Dan Dare

Yep. Nostalgia's not what it was. If you'd shown me back then the instruments I own, things I can do, etc now, I'd never have believed you. Would I have wanted them back then? Oh yes indeedy.

A red Vox - very loosely modelled on a P bass, but smaller, lighter and cheaper. Wish I still had it for old times sake, although was pretty rubbish...

Yes. Worth a visit. Dangerous place - plenty of temptation. Appropriately, the address is Gas (G.A.S) Lane Nice chaps who run it. As Lw says, find a local for lunch (ask the chaps for suggestions).

Ah, memories. My sister told me once that, when I were a lad and a girlfriend and I used to disappear to my room, supposedly to "listen to music", which we turned up loud believing it would cover any noise we made, the light fitting in the living room (which was directly beneath my room) would start to swing from side to side. My father would look up from his paper, roll his eyes, look at my mother and harrumph. Fair play to them for not disturbing us.

I know it shouldn't' matter but it does. Agree with Roland's trinity of wrong. Gimme tolex, black with red lights/LEDs and I'm happy.

Mex P Special (PJ). Not my favourite, but versatile and does most things well.

If people pay via PayPal when I've said cash on collection, I refund it and ask them for cash. I lose 20p, but hey.

As someone who sells the odd thing on eBay, I'm always getting "Can I send a courier/agent?" messages. My response is always "If they pay me in cash". Funny, they never follow up...

Not that far from the truth. Anyone remember the Orange behemoth from the 70s? They made a ridiculous cab - 8x12 or 10x12 I think.

Moon Bass Alpha. Yes please to one of those fans. Shall I pm my details?

pmjos. Two AERs is just showing off. Bet it sounds the biz.

Line 6 110? I'm about to sell mine (upgraditis has struck) and I'm in London (I notice you are). PM me if interested

Good advice from Alec. I had a pair of mk 1s. They needed a bit of driving - at least 300w a side to give their best. Heavy but decent sounding and tough. Better bass response than EVs. Sold them as bought a lightweight PA.

Check out K&M and Quiklok amp/cab stands. Not cheap, but strong and last.

Fascinating discussion. I think maybe the reason for the decline in prices is because the collectors/non players, who saw vintage instruments as an investment and thus inflated the market, may be looking for other homes for their cash, leading to prices reverting to more realistic levels. May be a good thing for those of us who want to buy them to play them.

TC Hall of Fame is a decent unit.

I have the problem of the pick rotating when I play the mandolin - have sweaty hands, which makes it worse. The grip of death not the answer. If you drill a hole through the middle of the pick (use a countersink bit for a smooth edge to the hole), the skin to skin contact between the fingers is a big help. Try it (hold the pick with pliers to save your fingers when drilling).

Some of these delivery drivers delight in breaking and treating stuff roughly, especially if it looks expensive. Bastards. Forgot to add - I always sign "Not examined" for things.

I'm not a Mackie fan, either (obviously in view of what I use), but they're one of the cheap options if funds are tight.

Have now found a nice used PJ Flightcase. Picking it up this eve. Should make a tasty compact rig with the cab and power amp. Must stop buying stuff..

What's your budget? I use a fab lightweight (45lb) powered sub (Fohhn XS22) but it cost £2.5k...You could do a lot worse than look at Mackie or RCF. For more money, Yamaha's newer PA speakers are nice (they bought Nexo and are using their technology).

Went shopping for new compact combo on Saturday. After trying a few, settled on 2 options - GK MB112 budget or Markbass 1x12 for more money (can't afford AER and delivery times very long). Before I handed over the plastic, I spotted a Phil Jones 4x5 cab and asked what it was like. "Amazing" came the reply. So I asked them to let me try it. Blimey. Driven by a mini GK head, it destroyed the others for volume and the tone was killer. It cost around 70 quid more than the GK combo. Had to have it. Driven by my Basswitch and a 500w power amp, it's astonishing. May have to get another and ditch the heavy cab. Am extremely surprised.

Allparts (expensive, though) or Mighty Mite. They come up on eBay sometimes. Know it's a faff, but importing from the US a lot cheaper. Best of luck.