Dan Dare

Oh Gawd. Not another mass produced instrument being sold for stupid money. There's one born every minute, I suppose.

I support Pete on this. I fail to see where he "spread any myth"? I agree with you on one point. If a cover band brings in the same size crowd as many "originals" bands (half a dozen friends and rellies), then they shouldn't get paid more

That explains why you gave Bill M grief. You have "no intention of doing a pitch" but you work in the trade and can arrange demos... I don't work in the trade; I'm just a player who spent his hard earned on a Fohhn system because I found it best on audition/comparison. So I'm not "doing a pitch", either, but I feel qualified to advise others based on my experience. If anyone is interested in this kind of PA (mid priced sub plus small arrays), I'd suggest you investigate brands such as Fohhn, HK Elements, K Array, LD systems, and FBT as well as Markaudio. At the more budget end, try JBL Eon, RCF Evox, Bose (not really a true array, because the drivers are angled differently).

The OP mentioned that budget is a constraint. Your suggestions are all good, but not cheap.

Bill's correct. Try different leads, instruments, etc before blaming the amp/cab. Also try the amp with a different cab. You have to isolate the cause of the issue by testing each link in the chain individually.

What's the matter with you? Whilst it's true that one may have little choice other than to stack tops above subs at each side of the stage due to constraints regarding room layout, time, etc, there's no need to spit the dummy. Bill is correct in that it isn't ideal and his post was moderate in tone. Try to debate issues in a grown up fashion, please.

You must be working with different people from me.

If you're looking at spending that sort of money and that sort of rig (sub plus array), make sure you check out Fohhn. Made in Germany, great after sales/backup and really excellent sound. I bought my Fohhn rig after pretty extensive listening/comparing and love it. It's like a giant hi-fi.

Go to a proper shop with a good range of stock and try a few. It's the only way. It's a major purchase (if you are going to consider for some of the amps referred to above, you're looking at a grand or so) so spend some time on it and don't make a purchase on someone else's say so (the Marketplace is full of nearly new stuff people bought and decided they didn't like after a short while, probably because they listened to others' opinions). You need to find out what suits you.

Perhaps it's because he's from oop North. Dark satanic mills and all that

This is sensible. Point 2 is very pertinent. Even if your drummer has personal troubles, it isn't on to throw a tantrum. Were I in that position, I'd say to the others "Sorry chaps. A few issues getting me down at present", etc. That's just being a grown up. This is music, not therapy, after all.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1969-GIBSON-CUSTOM-V-BASS-made-in-USA/173186593095?hash=item2852b9b147:g:QOIAAOSwo4pYRdkf Suppose it could come in handy for hitting burglars with

Rather than using a single large cab, I'd go for several smaller ones. You only need take out what the job needs and several trips carrying lighter stuff is better than one that gives you a hernia. You may not even need to go lightweight if you do that. Older style smaller cabs - such as 2x10s - are quite manageable and cheap to pick up used these days.

Two different ways of buying an ICEpower module. Depends which manufacturer's preamp design you like best essentially.

FX loops are often switchable, which means you have the option of selecting an unprocessed signal without having to switch a lot of stomp boxes on and off. They are generally at line level, which can be helpful for FX units with higher outputs which can overload the preamp in the head and also mean the FX can be driven properly (useful with a lower output passive instrument), which helps reduce noise.

Baby Markbass?

Beware the odds and sods upgrade path - buying a cab here, an amp there, mixing and matching and never really being satisfied. It appears cheap, because you buy in dribs and drabs, but you can end up spending more than if you just sell your existing rig and go for something you like. I did that before I saw sense, off loaded my mish-mash of stuff and bought what I really wanted/liked.

Have you actually tried any of them? If not, you need to. What suits you may not suit us and vice versa. They are probably all much of a muchness in quality terms - they are similarly priced/sized. You simply must try them to see which you prefer.

Sellers don't need to "justify" their rates. If you don't like the percentage they charge, don't sell through them. It's a free country and they are in business to make a living, surprisingly enough... The advantage, when you sell an instrument through someone with a retail outlet, mailing list or whatever, is that they can put your instrument in front of many more people than you can. "Leaving it on the shop floor" is often beneficial, provided it's a desirable instrument, because so many will see it, so I don't know why some are disparaging that. How many people are going to come to your home and look at it through the window?

There is no price list for vintage instruments. It depends on what the seller will let it go for and what the buyer is prepared to pay. That looks a reasonable price to me, unless you are buying to sell it on, in which case, you should pay more...

I have the matching guitar strap.

If it's genuine, he'll probably do better selling on the 'Bay than to Gruhn.