Bigwan

Sadowsky mv5 Dingwall super P 5 East p-retro A second Aguilar gs112 An ashdown little bastard 30 and matching 2x12 (or lb drophead combo for preference) Some spare time to play them all...

Noticed Mr Swift playing this on the Jools Hoot. show tonight... Nice! Want one!

55-01... Nothing else compares in my experience. Neck is SO comfortable. Better than the Stingray 5 I owned previously in virtually every respect. £400 is realistic for one of them too - I sold mine here for that price not long ago (because I don't play 5 strings any more, not because of anything to do with the bass).

I'd suggest a Bongo 5HH

There is no output transformer in a solid state amp. Probably the mains transformer. You could probably have the (toroidal) transformer rewound locally. Only you can decide if it's worth it. Since I own one of these combos I'd say it is (though it may be cheaper to buy an old ashdown head just for the transformer!).

I think Hugh uses whatever he fancies using - last time I saw Bon Jovi live on telly (I think it was one of those awful 'Evening With...' shows) he was using an AC 5 string precision.

My last cover band had 2 T-bars fully loaded with the Thomann PAR56 LED cans. They did the job. They're not spectacular quality, but what do you expect for the money? We had trouble with a few of them where the plastic nut on the inside of the can slipped off the power cable grommet, meaning there was no tension relief on the power cable, and they weren't easily taken apart to fix the problem (although I managed it in the end). Other than that I can't really complain. After playing under normal cans for a while the LEDs made things much more comfortable, temperature-wise. They wouldn't have anything like the same light output though...

I've found that placing my amp elsewhere on stage so i'm standing further away from it often helps.

The funny thing about Mr. Competitive is that, although he's a mate, he'd say exactly the same thing about you if you were playing for a band other than 'his' - I've played with the same type a number of times before. Ironically they're usually the mediocre ones in the band (not always - just my experience). He's the problem so address it/him. Don't run if you enjoy every other facet of the band or you will look back with regret. Be firm, but fair... Sounds like your mind is made up though...

One of the Celinders... preferably CK's Scarbee Celinder, which is the best bass I've ever layed my hands on I think... Or Dan's new purple Dingwall. Been drooling over it on the Bassdirect site for a while!

Fender's quality control went to sh*te for quite a few years. I think that just about covers it. If my precision is anything to go by they've improved beyond measure though!

Mine's definitely NOT for sale! Ha ha!

A second hand Lakland JO and either an on-board preamp (Sadowsky or Aguilar) or floor based pre. Might push your budget a little but worth the stretch in my opinion. I've only played one jazz bass that compared to my JO for me and it was a Celinder (the Scarbee Celinder that Flanker and CrazyKiwi used to own - used to be pictured at the top of the old Basschat forum page), and one of the finest basses I've ever touched...

[quote name='Mog' timestamp='1320152741' post='1422961'] Seems more Bugera than Ibby. [/quote] Based on...? Bugera don't have an equivalent product that I'm aware of, and that's not the way they work anyway. They straight out clone other manufacturer's designs. The HB brand function by getting manufacturers to supply the guts of their own products and repackaging them - the Epiphone Valve Junior being one example. HB just repackaged the guts of the VJr and added a tone control, but the PCB actually says Epiphone on it. There was another amp very similar to this one available a while back... Was it White Horse or something... I remember seeing a site where the guy who designed the Promethean discussing his amp designs...

3 year thomann warranty should allay any fears over quality - they're top notch to deal with. Probably made in the same factory as the Ibanez Promethean!

Sounding like a ray on a budget is as easy as A. T. K. - Ibanez ATK! Having owned 4 & 5 string rays (and a bongo until quite recently) even an ATK300 can get VERY close. Have to say the first time I played an ATK was in Guitarguitar in Glasgow and A/Bed the ATK with 2 different EB Rays (one maple board, one rosewood board) and the ATK was FAR superior... just my opinion... Doesn't look much like a ray though. A status ray neck will cost you more new than a used EB Sub and that's before you add neck hardware, let alone a body, bridge and electronics.

You were all robbed! Mine was £20 from a local music forum!

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1319472361' post='1414552'] individual, but thats one weighty price for a 3000 series . [/quote] Totally - I've just bought one, maybe in not such minty-fresh condition, but it was a third of that price!