Beedster

The world holds its breath..... We auditioned a singer about 10 years ago, similarly young compared to us. He was a big lad, and really nervous. He had a small black bag with him. Amongst other songs we'd asked to to prepare Le Grange by ZZ Top. It's a song you can either do or not do, there's no middle ground. It was first up. He pulled out a can of 1664 from the bag, shook it, shotgunned it, and absolutely f*****g nailed the song. He didn't get the gig because others in the band were worried about his use of alcohol. I left the band.

Which is why we should look after our immune systems

Mate, if you start questioning the logic of well-accepted everyday processes you will quickly go mad, especially when it relates to hygiene and toilets

Most sensible thing I've read on the issue to date, thanks Jack

I’d get a standard neck and some sandpaper

"Sounds worse than it looks almost unplayable"

Abba bass parts turned out to be far more subtle and complex than I first imagined, the quality of musicianship is very very high. Underplaying should probably be the rule of the day, unless you have a lot of time to rehearse. And any bass with Fender on the headstock (or derivative of) will do the job, although of course the Hagstrom Super Swede is the real deal

Never had a problem, and I used them vertically stacked also

Mesa taking a leaf out of Fender's manual it would seem. I had a similar experience when I ordered a second Vintage Powerhouse 2x10 and the grilles were different shades, no big deal but annoying. Could be that one was a display item and had faded, but as you can see, it's a whole lot of fade

I wouldn't remove the castors each gig because having done that with a few Mesa cabs in the past, it's one of those fiddly jobs, especially if you're doing it in a rush, that can leave you with a big cut in your finger if it suddenly moves when you're applying a lot of pressure. Personally, if you're not going to put them on their side, I'd permanently remove the wheels from the top cab and use a trolley board to move it around (although I have to say I like Dood's logic for using them on their side however).

Folks Many thanks for the above, a useful thread for the forum as well as for me I suspect. Quick update; I took the advice of a few posted and went for dbx, specifically the 160xt. Does it make a difference you ask? Hell yes! My slap playing sounds tight, and whilst my pop has always been pretty competent, what used to be a very inconsistent slap is now not only more consistent note-to-note, but also is far more balanced volume wise with the pop (I guess none of this is exactly news however, it's what compression does after all). It might be an artefact that I will want to lose as my slap technique develops, but the compression adds a discrete but quite reassuring kick drum-like oomph, a percussive edge that - whilst I'm practicing solo at least - is really rather pleasing on the ear. I'm going to use my Beat Buddy in practice from now to ensure that I'm not getting a little bit too much oomph. Thanks again for all of the advice above, great thread

https://www.mesaboogie.com/support/out-of-production/powerhouse-cabinets.html

Vintage Powerhouse and Traditional Powerhouse are different series

240lbs is about right for that quality and quantity of sound. I hope to see it in action one day

There's two on eBay at the moment, three if you include one that's being sold as part of a big rig. I was looking for months and didn't see any

That's lovely Niall, really lovely. My main problem with my SVT-II (same as yours by the way) is that I would rather not use a really oversized shock-mount case, but commercially available racks simply do not provide decent ventilation, so I end up using it un-cased. I'm not sure how wise that is, as it's all to easy to damage, and whilst I assume that it's better ventilated than in a plastic case, fans and a decent case as above would be a step up. Is a custom built case my only option? Seems crazy if so given the number of these things out there, but I'm also guessing that a lot of the reliability issues might be the result of poor ventilation of an amp that can get very hot? Suggestions welcome folks

Without wishing to disagree with experts - or possibly agree with them but without the requisite expertise for that to carry any weight - numbers rarely tell you anything meaningful about music, and making music is why we need cabs. As Bill said in another thread, ‘all other things being equal’ is often mentioned when trying to draw comparisons or quantify sound, but AOTBE is rarely a realistic scenario. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m not sure that the numbers in question make a whole lot of difference in the real world. My 30w B-15 shouldn’t have been able to fill a decent sized room with about 150 people but did, while my 300w PJB rig should have been able to do so without missing a beat but failed miserably (same room). I long ago gave up worrying about numbers, I try stuff and if it work I keep it, if it doesn’t I sell it (and my sales record here suggests that most hasn’t worked for me). However, my two Barefaced cabs are both phenomenal in terms of tone and volume. My band can hear me, I can hear me, and audiences can hear me, and it sounds as good as it ever will given I’m playing it. They’re the metrics I worry about.

Or Best Offer Seller might accept £500, at which price it’s a bargain (although IMO in real terms it’s actually worth what the seller is asking)

We’re both exceptions then Frank. I know it’s supposed to be all about PUPs and circuit, but that unplugged tone says it all about a bass. I always put my chin against the upper horn to check how well the body resonates as well

A statement that should be placed in every equipment-based thread on this and other gear forums

To repeat what's been said above, you can use the Walkabout at 2ohms, or at least a lot of people (check TB) appear to have done so without blowing up their amps. The main problem however would be finding the matching cab do do it with these days! I used a Walkabout combo with the matching 12" cab at an outdoor gig once and it was monstrously loud, although it took quite a lot of EQing - pushing the mids a bit and rolling of the bass - to get it there. I then used the same EQ with just the combo a couple of weeks later and it seemed pretty much the same volume wise! Go figure. So, some suggestions Post in items wanted for an 8ohm Walkabout cab and hope that two come up Post in items wanted for a 4ohm Walkabout cab and cross you fingers when you use your rig at 2ohms Have a very good play with the EQ on the combo to see whether you can overcome what I realised was quite a farty tone from the Walkabout when really pushed without the bass rolled off (to be honest, I'm not sure the radiator helps when the unit is being really pushed) Get a Barefaced 2x10 or 2x12 and realise how much louder and lighter they are than the Walkabout cabs Use PA support I won't be offended if you reject al of the above mate, good luck

A very good mate of mine, who makes very very good instruments said the following when we were confronted by a building issue: "If it's made of wood, you can fix it, simple as". It's a rule I've found it to be true without exception

Whatever caused the suspicious cracks at the neck/headstock likely also caused the fingerboard to loosen. Given its NT, I would get this looked at before you do anything else, it’ll be repairable whatever the issue, but cost could be the challenge.