Al Krow

Haha - very true! Very probably 😉 Join @bassfan's 2020 gear abstinence challenge and make a start on your journey of zen and the art of playing bass 😁

I'd get both the amp and the cab used and get quality for both! And if the OP buys used and decides it's not for him he hopefully shouldn't make much of a loss if he decides to move it on.

Yup they seem to have updated their website to refer to 'continuous' rather than RMS and have changed the numbers from 140W RMS to 196W continuous at 4 ohms @Ashdown Engineering is your rather tasty new piece of kit delivering 196W RMS at 4 ohms? If it is, colour me interested! If not, what are you meaning by 'continuous'? Also when you refer to 'max' power of 200W is this also at 4 ohms and is 'max' = 'peak' power in standard speak? If the peak power is 200W at 4 ohms, the ratio between RMS (if that is 196W at 4 ohms) and peak seems to be out of kilter.

Yup that makes sense. But in which case their claim to unlimited effects patches is pure hyperbole. I'm already out!

Gotta disagree in terms of spending most of your budget on an amp: IMO a quality cab is at least as important to a great bass sound as the amp head. So don't skimp on the cab if you're going down the separates route! The Fender Rumble 500 and MB AC 121 Lite are two much loved combos, and you won't go too far wrong with either, if you decide to stick to Plan A.

If you're after warm, clean and oodles of power, then you could do far worse than this. Get yourself a padded cover made up (if the seller doesn't have one already) and you'll be good to go! Arguably one of the best combos out there - I had one as my goto gigging combo for 4 years and it never broke into a sweat. I've actually since replaced with separates, as per some of the comments above, but the combined (used) cost of my rig is double this excellent combo's second hand price.

Well they won't be doing that again in a hurry then!

Wow - 3,000 bass players in your neck of the woods / Tyneside?! That's impressive.

Fixed Fair few BCers are using M6, WA, D800, D800+ etc

Neck through, reverse P, EMGs, sculpted body, great sound, looks stunning. What's not to love? 😊

+1 ^^ Is that a very tasty Spector (or possibly a W'ick) you're sporting?

I would hazard a guess that with a decent sub woofer, yes.

Mesa simply export their kit to Westside distribution in Glasgow AFAIK. It shouldn't cost them any more to export than any other US manufacturer. And yes I do know (albeit a little) about international distribution costs via my day job. Let's put it like this: if Jim Bergantino can export his kit to the UK with broadly a one $ = one £ rate allowing for VAT, shipping and customs then why can't Mesa? The excuse that Mesa have been giving is that they don't set retail prices in the UK. (See lengthy discussions on this earlier in the thread). I don't buy that excuse, as you'd expect at least one retailer to break rank if there were "super profits" being made at that point in the supply chain. Which is a shame - a lot of us on this thread, me included, are big Mesa fans. My M6 is still my all time favourite amp.

Looking forward to your duo stuff! What kit are you thinking about using to deliver the dub sound?

Nice one, Frank. Are you playing similar material 8 years on? (I know!). And other than become a conniesseur of ACG basses, has your sound changed / evolved in a particular direction?

Well I guess that's kinda proved the point that most of us were trying to make to Mesa. $999 in US = approx £767 for US bassists, who aren't collectively going to be less well off than us are they? Add shipping, customs & VAT and that should get to around £999 in the UK. But no, best price is currently £1,267 i.e. £500 more than a US bass player is forking out. End result: megathread in the US. Barely registering in the UK. Simples.

Wow that was a temptingly low price (again)! Kinda glad I didn't spot it in time - not sure I would have your will power to resist!

What you get up to with your basses is entirely up to you... 😄 My collection of basses will continue to be referred to as a 'herd' (by me anyway).

That would make sense. I get a lot more natural grit on my basses from the bridge J.

The sales pitch sounds very good. But unlimited blocks per patch - really? I'd have been less sceptical if they weren't being quite so optimistic about their claims! Couldn't see a DI out, but maybe the two outputs are already balanced.

I've taken the liberty of extending the recent period to include the current one, in case a few amazing tracks come out of the woodwork during the course of the year.

You say that but one thing that comes across well in several of your videos is a meaty low end for both kick drum and bass / bass on keys. Were you using a sub woofer with crossover? Do you know what mics you were using to record the sound - they delivered a really good sound without distorting.

+1 ^^ Love your band and your sound! (Also just worked out a hack how to make this thread a LOT more user friendly to avoid not finding the wood for the trees - doh!)

You're making me feel better about getting a "modest" Gretch already 😁

Sorry Chris - I have to disagree. Old strings and poor EQ'ing don't go well with a zingy slap tone. For sure technique is a big part of slap as it is with most of bass playing.