PaulHornBass

Hey, sorry for the late reply - I had covid and things have been a bit sketchy. Although my problems stopped short of the amp actually cutting out, I did find a solution, albeit an expensive one. I bought a new second hand amp, the same MB combo (am I crazy?). I had it shipped to my bandmate's house in Birmingham (we do most of our gigs in the Midlands), used it at a gig last month and it was great. Amp no.1 is playing nicely at the moment for practice - if it starts getting crotchety again I turn all the knobs back and forth several times, and that gets rid of any unwanted crackling. I also have it sitting on a chair for added clarity when practicing. I don't know if that's that helpful to you really... Maybe I should have been twice shy after being bitten, but I love the MB sound - to me it is a wonderful blank canvas. Did you get yours back from Essex Amps, and if so what was their verdict?

For some reason I didn't clock that I could run my Keeley Bassist with a battery. Will have to give that a go and see how long it can last. Another compressor that I used to own and has a battery compartment is the DOD Milk Box. Wish I hadn't sold mine now, as they're a bit more expensive to buy secondhand nowadays!

What did you go for in the end, @MikanHannille? I also have a desire for simplicity in my set up, so would be interested to know...

An update on the saga. Towards the end of last year, the problems with my MB combo disappeared. A bit of crackle on the volume knob, but otherwise fine. I was so pleased with the amp's Lazarus act that I recently did what I felt I should have done years ago and bought another of the combos via basschat, to live at my bandmate's house in the Midlands, where we do most of our gigs. (I live in South London with no car.) No more going direct or plugging into unfamiliar rigs. Practicing with the same rig I gig with. Great. Then, over the past week, the problems with amp number 1 came back with a vengeance. Crackling and distorted notes up and down the fretboard. So now I'm contemplating whether to: (a) send it off to be repaired; (b) buy a used LM head and attempt to install it (assuming the problem is with the head part); (c) see if I can sell the combo as 'not working' and buy another combo amp/head and cab, perhaps as @TheGreek counselled wisely earlier on this thread, from a manufacturer with better customer service such as Ashdown.

Bought a One Control Sonic Silver Peg from Paul after I posted in Items Wanted that I was on the lookout for one. He sent me some useful pictures of it showing the condition, and posted the pedal to me very quickly. Highly recommended! 👌

I did this course during the first lockdown. I was a stubbornly pick-only player beforehand; after finishing the course, fingerstyle plucking felt completely natural and it's now my preferred technique. Of course the Technique Accelerator covers a lot of other stuff, but this particular area of improvement gave rise to a sea change for me.

Tony bought a cable from me. Easy transaction, quick payment, a pleasure to deal with. 👍🏻👍🏻