peteb

I spent a lot of money on a really nice sounding Class D amp. It sounded great in a room on its own and when I did some deps for a not particularly loud R&B band. Unfortunately, it was completely lacking when I used it with a loud rock band with keys. I had to cut my losses, sell it on and ended up getting a Handbox R-400 (Class A/B), which has been brilliant. I've had a Class A/B LM3, not to mention a couple of combos with a LM2 head, all of which had been fine on stage.

I know they have their fans, but that's what I always thought Dunno about the newer ones.

I would say that there are a couple of Mesa Boogie class A/B heads that are up there, but the HB R-400 is certainly worth considering and doesn't cost a fortune. There are plenty of decent techs knocking around who can service / do any work on the amp if needed.

Do a few gigs at a reasonable volume and I would, personally, be quite surprised if you can't tell the difference.

I would still suggest looking at any s/h Bergantino cabs that come up. I have a 410 with ceramic speakers that sounds great with my Mesa m-pulse and doesn't come in at a ridiculous weight. The cab is very efficient and will be plenty loud enough, even for the sort of bands that you (and I) play in. Of course, if you get a cab with neo speakers, then it will be a fair bit lighter. I'm mainly gigging a Handbox R400 and a Berg 212 with neo speakers with the Zep tribute at the moment. That is a bit lighter than the Mesa & 410 rig, but still sounds great and is loud enough. As compromises go, it's a pretty good one! Edit: didn't see that you had already found the Subway cabs when I posted this...!

Yea, Trillians is always a great gig with one of the best crowds around, even if it doesn't pay as much as it used to. Still, always a gig that you look forward to. The keys player is actually based in Morecambe. He did successfully appeal the fine, saying that the signage isn't clear. I know that I managed to end up in a bus lane somehow, but fortunately I wasn't caught on camera. Very confusing...

Not had a problem parking (the place that we play has an underground car park by the load-in), but the one way system and bus lanes are a nightmare. At the last gig, the keys player got a fine for driving in a bus lane (that he successfully appealed). Gawd knows how I didn't - really confusing...

Jaco's solo on Ian Hunter's All American Alien Boy track is pretty cool (starts about 1:19). Another point in it's favour is that it is very much a solo in the context of a rock and roll song, rather than just a showcase for Jaco's chops!

Yes, I agree. Pretty much my experience. That's the route that I eventually took. The R400 is a great amp that is an easy one hand carry in a compact box. Streets ahead of any Class D amp I tried / owned.

OK, I will be the first to do the obvious and put up Stevie Ray Vaughn, the King of modern urban blues (even if he has been dead for more than thirty years). It's hard to overstate just how good a guitarist SRV was (his bass player, Tommy Shannon was terrific as well). One of the great pleasures in life is sitting outside with a beer on a hot day, with SRV blasting out as loud as the neighbours will tolerate!

Absolutely. I never really thought that you needed chops to play in a function band. For every top band playing the high end of the corporate circuit there’s a couple of dozen acts playing tired versions of Mustang Sally for middle aged aunts to dance to at weddings at mid-priced venues. Like you say, you do need to be focussed on the money and be prepared to put the work in, but that seems to be more about getting the event management right rather than the music. I’ve done it (briefly) in the past and it was alright, and we made decent money. I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it again if the money was right, but it’s not something that I would want to commit to long, or even medium, term. The thing with the pub circuit is that there are some terrible bands out there, but also plenty of very good ones. There isn’t as much commitment or hassle as playing functions and at least, with a bit of thought, you can avoid the lowest common denominator stuff and still get a following.

I have been that conductor...!

No, don't think that pubs in bigger towns will usually have an in-house PA system or anything like that, as they generally do not. I'm playing the tribute circuit at the moment (mainly clubs), where it is expected that a PA will be provided on every gig that we do. How good that PA will be is another matter...

Every gig that I do these days has an in-house PA. Some are good, some bad and some indifferent. Similarly the engineer who's running the PA - some good, some sort of OK and some crap. I take a bass rig to every gig - there's no way I would rely on a random PA in some club...!

When I was dealing with HB, I got the impression that it's just one guy in a workshop, with his sons helping out occasionally. I'm sure that WoT will know more about the size of the operation.

I think that you have done just that. I'm sure that a P bass with rounds will be just what you need and you just have to be a bit more aware about your EQ to work around the keys player.

The US Standards with the CS pickups (2011? - 2016) are definitely my favourite series of latter day Fenders. Great bass with classic looks...

The mpulse has a bit more EQ available on the para than the Walkabout. To me the HB didn't sound natural from the start, as I want something slightly different from the amp to you. However, the underlying tone was great and once I got to grips with using the Contour control, the sound was there all along.

I was talking about the para on the mpulse rather than the HB. Personally, I like to push the low-mids a little and cut the hi-mids. To do this on the R-400 you have to use the contour control (up to about 11 o'clock for me) and cut the shelved treble control a bit. I may boost the bass a fraction (especially if I am using a jazz bass), or I may cut it if we're in a boomy room. With the mpulse, I have the EQ set on the para and then 'tune in' the frequency on the low-mids to suit the room. I've never used the bright switch!

The trouble is that I have to faff about taking them out! The thing with the paraEQ on the mpulse is that you can decide exactly what frequencies you use - there is no baked in sound. The problem with that is you can get an awful sound if you don't know how to EQ an amp.

I'm trying not to fall into the trap of pushing the R-400 just because I happen to use one. The reason I bought the R-400 was not because I thought it was better than the mpulse, but because I wanted an amp that would do more or less the same thing, but was lighter and more portable than carrying an amp in a rackcase around. To me, the R-400 is directly comparable to the mpulse in terms of tone, but a bit easier to move around. It isn't as small or as light as a Class D, but it's an easy one-hand lift and takes up less room in the car than the rack while sounding far better (IMO) than any Class D amp. It does definitely sound like a 'proper' amp. The downside is that you don't have the same flexibility with the EQ section, but that isn't an issue to many people and the sound is in there once you suss the EQ on the Handbox out. The WB-100 strikes me as more comparable to the Boogie 400+, being an all-valve amp. I am sure I would love to use one, just as I would loved to have had a 400+. But the thing that sold me on the R-400 is the portability.

The Handbox is very mid-focussed (too much for me) if you leave the EQ flat. The contour knob acts as a hi-mid cut, which seems to bring out the lo-mids. You do need to spend a bit of time to learn how to use the EQ properly to get the best out of the amp, but it is much more like your mpulse than an Aguilar or the like. Someone like WoT, who uses a more mid focussed sound than me, could probably advise you how to best use the EQ to get that sound. To me, the Handbox has a LOT more oomph than any Class D head I've come across.

Yea, but you do have a point...!

You do have to press the doorbell, but I've always found them to be very friendly once you gain entrance.

I believe that I saw him on his first ever tour, the Sass Jordan Rats club tour in the early 90s, just before he joined up with Alanis Morissette. A great drummer and a big personality. RIP