Muzz

I've had a lot of amps, and for my two pennorth, the newer Class D power stages have got better (I'm thinking the ones in the Mesa Subway, the Magellan, etc) than the earlier ones. It's a developing technology. As far as best of both worlds goes, there'll be compromises, inevitably. It all depends on how important these are to you. Interestingly, the Magellan doesn't have any valves at all, and still sounds very valvey. IMHO, YMMV, etc, etc.

My main gigging/function band fluctuates from four to three depending on availability and, frankly, what the gig pays. I don't use pedals, so I wouldn't know about all that hoohah, but I really like the energy of a three piece. The audience also seems to respond differently (more positively) to a three piece, especially when we go for different versions of songs they might not expect from a trio. I should add that the singer/guitard also plays keyboards, so we'll do some keyboard-based songs, too. We have a great drummer, though...you'll need a great drummer: that extra space shows up any deficiencies, especially, I've found, behind the kit.

Never liked rosewood (to look at), can't recall much I've had that had a rosewood board, so it's a big Meh from me, but even now I sense the EBay sellers warming up their keyboards by repeatedly typing ULTRA RARE ROSEWOOD NECK!!!!!

I can second Jon's custom necks - just before Xmas he built me one for my Fenderbird, around a very unusual existing neck pocket. It's a superb neck: there's some pictures of it on here somewhere...

With that many of them, they wouldn't make much each on a pub gig...

And I've been stinging about selling my Jetglo 4001 for £200 in the late 80s...I feel a bit better now...

I like that....even if it isn't actually a Fenderbird per se...yet... If you don't like the Epi ones, the routs will fit a lot of different pickups. I had EMGs in one of mine, and I've got Dingwalls in there at the mo... Again, if humbuckers aren't what you're after, you can get split coil P-types in that shape, too.

NOS?

Yep, I've had that with my own rig, especially on nights where you're just not happy with your sound, and you come home and start Googling rig options and GASsing. Then you have one of those nights, but someone else gets up with your rig and it sounds great, and you realise maybe it's more a case of perspective than rig...

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1490952421' post='3269299'] That's pretty much killed any chance of sympathy here, well done! [/quote] Yup.

My ABZ4 with East U-Retro is going nowhere - I rate it better than the ABI I had. The only thing that'll shift it is a D-Bird in a different colour than they're offered in at present...

OK, I withdraw the Millennial thing unreservedly...what was there between Baby Boomers and Millennials? Is it Generation X? I lost track a while ago...anyway... While I agree there isn't the 'everyone's in a band' thing there was a few years (erm, decades ) back, I play with a number of deps (and so my FB is full of them and their friends/band members), and they're all under 25, and lots of them are very committed. Some of them are even bassists I go to jam nights quite often around the North West, and again, while they're not exactly brimming with musicians of Thundercat's calibre or leanings, they're also not exclusively havens for the over-60s playing All Along The Frickin Watchtower*, either...there's a lot of younger musicians out there, too...and they're most of them better than me... Actually, thinking back, the vast majority of all those dozens of wannabe stars who were learning and gigging around me when I was growing up had packed it in by the time they were 25 anyway - the ones with the real talent kept going, and hopefully that might still be the case. * Original title, changed by Dylan after he went electric...

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1490782484' post='3267874'] I posted about Thundercat here a while ago and got shouted down by some old people who thought he was crap. Gotta love those ageing 'baby boomers' and their distrust of anything that's less than 65 years old.. Thundercat is a one-off, he is a legit virtuoso but he also appeals to a whole other demographic who are into electronic music etc. We need many more like him if we want the electric bass to have a role in music in the future. When people talk about the value of old instruments, it's easy to forget that those old Fenders are only valuable because they link to an era of music that had a big impact on people. Without lots of new guys like Thundercat, the bass will fade into insignificance very quickly. So in terms of electric bass he is more important than many people think. [/quote] Watched him on the catchup last night...virtuoso playing, but his voice just isn't strong enough to lead IMHO. While he clearly doesn't struggle multitasking both, who knows how much more he might do not having to sing... Not sure electric bass is as doomed as you might suggest, though...gotta love these 'millennials' and their dismissal of anything over 20 years old...

Soooo, after lots of different stuff, I've ended up with....both I'm out gigging a lot, so the humpability of my rig is important, and although I loooooved the sound of my three 112 Bergs, they were just too much faff after I'd picked up a BF Super Twin. Now there's a cab...for what I want (no tweeters) it's a fantastic combination of 40lbs portability and more output in every department than I could ever need (tho it's nice to know it's there). Once that was done, I've kept the Magellan for the function gigs where I need flexibility and the ability to change sounds quite radically with a button push, and I've also got a Walkabout for the Rawk band, just because I love what it does with its mids when pushed. Both amps sound terrific through the Super Twin. I've even swerved the complication of going to in-ears and DI - the ST don't need no steeenkin PA support... I suppose even my 'heavy' amp is light, but hey, it's not a Class D, right?

Less is definitely more here: https://youtu.be/smg2S8CssQU

Nope. That shot-off pickguard just looks cheap - in fact the whole range looks like it's priced around the £300 mark. Not that it will be. The only maple board one has a painted head, too, which is me out. I loved my BB3000, and the old 1024 and 2024s are kinda stealth basses with respect to their quality and playability, and these may well be, too, but looks-wise, they're poor.

Forgot about this! A quick and simple transaction with Nik last week - all good, just adds to his spotless rep on here

A quick and easy transaction with Paul - all good, he's one of the good guys

I'm a fan of the 'general' P-Bass tone (even though there's a vast spectrum available), but I don't have any Precision basses, or even copies. I do have some very different basses, but they all have a split-coil pickup in roughly the right place, and they can all do a very close impression of a lot of the tones posted in the thread. They're all active EQs, they have a range of different woods in their structure. To me, that emphasises what the P-Bass tone is all about...it's at least 95% the pickup and placement.

We have a couple of deps (a drummer and a guitarist) who don't drive, however they make efforts to meet up, rather than be picked up from their houses (unless the gig's their way). They'll also use public transport to get home. They still get the call because they're among the best musicians in our dep pool, but even so, they don't get the first call. In our originals band, the guitarist became unable to drive for medical reasons, and the logistics meant none of us could pick him up without adding an hour to our drive times for rehearsals. He's no longer in the band. To the OP, I'd echo what others have said, in that you're immediately at a disadvantage against other bassists, so you'll need to up your game elsewhere...

The main function band I'm in has a pretty big song list, from the aforementioned floor-fillers (SOF included) to some less-obvious but still well-loved ones, as well as some Oirish, some rock, some funk, whatever. The band leader will call these on the night, according to the crowd, much like a good DJ. It's a definite skill all of its own, but it keeps thing fresh(ish). Especially when he forgets to actually tell us, and just starts playing... The rock covers band is more setlist-y, but we've taken time to choose songs that are not the very very obvious ones, but ones that people might have forgotten they remember (if you see what I mean), and that we enjoy. Again, we have some more obscure stuff that we can wheel out if it looks like a good crowd for it. I'd say to the OP just give it a go; like a lot of folk have said, you might find you enjoy actually enjoy playing the more 'trite' stuff to a bouncing crowd...

As far as amps and cabs go, secondhand bargains aside, I've always found you get what you pay for. Cheap stuff has never worked for me. I have a Thomann deco HB 55-P thing which cost all of £35 brand new, including shipping. It's no Shuker, but for the money, it's very good. I've used it at gigs where the punter's ticket price was five times what I paid for it, just on principle... Oooh, that reminds me - the Behringer BDI21 pedal: 99% Sansamp (for what I use it for), 10% cost...

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1489950295' post='3261043'] I hadn't really considered the Magellan. A mate of mine had one of the Gens Benz heads a while ago (I don't remember which model) but I always felt that it had an unpleasant bump in the mids that was difficult to dial out without radically eq'ing the amp. But he played it through Mark Bass cabs which seem to have a reputation for a low mid bump, so maybe it was the cabs, or maybe the amp and cab just didn't work well together? Dunno. But it had initially put me off the Magellan. And for the record, I like to have the mids present in my tone However, the Magellan has got rave reviews all round so I'm happy to try it and see what I think. A few people have said that it can get that warm, vintage tone that I like, similar to the Tone Hammer. And it looks to be a lot more versatile than the TH too. The specs and features are broadly similar to the Subway but the Mag' is £200 cheaper. Tempting.... Do you have one, or have you ever played through one? I'd be interested to hear what you think of it. [/quote] I have a Magellan, the last in a long line of amps including Mesas, MB, TH500, Genz, TC, Ashdown, GK you name it. Well, eleven or so. The Magellan's the best of the lot, there's a very wide sweep of tones available in there, and the dual channel thing means you can have two set a button push apart. For me, it's the best of the Shuttles (without the slightly brittle edge) and the Streamliner (without the huuuuge bloomy bottom end). It might not have any tubes in there, but it does warm and tubey and cool and precise very very well. The power amp has a lot more than the TH500 I had for a while, too - it's got some real...well, I'm reluctant to use the H word, but there's a weight and authority to the notes, and a response to how you play them that I thought was lacking in the TH500 (amongst other amps). I have a Walkabout, too, and it's a toss-up as to which one I gig. Saturday night it was the Magellan, and I didn't regret it. Looking at Bass Direct prices, it's £170 cheaper than the Subway, and for that money it's got to be worth trying. You could A-B them at Bass Direct...

+1 for trying your LM head from the combo first (it'll sound different with the SC, so be prepared to have a play with your EQ), but after that, it'll be a case of pick a head you fancy. I've got a Super Twin (essentially two SCs in one box), and it sounds great with both my Walkabout and my Magellan, and they're pretty different amps. EDIT: Thinking on, the LM head might not have a lid once you remove it (you might be able to hook it up without removing it), but as long as you don't stick your arm in there when it's powered on, should be fine.