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I should have added that the Ashdown RM EVO II range also includes a 2 x 10 and a single 15”, which do seem to be available now (nice discount at Bonners Music). Trouble is they weight in at 15.5 and 15 kg respectively, which is lightweight compared to old cabs but not in the super lightweight category IMO. Also they are 8 ohms, so they are not going to give you a single box solution to get the full welly from your Class D amp. Personally I think the 12 is the best compromise in the EVO II range and 2 of them are manageable, without taking up too much space. Two are going to handle a 500 watt head pretty well, as long as you don’t have everything on 11. Mind you my Barefaced One10s, while capable of surviving that sort of treatment, wouldn’t sound good either. In fact, they start to break up earlier than the RM112T.

I guess it depends on what you mean by silly expensive. Barefaced and GR have been mentioned and they are great (I have 2 x Barefaced One10s) but I wouldn’t exactly call them cheap. Also if I was doing it again I would get the Two10, which works out cheaper than 2 x One10s and is 4/12 ohm switchable. They are also vintage voiced, which might not be want you want. if you want a transparent sounding, lightweight cab there are the Barefaced 12s, which come in various cab sizes but they are pretty expensive. I understand the GRs are transparent too (I haven’t tried one so that is 3rd hand) but also pretty expensive. I have an Ashdown RM112T EVO II, which is cheap as chips in comparison and pretty transparent sounding. It’s only 12kg, which is not super lightweight but the handle is well placed and it is compact, so easy to carry. It is 8 ohms and rated at 300 watts. You can get a pair of them for less than a Barefaced Two10 and have enough change for a decent effects pedal. Well, I say you can but there don’t seem to be any in the country at the moment. I have been looking for a second to replace one of my Barefaced One10s. Ashdown tell me there is a shipment arriving mid August.

They look good. Where did you get those?

They look good. Where did you get those, if you don’t mind me asking?

OK, for what it is worth, I bought the 4 string version of this. The pickups are the same as the 5 (as far as I can see) and the same controls, so I am assuming the preamp is the same. I had a look under the cover on mine and yes, there is an empty port labelled +6db. With the preamp engaged, it seems marginally louder than in passive mode, so I won’t be using the 6db boost but I guess you could use it and lower the pickups. Personally, I like the tone as it is.

The Affirma must be the exception. It is in the Premium range and has metal knobs.

I finally succumbed to the GAS and bought the 4 string version of the EHB short scale. I know there is a thread on the 5 string but I thought this warranted it’s own. First impressions are very favourable. It seems pretty well made. Not quite in the same league as the Premium and Prestige ranges but easily as good as say, a Mex Fender. There is one flaw in the finish on the top of the residual headstock and that might be the result of the head rubbing on the packaging in transit (see photo later). Otherwise the finish is excellent. It is super light, almost like picking up an acoustic. It makes my Gretsch Junior Jet feel decidedly overweight. The back of the body is heavily sculpted from the centre line on the upper bout. This makes it very comfortable to sit with and balance on a strap is good too. I think it is going to be great for extended sessions. I can understand why some people criticise the Bartolini pickups. The Ibanez website says they are dual coil: humbuckers to the rest of us I guess and that is always going to put them in a certain tonal range. I can’t find that model on the Bartolini website, so they must be Ibanez specific. On top of the humbucker pickups, the body is chambered, so it is pretty close to a semi-acoustic. All of that is bound to give the tone a sort of 60s bias, i would have thought. It happens to suit me fine but when you switch from passive to active, the 3-band eq gives you a lot of tone shaping options, especially as the mid control has a frequency band adjustment. As an aside, the pickups are very long. It made me wonder if they use the same set in the 5 string, perhaps there is a six coming, they are long enough. The neck is a thing of beauty to behold. Lovely burled grain effect. The only problem there is that you can’t see the dot markers on the front or the side in normal light. They just seem to blend into the darker (but not as dark as rosewood) pigment of the fretboard. Apparently the side dots are luminous but I haven’t noticed that working. Profile wise, it is slightly wider and flatter than an Ibanez SR, or Jazz Bass. Compared to the Gretsch Junior Jet it is a couple of millimetres wider all the way up. The carve on the back seems to start as a C and flattens quickly to a D as you go up the neck. The overall impression is that it is chunkier than I expected but nothing unmanageable and comfortable for extended playing sessions even with my stubby fingers. That is pretty subjective of course. The rest of it is nicely appointed, except for the plastic control knobs, which look like the top of a toothpaste tube. I am not sure what made Ibanez put those on it. It really lets it down because the rest of the hardware is pretty good quality. The individual bridge units and tuners are good quality and offer string spacing adjustment. It comes with Schaller strap locks (not just the buttons), a detachable finger ramp and locking jack socket (a bit stiff to operate but it works). The gig bag is pretty good (I guess 10mm padding),with a fair number of pockets and a neck retaining strap on the inside. It is definitely a keeper as far as I am concerned but I will be replacing those horrible plastic knobs with some metal ones.

No. Regular in that respect.

The + 6db trick was mentioned in relation to the Bartolini and preamp on the Affirma bass. The suggestion was that you can up the gain on the preamp and drop the pickup right down to improve its tone in the mids (tend to sound a bit harsh stock setup). I have since tried this on my Affirma and it has actually improved the tone to my ears. I don’t know if this is applicable to all Ibanez active basses. The Affirma only has 2 band EQ, whereas most of the SRs and I see the EHBs have three band EQ, so possibly a different preamp. Also it is a different model Bartolini in the Affirma. I guess somebody is going to have to buy one and open it up to have a look😏.

After watching that I am going to have to eat my words. It’s still not clear if it actually has a valve in the tube circuit but it sounded pretty amazing through headphones. I feel the GAS coming on!

Great vid! Those Digbeth amps sound good as well!

Has anybody tried the four string version of this? I have been having serious GAS but the comments about the Barts are dulling my fervour a bit; also the colour options are a bit euch IMO. One part of me is saying that the Bart sound (as described) might be fine for my two bands: Dad rock and Blues but do I really want to buy another one trick pony?

Yep, you haven’t seen it up close. The picture flatters the finish on the body, which is dreadful. I used all water based, environmentally friendly products and they just come off with use and mark up really easy. Also the Obeche is really soft, so dings at the slightest knock. I think I could leave it unattended at a pub gig and be confident that it would still be on its stand when I get back from the bar!😀

Anybody tried one of the new Ibanez EHB1000S basses? The spec seems really good and you get a lot of nice fixings: strap locks, locking jack socket, etc and a gig bag. Only drawback as far as I am concerned is the my little pony colours. However, the real proof is in the playing. Anybody got one/tried one? What do you think?

My “nobody is going to pinch it” ‘51 p bass bitsa it weighs 7.5 lbs. It has a DiMarzio Will Power humbucker at the neck with a coil tap switch, a Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounder in the middle position and 4-way switching: neck & middle in series, middle solo, neck & middle in parallel, middle solo. The neck is an Allparts licensed ‘51 and the most expensive part of the build. The body is Obeche. It has through body stringing and a high mass bridge from China off eBay. Machine heads are Wilkinson. It sounds pretty good to my ears, if a little bright, which I guess is down to the Obeche body.

Are they linked companies, or is it just that they are very similar amps? I could have saved a few Bob then; the BAM is cheaper. I’m beginning to think the Gnome is a little harsh/bright but it may be something to do with my Barefaced One10s. It is certainly loud through them but sounds a bit more civilised through my Ashdown RM112 T Evo II, with the tweeter on low. I find the One10s go to cone overdrive quite quickly and it has quite harsh treble sound that can’t be equed out of the equation. However, possibly unfair comparison: 8ohm 1 x 12” cab at 100 watts max, against 2 x 8 ohm 10” cabs = 4 ohms and therefore 200 watts max potential.

True. I’ve got spoilt by solid state amps that weigh 3-4 kg, or less. I can’t remember how much my Sound City 120 weighed. It didn’t bother me when I was young. I guess the SVT 300 Classic puts it in perspective: 80 lbs, that’s a bit over 36 kg and 2 foot wide!

hmm. I take the point that just putting a valve in the preamp doesn't necessarily guarantee a valve amp sound. All the reviews I have read of the Markbass Tube say it seems to make no difference at all. However, it works pretty well on my old Vox guitar amp and I hear good things about the Orange Terror, whereas some of the "tube" amp emulations on my Positive Grid Spark are horrible. Maybe I need to put my prejudice against emulation to one side but I'll wait until somebody puts up a positive review before I am fully convinced. If Laney have got it right, they are onto a winning formula with the amps IMO.

This really caught my interest. I was hoping it was another affordable British made hybrid amp to consider. However, I am sure Fenn says that the “tube” circuit is actually emulation, rather than real tube(s). Disappointing. Like others have said, I want more than grit/distortion. I love the clean sound you can get from a valve amp. I have yet to hear tube emulation that does a clean warm valve sound convincingly. Shame: with the choice of FET and “tube” channels, plus the ability to blend them, it would be a real winner… if it really was a tube channel. i checked the spec on the Laney website but it is pretty vague. Normally manufacturers list what valves they use. I assume the absence of this information confirms that there aren’t any actual valves involved. All that weight (7KG) and no valves?

I think you might have a point. I love the tones that it can produce but I am going to have to accept that it is only suitable for rehearsals and small gigs. I think I am going to have to stick to my TCE BH 550, or shell out for an affordable hybrid but which one?

Hi Folks, I thought I would give an update on this, now that I have the advice from you all and Ashdown. I got a stereo to twin TS jack cable as advised and tried it out running my Little Stubby into an Ashdown RM 112 Evo II and the balanced output into a Warwick Gnome (with EQ set to unity) powering 2 X Barefaced One10s. Well it worked after a fashion. The problem is the line output from the Little Stubby varies depending on the setting on the amp, so I have to adjust the input gain on the slave amp every time I change the settings on the Little Stubby: e.g. put on more drive, increase the bass, etc. It is also quite noisy, even with the correct phase TS jack. I think part of the problem is that I am running the line output into an amp with a preamp. I can't see this being a very practical gigging rig because of the need to change settings on the slave amp every time I tweak the main amp. I think I need something more plug and play. I am now considering buying a cheap PA power amp, something like a Behringer NX1000 and using that as the slave, at least it would remove the extra pre-amp from the mix. Bridged it would give a reasonable power boost to my rig for those bigger/outside gigs, or am I just chasing something I will never be satisfied with? Would I be better off accepting that I need a more powerful bass amp for the bigger gigs and leave the Little Stubby at home? The trouble is I am now hooked on the valve sound and I am not sure my TCE 550 is going to give me what I want. I don't want the weight cost and size of a bigger valve amp: are hybrid valve/solid state amps going to give me the kind of tones the Little Stubby provides: something like an Orange Little Terror 500? What do you folks think?

In case anybody is interested, I ran this question by Ashdown technical support and got this answer: ”To work a slave amplifier, use a stereo to twin mono jack lead , plug the sterio jack into the di out and use either of the mono outputs into the slave amp. Note that one will be out of phase and one in phase, use the one that gives the best results. “ It is pretty much what some of you have said already but I guess we can call it the definitive answer, as far as the Little Stubby is concerned. Thanks to everybody who has advised and commented on this.

Thanks. Useful to know.