machinehead

I owned one of the first ones produced and now have a BB2. I don't think there's much difference in volume but the BB2 would be more detailed sounding. The Compact is a superb cab and very suitable for reggae. Plus, they are a total bargain these days. Frank.

My setup for smaller pub gigs is a Quilter BB800, a Barefaced one10 and a Steinberger Spirit XT2 bass. I don't think I could go any more compact. Frank.

Great advice Gareth. Like yourself, I get (used to get ) a fair number of gigs replacing the bass player at short notice. The contacts are always valuable and the experience of "busking" with a new band is priceless, and sometimes humbling. Like yourself, my only earning is from music. I hope you're surviving as well as possible. Frank.

That looks good. I love small rigs too. My small rig is a Quilter BB800 with a Barefaced one10, or a pair of one10s if I'm playing a stadium. 😉 Frank.

After having a Markbass head die on me on a gig, I always take a spare head. That's not so easy with most combos. That's the reason I moved exclusively to head and cab. I know you could argue that you should take a spare for everything, but it seems to me that the most likely big money item to fail, is your amp. I always have spare cables, strings, batteries. If it's a wedding or other important gig, I do take spare everything though. Frank.

I'm going to change the direction of this thread slightly and offer the Fender USA Jaguar bass as a future classic and one that will hold its value well. It was only available for one (maybe two?) years. All other Jaguar basses are Japanese made. The USA version is a PJ so that offers another difference. The fact that I own one in the best colour, olympic white, has no bearing on my opinion. Frank.

There's a decent blues scene in N. Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. Mind you, there are quite a few good bands too, so competition for gigs is fairly high. (That's part of the reason that I also play in a covers band doing the usual pubs/clubs/private parties/weddings.) There are a few summer annual blues festivals too, all popular and well attended. Frank.

It's a tough time for all bands, but tougher for a new band with no gigs in the bag. Advertising will do no good at all. You really need to approach bar owners and club members for gigs. They'll ask you if you have a CD or something on youtube etc. They then won't listen to your CD or watch your vidoes. You just need to be persistent until someone gives you a gig. In all honesty, it's an uphill struggle. Do try to record a few tracks anyway, just in case. If you want to get some experience playing live to an appreciative audience, then you could go to the monthly Sunday afternoon blues jam at the Enler Delta Blues Club in Comber. (When it resumes, post covid.) You will be given a slot to play a few songs and jam with other players if you want to. It's always an enjoyable day and the beer is cheap. Plus, you'll make good contacts in the music scene and could even end up with a Saturday night gig at the club. (PM me if you're interested in this.) Anyway, I hope you have a lot of success with the new band. Frank.

The perceived wisdom is that you'd be better to have two cabs the same. Try a search on the forum. Frank.

I'd love to try one of these. I have a pair of one10s and everyone who hears them is amazed although, not so much since March. Frank.

That's a good idea. I can't help, but I'm watching with interest. I'll change the nut on mine too if you get pointed in the right direction. Frank.

I bought one of Alex's first Compact cabs with the plastic corners. I don't mind plastic parts at all but at the time, I owned a lot of Markbass cabs and the corners on them seemed more substantial. So my feedback at the time was for Alex to go for more robust metal corners. To be honest, I've owned several Barefaced cabs and never noticed any sharp edges. That's not at all meant to detract from Beedster's experience though, to be clear. I suppose it would be easy enough to change to plastic corners if they had had more appeal in todays market. Frank.

That looks like a great and handy gigging rig. I loved the AER amp one (1 x 10) that I owned all too briefly. If the TE combo comes near the AER, I think I'll end up with one. Frank.

In the course of time, I'm hoping that Alex will produce an amp that has top quality components, is repairable at component level, (or at least not having to replace half the amp at similar cost to buying another amp!), is well built, sounds good but not with overly complicated controls - just all you need and nothing you don't. (A matter of opinion, I know.) And solid state - no valves. My Thunderfunk is along the lines of what I'm thinking, or maybe PJB. My Quilter seems well designed too, with quality components. But to me, the selling point would be quality, in design, build and materials. I love what Alex is doing. I was one of his first customers for the original Compact and now use a BB2, Super Midget and a pair of one10s. I'd love to complete the set with a Barefaced amp. Frank.

You're right of course. It's just that I've had correspondance with Alex for a few years now about a Barefaced amp so there should be one in the pipeline. Frank.

I agree completely. Frank.

I was hoping for a top quality bass amp and I don't use pedals so this isn't for me. Frank.

If it is, then it's my only basschat record, and I'm very proud of it. Frank.

For me, yes. Frank.

You won't be disappointed with the Peavey miniMax. They're superb sounding and versatile. And LOUD! The built-in tuner seems to be very accurate. The fan is loud at home but no problem at rehearsal or on a gig. Frank.

Well spotted. Thank you. Frank.