Dan Dare

"Signature" instruments are just another wheeze to relieve punters of their hard-earned.

It's a Jackson. It's brown. Nuff said.

My tartiness ranges a lot wider than just basses. I'm just an old tart full stop.

Judging from the above, there's a pretty clear demarcation. Band that is a business (exists primarily to get work) - dictatorship. Band that is a bunch of friends who play primarily for enjoyment (with the odd paid job) - democracy.

It's definitely a first world problem to be able to have everything one has ever wanted, to live in comfort and to not need anything. I'm 70 this year. If someone had shown me when I was in my teens what I'd have towards the end of my life, I wouldn't have believed them. My father said a similar thing to me shortly before he died. The majority of people in the world simply cannot say it.

I'm in that position over quite a lot of things I own. I've reached the age where I have all the toys I ever wanted (and then some). Whilst I'm not tripping over stuff (mainly because I have a decent sized attic) and don't need money, I recognise that my excuse for owning much of it - that I grew up poor and had b*gger all - doesn't really cut it any longer. Can't take it with you and all that. It applies to a lot more than musical instruments and equipment. I've been fortunate and can afford to indulge myself (within reason, obviously). As a result, I've bought a lot of things in recent years simply because I wanted them years ago and couldn't afford them. I'm beginning to dip a toe into the murky waters of selling stuff I rarely if ever use. It's hard. I sort through things and put aside those I never use and think I can bear to part with and then the trouble starts. I pick up each item to take photos of it for eBay and it suddenly becomes something I can't live without. First world problems, eh?

Bill's right. I use C4s. The cone area of a C4 is the same as a 1x10. I love them tonally and for smaller gigs, two cabs is great, but I add a Berg' 12 (no tweeter - can't stand them for bass) on occasions when I need to fill a larger space (my head will drive 2 ohms, so three 8 ohm cabs are fine with it). I reckon one of the current compact high quality 1x12 cabs, driven by a spare amp if you have one, would work for you.

I assume you're looking for a new replacement value for insurance purposes. Bunion's and asingardenof's posts above are helpful. Won't your receipt be sufficient proof of the price paid for the insurer? I doubt EB would give you an exact value for an instrument because retail prices vary. It's moot, anyway, as, should the worst happen and you need to make a claim, you will want replacement value at the time. If it's a few years hence, it could be more than you paid, so you don't want to insure for a precise amount as it may leave you short.

Before the days of t'internet and buying stuff electronically, I used to be asked for my autograph on cheques, credit card payment slips and the like quite often. Does that count?

Peavey bass amps of that era (in fact, Peavey amps in general from that time) did tend towards a cleaner, leaner sound. That's one of the reasons country players liked them. Rounds and a pick will tend to emphasise its brighter nature. 130w may be a little quiet for a rock band, too, if you have a couple of guitar players who like to push the volume. The speaker in the TNT130 is not the best, unlike the higher end Peavey Black Widow drivers of the time, so its ability to go low and loud will be limited. It has pre and post gains, so the general rule is to up the pre level and dial back the post - thus driving the pre amp harder - to give a warmer/dirtier sound. Be aware that, due to the nature of the amp, it may just sound harsh and dirty, rather than giving you that softer, fatter valve type of overdrive, though. Lozz's suggestion above is good. The TNT, if memory serves, has a parametric mid eq, so you can do quite a bit with it. Obviously, you'll need to roll down the highs. I'd do it on the amp first, rather than on the instrument and see how that works. The tone control on a P bass is simple and fairly unsubtle. Take it down too far and it'll just sound dull. Start with all eq set flat and change one thing at a time when experimenting. In the end, it may just not be the right amp for the purpose you have in mind. If the amp is in good shape, it may be worth selling it (I appreciate that may not be your preferred option, as you inherited it from your dad) and putting the money towards something more suitable.

Heed Phil's advice above, please and take it to someone who knows what they're doing. I'd also suggest that anyone who does know what they're talking about does not give advice on here. I don't wish to appear unhelpful, but encouraging someone who does not know what they are doing to poke around inside an amp is potentially dangerous.

Wonder if they need to show the taxman how they come to have sacks of money lying around...

They are great (I have 4 - two of the minis and two full sized), but they are active only. Not a problem if the desk has phantom, but if not, he'll need a passive. The Palmer gets my vote for a decent inexpensive passive DI.

May be worth selling as is and getting a PJ. Could well be the cheaper option, once you take into account the cost of the pickup and having the work done.

Unless it's a really obvious issue, it's a bit pointless to ask for a solution on here, where, even if we have electronics knowledge, we cannot see or hear the amp and the problem. I'd be wary of poking around if you don't know what you're doing at the suggestion of people who, albeit well-intentioned, may not know what they're talking about (no offence intended to anyone). Huge Hands is absolutely right above. Most tech's will quote a highish price to diagnose to protect themselves from doing a lot of work only to be told that the customer does not want to go ahead with the necessary repairs. Plumbers and mechanics do similarly for the same reasons. Why not ask your tech' if he/she will offset the diagnosis charge against the cost of any repairs that are needed? Most will in my experience.

If you do it, wear old clothes when playing. I should imagine Tufcab will fray your duds quickly.

Be aware that adding a bridge pickup to a P bass may lower its resale value (not everyone views it as an improvement) May be worth thinking about if it's an expensive or vintage instrument. A used Mexican Fender PJ is not outrageously expensive. If you do decide to do it, have a professional rout the body cut out unless you're skilled. If you want to preserve the Fender look, go for a stacked humbucker to avoid hum/buzz. They look like single coil J bass bridge pickups.

K&M always worth a look.

K&M make some nice, although not cheap, high stools. The Gravity FMSEAT1BR looks good and has a backrest. Again, not cheap. Ditto the Gator. The Bassbags website lists a decent looking double bass stool with a back rest for £100 which has good reviews. There's a round up of double bass stools on the CMUSE website (2022, so recent) which is worth a read.

Aguilar, although not valved, can do warm and clean. The TH series is mentioned above, but I find my AG700 can also do the job, although it won't give you that dirty rock valve sound in my experience. I also have a Carvin B1000, which has a valve front end and works well. They're no longer available (Carvin is out of business) but do turn up used sometimes.

This is very true. Buying used can help reduce the cost, but keep an eye out for smaller cabs that have been pushed past their limits (which often happens before people decide to bite the bullet and upgrade). Audition carefully for odd noises before buying. Neo drivers are lighter (and often mean higher prices). The BF 210 is a stock recommendation and for good reason, but it isn't cheap, even second hand. Plenty of other brands use neo drivers. If you like the sound of your old Ashdown 410, a pair of their 210s used won't break the bank and will mean two trips from the car carrying a lighter cab each time, so could be an option. Peavey 210s work quite well and can be had cheaply - often very cheaply - used. Your amp will drive a 4 ohm load, so one 4 ohm or two 8 ohm cabs will be fine.

So many options. Where to begin? The radio is your friend. A few weeks of having Radio 3 on at home will expose you to a pretty wide variety of music. If you really are a newcomer, I'd suggest Classic FM could be helpful. Their diet is very much popular/mainstream classical music (which purists won't be happy about). They also compress their output pretty hard (presumably to make it more audible over workplace/background noise, road noise for those listening in the car, etc), which can be a mite annoying. However, it will give you a whistle stop tour of many of the popular composers and their best known works. Once you start to develop preferences, you can explore them in depth elsewhere.

As dear old Ian Dury put it, a sense of humour is required amongst the bacon rinds. Lighten up, peeps.

Dunno. The thread was getting a little earnest (as often happens on here).

Hmmm. The estimable and worthy qualities outlined over the previous 4 pages of this thread are all well and good, but this fellow made a living out of playing the bass...