Silky999

Lozz…….210, 410, or 115……does it make a difference?

I’m after a second hand combo for home practice, rehearsal and smaller gigs. I’m in a covers band with 2 loud guitarists playing rock and pop but nothing heavier than Foo Fighters lol. Budget is around £200-250. I have a GB Streamliner 900 and cabs for bigger gigs so a combo that is portable is a must so I actually want to take it out the house. Ideally I like to be able to keep up with a Boss Katana 100w x 2 with none of us going through the PA. So far I have looked at a Blackstar Unity 120, EBS Classic Session 120, some Peaveys and some form of Ashdown. I have had a unity 500 before and stupidly got rid of it so I know I like the sound. I have also played through various Ashdowns and like them as well. I’m not a brand snob so have no issues with a good recommended used Peavey or similar. I accept that older combos are less likely to be as portable as new ones from a weight point of view. Would 120w of the Blackstar or the EBS be enough through a 12”? if not how much would be? I don’t mind more watts as long as it’s fairly portable but don’t want to be left wanting more in my battle with the guitarists lol Is there a silver bullet of a used combo out that I should be looking for that would be the best bang for bucks and meet my requirements? Any options gratefully received……….

So some photos; before charging the dots and after 5 seconds on each on.

I’ll take some and get them posted.

I had exactly the same issue with my Streamliner and used 3mm 3v 30mA blue led diodes that I got from that well known online auction site. These are still going strong and I went for a smaller led as I didn’t want the blue lights to be too bright on a dark stage. I completely agree that you need to be confident in de-soldering and soldering on PCBs and have the right equipment. The diodes are mounted through the PCB and have to be de-soldered to remove. I used a solder sucker, a solder workstation, decent solder and flux. The diodes also have a positive and negative side and need to be mounted in the correct direction on the PCB. If you burn the PCB then you will, as Downunderwonder said, end up with a pile of scrap as you will struggle to find spares. Having done it once, I wouldn’t risk it again if mine failed in the future. It really is a fiddly job fraught with pitfalls. if you are in any doubt as to your abilities then I would find someone who is competent in PCB soldering and pay them to do it.

I fitted these to my 2 Ibanez basses today and despite my initial concerns about drilling out the old dots, it went surprisingly smoothly. I was struggling to see the side dots on a dark stage even with my new glasses lol. I’m really pleased with the results and they actually look as if they were original and work an absolute treat with very little charging. I went for the super bright in blue and ordered from Japan from the official shop. The size was 2mm on both basses so I ordered 2 x 60 mm lengths. Delivery was about 5 days. The 60 mm length was more than enough to do all the side dots on one bass with a little left over. There is a really good video on YouTube where the chap uses a drawing type pin to create a pilot hole in the dot then a wood work drill bit by hand. I used a 2mm Brad point wood work drill bit and initially just hand turned the bit to drill out the existing dots as in the video. I then got a little more confident and used my little 10v Dewalt drill at a very slow speed. I don’t have a pillar drill which would obviously be the desired tool of choice. I drilled out about 3-4mm. I didn’t pre-cut the luminlay but just dabbed a drop of superglue on the end, inserted in the hole then trimmed as flush as possible with a Stanley knife. My other concern was sanding the new dots flush without marking the neck. I did try masking around them but this was not very effective so I found that cutting as close with the blade then a gentle sand with some 800 wet/dry then 0000 steel wool to tidy up. A drop of Nomad fretboard oil and all done. If I did another bass, I would get some decent side cutting snips to do the majority of the trimming rather than the Stanley knife as I slipped once and nicked the edge of the fretboard. A very fine flush cut razor saw might be another option. I can’t imagine a luthier would charge a huge amount to do the job if you were worried about doing it yourself. I also ordered the Luminlay torch but they work fine with being charged with a normal small torch.

This is what the manual states; GAIN SWITCH – This switch sets the gain sensitivity of the preamp gain stages. With the switch set to the IN position and the Amber indicator LED illuminated, the gain stages are set to a higher sensitivity, driving the preamp gain stages harder, producing more harmonic content and overdrive. The degree of overdrive will depend upon the output level of your bass guitar pick-ups and preamp as well as your playing style. This switch should be used in conjunction with the Gain control for setting the overall gain structure of the preamp. This switch can also be used as an Active/Passive switch. The lower gain position is more suitable for high output level active basses and a cleaner tone. GAIN CONTROL – This control sets the input gain of the 12AX7 TUBE preamp. The volume of the signal is then controlled by the Tube Preamp Volume control and also the Master Volume control. Note that overdriving the input tube gain stage may be a desirable tonal characteristic of your playing style. This control, in conjunction with the Gain switch, Preamp and Master Volume controls, allows you to set the amount of tube overdrive or clean tone your amp produces. PREAMP VOLUME CONTROL – This control sets the volume (and make-up gain) of the preamp after the Input and EQ stages but before the Effects Send jack. Use this control in conjunction with the Gain and Master Volume controls to achieve the necessary gain structure for your playing and music style so I think yours is working as it should….

I have the same amp. Try swapping the tubes around and see if the problem moves. The top is very easy to take off with an Allen key but makes sure you let the valves cool down and unplug the power between changes. If the problem moves then you can identify which valve. From left to right if looking at the front…1st is gain, then bass and treble, 3rd is mids. Sometimes just pulling a valve out and re-seating it is enough to get it working again. I think the standard valves are a JJ ECC83S and 2 Ruby ECC83 in that order. Aged Horse is the man with all the knowledge of that amp and gave me advice about changing the broken blue leds.

I found a 2nd PAT machine on an auction site, got some stickers which came with a disc with certificates on to print off. The physical checks are the most important and I suspect most of us take pride in our kit and know it inside out so would change a cracked plug or exposed cable without a thought. I also do the PA bits for the band and test the other members amps etc. we get asked for certificates about 3-4 times a year so it has paid for itself. This is from the HSE website; Is Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) compulsory? No. The law simply requires an employer to ensure that their electrical equipment is maintained in order to prevent danger. It does not say how this should be done or how often. Employers should take a risk-based approach, considering the type of equipment and what it is being used for. If it is used regularly and moved a lot eg a floor cleaner or a kettle, testing (along with visual checks) can be an important part of an effective maintenance regime giving employers confidence that they are doing what is necessary to help them meet their legal duties. HSE provides guidance on how to maintain equipment including the use of PAT.

I run an XR18 in the way you’re thinking of and use 4 of the aux outs to run our IEMS with the main outs to our PA. We only use the cheap Gear4music systems for the guitarists and bass and a hard wired Behringer headphone amp for the drummer. It works well for us and the ability to have individual mixes is a real plus. At some point, we will upgrade to some better IEMS like Shure or Sennheiser but you’re talking £££ to kit a band out and the gear4music/takstar is ok for what we need.

Thanks for the advice folks. I like the EB cobalt flats and I know they’re a trade off between the feel of a flat but with the bit of an extra zing. I did try the bass with some rounds but it sounded too much the other way but that might just be the difference from flat to round. The amp point is well made as the Streamliner does have a tendency to be bass centred. I used a Ashdown RM at the practice room this week which was better but not massively. The bass is relatively new to me so perhaps I need to do some more experimenting. Thank you for the points to mull over.

So I’m thinking about an upgrade preamp for my SR1000 EFM Prestige. The Bartolini pickups are custom and not a standard size so changing the preamp is the easier option. Do I go Bartolini to match the pickups or East Unipre? I have had both before in different basses but never with Bartolini pickups. Does anyone have experience with the Ibanez Prestige range with the custom pickups and pairing it with either preamp. I play in a rock/pop covers band so need something that covers a multitude of tones from smooth to aggressive. Overall I prefer a more modern sound than an old school thump. At the moment, I would describe the bottom end as sounding a little mushy and too prominent. I’ve tried dialling the bass back both on the bass and my Streamliner 900 but then the tone just gets top heavy. I’ve also tried adjusting the pickup height to see if that calms things down but also to little effect. I’m using EB cobalt flats as I like the slighltly worn in roundwound sound, feel, longevity and reduced string noise. I’m edging towards the Unipre due to its sheer versatility but wonder whether a full Bartolini setup would sound better? Let me know your collective thoughts and any opinions/advice appreciated……. …

We did a evening wedding party last weekend. It was outside in a marquee with the sides off. Apart from being blisteringly hot, it was lovely to do something normal again and see people having fun. It was an older crowd so I suspect most had been double jabbed and we are so I felt comfortable with the setup. Also like Chris_b, I haven’t stood up for a whole evening for a while and that along with setting up and taking down played havoc with my back. Next gigs are a joint family party for my 50th and belated 21st for my eldest in a village hall followed by a small festival and charity gig on bank holiday Saturday. We play the festival in the afternoon and then straight to set up for the charity gig in the evening. Fortunately, the festival is plug and play lol. We have had a few function enquiries as well so hopefully things are starting to look up.

We have postponed a charity gig at the beginning of July and have nothing else until August. The venue for the charity gig is booked solid from August so having a nightmare trying to tie down a date even in December. These are all gigs that are postponed from the end of June through July that have been moved forward. The venue has been shut since the 1st lockdown so I’d rather wait for an empty date than see them go down the pan through a lack of bookings. I am hoping that there will be a glut of postponed parties, weddings and functions which will go some way to save some pubs and venues.

I will never part with the 800. I’m surprised the early ones don’t go for more money than they do. Japanese made and so comfortable to play.

I have had a clear out and got rid of the MTD KZ4 and the Rockbass Corvette to fund this; I have decided that i just love Ibanez SRs so when this 2005 SR1000 Prestige came up that clearly I needed it! It’s my first neck thru and although it’s a Korean made prestige, it’s as close to a proper prestige as I can afford lol. I still have my 1989 Fujigen SR800LE so now to decide which is the main player.

You lucky devil! I can’t wait for our first one in July. We are doing a charity gig for a charity that supported me when I went a bit mental with PTSD due to work. Paying it forward and all that.....

I love ELO! Time is IMO their best album as it follows a concept idea from start to finish with some cracking songs. I have it on my playlist for when I’m working in the office. We have 4 gigs booked from July to end of August so far but only 1 of those is a wedding and another is a festival. No bookings coming through for private parties or weddings yet. I think people are waiting to see if the last restrictions go on the 21st June or the Indian variant put its back. Hopefully even if infections go up, the link between infection and hospital and deaths has been broken by the vaccination.

Thanks for the words of wisdom and the confidence boost. Let’s hope that we can all actually get to do some gigs this year.

Thank you all so much for the advice. I knew the BC posse would come through for me. The band are going to start using IEM at our next gig(only cheap Gear4music). What it boils down to is the rest of the band are mates as well, I really don’t want to let them down and in turn the audience. We all work in the emergency services and that’s how we met so we all have the same sick sense of humour lol. They are ultra supportive as they have all been in other bands and playing longer than me. I will stay away from the Dutch courage. I have started a spares bag with batteries, strings, tape etc and got a double gig bag so I can take two basses. I think I am finding my practising on my own frustrating as I need to start picking up and remembering some musical cues from the rest of the band. I use ultimate guitar backing tracks but they are not always the same as we do a song. We have our first of our post lockdown practices in a week to get ready for some gigs in July and August. I can read music from my brass band days but not as quick on the bass clef as the treble and I do not know the note positions on the fretboard as fluently as I would like. This is a work in progress. I will stay away from using any form of written music aid on stage as per everyone’s advice. I absolutely love to gig as it’s the complete opposite of my day job as you can imagine and really good for my mental health which has suffered after 30 yrs of witnessing some not very nice stuff. I really appreciate the tips and advice.

I’ve only been playing since late 2018 and in a band since 2019. Seeing a last year was a complete washout for gigs, I don’t have a lot of actual stage time. Do any of you seasoned veterans of the gig circuit have any advice that you’d wish you’d been told when you started out gigging? My big fear is having a complete blank of the bass line as I go to pluck the first string or forgetting that crucial part of the song where the bass is exposed. I am practising and practising our set list for this year in anticipation but is there anything I can do to prevent that mind block? Should I do some form of tab aide de memoire with the opening phrase and final phrase for each song? The band I’m in is very relaxed so there’s no pressure from the others only the pressure I put on myself as I want to be a professional as possible and give a good show.

Like others have said don’t be pressured into buying a bass that they(the band) think is appropriate. If you like your SR300 then there are loads of decent second hand higher range SRs out there. You can get a decent SR800 from the 90s, made in Japan for £5-600. I have an 89 and I love it. I also had a 300 and they are like chalk and cheese in quality. The SR1820 I had was only £800 brand new as it was an ex demo discontinued line. There is an SR1000 on the bay at the mo for about £800 and that is a prestige top of the range. Whatever YOU decide will be right.

Hahahaha........I wish I was that good.

I had read that the new generators are much better than the older versions. Hopefully I’m just fretting over nothing.

The band are due to play at a wedding in a marquee in July where the power will be from a generator. The wedding is on their land and they are doing it themselves hiring a marquee etc. I have suggested to the happy couple that they hire in a decent silenced diesel one with a distributor box. In case they decide to go with a couple of petrol driven Hondas, will a couple of APC Line R 1250i automatic voltage regulators/line conditioners be enough to protect our amps and mixer from harm? They are supposed to even out any over or under voltage plus surge protection but are not a UPS. They are rated at 1250va each and there will be 2 guitar amps, bass amp, XR18 & laptop and 3 pedal boards split between them. Our lights I’m happy to be just off a normal surge protector. Not playing is not an option as the couple have already been let down by another band and like many others have postponed their day a couple of times. Off the back of this I have actually amended our booking form to ask about and stipulate minimum power requirements as part of the hire agreement but cannot apply this retrospectively to this gig. I’m less worried about surges and more about voltage sagging. All our kit is insured under a band policy which also gives us PLI but I really don’t want the hassle of having to replace kit if the worst happens. Do the APCs sound enough or is there anything else I need to do?