Lozz196

I had one of those ABM 1000s, Ed, great amps. I did prefer my ABM600 due to the more flexible eq, but the 1000 certainly was a door-slammer.

I must admit in my early years of gigging, late 80s & early 90s, the thought of an amp not working just wasn`t something that was considered. Of course not having enough money for backups was a main factor for in not having one but I don`t think I ever spoke to any musician who had had amp failure, or who had a backup amp. In those days pretty much everyone seemed to only have one amp, two instruments maybe.

For pub gigs, unless spending a lot of money for the specific purpose of putting the whole band through the PA, usually the PA is vocals and possibly kick-drum (for a bit of presence). As such I`d agree, a 410 or 212 and a 500watt head will be plenty to handle the bass for the whole venue/audience. In general a 500watt head will put out 300/350watts at 8ohms so I`d be looking at an 8ohm 410 or 212 that is rated at 400watts or above. Depending on sound required and budget there`s a great load of gear out there, Ashdown is my fave, and available for not much dosh if getting used gear. Similar is Hartke, Peavey, Laney, all be picked up for reasonable funds and all more than good enough for the job - I`ve toured all over the UK and a fair bit of Europe with my Ashdown gear and never had any issues at all. Re the rigs through PAs, well unless the PA has very good monitoring, or you decide to go in ear monitoring, then your rig is still your on stage sound. Unless you can wholly trust the PA & monitors it`s nice to have a rig that is sufficient for the whole band to hear on stage.

I’d reckon that will be a chest cavity rumbling sound that many will be very envious of.

I think some of that might be the difference between Class A/B/whichever of the Ashdown and Class D of the Ampeg. That elusive “heft” which makes an amp seem louder, with its greater depth & presence of sound.

That should have been plenty loud, I wonder if there might be a problem with it. My first PF500 I had the Input Gain on about 2pm, volume generally 10 or 11pm, these settings didn’t really change irrespective of cabs, and they were gig settings.

It will work fine, just a matter of choice re the sound, seems the ‘tubers prefer the 12, whereas you might hear the 15 and vastly prefer it.

Looks great, a real 70s vibe to it

I’ve never got nervous before a gig. I figure this is down to having enough rehearsals for the material rather than my state of mind. I’m sure if I were to be in a position of having to wing it I’d suffer nerves as well.

Remember to not be upset because the singer & guitarist get all the attention, if you wanted that you chose the wrong instrument (assuming it’s all bassists reading this).

That`s a shame, I have read that some find the PFs to be underpowered, just shows that the ABM really has that power to keep pushing tho

As I confirmed Fender US fan-boi I can state that although I find the US instruments to invariably be better than Squiers & Mex Fenders I don’t think the price tag new is realistic or reflective of the difference in quality. I had a Squier VM77 Jazz and whilst my US Professional Jazz was better was it actually 4 times better? Probably not.

I’d say always use the instrument you feel most comfortable with, and which you know how you can shape its sound the best. I flirted with a Jazz bass last year, but in a band mix I was nowhere near as familiar with how to get it to sit in the mix as I am with a Precision. Similarly whilst playing I’m so tuned to my Precisions that the Jazz in my hands wasn’t where I’m used to hearing the bass. So lesson learned, although I like Jazzes ultimately I realised, just take a Precision is what works for me, the instrument I’m most comfortable and connected with.

I just checked the number, came up as unrecognised

I know, I`m very pleased so far with my SCR-DI, it`s the exact sound I want, only downside is it`s a bit big/weighty so having had a play I can get almost there with my Sansamp, but the Ampeg sound just blends into the mix so well.

Where is the Horrified Icon when it`s needed?

I had Ashdown change the drivers in my RM210s to Eminence - I think - Betas. Really made a (good) difference.

Good point, yes I think you’re right. I was still wary of it tho, bolt-ons just seem to ease my mind for some reason.

Although I had a Gibson Les Paul bass for a while I’ve always been a bit wary of neck through basses in case they get snapped/broken. Probably more indicative of the gigs I used to do than any short-comings of the instruments themselves.

I had an amp & 2 cabs up at £800 Got a message asking if I’d accept £400 Yes, twice was my reply An indefinite period of silence followed

That is my only concern Dan, it’s a large and weighty beast but luckily I’ve had a tinker around this morning and can pretty much get the same sound from my Sansamp BDDI v2, so I’ll use the SCR-DI at home and the Sansamp for gigs. A real ear opener for me though, for years I’ve been all about the Sansamp sound whereas it seems I’m now more about a more natural amp sound.

The newer Fenders, the Professional II have the cutaway as per the Elite series. It’s never concerned me but I can see why some would prefer this.

Ashdown ABM PRO NEOs They do an angled 210, a 112 and a 115. Nice and light/portable.

It is a very cool looking bass

Have you seen the Phil X version of My Sharona, just awesome, I learned to play it along to this version.