Dan Dare

If your stomp box puts out a sufficient level of signal, you could use a PA power amp.

I got a three-sided concave fret file from eBay cheaply, which I find works well.

If you don't mind the size and weight, old Peavey Black Widow cabs can be had for little money. I had one and it was excellent. Only sold it because it was a bit of a beast to transport and store.

Depends on the part. Many components won't be unique to a particular manufacturer - they buy them in - so a faulty resistor, for example, can be replaced by another of the same type/value. You're right about this. Class D modules are machine built and components are small/tightly packed and even sealed, making repair all but impossible and replacement modules are not cheap.

As far as I know, Laney are.

You say you have active speakers, so Speakons would be no use to you anyway. You need connectors that allow you to use shielded cables. Speakons won't do that and are intended to carry high current. XLRs are for mic or line level signals and your mixer will put out a line level signal. As others say, mic cables will be fine, although you might want to look at heavy duty versions as they may get trodden on, etc.

What is the string tension like? I haven't tried Jazz Rounds, but I did try a set of Jazz Flats. I liked the tone very much, but found the A string far too light. It was 070 I think. I replaced it with a D'Addario Chrome in 075, which improved things.

Uh oh. Time to panic buy a crate of Aguilar DB751s...

You need to experiment. The ideal string height will depend on how hard you play - often, finger players need a higher action than pick players - and what the tension of the strings you use is. Do you mind a bit of fret rattle? A lot of people like the bite it gives, but I can't stand it. Rounds tend to buzz more than flats. Some like a dead straight neck. Others, including me, like a little relief (very slight concave). Different strokes for different folks, etc.

Bill's advice above is the only way to go. Take it to someone who knows what they're doing and has the right test equipment. Buying replacement parts on a hunch or willy-nilly is a waste of time and money. Not a lot of point in asking on here. All anyone can do is to speculate - we can't hear or see the amp (and even if we could, the vast majority of us would be none the wiser as to what's wrong with it).

My post wasn't entirely serious, although as I use small cabs in multiples, I don't need a furniture removal van to carry my stuff around. If you have one cab, placed relatively high off the floor, you do lose that nice coupling effect that gives the sound weight. It's a matter of working out the best compromise to suit you. I agree with those above who warn of the dangers of using Quiklok or similar stands. If you play at any volume, a bass cab can easily vibrate/walk itself off them and fall to the floor. This is especially true of lightweight gear.

Definitely. The hardness of graphite/carbon fibre means it can be brittle and prone to cracking/splintering if you don't know what you're doing and don't use very sharp cutting tools.

I just pile enough cabs up so one at least points at my ears...

Surely if the amp is there mainly for the player's pleasure, then any old amp won't do, unless you don't care what you sound like. The FOH engineer takes care of what the audience hears, so if you can afford it, get the amp that makes the noises you like. The value of that for me is that I feel I play better if I'm happy. Even if I don't, I enjoy the experience more, so I wouldn't say it's purely vanity.

Surely if the amp is there mainly for the player's pleasure, then any old amp won't do, unless you don't care what you sound like. The FOH engineer takes care of what the audience hears, so if you can afford it, get the amp that makes the noises you like. The value of that for me is that I feel I play better if I'm happy. Even if I don't, I enjoy the experience more, so I wouldn't say it's purely vanity.

An old joiner's trick to ensure that two pieces of wood mate really flush together is to slightly countersink the holes in the piece that the screws are screwed into. It avoids the threads pulling a slight cone shape from the holes, which causes the pieces to have a minute gap between them.

Great player. Check out BB King with Gary Moore playing The Thrill Is Gone live on YouTube. Masterful display of solid, restrained bass playing. Mr Moore and BB aren't too shabby, either.

In defence of Anderton's style music superstores, when I were a lad, it was rare, if not unheard of, to be able to walk into a music shop, no matter how large, and see/try a range of quality, name brand instruments. There might be one or two, but that would be yer lot. I bought my '72 J bass in the late seventies from a shop that had just one, yes one, Fender bass on the wall (they had none after I bought it). We don't know how lucky we are these days.

As I said, use the right tool for the job 😊

Apart from the Bass Gallery, I don't know of any that keep a good range. Take a trip to Warwick and visit Bass Direct. It's a nice day trip on the train from Marylebone and not expensive if you go midweek during the day and travel after around 9.30 in the morning (as little as £28 return depending on the trains you catch).

I'm principally a fingers player, but I won't hesitate to use a pick if it will do a better job. I play the mandolin, too, so I know how to use one. There seems little point in working to be able to imitate the sound of a pick with the fingers. It's a bit like saying "I've practiced for years and can now play tennis quite competently with a cricket bat". Just use the tool for the job.

A lot of people do swear that thin nitrocellulose or oil finishes are better for "tone" in solid instruments. They are claimed to allow the wood to vibrate and "breathe". It is certainly true of acoustic instruments, but not for solids.

Stop it, all of you. I'm trying to tell myself I don't need a Bass Cub to go with my other PJB stuff and you're not helping.

All well and good, but a magnetic pickup is not a microphone (you may wish to Google the differences). It doesn't "hear", by sensing variations in air pressure (detecting "sound waves", if you like). It senses vibrations of a string within a magnetic field and converts them into a minute electrical signal. The materials solid instruments are made from may, due to differences in density, rigidity, etc have a tiny (and I do mean tiny) effect on how a string vibrates, how long it sustains and so on, but it will be insignificant. It will be different if you are using a piezo pickup or contact microphone (which is what double bass players normally use).