Dan Dare

Wow. Supply rail at 2,500v? I'd make sure I had my transformers wound by someone who knew what they were doing.

If you do use jacks, Neutrik make a speaker jack that will accept thick speaker cables.

Single coil p/us, such as those on J basses, particularly older ones, do tend to buzz. You can reduce it, but you cannot eliminate it entirely in my experience. Shielding and grounding help, but single coils are very susceptible to rfi, fluorescent lights, etc, etc. I've shielded the pickup and control plate cavities on my 72 Jazz with copper film and grounded the bridge, but it still buzzes slightly, especially in some environments. Incidentally, it's worth using a small capacitor in series with the grounding wire for the bridge, so that if you get an amp fault and/or the earth to your equipment isn't working, you are at less risk of shock.

If go for Speakons, make sure you use genuine Neutrik ones. The cheap copies are not as good and some don't mate with the real thing, despite claims from manufacturers that they do.

Classic illustration of sellers not doing any research/homework. Good on you for spotting a bargain. I agree about LEDs. I have old world lights that get/stay hot and they are going as soon as I can afford replacements.

Fair points, Bill. I've been watching a lot of Matt Dillahunty's phone ins on YouTube recently, so my view is probably unfairly jaundiced. I do appreciate that the people who call him and try to claim the man in the sky exists are not truly representative. Alabama was very good news. Well done Doug Jones.

Some more than others. I think I'd favour my doctor's advice over that of the man in the pub...

Google "Jazz bass wiring" and you'll find diagrams. Any of the online guitar parts suppliers can provide the pots (you need 250k), cap, etc. The standard J bass cap is a Sprague orange drop, in 0.047uF. You can experiment with values (try 0.022uf or 0.1uf - they're cheap) to see which you prefer. A larger value will lower the roll-off frequency. Shop around as prices vary quite a bit and don't be tempted by the exotic paper in oil capacitors some will try to tell you are vital. They're no better (and considerably bulkier) than the orange drop for guitar use (imho, obviously).

It means that a good half of the population of the US believes the world to be about 6,000 years old and to have been made in 6 days, so one is advised to treat their pronouncements on anything scientific/technical with caution (Bill F is an exception, obviously).

If you have a classic instrument that is getting scruffy, I suggest resisting the temptation. I regret stripping my old J bass (it was a very battered sunburst). Reduces the value and now "roadworn" is in vogue, anyway.

You are making my point for me. I am suggesting adding to the harmonic content - via adding keys, brass, etc - in order to make the sound fuller and more interesting. I certainly didn't say that one ought "to sound like Status Quo". They can hardly create a harmonically interesting sound, after all, with just 2 guitars, bass and drums. It's the same every time and swiftly becomes tedious.

Turn the tweeter down, too, if your cab has one.

Unless you have a complicated active bass, wiring is incredibly simple. You could do a J Bass for a great deal less than it costs to buy a kit. Three CTS pots, a capacitor, a Switchcraft socket and some decent cable is not going to cost you more than about £15. As long as you can solder, you're away.

As I said, it isn't about dynamics, volume, etc. It's about harmonic texture. Bas and drums with a solo instrument is still pretty harmonically uninteresting to the average listener, who is not interested in how accomplished the bassist is.

A classic example of solipsism, I'm afraid. To most listeners, who are not focussing solely on the bass but hearing the whole piece, a bass player, no matter how accomplished, playing on their own with a drummer and one melody instrument is not very interesting. Sorry, but that's the way it is.

Thick picks will help, as others suggest. If you're playing with a very loose wrist and slapping the strings with the pick (especially if it's thin), that will increase the noise, too.

Steve Winwood. WHAT a singer.

I'm not talking about volume, but texture and I disagree with your assertion. A band can sound "thin" if there is little happening harmonically. The worst example is the classic guitar, bass and drums trio. When the guitar player stops playing chordally and takes a break, you have drums and one, yes one note (unless the bassist uses a lot of double stops and/or chords) playing at any one time. Not very interesting and it's going to sound sparse, however much you "add authority" to the sound of the bass.

If you just want something to drive your tops for vocals, these - http://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/pa12-cp/ - or the Soundcraft equivalent are nice. Decent eq and onboard effects and you can often pick them up used for not a lot (which is what I did).

Probably made by one of the major string companies, as are most strings marketed by instrument companies under their own name. If the price and gauges are right for you, worth trying a set.

I like MB a lot, but Aguilar ain't bad either.

Bill's correct as usual. Many amps that run at 2 ohms have some kind of limiting circuit, anyway, to prevent excess current draw/overheating, so you're no better off than if you run them into 4 ohms as far as power output goes.

Why get a small low powered head for practices? Any modern, powerful class D head will be light (my Ag700 weights about 4 and a half pounds) and do you for full on gigs as well. Saves having to buy two.

That could cost you a lot of money one day. In practice, the premiums aren't that much greater. I get mine through the MU.