molan

If you do go for an extension can be sure to check out the 121H as well as the smaller version. The 121H has a big upgrade in the horn and the additional vertical height brings the combo up to a great level for control access and personal monitoring. Bit more money and a little bulkier/heavier but it's a great addition to the 121P combo. Maybe my favourite MB combo/extension cab set up

Gigged in Woking at the Bed Bar not that long ago. Bit of an odd venue for a band but actually quite fun Pop over to our shop any time if you want to natter about bass stuff, always happy to help and zero pressure to spend money

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1427183770' post='2726728'] Oh, ok then. Maybe we'll just have to differ on that one. You know, maybe I should get myself a job in a music shop so that I can be surrounded by loads of bass gear and have lots of time to play it? It would be easy then... But for those of us who work full -time and have family commitments, believe it or not this is not my number one priority at the moment! I will be conducting further tests this week, but they will take place when it is convenient for me and for other concerned parties. If that is not fast enough for some people, well.... "Warmth" vs "distortion"? It's a semantic argument and I don't think anyone is going to win that! To me, anything that adds to (or takes from) a clean sound is a form of distortion. But I am a pedant and a Scientist, so my views may not agree with everyone/anyone else's. Frankly, I'm getting bored with the whole thing now. I am disappointed with the amp, whether it is faulty or not. The cause of the disappointment will vary depending on whether it [i][b]is[/b][/i] faulty or not, but the disappointment remains the same. Lesson to be learned from all this. Sometimes the tone that is "in your head" will always remain there. [/quote] I don't think anyone is trying to be argumentative Conan. People are just trying to be helpful. You are totally right in that I get opportunities to compare amps at different volume and gain levels with different basses and a variety of cabs (it's barely 4-5 hours a week though and often I don't even touch a bass hen I'm in the shop). When I tried a TH500 on your behalf and turned the gain up gradually I as listening for a level,at which distortion crept in. Of course it's entirely likely that my definition of distortion and yours are quite different. My view of the TH500 as being able to deliver a clean tone with most basses until th gain is pushed past 12:00 and the drive is engaged is based purely on my personal views and those of our 'average' customers. Funnily enough the biggest criticism we get of the TH500 is that it doesn't 'distort' until it's driven really hard. However this is coming from metal players who will,generally use a distortion pedal to generate the tones they want. They then try to replicate these from an Aggie and realise it won't 'distort' to their liking until really overdriven hard. If I were to recommend an ultra-clean amp then I'd go for something like Glockenklang but they are pretty big money even on the used market. Another alternative might be a very clean pre-amp like a Demeter bu these do have valves and might still be too warm for you. Have you tried EBS at all? They do a pretty sparkly clean tone. Not sure who stocks the these days though

I'm gonna stand pretty firm on the belief that a TH500 does not "distort" at low levels of gain and with drive set to zero. Without testing your head into a clean cab that doesn't have potential mis-matching issues then you simply won't know whether what you're hearing is a problem with the amp, the cab or just that you feel a low level of 'warmth' is actually distortion

These are D'Addario's standard steel (EPS) and nickel (EXL) strings so the principal differences are going to be that steel will be a bit brighter and snappier whilst the nickels will be warmer and rounder. Steels are a little harsher on your fingers but if you play regularly then you'll soon get used to that. Quite often nickels tend to have a little less tension than steels but D'Addario, very helpfully, list set tensions and they say he EPS220's are lower than the EXL. Not by much but might help if you like to bend strings a lot Both sets are relatively low tension of course because of the light gauges. If you want to go really light then the 180 sets drop the G and D strings even lighter whilst keeping the E and A the same as the 220's

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1427050924' post='2725126'] Consider this: there are 433 people online at the moment. Put 433 people with different personalities and opinions into a pub, and I guarantee there'll be a few 'did you spill my pint?' moments. It'll still be a canny night out, though. [/quote] We're those 433 people actively online or had they just left the equivalent of their coats on the back of a chair? I use 4 devices to access BC and rarely bother to close multiple browser windows down - does this mean I'm almost always online? I've been meaning to ask this for a while but always forget. I apologised to someone for being slow in replying to a question recently because I hadn't been here for a couple of days and he insisted that he'd seen me amongst the active users In fact - is it possible to tell if I was online at 7:00 tonight and, therefore, one of the 433? If a large chunk of the 433 weren't really online and had nipped off down to a real pub then it might not be such a fun night out

IBAN and Swift/Bic codes are very common requests for international currency transfers. We supply them all the time for shop sales.

I wouldn't buy a back up mic with different vocal characteristics from your main mic. If you're used to the main mic and have PA and foldback all set for it then suddenly plucking a different one from the kit bag mid gig because it's failed could seriously effect your sound out front, cause feedback problems on stage or simply not suit your vocal style because you've got used to mouth placement/proximity etc. Buying a decent used one that matches the main one would make sure you can swap seamlessly between the two. Also it doesn't have to just be a 'spare' swap the two around between gigs and prolong the life of each

I haven't been for a while but last couple of times I was there for Dweezil Zappa and Brian Wilson the sound was OK. Could certainly Scott Thunes on bass with Dweezil

[quote name='lee650' timestamp='1426879874' post='2723142'] Wish I'd known that before i spent £50 on a la bella 5 set! They are the flexible ones though [/quote] The Low Tension ones feel very different from the standard La Bella flats. Much closer to Thomastik in feel.

That's the one. Early sets even came with a Carvin outer wrap but still had La Bella sleeves

Carvin also do a 6 string set that are actually La Bellas but in unbranded bags - a lot cheaper as well!

[quote name='friz' timestamp='1426851145' post='2722658'] Congrats molan & dudi8. [size=2]GAS does not affect me....GAS does not affect me....GAS does not affect me....GAS does not affect me....GAS does not affect me....GAS does not affect me....GAS does not affect me....GAS does not affect me....GAS does not affect me....GAS does not affect me....GAS does not affect me....[/size] This one also looks very promising [url="https://ritter-instruments.com/inprogress.php#1251"]https://ritter-instr...ogress.php#1251[/url] [/quote] Wow, I hadn't spotted that one - the ebony board looks amazing!

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1426848603' post='2722596'] Not yet. But it is on my "to-do" list [/quote] Cool I'm sure no-one here is trying to be confrontational or give bad advice. It's just that this amp shouldn't be distorting at such low gain settings so before you go through the hassle of selling it then it's definitely worth isolating whether the amp is at fault or if it's just a mis-match with your cab (which is rare but it can happen). If the amp is faulty then you'd probably need to get it fixed before selling anyway. I can put you in touch with the UK Aguilar guys to see if they can help but the first question they will ask is whether you've tried it with another cab. I'd make that the main priority. If it's really tough to test it as a standalone unit then you could possibly use the pre-amp only into another amp's power section and another amp's pre-amp into the Aggie power stage. That might show up if there's an issue in one or the other. Slightly fiddly and needs a patch lead between send and return feeds on each amp. I know a couple of people who use a high end pre into the Aggie power section like this and it works really well.

I really like a lot of these natural wood finish Ritters. They probably aren't what Jens is best known for but he does them really well and, relative to the high gloss finishes, they aren't major cost upgrades.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1426847412' post='2722565'] To be fair, I'm not sure you've been keeping up with everything I have posted, and I haven't necessarily posted everything that I know! I have had a number of PM conversations with other members on here. Making public judgements from a position of partial knowledge (and potentially harming my ability to sell/trade something) is rather unfair I am fully aware of what I need to do to (try to) isolate the source of the issue - but I am also aware that it may not be as simple as that. If you are suggesting that I would attempt to sell something that I [b][i]know[/i][/b] to be faulty, then I am saddened. Have you read my feedback on here? [i][b]I[/b][/i] never said it was faulty - it was other self-appointed "experts" who did that. Please don't jump to conclusions without knowing the full story [/quote] Not meant to offend Conan so sorry if you've taken it that way. I have been following the thread so maybe I've misunderstood something. My take was that you've said the amp distorts at any setting of the pre gain control. I've tested one and a brand new, perfect condition one does not distort in any way at low gain settings. You really have to push it very hard to distort. From what I've read you haven't been able to try the amp into another cab other than your regular one? Maybe I've missed that bit somewhere. If the amp distorts at low gain then there definitely is something wrong with it.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1426836615' post='2722410'] I traded it on here and as far as I am aware, the warranty is limited and non-transferrable. I have also been advised that there may be a capacitance/compatibility issue with the Big One, but I haven't been able to try his suggested solution due to the speakon only outputs on the amp and the fact that all my speaker cables are short and high quality...! Also, at the end of the day, I am frustrated by the interaction of the controls and suspect that this amp is just not for me. Such is life! [/quote] I don't really understand this Conan. Without isolating the problem you don't know whether there is anything wrong with the amp at all. It could just as easily be the cab. Also, if you sell an amp that already described as having distortion issues at zero gain then you won't get a huge amount for it because any new owner would need to get it fixed first. I'd get it to a shop and try it there. Any guitar shop should have the correct cables and any cab will let you find out if the amp actually has a fault or not.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1426754517' post='2721483'] Used the TH500 again last night, and the result was much better So maybe the power supply is (at least part of) the problem? I still played the entire set with the gain set at zero. I find this perplexing!! Couldn't try the guitar lead as the amp only has speakon outputs. Couldn't try other cabs as I only had a speakon-speakon lead with me and all the other cabs had either jack or XLR inputs But maybe my ears are just getting used to the sound through this amp? It was still (what I would call) a bit distorted, but I'm starting to think that maybe this is just part of the characteristic tone of the amp. Some call it "warmth" or "vintage character" and so on - but I hear it as mild distortion! I'm still coming to the conclusion that this is not the amp for me... so anyone who is interested in one, form an orderly queue! [/quote] I tried one today, clean as a whistle with the gain wound up to around 11:00. Absolutely no distortion whatsoever. Still not sure if your amp is at fault or the speaker. Until you try it with another speaker you won't know for certain but it definitely sounds like there's an issue with the amp somewhere. I'm assuming it's out of warranty so you can't get it checked over by the UK Aguilar people?

I have a sneaking suspicion here may be another rather nice R8 in the UK very soon. . .

[quote name='tonybassplayer' timestamp='1426706068' post='2721143'] Would you mind giving me the details of the three cameras involved ? I am soon to be upgrading and keen to see how various upgrades enhance picture quality potential weighted against the cost etc. [/quote] Original one was a Panasonic bridge type camera. Can't remember the exact model I'm afraid but it was about £225 - £250. We also had a little compact Panasonic with a Leica lens that took pretty good pictures. It's still kept in reserve. Also around the £250 mark when new. Having got on with the brand we liked the idea of the micro 4/3 cameras so bought a G2. Great camera, lots of lens options (including some Leicas) and pretty cheap on the used market now. Kept our eyes on the upgrades but didn't take the plunge until the G6 came out. Quite a few upgrades on this model and picture quality is noticeably better. It's not a super high-end SLR but I really like the combination of size, features and quality by the way - I've said 'we' because the G2 & the G6 were both bought in pairs so my wife and I have one each & we swap lenses & spare batteries etc

Interesting original OP but, in this instance, I actually don't agree I am a very average photographer but a serious upgrade to my camera a few years ago produced significantly better pictures. Last year I upgraded again, same make of camera but a major revision model and my picture quality leapt forward again. This has inspired me to take a lot more pictures and to spend more time working with my camera because I know I'm able to improve my results. Relatively speaking I'm a better cook than a photographer and, again, an upgrade to my hob a few years ago really improved my cooking skills. It's a ceramic job that gives me way more control over temperature and on delicate things, like fish and seafood, it makes a huge difference compared to my previous one. This in turn has inspired me to cook more complex meals and use more interesting ingredients and, ultimately, has made me a better cook So, in my household, higher end gear has made a significant improvement Not sure the same can be said bout my bass playing though. . .

I'm surprisingly booked up in June already but if I'm free I'll come along and help Mick