Al Krow

Although it's not an issue for the OP as he can get a second 8 ohm cab, I hadn't previously spotted that the DG M500 doesn't have a 2 Ohm mode unlike its big brother the DG M900. That's almost the wrong way around!

A very good analogy about the direction of travel.

If you want it a lot smaller, that can be sorted. There's a very clever chap by the name of @GisserD, who's got a bit of a following both over here and in the US for his little creation (I'm claiming credit for the blue and white edition). Be warned, he's tall...

I can't deny any of the above. And I'm possibly even worse: I've just turned down the possibility of a BF BB2, which is one of the most loved cabs on this forum, for the chance to get a Fearless F112. Bye Alex, hello Guy. Actually that's not entirely true about saying bye to Alex: my BF SC at 21 lbs continues to blow everyone away for what it delivers at its weight-point. And frankly I can't bear to part with it. It's just that back in the real world (and even on BC) there are so many fellow bass players who find that Markbass hits the spot at a price that's half of the stuff we've got ourselves into.

Ok that does it!!! I just gotta get me one of these. ...oh wait, I did that already. Now where did I leave it? 😄

So setting the bar high then? Funny thing is if you go into a store, the assistants will react with hushed tones if you mention high end Markbass. We are such bass snobs!

Please define "great".

Ashdown amps have earned a very loyal following on here, and are a great UK success story to be celebrated. But with the arrival of superb multifx like the Helix Stomp, this belated, expensive and underwhelming foray into pedals by Ashdown feels like someone deciding that diesel engines are the future when the rest of the world is moving onto hybrids.

No, no, no! Mixing cabs of different makes is akin to creating mules according to "them that know better" and to whom forlock tipping is required.

You would be already regarded as a minor rock god if you had. Made of vonder clay.

Weird he should think that. In my experience drummers manage to change key (and rarely moan about having to do so) quicker than just about anyone else in the band 😂

The TC is an amazingly good value combo. I also had a 115 that @Pat2019 now uses as my first bass combo. The 210 and 208 came out soon after I bought mine and I suspect if I was starting over, I'd go for one of these two instead now, just for the tighter punchier bass tone they seem to deliver.

Congrats! I suspect you'll totally love it. The clips I've heard of Cuzzie playing through his have been great (I hope he doesn't mind me saying). And I know I regularly get beaten up for my neanderthal views on speaker cone size, but if there were no other considerations (weight, power handling, frequency response etc) and I wanted a single cab, I really don't think I've come across anything better than a 212 for getting everything right. Funnily enough 95% of the folk who tell me I've got it wrong own either a 212, or 2 112s, or are making do with a single 112. (I appreciate I'm being a little Fearless in making such a claim). 😄

So Cali CB, DG AO Ultra and Pitch Shifter sorted. I think it's just paid for itself! And that grin on your face would obviously be priceless 😁

That's overstating it a touch. Yup leaving the lead in drains it. But if you remember to unplug it at the end of the day when putting your gear away the battery should last a fair while (months in my experience).

The best value multifx IMO is still the Zoom B3N and I'd happily recommend it as a great starting point if you're on a budget. If you can fork out the extra, then the quality of the Stomp, in terms of its chipset and processing power, delivers effect sims at the next level.

All fair comments. However 3 quality single effect pedals can easily get you past £400, and then that's your lot. Cali CB + DG AO ultra = how much new? Whereas a Stomp can expand on demand at no extra cost and allow you to try out all the effects you fancy using without having to separately buy them. It won't nail them all, synth in particular. But that's what a FI is for

Totally. The amazing generosity of time in sharing experience and expertise by our fellow BCers is something to be treasured.

That's very kind of you to say! I don't think there is a great deal of difference in dimensions and weight between the 1025 and 735A. The 735A has been slimmed a touch, but it's still very much a BB design bass - which I think you'll see from the pics I posted a page back in this thread, together with a rough 'bathroom scale' measurements of weight - it is also a touch lighter. If size matters - then I hate to say this on this thread(!) - and if you're after a smaller comfortable body, I'd actually consider getting an Ibanez SR. I'm also a big fan of those basses, particularly the Premium range as I really like the more 'throaty' Nordstrand big singles, although my Ibbys are all J/J rather than P/J configured pups. Having said that - see also @bigsmokebass's comments above about the subtleties of difference adding up (and there's, of course, also the not subtle at all addition of an active EQ, although he is not using that additional feature, but which I most certainly will be!).

Good question. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned and tend to assume that tone from a bass is driven by the following: 1. Type (P/J/MM etc) and make of pups 2. Position of pups 3. Quality of EQ including whether active or passive mode 4. Strings (and playing position). And then some way behind the above in terms of impact: 5. Variation in type of woods used. I suspect the the tonal difference between the two basses would be less if I was using identically aged same strings and I guess the simplest way to do that is to put a new pair of the same make strings on both, but I'm too much of a cheapskate to want to do that until the strings actually need replacing

Often only noticeable, anyway, when you're practising at home alone. The moment you're surrounded by the noise of a pub or start playing you'll be hard pressed to notice at all. (And although not relevant here, cooling fans can often be just as noisy or more so than any amp hum).

Welcome to the dark side of active basses! I've gone from being a purely passive player a couple of years back to also now really enjoying the additional and convenient EQ adjustment that active basses provide - cutting the bass EQ a touch when required to tighten up the low end as you've mentioned, boosting the mids to cut through or rolling off the treble for a more vintage tone. I've typically been using my basses either just in active mode (Ibby SRs or Yammy BBNE2 - the latter is purely active, in any case) or just passively in the case of my one purely passive bass (Yammy BB 1025). The latter is quite nice for practice at home in terms of not needing to remember to remove the jack lead to save the battery! Very recently got a Yammy BB 735A and have unexpectedly found a bass where I'm likely to be using both active and passive modes during the same gig, given the varied tonal palette I can get from the electronics of this bass.

Budget? For a similar price to your bass you could get this: The only thing is, it's not small or compact, but does come with a free 4x10 cab