Dan Dare

Good advice above. A quality DI will do the job in small to medium sized venues. In a smaller venue, some sound from the backline will reach the audience anyway. Most decent amps have an XLR/DI out, which you can set to use the eq setting on the amp, or flat. Quite often, the sound that works on stage doesn't translate that well to the room, so you may want to eq the bass differently in the PA.

Unless you have a poor record deck, low frequency rumble should not be an issue. My quite modest deck has virtually none (you have to press an ear to a speaker when the stylus is on the run-in/run-out grooves and there is no music playing to hear the faintest hint of it). Ditto surface noise. Once the music kicks in, both are un-noticeable. Look after your vinyl and pops/clicks should not be an issue. As I say above, different strokes for different folks. You do you, we'll do us and we'll all be happy.

That's just my point. Never mind the crackles, pops, etc. What does the music sound like? Look, I get it. You don't like vinyl. That's fine. Others of us do. We're happy for you not to. Why can you not be content for us to like it without trying to prove you're in the right and we're wrong?

Here we go. Vinyl is irretrievably flawed, vinyl lovers are in denial, etc, etc. The truth is that the best of any format sounds great. It's also true that it is more expensive to get a decent sound from vinyl, but once you get to that point, it does sound a bit special. At its best (which is undeniably expensive), it can rival, perhaps even better other methods of music reproduction. You don't have to spend telephone numbers - £2k tonearms, etc - but the base/entry point for quality is higher than it is for other formats. If you have a strictly utilitarian approach to life, vinyl probably isn't for you, but the majority of us don't live that way. Yes, pride of ownership is a factor, but a liking for nice things applies to many aspects of life. We don't all drive economy cars, wear simple, functional clothing or eat bland but perfectly nutritionally balanced food. We like a bit of luxury and even a few toys. Nowt wrong with that. In my experience, those who claim vinyl is fundamentally flawed (what method of music reproduction isn't flawed in some way?) have never heard it at its best.

There's a 350W Tone Hammer already. I expect they used that.

An old FM tuner is a good thing to have, for the same reasons. Cheap to buy and, as long as you're in a decent signal area (proper aerials can be a bit pricey) and can get results with a piece of wet string, it can give you access to a load of interesting stuff.

True, but Aguilar is not an entry level brand. It's expensive stuff, not least because it's made in the US. Plenty of us weekend warriors are prepared to pay the price of admission (I run an AG700). Aguilar seems to be trying for a vintage vibe with this combo. Personally, I like it, but I appreciate it isn't for everyone. There are many hobbies where the stuff can cost as much as a crap car. When I tot up what I've spent on fishing tackle in recent years, it's more like the price of quite a reasonable car. I realise I'm fortunate to be able to do so. You pays yer money and takes yer choice.

To give Aguilar their due, they use genuine ICEPower modules in their amps, so claimed wattages are accurate. 300W, done right, is plenty for small to medium venues unless you are playing detuned doom or similar. Until class D came along, we were quite happily using 100W (maybe 200W at a push) amps and nobody worried whether they'd be loud enough.

If you have the money to spare and can afford to indulge your GAS, there's really only one answer... It will certainly be a massive improvement on your old Rumble. In my experience, you can't get a bad sound out of MB gear, especially if you lean towards more old school tones. The 802 N 300 has an effects send, so you could, if you need more volume, run an add-on amp and cab with it if it proves not to be loud enough.

Same here. A lot of bass players make the mistake, imho obviously, of pushing too much LF. If you let the kick drum supply the oomph and concentrate on providing the notes on the bass, the result is much tighter and more musical. It does depend, of course, on the bass and kick drum being in sync.

Lovely stuff. What a band. And Martha, as well as being a great singer, was a bit gorgeous, wasn't she?

Motown.

This is one of those "how long is a piece of string?" questions. It might do the job, but then again, it might not. The only way to find out is to try it, but that would mean buying one. Two 8s in a small cabinet are only going to shift so much air. May be fine in certain bands/styles, but if you play music that requires you to push the bottom end a bit and venue acoustics are less than ideal, perhaps not. I've used a MB 1x12 combo in similar circumstances to those you describe and it worked surprisingly well, although it didn't shake the room (as you would expect) and it was in a soul band, so volume was not very high. I wouldn't imagine the difference between the older and current version is that great. MB gear is surprising in that it projects well and sounds good in the room, however. Any chance you could hire one and try it out at a gig? That would give you a better idea.

The usual suspects will all have a dog in the fight. Don't buy on recommendation. Go somewhere like Bass Direct and try some out. It's your decision which you prefer.

Flem