Obrienp

Yep, they are both bog standard as far as I am aware.

Wow, £2,599! Is that reasonable? It hasn’t even fixed things like the lack of contours! I’m sure it’s well made but that still seems a lot. I had a completely custom built (to my spec) short scale bass made by a local luthier for under £1K . Material costs have risen a bit in the intervening few years but I reckon it would still come in under £1,500. I think if I was in the market for a Musicmaster style bass, I would buy a Squire Bronco and put my choice of pickups and hardware on it. It would still come in around a fifth of the price of the Samson. Each to their own though.

Not tried Ernie Ball bass strings. I am sure someone else on here has.

The standard Ibanez gauge seems to be D’Addario light/medium :45-105. I’m pretty sure that was what was on my Mezzo. I thought it worked better (more balanced) with standard D’Addario light: 45-100, flats, which are available in medium scale length. The flats give slightly more tension and are still quite bright. However, I have the nickel round wound D’Addario 45-100 equivalents on a medium scale Maruszczyk Elwood and they work just fine on that, without being too floppy, provided you are not tuning down.

I kind of feel we are hijacking the thread. However, as I have been called out on this: I only have one iPad at the moment that I use for everything. When I get another and reassign my current one to gig only duty, I will control updates much more rigorously. At the moment iPadOS and app updates are automatic for security and functionality reasons.

True but the app authors update them to work with the latest OS functions, so they stop working with your iPad, if Apple are not updating the OS. This has already happened with a few apps on my iPad, including Apple Store, which I find ironic! There is also the problem of battery degradation. WRT cost; I was thinking of a like for like update. I was still working when I got this iPad, so I treated myself to a high end model. I will probably keep it for running my set list app (until that won’t work anymore), as you suggest and buy a new cheaper model for home use.

That is a drawback. I’ve reached the age where a tablet is a necessity, as apps on my phone are too small to read and far too fiddly to use. My iPad is 8 years old and Apple are clearly edging it into obsolescence by reducing updates. I’m dreading the day when I have to shell out the best part of a grand to replace it! However, there are reconditioned units around for quite reasonable prices, if the latest and greatest is not a priority.

Try putting it onto a tablet. There are plenty of apps about for the purpose. Hercules do a great stand (other brands are available). It has the added advantage of reducing the size of the barrier between you and the audience (some might see that as a disadvantage, I guess).

My daughter has one too: great protection but the aluminium reinforcement round the edges catches the instrument when putting it in the case. It’s almost impossible to avoid doing this and it has marked it quite badly.

You just know, the day your strap fails, is the day you forgot to bring a spare. I’ve never had a strap fail but I have had Schaller strap lock buttons unscrew themselves at a gig mid-song with catastrophic results. I’ve now gone over to Loxx, as there is less chance of the two parts binding and unscrewing.

Don’t give me an excuse! Fortunately, my wallet is a bit empty at the moment. I could always put my BF Two10 alongside switched to 12 ohm. My U700 could handle that (approx 2.67 ohms) but nearly all the power would go to the Monzas, or feed the DI out from the U700 to the LMIII and have both sets of speakers running at 4 ohms. Hmmm

The best option would be to try one out. There are quite a few LFSys owners around the UK. I’m based in Norfolk, which is convenient for no one (unless you are in the neighbourhood) but someone nearer to you might be prepared to let you have a go.

I’ve got a Two10 as well as the two Monzas at the moment, so I can comment on the difference up to a point. Absolute like to like comparison: same MB LM111 500 with EQ at 12 o’clock and no shaping, same gain and master settings: the Two Monza’s are louder but nothing like as boomy. The Two10 produces overpowering and slightly unpleasant boominess centred around D on the E string, or A string but extended down to the C and up to the E to a lesser extent. I am assuming this is either the cab’s resonant frequency, or my basses’. The Monza’s resonant frequency is around the low B (on a 4 string, not tried a 5) but much less pronounced, with the identical setup and instrument. The Two10 runs out of steam in the highs, whereas the Monzas will keep reproducing what you throw at them. Of course, this is all based on my particular examples but you only need to look at the frequency ranges in the spec sheets to see the objective differences. EQ at equality the Two10 appears to give you more bass but this is because of the huge low mids hump it is tuned to. Barfaced aimed to tune it for a vintage speaker type response and that is what you get. In reality the Monza gives you the same amount of bass but without the low mids boost and without the boominess. Of course, if you want that, you can eq it in. I use the shaping on the LMIII, or the amp character controls on my Blackstar U700 to put in the vintage sound when I need it. Really, comparing the Two10 and the Monzas is comparing chalk and cheese. They have different design objectives and both products achieve them well. I’m not much of a fretless player but my gut instinct is that the FRFR approach of LFSys would suit that application better. Others might disagree.

That blue baffle looks really good! However, two Monzas is more than enough for anybody.

Reviews are encouraging then. If it is a genuine 51 P copy, it would have pole spacing to cope with the 20mm string spacing at the bridge. That might be a smidge wide for a Bronco but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem given the size of the slugs. The previous model Bronco was about 16mm at the bridge, if I remember correctly but as the new one seems to have a standard BBOT, perhaps it’s gone up to 19mm. Good luck anyway.

Right. I didn’t have the joy of configuring this one but apart from the bridge, it is what I would have chosen. TBH I mostly use it passive anyway. I had a play at configuring a medium scale Jake on Public Peace with two soap bars, chambered body and lots of other “name” parts. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the price! Now I know the truss rod could be dodgy I certainly won’t be pulling the trigger.

P.S. I look forward to reading a review when someone takes the plunge. Obvious comparisons are going to be drawn against another British manufacturer’s products. BlueLine wins on looks IMO and I am sure the performance will be impressive.

I knew these were coming, having had a dialogue with @stevie when I bought my second Monza recently. They look great and I am sure the spec will appeal to a lot of folks. Well played @stevie!

Wow! Stumbled across this thread by accident. I had no idea that there are issues with Maruszczyk truss rods. I had seem comments about the quality of the screws used but truss rods? I also hated the standard bridge and it took ages to find a drop in replacement with screw adjustment for the intonation. Touch wood the rod on my Elwood 4a 32” has been OK so far. It has very little relief and I haven’t touched it since I bought it secondhand. It’s my main gigging bass for the Blues/Rock band I play in and I would be gutted if the rod broke. I’m not sure I could afford the kind of repair/upgrades you have had. BTW I think the Glockenlang preamp is the standard active offering. It certainly seems to be the unit used in my bass and the spec sheet doesn’t have a specific mention of a non-standard preamp. Anyway, I’m really pleased for you that you have your bass back intact and with the action where you want it. It really is a beauty!

I did eventually get another Monza and I can confirm that it has done everything people said it would. I don’t think I’m going to need another/replacement amp. Using the two Monza’s together, there is an instant volume increase, plus a heftier feel to the bottom end, while retaining clarity. Another advantage is that the second cab is much nearer to mine and the audience’s ear level. The Monza has excellent dispersion as it is but the extra height of the second cab really adds an extra level.

Like @Musicman666, I’m quite surprised that they hadn’t already moved some, or all production to a lower cost geography. “Made in UK” might have been part of their USP but surely not at any cost. Unfortunately, businesses have to move with the times.

Could be. The lead guitarist in one of my bands was struggling with intonation on his PRS. After many visits to the luthier, they decided it was the fret height PRS use combined with his string gauge and the strength of his grip. He went up a string gauge and tried to use a lighter touch. It improved things a lot but occasionally I think we sound a bit chorusy. Nobody else notices but it does make me check my bass tuning a lot.

I fitted a Tone Rider split P Bass set with a custom made guard from fleaBay. It required a little extra wood work under the pick guard but not much. Sounded great. The problem with that kind of intrusive mod is that you can’t reverse it to sell the bass and we all know you never recover anything like the cost of upgrades when you sell. The purpose-made upgrades are likely to sound better (and cost more) than a rail intended for a Strat and you can always remove the pickup and sell it separately, if you move the bass on. You probably can with the Strat pickup too but it’s a saturated market, so resale values could be lower.

One of my daughters was running the Hackney Half too. She got a PB. Your music must have lifted her to new levels! 😀👍