Al Krow

GR AT cabs - pros: great sound, super light weight, 4 and 8 ohm options; cons: build construction strength, price BF BB2 - pros: great sound, light weight; cons: 8ohm only, price

I've already given a stern warning about rabbit holes. They seem to be proliferating 😁

Yup, it really is that good!

I was kinda thinking that the guy who bought the sparkly one for £100 must be a bit gutted that ped sold his immediately after for £20 less! But clearly he isn't! 😁

Obviously it's great to have the ability to return stuff with online purchases as you can't try before you buy, but generally I try to get most of my stuff used anyway from BC or eBay (where no returns are typically available). I do very much try to avoid returning stuff if I can, as I know it's a killer for retailers' margins, but sometimes a piece of kit you've bought new arrives damaged / in much worse condition than you might expect from the B word (in this case B-stock - see pic posted earlier) and other times the kit is just not as good as the marketing (or even fellow BC'ers' enthusiasm!) has led you to believe. And given the other B word, I would also try to source locally from a UK supplier if I can, but Thomann still have stuff in their HB range which is fantastic value e.g. basses, pedal boards, PSUs and I've loved these too: Minotaur Bass Strap Black – Thomann UK Worth noting that Thomann do charge you for the privilege of returning items these days, where it's not a damage / warranty issue e.g. the piece of kit didn't live up to expectations. I paid £22 to have a HB bass returned so the costs end up being shared on non-warranty return between buyer and Thomann, which is fair enough.

Yes all things are possible 😁

Just received an email from them 24 hours after chasing them and initially being fobbed off with a sob-story about Customs delays, saying: "Dear customer, we received back your return and it will be processed as soon as possible..." I guess all's well that end's well, but it's a bit odd that it's taken me having to chase them up for them to realise that they have the item back! Ah well, maybe there's something useful in this for other readers of this thread, if they find themselves in similar circs.

DC = direct current?

Sometimes - e.g. the 11.0cm 4.3" straps I mentioned which I've only found on Thomann. Bloomin' marvellous and a gig game-changer for me! Yeah it was a real shame, particularly as the replacement bass they sent (which also took much chasing and gnashing of teeth on my part!) was heavier than this original one.

Thanks for that - did you manage to measure the steepness and cut off frequency of the 1001M internal HPF? If so, I'd be very interested in getting the details off you as a fellow 1001M user. I've managed to slot my Thumpinator underneath my board - prompted by this thread! Turns out I needed to raise the clearance just a touch at one end of the board to accommodate, but a couple of small sticky felt pads did the trick. It will be working in series with my amps' internal HPF to clear out the sub-audio crud and should also benefit when I'm going directly into a PA. Is it the case that most powered PA speakers (aka FRFR) don't have HPF?

P bass vs J bass 4 string vs 5 string Fingers vs pick To compress or not Rounds vs flats and now... BC Zombies vs BC Vampires. Hmmm. now there's a thought!

Where it's stuff that you definitely know you're not going to return then it totally makes sense not to exclude overseas retailers. I think where there's a risk that you might not like the item or of it being damaged (e.g. like this headstock of a bass I bought from Thomann recently, which was damaged instore before being sent out rather than in transit as the packaging was fine), then it's just good to be aware that it can take much longer to get your money back or a replacement - and put that into the mix when making a buying decision. I'll certainly still be getting my favourite bass straps from Thomann - they've been some of the best bits of kit I've bought over the past 12 months - made some of my heavier basses so much more comfortable to play over a couple of hours and hopefully very little chance of getting damaged en-route.

No, please let's not! I suspect the tones on the "worst bass sound" thread are likely to be most folks "f$$$ me wot a racquet!" I think @Stub Mandrel was just seeking to rile a few Zombies and other living-dead amongst us. 😁

PS if she does have Covid - sorry to hear that and I hope she makes a swift recovery.

Great strategy. I find chocolate works well, too, but my better half gets suspicious if I buy flowers for no particular reason 😁

Great retailer, great value, fantastic range of bass gear. But boy are refunds now taking a LONG time! Courier collected an item exactly one month back with a delivery address to a warehouse in Bury St Edmunds. Should take no more than a few days tops to get there. They then ship it back to Germany - over which we have no input into or sight of what is happening. One month on they state that the item is likely still in Customs checks and they have no idea where it currently is and ask me for tracking on their courier they have booked (which obviously I don't have any details of or ability to track myself). Ugh! So if you are returning stuff to Thomann worth bearing in mind it may take MUCH longer than it used to to get a refund. Shame - I've only had good experiences with Thomann over the years, but this issue with returns is not great and is making me rethink about switching to UK retailers, unless I've previously bought the item from Thomann and I therefore know 100% I will want to keep it but also only if the likelihood of it being damaged in transit / their storeroom (which was the case with a B-stock item I recently bought from them).

I see you've managed to solve the age old Yamaha vs Spector conundrum AT! Great result!

Fyi - my actual question to Max was: "Quick query. I believe the Thumpinator cuts below 28 Hz. Am I correct that it is - 24dB/octave or is it operating at just -12dB/octave?" So it's fair to deduce that his response was implying it was a 24dB/oct cut which would also tie in with the effectiveness at preventing speaker excursion shown in Phil's charts above (although I guess could possibly have been e.g. 18dB/Oct etc. although that would less likely in terms of components?) Not sure why he was being so coy, though - if it does cut at 24dB/oct that's very welcome given its purpose!

Yeah I think I was getting confused with the reissue 1.5 guitar version. So the original and best bass version is still the one to get. I think there was one in the FS recently - I hesitated and it got snapped up! Tbf my little Pigtronox Octava is punching way above it's weight (and price bracket!) in terms of full spectrum overdrive / fuzz duties. But if another vgc used Xotic BB comes up I really should give it a spin and A/B it against the Pigtronix.

From @bassfan 😆...

I've been thinking about getting another BB, too. But it will probably be one of these... 😁

Very sensible. And, yes, you've certainly had a good haul recently! (ok not if you've reset your clock to AT time) 😁 Just wanted to make sure he was back safe. I mean it's getting dark early, the coastal paths aren't particularly well lit and we hadn't heard back from him a while...😁

So....how was the walk? 🙂