Sparky Mark

Over the past 30 years I have owned at least a couple of dozen Fender Precision and Jazz basses. Starting with Japanese Squires (with the large Fender decal) then Japanese Fenders through to USA models including the original Elites. I now own one Mexican Reggie Hamilton Jazz and a Japanese P-Lyte as my only active Fenders, all others have been gradually swapped out for 2008 and later American Standard and Custom Shop models. In my experience the 2008+ American standard is consistently the best Fender has produced but we are talking about diminishing returns here. Spending another £300+ over a Mexican won't get you a bass massively better and maybe won't even sound better (might be different but better is a matter of taste). But what you will get in my experience only, is better timbers, hardware, fit and finish, hardcase and tools that make it worth the premium.

[quote name='ianrendall' timestamp='1476208588' post='3152376'] This is the bridge on my Jazz. Seems that black is correct for the bridge screws. http://intl.fender.com/en-GB/guitar-bass-parts/bridge-assemblies-components/american-deluxe-4-string-bass-bridge-assembly-04-10-chrome/ [/quote] Yep. That's the one.

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1476184575' post='3152006'] ok - i stand corrected but he is talking about an older 2005 model? [/quote] So was I. In fact I had the heavier BBOT bridge on my longhorn jazz even before the S1 switch models were thought of.

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1476128875' post='3151633'] Yes all chrome absolutely everywhere - [/quote] That's incorrect. Fender introduced a heavier mass BBOT bridge before moving to the current high mass design that had black springs, black intonation and grub screws. Scratchplate screws were chrome though AFAIK.

I have a 1991 NT4 Thumb with MEC jazz pups and it sounds nothing like any of my other jazz basses. You are correct about the weight (10lbs) but I haven't noticed neck dive. I do attribute the unique sound to the neck through construction and the extremely dense woods used throughout. I bought the Ibanez SR1200 as a much lighter alternative to my Thumb as the neck construction although not the same uses similar woods and feels similar too.

Wow! A less than half price AD200B with free cabs!

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1475332392' post='3145129'] Club 600F32 😉 No idea why they discontinued it when they did. It was the best cab they made IMO. An absolute beast. [/quote] A fantastic cab indeed, but much larger physically than the NY122 and therefore maybe not the ideal small venue cab.

I have two NY121P cabs and confirm that used together (practically the same thing as the 122) there is plenty of low end. You might even find that the 122 will replace your two 102 cabs as your go to rig.

There isn't any difference in sound. The cabs only differ in their impedance. The Ninja is 8 ohms so you can use two of them with the 1000W Ninja head.

If you think that you might want to use the 212 with your 210 then you should buy the 8 ohm Ninja. If you want to get maximum output from your amp and only ever intend to use the 212 on its own buy the 4 ohm New York 122. There won't be a difference in sound.

Quite a lot of combos are aimed at smaller applications such as practice, small venues etc and competitive price points. If Peavey had designed the fan plus venting plus output socket into your combo it would probably have made it uncompetitive within its target market. Whilst most will only use this as a stand alone combo they wouldn't need that or want to pay the extra. Peavey have been around a long time and know the market well.

[quote name='Subthumper' timestamp='1475180813' post='3143887'] Personally I'd get a second hand svt and then have it thoroughly serviced by an svt specialist. Even though svts can be a pain to fix at least they can be and all the spares and technical data and schematics are available. My experience of (trying) to repair behringer and bugera gear is lack of technical support ie they won't give out schematics and the damn things are made using lead free solder which is a total pain. So now I don't work on any of their stuff. If you want a Ferrari buy a Ferrari, not a Toyota. [/quote] I understand your point even though your car analogy is poor. Hardly any of us could afford to buy and maintain a Ferrari, so Dacia and Cadillac would be more like it. Almost all modern high density SMT based amplifiers are beyond the repair capabilities of traditional amp techs, but we just hope that they will be reliable beyond the warranty period (which they mostly are). The Chinese built Ampegs will also use lead free solder (same as everyone else due to RoHS and WEEE directives) so that's going to be a universal problem for you. If I thought I was going to gig regularly with a 300 watt tube amp, the SVT would be towards the top of my list but even second hand plus a new tube set and service would be north of a grand and that's too much for most of us as well. This amp was so cheap (relatively ) that I couldn't resist. I would only recommend it to those that fancy a bit of tube action and understand/accept the possible risks.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1475161600' post='3143610'] Is this the amp you brought the the Herts Bash, Mark? If so I can certainly confirm the sound of these is very good, though my puny limbs wouldn`t be able to move it very far. [/quote] It is indeed Lozz. And it was only firing on 2 of the 3 pairs of output valves that day due to a faulty valve.

Looking at the separate head first;the power requirement printed below the mains supply inlet says 160 watts and the photos appear to show a cooling fan ventilation aperture. The combo states 74 watts and doesn't appear to have any ventilation slots for either passive or forced (fan) cooling. I would guess therefore that the same power section can work fine at 8 ohms 300 watts without being fan cooled but when running at 4 ohms 500 watts needs a fan to avoid overheating.

I've owned it for over a year and all is well so far with light use. I don't see myself ever being able to test its reliability as a regular gigging amp though. However if you are looking for a great (SVT) sounding all valve amp for your home/studio then for the same price as your average solid state offering this could work very well.

[quote name='Fisheth' timestamp='1475098063' post='3143119'] Word of caution, they're known in the guitar world for their unreliability (Behringer) and they used to set themselves on fire due to a plastic clip in the amplifiers which overheated. It's a good price and I'd be tempted myself however. [/quote] I did a lot of research before pulling the trigger on this and found no evidence, reliable or otherwise, that Bugera bvv3000 amps are any more likely to catch fire than any other. For every user that complains about Behringer quality there seems to be another that has owned their products for years of reliable service. They offer a three year warranty so any issues should arise if you use it fairly regularly. If mine self destructs outside warranty I will just put it down to experience and treasure the good times we'd shared. I don't think I will ever be happy to spend over a grand on a far east made valve amp. AD200B might tempt me if they ever add auto bias.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1475090178' post='3143032'] I'd love to have a look inside - my SVT2 Pro (an older model) could easily withstand knocks and drops throughout it's life on the road. I'd be concerned where the cost cutting was made in this copy. Cheaper components? Poor soldering? Weak PCB boards? [/quote] Cheap labour is the main saving, which is why Ampeg now makes its amps including the SVT in the far east. If you want an SVT assembled in the USA from almost the same parts (Heritage) it'll cost you £500 more. These amps are extremely labour intensive and I don't see how Bugera (Behringer) made a profit on them; which could be why they don't seem to be making them anymore. I have investigated mine internally as far as I felt safe and all the parts are of good quality. I doubt that it would survive life on the road as long as the proven over nearly 50 years SVT though.