alexa3020

I did get as far as putting the 210 in my basket & going to checkout. There was a disclaimer about additional charges for non eu countries. That was enough to put me off

Im so tempted to get an abm 210 @ £217 - crazy price! I dont really need it - must fight urge!

Might be best to stick with what I've got then. It does seem like my stingray is has all the highs it'll need. My P bass could do with a boost in the highs occasionally, but that can be achieved with EQ. Quite tempted to do the same or get a dolly, so I can move both cabs and head at the same time.

Thanks for the advice. Yes PMT is an option, although I never really find you get a true idea of how they're going to sound until your in band environment, but given that I know what it roughly sounds like already, I can get an idea of how much the horn opens the sound up. I think I'm leaning more towards the heavier cab. I have done the lightweight thing, but in all honesty I'm not too fussed when gigging. There's usually a load of stuff like PA to load in, so a slightly heavier bass cab is not the be all and end all. as long as its not a heavy 410 or above then its usually not too much of a problem. It does annoy me carrying heavy stuff to practice, but my practice room provides a rig.

Cambridgeshire

Thanks Guys. I didn't realize the Pro Neos were sealed - I guess that will have an effect on volume? Just to give you a bit of context, I picked up 2 second hand 15" Evo 2 compact cabs, which to my ears are excellent - real trouser flapping bass. However they are not fitted with a horn and I'm wondering whether to replace one of the cabs for Ashdown EVO IV 15" cab with a horn. If so, should I get the Pro Neos or Standards To be fair the top end that I want is there at the moment with fresh strings - but might diminish as the strings deaden. I'm thinking that the current heavy ABM 115 might be the way to go - its not super heavy anyway. Or I just stick with what I've got. Perhaps the old Evo 2 cabs without a horn were tuned slightly differently because there was no horn.

The Ashdown pro neo cab range have been out for a while now, and I'm just intrigued to know how people find them in comparison to the standard (heavy) ABM range of cabs available. Thanks, Alex

There’s a Peavey mini mega 1000w class D on eBay that you could get for £250ish. I don’t know too much about them, but seems like a reasonably good deal. Looks like it has a load of features though - which I know you probably wouldn’t use

I really didn’t get on with BQ 500. My first impressions were good - a very neutral sounding head, so ideal for putting preamp pedal in front of it. But to me it just didn’t sound and feel right at band volume. Whether that’s a class D thing or not, I don’t know, but it was enough for me to go back to class a b. Of all the class D heads i tried in shops, I liked the Aguilar TH, markbass lmiii & Ashdown RM. The most neutral sounding head of the above is lmiii

I’m sure they do, I was referring to Chinese made squiers. There was a definite lack of quality on the one I tried

This looks useful. Thanks

Thanks for all the responses. thanks for the links to the serial number checker. I did check the serial number prior to purchase, and everything checked out. this is an interesting question and probably another topic, here’s my take; I do think that people buy off photos alone, and with regard to a p bass, it’s probably easier to find parts that look right. Also, there are some excellent squiers/copies out there - perhaps not the chinese ones, but I recently played an Indonesian one which was very good. Every now and then you’ll get one that plays and feels lovely. US p bass is likely to hold its value/appreciate. This is interesting - I shall do my research.

I’ve recently purchased my first ‘pre loved’ bass - a musicman stingray. I bought it off a chap who trades a lot of vintage guitars. During the purchase, the thought did cross my mind - what if this is fake? So I did my research and I’m as confident as I can be that it’s the real deal - but I’m no expert. Probably unlikely, but It occurs to me that if someone knows what they’re doing, they could take some of the hardware off a broken bass, add it to a cheaper body and neck, then sell it off as the real deal. Particularly a P bass for example. I basically checked that everything looked correct (bridge, neck, backplate, serial number, battery compartment, etc). The bass in question is in the link below: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ernie-ball-Musicman-Stingray-bass-4string-3EQ-with-original-hardcase-/384268166122?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 Does this type of thing worry anyone else? Was there anything else I could or should have done before purchasing? I should add I did try before I bought and it played beautifully and sounded great (so perhaps it’s irrelevant). I will probably buy some more used basses in the future so it would be good to know if there are any other checks you can do thanks Alex

Thanks for the explanation.

I’m looking at buying a second hand stingray. It looks to be in great condition. However, I’m just wondering if anybody in the know can tell me what the deal with the finish on the neck. It almost looks like it’s made of 2 separate bits joined together. is it normal for them to be finished like this?

Rufusized, by Rufus & Chaka Khan. Heard Chaka Khan many times before, but wasn’t aware of Rufus at all. What a great band & the cover of stop on by is top.

Unfortunately the one I’m using doesn’t have any LEDs. I did have a play around with headphones & managed to get my head round what was going on. So I have a rough idea on what I want. I doubt I’d be able to hear what was going on if playing at band volume though

Tc vintage compressor fitted to pedal board. Let’s see how it goes

You probably have a point. Perhaps the only advantage will be that I can have it at the start of my signal chain. I probably wouldn't go out and buy a pedal, but given that I already have one, I think I'll have a little play and see how I get on. The TC vintage comp is a copy of the T rex Comp Nova all the vids I have found on youtube are with guitars - Hopefully that doesn't matter. I'm guessing there's no real difference between a compressor for guitars and bass

It’s just basic subtle compression I’m after. I didn’t realise I would find it that useful, until I used it. Now I’m thinking am I missing out on something. Glad I have found the Tc to play about with. The guide from @MuddBass is excellent too.

Thanks for the resource - I'll take a look. Since writing the post, I have remembered I bought a TC Electronic vintage compressor years ago - which I think I still have (will have to do some hunting). I don't know if its decent or not but at least I should be able to experiment with it

Little bit of advice required. I have an onboard compressor on my Ashdown ABM evo iv head which I have never used until last practice. On previous amps that I've used with onboard compressors, they didn't seem to make a huge amount of difference unless you really cranked them - and even then I never really liked the result. On the Ashdown, I added just a touch of Compression, and I found it to be really useful - reducing the dynamic range of the bass just a little and evening everything out a little. Now I'm wondering if I need a pedal, I'm led to believe the onboard compressors on the ABM's are not great. So I'm thinking would I benefit with a decent compressor pedal? The main issue is where should the compressor be in the signal chain? I've always thought rightly or wrongly that it should be at the start of your chain. I have found that if the compressor comes after the fuzz for example, you lose a bit of definition. Unless I use the effects loop, the onboard compressor will always be after the fuzz. It'd be great to get peoples take on this.

I've got a Barefaced 210s for sale in the marketplace 500w - its a 4ohm (or 12 as its switchable) so you'll get the full wattage from your amp. so plenty loud enough if you're interested. I've also got a TC BQ500 - which I intend to keep as a backup - but could be persuaded to sell. In all honesty I am not a fan of the TC & its put me off Class D heads as a result - it just didn't feel right at volume. I think headroom with Class D is really important, so the more powerful the better. Of all the Class D heads I tried the Aguilar TH was probably my favourite. Never tried the Original head - but the rootmasters are decent. I like Ashdown's a lot - particularly the ABM range - which is what I use now.