RandomBass

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1386621365' post='2302361'] OK... not wanting to be branded a 'fanboi', I will just say yes, these little cabs can really cut it. And then some. [/quote] Bloody fanboi...

New venue for us last night. Rather compact inside, but we've played in smaller places before - interesting all the same. Couple of new songs for us last night (REM 'The One I Love', and The Cars 'Just What I Needed') which went down well. For some bizarre reason I managed to mis-remember how to play about 3 songs in the first set - worst of all was Teenage Dirtbag which is making me cringe even now. We've done that one regularly since 2009 so god knows what I was on last night. I apologised to the rest of the band during the break, I was mortified. They were cool about it, as we all are when someone fluffs up. It's only a hobby, after all. However the second set was a real stormer - we were firing on all cylinders. More punters came in, place was full, the merry-juice was flowing and the feet were tapping. All good

[quote name='stubass' timestamp='1386429945' post='2300033'] Right, kinda made my mind up to go for a hartke 410xl. However, I like the idea of a couple of 210's but was put off by the price. I've come across those Harley Benton 210's at little more that £100 each. Anyone had much experience with these? Do you get what you pay for?!?! [/quote] I had a pair of the Harley Benton 210 cabs. They are very well put together and solid. Plenty of good connectivity on the rear - 2 speakons and 2 1/4 inch jacks all in parallel, as well as a variable horn attenuator - the horn is not at all hissy or harsh either. However, with regards to the 10" drive units: they are muddy and ill-defined tonally, and don't like being pushed. I swappped them out for Celestion units and the difference was night and day, really. Stacked with the drivers vertical they gave a very nice sound and at a good height. So, definitely a case of 'you get what you pay for', unless you are prepared to try some replacement 10" drivers, IMHO. For portability and modular practicality, I'd certainly recommend a pair of 210 cabs.

[quote name='Dave_the_bass' timestamp='1386425606' post='2299968'] Broke one, second ever gig. It was during the sound check and I was playing with my fingers. I played a note on the A string, bounced my finger in to the low E and it snapped around my finger. It put a massive deep gouge down each side of my finger that probably should have had stitches, but I was too rock n' roll for that! Took me about three hours the following day to clean all of the blood from my bass! [/quote] Ouch! This is why we now do a full H&S Risk Assessment before every gig, including full protective clothing, safety goggles and shoes, and nearest exit in the case of fire. Yeah right. Actually the only 'assessment' we do is finding the quickest route to the bar & loos (and buffet if applicable). It's all Sex, Drugs & Sausage Rolls. Back on topic - never had a string break, but about 3 years ago I did have one suddenly stretch about a whole centimetre for no apparent reason. Most odd. Mid song re-tune and it just held until the break (gig, not string lol) for a quick change. I always carry spares.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1386377816' post='2299604'] Limelight Slab66 Precision? Not active, but very beat-up looking. [url="http://www.classicandcoolguitars.co.uk/basses/00121limelight66slabp.htm"]http://www.classican...ight66slabp.htm[/url] [/quote] Never been a slab-fan myself, but that one kinda does it for me.

There's an ABM500 in the classifieds, with footswitch and cover I believe. Great amps. Oh yeah, Trace are good 'uns too.

[quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1386348211' post='2299153'] If you're ever in the Midlands you're welcome to come & feel my 1024 up [/quote] Oooh Matron (obligatory Kenneth Williams voice required)

[quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1386329841' post='2298795'] Bb1024 maybe, tonnes of tone and versatile too. [/quote] Second that. Will do every thing you need, and more.

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1386336485' post='2298932'] You could try looking for a secondhand multi-fx unit, like a Zoom B3 or B2 depending on your budget. They have lots of different pedals built in so you can try many things, plus if you cover something else in the future and need chorus, wah, delay or whatever you can get a close approximation. [/quote] +1. That's exactly what I did about 4 years ago, the idea was to decide which effects I would really need and buy some pedals to replace the Zoom B2. I ended up keeping the Zoom because it was so good and easy to use - although I did buy a Boss limiter off here. Unfortunately the B2 has finally succumbed to several impacts and liquid spillages, so I cannot change the settings lol.

[quote name='graham1945' timestamp='1386321233' post='2298630'] No probs with my PF800, love it! [/quote] I'm still very tempted by one, but will probably have to wait for the first second hand units to start appearing on here.

Simple. Classy. Perfect. Oh how I wish instruments such as this could tell us their stories....

Those Little Marks are slowly morphing into Little Giants...

[quote name='odysseus' timestamp='1386193982' post='2297160'] bugger me with the bell-end of a ragman's trumpet [/quote] Quote of the week

Like lozz I too had a PF500 in about 2011 - no problems at all with it into a BF Compact and Midget, which would be a 4 Ohm load to push it harder. The only reason I sold it was, erm, well, a strange attack of GAS.

It's such a shame about these amps having what appears to be a smoke generator inside. Assuming it's new-ish, I'd thought Ampeg had fixed the earlier reported faults of cutting out with later revisions. Maybe they just replaced it with smoke. Anyway, if you like the Ampeg sound how about moving up to the PF800 which might hopefully be properly sorted: although it's pretty new on the market I have read a couple of favourable user reviews, and no negative ones. Or go for something completely different perhaps.

S12 is rated at 4 ohm, Compact is 8 ohm. If used together will present 2.67 ohm load to an amp.

Hmm, quite possibly Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet. Such fun.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1386109380' post='2296035'] Wow, I didn't notice that! [/quote] Me neither to start with lol

Blimey that's a 5 year jump in posts. Still the same old discussions though.

I'm not interested in a step by step build either - just a pic of the final thing would be interesting, if you do get the chance. No worries if not.

Twenty-five years without problem is impressive, and testament to the quality of gear like this. I had one open a few years back for a friend of mine, to try and track down a similar problem to yours. Apparently it would sometimes not 'start up' unless switched off and on again. This got worse until the amp was taking about five restarts to get going. The culprit turned out to be a dry & loose solder joint on one of the cables going from output board to the speaker connectors (if I remember rightly, that is). So I think icastle may have a good point there. Cheers Geoff