Dan Dare

I feel your pain. I originally bought a PA because I got fed up with having to get someone less than ideal on board because they had a PA. So I decided to become that person 😁

They're great, but at a price, as you say. I thought hard about getting them and decided in the end to bite the bullet. I'd taken early retirement from my job when I decided to upgrade my PA, so was able to spend some of my pay-off on them. Haven't regretted it so far. If you own a quality PA, people suddenly want you in their band, which is nice.

Good shout. Adding a sub and taking some of the heavy lifting from your top boxes can give a surprising improvement. You can drive the tops harder if they don't have to cope with the low end and get a lot more out of them.

Some good advice above. I'm a fan of mini array plus sub' PAs, but, as always, quality costs. The better ones work very well and their advantages (for me, at any rate) include resistance to feedback, even coverage and clarity, as well as relative compactness and lightness. Some do, as Bill points out, require you to place the sub(s) beneath the columns, which can cause issues. Others, like my Fohhn system, enable you to mount the columns on stands and place them and the sub(s) wherever you like. When I bought my system, I was playing a lot of Irish and similar music - combinations of acoustic and electric instruments plus voices - so I particularly wanted clarity. I auditioned a number of stick and sub systems (not easy, as few if any dealers stock a range of them, so a bit of travel and time was involved). Mine sounds like a giant hi-fi - very clean and clear. It isn't a bass monster (I appreciate that additional subs could address that issue) and it wouldn't have been my choice if I played loud rock music and ran a lot of drums and bass through the PA. It will handle them happily at reasonable levels, though. Two subs (with onboard power amplification) and two columns set me back £7k about ten years ago. So adding a mixer, mics, etc will put the cost of the PA over £10k. Not cheap for something that gets used mainly in pubs and smaller venues, but it's been uber reliable and, being made in Germany rather than China, can be repaired should the worst happen. Try to audition a few and don't buy on the basis of recommendation. In the end, you pays yer money and takes yer choice.

Poor thing. I feel for it.

I reckon that will be a tasty rig.

Anything reasonably decent will do the job. A pal uses an Elf with a BF110 and it works well. Why not take the 110 shopping and try a few? It weighs little, so no great effort required in carrying it. If you already have a higher powered lightweight head, there's nothing wrong with using it with the 110 and keeping the volume level sensible.

Par for the course these days, especially with compact/class D stuff. LD Systems offer 1U power amps. Their PA speakers get good reviews and I've been impressed by those I've heard (I auditioned a couple of their stick and sub models when I was looking for my PA a few years back). Lab Gruppen are definitely worth checking out, too, but they ain't cheap. If you want shallow rack depth, power outputs are likely to be lower. Quart from a pint pot, etc.

Phil's right. If you're using subs, anything larger than 12s in top boxes is unnecessary.

Wouldn't the best option be to get a new, fretted fingerboard - ebony, rosewood or similar - made for it?

Sensible approach. With new/class D amps, it's wise to go for something that uses proven components. I bought an Aguilar partially (I liked how it sounded, too) because they use ICEPower modules, which are readily available if something goes wrong. ICEPower, Hypex and similar are reputable components that can at least be replaced if repair is not possible.

I still have it, yes. May finally put it on an instrument.

I may be missing something, but if any item of jewellery is uncomfortable to wear whilst playing (or doing anything for that matter), surely the sensible option is to remove it and put it in your pocket whilst you play.

I have the perfect headstock decal for it. I bought it intending to put it on my Bitsa, but never did. It says Findus (in black and gold Fender script) Sea Bass. I might message the seller offering it to him.

Perhaps the seller is counting the strap as a string...

Even more strangely, the "Item specifics" on the listing for that, er, bargain, state Brand: Squier by Fender and Model: Classic Vibe '70s Stratocaster HSS.

Have a look at Volt drivers. Nice, but not cheap, though.

It's a bit academic nowadays, as watts have become cheaper and more plentiful. As others point out, the difference between 50 and 500 watts is only around twice the volume (depending on speaker efficiency, eq choices, etc). And that's before you get into the minefield that is wattage, how much difference quoted/claimed figures actually make and so on. Class D has meant high powered amps are small and light, so there is no longer a need to have large and smaller amps. I use either of my heads (700w or 1000w claimed) for practice and small gigs with one or two cabs and keep the volume down. If I need to make more noise, I simply add more cabs and turn up the wick.

Good advice above. A quality DI will do the job in small to medium sized venues. In a smaller venue, some sound from the backline will reach the audience anyway. Most decent amps have an XLR/DI out, which you can set to use the eq setting on the amp, or flat. Quite often, the sound that works on stage doesn't translate that well to the room, so you may want to eq the bass differently in the PA.

Unless you have a poor record deck, low frequency rumble should not be an issue. My quite modest deck has virtually none (you have to press an ear to a speaker when the stylus is on the run-in/run-out grooves and there is no music playing to hear the faintest hint of it). Ditto surface noise. Once the music kicks in, both are un-noticeable. Look after your vinyl and pops/clicks should not be an issue. As I say above, different strokes for different folks. You do you, we'll do us and we'll all be happy.

That's just my point. Never mind the crackles, pops, etc. What does the music sound like? Look, I get it. You don't like vinyl. That's fine. Others of us do. We're happy for you not to. Why can you not be content for us to like it without trying to prove you're in the right and we're wrong?

Here we go. Vinyl is irretrievably flawed, vinyl lovers are in denial, etc, etc. The truth is that the best of any format sounds great. It's also true that it is more expensive to get a decent sound from vinyl, but once you get to that point, it does sound a bit special. At its best (which is undeniably expensive), it can rival, perhaps even better other methods of music reproduction. You don't have to spend telephone numbers - £2k tonearms, etc - but the base/entry point for quality is higher than it is for other formats. If you have a strictly utilitarian approach to life, vinyl probably isn't for you, but the majority of us don't live that way. Yes, pride of ownership is a factor, but a liking for nice things applies to many aspects of life. We don't all drive economy cars, wear simple, functional clothing or eat bland but perfectly nutritionally balanced food. We like a bit of luxury and even a few toys. Nowt wrong with that. In my experience, those who claim vinyl is fundamentally flawed (what method of music reproduction isn't flawed in some way?) have never heard it at its best.

There's a 350W Tone Hammer already. I expect they used that.

An old FM tuner is a good thing to have, for the same reasons. Cheap to buy and, as long as you're in a decent signal area (proper aerials can be a bit pricey) and can get results with a piece of wet string, it can give you access to a load of interesting stuff.

True, but Aguilar is not an entry level brand. It's expensive stuff, not least because it's made in the US. Plenty of us weekend warriors are prepared to pay the price of admission (I run an AG700). Aguilar seems to be trying for a vintage vibe with this combo. Personally, I like it, but I appreciate it isn't for everyone. There are many hobbies where the stuff can cost as much as a crap car. When I tot up what I've spent on fishing tackle in recent years, it's more like the price of quite a reasonable car. I realise I'm fortunate to be able to do so. You pays yer money and takes yer choice.