuffing to the grille and a couple of marks (see below) but it's a solid 9/10 on the cosmetics, and definitely 10/10 on performance. Simple, recessed carry handle so your amp can sit atop it. One side completely clean. The other slightly less so. That chip is about the size of the end of your thumbnail. Assuming your thumbnails are the same size as mine, of course. Can be daisy-chained and has a variable tweeter. Jeez! Would you look at the log scales on that!

Happy Jack's Great Exotic Sale continues with this absolutely lush microphone preamp. It's this one: https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/warm-audio-tb12-tone-beast Original packaging, power supply & manual. Condition is pristine and flawless. I did a lot of recording during the Lockdowns (remember them?) which is when I bought it, but it's seen no action in the last four years. There's not even any "rack rash". They're still available new: https://www.andertons.co.uk/warm-audio-tonebeast-12-in-black/ Don't know if they still do the jokey slogans on the carton, though.

It's this one: https://www.gear4music.com/Drums-and-Percussion/Alesis-Nitro-Max-Electronic-Drum-Kit/5X88?origin=product-ads&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22254162605&gbraid=0AAAAAD_kjLRo3zwO3mh0fmvasQyqIkOBi&gclid=CjwKCAjwtrXFBhBiEiwAEKen1x5cMGLEUFPo8-kKRKrvLf-NHsy4ySpDH4t_qglX3ICtSswi_I5BhRoCX0UQAvD_BwE Almost complete leccy kit, all that's required is a drum throne and a kick drum pedal. When I took the photos I was intending to include the DW2000 but Paul the Drums heard about it and threatened to throttle me if I sold it. In fairness, the price wouldn't be so ludicrously low if it was still included. Replaced in my studio (The Final Junkyard) earlier today by a Roland TD-17 so this is now not only surplus to requirements but also temporarily available to post (although at quite a stiff cost, I imagine) because I have a bunch of drumkit-shaped cartons for a very limited period. Collection in person would still be better but, unlike a bass or an amp, testing would be decidedly tricky. The kit is 18 months old and works perfectly, up to and including my rehearsal last Thursday. It's done maybe 150 rehearsals with half a dozen bands, half a dozen drummers, and it's never ... erm ... missed a beat. Sorry. No sane drummer would ever choose this as their main gigging kit, but for rehearsals, home practice, or for a beginner it's ideal. Much lighter weight than the equivalent Roland or Yamaha kits, it's a very easy one person lift to move around a practice space or bedroom. It's also perfectly capable of gigging in confined spaces (small pubs, wine bars, etc) because apart from the small footprint it needs no floorspace to lay out all the hardware and cases required by 'real' drums. And no, the DW2000 is still not included.

Trying to wean myself off preamps for use at doubling gigs, so I'm listing a couple today. First up is this one: https://gearspace.com/gear/ebs/microbass-ii?via=gear_post_link https://www.gear4music.com/G4M/EBS-MicroBass-II-Bass-Preamp-Pedal/65B6 It's a classic Swiss Army Knife of a pedal which does pretty much everything you're likely to need at a gig. The tone-sculpting allows either seamless switching between DB and electric or two different tones from a single bass, it has no problems handling piezo pickups, it's a great DI box, etc. etc. etc. I've always run this off phantom power from the mixer so I'm including a new, boxed power supply. This has done a lot of gigs with https://www.lemonrock.com/damoandthedynamites so I won't claim perfect nick, but it's a solid 9/10. Everything works exactly as it should. Four little patches of removable velcro on the bottom.

Trying to wean myself off preamps for use at doubling gigs, so I'm listing a couple today. First up is this one: https://www.bassgearmag.com/radial-tonebone-bassbone-v2-pedal/ Famously built like a tank, it's a classic Swiss Army Knife of a pedal which does pretty much everything you're likely to need at a gig. The tone-sculpting allows either seamless switching between DB and electric or two different tones from a single bass, it has no problems handling piezo pickups, it's a great DI box, etc. etc. etc. Original power supply but - to my annoyance - I can't find the original packaging, even though I'm sure that I have it somewhere. 🙁 Condition is flawless & functional, very nearly pristine. That's why it's "very nearly" pristine ... four little patches of removable velcro on the bottom. Apart from that velcro, it's perfect. Everything works exactly as it should.

The colour!

Very decent piece of rack gear, equally suitable for studio or live use (I've used it both ways). The two multi-way cable clips on top are there by self-adhesive stuff and will remove. I found them useful enough to choose to leave them there for the new owner. The original box is present, as seen in the photos, but not the polystyrene inserts. I'll use bubble wrap for postage. Original spec: https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0602-AAI