Tee

I generally test my gear before leaving for a gig. As for spare heads, i subscribe to the DI idea. It is an emergency plan, after all, not ideal, but you'll still be heard and be able to play.

What gauge are the JJ flats? I hear they're large and high tension? Does your neck like them?

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='803411' date='Apr 12 2010, 09:24 AM']The only low watt all valve bass head in manufacture is ashdowns little bastard, no idea how good or crap it sounds.[/quote] There's also the EBS Classic T90 (90 watts)

[quote name='BluRay' post='800678' date='Apr 9 2010, 11:02 AM']Ok its got me thinking! I only tried flats once - many years ago - and thought they felt too weird and sound a bit dull. They had to go. But now I have a stingray - and I think I might need to calm it down a bit, so its not too agressive in combination with my style...I normally play alt rock with a pick. Are flats the way to go? Yeah I know I should go and try some - but I'm too cheap for that without some second opinions first [/quote] There are a few vids on YT with a Stingray/flatwounds. Have a listen perhaps. [url="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=flatwounds+stingray&aq=f"]http://www.youtube.com/results?search_quer...ingray&aq=f[/url]

I recently put flatwounds back on my Precision (D'Addario medium gauge Chromes, to be specific) and i'm not going back to that zingy, overtones sound of roundwounds any time soon. This is it! This is [i]the[/i] sound, IMO. Great in a band mix. As a consequence, i just can't stop playing my bass. I jammed along to the whole of the first Sabbath album the other night. A P bass, flatwounds and a tube amp. A match made in heaven IMO. I know many will disagree, but there must be a few who are on my wave.

I wonder if i'd notice a difference if i changed the valve (a single 12au7) in my Ampeg B200R. No doubt the stock 12au7 is nothing special, but if i put something nice in there, would i notice a slight change in tone?

I'm always wary of basses with too many knobs/buttons/switches. The same goes for amps. It looks like the bass version of an Ernie Ball EVH

I recorded with an SVT-AV recently (see my bass booth pic). That's an AV cab too, with the grill removed and only 4 speakers used. I do like these SVTs and how they sit in the mix with a P bass. [attachment=45735:bassbooth.jpg]

I hope competitors get a move on and bring out their versions of a low wattage, tube bass head. I personally think the Ashdown looks a bit naff. It resembles some sort of pseudo Harley-Davidson guitar amp or something. There's also far too much [color="#FF0000"]RED[/color] on it for my liking. I'm sure it sounds great, but its looks doesn't have me reaching for my wallet.

From what i understand, both the above amps have a more pleasing sound/tone to the (imo) underwhelming BA series. By more pleasing i mean, fuller, rounder, warmer, more vintage, dare i say, more valve-like. I'm looking for something for home (& possibly small gigs) and i'm wondering whether there's much difference in the sound of these two amps (B200R & Micro VR with a decent 15" cab). I have a sneaking suspicion that they may be on a par with each other, bar the extra EQ on the B200R. Has anyone ever managed to compare the two?

Being a valve amp, it should put out the same watts at either ohms.

So what happens if you buy a bass in the US and play it straight? I take it you declare you purchase when arriving back in the UK airport and then what? Do you have to pay there and then, or do you get a bill? Just wondering, because i'll be in NY next month ^_^ A bass/guitar might be a bit cumbersome/of a hassle, but an FX pedal or two could be a good idea.

Hmm, not my kinda thing. Active electronics and too many knobs for me (the Precision in particular - only one less switch and one less knob than my AD200B amp head) :wacko:

[quote name='gjones' post='778169' date='Mar 18 2010, 12:58 AM']Fender TV fifteen bassman bought and paid for. It's on it's way.[/quote] I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on it, after you've played it a bit, perhaps at volume too. I'm possibly looking for a naturally deep/warm/round vintage sounding 15" combo and arrived at either a TV 15 Bassman or an Ampeg Blue Diamond B100/200R.

a drop in volume, rattles, pops, glowing output valves, decreasing attack, lack of gain. Things like that generally.

You ought to try the 'For Sale' section

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='769428' date='Mar 9 2010, 04:54 PM']Or the plain old Sansamp does the job. Must try one of these VT jobbies soon for a comparison.[/quote] I have both. I was thinking about reviewing the differences (imo) at some point. I've had a BDDI for about 4 years and i recently bought a VT pedal from dave_bass5. +1 for the VT bass. I use it when going through a MAG300 to get a valvey sound. Having played through SVT-CLs, it works a treat. Turn the 'character' knob down for Motown. It'll certainly fatten up your tone. Oh also, try the EHX English Muffin. It has 2 valves in it. You can turn the gain right down and still get the fattness. It has a responsive EQ on it. A bit big and has a not so great power supply though (not your standard)

What kind of music do you play in your band, Chris?

yeah, they stopped in early february, was it? They're selling on ebay now only.

[quote name='Beedster' post='767628' date='Mar 8 2010, 09:36 AM']I looked at the Fender and imagine the tone is sweet, but prefer the flexibility of seperate head & cabs C[/quote] Me too, i wish they did a head version.