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I have a middle of the range Tokai 335 copy. Guitarist in my band has a Gibson 335. I daren't let him try my Tokai as I think it’ll just depress him.

After much trying out and research, I’ve finally sorted out my small rig. It’s unbelievable that this little lot ( Aguilar AG 700 and a Barefaced One 10) can produce the sounds that it does in such a lightweight package. Rehearsal tomorrow night should be fun!

Thank goodness you're here to save us, @prowla! Actually, while you're on, I've just snapped up The Mona Lisa for a great price. I'm SO chuffed.

1. What makes owners of Mesa gear like it so much. (general question about Mesa gear ie build quality, support and availability) - Sound, build quality, character. I have more compliments about my sound when using Mesa gear than any other. 2. What is it that made you pick that particular amp over others. (in respect to other Mesa amps or cabs and maybe in respect to other manufacturers gear) The 400+ is iconic. There's a reason it's one of the default models on Logic Pro X. It gives me a sound I absolutely love. Bass = 3, Treble = 3, MIddle = 10. I have a Walkabout Scout 12 too and use that with it's own 1x12 combo or with a BF TWO10. Both have very similar flavour sounds and cut through the mix. The 400+ is used either through a BF Big Twin 2 or a SIX10. 3. Is there a favoured set up that majority of owners prefer or would prefer. Not particularly. I change mine depending on the venue, my mood, whatever. 4. Can you describe briefly your preferred tone (ie, warm, mellow, mid-punch, heavy bottom end, high top end are just some things i can think off). A middy clank not unlike Duff McKagan, a thumping P-bass with flats depending on the song. Both the 400+ and the Walkabout get me where I need to be. Once you've learned how to quickly adjust teh knobs on the go, it's not an issue. 5. what bass do you generally use with it. (just to give me an idea of whether your bass is passive, active or has a deciding influence on how your tone might sound) Yamaha BB2024x, Valenti P-bass, G&L2500 6. Finally what Mesa gear would you recommend for a Mesa Virgin like myself playing mostly classic rock with a Jazz bass but occasionally depping for other music genres doing pup / club material. A Walkabout Scout or a Walkabout with a quality 210 would probably serve you well. The DI on Mesa gear is weird. You have to be aware that if you change the master volume setting it will affect the signal out so if you tweak up your volume on stage the desk is going to get a hotter signal. Worth mentioning to a soundman just in case. My 400+ measured the power output at approximately 245W clean and 350W maximum when clipping as done by MJW Amps during a service. Transients could well be higher. It's not stupidly powerful but it is loud through a good cab. As a comparison, my MJW Taranis 200 (4 x KT88) is 253 clean and 544 fully clipped.

Just in case you haven't heard this...

Awaiting for mine.

I ended up taking Dood’s Kenton MIDI/USB Host off his hands recently. It’s on my board receiving MIDI PC messages from my Boss ES5, and changing patches on my MS60B. It works a treat.

But not quite as cheap second hand

In the mid-90s (pre-hernia!) I did a gig upstairs at The Garage with an Ampeg SVT-CL and 8x10 - both in flight cases. I did have some help, but definitely wouldn't attempt it today that's for sure.

Tomorrow I'll try the BFM cab with the amp head and also as an extension cab.

One of the attractions is that the Torpedo seems to have power amp simulation as well as speakers. I have a Helix but I've not yet managed to get it to sound as good as the MXR!

I like the "Tangareen matalic" one on the bottom of the page.. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Jazz-Bass-Guitar-Burnt-Tangereen-matalic-Ellesmere-Port/302592613091?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D49138%26meid%3D81a4d8b62765428ebfb9ee40077bee14%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D112736305513&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

My backline for a number of years has been a Series 6 AH200 or an SM250 through a cab with the venerable Eminence 3015. Works for everything I do and jolly easy to lug about. I have no gear GAS. Geoff

I'm a little sketchy on the really early stuff but MK5 was mid eighties (maybe '86) to about '89, Series 6 was the next generation from '89 till '93 then these were superseded by SM and SMX from '94 with an upgrade of the SM to SMC (with the dual band compressor albeit single knobbed) in '97 and a change from grey panel / grey tolex to black panel / green carpet - SMX models received the cosmetic change but were otherwise unchanged except 250w models were now claimed 300w and the 350w model was now 400w. Last generation Gibson models were the last of the 'old guard' produced from '99 until about '02 - 150 and 300w models had a new design power stage, electro-illuminescent panel plus the old 400w was upped to 500w plus the crazy stereo / triamp 1000w replaced the 600w SMX. Both 7 band and 12 band pre-amps recieved tweaks most notably the 12 band with an added valve drive and enhancer facilities. Production ceased in around '03 when Gibson closed the brand and factory. Peavey production started in 2005. Yours looks to be a lesser spotted model as most series 6 were the smaller box design and all SM were larger off-set suggesting a very late Series 6 from about '92 just before they were replaced. Sorry for the essay! Ha!

Yep, Series 6 then the 7 band went to SM and 12 band to SMX. When Gibson took over the SM became SMC

Nope! I see that @discreet has had a road to Damascus conversion and got himself a TE combo...and I suspect he's not 'low end', although his low end will no doubt be very capable... I have a Mesa M6 carbine combo. But the point is it's 80lbs and therefore staying in my bass cave!! I'll maybe gig it one day when I'm playing Wembley (just to clarify that's the underground station - probably Jubilee rather than Metropolitan Line) in the meantime my Markbass combo (at 37 lbs and 500W) works a treat for pub gigs. And as far as the PMT store in Cambridge is concerned, ALL Markbass gear is too high-end for their customers (they basically stock Ashdown and Orange)

I have a mint LM Tube for sale

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All the info you could need is here https://www.bassesbyleo.com/gl_bbe_wiring_diagrams.html

Congrats with the new cab! Did you get a chance to try it out? If you’re more on the metal side of things (i.e. scooped mids) I would imagine you might struggle using the amps you listed, especially at 8 ohms. I quite like the black line 250, but it’ll have to work quite hard even at 4 ohms. The LMIII won’t be much more expensive if you can get it used, and it’ll sound much nicer at higher volumes, plus it’ll have a bit on tap, should you need it further down the road. I agree with @Skybone regarding older Hartke amps. Great value! Good luck!

Is this something that just applies to Fender P and J basses? You rarely hear people talking about vintage V modern Rickenbackers - or Wals - most of my Musicman basses are less than 15 yrs old and to be honest, though I've played old ones (indeed bought one new in the 70s) there is little difference (certainly on the 2 band Stingray) - of course the modern ones are built to modern QC and manufacturing tolerances, which like with every other 'consumer durable' makes them infinitely better in that sense. I mean who would use a vintage Hoover or quill and ink, or even a 50 yr old car on a day to day basis. Vintage is partially a fashion and nostalgia thing - there are plenty of people around who hark back to the late 50s and early 60s and cherish instruments from that period - I tend to hark back to the early 70s when most people (there are exceptions like Willie Weeks) would have been considered way past it and uncool playing a pastel coloured guitar - even the Shadows stopped doing that until they performed as an out and out nostalgia tribute in the last couple of decades. I have yet to play a 'vintage' instrument which speaks to me that strongly sonically and playing wise that I would part with large sums of money for it - I have looked off and on for 20 yrs or so. Do they look nice and are they full of nostalgia? Well the answer is yes for me - but to use as a day to day instrument then no. Are they more desirable than say a new Fender CS, new Musicman, Wal, Rickenbacker or Gibson - no they're not for me indeed some modern ones really do have that classic feel and look and are equally impressive aesthetically as far as I can see.

Leslie cab - you can hear it spinning before the guitar comes in. Sounds like JPJ is just overdriving the amp as well.

Wrexham Guitars. Guy said if it doesn't turn up today to let him know so I'm just waiting on Mr Postie with my fingers crossed!

I think the sandblasted series are my favourite basses that Fender has ever made. I lusted after a red one on sale many months ago but it was way out of my budget at the time. Somewhere in the region of £900 if I recall, so nowhere near the deal you got yours for!

a sansamp VT bass or a EHX BIG muff and a fast chorus would get you close id have thought

I always thought the bass was recorded through a Leslie cabinet.

'Over the top' .. certainly !

And a bit of personal preference as regards set up.

I have an original Ibanez SR1205 - through neck, thing of beauty. There is one on eBay that has been there a while. The price is excellent and, as it has been there a while, you might be able to persuade him to post outside of the US. Note about CITES, though.... The auction is here. You could then change the pickups to EMGs. I did this - a 40P in the neck and a 40DC in the bridge. I have had the bass since 2009. Other basses have come and gone...but this is the one that will be buried with me!

I think the subtle wobbling effect on Heartbreaker is a Tremolo effect, but whether it was a pedal, studio effect or one built into the amp (some vintage guitar amps had them built in) I don't know. The warmth of the tone is obviously a valve amp (were there any non valve amps available at this time?). Unfortunately I don't have any recommendations of tremolo pedals as I don't use them but that is what it sounds like to me. Unless you're after a drive pedal, in which case you're entering a minefield blindfolded

Tonewood. A wood that produces a pleasing tone, (that being dependent on what tone profile is/was wanted) generally accepted to be more relevant to acoustic instruments, for example, rosewood back and sides to produce a dense sound reflective surface and spruce for the top to create a vibrating soundboard. A classic Martin might be Mahogany neck, ebony fretboard, rosewood back and sides and a spruce top. Pre about 1930ish it would be finished with shellac, later with nitrocellulose. In electric guitars and basses many of the same woods are used, plus a number that would not be traditional (at least to American big name makers). Ash, alder poplar, basswood and a few others aren't commonly used in acoustics. Leo Fender made his first guitar prototypes with pine bodies, but switched to ash because pine got damaged too easily, (though pine bodies, especially for Tele type guitars has become popular in recent years) his necks were always maple in the early years, added rosewood fret boards appeared after several years of production. So generally guitar and bass tonewoods will be timbers which produce a defined tap tone and a degree of sustain. The thump of damp cardboard wouldn't be the sort of sound we're after. While some woods, ash, mahogany etcetera, are regarded as "standards", in reality any well dried/seasoned wood with a decent tap tone will work, whether they all provide a tone we might want, or have become accustomed to, will only be apparent once the instrument is made. Does any of that mean that a vintage instrument will be better than a new one? Possibly not, wood is a natural product, trees grow under different conditions, one piece of a particular species may be denser, lighter, harder grown, younger or older than another when it goes into an instrument. Years won't change that, though the wood may be exposed to various environmental conditions which might have an effect. (Years of temperature fluctuation, changing humidity levels and climatic conditions, which may add up to degrees of cellular change, for better or worse.) Is an old piece of mediocre wood going to be better for being old, or better than a top grade piece of newly seasoned and dried wood? My first electric guitars and basses were made from Tasmanian native timbers, myrtle, mountain ash and blackwood, because I was in Tasmania at the time and it was in the 1970's, no internet or ebay and sourcing mahogany, maple, rosewood etcetera was very difficult. These days many guitar and bass builders use a variety of timbers, that Leo and the old Gibson builders would never have considered, yet good to great sounding instruments are produced from them. There are other factors to be consider besides tone, when selecting suitable timbers for instruments, the stability of the wood once cut and dried, it's resistance or otherwise to splitting, checking, or the degree of shrinkage which might occur are all factors along with weight and durability. (eg. A dense hard wood for a fretless base fingerboard, as opposed to an easily worn and gouged soft wood.) Mahogany is considered to have a "warmer" tone than ash, and alder is described as a good all round, sort of middle compromise, (poplar, likewise sort of middle range) while maple is very bright. Warmoth used to have a list of the woods they offered necks and bodies in with a tone rating from warm to bright. I don't know if it is still on their website, but it might be worth a look. Regardless of how we hear or don't hear tonal differences, the debate about whether different timbers and finishes actual make much difference to the sound an amplified instrument makes will go on as long as there are musicians to hear, or think they hear, them. For me, given pickups, strings, bridges, electric, all the same I believe I can hear differences at low volume, in a close environment between distinctly different timbers, (home recording or practicing) listening to a band at high volume, with effects, ambient room acoustics etcetera, I doubt it. As I only apply finishes as thinly as possible to provide a protective coating, I don't think there is much difference between them. My personal preference is for shellac and oil finishes, but that has as much to do with the feel I prefer, plus a consideration for years of accumulated exposure to environmental and industrial pollution as well as carcinogenic compounds in paints and varnishes, particularly in nitrocellulose. I hope at least some of my rambling thoughts add something to your information base.

Here’s my ‘73 Precision with A width neck.

You have a very impressive advertising poster at either Bromley South or Beckenham Junction station currently for a show at the Churchill Theatre - equally eye catching and impressive as the other ones for West End shows and pantos - I too noticed the sparkly clad ladies, but on the poster. Are you the show that the actual ELO band turned up to a gig of? I read in an interview with Lee Pomeroy they'd done that!!

I sometimes run my Barefaced Four 10 with an 800+, although I usually favour all-valve heads. A touch of hpf and boost in the upper mids works for me with a passive Fender, and I tend to crank the voicing a bit to get a tube sound. Amazing speakers coupled with an amazing amp. I honestly don't think that the Barefaced tens, with their baked in character, could sound "bad" with any amp. Similarly the Mesa 800+ is versatile enough to be a decent match with any speaker, despite having a complex looking front panel I have found it remarkable intuitive to tweak.

I've got around 6 grands worth of Musicman basses here, they've all been shimmed in sunny california, lol.

I actually think the headstock design is nicer on this than that of the original it's drawn from.

Cor!

Couldn't agree more. It would be between those two for me. Was Orange Friday's me(n)tal orange swirly thing a 2017 build or earlier. It even out weirded the Psilos at the SE Bass Bash - and that's saying something! It does lose some points, though for seemingly being made out of dark matter.

Totally unplanned

another factor is how accessible the world is now. It’s become expected of bands to have built this brand of their band before a label will even touch them, the bands that seem to make it are the ones that can do everything, music, marketing, promotion, recording etc. Of course this is a blanket statement and I’m sure there is still some incredible talents that just get picked up on the spot, however I feel the days of bands being heard, signed then built into a household name finished in the early 2000s when the internet started arriving. I feel the major role of the label now is purely mass distribution where as a lot of the actual marketing and fan base is wel and truly cemented before the band even gets a look in. Labels can now be lazy and wait for the artists to come to them rather than talent scouting. just my two pence

Rickenbacker

[quote name='BassAgent' timestamp='1501099289' post='3342561'] Just added Jazz number four: [/quote] Very handsome