three

I do exactly what you do Freddie and it works really well for me. My amp (an Agi DB750) has both a 'return' and a 'preamp in' - I use that latter but it's the same kind of thing. I really like the power amp of the 750 but I'm not a massive lover of valve front-ends/preamps. So, it's either a Hellborg or Mesa solid state pre straight into the Agi's power section. If I want to use effects (which is rare), I can use the send and return of the Hellborg. Lovely and still a fairly simple set up.

I've had a few signature basses over the years but all entirely coincidentally and purchased as they were fantastic instruments in their own right. The sig designation neither turns me on or off, if it's a great instrument that fits my needs, then I'm happy with whatever it might say somewhere on the bass or the accompanying documentation. I have a couple at the moment, a Stanley Clarke and a Wilcock Mullarkey: both outstanding shorties and neither with any kind of identifying logo (not that it would really bother me). Neither with any kind of price premium either as far as I know, though both were bought used. I might hesitate to buy a price-hiked sig bass that was no different/better than its 'standard' counterpart.

I'd certainly agree - for the current price, I'd say they're a bit of a (relative) bargain: a UK hand-built, boutique bass (and an extremely good one that is really well-thought through in every respect). For me, these compare very favourably with some of the other (excellent) UK boutique offerings - they also offer something that is genuinely different

Absolutely beautiful - what a lovely, understated but very classy colour. I think the finish will have been from Bow - utterly superb work. I picked-up a Mullarkey a few months ago and it's been a revelation. I've spent years with active only basses but Viv's approach to passives works incredibly well. Playability is superb on these and they're just such good fun - a joy to pick-up and play for hours. This looks like a new(?) approach to the control layout - is it VVT? Most I've seen are VT with a three-way pick-up selector. A very lovely bass indeed

I can strongly recommend Bow Finishers to the South of London - the original may have been a Bow finish? Sei build some absolutely beautiful basses - real artistry and artisanal skill - this looks like a fantastic example

I currently use an Aguilar head (DB750) with and Agi cab (SL112) or a Berg cab (HD210). There's a slightly rounder and warmer tone to the SL112 and slightly more focused mids (upper and lower) to the HD210. I don't really have a preference, both work beautifully with a range of basses from passive to active. With a quality head and quality cabs, I doubt you'd have much of a problem (matched or not), though some pairings don't appear to work well and I'd recommend that you trial any combinations before handing over a lot of cash. I remember there was some talk of the big Agi amps not working well with some Epifani cabs over on Talkbass years back. My criteria with cabs are usually: tone (and compatibility in terms of impedance); size/portability (small doesn't always equate to easy to maneouvre); and, weight. I tend to use reasonably small cabs - even with a very big amp - as their key purpose is personal monitoring, practice at home and recording. I spent much of my youth with 4x12s, 8x10s and massive 18" bins (Cerwin Vega etc.) - all mix and match with a variety of amps... and with a wide variety of results! There's something very exciting about moving a ton of air and I still love it now. Unfortunately, lugging such gear around is not so attractive these days. I'm going on a bit here - back to topic - I'd really spend some time trialling the combinations, and in the types of situations that you're going to be using them (if that's at all possible). My personal preference would be to go down the Agi route - SL or DB 112s or 210s (with whatever Agi head suits you and your budget)

Utterly devastating news - a mad and beautiful force of nature