Owen

Sorry, I keep meaning to do pictures. I am by now driving it with an AI Clarus+. 800w @ 4ohms. It is just superb with my DB. I could not be happier. I have a Thunderfunk sitting in the wings waiting to be put through it's paces. I will report back before the end of the year.

Been pretty busy with the bumped Honeys last couple of weeks. It has become clear that for me when it is time to ramp it up that the bass just cannot give like it can at normal tension. Of course, you all know this but it is new to me so I am just noting it.

Did a fairly loud gig on Sunday night, all ready to bring the reverb/delay/phase creation I had created to the masses. In the soundcheck it became clear that the table of my bass was acting like a diaphragm for my pickup and the 9 foot Steinway to my right and the kit to my left were spilling all over my sensitive FX. Back to the drawing board

I had a Madarozzo for my Streamline. It sucked limes. Does anyone have a pic of the Ritter Streamline case?

Easy and smooth.

As it happens I have just started to plug my DB into Mainstage on my laptop to mess with delays and stuff for one of the numbers I am doing. The possibilities are just endless, and that is just using presets. Once I can work out how to get a filter to open and close (and it cannot be that hard) using bow pressure I will be able to achieve total world domination.

The EST thing is excellent, and they are TOTALLY feeling it

FX a-go-go! http://www.myspace.com/schizoidbass Most of it is DB or EUB in various disguises.

Can you imagine how the scratchplate feels under your fingernails? Ugh.

I am sure I am taking this much to seriously. I need to get out more My inference in my original post was that they will always push everything to the max. Let's face it, which of us when faced with a decent amp for the first time in late teens has not thought "how loud will this go?" and wind it up? I know I did. I would not lend my kit to my 17 year old self. They seem to be unable to unplug before walking away from an amp. Sometimes the amp falls flat on it's face. When it is full of gently glowing valves, the outcome is not always good. We have next to no malicious damage, but plenty of clumsy or plain stupid damage. Do they come and tell us? Actually some do. Some do not. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1336078708' post='1640707'] A thank you for the money we taxpayers give you to fund it wouldn't go amiss either. [/quote] I would like to thank you all for funding my job

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1336064836' post='1640445'] Owen, if my posts have upset you then I'm truly sorry and I'm not saying that my thinking is correct, but I feel very strongly about the lack of guidance and discipline which seems to be the way of the world today. [/quote] You will have to try significantly harder to actually upset me I feel just as strongly as you do about the guidance/discipline thing. It is not cool.

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1336053066' post='1640121'] No job for the "student" in the end, either.......................... [/quote] Many of them will never go near the Music Industry (such as it is in the UK by now). Having said that, I have never used my English A level. Does that make my English A level invalid?

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1336051865' post='1640088'] Thing is these days they will be more likely to say f*** it and leave the course. [/quote] Tragically correct.

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1335982587' post='1639137'] Bill them for any damage that occurs while in their care. Ligit in other walks of life, what's different here ? [/quote] I do not have the staff to monitor the equipment day by day. We are trying to put systems in place, but I still need more robust amps.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1335967489' post='1638769'] I have to agree with this. Why should you have to pay for them acting like idiots? [/quote] I believe that science courses have more funding than arts courses due to the higher costs involved. There is wear and tear on kit in all disciplines. I am not happy about it. That is why I am looking for more robust replacements.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1335967186' post='1638763'] Learning how to not break your gear should be a pretty fundamental part of being a musician. you don't get to be a pilot by forgetting to put the wheels down when landing, and saying 'Not my job, I am just supposed to fly the thing.'. [/quote] It is a pretty fundamental. We try and teach them. Some of them do not respect their own kit even. That is why I am looking for more robust kit.

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, it's an educational establishment and you're a teacher. Is there something wrong with teaching them how to use it properly? Nothing. We do. Something wrong with making students sign for them? Nothing, but we do not have a technician only a well meaning apprentice who is on site for 2.5 days per week. Before that we shared a technician with another site 15 miles away. Seeing as his office was there you can imagine where he spent most of his time. Something wrong with restricting access to encourage proper use? Nothing wrong with that, but the 80% need to use kit all the time. Lots of possibilities here. Letting them have free rein to f*** it up every time they get their hands on it ain't one of them. It is not what I want. I work hard to make it not so. I am looking for amps which might be slighlty more robust to deal with my unruly students

Perhaps sarcastic is too strong a word, somewhat exasperated would be better. I was just asking for real world advice on amps and expIainig why they need to be able to take abuse. I do not have a local emporium (such a good word ) because I live in the sticks. Even if I had I would not trust them or any other shop, they are there to sell what they have on their shop floor. I do not have infinite funding, these will have to last several years as the Laneys have had to do. We have been nursing them through that period. We used to have a technician, we no longer do. We have a 20 year old working as an "apprentice" with no one working with him - cheapskate FE money saving. He is a lovely bloke, but when he told me he had ordered fuses but meant valves........ you get the picture. I would love my students to look after kit, but they just do not - it is not for the want of trying, cajoling, threatening etc. We are so far from being profligate it is not true. ALL the furniture in my dept is stuff that other depts have thrown out - every last chair and desk. The caretaker knows not to move any furniture on until we have had a gander. All I wanted was a few pointers to inexpensive amps which experienced players had used and thought "Well, it's not a Dumble, but it's not bad at all".

Thanks all for your concerns about how I run my dept. I will look at the Peavey, Vox and Fender options suggested.

I came, I saw, I purchased. It was easy. Like you did not know that already.