lemmywinks

There the full bodied Hohner The Jack if you don't want a cricket bat bass, cheap one here if you're able to collect: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/744174308542887/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A5cb0d2fb-bb0e-4e47-bece-69066429a03c Also grab one of these if you are going the licensed Steinberger route, assume they'll fit but check first:

I clicked on it, didn't know what Rumble was at the time. The other videos on that account seem to fit your description.

Good score that, still a small footprint and you can get an extension cab if needed

One on eBay if the OP fancies a bit of a drive, could go cheap due to not having the model in the title. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/187443720508

Yeah as I said previously, a poorly mixed FoH is a completely separate problem. In addition to that having amps on stage might contribute to other issues like bleeding into mics etc, especially on smaller stages. That used to be an issue for me until I started using tilt back bass cabs, then a wedge monitor and finally IEMs.

There's also the reverse of the idiot sound guy situation - the band idiot(s). I went to watch a mate's band a few years ago and the venue had hired external PA with an engineer, pleasant guy who seemed to know what he was doing and had old but decent kit. I lost count of the amount of times he requested the guitars to be slightly less deafening so he could get a proper mix where everybody could be heard, eventually just shrugged his shoulders, gave up and did his best. All you could hear was drums and guitar. Getting a controllable FoH mix is instantly torpedoed when someone decides they absolutely have to have their sound at the volume they choose at the expense of everything else, add in another band member with the same outlook and you can see why handing someone an XLR can be an appealing solution to multiple potential headaches.

Bad sound engineers are a different issue though, if I was doing circuit gigs using house PA/engineers and didn't know what the setup would be I would take my own preamp and just give them a feed from there. Having an optional Sansamp provided if any bands on the bill didn't have their own pre should be seen as a good gesture by the sound guy, not them trying to exert control. If they're one of those goons that removes everything except rumble from the bass signal then address that. Most of my experiences with house engineers has been good, we only do a few gigs like that every year though and they're usually in dedicated music venues away from cities.

Well I have a PJB C8L with a TC BH800 head and a BG-75 combo all in red, so getting a matching C4 for my TC BH250 seems like the right thing to do! There was one for sale in the town I work in recently but it was a little overpriced for me (about what I paid for the C8L), sold quickly enough though.

Yeah this, the BG-400 or BG-450 might make a good small gig amp however at double the weight and price you'd have to really like the sound of the thing. Having said all that I'd swap my very capable neo 1x10 cab out for a red C4 in a heartbeat.

TC BG208 on eBay with free delivery here, ends tomorrow night: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/277281572070

The requirement for open mic nights and jams (assuming there's drums and guitar amps involved) would probably rule out the micro PJB combos. I recently bought a BG-75 (2 x 35w amp section, 2 x 4" drivers) which is insanely portable and impressive sounding when placed in front of a solid object but I wouldn't expect it to do anything more than play in an acoustic ensemble, albeit a loud one. There were a couple of Genz Benz Shuttle combos for sale on here recently, a 10" and a 12" IIRC, they would do the job. There's also a used Elf 10" combo here for £399 + £5 delivery: https://reverb.com/uk/p/trace-elliot-elf-200-watt-1x10-bass-combo?hfid=91240490&utm_campaign=INTL-GB-Shop_unpaid&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google

Give this a try, best try with some cheap/old strings first but in theory you can use any strings you want:

Whole setup for you here OP, make a cheeky offer? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3678068185832967/

Sire V/P7 and above tuners (the Grover 142 copies, £24 for a 4 string set from NW Guitars) are generally very good though, I wouldn't confuse them with the budget machine heads you find on ultra cheap basses. In fact in the early days of gen 1 Sire basses they did use the cheap and nasty tuners and a fair few people (myself included) complained about them, they switched to the better ones partway through gen 1 V7 production. I actually put a set of (ex-Sire) Grover copies on one of my Arias and they were a massive improvement, better than the Wilkinsons I have on my fretless.

Personally I wouldn't throw money at a cheap off brand bass as it represents a false economy, it'll likely need some attention to the frets and setups aren't particularly cheap these days so why plough £50-£70 into a £30-£40 instrument? If you have a budget to stick to then it would be wise to put up with the G4M and scour Facebook until a local bargain appears, then jump on it* * This is a hard habit to break and you may end up with a dozen basses

Seems very cheap for a high end cab, will need hoovering and then an all over no1 with some clippers though! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/146476114887 I'm willing to bet one English pound this came from a cat owner's house!

If you can get to Swindon this would be an absolute steal leaving you £220 for an amp: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/236179876553

Your bass could also most likely do with a setup but unless you know someone who'll do it as a favour (or can do it yourself) then you'll have to weigh up throwing money at something which has very little value against putting it towards something much better.

Amp first every time, those little practice combos are almost always the weakest link with starter kit. Check local listings on Facebook Marketplace and eBay, if you don't mind a heavier/bulkier combo you can score a significant upgrade for half your budget or less like Hartke, Ashdown, Trace Elliot etc. If you just want a better P bass then a Squier CV will likely be all you ever need at around £200-£250 used, you should be able to sell your G4M kit for about £50 or so. Those starter kits are a bit of a dead end tbh, they might seem like a good deal (and I understand why shops have to sell them) but you'll want to upgrade pretty much everything in a surprisingly short time.

There's a few sets of 1/2" Ultralites (USA and Lic) for sale on here at the moment.

The Sonicake Pocket Master has a headphone out and is within budget, it's also tiny and contains a rechargeable battery. Supports IR and also has a few NAM capture slots.

We have a (very reslistic tbf) fake plant in the foyer of my work, one of the women in the office keeps watering it. It's gone on so long now I haven't got the heart to tell her.

We had a guy who used to come to jam nights and pub band gigs here, harmonica player (using the term loosely) who always wanted to get up on stage for a guest spot. Played the same 3 cheesy blues licks on repeat regardless of the song, pretty sure he thought he was some sort of local celebrity. Sounded awful every time.

The only Cort built bass I've had on which the active treble control doubles as a passive tone is the Ibanez EHB with its Vari-Mid preamp. The GB Modern has the Markbass MB with a separate passive tone but I don't think other Corts offer that, even the ones using that preamp.

Cort's slimmed down J body is extremely comfortable IMO, good to see these still have the Ultralites and Luminlays. If you still want to scratch your Overwater itch on a budget there's an Aspiration Deluxe (Tanglewood built) 5 string in a Hiscox Liteflite case on eBay for a low start bid: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/197513973505