Mr.T

Thanks for the tips, I'll give that a go! The frame is a modified Santee... stretched and lowered. The rear suspension is like a Harley Softail... the shocks are hidden under the rear arm. My rigid riding days are over, paticularly with the state of some of the roads here in the west country.

Hi, That makes sense! So as I change the polarity of the Jazz pickup, I cancel out one or other of the Precision pickups. The Precision pickup (Wizard Thumper) does seem to work fine on its own. Is there a way I can test this, or is it just a case of switching the connections on the Thumper... and seeing what happens?

How about a Trace 4x10 combo? ... Or an Ashdown ABM500 4x10 combo? Either could be picked up for not a lot of money on this forum..... (Unpopular due to their weight?). and would do the job nicely with a Sansamp VT pedal.

Alex, That's a good point. Eden amps sound quite 'hi-fi' to my ears, but they are said to have a built in mid-scoop. Have you tested the response of the LM2?

I have just finished building a natural ash bodied PJ. It has a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder P pickup and a Wizard '84 J pickup, with stacked volume pots. Anyway, I also have a P bass that has a Wizard Thumper, so I thought I'd swap the P pickups. Quarter Pounder in the Precision and Thumper/'84 in the PJ. I did the transplant, plugged in the PJ, and found that with both pickups on 'full' the output dropped considerably. No problem, I thought, reverse the wiring on the J pickup and all will be fine. (I had to do this when I fitted a pair of '84s to my Jazz). But, After reversing the Jazz pickup, I noticed that the output drop was still there... but only on the D and G strings. Huh?, So I reversed the Jazz pickup again, and sure enough the output drop was only on the E and A strings. After much headscratching, I put the Quarter Pounder back in the PJ and the Thumper back in the Precision.... and they all work fine. I am stumped. Probably missing something obvious! Any ideas?

+1 for the Sansamp VT It can add anything from a kind of tubey warmth to full on grind. I use one with a MarkBass LM2 and get exactly the sound I want. I personally wouldn't describe the LM2 as 'hi-fi', I think it is quite a dark amp, but it does lack grit. I wouldn't discount Trace gear, they only sound 'nasal' if that is how they are EQ'd. I happily used Trace for 20 years.

Bought a couple of Bass wall hangers from Shaun. Excellent!

This thread makes a refreshing change! I think the guys at Ashdown are doing a great job, in what must be a very difficult market.

Hi, You can run either: 1 x 8 ohm cab or 2 x 8 ohm cabs or 1 x 4 ohm cab I would personally go for the 2 x 8 ohm cab set-up, as you will get the full potential of the amp and have a speaker up near ear level.

I have not owned this particular model of Trace combo, but have had the GP11 and GP12 combo's before going over to an amp and cabs set-up. I would guess the sound is typical 'Trace', which you might love or not.... I did! £100 sounds a great price if the amp is in good condition. Buy it and try it for yourself.... I doubt you'd lose any money on it, should you not like it.

Surely everything in the sound chain is 'coloured' from the strings, materials used to make the bass, etc. ... and I am pretty sure room acoustics come into play. ... and we all hear and interpret sound differently! Wouldn't a better goal than 'perfectly clean' sound be 'good sound'? (Good = You like it). I have seen many a bass player with super hi-tech kit sounding cr*p. I have also seen many a bass player with the kind of kit that is often knocked on forums sounding great!

[quote name='Les' post='611848' date='Sep 29 2009, 12:40 PM']Already talking to LittleAl about an 400 smx he's got.[/quote] If you liked your old '150', you will love a 400smx! I have spend about 10 months getting my sound back after selling my Trace. If you like the sound, and can deal with the weight and size... Stick with Trace. p.s. Glad you like the cabs, they were much loved by me.

[quote name='chris_b' post='611690' date='Sep 29 2009, 10:17 AM']This happens a lot! You upgrade one part of your rig and it shows up the other part. It sounds like it's time to spend some money on an amp. A modern amp rated 500 watt at 4 ohm amp / 300 watt at 8 ohm should get you a good tone from cabaret to rock with plenty of headroom. An LM2 might be a good place to start looking.[/quote] I agree, but... If you like the Trace sound, make sure you don't buy an amp that is too 'clean'. (Don't ask me how I know this ).

Hi Les, These were my cabs. I gigged with them for about ten years and never had trouble hearing myself. I only sold them because I had to get lighter cabs (bad back!). I used them with a Trace 250smx and always had plenty of everything on tap. As others have already said... I think you need a bigger amp. If you like the Trace sound, look out for one of the bigger SMX range. They have a built in compressor which can really help you cut through the mix. Also, Don't use the built in pre-shapes in the amp, they might sound good 'solo' but will get you lost in a band mix! (They take out too much of the mids).

I wish I'd seen this earlier. ... After 20 years of gigging, the bag for my Empathy is getting a bit ragged!

I now have a few gigs (indoors and outdoors) under my belt with my new rig so I thought I'd report back..... I am finally happy with my set-up!!! I settled on: Status > Sansamp VT > MarkBass LM2 > Ashdown 2x10 neo + Aggie GS112NT. I am running the bass and amp set flat with absolutely no EQ'ing needed. The VT pedal (which I keep on top of the amp) is set somewhere between 'SVT' and 'Flip-Top'... again with the EQ set flat! My sound is not exactly the same as was with my old Trace, but it is definately my sound (If that makes sense?). It is kind of like the Trace sound but with a bit more of a kick.... and I have more of everything on tap, should I need it. So I have achieved what I set out to achieve, i.e: A powerful rig that I can easily carry on my own..... without compromising 'my' sound. None of this is meant as a negative reflection on the gear I have bought and sold, or tried out along the way. I have learned that although my sound 'sounds' clean, it actually isn't clean at all. Thanks again to everyone who has offered me their advice on what has been a slow, but informative and ultimately worthwhile journey. ....We got there in the end.

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='605292' date='Sep 22 2009, 09:22 AM']I've done a few gigs with just one GS112 - did the job well but it wouldn't be enough for a larger room.[/quote] ... Or my drummer!

I have owned a Compact, and still own an Aggie GS112nt. Both are an easy 'one hand carry'. The Compact is bigger, but lighter than the Aggie. I couldn't use either as a standalone cab in my band. .....although I can get a nice mellow sound out of the Aggie when I back my son, who plays accoustic guitar and sings. Personally, I wouldn't compromise my tone for an extra trip to the car.

I just had a quick look at the Plasti-Kote website. I am not really keen on 'rattle cans', but I think I would go with the colour coats followed by a few coats of the satin lacquer if I were you. If it comes out too glossy, you could take the shine off with a very fine scotchbrite pad or some 2000 wet & dry.... without risking taking off the colour. Hope that helps.

Mick, It depends on what type of paint you are using. A clearcoat is not particularly any tougher than a colour coat. Also, with careful compounding and polishing a colour coat can be just as glossy as a clearcoat. Again, depending on the type of paint.

I have the same amp (MarkBass Marco LM2). Although it is not an amp to get overly excited about (IMO)... it certainly gets the job done! It sounds biased towards the very low mids (to my ears) and is VERY loud for its size. I run mine totally flat and use a Sansamp to get 'my' sound.

[quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' post='595806' date='Sep 11 2009, 04:24 PM']I use an Ashdown 410T as my cabinet and theyre heavier than a horse. .......i cant keep the Ashdown even though it's a great cab[/quote] If you like the sound you already have..... A risk free solution would be to get 2 Ashdown 2x10's!