Dan Dare

Why not buy it? Someone has to.

Can anyone point me in the direction of subsafes? When I google it, I get no relevant info. Like Dood, I'm paranoid about drinks on my subs. If one tips over, the cooling fan will suck the spillage into the amp and it's expensive repair time. Thanks folks.

Older Peavey cabs are great, albeit heavy. A couple of neo 10" drivers would lighten it nicely.

Welcome. It's not easy for us to describe how something works/sounds (and equally difficult for you to translate what we say into practical understanding of how well it might meet your needs). For what it's worth, my two pence worth is to stick with proven/mainstream/branded stuff when you're starting out. Avoid unusual options. A Squier plus a Rumble is decent, proven budget kit that will do as described on the tin. It will also be easily sellable when the time comes to upgrade. I wouldn't buy a new instrument. There are plenty of used Squiers about (have a look on eBay, Gumtree et al), so let someone else take the hit on depreciation and buy used. Get something that has been treated well (plenty of people buy Squiers and similar starter instruments, try it for a bit, give up and sell them, so you can often get something that is virtually unused and save a lot of money). Put the money you save on the bass towards a better amp. I wouldn't buy a used amp in the price/power range you're looking at. Used small amps have usually been overdriven/abused (as beginners try to play them in band settings and hammer them when they're only really meant for low volume practice). New or used, the Rumble 15 comes into that category. It's little more than a toy, I'm afraid. An 8" driver just isn't going to cut it for bass. It won't be re-sellable for anything other than peanuts, so buying one will effectively be money down the drain. Save a bit longer and go for something like a Rumble 200, which will last you and be up to (moderate) band use as you improve. Do you have any musician pals who could help/advise when you go shopping? An extra pair of ears is always helpful. Good luck.

By two outputs, do you mean two separate power amps to drive different cabs? If so, I'd look at a pre-amp (even a small mixer) with a stereo/PA power amp. There are two input heads - Phil Jones, EA, etc - but they don't, to my knowledge, have dual power amps.

As Phil says, it will perform like any 50l cab that uses off the shelf Eminence drivers.

Spot on, Phil. He's hardly charging Barefaced prices. You get what you pay for. If people want boutique kit, they should look elsewhere and stop bleating.

Worth looking at putting better drivers in the Peavey if budget is tight?

I like the sound of their cabs too. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that they're larger than many tend to be for a given driver size, giving the driver a chance to work properly. I had a 1x15 Ashdown once that was a bit of a beast. The driver blew (my fault - ran it with a bridged 800w power amp) and I replaced it with something pretty mediocre just to be able to sell the cab and it sounded really decent.

It isn't limited to the pop music world. A drummer friend (who also does orchestral work) told me that a visiting Russian orchestra once walked off with the 80 grand's worth of the Festival Hall's timpani. Straight in the back of the coach and back to Moscow. They could hardly have done that "accidentally".

Yep. And he'll tell the boss he paid the band the full fee and put the remaining hundred in his pocket. Oldest trick in the book.

The "my amp only sounds good at high volumes" argument is hogwash. Modern variable gain amps can create wide tonal variation at pretty well any volume. A less powerful amp will break up/overdrive at lower volumes, so maybe guitar players ought to think about downsizing from that Marshall/4x12 rig when playing pubs, clubs and the local wine bar.

Same thing. A willing buyer will take all those factors into consideration.

It's worth whatever a willing buyer will pay.

No fuss, pragmatic and workmanlike are qualities that define a P bass for me. That's very American to me. British instruments tend to be a bit more quirky (and sometimes a bit off the wall) in design and execution - like the afore-mentioned Shergolds, Wals, etc. A bit like the difference between our cars and theirs. A pal loves his old American cars. He has a 1952 Pontiac at the moment - big V8, thirsty and comfortable for a car of its era, but quite agricultural in the way it's put together. Everything about it is over-built. Whereas many Brit' cars would have a couple of dozen machine screws to do a job, his has one dirty great bolt. Just as strong, but not as pretty.