Conan

Which comment was tetchy?

If all discussions involved nothing more than monosyllables, they wouldn't get very far. Besides, I was just taking part in the discussion. Do you have a problem with that?

A typically helpful response

Good spot! The Westone is a Thunder 1 though, the passive version. Soon to be put up for sale...

My Elwood 4a. Sorry for the poor quality phone pic...

Yes. In fact, on the "rock" setting, it was all a bit "full-on", and also sounding a bit scooped, so I reverted to the "pop" setting, which helped smooth things out a bit. Those controls are a bit of an enigma to me! Anyway, when you get it back this afternoon you will be able to see the settings I ended up with, as they are still set like that!

No I didn't unfortunately. A bit of a flawed test in so many ways... Hopefully the info will be useful, but i wouldn't want it to cloud anyone's judgement as the amp could be perfect for other users.

So... I humped the WB100 along to my regular band rehearsal last night. My usual rig is my Markbass LM2 through either my Barefaced Compact (G2) or TKS H115. Last night I decided to push the boat out and bring both cabs! Partly to allow the amp to push out its full power through 4 ohms, and partly just because I could! Problem was, we were not in our usual room, so the whole set-up and sound was a bit alien. The floor was wooden/laminate rather than the carpet of our usual room, and the arrangement and size were different too. Anyway, to cut a long story short I couldn't get a sound I was happy with in the full band situation Way too much bass for a start (even with the bass control fully anticlockwise). Not enough mids (for me - I do tend to like a very mid-rich tone) and no mid control other than the contour, which reduces them further. Volume was probably sufficient, but my drummer is not particularly hard-hitting even though i think we were louder than usual last night. And that was through TWO quality 8 ohm cabs that are very sensitive. If you play in a proper loud band, I fear that this amp may not have enough headroom - especially if you use a clean sound. All that said, it was only a 2 hour rehearsal, and we are bedding in a new singer - so I didn't have a huge amount of time to explore the amp's capabilities with my cabs. The core tone was still very nice, but it just didn't wow me like it did at home. I would have liked a bit longer with it, and in our usual room to see if it was me that was the issue rather than the amp, but on the basis of last night's experiences I certainly wouldn't be splashing out around £800 on one of these. Please don't take that as a condemnation of the amp, but rather as a criticism of the testing conditions. To sum up then - a lovely amp, but just not for me (in this current band anyway). Thanks for the trial Michael, and I would love to hear how other people get on with this amp!

Yeah, the "contour" control seems to work in a similar way to the VPF on my Little Mark 2. I like my mids, so I rarely use it. That said, there is one song in our covers set (World shut your mouth by Julian Cope) that requires a much more scooped sound, so it is useful for that (as will be the contour control I guess).

I have a short loan of this amp, and gave it a bit of a blast at home last night. It's being used at band practice tonight, so I'll get a chance to see how it sits in that setting... Totally agree with Michael's description above though. I don't have a lot of experience with big old valves, and always wondered what all the fuss was about - but there is just so much 'authority' to the sound of this amp. Even at (relatively) low volume at home, the sound filled the room. It has few features, but they all seem to do quite a lot! The "Feedback" switch in particular. Odd one that. It sounds immense on the "rock" setting, slightly emasculated on "pop" and seriously flabby and deflated on "funk"! I didn't have much time to really explore the possibilities, but for me I think I would just leave it on the "rock" setting. The distortion is lovely, and very useable. For a couple of years I have been using a Behringer BDI21, and although I'm pretty happy with it, I realise that the sound I was trying to achieve exists in this amp! I somehow manages to sound clean and dirty at the same time (no, I don't know what i mean by that either!), but it's largely down to that word "authority" again. Other might call it heft... So first impressions are very good. The sound in my head can also be the sound in the room... It's not heavy, but feels substantial and solid. My one slight concern is that (in it's current spec) the back of the amp is not covered by the case. Maybe I am a bit over-nervous about the valves because I'm not used to seeing them, or maybe because it's not mine and I am paranoid about damage - but I would prefer some rear coverage... Looking forward to drowning out trying it with the rest of the band this evening!!

Interesting! I got one of those GB cabs after reading the reviews on here, but thought it wasn't a patch on my G2 Compacts that I owned immediately before and after that cab! Just shows how different people's ears and experiences are.

Michael, you sound cool enough already - no need to add any extra layers of cool my friend!

Top job Michael! The whole experience just sounds like a musician's fantasy - definitely a bucket-list special! Can I still borrow your amp now that your geet famous?

Good call on TKS. I have one of their older model H115s, and it is loud, clear and light. Beautifully made too...

Would love to try a Cruise bass, but every time one comes up I am skint!

And yet, strangely more desirable at the same time!

This ^

No mention for J&D? https://www.musicstore.de/en_GB/GBP/Jack-Danny-JB-Vintage-1975-BK-Black/art-BAS0004370-000 I paid £119 for mine (brand new) about three years ago. OK, I've made a few mods, but the only one that wasn't purely out of personal choice was the pickups. One of the originals developed a fault so I put some Toneriders in. I still gig the bass, and until I got my Maruszczyk (in December) it was my first choice, go-to bass. Seriously good value for money and one of the nicest necks I've played.

You do know that the pickups are in slightly different positions in "60s" and "70s" Jazz basses I assume?

Because this is a road worn Road Worn?

"Retro 215" = Vintage? The Vintage was superseded by the Super 15.... The Vintage seems to be the only obsolete cab that doesn't get a full write-up any more...

Just joined this club... although still waiting for my Elwood to arrive! Would have preferred a passive model, but this one was available at a very good price, so daft not to! It had a 2-band Glockenklang preamp, but I like a bit more control over my mids so I asked if it could be swapped for a 3-band. For an extra 50 euros, a 3-band Delano pre was installed (which will hopefully pair well with the Delano pickups)