Al Krow

I'd best stay well clear of this thread otherwise it's only going to end in tears 😂 PS please tell me what the answer is when you have one!

Welcome to the dark side 😁

@Ashdown Engineering - have just given the Ant a little plug on TB over in the US. One of the bassists there came up with the really cool suggestion (again perhaps for a "Deluxe" model): provide isolated power outlets for other pedals. If you're managing to save us cost and space by avoiding the need for a separate PSU (which can easily cost £100+) then the Ant suddenly becomes an even more compelling proposition. Dunno if the engineering involved and space requirements would make providing isolated power outputs for other pedals a non starter for the Ant? If it's a possibility then there are very few multi output PSUs which can deliver the circa 2A required to power a Helix, but this should have oodles of power to spare, and potentially mean just one power lead to power an Ant laden pedal board.

PS the bar on cab weight if you can get there would be a Barefaced SC or SM which are around the 21 / 23 lbs mark. (They're both only available as 8 ohm cabs).

Great stuff! I'm guessing that if the Ant is already in manufacturing, it's way too late to add an aux in at this stage to make it a standalone headphone amp for the silent practice you refer to on your webpage? Maybe something additional for the de-luxe version then? That absolutely would make it a no-brainer for me

Tell me about it! Already imagining the day this can slot into my bass gig bag, with a lightweight 4 ohm cab in one hand! Right...now to find that lightweight 4 ohm cab... ...found one 😁 Eich 112XS-4 : 27 lbs & 300W RMS at 4 ohm If anyone knows of a lighter equally capable 4 ohm cab, please shout.

Perfect - thanks guys! Can I maybe suggest you consider amending your website page to either delete reference to 'max power = 200W' altogether or replace it with a peak power of 265W to avoid confusion on this point? I very much look forward to getting one of these - very well done for cracking the power / size ratio in making a truly usable pedal board bass amp, the very first on the planet that I'm aware of(!), which could also double up as a very useful headphone amp if only it had an aux in - any chance of adding this before release @Ashdown Engineering? Speaking of which, do you have a release date?

Haha - very true! Very probably 😉 Join @bassfan's 2020 gear abstinence challenge and make a start on your journey of zen and the art of playing bass 😁

I'd get both the amp and the cab used and get quality for both! And if the OP buys used and decides it's not for him he hopefully shouldn't make much of a loss if he decides to move it on.

Yup they seem to have updated their website to refer to 'continuous' rather than RMS and have changed the numbers from 140W RMS to 196W continuous at 4 ohms @Ashdown Engineering is your rather tasty new piece of kit delivering 196W RMS at 4 ohms? If it is, colour me interested! If not, what are you meaning by 'continuous'? Also when you refer to 'max' power of 200W is this also at 4 ohms and is 'max' = 'peak' power in standard speak? If the peak power is 200W at 4 ohms, the ratio between RMS (if that is 196W at 4 ohms) and peak seems to be out of kilter.

Yup that makes sense. But in which case their claim to unlimited effects patches is pure hyperbole. I'm already out!

Gotta disagree in terms of spending most of your budget on an amp: IMO a quality cab is at least as important to a great bass sound as the amp head. So don't skimp on the cab if you're going down the separates route! The Fender Rumble 500 and MB AC 121 Lite are two much loved combos, and you won't go too far wrong with either, if you decide to stick to Plan A.

If you're after warm, clean and oodles of power, then you could do far worse than this. Get yourself a padded cover made up (if the seller doesn't have one already) and you'll be good to go! Arguably one of the best combos out there - I had one as my goto gigging combo for 4 years and it never broke into a sweat. I've actually since replaced with separates, as per some of the comments above, but the combined (used) cost of my rig is double this excellent combo's second hand price.

Well they won't be doing that again in a hurry then!

Wow - 3,000 bass players in your neck of the woods / Tyneside?! That's impressive.

Fixed Fair few BCers are using M6, WA, D800, D800+ etc

Neck through, reverse P, EMGs, sculpted body, great sound, looks stunning. What's not to love? 😊

+1 ^^ Is that a very tasty Spector (or possibly a W'ick) you're sporting?

I would hazard a guess that with a decent sub woofer, yes.

Mesa simply export their kit to Westside distribution in Glasgow AFAIK. It shouldn't cost them any more to export than any other US manufacturer. And yes I do know (albeit a little) about international distribution costs via my day job. Let's put it like this: if Jim Bergantino can export his kit to the UK with broadly a one $ = one £ rate allowing for VAT, shipping and customs then why can't Mesa? The excuse that Mesa have been giving is that they don't set retail prices in the UK. (See lengthy discussions on this earlier in the thread). I don't buy that excuse, as you'd expect at least one retailer to break rank if there were "super profits" being made at that point in the supply chain. Which is a shame - a lot of us on this thread, me included, are big Mesa fans. My M6 is still my all time favourite amp.

Looking forward to your duo stuff! What kit are you thinking about using to deliver the dub sound?

Nice one, Frank. Are you playing similar material 8 years on? (I know!). And other than become a conniesseur of ACG basses, has your sound changed / evolved in a particular direction?

Well I guess that's kinda proved the point that most of us were trying to make to Mesa. $999 in US = approx £767 for US bassists, who aren't collectively going to be less well off than us are they? Add shipping, customs & VAT and that should get to around £999 in the UK. But no, best price is currently £1,267 i.e. £500 more than a US bass player is forking out. End result: megathread in the US. Barely registering in the UK. Simples.

Wow that was a temptingly low price (again)! Kinda glad I didn't spot it in time - not sure I would have your will power to resist!

What you get up to with your basses is entirely up to you... 😄 My collection of basses will continue to be referred to as a 'herd' (by me anyway).