three

1 hour ago, mar_to_the_t said:

My corner in our rehearsal room. The B/Amp with the HD cabs is my main setup. And man, I love the tone it gives me! In my ears it got even more authority than the mighty DB750😄 What's missing is my second AE410.
 

Very close to my own rig - though many more cabs and options! I use the B Amp into a HD210 or DB750 into the same. Interestingly, l find the latter configuration has the greater authority - all subjective of course!

Hmmm...sounds to me too that you're describing either Noble or Monique.  I use the former but have considered the latter on many occasions - both boutique (a fairly extreme form) and both would fit the bill.  The Monique may be a little more versatile, though in my experience the Noble provides an out of the box 'produced' sheen - sort of your bass through a valve pre/high-end desk.  Solid, clean, even and imbued with quality valve saturation.  Neither option is cheap (but if you're going with IEMs, a big saving on a high-end rig, and carrying the latter?)  One final point, I find that the Noble works better (brilliantly!) with Fender type or vintage basses rather than modern/active instruments.     

I've been playing a US Lakland P and PJ a lot in the past few weeks - outrageously good basses!  They do that great P thump (perfectly evident in the video) just beautifully well - kind of what they were built for, and playability, with a good set-up, is sublime.  For me, the best of the vintage Fender clones.  I'm not surprised that this is on-hold

I've played some really lovely pre CBS Fenders and to me, it was usually the neck dimensions and feel - and sometimes weight - that provided the greatest attraction (the wear in the lacquer on the back of the neck, often through to wood makes, for excellent playability in my experience).  More recently, I've found that Lakland (the US Fender clones) have been able to replicate very brilliantly the dimensions and feel of those earlier Fender necks (though radiusing is different).  Not a particularly cheap alternative but I'd tend to recommend over a £4/5k pre CBS Fender (in terms of feel, sound and weight).  Playability of the Laklands has been uniformly superb too in my experience, with adjustability way-beyond that available on the vast majority of older Fenders.  If you really must have that vintage Fender, I can understand, and I still see/play some really good ones out there...though prices don't appear to be coming down

I can't see that anybody that makes the investment would be disappointed - just be aware that this is very heavy gear (the stereo power amp is over 46lbs and the mono 500 is around 42).  It's massively over-engineered and also a little bit quirky - good racking (sleeved or shock with wheels) is probably a good idea if it's going to be moved around a lot.  There's a sort-of known issue with the lights behind the pots - these fail and sometimes start to flicker (not a very expensive job to replace but I'm told the original bulbs are no longer available - there's a slightly less bright alternative at around 1 Euro per unit).

At the current Thomann prices, these units are an utter bargain.  It's been an offer that I've been unable to resist and I already had two PR40s.  I've been through a lot of amps and preamps - the Hellborg rig is the best I've ever used, other than using a Hellborg pre as the front-end for an Aguilar DB750 - outrageous tone and power.  If you can only go for the preamp, do it - I've had this up against all sorts from channel strips to exotic valve pres and it performs wonderfully (better to my ears but it's all very subjective - I prefer very immediate response and super-accurate dynamics and shaping).  Even against a Millennia TD-1, the PR40 holds its own perfectly well. 

And Thomann are fast - my packages arrived in around 5 days - don't forget the dedicated 3u or 5u head rack too - very functional and attractive (with dinky wheels)

2 hours ago, rsint said:

What are the feet like when you remove the wheels? do they give any clearance from the cab? 

Asking because there's a strap-handle on top of my cab. 

I haven't received it yet but I'll let you know as soon as the box arrives!

9 hours ago, rsint said:

Cured from GAS you say 😈

One can source the very cool Warwick head rack from Thomann too - about £65. I have one on the way to house the same stereo rig. Dinky wheels too, though the rig’s an easy lift...kind of, for two to three people

I’m on my second Hellborg rig (and have two Hellborg pres from previous Hellborg adventures).  This is the best bass preamp I've used (for me) by some distance and the list includes some of the world's most desirable pres from studio SS to exotic valve units.

Beware, you'll see in my previous posts that I've experienced problems with the power amps - there's a gritty tone with some hifi cabs - it may be a good idea to consider a Hellborg cab if you’re in the market.

I recently bought a US Lakland PJ from Josef - everything was extremely easy and fast.  Packing was superb and communications were excellent throughout.  The bass was exactly as described - it's exceptional - and I can commend Josef as an extremely trustworthy, friendly and reliable seller - a real pleasure to deal with you Josef and thanks for everything!

Wow, really very few of these around and they rarely appear for sale - especially at this price. Alembic SII electronics in a box (without the pickups, of course). Almost magical - vastly versatile

I too use a Bamp and it runs almost silently - I've not noticed any fan noise whatsoever (the DB750 on which the Bamp sits is another story entirely).  As indicated above, I'm pretty sure that JB would pick-up on, and eliminate, any noise issues very quickly.  The new Forte HP may not have some of the versatility of the Bamp but in terms of pure slam, if that's what you need, it's probably a very good option

I'd strongly recommend a US Lakland (Joe Osborne) - beautifully constructed with the best J necks I've ever played - modelled perfectly on early 60s Fender Js

18 hours ago, Beedster said:

bit like a demo for a lawn mower showing how well it can be used to carry the shopping home

incisive and eloquent at once - started my day with a belly-laugh!

Beautiful bass at a bargain price! As an Overwater player, I can attest to the startling quality of these instruments

I've only used a Marleaux Sopran so don't have much experience (I sold the Sopran on here earlier in the year - the string tension was a bit much for me), however, from what I saw in the bass, these are beautifully constructed instruments with fantastic attention to detail, superb timbers and excellent ergonomics.  This looks like an absolute bargain!

Wow!

Even the cases for these are really cool!

5 hours ago, E sharp said:

New head tonight/last night .

Different than the Eden that I've used for the last 18yrs .

Just got to get used to it . Pumped it out though .

Simple class - a rig that could grace any stage in the world

These look outrageously good for the bargain price!  I can't play 35" scale either (that's probably fortunate!)

These are almost unbelievably good - the most playable bass I’ve owned - my go to for almost anything.  Doesn’t look like this has crown inlays though. Does it come with the case? Also, any details re: condition?

Thanks, much appreciated - I was thinking a short.  I'll inspect quickly now but out at a gig tonight.  I'll investigate more tomorrow and get back! Cheers, Loz

Hi all,

anybody have any ideas about this?  I was playing my Spector (US active with Agi OBP3) when it died quickly.  I replaced the single 9v battery and after about 2-3 minutes, the sound faded, spluttered and died again.  I took out the (new Duracell Industrial) battery and it was very hot - it had only been in the bass a few minutes.  Anybody know what might be causing this?   The bass doesn't have a passive option so it's useless without the active in full working order.  Any ideas are very welcome - especially those that might suggest a fix!  Cheers, Loz

Absolutely lovely, Yamaha was building some incredibly high quality basses at this time - a great adaptation of the P here

Hurrah, somebody will be delighted!

44 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Still here

A ridiculous situation. Best seller on BC, beautiful, industry standard pre, and expensive case and ears included.