dmccombe7

I see where you're coming from now. My Mesa amp was cancelled after a year waiting and its a combination of things like parts shortages and cost of shipping containers. Most US companies wont send an individual amp. They wait till they have a full shipment worth but cost of containers and availability of them is causing severe headaches for many companies. Have a look at 2nd hand gear on Basschat. I saw a decent 500w Ashdown EVO rig for sale recently that looked a good buy. Ashdown are a UK company so no shipping delays if buying new. Most shops either have them in stock or can get them quickly. Ashdown EVO amps and cabs are used by many many pro bassists. I guess a lot is down to budget tho and if its a back up interim amp then 2nd hand resale will be better on 2nd hand amp than a new Carlsbro amp. I'd check the 2nd hand market on here first before getting Carlsbro gear. I've never known any pro bass player use it. Dave

Loved Bowie's Laughing Gnome. "Aven't you got a gnome to go to" Combine Harvester also a great fun song. I used to quite enjoy them as they were a break from the usual chart songs we got back then. Dave

I would have thought the Rumble 500W would be good enough. I hear a lot of praise for them. I'm not a huge fan of Carlsbro gear and always found it a bit cheap especially compared to the Fender Rumble. My experience of Carlsbro was my first "big" amp back in late 70's and maybe they've come on a bit from then but not for me. Why Carlsbro ? A 250 person venue is a decent size and i'm assuming a PA is involved. If so his own amp will be solely on stage monitoring for himself and the PA will be doing the main job. If just a vocal PA i think the Rumble will still be ok I've used 500W combo's in venues over the years and it was loud enough. Maybe someone with more experience of the Rumble 500 can advise far better than me. Wish him all the very best for the gig Dave

Torquemada 1981 probably my first proper gig with a decent rock / prog covers band. Using an Aria SB1000 Gypsies Kiss circa 1986 doing original rock with a few covers of ZZ Top, AC/DC and Free. Using my Fender 80's Jazz Georges Kitchen circa 1988 doing originals with a few covers. Quite a varied style including this image of us doing Pink Floyd Time. I remember that cause i triggered the smoke machine for the beginning. Drummer had a Simmonds electronic kit altho you cant see it in this pic and guitarist had the Roland guitar synth. Great fun band. I'm using my Yamaha BX-1 bass. Another George's Kitchen circa 88 just to show the drummer existed LOL Stormbringer 2012 a tribute to Deep Purple & friends doing DP songs plus any band that had a link to DP like Rainbow, Sabbath (i know but Dio sang with Rainbow who had a link to DP.......😂)

Best thing you'll ever do is retire early and join a band or two. Since i retired 6 yrs ago at 56 i've never been so busy with bands altho covid put a stop to it for 2 yrs its back up and running this year with one band booked 2-4 gigs a month and the other a handful but that's more down to member work commitments. People our age have lost their ego's and bands become a more friendly enjoyable place to be (usually). Lot less stressful than when i was younger. I also live in country and rehearsals are 40miles away but its worth it. Enjoy and make the most of it. Dave

Punk band playes 2-4 gigs a month and doesn't need to rehearse unless they want to add some new songs. Glam band plays 5-6 gigs a year so rehearsals are a necessity for me. I wont gig with a band if its not up to giving 100% at a gig especially more so when there's decent money being paid by a venue. There will be mistakes but rehearsals or regular gigging reduces that risk IME. Dave

I would have classed your Grateful Dead covers band as a Tribute band. A tribute to the songs of the Grateful Dead. I was asked to join a function / wedding band and gave it a try but i just found the rehearsals too boring and decided it wasn't for me. Different when its your daughters tho. That is pretty cool. Dave

I like that. Certainly made me laugh. Dave

Mostly gigging with 70's Punk covers band but the 70's Glam Rock for me is a covers band but because of the costumes etc some venues have classed us as a tribute to 70's Glam Rock. Dave I've always thought a covers band is any that plays mainly covers whether that be a pub, tribute or function band. The only difference for me is the type of gigs and money involved at the end of the night. I know guys that earn a living from all three types of bands altho wedding / function bands probably bring in more cash but its still a covers band. The variety of styles really depends on the gig. I've seen pub bands play every style from rock, pop, country to funk. I've never really agreed with the Pro / semi-pro / amatuer thing but that's another discussion we've had so many times on BC Dave

I didn't know that either. Even outwith Mesa forum you are a wealth of knowledge to us all @agedhorse. Always appreciated. Dave

I cant comment on the Sadowsky as never tried one but my MarloweDK has more depth and low end than my Fender "Geddy" Jazz. Dont find it overly top ended. I do find maple necks more top ended than dark woods. What neck does your TT5 have compared to the Sadowsky. I'm guessing different kind of pick ups might be the answer. No expert on what's in pick-ups just how they sound to me. Dave.

What version of the VS4 is it ? California , Electra etc ? Just curious as i quite fancy getting a passive VS4 and changing pick ups to something a bit warmer. Dave

Definitely a great combination with maple neck and light blue body. Are the pick-ups originals ? Dave

That blue one is stunning. Dave

Great story apart from rubbing it in about the Mesa TT800. Kidding of course. Well done. Dave

Sounds sudden so hope he's ok Dave

Had the luxury of a green room few months back in an old church venue that was up and coming for bands in Glasgow. One of the very few times i've come across it. Apart from taking a bottle of water we never touched it. Jings i'm getting old 🤣 Dave

We did have an issue with capacitors on a turbine magnetic bearing system where we changed out alll boards with a specific capacitor that was known to fail after time. Fortunately none of ours actually failed but others on different sites did. I had forgotten about that but it was a good few years ago. It was one of those "common faults" that the French manufacturer had picked up when they examined their own failure rates. Oh happy days. The joy of spending 39hrs in a trot trying to resolve breakdown issues at work. Happy days Thankfully i'm well away from that sort of stress. Dave

Coming from an Instrument / electronics background i dont recall ever routinely changing capacitors on kit and some of that kit has been and is still running since 76. All this capacitor replacement talk has been a bit of an eye-opener for me and quite a surprise altho i'm coming from a chemical industry background. Dave

I read on one of the bass company websites that power valves will last longer if you dont overdrive them a lot. I thik you can have the bias voltage reduced to prevent aggressive overdrive on the valves. Might have been HB website or possibly Ashdown i read it. It mentioned power valves can last up to 10 yrs if not overdriven so i guess it all depends on how you use the amp. Guitarists in both my bands have all tube amps and they've never changed any valves as long as i've known them. I specifically asked the guitarist in one of my bands who uses either a Peavey or Marshall all valve head in the punk band and he's had the Peavey a long time (several years) and he's never replaced a valve. Dave

Riverside Bar in Dumfries. My 2nd time in this venue with this band and always a nice welcome. Large conservatory type ad-on to the original bar with a wooden floor so sound i was hearing was a little bit more boomy and couldn't hear the top end too well. Used the para EQ to cut the low frequencies helped Lot of dancers as always with the punk band. Quite a civilsed gig as we arrived 5:30 set up the gear by 6:30, went for dinner in nearby restaurant and on stage 8:30pm. 2 sets and had to finish 11pm. Usual conversations at the end of the gig with punters which is always good. Several compliments even better. Offer of several drinks but driving meant no drink for me. Packed up and ready to go by 12:15am, home by 01:30, bed at 2am after my coffee and biccies. While packing my car the singer came out to say lots of nice things about the new bass player (me) all positive and complimenting me. I do love compliments at the end of the night. The band have been regulars at this venue for quite a few years now. Dont know how to copy a FB vid onto BC i'm afraid. Dave

Look forward to your review when fitted. I've spoken to HB about a WB-100 so anything on that amp will be much appreciated. Dave

PM'd you Jay. Dave