Al Krow

Should avoid any issues around hearing it through the mix.

Which is exact opposite of what agedhorse is saying. You both can't be right. I have no idea who is though!

I find it hard to believe that a manufacturer does not give retailers a RRP (recommended retail price) for its products. But @agedhorse if you're telling us that Mesa does no such thing and European retailers have all decided on £1,299 or thereabouts, so be it. There must be a big opportunity for just one to break tanks here. Amazed that none of them are doing so.

Have a chat with @Grangur. He may be able to refi the body in white for you (or recommend someone who can) for a reasonable price, if you're unable to find a white Yammy in trade.

Ok the ridiculously high pricing is down to Bassdirect rather than Mesa, if that's the case.

Well done mate - I know this has been a labour of love for you over many years! Really looking forward to listening to it.

Ok in which case, they should be £999 in the UK allowing for shipping, customs and VAT at 20%. Not £1,299.

Aren't Mesa able to sell direct to customers in the US?

Tbf you need to add shipping, customs duty and VAT on top, none of which Mesa will get to see. That gets you to around £950 to £1k. Then add in the UK retailer's cut. So is it actually Mesa or the UK retailers who are making the big margins on this?

Thanks for the clip, look forward to having a listen. Not sure that folk over here are being negative about the quality and ability of this new amp, agedhorse. I think it's much more to do with being priced out of being able to get one. We Brits don't, on average, get paid any better than our US cousins (probably a fair bit less in fact if we're talking about averages), but the cost in $ for the WD-800 over here is $1,715. That is going to sting a lot of folk in the pocket.

Chance would be a fine thing that I could actually do a 10 minute slap fest! 😀 Note forward: when that day comes, I promise not to record it as part of any gear review (unless I have Dood's explicit approval). I'll also try to remember to keep my left arm on the neck at all times. </anti-rant>

@krispn... two things. 1. Love the fact you've got more expertise with this in 5 days than I have in 5 months; 2. Don't expect it to hang around too long if you're looking to move it on!

Or 'cos he wanted to pretend to be a professional bass player?

Thanks @Phil Starr. Excellent, as usual!

I think he's finally succumbed to his own bug. It's really not pleasant.

@EBS_freak thanks for that. Totally agree about the top-end f-response being important, the lack of which is a key reason for me looking to replace my BF SC. Do you know if the BF FR800 power module has a DSP? My understanding was that the BB2 was already pretty flat response and not adding much in the way of tonal 'colour'?

So we maybe need to formulate a general principle here, along the lines of a D class watt = a tube watt = a watt. On the same lines an FRFR lb = a bass cab lb 😁 But, more seriously, I take your point that shape and handle location can make something heavier easier to carry.

Thanks John. That makes sense about upright, given that the SC has a top end f-response of just 4k, and 'piezzo' / upright is going to want to go higher than that to get that top-end 'zing'. It seems to me that a 'DIY FRFR' may be the solution here: I'm thinking along the lines of a BF BB2 as the transparent cab (which is, anyway, the basis of the expensive 600W BF FR800) and then adding pre / post as I like. I'll probably initially be sticking with my DG M900, which allows me to bypass the amps pre if I want to. The BB2 is just 26lbs. Seems to me this could potentially give me a best of both worlds compromise?

Congrats Lee - I think you've picked up a bargain there! So you've clearly got the BB bug real bad - that's now two BBs in not many more months! I hope it doesn't turn into the virulent Andyonis Travastis version which I've heard can be pretty lethal... 😂

I've just seen the parallel thread that is looking at wireless PA options - and seen @EBS_freak 's really helpful post on that. However, I think Steve's post is where we are at i.e. we don't have a sound man and in the bands I'm in it's just one of the band members who sets the level (drummer in one, guitarist in the other), so keeping it simple is going to be the way to go. One of the bands gigs relatively infrequently so investing the time to get up to speed on something like the XR18 is maybe going to be a big ask. And maybe the XR18 is going to be overkill for our needs (8 mono inputs should more than suffice): Having said all that - I did find the QSC Touchmix 16 that EBS recommended to be strangely alluring with it's compact size and built in interface (and with a budget to fit). The Mackie DL1608 ,which Paul recommended, could be an option but would require us to also get a dedicated iPad. At the moment the simplicity of the Allen & Heath ZED60-14FX is still looking appealing, not least given our familiarity and being up to speed with its baby brother.

Gents - I think you've missed misunderstood my point. I AGREE that the RCF 745A looks very capable and should be able to do the job! See my post to BRX earlier: My Q is in the second sentence above. I currently have a BF SC (21 lbs) and a D class head (3 to 4 lbs) = 25 lbs all in. It handles a 5 string just fine. I know the 745A can do the trick. But it's a 44 lb lug around. Is there anything else in the FRFR world that can compete or even come close to my current rig in terms of (i) handling a low B string (please note I'll be using it as back line and not just as a monitor) and (ii) that is also relatively compact / portable?