lemmywinks

Fender made guitars in China a while ago, also the old Lite Ash series (and a different line I can't remember the name of) were made in the Korean Cort factory about 20 years ago.

Tried a few of the NAM clones, a bit disappointing. The Markbass and Avalon pre clones were a bit limp and very quiet, the Darkglass was good though. Couldn't tweak them to the point where I was happy so went back to the stock SVT model, will have another mess around when I get the chance. To get these working there's a tab on the amp bay you can switch between BASIC and CLONE, took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure this out. The cab IRs from that Tonehunt site are very good however, currently got the Hartke 4x10XL one on my main preset, does do a good impression the real deal.

I use one of these on my bass head: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235674913502 We have a generic USB powered BT>3.5mm adapter permanently hooked up to our XR18: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/356414748890

Yeah I saw that, will have a dig over the weekend. Any recommendations for where to get them? Found these: https://tonehunt.org/search-results?search=bass

New bass specific amp models and drive are very good, rather unsurprisingly the best choice if you're using this with bass so I'd recommend updating the firmware straight away if you get one of these. The free bass IRs from shiftline are quite poor though, sound heavily compressed and lacking any real mids or highs, like a rubbish sound engineer's idea of what a bass should sound like. I'd just find one of the factory guitar ones you like.

Sonicake have just updated the PC software, Android app and firmware for this, the app still doesn't work on my main phone but you can now manage effects and IRs from your computer which is probably more useful for me as my tablet runs Windows 11. They've also added a couple of bass effects (Voks and VT, assume Vox and SVT amps) as well as a bass drive.

They do work as long as the bass has the flared out bits of the mini headstock, newer Hercules stands come with detachable NINA accessories which clamp the neck a bit tighter too, no issues using my EHB with my old Hercules stand.

Been having an issue with the app on my current phone, it will connect to the Pocket Master but no effects or patches show and you can't do anything. Got it working on my old phone and managed to get those free cab IRs linked above loaded which was pretty straightforward - just click on any patch, select the IR slot, click the cab selection window in the lower section, press "User IR" and click the 3 dots. Can get all 5 slots loaded from there. Will see how they sound later, this was all I needed the app for but hopefully they update it sooner rather than later.

A Cort with a Fender logo you say? That'll be an extra £200 please!

It's a fair point, I wouldn't buy a headless with that level of design oversight.

That's the correct cable, the BH250 just has a Speakon socket and the BC208 had 1/4" jacks. Some for sale here with the more robust 1/4" jack plug:

It nails the convenient home practice angle, just plug your bass and headphones in and that's it. I'll try this on it later tonight: https://shift-line.com/irpackbass

Been after something for quiet portable practice and song learning for a while with some very specific requirements, it had to be tiny, have bluetooth audio streaming from my phone, rechargeable, have a built in tuner and be able to drive headphones. Didn't need anything else, also had to be cheap because I don't like spending money. The Ashdown Tone Pocket seemed to fit the bill (regular and BT versions currently on sale) but I was a sick in my mouth at the prospect of buying a device that uses Micro USB in 2025. So anyway I bought this: https://www.sonicake.com/products/pocket-master First off it is truly tiny - just 104mm x 85mm x 29mm so about the size of a cigarette packet. All plastic but feels well built for home use, screen is nice and the buttons feel decent. Can get going straight away by powering the unit on and either using the jog wheel or buttons to cycle through the pre built patches. Tapping the jog wheel cycles through BT on/off, volume and patch selection. You can exit menus by tapping both buttons, all pretty intuitive. I couldn't get this to pair with my phone straight away but after pairing it using the SonicLink app (which enables you to manage the patches via your phone if you so wish) I could add it as "Pocket Master Audio" from the regular bluetooth menu allowing me to play backing tracks over my phone. Bass sounds good through it, enough volume and clarity for headphone practice which is all I really bought it for, most of the presets and amp/cab sims are for guitar but it does have some dedicated bass effects, the eq and comp pretty good. As usual there's loads of over the top presets (50 factory, 50 user) but the standard "Basic Bass" patch is good for me. You can add your own IRs in (up to 5) via the Sonicake software. Can also use it as an audio interface and it has a basic drum machine, unlikely I'll ever use these but they're there. All in all it more than does what I bought it for and came in at £50, really convenient as you just plug your bass and headphones in and away you go which is what appeals to me the most as it's great for short sessions. The one downside is that there's no dedicated 3.5mm headphone jack so you have to use a 1/4" adapter. Here's my rubbish picture to prove I'm not shilling for some random company, as you can see it's about the length of a Neutrik jack plug. Crazy stuff.

You can buy that Ric for £3k new (PMT themselves have it at £3.1k), a shop isn't going to give you anything like the used market value as they'd be essentially competing with their own new stock. The manager will look at the profit margins he makes on a new Ric, figure out how much he can sell a used one for and make you an offer accordingly. He'll also have to factor in the possibility of a customer returning it due to a manufacturing fault (it's a Ric after all) and the shop having to take the hit. Nothing sinister, this is just how retail works. Might be different if it was a rare instrument that the shop didn't stock.

Decent deal that, I have the BH250 and think it's a really neat little head. I'd keep a lookout for another BC208 to put underneath it for a mini tower of power, they come up pretty regularly. This bag fits the BH250 perfectly btw: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/gator-9″-x-9″-mini-amplifier-bag/

AliExpress is full of knockoff D'addarios. Two things I only ever buy from dedicated sellers are strings and higher capacity SD cards, too many fakes out there.

The one from PMT might be as well. They're well known for selling ex demo (read heavily used, damaged or missing parts) as new items in their clearence sales. I got an Ibanez EHB1505 in their sales which arrived with a ton of back bow, a missing control cavity cover and dings in the finish exposing bare wood. Someone else in the same thread got an Ashdown Shavo head which had been around the block a few times and arrived covered in scratches with a broken EQ slider. So there's every chance the used items for sale on here might be in much better condition than the "new" on from PMT.

If you fancy a drive then grab this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326402087138 He also has the version with the horn for a bit more money: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326402087359

If you want something compact with a small footprint then an older 2x10 on its side or a 1x12 is probably the only way you'll get something around your remaining budget. Unless you fancy a longer drive you'll be looking at local collection only listings on FB Marketplace, eBay etc. Brands like Peavey, Ashdown, Hartke, TC Electronic, Laney. Not much point in recommending a specific type of cab as your budget constraints will decide what is attainable over everything else. Hartke XL cabs are decent and go for pocket money now, on here in London for £75 which would bring you under budget: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1185251983336041/ Laney 2x10 with neo drivers near you for £150 here, bigger cab though: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2487813131416873/ That SWR I linked to above would be fine, be aware it's a 4ohm cab so you can't add another. I'd grab that Hartke as chances are you'll see another one for sale before too long and can have a vertical 4x10 tower which should cover every gig you're likely to do without PA support.

So do PMT, GuitarGuitar and Thomann, this is local so he can go check it out in person.

Just spotted a Markbass Little Mark Blackline 250 in the Cash Converters sale for 100, Southend shop as well so close to you. https://www.cashconverters.co.uk/shop/music-tv--video/home-theatre-tvs--hifi-stereos/amplifiers/audio-equipment/047400178437