three

This is really interesting, and something of which I wasn’t aware. I use the jack input and the very powerful EQ fairly extensively. This has me thinking. Would it be possible/useful to use a Pre/DI (Millennia, Avalon et cetera in pre eq mode and take a balanced line into the Hellborg pre - nice to see what extra the input transformer might provide (the jack alone is wonderful) - maybe a nice idea for passive/vintage basses?

hahaha, I sold my first Hellborg power amp for £150 because of the harmonic colouration! Hmmm...not the most wise of decisions!

Utterly wonderful deal with Owen - an absolute gem of the community - extremely patient whilst Parcelforce contrived to hide the parcel for a couple of days! Deal in absolute confidence - I notice that I'm adding my recommendation to an extremely long-list of perfectly satisfied members

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 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)

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

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!

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

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

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