Mudpup

I loved my old ABM600....it's one of the few amps that i've moved on but would happily buy again at some point. Not too heavy, some proper non class D wallop and (unlike the previous ABM models that i could never get rid of the woolly sound from) they have a lovely valvey sparkle available if you want it. They are so much more versatile than people give them credit for.

There you go - sat on top of one Big Baby in the house and there's another one to add at gigs

I don't have a candidate for 'worst' but my second hand Mesa BB750 Big Block amp bought a few months back is probably the best purchase in the last 10 years. It's an absolute monster of a head....Weighs a fair old chunk but the sheer slam and depth it has is totally worth it!

I had a week off last week and treated myself to a me day with an afternoon visit to a guitar shop to try out a bass I was curious about. It was a Cort A4 Ultra with the new Fishman pickups. I wasn't over impressed with the pickups personally as they seemed to compress the sound particularly on the E string. Probably good for modern slappy stuff but not to my taste and it's one of their top end basses at c£1100. And I was only looking anyway. The next model down is the A4 Plus which is effectively the same bass but with Bartolini licensed pickups and a maple/mahogany body instead of an ash/mahogany one. The guy in the shop suggested trying it to really show the difference in the pickups. I spent 20 mins having a noodle and came away thinking I much preferred the cheaper version as it had a bit more character and booty about the sound. It has the same Hipshot hardware, neck through design and the neck profile is lovely. I'm struggling lately with jazz style necks and even though this is still quite narrow at the nut it has a flat fingerboard radius and a slightly deeper profile with a flattened feel to the back of the neck which I think can get along with better. It seems to be the flatter board that works for me and the fretwork and edges are sublime. The bass itself feels fabulous - the open pore finish and generally curviness of the body feels great and it seems pretty light as well. I was only having a sniff around anyway... That evening I was idly pooching about online having a think about the bass and I tripped over someone selling a used version of the one I liked. Looked pretty good in the advert and after 20 minutes of messaging we struck a deal. It wasn't local so I was on the train the next day heading north to check it out. Turned out it was only a few weeks old and still had the tags on it and a decent gig bag too so I grabbed it. Haven't gigged it yet so it's been a week of home use and I can never tell if something is going to work for me until i've done a few gigs with it but it seems pretty good so far....time will tell

Darren Reddick - plays a Spector I believe and on the cover band circuit in Surrey (I think its Asylum Affair he's in but I may be wrong). He's a great DJ, I love the 6pm RockBlock he does. Interestingly another Planet Rock DJ - Wyatt - played drums in my band for a few years when he was about 18. He left London and headed off to be a DJ against our (poor) advice. He's now rubbing shoulders with some of his heroes from back in the day and well done to him too 🙂 (Darren, if you read this mention Jumpin' Bones to him..)

I haven't used an OC2 for years - sorry, i wouldn't be sure.

Yep i had a quick blast through most of them last night on the headphones. That Toneprint idea is loads of fun.....

I just picked up a Sub N Up mini and have started looking thru the Tone prints. There's loads with modulation and reverb built in to them. Interestingly my Andoid phone only shows a few of the Prints in the app but my iPhone has loads more on it. Weird....

Good call, that makes sense

What are silks actually for????

I work for a bicycle distributor and we're seeing ETA's on basic tyres of quite common sizes going into late 2023/2024 now. Some popular drivetrain parts from Shimano (the market leader and most bikes are reliant on their products to some extent) are looking like they're at least a year away.

How did you get on with it @thisisswanbon? I fancy a Big Muff of some sort.....

Nope they're stainless steel https://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_red_label_045.htm I've tried the Coban ones a few years back and found the Warwicks last a few extra gigs for me and seem a bit brighter. They don't sound like cheaper strings.

We just got paid for a gig we aren't playing till next Friday in a GK pub. Never had that before (although we haven't dished it out yet in case anyone comes down with Covid beforehand and it gets scratched) 😂

I just bought 10 sets of Warwick Reds from Thomann and they worked out at £7.09 a set. Bargain....

I think this may be DV247 rather than Bax Shop. The UK bit of Bax Shop is in Folkestone.

This ⬆️ If the landlord actually has a look at you then you've won the first battle. I would suggest not playing the same old songs that all his other bands play as well. Pick something a bit unusual but sympathetic to the venue (do some research beforehand) We find that links to some live videos work really well because we have quite a good lighting setup and it looks a bit better than the average pub band visually. And word of mouth from their regular punters is priceless

I have the earlier BB800 and it's the only class D amp that i've ever thought came close to having some real wallop about it. I've tried a few of the usual suspects (Genz Shuttle 9.2, GK Fusion500, Mesa D800, MarkBass EVO1, Darkglass M900, Genzler Magellan800) and moved them all on. But I've had my Quilter for 3 years now and it's staying. Total clean headroom and muscle......

It was the Fishman pickups that had my interest and they're only on the SLS as far as I can tell so the other models are a non starter for me. The only other way to get them is on a Spector (I don't get on with the stretch on the neck with those) or a Cort A4 Ultra which is about the same price as the Schecter. And both the Schecter and Cort will take a huge hit if I buy new and then sell on if I can't get on with them so i'm reluctant to buy new on them. Either nobody bought one or they are so good nobody sells them on as I've never spotted a used one. Don't you just hate itch scratching......

That was back when they were a high end custom brand like ESP. I believe they're mostly made in the Cort factory now so fall into the 'decent mid price import' category.

Massive long shot........ Anyone got one/had experience of one? Online demos look good and I've played one for long enough in a store to realise I might like one

Quilter BB800

I've tried them on a few occasions and they sound like 5 gig old steels from new in my opinion. Every few year I have another go at them and realise they aren't bright enough for my taste.