Dan Dare

In isolation, the best bass sound I ever heard from my instrument was when it was DI'd into a Neve console and listened to via some ridiculously expensive studio monitors (can't remember what they were). The "in isolation" was important, though. That hi-fi sound rarely works well in context in my experience. Add the rest of the band and the subtleties quickly get lost and/or clash with everything else that's happening. You end up boosting the upper mids, getting rid of a lot of the delicate higher frequencies, rolling off almost everything below about 80hz or so, etc to make it sit nicely in the track and hey presto, P bass with semi-knackered strings.

Fair points and I admit to having a grumpy old git rant earlier. The endless labelling and naming does get irritating, though. Certainly, general terms are useful (as pointed out by the OP), but the sub-categorising and sub-sub-categorising is beyond silly. Whether it's useful to the consumer beyond general terms is moot. It's just word salad after a certain point In the end, it's impossible to convey music or art (or any sensory experience) using words. Hence my dig at music journo's, who make up a lot of froth to fill column inches and justify their existence. The nonsense isn't limited to music, of course. The same happens with visual art, food and wine (we all have a laugh at the b/s wine writers come up with - "herring and cranberry overtones, with a hint of burning tyres"), etc. In the end, you just have to experience something for yourself. Labels could even be limiting to the consumer, in that they may ignore something because it doesn't bear the right descriptor and miss out on something they could enjoy.

It'd be more accurate to say that b/s evolves. All this "genre" tripe is invented by music journo's who can't play but are desperate to carve out a career in music and make it appear that they know something. Judgemental? Dismissive? Me? You bet.

Any of the above recommended 350-400w into 8 ohm heads should do you fine. Your budget probably rules out some brands, such as Aguilar, Darkglass, etc, but there are quite a few others that should be within reach if you buy used. Fwiw, the best sound I've heard with a C4 was with one of the GK mini heads. A head under 2kg with the power output you want in your price range could be a big ask, but even 4kg is less than 10 lb, which is not exactly a back breaker. A quick suggestion about your cab choice. A single C4 isn't going to do "thunderous" (I'm a C4 and 4B owner/user, so I'm not anti-PJB - far from it), regardless of the head you use with it. The smaller PJB cabs need to be used in multiples - I use at least two and quite often three - to give any degree of heft or weight. I love their clarity, but they are quite inefficient, which means they soak up amp power. They are remarkable for their size, but physics, Jim. I found by accident - mixing and matching my cabs - that a C4 plus a decent 1x12 makes a great compact but pokey rig. The C4 for clarity, plus the 12 for some weight. Any chance you might be able to add £100 or so to the budget? That should get you a used head plus a reasonable 1x12. If you can find another used C4, that would be nice, too, but they are likely to be a bit dearer.

I learned the violin (and later the fiddle - they may be the same instrument, but the uses to which they are put are very different). My family was London Irish, so I got into traditional music in my teens. Friends started getting bands together and I wanted in. The trouble was, back in the 1970s, playing violin/fiddle was not cool, so I had to find a way in. One day, I heard Smokey Robinson's "Tears of a Clown" on the radio and the bass part leapt out at me. It drove the song (I originally thought it was Jamerson, but learned later it was Bob Babbit) and I thought, "I want to do that". The bass turned out to be a good choice. Virtually everyone wanted to be playing guitar, so bass players were in more demand and I found myself being offered gigs quite quickly. I had some technique from the fiddle I could adapt, which meant I could get round the neck, could read and had a decent ear.

Put a thumb rest on the instrument? You can position it to suit where you want the hand to fall.

It used to be a problem with the old hard and brittle nitrocellulose lacquers. If you opened the case in a warm room when the instrument had been cold for a while, the finish would craze. These days, everyone is using polyurethane lacquers, which have some flexibility, so it shouldn't be an issue.

Is the amp in question a TC? If so, reduce claimed wattage figures by around one third...

I was under the impression that was the whole point of this site.

The Speakon sockets on the C4 are attached to a small PCB, to which the cables for the drive units are soldered. There is quite tightly packed wadding inside the cab, which should help to prevent mechanical rattling. The rear panel is permanently attached. The C4 is quite a solid thing, with small panels and fairly substantial bracing. Access to the inside is only possible via the front, necessitating removal of the drivers. The noise on the sound clips posted above sounded more like break-up or distortion than a rattle to me. Is the bass active? Does the battery need replacing? One would expect a rattle to happen all the time, rather than on certain notes. The cab looks to me to have been well used. I'd try it with another amp. If the problem persists, I'd ask the seller for a return/refund. If you go poking about inside it, it could be claimed that you've caused (or worsened) the issue yourself.

How about a bit of white gaffa tape with what's inside scrawled on it with a permanent marker? Leaves you more money to spend on beer 😁

I'd be more inclined to try screws. Is that the C4 that was for sale on here recently? If so, a couple of us noticed that the plastic "feet" (for want of a better word - they are long pieces of shaped black plastic that run virtually the full height of the cab) were missing from the back of it. The screws to hold them in place use the three screw holes on each side of the back panel that you can see in the photo. I don't know what the purpose of the plastic thingiies is (both my C4s have them, so they are obviously a standard fitment), but I wonder if they and the screws serve some kind of structural function. They can't be feet as they are on the rear of the cabs, not the bases.

I'm a PJB owner and rate them highly. However, they can't be described as "moderate budget".

If you can find a good used one, the Markbass CMD 121P is excellent and leans towards an old school sound, which should suit a country band ideally. Light, compact and a surprising amount of oomph for its size. A pal found a clean used one for £300 and he loves it.

This is the standard recommendation and with good reason. Rumbles are light, sound decent and are not too expensive. They sell in large numbers, so there are always plenty of good used ones about. I would suggest going for something with a bit more than 60w on tap. Around 200w should be fine. You may not ever use it flat out, but the headroom will ensure clean sound, even if you do push it a little.

You win the internet today.

This. No point or reward in playing in a toilet to a bunch of animals who hate you. It won't be like a public or paid rehearsal - you can't stop in a number/go back and do it again to perfect it, etc. If you get a lot of negativity, you'll probably end up miserable and feeling you're doing it wrong when in reality, it's just wrong place, wrong time. Not worth the grief.

Too many to list. Tastes change as we get older.

It's back up on the 'Bay at £225. So the "buyer", if there was one, must have pulled out. Have just messaged the seller, enquiring whether it's from the era when Fender employees drew the logo on the headstock with a permanent marker. Will share the response if I receive one.

One of these. Fat chance of my ever owning one.

Mumford and Fathers

Thinning the herd. If you know about these, you'll know how good they are. Final price drop before it goes on eBay. Recommend me a lightweight amp, cab, etc (usually followed by buy a Barefaced).

Exactly. Plus, the machine won't need to be paid (important in these days when gig fees are being squeezed), so you can take gigs that wouldn't be worth doing for a larger band, you can play a smaller stage because fewer players need less room, etc. Yes, it's great to take out a full band and all the bells and whistles, but it often doesn't work from a practical perspective.

I try to play with drummers who can play the drums...