Japhet

There was our Eurovision entry years ago where the girl singer couldn't hear the monitor and sang the whole thing horribly out of tune. Truly cringeworthy. Must be on Youtube somewhere.

I use the MXR Octave (not Deluxe - just the standard one) and it does everything I want.

Always seems like a genuinely lovely man. Will be a huge loss when he goes but I hope whatever time he has left is comfortable. He deserves that.

My experience of Line 6 (mostly guitar amps) is that you can get a decent sound out of them but 90% of what is available is unusable - but then I do like a clean, full sound.

In my experience the Tecamp stuff sits really well in a live mix. There is a comprehensive range of goodies onboard too. My Black Jag has boostable eq sections for High, Low and High Mids and Bass. I don't think the Pumas have this. There is also a Taste function which gives a wide range of tonal options and a really nice compressor. I also have a GB Streamliner which, in isolation, sounds fabulous, but tends to sound a bit woolly in a live setting. The Tecamp just cuts through all the time. Off your list I'd like to have a try with a GK MB Fusion.

Wot, no Tecamp?

+1 to Sweet Home Alabama. Tedious garbage song for toothless inbreds. Hate it. Alright Now- mercifuly free of this dinosaur after 20+years of gigging it. Sex on Fire - Please, no more!

I wouldn't. I had a Compact a while back and compared to my 2x12 (see sig) it was nowhere near as loud. I think the Compact was 8 ohm and my 2x12 is 4 ohm which sounds similar to what you're proposing. The Compact is certainly a great cab but if you need volume I'd stick with the one you've got.

I find some songs are just too physically demanding on the fretting hand to keep my thumb behind the neck. Often feels like I need to hang onto the neck to make it to the end. Undoubtedly bad technique but it is what it is.

How about an angled wedge monitor with its' own volume control to run off your existing cab? Sound dispersal is generally pretty good on modern cabs but you can never have too much available monitoring.

Used to play The Bed's too big without You which has to be one of my favourite basslines of all time. Unfortunately it got dropped because the 'play something we know' crowds didn't get it.

Mine is the standard 2 eq 4 string but has a John East preamp in it, which has turned it into a monster. Just love the growl when you push 'em.

Might be 'Oh I do like to be beside the Seaside', might be 'Love Meeting Love' Level 42. Depends what mood I'm in. Truthfully, I haven't played a guitar in a shop for 30 years.

I find Johnny Cash's version of Hurt quite a difficult listen, especially the video version showing how ravaged he had become by the end.

Any Folk music with 'Hey Nonny No' or 'As I was walking down the Street' in the lyrics can send me into an uncontrollable rage.

I used to get really sore finger tips on my fretting hand when I used Rotosound Swing 66 strings. Now using Elixirs and don't have problems at all. Rotos seem to have a very abrasive finish when new.

I don't think you can go wrong with Tecamp. The other amp I'd add to your list is the Gallien Kreuger MB500 Fusion which can produce pretty much any tone.

Pino on Tear Your Playhouse Down. Octave + Chorus + Fretless MM I think.

Having slipped gracefully into middle age, Fat Boy Slim will now be known as Slim Boy Fat.

Take a look at the TechSoundsystems 2x12 MacDaddy has in the For Sale section. I use the vertically stacked version which is an absolute beast of a cab. This one has folded speakers and it will be tiny but pack one hell of a punch.

Louis Johnson slap technique could take your eye out but sounds amazing.

Saddened by the news of the death of Matt Irving. He was an accomplished all round musician having played with the likes of Manfred Mann, Paul Young, Robbie MacIntosh. Most recently he could be found playing accordion and keyboards for Paul Young's Tex Mex band Los Pacaminos. He was also a fine bass player and a great entertainer. R.I.P.

Fine if you're a Pro with a big tax bill and need to write some off I suppose. Wish I could have set my business up with an 11k outlay.