three

Edit - oops, I realise this has gone - I hope it worked out well - please let us know I’m afraid I can’t really comment on tech issues, though a nice, medium-sized (longish), mainly jazz-oriented venue. Decent PA and engineers in my experience. There may be more from the PA than you’d imagine and quite probably a fairly quiet stage - it’s a smallish space. Enjoy it!

Same here, I have one so have some understanding of possible idiosyncrasies (beyond terrible strap balance for anybody of average body size). The troubleshooting pages on Club Alembic are also an incredible resource with very knowledgeable and helpful users and frequent interventions from Alembic staff (especially Mica Wickersham)

I've had a good number of Seis over the years (singlecuts, Js, Flamboyants, headless etc.) but don't own one at present - mainly as I only really play short-scale and there are very few shorty Seis around as far as I know. Each bass was absolutely beautifully constructed and a joy to play. Martin and John are not just fantastic luthiers, they're great to work with and actually listen to their customers - genuinely really nice guys. I think I need a short-scale, headless Flaboyant - for me the body shape is the most beautiful in the world of bass

A bit off-topic, though it has to be said: that's a spectacularly lovely looking rig - and back on-topic, the Enki is a lovely complement

A very good choice in my opinion, these really are lovely amps - excellent implementation and an easy-to-use form factor. I haven't used the Sadowsky pre, other than in a Sadowsky bass, but can imagine that the two units work very well together. What a lovely, dinky but very capable rig.

I’d concur with the OP. Very transparent but highly capable and solid - the best of the class D amps I’ve tried. I’ve paired with a Monique and Warwick Hellborg pre with no problems at all in terms of power and headroom.

I've had this with some Trace amps too - especially older models (which were otherwise brilliant!). Thanks @Dan Dare for the explanation - that makes a lot of sense. I have an Agi DB750 that's entirely quiet as it has diagnostic and protection circuits/relays that are activated at switch on (start up is delayed by around 20 seconds). I also have powered monitors (ATC) that are perfectly silent at power-up but present a pronounced bump at power-down. The manual alludes to this and indicates that it's entirely normal and non-problematic. A bit of a surprise as most of the amps I've used either have almost no (or a relatively small) thump at power down

I got a bit tired of selling basses on here at what I considered very reasonable prices (in-line with some assumed/imagined community ethos) only to see them re-appear in shops in very short order and at very inflated prices. There's a particularly egregious example on sale in London at present. That isn't to say that there aren't some wonderful, generous and community-minded members on here, and I still sell on BC occasionally. However, I tend to simply sell basses on consignment these days. Easy and less depressing

Thanks very much Kev - I'm a big fan of EXL strings and there are some absolute bargains listed here!

I tend to use light (or very light) rounds and find Fender 5250XLs (40-95) to be good value - they're usually around £20 a set but I've found some at real bargain prices. I don't have them on my Sire U5 at the moment but suspect they'd work well. I have shorties with a separate tailpiece and bridge (and 2+2 headstock) and generally find 30-90s work well. I ordered specifically for these basses from Newtone, and with precise measurements - the results have been very pleasing

Apologies, it is Leeds not York, and yes, Northern - thanks for the correction. I was really impressed - great place and friendly staff

I think this approach works well and I've seen a few examples in the UK. I visited York recently and there's a small venue/bar with a guitar shop above (accessed via stairs at the back of bar). I'll try to find the name - a great place to drop-in for a coffee/beer and a browse. There's also Gibson Music in Ashton-under-Lyne just outside Manchester. Some good stock, often quite quirky, and a cafe at the rear of the shop