Musicman20

Very reasonable price, IMO.

Yeah, if it is hitting those high prices, it is going to put people off.

Just another dreary release. NAMM demos are never a good judge, but they do not sound great.

[quote name='Passinwind' timestamp='1485196907' post='3222028'] Just curious: what would it take to get you excited? I barely even noticed that there were guitars there beyond the ones in the next booth to me and the Ibanez and Heritage jazz boxes. [/quote] I had a look at the bass releases, obviously not all of them as I didn't go, but it was the usual boutique P and J, a few more daring designs like Ibanez, then Fenders latest Professional series which I won't be bothering with. Lot's of mini Class D amps, the only one of which I currently find interesting is Genzler. Whereas guitar had interesting designs like the Musicman St Vincent, Valentine, etc...lot's of guitar effects that are clearly more fun to use on guitar (latest delay and reverb by Source Audio), recently released Boss pedals, and so on.

I've took delivery of the Boss Katana 100 and it is SUPERB. The best value amp product I've ever experienced.

Really not keen on the Fodera guitar (6 string) designs...no doubt well made though.

I don't think the bass side of things had anything super exciting, for my tastes anyway. Loads of awesome guitar stuff though.

Gotta say that seriously is incredibly small.

Is there a link to the new version of the old Thunderbird?

A key comparison for a modern TE head should be the Genz Shuttlemax line. That size, weight around the same or a little more, decent footswitch, and a totally stunning clean channel....I don't even need any tubes in it. The Max 9.2 is the closest I've ever got to a powerhouse with great definition, like the 400SMX from Trace.

The Origin is only 300W....I'm not sure why they went that route for? Where does it sit with their current lineup? Nice to see them offering limited versions of their amps and a few other new bits. If I had to start again I think I'd get some Ashdown kit.

New version (20th anniversary) is out this year....

Re: Battery - I go through my basses once every 9 months or so and tune them, clean them down, play them for a while and if they are active, check the battery situation. If the bass isn't going to be played for some time then I take the battery out.

Gotta hand it to them though, that has to be the smallest lightest bass amp on the planet. I don't need anything like that, but it's impressively small. I wish they had just shrunk the 400SMX into a Class D amp...even if the chassis was fairly large. Nothing I'd want to invest in...hopefully there is more?!

Probably one of the fastest punk bassists out there...great player and knows when to chill it out a little. Rancid are still one of my favourite bands.

Reverend make a nice guitar - quite 'punk' in their approach and only cheap as they are as they don't have a middleman dealer (more companies should opt for this).

Anything Genz Benz/Genzler related is also excellent. Very clean and precise....the Streamliner is a little warmer.

Nice in white...!

FYI - still Peavey it seems but they are at NAMM. Peavey now have their Mini Class D amps so MAYBE this is the approach they will take. https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2017/directory/trace-elliot

Just had a look. Something is definitely happening.

[quote name='Bass Culture' timestamp='1484730227' post='3217778'] It's been said before but a lighter weight version of the SMX would have the potential to put a smile on a lot of us older players faces... [/quote] Agreed. Smaller, lighter, same power, reasonable price....they would do quite well. I'd probably get one!

I think I'd agree that I've preferred my Stingrays through solid state amps....I've no idea why. I used to own an Orange AD200b Mk3 and I think overall my Musicman basses sounded better (or clearer) through a Class D Genz Benz amp. Maybe my ears are just used to the Ray/Trace combination I used for a long time.

Rays can tend to stick out in the mix due to the sizzling treble....I assume some high mids as well? Sometimes, with certain tweeters and plectrums, it can make it quite clanky, which is great for some styles, but if you want a different tone, knock the treble back a little, cut the tweeter control a little, try using fingers or flats or both.... I've heard some very dark sounding Stingrays that underpin bands a little more like a P bass. I would stick to a rig that allows you to have as much treble as you like, so you can cut it or just let it sizzle through.

If anyone is interested, or insane enough to shell out this much for a Fender at this level, then... https://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-american-professional-jazz-bass-v-5-string-3-colour-sunburst-rosewood/904218 Almost £1700. Nice exciting pickguard comes as standard.... I tried an American Standard P5 for about £450 (or more) less than this not so long ago.

Either is fine with me. Passive P bass - great. Active Stingray - great. The one instrument that straddles the boundaries well is my Big Al SSS which is basically a bizarre 3 pickup bass that nails a P bass tone, and the active/passive switchover is so incredibly well refined that both are worth using all the time. The main issue is a GOOD passive tone control.