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For a long time my touring bass rig was 2x SVT-2 racked together in a 16U shockmount case with rack tuner and an Avalon VT-737 (for DI to PA). That needed a ramp to get it in the back of the van. We could do it with 4 of us lifting it but it was fairly uncomfortable...;

Devils advocate - may not be them at fault. Could be a dishonest buyer buying them, carefully packing their old strings back in the packet, resealing the packet (as most string packets are resealable in my experience) and returning them to the shop for 'bought the wrong gauge / brand / etc'. A lot of shops are run by honest folk who'd never suspect that kind of behaviour, so wouldn't check. A guitarist i was once in a band with had a major cash crisis once and sold his AC30 in a second hand music shop. The owner never tested it so didn't notice that our man had removed both the nice Vox drivers and replaced them with the equivalent weight in house bricks, stuck to the bottom of the cabinet with No More Nails. He pawned the speakers separately in a different shop down the road.

For me, to store stuff in my head's rack, i use a 2U rack drawer. So i actually have a 6U rack for a 2U head... that's amp at the bottom, a 1U blanking panel above with 6x 30mm computer fans bolted into it to push cool air through the front over the top of the amp; a 2U rack drawer with strings, picks, etc and yes when i pack down i get my leads and strap in there. Then at the top a 1U rack tuner with a rack light in (the rack light helps for looking in the drawer...). i rate it, 4U is only a little bigger than 2U and 6U only a little bigger than 4U... if it means you can be tidier, more self contained and less likely to leave stuff lying around... plus you know where stuff is when you need it... i'm game for it.

i've got an SVT-2 and an SVT-3, both early 90s. Both were relative bargains - the 2 came from Wunjo Guitars on Denmark Street. The price was too good to miss out on which resulted in me also having to buy a wheeled flightcase from Sound Control (when it was in the basement of Virgin) to rack the SVT so i could get it home to Oxford. (i'll also briefly annoy people by explaining that the 3 was £100 in a charity shop). For the discussion about racking, mine is racked and has toured extensively as such. it's in a shockmount rack case, shock racks are a bit better for amps not just from a protection point of view but also because there's about an inch of air gap between all sides of the rack and the wooden case so airflow around things is better. i like it racked as it also lives with a DBX 160 compressor, a rack tuner, a 2U rack drawer (for strings, picks and batteries) and an EMO power distro.

Hi all, i've just joined and have been directed to post an introduction. i'm David, i have been playing bass for 15 years (guitar for 17 and piano for around 25). i am 'classically trained' so to speak. I played in bands from 2006 through 2008, first in a heavy stoner rock / grunge kind of band (think Sabbath, QOTSA, Zeppelin), then a classic indie rock band (think Stone Roses, Verve, Kula Shaker). I worked in studios 2008-2011 as an assistant engineer, then began touring as a technician which i really did, all over the world, until coronavirus hit us. Looking to find a 'normal job' and begin performing again. Got a few auditions coming up and dug my bass out of storage too. i really miss being in a band, and working for one isn't the same. i play an Epiphone EB-3 (full scale SG bass), and a Cruiser CX-100 which despite it's price tag is, in my opinion, a great bass. Noise comes from Ampeg SVT heads and an Ashdown 4x10. i still love my Bass POD XT as well. Looking forward to sharing experiences here. D