dave_bass5

Yeah, ken knows everything about all these amps. He has done various comparisons with his MB heads, as well as others and i have had a few PMs with him about these over the years. I know what you mean about living in the USA. Lucky buggers. A si use a radio system im ok with the lightweight heads. I have found in the past my whole rig used ot move around on some stages but since i got my Gramma pad it seems to stay put.

Cheers. I did get the hang of it but it felt like it was a bit more than i needed knob wise lol. I do like the warmth i get from the MB heads and i guess for the older stuff we play it suites it better but as long as i still have a nice low end i can always EQ the rest.

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1012823' date='Nov 5 2010, 01:03 AM']GKs are a bit complex with the gain structure. Remember there's the MB Fusion coming out soon with the valve pre that should add another option to your list. [/quote] Yeah, i didnt like the idea of the two levels knobs and how easy it was to get a dirty sound if your not careful. This original idea was about getting something smaller than my LMII, just as powerful but cheapish as it might not be used much. But it could go the other way and become my main amp and i might sell both MB heads. If that was the case then maybe a TC RH450 would be ideal but for now i really dont have any issues with my SA450 so i dont think i want to part with that, plus the RH450 costs quite a bit more. The heads with tubes in are a bit out of my price range and to be honest tubes dont really have any attraction. I have the BDDI and even on that i keep the drive almost off. I guess the cheapest option would be one of those little Ashdown digital heads, and while i think that would be fine for the occasional gig i wouldn't want to use it regularly. I would love a MB F500 but i think the MB heads are a bit expensive these days. So many decisions, so little money and Christmas coming up. Not a good time to get GAS. At least its not urgent.

[quote name='thinman' post='1012638' date='Nov 4 2010, 09:57 PM']I'll be interested in how you find the thumper in that bass - I've got a CV P too and the stock pickups seem to be hotter than the 84s I've got in my Jazz but maybe that's comparing apples and pears. You obviously find the standard ones wanting - be interested to know why.[/quote] After a false start (couldn't get it to fit the pick guard, and then when i did it was faulty) im back on track and will be fitting it over the weekend. Im not sure what i dont like about the stock pup, it sounds fine at home but a bit muddy at the gig last week. I think i just wanted to get away from the more vintage/traditionl P tone and the Thumper seemed like a good idea. MY idela pup is a Fralin but i cant afford one and fancy a change anyeaway. I dont know what it is about my CV's but to my ears they are a mellower than other Jazz and P's ive owend. Not a bad thing but i prefer more modern tones. For what its worth ive also got a Fender Vintage bridge on the bass now, and my CV Jazz neck.

Thanks again Ian. It definitely sounds like i need ot try one out as soon as i can. For me the MB heads are the best ive ever played, simple to get a decent tone from and not a lot of knobs and buttons (ive not tried the newer heads though). In contrast my GK seemed to need a lot of fiddling and careful use of the gain to avoid distortion and i never seemed to get the clean volume i do with the MB's, even though the GK was rated slightly higher. From what ive read about the Shuttles vs MB's im sure the Shuttle isnt for me.

Cheers Ian. Not sure about the bash but ill definitely try one out at some point. I guess the main thing is how it compares tone wise to the LMII. I found my GK1001RBII was nowhere near as full sounding, in to the same cab.

Cheers Gareth. I see there are quite a few threads about these amps on TB so i'll work my way through them at some point. It does seem like the M2 had issues to start with. It was just an idea really. As i have a LMII just sitting around doing nothing now i thought about getting rid of it but i might need something small next year so one of these newer micro heads will fit the bill nicely. It really was almost like a ream of lightweight A4 paper and could easily fit in my gig bag's front pocket. Now that i use my BDDI for my tone i dont need something with a lot of bells and whistles on it, i mostly run my MB heads flat now anyway. Of course ill try it first but i did have a GK1001RBII head before and didnt really think it sounded very good, at least not compared to my MB heads (and i did one gig where i used both so i could really tell the difference)

Its been about 5 years since i had amp GAS but during a quick visit to the Gallery today to pick my bass up, i happened to see the above amp. only just as its so small. Im now really itching to get one to replace my little used LMII as my back up amp, but also maybe as my main amp.. Anyone used one, heard one or have any comments? I know there are similar sized heads around (TC, EA etc) but at the moment its really just an idea and im just asking about this head. Im actually not sure if it was the older MB2 or newer MB but to be honest im going on looks at the moment although i would go for the newer version if i got one. I didnt get to play it as i was in a hurry. With the trade in price i can get for my LMII its not going to cost me much. Ive not really paid much attention to amps for a while and its amazing how small they had got.

I recently had to plug the holes at a gig to secure some strap pins. I used splinters from a drum stick. Not ideal but they feel solid enough.

I ordered a Thumper from Andy last week and it arrived the very next day. There was a problem with a pole piece (or two, im not sure) being put in upside down and i was getting a very weak volume level from one string. I emailed him on Sat and got a reply back very quickly, and after checking i had wired it in right we agreed i would send it back for him to check. Before i had even posted mine he had wound me a new one and sent it out special delivery. Now both my main basses have Wizards in them and i couldn't be happier. Plus i saved quite a bit, considering i brought a Fralin for my last P and that cost me £140. I think the Thumper sounds better.

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='1009711' date='Nov 2 2010, 03:53 PM']That's ace! Any pics?[/quote] Sorry, no pics and its all wired back now. The only thing i am going to start taking as a back up is a strap. My normal strap has strap locks on it and these are very well secured. Ive done two gigs recently where i took a bass that had normal strap pins and i had to borrow that very short strap as i cant get the Schallers off, so im going to keep a cheap strap in my amp bag.

[quote name='chris_b' post='1010439' date='Nov 3 2010, 09:58 AM']I wonder why everyone hates Clapton today?[/quote] Not Clapton as such, just that boring one chord going through the motions song he did.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1010126' date='Nov 2 2010, 10:34 PM']Not very often that I feel compelled to think 'wtf' but what was that first track all about! I may not be a Blues fan but as a musician I thought I'd appreciate at least something about that track... Nope! [/quote] Same here. Very disappointed. I don't know much about MIA but i do remember them getting boo'ed at the O2 when they were supporting Prince. And rightly so IMO. I thought the band were good and liked the song but someone needs some singing lessons.

I posted this in another thread but had forgotten about it. a couple of weeks ago i took the wrong bass to my gig. By wrong i mean it wasnt in a gigging state. No strap buttons and the pups weren't connected. I had been doing some work on it and put it in a different gig bag a few days before the gig. I really should have checked before taking it but i thought it was my new bass. I ended up having to use gaffa tape to connect the pups and to borrow some strap buttons off my guitarist. I had ot plug the holes with splinters from a drum stick. I also had to borrow a strap and even at its most extended the bass was way to high. It got through the gig though, although i was a bag of nerves.

Yeah, huge superstore out in Germany. Very good service and they offer a 30 day money back guarantee. They even pay for the return. Ive had to send a 3 basses back to them. one because it was marked and the other two because i just didnt like them. Its not something i ever intended to do but i feel pretty safe buying from them. They used to be really cheap but these days not im not so sure. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/electric_basses.html"]Thomanns[/url]

Order one of each from Thomanns and send back the one you like the least Or even better, keep them both

Same as most people here. Never broke a string and only ever take one bass. I do sometimes worry that something might go, but it never has so far. I expect this thread will now jinx us all ;-)

Im running W7 32bit and have been using AT3 for ages. Last night it suddenly gave me an error about it not finding the audio device. Now i cant get any input or output. Ive reinstalled my sound card (M-Audio 24/96) and every other audio program is working fine. Ive reinstalled AT3 twice now, ive cleaned the registry and deleted all the folders but still it refuses to play ball. It seems to know about the card as its showing the correct name in the Audio prefs, although the output device is greyed out (it is still showing the correct name though). This is driving me crazy, looks like its back to GR4 again. I had this happen once before but cant remember how i sorted it out.

I cant speak for the MIA's but when i changed the PG on my Lakland Duck Dunn i put a PG on that didnt have conductive tape on it and i got a load of buzzing and hum. The original one had the tape and worked fine so i got a small roll of tape from Maplins and all was well. This is where it needs to go.

Worlds Pinkest Sandberg maybe.

[quote name='paul h' post='1005343' date='Oct 29 2010, 03:39 PM']There's a lot to be said for buying cheap and modding. I personally have never spent much over £400 on a bass. I've tried but never gone through with it. I went into Musical Exchanges in Brum once with £1500. I tried a couple of Warwicks, a couple of Stingrays, a couple of US Fenders and even a Ric. I came out with a MIJ P for £250 which ended up as my main bass for years. I'm not saying the other basses were not better, just not £1250 better![/quote] I did a similar thing when looking for my first proper 5 string in the Bass Centre a few years ago. I had budgeted up to about £1500 and that was enough to get me almost any 5 string they had. I ended up buying a Lakland for £699. Same with my recent MIA disasters. 4 MIA jazz bass and ended up with my HW-one Jazz at a saving of £400, plus it felt and played better.

At the end of the day your right, upgrades are a personal thing and whats good for you might not be good for everyone but if i was to sell the bass i would include the original parts as well, more as an incentive for someone to buy, and they might be able to make a bit of money selling the parts off. At least this way you can ask for a bit more thna a stock bass. I did this with my old DJ5 that i had converted to a PJ. i never got my money back of course but i did sell it for more than the going price for a DJ5 at the time. If the upgrades appeal to someone they will pay a bit more for them IME. I would probably keep the Thumper anyway and put it in my next P.

[quote name='paul h' post='1005292' date='Oct 29 2010, 03:12 PM']I am actually quite excited. If the stage is big enough I will move around like a bugger! [/quote] Cool. I just play like a bugger ;-) Just make sure the transmitter is secured well enough, especially the battery cover. Ive had a few "incidents" in the past that resulted in the battery going flying across the stage. In my old band, years ago, all three of us up front had them and at one point there was only the drummer left on stage. none of us could see the others but we managed two whole songs before we were back on stage. And funny enough each of us had been to the bar during various parts of the song. It looked pretty funny us arriving back on stage, each with a pint in our hands. The drummer want too happy though.

[quote name='bassatnight' post='996308' date='Oct 21 2010, 07:54 PM']Following a recent clear out of my high end basses I have decided to pick up some cheap intsruments and upgrade them. In the last week I have purchased a Squier VM Jazz and a J&D Fretless 4 stringer. I have no idea who J&D are but having dome some research and watched a few You tube clips at £160 I thought I would have a go. I must admit I am having a great time setting them up and replacing the Bridges, The pups and adding new pick guards etc. I probably won't get my money back but am enjoying seeing how good I can make them. Next on my list a Squire Classic Vibe P! Might start documenting what I have done with a few pics. I think in these hard times with finances perhaps its the way to go! Anyone else doing this/done this? Cheers, Steve.[/quote] Exactly what im doing at the moment, and for the same reason. I realised that no matter how good the bass was, i would sell it at some point. and the time i was keeping basses were getting shorter and shorter. I was loosing too much money so im now using budget basses. Ok, i did try and get a MIA recently but that didnt work out, and i do have a HW-one Jazz that i love but my current bass is a CV P and i like it so much im spending money on it to get it just the way i want it. Ive just got a Wizard thumper to go in it, and im getting a Fender vintage bridge put on it next week. I cant think of anything else that needs changing (other than a full respray) Im not doing this with selling in mind, im doing this so i can have a bass as close as what i want, without breaking the bank. I want narrower string spacing, and more punch from the pup. If i do sell it (highly likely i guess) ive only spent £100 on it, and no matter what people say it will be a better bass and people will pay a tiny bit more for it IME.

[quote name='paul h' post='1005108' date='Oct 29 2010, 12:58 PM']Thanks but just got one in a trade with Fretmeister. I feel liberated! [/quote] Nice one. I cant imagine using a cable any more. I dont move around a lot but on small stages it's nice to not keep treading on your lead. Good for sound checks as well.