Cat Burrito

I have the Ampeg practice amp and the Orange practice amp, albeit the size down from your list for both. Both have line out sockets so you can plug a phone / laptop / iPod in and play along AND both have headphone jack sockets so you can go pretty loud without causing any issues. Both are light and portable. I got custom covers for both mine so I can go to friend's houses to jam. Both of mine have built in tuners too which are quite useful. Visually I prefer the Orange tolex but despite personally preferring my larger Orange rigs, the Ampeg was easier to find a range of good tones. The Orange sounds good too but I had to play around with the settings to find a tone I really liked. My default is I use the Orange all the time now and the Ampeg is upstairs and I have been too lazy to sell it on. Can't really help with the other stuff, except that my friend who used to run the local guitar shop stocked a lot of Laney stuff and it didn't sound anywhere near as good. This was 15yrs ago though so they may have upped their game since.

My only BR OCD is other bassists assuming they can use my bass rig without asking or first putting drinks on my amp on stage. I don't personally care about clip on tuners being left on headstocks or whether people's cables do / don't match. Reading this I think it's fair to say that we are all going to be guilty of doing *something* that other bassists don't approve of! I guess you just do your thing and if people like it, then great.

Welcome to the club - I am six weeks ahead

I was trying to be diplomatic in my original post - very rare for it to be the widow who doesn't know what they are selling.

Mine was £999 from a new price of £1799... at £300 (& with the matching cab) I would have to wonder if it was nicked. Granted there are a few who sell not knowing what they have but that is *very* low. Almost too good to be true. Might be wrong but I'd have been very suspicious.

I picked up my dream head for £800 less than brand new and the serial number showed it was 2 months old (& immaculate) when I bought it. Obviously the downsize is I have an Orange AD200B in the kitchen that isn't getting a huge amount of usage but on the plus side it does a first socially distanced outing this weekend

Just to throw another angle into the mix but the Tech 21 VT Bass pedal manages to do a decent proximity without either the head or the cab for recording purposes! I always paired my Ampeg heads and cabs but on the couple of occasions I mixed (Orange Terror into a 4x10 or 1978 Fender Bassman into a 1x15) I always liked the tone.

At the risk of appearing humourless and po-faced, I think these are difficult times for all musicians. We do what we can to get through the current times. We all have the option to scroll past or skip. None of us make music that appeals to all. If they had a bit of fun making it, good on 'em!.

I'm a big fan of the The Cure videos that they did with Tim Pope Over lockdown my band has been making videos and we have definitely been influenced by that style (budget £27!)

I like to think it gives their marriage some focus!

I was in a band with two brothers. Lots of arguing. Both old enough to know better. 32yrs of playing and I am still actively avoiding being in a band with a married couple!

I have an occasional band that does a CCR tribute. I learnt the 6 albums note for note and we did a few gigs over a 3 or 4 year period. Our drummer left and when we auditioned a replacement (who is excellent) it all sounded wrong. He too had learnt everything as per the recordings but we (the band) had naturally evolved and moved away from the recordings over that period without really realising. Generally I tend to go for a feel otherwise, unless I am required to learn it perfectly.

I think the bronze strings pump out the volume but compromise on tone with an acoustic bass. Personally I prefer flats on an electro acoustic bass as the tone is more to my taste... but of course the volume is compromised.

I've owned several and rate them highly. I moved to Orange a while ago but Ampeg was always solid & reliable. The Portaflex cabs were great. Medium weight but sturdy. I had a 4x10 (the heaviest), a 2x10 and a 1x15. The heavy ones have side handles so easier to carry and all have super cool retro stylings. My personal favourites & I loved flipping the lid with the head underneath. I also had the SVT ones which were older. These looked good, sounded great but were heavier. I always ran mine with Ampeg heads but did have a phase of using an old 1978 alll valve Fender Bassman head (brilliant sound, heaviest rig ever) and an Orange Terror head - again sounded great. New(er) more lightweight cabs exist now but I think the Ampeg stuff is so classic & iconic that most owners don't mind the weight as they sound great and are no heavier than the stuff players had in days gone by.

Was that your model? I picked it up from Classic & Cool guitars. 2012 serial number but it looks brand new.

I've been listening to a lot of old 60s records recently & then went on to some post punk. An occasional instrument that kept cropping up was the baritone bass. Co-incidentally I am in the studio this week and a track has a melody in it that would really suit a baritone, so I picked this up new for £299. A definite shot in the dark as there are NO YouTube videos and no references that I could find on Basschat's search setting. I was initially taken by the baby blue finish and the retro vibe. There's the whole "is it a bass or is it a guitar" angle and to be fair with the 6 strings and tremolo, I could understand people (who probably haven't heard it) arguing for the later. However, the lower register is definitely the domain of the bass player (& I am not letting my guitarist play the melody line - other than ghosting my part, if he behaves and asks nicely!). Some of the frets feel a little rough but I can sort that (it's a £299 bass so I don't want to belittle some poor quality control) and it needs a set up. The NBD was actually yesterday but I must confess I can't stop playing it. I guess I would sum it up as the bass for the bassist that already has "too many" basses. No case or trimmings at that price but I think once I get a clear go at tidying it up, it'll be great. Looking forward to getting it down in the studio.

It was a new feature when the site moved to a new server. It was intended as a bit of fun, an add on. It's not been massively used but some seem to like it.

On the strength of his short lived rap career, I'd be inclined to agree!

I'd feel a fraud posting this in recording as I am basically miming on a uke bass inside a toy car but here's a clever little video we did on a budget of £27. Trying to be creative during these difficult times. The band is getting a bit of interest in Spain now and it's frustrating that we can't get out there at the moment. Anyhow, hopefully this'll make a couple of you smile for a minute or so

You can lightly scuff up the bit you hold with a brillo pad if you want to get a bit more grip on a new one.

I put mine in standby mode first but it ranges 30 seconds to several minutes, if I get distracted. I think Orange gear is pretty robust and if we look after it, generally it lasts.

Always liked these but my good lady didn't like the look... until we watched a YouTube bass video and she had to admit it had the best sound of all the basses!

I spent the day shouting TWO METRES!!!!!

I nearly Googled it but didn't want to appear too keen!