Mudpup

No, i tried to but he never got back to me......think i missed the boat. I've decided on a Handbox instead i think 🙂 I was thinking about an older m900 but i think i just don't do microamps in gig situations (i'm not calling them class D anymore because it derails threads)

Fair point - I just haven’t found one yet 😊

It's not a volume thing with class D - they can be plenty loud enough. For me its about maintaining the quality of the sound as you push them. I find they get thinner sounding and more 'shouty' as they get louder - still plenty of volume but not in a good way. Some other types of amp seem to keep the thump and welly more intact as you get louder and that's what i prefer - it can actually be quieter but still have the thump that you can feel. I read somewhere a while ago - on the interweb so it must be true - that class D can only maintain the initial burst of power for a relatively small amount of time whereas older technology could physically 'hang on to it' a touch longer and this was what made it sound a bit fuller at volume i suppose. It's more that you can still feel it rather than just being loud. I don't remember the science behind it but it sort of made sense to me. But anyway, the class D thing has been covered loads elsewhere and everyone has a view on it.

If you decide to change yours you need to cut a tiny bit of credit card and put it in between the split shaft pots. It stops the knobs going on wonky...You effectively need to make them like a solid shaft

I've tried it cranked up - no buzz issues ☺️ I remember watching a video somewhere - maybe Andertons? - where Marcus was saying the knobs were plastic because it affected the sound of the preamp if they used metal ones. Sounded like marketing hogwash to me 😂 Or at least trying to deflect some criticism over the cheap feeling knobs... New knobs are way nicer though

Decided to go mint in the end. Bit of a story around the new scratchplate though. I ordered it from Thomann at the same time as getting the bass - it was only £13 so i thought i might as well. Went to fit it last week and there was about 1mm difference in size around the pickup and base of the neck so it wouldn't go on. I mailed Thomann with a few pictures and they think the Sire V2 is either slightly different from the V1 or the plate was faulty. They said to just keep it and they would refund it. Brilliant customer service from them. So today i thought i would get the Dremel out and cut some lumps out to see if i could fit it anyway and it worked out pretty well i reckon. I like it anyway.....😊

Soundcheck without them in then put them in. That's what i do. Once the soundcheck is done you just need to trust you've done it right and don't worry too much about the sound during the gig. But you have to do a decent job on the soundcheck.

This.....

No - you'll only be putting out about 300w thru the 8 ohm cab. You'll be pushing very hard to keep up imho. You'll need 2 x 8 ohm cabs or a single 4 ohm to grab some headroom back and get the full output.

I personally haven't found any regular class D mini amp that will hang with my loud rock covers band. Same as the OP, they sound great at home and have brilliant features on them and i love them until i take them to a noisy gig and they get buried by the drums and twin guitars. I can get by with them but i haven't found THE ONE yet. I always seem to go back to my Gallien RB700 and i've come to the conclusion that i'm just not a class D guy. I've tried loads of them and the only one that comes close to keeping the punch and slam and not just flattening out when you turn it up is a Quilter BB800 - i've had it for a few years whilst others come and go but you have to get used to its quirky layout. Had a Mesa D800 earlier in the year, got a Magellan 800 now that i've gigged about 4 times and will be moving on soon. I've had a Markbass Evo, GK Fusion500, a Genz Shuttle over the years. I'm thinking of giving it one last go and trying a Darkglass M900. The newer breed of class D are much better than the old ones to be fair. Maybe i'll just order a Handbox R400 and hope its not just a niche trend that new amps become on here sometimes - that's probably a more sensible option and sounds more likely to be the right thing for me but the Darkglass looks fun. If i had £1000 to spend and didn't want a Gallien i think i would grab an Ashdown series 4 ABM600 (a great rock amp with tons of slam and much more versatile than you may think) and a decent 2x12 or a couple of 1x12 cabs from the classifieds on here. Maybe a Barefaced or Bergantino cab for £400/700 or a Fender Rumble cab of some sort. Ashdown are selling hand made ABM600's for £550 direct at the moment or they come up fairly regularly on here for £400ish. They're a friendly mob on here, pretty wise in general and you wont lose your shirt if it turns out the gear doesn't quite work for you.

This one is good if you like the no talking and no showing off style of presentation https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0m9-OMDR4oAegQfVRkeVWQ

Tis luvverly....ordered it yet????

Just had an email from a good regular gig that the brewery (Youngs) have told them to cancel all music up to December.

Too many knobs and switches for active and passive for an absolute beginner - your words not mine. 'The result is a new line of Marcus Miller bass models that have a fantastic sound and look, and are high quality but with an extraordinarily low price. We are ecstatic that SIRE Marcus Miller basses are now available to everyone with a new hope that more people from beginners to professionals will be able to play and enjoy the music they love' - straight off a Sire page I clearly seem to be not agreeing with your point of suitability - It's not difficult to grasp it. But i don't have to agree with it. You've had a few of them - that's good as you are qualified to have a more valid opinion than i first thought. But it remains an opinion as does mine. You just appear to believe it's more valid than mine. I could sit and respond all day but in the interest of keeping the thread on track rather than descending into a bunfight i'll bail out now. And i'm not your mate.......

Because it just happens to come with it. You said i could only have a passive bass, not me. It has a single switch to turn the actives off. That shouldn't be too difficult to understand. The fact remains that it's a very good quality and easy playing bass at a great price. Which would probably be the top 3 requirements on the spec sheet for a first bass. Oh and it was designed and marketed to provide a bass of quality that was easy to play for beginners. The initial question was 'what's a good first bass for an adult?' It fits the bill in my opinion but obviously i am completely wrong. I'll give Marcus Miller a ring and tell him he got it wrong too and he should contact the 1000's of beginners that have bought it to apologise for confusing them with all the knobs. Just BTW - have you got one? Or have you played one.

It is a passive jazz if you want it to be! Just don't touch the other knobs if you don't want to. It's better to have the option and not use it than not have it in the first place. It's just an extra bass, treble and mid control on the bass - he'll have that on the amp. Or should he just have a volume knob on that? In case he gets confused...... And the most suitable thing for a beginner is something which is easy to play. Like a Sire. I've got one. It's probably the easiest and most instantly playable bass i've had. It's remarkably cheap. And it's so easy to play i keep picking it up for a noodle which has to be a good thing for a beginner. Plenty of people have had Porsches for first cars and manage perfectly well in them. You can potter about in it or drive it like you stole it because it's capable of both in the first instance. Like a Sire.

You're contradicting yourself. You stated that 'a jazz will give much great variety of sounds' and then saying that having too many controls to create those sounds is a bad thing. Why do you need to have a musical background or knowledge to appreciate a nice bit of kit? So set everything flat until you understand it then. And it isn't complicated - In passive mode you have a volume, tone and balance knob - exactly the same as any basic bass. You are assuming that the OP is incapable of operating or understanding what a couple of knobs just because they are a beginner. It is a great potential first bass because it is so easy to play and is actually pretty difficult to get a bad sound out of it. And it has the potential to grow as the player does. I wish they had been around when i got my first bass!

Just moved in a few weeks ago :-) The top picture is with nicer new knobs.....

Sire V7 and a headphone amp.

Interesting and ambitous advert here Some missing knobs??? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trace-Elliot-AH250-Bass-Amp-Head/133445303166?hash=item1f11f5bb7e%3Ag%3AU~wAAOSwtABe79SX&LH_Auction=1

i think the change from a P to a V prefix may have been due to Fender getting grumpy about the whole P bass thing. Heard it somewhere on the web so it must be true.... Don't know about the shape change though. I had an old PM4 and remember thinking i wasn't too keen on the new shape when they came out but i've got used to them now and think they're ok. Sandy's in general are lovely anyway, fabulous basses and great quality. I'd cheerfully have another one in any flavour :-)

It could be a PM5 or a VM5. They changed from a P to a V before the body shape changed i believe.