ThomBassmonkey

The one that gets me is "You get paid £50 for a gig? You only play a couple of hours" yes, and the months writing, practicing, recording, promoting, travelling, soundchecking, setting up/down, networking etc etc then we're lucky to get paid at any gigs, I know I rarely do.

[quote name='dincz' timestamp='1339833910' post='1695003'] The amp's output impedance is a small fraction of an ohm and is not usually listed in the specifications. 4Ω or 8Ω is not the amp's impedance but the minimum load impedance that the amp should be connected to. [/quote] The rest of the post I quoted looks like it's talking about minimum load.

It's confusing because actually the 8Ohm wattage is nearer to what the wattage would be in a perfect world. Rather than it being "a 500w amp at 4 ohms should put out 250w in 8 ohms but actually puts out 300", it's a case of "an amp that puts out 300w in 8 ohm mode should put out 600w in 4 ohms but because the amp's not efficient enough, it puts out 500w" if that makes sense.

[quote name='Ian Savage' timestamp='1339764321' post='1693943']The amp's output impedance isn't really an issue[/quote] It would be if he had one/both cabs set to 4ohm.

IIRC in a completely hypothetical world, a 500w amp at 4ohms would run 250w at 8ohms. In the real world though it's not that simple. I can't remember why though.

Sandberg technically don't have "models", they're all custom jobs. The generic P and J style basses are just the most popular, that's why the shops stock them (though technically they're still custom build to the standard specs for the shop).

I have a couple of 212s and love them, stupidly light and very loud (I did a medium outdoor festival with just one on Sunday and it easily coped). Very versatile too, they can be very bright and cut through right to dubby tones and still defined. Here's a clip of one of my bands where I'm using my "mini" stack. Loads of growl and cuts through very nicely, though obviously that's to do with my ray and MB Fusion head too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb-jQYq-TaE It's a shame you don't live near me, I'm sure that an hour round my place with my GK gear would really convince you to take the plunge finally.

Lots of speakers can make more noise but most decent cabs these days will cope with more than you'd expect. I wouldn't have trouble with one of my 212s in a metal band. One of my 410s is more than loud enough for pretty much anything apart from the biggest venues even without PA support. I wouldn't bother with huge cabs personally, a 210 and 115 should be enough for most situations where you won't get PA support.

[quote name='obbm' timestamp='1338833223' post='1679818'] Thanks for the comments. Now been looking at the GK Neo210 - the wedge shaped one. That has a good spec, good reviews and quite light so might be a better choice as I can see other uses for it. [/quote] They're great cabs, I use the 212s and can't fault them. Whether or not you think the premium is worth it is up to you, most of the materials are the same afaik between the two cabs, the main difference is bracing and damping to give you a slightly more solid tone.

That rig's ok, I'm not a big fan of the BL stuff personally though, it just doesn't really have that GK sound that I love. They're capable amps though and if you like them, they'll do the trick fine. I'd personally be looking for a 700RB combo though, the 115 previously mentioned will be fine, GKs are notoriously loud and even just a 115 on it's own will be fine.

Very good value for money IME. I doubt you'll be disappointed and I'm sure some owners will be along shortly to sing their praises. I don't think I've ever really heard a bad word against them. A lot of people don't like the lack of bracing but you get what you pay for and they really are good for the money.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1338549666' post='1676123'] Not 40 years old! Only 5 It's a 70s as in "70s style", this bass was made in 2007. [/quote] Ahhh Go for it then. If you're not bothered about resale and you think it'll turn the bass into a keeper then there's nothing to lose. You're not gonna lose the tone you already have by adding another pickup and you might get something you like.

[quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1338482633' post='1675285'] the problem i have with the mb gallien heads are that when i tried one with my fb4 it was a bit to hot of an input for it, could have been just that head tho! andy [/quote] In what way too hot? I've used a bongo with my MB and they don't come much hotter than that. I had to go easier on the gain but that's inevitable.

I wouldn't, assuming it's the 70s CIJ in your sig, it'd be cruel to deprive the world of what looks like a very good condition 40 year old bass. If it's not original then I don't see why not, if it has all it's original parts, get another bass for your P/J.

Mine's in my sig, good idea

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1338122275' post='1669806'] Really want to try a fusion, and even more so now there will be a 800 watt version. [/quote] You're welcome to give mine a go sometime, you're not far away from me iirc.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1338051199' post='1669055']Ha ha, well, good news,the MB800 Fusion is being released for next year with tye valve preamplifier and features in![/quote] Damnit! That's the last thing I need, I'd best get saving.

[quote name='bassickman' timestamp='1338055791' post='1669133'] I'm currently just D.I' ing but I think I'm going to get a mark bass tube amp and a fender deluxe 5 string... Hopefully it will work nicely. [/quote] Try getting a POD, Sansamp or another kind of preamp. That could sort your problems out since generally if you're just DI'd, it's a bit of a boring tone.

Thicker strings or raise the action. If it's over most of the neck you're probably best off leaving the truss rod alone as it's unlikely to need a tweak. Are you using new strings? Sometimes different brands can have different tensions. A bit of fretbuzz is alright anyway, it won't get picked up by the amp and usually if it does, it just comes across as a bit of growl. If you want a cleaner sound or it's choking the strings then you should maybe get it looked at.

Very nice! I'm surprised it doesn't have any of the extra controls the MB Fusion has, but I'm sure it's a great amp! MAybe I'm just spazzing out, but I don't see the review, I've done a search on the website and on FB it's just a picture and a couple of sentances saying you reviewed it. Just as a note, on the iGuitarMag website, if you click reviews, it's got "Base" instead of "Bass"

Wattage isn't too important. Speaker surface area (combined) is probably the most important factor followed by sensitivity.

I got to 15kHz. I think it's more to do with my tinnitus interfering than actually not being able to hear the tones properly, I had to knock the volume up a bit to get to 15kHz after a HUGE volume drop from 12kHz (dunno if that's my hearing, the samples or my system).

Screw that, i'm too cool to look like I'm interested in something.

[quote name='Rattle&Drum' timestamp='1337870921' post='1666762'] I might well take you up on that at some point, cheers for the offer! Do you know who the distributor is for GK in the UK? Off the top of my head I don't think it's anyone we deal with at the moment. Thanks for the welcomes guys! [/quote] Cool, just chuck me a message on here if you want to sort something out. As Bert said, it's Polar Audio.

If you want mate, I'll pop along sometime with my two heads and I can explain the controls. The RB and MB ranges are the most popular so they'll be relevant for most of the amps. I understand Ashdown's popularity, they're decent amps for the price (I've even recommended them myself in the past despite not liking them) and as you say, they do lots of budget amps and their CS is good. I'm just not a fan and with them being everywhere, I doubt people would travel to Derby for them like they might for rarer amps like GK and Hartke if they were in stock. Whenever I suggest GKs to people their biggest problem is finding somewhere to try them, somewhere right in the middle of the country that's 15 minutes from the M1 could be handy for a lot of people.