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[quote name='6v6' timestamp='1441279334' post='2857449'] Well the US street price will include their sales tax which won't apply to exports, but I never said it was only mesa shafting us - I mean come on, 40% combined VAT and import duty, welcome to rip-off Britain! As others have said, plenty of other manufacturers manage more competitive pricing than this despite similar overheads. [/quote] In the USA Mesa probably sell directly to their dealers and provide support. In other countries, like the UK, there is a distributor and their dealer network all of whom have to make a profit margin and pay the cost of warehousing and distribution, local warranty support, in-country advertising and product promotion, exhibitions, etc. on top of the cost of buying and importing what is in effect a low quantity product. Bergantino seem to be different in that they sell directly to their in-country dealers.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1441029301' post='2855462'] Lozz -would it help if you gave an outline of what you're looking for exactly with the Cab shoot-out? [/quote] I can offer a PJB Compact 4 for the Shoot-Out.

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1441032495' post='2855488'] The NL2s only carry a 2 way cable. Wired to the 1+ and 2+ connectors. [/quote] Surely you mean 1+ and 1- ?

[quote name='mxm' timestamp='1440948576' post='2854901'] ...anyone know if the VT 500 can handle a zero load ?!! ta. [/quote] You mean with no speakers attached? Been using mine like that like that as a DI into mixer/headphones. No problem.

NP-2 only have terminals 1+ and 1-. NP-4 only use terminals 1+ and 1-. The situation completely foxed me and just to be sure I got Neutrik involved, who I must say were very helpful. They checked one of the allegedly faulty cables and gave it a clean bill of health. I'm convinced that is either the combo socket or the way that Markbass mount them but not being a Markbass user I can't check. All very strange. As for using jacks, I recently got a Tech 21 VT500 head. It doesn't have combo sockets, just Speakon and their manual says "We do not recommend using 1/4" jack converters as they are not rated to handle 500W reliably". Well said Tech 21 but I wonder how many people get that far into the manual.

Do your cables have 4-pole or 2-pole Speakons and are they genuine Neutriks? I recently had an instance of 2 cables with 2-poles being returned as allegedly faulty when there was in fact nothing electrically wrong with either. One was sent to Neutrik for checking and they confirmed that it was A1 OK. It happened when the cables were plugged into either of the customers Markbass heads, both of which had combo Speakon/jack sockets. Neutrik NP-4 4-pole connectors seemed to fix the problem but I still don't know why it got me wondering about the stability of the combo sockets, especially when both are used. Combo sockets only come in PCB mount version so perhaps the physical weight of two connectors was distorting something. When I have time I plan to dissect a combo socket and see what is going on inside.

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1440190184' post='2849035'] What a smart looking rig, love it. [/quote] Two 4 x 5 and a half rack amp, a poor man's two 4 x 10 and a 4U rack-mount amp, .

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1440096225' post='2848324'] I'm very interested to hear how the PJB Compacts perform volume-wise. I've mulled over getting a pair but I'm worried about the sensitivity and probable low volume. Frank. [/quote] I've been using one Compact 4 with a TH500 for rehearsals with my band for about a year and everyone says it's perfectly loud enough with and without a DI. I haven't had the chance to try it at gig level yet. I've just got the second cab and that is now loud with the TH500. My concern was that the VT500 doesn't seem as loud as the TH500 although both are, on paper, rated at 500-watts. My hour of playing was in the garage with the door open so not a fair assessment. I will use the VT500 at rehearsal on Monday and see what happens. I will also bring both cabs and both amps to the SE Bass Bash next month - not a lot of help for you however I'm afraid.

I've just spent a hour playing through my new Mini-Rig, a VT500 and two PJB Compact 4 cabs. With the two cabs it is quite loud but through one there was a significant drop off in volume compared with the TH500. For band rehearsals I've been using the TH500 through a single Compact 4 and it is loud. I shall try the VT500 on Monday night and see how it performs.

In the interests of going small and portable I have just put this together. Will take some better pictures when I can.

The "U" is the unit of vertical equipment measurement. Almost all rack mount equipment is made in multiples of "U", this is usually with any feet removed. 1U = 1.75-inches or 44.45mm. For example a 4U rack should have an equipment opening of 7-inches. Does this help?

So to whom has the programme been sold, on which channel will it air and do you have a transmission date?

Nice one Chris. I also started on one of those. Over the years the quality of my basses has progressed, it's a shame my playing hasn't.

I would suggest Neutrik NP2X straight jacks and NP2RX right-angle versions. Compared with all others that I've seen Neutrik are a better design than most others being completely rivetless, i.e.no joins in the signal path , and have a superior cable clamp system.

I use this - [url="http://simple.bestmetronome.com/"]http://simple.bestmetronome.com/[/url] Nice and simple.

I advertised a while back that I was looking for a Sansamp BDDI. John spotted the ad whilst on holiday on distant shores and contacted me. On his return we finalised the deal and it arrived in the post this morning. Perfect deal, perfectly executed. I would also add that a year ago or more I sold John a GK MB Fusion. Once again a flawless transaction. Deal with absolute confidence.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1438709159' post='2836613'] They do make Speakons with switch contacts. They're not airtight though, which would be a pain on a cab back-plate but fine in an external box. [/quote] Agreed but they are PCB mount which would mean a special PCB.

I would imagine that Palmer box uses auxiliary contacts on the jacks sockets to provide some switching. It's probably OK for a low wattage guitar amp but I'm not sure I'd want to put 500-watts of bass through those contacts. Also you couldn't do the same with Speakons as they have no extra switching contacts. You'd need a heavy duty switch..

[quote name='ColinB' timestamp='1438515387' post='2835052'] Love this..... [url="http://youtu.be/yWP6Qki8mWc?list=RDyWP6Qki8mWc"]http://youtu.be/yWP6...t=RDyWP6Qki8mWc[/url] [/quote] Great. When live meant live. No backing tracks. No autotune. Excellent.

I must confess that I've never seen an amp used on its side like that before. Does it improve the sound distribution or is it because, as a bass player, you're classed as a sidesman?