hamfist

[quote name='MartyBRebelMC' timestamp='1360871703' post='1977776'] Yep, I think it will do nicely, - plus I can put covers and gear bags etc underneath out of the way. [/quote] I like the way you're thinking ! Good idea.

[quote name='OliverBlackman' timestamp='1360865759' post='1977670'] you guys must be huge! [/quote] 5'10" and 11st for me, so pretty much UK standard I'd guess. I do have big hands but that's just about it.

An observation on my new (used) thumb BO4. I have read so much about the odd ergonomics and poor balance of thumbs that I was not expecting too much of it. However, this thing doesn't weigh a ton, balances just fine on a thin strap and the reach to the 1st fret feels much the same as a J or P bass. The neck is also narrow and playable. Is it faulty ? Should I demand my money back ? Oh, it's a 2006 ovangkol body and neck, with a Wenge fretboard, if that makes any difference.

One word ......... THUMB !

If it's a choice between those specific two rigs then I would go with the Genz rig as the quality of the cab is on another level to the TC BC cabs (I have owned and gigged BC cabs and a Genz XB3 cab). The BC cabs are not toneful to my ears, are rather wooly and fart out way too early. I have not played or owned any TC amps, so cannot comment, but will add that the BH amp is the entry level of their 500W amps. Genz amps are excellent quality and I have nothing but praise for them (the streamliner I owned was not the tone I was looking for in the end though), although I have not played the GBE 750 so cannot comment directly on that one.

[quote name='S9_S12_Bass' timestamp='1360681014' post='1974502'] I asked the same question when I had a V6 and the general answer was that it was risky - as above. But others said it was fine, I preferred not to risk it myself just incase. [/quote] It's true that some amps, and output transformers, are more forgiving than others. The general advice with valve amps is to always match impedances though. If you don't you are taking a risk.

There are a lot of cheaper Ashdowns out there. A lot of them have been abused beyond all reason. Of course with any brand there will be some failures. In the same pricerange, my perception is that Ashdown have no more and no less failures than most other manufacturers.

With valve output stages, the ohmage must be matched. If you run an 8 ohm load from a valve amp's 4 ohm output you risk trashing your output transformer. There is not the leaway that SS power amps have with only minimum load requirements.

Best P bass ? Well, for me, a P bass is defined by "that" pickup in the mid position between end of fretboard and bridge, so any bass with that is a P ! So, for me, it's a G&L SB2. Astonishing tone and a Jazz neck (so I can actually play the thing), plus an extra pickup for more tonal versatility.

What is amazing, considering how many you have, is that if I look down at my pedalboard, I have none of yours and you have none of mine !

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360521014' post='1971692'] Who's a innovator and who's not is fairly subjective. I would say it's the people who influence others to the point where you find lots of other musicians sounding like them. Peter Hook gets a lot of stick for not being much of a technician, but his playing style was massively influential. There was a point in the early 80s where it seemed as though every other band in the UK had a bass player who desperately wanted to be him. No one had really sounded like that before, so if that isn't innovation I don't know what is. Back in the 70s it was far easier to be an innovator because pop and rock music were still fairly new. There were no real rules and very little in the way of tuition materials available (Bert Weedon's Play In A Day? - it wasn't very rock n roll), so once you'd learnt how to make the chord shapes and move from one chord to another you were pretty much on your own. If you had any kind of imagination it wasn't really too difficult to come up with something that hadn't been done before. Kurt Cobain as an innovator? Please... he spent most of his career copying bands like Killing Joke and The Pixies. Nothing really new there. However here are plenty of people who have been redefining music in the last 10 years. However most of them are working in electronica rather than the more traditional rock/pop/jazz fields. Look beyond 70s influenced rock and there's a wealth of new music pushing at the boundaries. [/quote] We must have been separated at birth because I agree with every word of that.

For me I think most Status 4 string necks are simply perfect. I never thought that there could be such a thing as too thin a neck, until I had a go on a Geddy Jazz ...... almost cut myself on the thing !

Did a (postal) pedal trade with Dan, who is a great bloke to deal with. Did exactly what he said he would. Pedal was safely packed, posted promptly and was even better than I expected. I would be extremely happy to deal with Dan again. Thanks mate !

[indent=1]I'm not sure the pre-amp is the same as the Spyder 550 (which has 1 x ECC83 & 1 x ECC81). And, yes, my Spyder 550 does not OD at all.[/indent] [indent=1]The drophead is quoted as having "2 x ECC82, 1 x ECC99 and 2 x ECC82 valves in the preamp stage"[/indent]

[quote name='jonthebass' timestamp='1360274962' post='1968077'] I would like to try one of these but can't find one anywhere. I've emailed Ashdown but had no response so far. So, Anyone got one. Is it good? Any info much appreciated. Cheers, Jon [/quote] Can't help with the amp, but can verify that Ashdown's email inbox is the online equivalent to a black hole.

Still waiting here for results of the "man on crate" testing ...........

[quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1360189470' post='1966584'] Certainly do not use car spray paint. I did that with a scratch plate on one of my first Strats and the chemicals reacted really badly with the plastic. Placing it on a log fire would have done a better job! [/quote] SOunds like good advice ! Thanks to those who suggested the Doc, who is now sorting me out with a new guard.

[quote name='Captain Codpiece' timestamp='1360159186' post='1965805'] my concern with the bits i have my eye on is the 300W rating on the 2x12, if i am using both the 15" and the cab then thats the full 550 watts, but would it be possibly 200W over its rating or would the power be split between them evenly (i am thinking the 15 may get a little more juice with 2 drivers in the 2x12) [/quote] Not quite sure what you're trying to say here. The wattage rating of a cab is the MAX wattage it can handle. Anything below that is fine (although generally they cannot quite handle the stated wattage). The power split between different speakers/cabs from one amp is purely down to their resistance , the ohms figure. If they have the same ohms resistance then they will get exactly the same power from the amp when connected in parallel. If the combo's speaker is rated at 250W (although I cannot find this figure online) and is 8 ohm, and you also use a 300W 8 ohm 2x12, then both will receive equal split of the power from the amp. So theoretically if you were putting out 500W from the amp into those two cabs, they would receive 250W each, as they each have the same resistance. If the 15" speaker in the combo really only is rated at 250W then that is sailing quite close to the wind for the rated power of the amp. And that amp will be putting out something like 300W into it's combo's 8 ohm 15" speaker at full power (SS amps put out lower power into higher ohms). If you were to go the amp/cab route I would definitely recommend buying used for the cab. There is less to go wrong than in an amp and you do get a lot more for your money. Also if you are looking for a mint used Spyder 550 head, I may be able to help, get in touch.

[quote name='LiamPodmore' timestamp='1360140828' post='1965308'] I'd assume that the speakers are pretty similar to the ones in the ABM combos, so providing they are. I know a guy who's been gigging an ABM 1x15 combo for years now without any issues or ever wanting more, and that's including some biiig stages (RockFM Events, Supporting N-Dubz, etc...) Liam [/quote] I agree, for big gigs with full FoH support a 1x15 combo should be ample, as all you need is onstage monitoring. It's those "inbetween" gigs in a fairly sizeable venue but with no FoH bass support where it would struggle IME.