molan

[quote name='sifi2112' timestamp='1474359493' post='3137298'] +1 to what Molan just said above Stand alone combo is ideal for me, unless JB or Walkabout are loud enough without taking an extension cab (which defeats the purpose really). I could just take the head out & use the 212 I already have which sounds great but is heavy which is probably why it hasn't sold ... Or just get a decent head to pair with it. Molan what head would you recommend with my bagend 212 ? Sorry to derail my own thread lol [/quote] It's a while since I've been able to try a BagEnd 212 but from what I remember they like a lot of power. I've had a go with a hefty Carvin 1000w and MarkBass SD800 worked pretty well too. I think big, powerful, clean and clear is good with these

[quote name='Norwood' timestamp='1474296939' post='3136908'] I would like to know your notice to choose between the AC and a cmd 102P [/quote] I like the MarkBass 2x10 cabs (especially the 4ohm version) but the combo is a bit of a 'non starter' for me. It's good that it acts like a stage monitor with the speakers angled up but it just sits too low on the ground for me. I don't play with my amp settings a lot during a gig but having to bend so low mid gig would continually annoy me. One thing I should reiterate is that there's a major factor in why I like the AC as a standalone combo. It's the only one specifically designed not to work with an extension cab. For my personal use this means that when I grab a combo I'm getting the full output from the amp(s) rather than a lower 350w output from any other MB combo. If I needed a much bigger sound then I'd consider a combo plus extension cab but, again, from a purely personal perspective, I'd be using separates for that kind of gig.

I'd take the Orange over a Streamliner any day. Streamliners always sound muddy and lacking definition to me. Almost exactly the opposite of what I'd be looking for in a bass amp Orange amps tend to be a bit of a 'one trick pony' but if you like that 'trick' they can sound great

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1474278801' post='3136656'] Ah! ha ha! You typed the same as me at the same time [/quote] Great minds think alike eh Dood

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1474284909' post='3136747'] The other thing to be wary of is manufacturers that time the cabinet with a distinct midrange hump. This cons the ear into thinking its a lot louder than the next cab. [/quote] You beat me to it, lol. Totally agree, there are a few manufacturers who build in mid-range humps to increased perceived loudness. To my ears they tend to sound bloody horrible. Nasal, harsh and 'gritty but they do appear 'louder' and this makes some people really like them because of the old 'louder = better' argument

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1474280348' post='3136685'] Because they are mostly Fender copies with a horrible looking logo on the headstock? How many more Fender copies does the world need? [/quote] There's a reason people like Fender copies - still hard to get some gigs without something that looks like a Fender and many beginners want to start with something that's familiar. I realise BC can be very elitist at times though so maybe that's why they aren't as popular. . .

I think a lot of their instruments are excellent. Great value for money. Can't understand why there isn't more love for them here.

I thought M83 were really good. The 'Steve Vai' solo at the end was fun Liked the first KoL song but not the second. Thought Sting started OK but got a bit 'samey' very quickly

Could be a whole number of things really. One thing to check might be speaker sensitivity. Using cabs with higher sensitivity will sound louder - a 3db gain in sensitivity makes a huge difference. If you're after a completely different tone then there's lots of potential cabs out there. Be sure to test them back to back with your existing setup though. However, if all you want is 'loudness' I'd just turn your amp up - that's a lot cheaper than throwing money at new cabs

Provenance will always add value if the player and/or album is big enough to be known to a wide audience. This can be especially true of an instrument with some concrete proof that it was used on a a high profile recorded work (as opposed to live performance). There's a whole host of players out there for whom lots of players have huge respect and many of those people will pay extra for a 'name' bass. The bigger the name the bigger the jump in value but even a lower key player can sometimes add a bit of desirability to an instrument. None of this makes the bass any 'better' but as a financial investment it can often make sense. Edit - Adam Clayton is a perfect example. Things he's actually owned can really add a lot of money to the price of something. However much people here like to slag him off all the time he's one of the most famous players in the world, has inspired lots of people to play and has a huge fan base. He's also famous / rich enough to have his personal instruments finished to an incredibly high standard so they are highly likely to be really good examples of whatever brand he happens to like in any given month

[quote name='sifi2112' timestamp='1474044547' post='3135286'] Thanks for the responses .. I did try a Walkabout once & was indeed very impressed .. except for the price lol Molan did you actually A/B the Jeff Berlin to the Alain Caron btw ? [/quote] I owned a Walkabout for at least 15 minutes. Great tone if I wanted to sound like I was playing through a wet blanket but unfortunately that's not ever anything I wanted to replicate - it was sold again within 24 hours I have played both a Jeff Berlin and an Alain Caron but not directly back to back. I didn't dislike the JB but just remember it sounded a bit lifeless. The AC feels like it has a lot more character and is definitely voiced differently. I wanted a combo for smaller gigs and rehearsals etc and had a choice of a very wide range of gear and chose an AC. As a simple one box solution that you don't have to worry about whether to take an extension etc it just works really well for me.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1473981324' post='3134779'] Just got nailed £15 Import Tax,Vat and handling charge on a £32 preamp Customs is currently debating if they want both my kidneys for a bass coming from Japan. If you want it, buy it. Kidneys are over rated. [/quote] Handling is usually a fixed charge so the relative percentage on a low cost item is much higher. It would be the same £10 or so on a £32 pre amp as a £3,200 bass

I've brought loads of stuff over from the US. It's relatively painless once you've swallowed the 25% or charges. Current exchange rates mean it's nowhere near as advantageous as it was pre Brexit referendum though. Very rough calculation now is that a $1,000 bass is going to cost you £1,100 in the U.K. after you've paid shipping, insurance, duties, taxes and clearance charges

The Aguilar Hot P is a great pickup with more output and aggression than their classic P Aguilar stuff is generally pretty bomb proof - there's a reason so many pro players use their gear and their pickups are turning up in more and more instruments - Fodera, Spector etc.

It's worth asking Pierre at BassFreaks about JV basses. He has a regular flow of them at his online store https://bassfreaks.net A lot of them are 'to order' and are sold immediately an others go so quickly they don't make his web site. Send him a note and he'll let you know what's in stock and what's coming soon

The ATS cab is incredibly rare in the UK. I don't think there's more than 4 or 5 of this particular model in the country.

I'd get it looked at just in case. I've seen a truss rod push right through the back of a neck This was a very special case but has made me paranoid ever since!

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1473629167' post='3131878'] That sounds very familiar actually yes! [/quote] Found it: 2.5 Internal Boost Preamp Controls Boost Preamp – Drive, Bass, Midrange and Treble internal trimpots to customize your Overdrive level and tone. The dip switch is used to select OD1 (Normal) Boost or OD2 (Super Boost) Overdrive. [b]Note: Only one OD switch can be selected at a time or the overdrive circuitry will oscillate. [/b] Here's the [url="http://www.suncoastanalog.com/Suncoast%20B1p%20Owners%20Manual%20Rev%20B.pdf"]user manual[/url] in case you don't have one

I seem to remember that there was an instruction somewhere that said you had to be careful with the dip switches on these. If you operate both at the same time it can cause a major malfunction which usually results in a squealy sort of noise

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1473541953' post='3131155'] I concur. [/quote] Me too! I was surprised to learn recently that a lot his stuff was played on a Sadowsky - looked more or less identical to his regular Tele style guitar.

Take a look at the little GK combos as well. I heard a guy using the 200w 1x12 last week and couldn't believe how loud it went! Edit - forgot to say that it's the 1x8 that is the comparison model. Only mentioned the 1x12 because I heard it being used at such volume. The 1x8 is really nice too. Might take you over budget though as it's about £125

Elderly friends of mine were on holiday in the US and heading down from their room in the lift. The doors open and a large man stepped in - "Hi, I'm meatloaf" he proclaimed. My friends tried to get as far away as possible from him as is possible in the confined lift and reported him to reception as quickly as possible because they thought he was clearly insane. . .

I spent a fair bit of time swapping the principal pre-amp valve around in my Demeter M800 head. When James Demeter sent it over he'd temporarily run out of stock of his regular valve so he let me have a Sylvania NOS 1960's one he had. The Sylvania was worth a lot more but James wanted to get it over as quickly as possible. Because he's such a pro he then sent a free valve of the regular type just so I could be sure I had the one installed that I preferred. By chance I had a couple of cheaper valves kicking around so was able to test three different set ups. The 'stock' valve appeared to have the most gain and was the 'purest' sounding. The cheaper pair sounded a shade warmer but maybe a bit more 'brittle' - tough to explain but it was the least attractive to me. The Sylvania was both warmer and richer sounding. Because the Demeter is a very clean amp to start with I decided to choose the Sylvania because it game me a few more options. The amp has normal, bright and dark options and the bright is a bit too crisp for me (great for people who like a 'hifi' tone). By adding the slightly warmer valve I feel the bright was more useable for my basses. Anyway - summary is that different valves do sound different but the change can be subtle. The Watford valves guys are absolutely the best people to help, especially if you're looking for valves that will break up and generate pre-amp distortion

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1473422160' post='3130073'] Interesting angle. I don't think its fair to say Dingwall hide it in the smallprint, the combustion basses are half the price of the next range and its in the specs. They are all set up professionally in Canada as well bear in mind. I find that in China you get exactly what you pay for. A £1.3K bass built in China is a £1.3k bass, as opposed to basses built in the UK/US/Germany/Canada, where value for money varies wildly! [/quote] I wasn't suggesting that they 'hide' it - it's just at the bottom of the list of specs rather than the top. From a marketing angle this is entirely understandable. if you compare the spec list to a Canadian bass you can see the difference: [list] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Dingwall made in Canada FD3N pickups x 3 - £200 option[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Dingwall passive controls, volume (p/p, a/p), pickup selector, passive tone[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] 3 x series/parallel switches - £110 option[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Dingwall USA strings[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Two piece Alder body*[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Ferrari Yellow[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Wenge neck - £165 option[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Wenge fingerboard - satin finish, 34 - 37", Ivoroid side dots[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Speedo lines on fingerboard - £200 option[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Banjo frets[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Novax® Fanned -Fret System™[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] 5 piece Maple neck[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Hipshot ultralight tuners (black)[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Extra strap lock on rear of bass [/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Custom Dingwall Bridge (Black finish)[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Weight - 7lb 14oz/3.3kg[/size][/font] [*] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Manufactured in Canada[/size][/font] [/list][font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] On this bass the Made in Canada is right at the top of the list - and then again at the bottom just to stress it.[/size][/font][font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] If I were marketing a Chinese bass I wouldn't put it first on the list of specs either [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] I don't really understand the 'get what you pay for' comment?[/size][/font][font=Helvetica-Light, Helvetica][size=3] Chinese prices are all over the place as well?[/size][/font]

I used to play a lot of 'tough' pubs in north London, you'd not get out after the gig (or even during) with a bass that had a Hammers logo on it!