Al Krow

With a complimentary fork lift truck of course (I think Thomann have a buy-one-get-a-fork-lift-truck-free offer on at the start of April to shift some old SVT stock...)

In which case check out the newly released Mesa WD-800 Likely to tick just about every box and burn a serious hole in your pocket for the privilege of doing so

A few Qs at the outset (as there are lot of great amps on the market) to get us all thinking on the right lines for you: 1. (Key) what's your budget? 2. What power output are you looking for? 3. How / what are you going to be using the amp for? e.g. if you're going into FR800 do you need a power amp or would a quality preamp be just as good? 4. Obvious Q - if you're a fan of Markbass, would you consider one of the modern line up of their amps? Seems to me they have taken the old models such as the LM2/3 and considerably improved the EQ: removing some of the glaring EQ gaps and also providing a much better bass EQ centre point. And if you have the budget then the new MB STU AMP 1000 looks lush...

[Update] - thanks for sharing the link, Mark. Yup it does look like the one listed as a "BB5000" is indeed a BB5000A; the four knob (rather than two knob plus switch on the BB5000) confirms the active EQ. So that's got me looking at the EQ on some of these older Yammy basses and (as some of you will already know!) I'm a fan of 3 band EQs, preferring them to 2 band EQs, and I'm assuming on the BB5000A the four knobs are going to be: volume, pup selector, treble and bass. The P/J BB models (5ers) with 3 band EQ are the BB615 and the current BB735A; the BB5000A sports a neck through. No Yammy BB, as far as I can tell, has offered a PJ 5er with neck through and 3 band EQ. The current BB735A also has a useful active / passive switch which I'm not sure feature in the earlier models?

I've seen a BB5000 (passive) on there, but is there also a white BB5000A (active) listed?

Cheers John - amazingly helpful as usual! Your packing of the VK210 I bought off you was excellent.

Guys, I've managed to sell my Markbass 410 cab to a chap in NI, but have never previously packed up anything for courier of that size and must admit I'm feeling a bit daunted! Any tips on doing it well so that it arrives safely? Getting it properly wrapped So I assume the usual bubble-wrap, plus cardboard and maybe extra protection for the corners? It has a Hotcovers padded cover which I presume I will put on as the first protective layer and then bubble wrap around this? Do you guys have a good supplier for hardy cardboard / wrapping material e.g. Amazon? Getting it couriered Guessing this is not going to be cheap (gonna be around 60lbs / 27kg) wrapped up! Been recommended Parcelforce. Any others who might be better / better value? Cheers, AK

I've just checked the prices of F basses. Is "F" short for "F me that's not cheap" ?! 😅 I think I'd rather spend my coin supporting an UK luthier such as Jon Shuker...

Haha, yes there is definitely a cabal of devoted BB cult enthusiasts on Basschat. But perhaps there's a good reason for that! 😎

I'm guessing that F basses are a whole lot cheaper than custom Fedoras, so that's a relief! Now I just need to see if they do a 5er with the P configuration pup in the same way that Yamaha do... Never really come across F basses before, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised about something good / useful coming out of any discussion relating to Markbass!

Oooh that looks like a tasty P/J! (And if it's good enough for a low life like Scott, then it's certainly going to be more than good enough for me). Do you know what the make / model, is Woody? I actually love having more rather than less control over my EQ on my bass: it's then up to me whether I use it or not, but at least I have the choice. I wonder if there is a 5er version?

And also the fact that it's not "cheap" 😂

Two more comments from Becos: "We are taking orders now." "Please take a look at pedal's manual. We tried to explain all its features in little words. But yes, compression in general is intimidating, especially when it is not clear what is expected from it. Some tend to use compression for "tone shaping", and they feel more attracted to those coloring compression pedals. This is not one of these. the quality of the Analog Engine we use, renders a pristine signal output, without coloring, distortions or artifacts. CompIQ MINI is a very transparent compressor. It handles dynamics without affecting your instrument voice. We like to refer to it as a "mastering tool", where audio content is just left breathing natural and musical dynamics. For instance, Soft Knee, Slower Timings and Threshold controls allow you to attain this."

A comment I got back from Becos responding to my post above: "It is not a clone. It is an original circuit based on the same dynamics technology (a THAT Analog Engine, which is derived from years of dbx engineering legacy) that Keeley and Empress and others use in their pedals. We all try to offer something different, but the bricks we use may be similar or the same. The overall product makes a difference. For instance, you won't find this many features in a similar sized pedal, at such a competitive price."

And please redo the pic with the pedals the other way around. Evolution is always left to right! Besides parallax makes the left pedal look almost as big as the original!! Looking forward to the Mastotron blue with white lettering version. That's gonna be uber cool 😎

I've never really understood why more folk don't use their D class amps, in "post-pre" DI mode, out directly into the FOH. Our amps generally have a pre-amp we really like which is why we bought the thing in the first place! Saves the faff of getting a separate pre-amp with: the 'right sound', decent EQ and DI out. And let's face it a D class head in a gig bag ain't exactly bulky. Some, like the TC RH750, also have built in tuner, dirt and comp

Damn! You're making regret not getting @Paul S's 4:88 now. Must have looked at that thing in the FS about 30 times...probably never be another one in such good nick for such a good price (and from such good seller) in my lifetime! Although if what @thodrik is saying, I've got a lot of the Prodigy goodness souped up in my Mesa M6

Is it fair to say you're a fan of DG pedals?! 😄 I'm guessing your favourite dirt is the AO?

Suggest using numbers then.

Yeh ditto. Didn't particularly float my boat. And whilst I really like the look, I'm definitely put off by it having three transformers (two more than I'm going to ever need!) But tbf I was probably struggling as much with the Ashdown 410 cab I was playing through which was unfortunately very meh and not as good (to my surprise) as the MB 115 they also had available.

...Surely something a little more Stubby so that he can Wing(bass) it?

When you're as tall as GisserD, you're more easily able to weather the slings and arrows of outrgaeous fortune... 😀

Cheers Andy - what was the condition like (and wood), do you recall?