Roland Rock

Hi, I'm new to the forum so thought I'd share my gear with you. It's a custom 100w Valve head, with 2xKT88s and 2x6SN7s Controls are Gain, Bass, Mid, Treble, Master It's a bit of an odd one, but briefly, the story goes like this: -Sick of SS, I trawled the net for a smallish all valve amp (a 2x10 cab was as big as I could manage in my flat) -Saw review of a Red Iron 100w tube amp on Harmony Central, and it was like reading a tick list of my requirements -Checked out the website, cool wooden looking amps -Liased with the owner of the Harmony Central amp and Paul from Red Iron -Ordered with the addition of a mid control -Paul recommended Ear Candy Cabs, so I liased with them and got the 'sweet tooth' 2x10 cab with appropriate speakers, coverings & grille (these guys are all in the States. At the time the dollar was in my favour at 2:1, so it was cheaper than any equivalents in the UK) -Cab arrived - lovely -Amp arrived, but despite being in a flight case of sorts, it was badly damaged and not working- obviously dropped. -Took to a local repairer who liased with Paul to fix as per original specs -Change of circumstances meant that it had nothing but bedroom practice for 2 years -Got with new band, amp lacking in the volume department and blows a transformer! -Took to John Chambers of Champ Electronics, who gave made a new transformer and said that it was only putting out 50w -He did some rewiring and now it's doing 100w (clean) -it's now lovely, but very clean, and my 78 P bass can't push it into overdrive -Cue purchase of DHA VT1 EQ Bass and it drives it beautifully So after a lot of hassle, I now have an amp worth playing, and it does everything I want it to do. The clean tone is deep and fruity, and the OD is very touch responsive and smooth. It's now loud enough to compete with our drummer, and special mention for the cab, which is bassy, smooth and clear and so far can take anything I throw at it. The amp is not perfect - the 1/4 inch jack DI's signal is way too hot for any PA/Desk, and the treble control may as well not exist for all the effect it has. Thankfully, the DHA VT1 EQ solves both those issues. The original wooden amp cover was damaged in transit, and I found it to be unnecessarily and disproportionately tall and of mediocre build quality and finish, so I made a replacement out of reclaimed oak, with a front panel containing burr walnut, teak, oak and tulipwood, with ebony stringing. The bass is nothing too unusual - a US '78 Precision. A previous owner stripped its white paint off, but I like the look and feel of the natural ash. It's a heavy beast, but it was love at first play, so I traded in my '83 2EQ Stingray for it. Although I appreciate that the build quality and playability of the MM was superb, I never really connected with it's tone like I do with the precision. I play with RS Steve Harris flats, and when I'm feeling feisty, I'll break out the EH Micro Bass Synthesiser.

Thanks for the welcomes. I'm based in Nottingham. When reading my post, I come across a bit of a gear head but I'm not - I'm very superficial in that I want my gear to have the right look (retro) and basically I don't want anything too complicated. I once had an amp with parametric eq and all the bells & whistles, but only ever used the presets. Give me a one trick pony which does that trick really well. I suppose that's why I love the P Bass. Musically, I love Squarepusher, Herbie Hancock, Led Zep, Beck, Daft Punk, Soil & Pimp Sessions, Lightning Bolt, Burning Spear, Free - all sorts really. I've played in an indie/britpop band, a jazz standards quartet, a jazz funk outfit, and various covers bands, most recently Bowie tribute. Probably more than you wanted to know, but I'm off work ill with nothing but a laptop and a lot of time on my hands

Hi, I've played in a number of bands over the years, and am currently doing 70's rock stuff. My gear tastes seem to be getting more old school - I used to have an '83 Stingray, but traded it in for a '78 Precision - no regrets. I've tried solid state and hybred, but imo there's no substitute for all valve warmth (despite protests from my wallet and back) Hopefully I'll learn much and have a laugh on Basschat, and if relevant, I may be able to offer some advice from my limited experience.